Get S.M.A.R.T. about Social Media Marketing

17Oct

Advertising, Business, Copywriting, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Local Marketing, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Tailwind, Uncategorized

We all want to be smart right? Most of us already are in our own way. But are you S.M.A.R.T.? There’s a big difference, especially when it comes to social media marketing. Learn about the anagram businesses are teaching their employees and how it relates to your company’s online marketing. This anagram usually speaks about a company’s goals, but we’re taking it a step further and giving it a social media spin.

Specific- As you begin promoting your brand on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms, you need to have an acute goal and strategy in mind. Don’t be too broad or vague with your message.

Measurable. You’re not going to get very far without data and analytics. Social media marketing requires studying the performance of previously published posts. How far is your reach? How many people are engaging with your brand? How many people liked my page this week? These are the questions you need to ask and can only get the answers by measuring your activity.

Attainable. Of course, you should shoot for the moon. But let’s learn to fly first. Take your time and give yourself reasonable, obtainable goals. Don’t set yourself up for failure.

Relevant. This is where social media marketers really rock. Whether we cover hot topics, contemporary issues, or trending topics. Without staying relevant in today’s world, we don’t do our job. But relevancy does more than that – we also need to stick to the industry of our clients’ brands. We can’t just start talking about football on a law firm’s Twitter or movie reviews on a major corporation’s Facebook.

Timely. Finally, time is an essential element part of social media marketing. First, you should figure out when you need to post. Secondly, stick to your deadlines. You need to post every day and keep it consistent.

Are you S.M.A.R.T. about social media? Each of these five aspects should be incorporated and perfected. You need a specific message, measurable data, attainable goals, relevant content, and timely publications.

We’re able to help your company obtain all of these SMART goals and more! Contact us today to get social media geniuses to work for you!

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False Facts About Social Media Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

16Oct

Advertising, Business, Copywriting, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Local Marketing, Marketing, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Tailwind, Uncategorized

If this presidential election has taught us anything, it’s that checking our facts is important. This is particularly the case for social media marketers. However, some people have a somewhat off-skewed perception of what social media marketing actually is.

It’s time to do some myth-busting. Here are the top misconceptions people have about social media marketing.

1. Social media marketing is easy. There’s a big difference between using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for personal fun and using it for business. A BIG difference. Online marketing is competitive, fast-paced, requires a strategic mindset, and analytical skills.

2. You only need to pay attention to social media once a week. Sure, scheduling is a big help to marketers so they don’t have to post every single day, but social media management is absolutely a full-time job.

3. It’s a fad. Some people feel that social media marketing is a phenomenon that will fade eventually. Yet what makes the industry so unique and permanent, is its adaptability. In a decade, we may not be using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But social media marketing will be rocking with the current platforms that people are flocking to. It has now become synonymous with internet usage, and as we all know, the internet isn’t going anywhere.

4. Social media marketing is free. Sure, signing up for social media doesn’t cost a dime. But to make yourself noticed, you will have to set aside a part of your marketing budget. Whether you’re choosing to outsource your campaign to the professionals at The Go! Agency, or planning out some advertising, you can always upgrade your social media marketing experience.

5. We just surf Facebook all day long. Once again, there’s a big difference between using these platforms for personal fun and using it for business. We don’t have time to look at funny pics or see what our friends are up to. We are on Facebook for business, which means our clients’ content comes first and foremost.

6. There’s no recipe for success. This is absolutely false and kind of makes me wonder what people think we do in the first place. Social media marketers analyse data, engagement rates, effectivity, and current trends every single day to understand what works. Sometimes we have to change our tactics, while many times we grab onto something that works and develop it into a full-fledged facet of our content.

7. We only post annoying ads. Promotion is only one aspect of our industry. In reality, we strive to promote entertaining, engaging, and interesting content that isn’t just pushing the brand, but rather catering to the community.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the other big platforms are our workplaces. It takes hard work, dedication, and consistency to develop a successful campaign. Every day, we help our clients reach out to the right people through our efforts.

Is your company ready to put our hard work to good use? Contact us today!

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The Best Lead Generation Strategies For Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

15Oct

Advertising, Business, Copywriting, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Uncategorized

Finding leads and referrals have always been both a goal and obstacle for business owners. For some, it’s the only way they can generate revenue for their company. Social media has become not only a new solution for marketing purposes, but it serves as a way to discover potential clients, customers, residents, or whoever keeps your business alive.

There are several ways to achieve successful lead generation through social media. The following steps will help your business’s clientele skyrocket!

– Advertising. People utilize companies that are well known and have proven themselves. By adding a bit of social media advertising to your marketing budget, you be able to increase your profile’s visibility exponentially.

– Reaching out. Businesses approaching potential customers is not unheard of, but you need to do it with some subtlety. Programs like Crowdfire can help you follow a mass of people on Twitter, which is the starting point of new connections. Inviting those who liked your posts but not your page to do so is a super simple way to increase numbers. By sharing others’ content on Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, you exhibit an appreciation for their posts.

– Groups. LinkedIn and Facebook both have an impressive number of groups that allow you to connect with fellow professionals as well as those looking for your service. Be sure to get yourself out there and connect!

– Offers. The internet is the perfect place to promote freebies. Offer a free e-course, e-book, or trial. Give potential clients a free sample of the goodness of you have to offer.

Your ideal customers are already online waiting to be impressed by your marketing techniques. Get to it! These four strategies will help your marketing efforts and potentially increase leads and referrals.

Our clients notice an increase in referrals and leads through our customized marketing plans, content, and sharing! Contact us today to gain and advantage on social media.

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8 Top Tips For Powerful Social Media Writing

By Christopher Tompkins

13Oct

Copywriting, Social Media

What would Shakespeare or Hemmingway say about Twitter? What would Dickens’ or Tolkien’s opinions be about hashtags, likes, and character count?

I think the literary greats would be amazing at writing for social media marketing, albeit with some heavy-duty training. Social media marketing requires creativity, but writers and marketers may have to rewire how they work. The following tips are excellent starting points to become a social media writer.

1. Ultimate efficiency. Even if you aren’t writing for a platform with a character count such as Twitter, you want to be as sharp, precise, and “to the point” as possible. Sorry, there’s no room for a prologue. You need to hit your audience with your message with as little words as possible.

2. Hashtags. What words or phrases do people use to find content such as yours? Do your research. Discover what’s trending and take advantage of the hashtag system with moderation.

3. Buzzwords. Hashtags aren’t the only important words in your social media composition. Make sure you use relevant, searchable words. Try not to be too wordy but rather add words with strength and potential. Each business has different verbiage that should be incorporated. Their industry, location, time of year, subject matter, and type of content will determine which work and which don’t.

4. Hyperlinks. Always leave room for hyperlinks. Your social media updates should be a gateway to more information. I suggest using Hootsuite’s ow.ly links so you can study their effectivity through analytics.

5. Add imagery. Writing for social media marketing isn’t just about words. Your well-crafted sentences need to compliment a piece of imagery. Whether you add a video, picture, GIF, or a simple emoji, you need visuals.

6. Speak in the “we.” A good rule of thumb for Facebook, Twitter, and other updates is never to use “I.” You are, after all, representing your team and brand. This isn’t your story to tell, but rather the business’s that you represent.

7. Have energy. Having energy doesn’t mean you have to be super perky and happy. Instead, make your updates pack a punch with visceral vocabulary. Use exclamation points, question marks and colons. Avoid ending an update with a period as much as possible.

8. Utilize the power of blogging. Does your heart long for a longer format? Your answer is blogging. A company blog can significantly benefit from a blog. There, you’ll be able to post longer pieces of writing, just be sure to promote them with a social media post.

Do you have writer’s block? Our team of copywriters creates expertly-crafted social media posts every day. Contact us today to see how professional writing can help you.

How Small Business Owners Excel At Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

12Oct

Social Media

The life of a small business owner is tough. Whether you’re trying to create a business empire from scratch or just trying to maintain the day-to-day, being in charge of a company is no joke. Who has time to bother with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? As tough as it can be to fit social media into a packed schedule, it’s essential for any business to grow. Social media marketing has the strength to bring even a small local shop increased online visibility. How do you start? Check out these steps:

1. Invest in update management software. A busy business owner can’t be bothered with spending several hours crafting content, posting, sharing, and liking. You will need help! A variety of programs will be able to help you master social media marketing. Whether it’s Hootsuite, Buffer, or Onlypult, the right software will help.

2. Engaging content. You need social media marketing, but you need GOOD social media marketing. The right content will attract customers to your page. The wrong content will repel them.

3. Moderate promotions. Small businesses can use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms for many different reasons, but you want to make sure to promote specials, happy hours, sales, and events, etc. That being said, you should add other content into the mix. Don’t make your social media marketing presence solely about sales!

4. Promote in real life. Make sure people know about your online presence when they visit your store. Whether your run a restaurant, retail shop, or another small business, have those “Follow Us!” signs up and offer exclusives found nowhere else than Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Today’s small businesses have an advantage. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help strengthen your online presence, professional status, and customer relations.

Are you stumped on social media marketing? Let us take care of it for you!

The Best Brands Use This Content. Does Yours?

By Christopher Tompkins

11Oct

Advertising, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Live Video, Local Marketing, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Tailwind, Twitter, Uncategorized, YouTube

Think of the various categories of your social media content as gadgets in your “social media utility belt”. Each one is unique but serves the ultimate purpose – brand engagement and increased brand awareness. But to get to those goals, you need to learn which tools work and which don’t.

Diversity is absolutely essential for a successful social media marketing campaign. To achieve the right mix, try the following types of updates:

– Interviews. Whether The New Yorker just interviewed the owner of your company or you want to spotlight a new employee, interviews will bring a face to your brand. This humanizes your business and strengthens your approachability.

– Professional Material. Has your company created ebooks, blogs, online courses, etc.? Promote it! Sharing your material through your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter is a surefire way to put your brand in a professional light. Are you looking to make some professional material? The Go! Agency has your back!

– FAQ samples. Do you notice some questions many customers ask quite often? Address the issue in the form of a social media post.

– Q&As- Hosting an open question and answer session can open the floodgates of questions to your brand. Get your answers ready and be quick about it! Despite them being fast paced, Q&A sessions are marketing gold.

– Preparation Steps – Helping your customers prepare for an important process can be very helpful and will show the caring side of your brand. Senior living facilities can post about moving in processes or Medicare applications. Mechanics can give tips on how to winterize your vehicle. You get the picture. It’s free advice that shows you want your customers to succeed, be safe, and stay informed.

Get ready! These five types of content will bring humanity and better communication to your brand. Consider adding these ideas to your strategy!

Contact The Go! Agency to learn how we can take advantage of social media marketing together!

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How Online Marketers Can Hit The Bullseye

By Christopher Tompkins

10Oct

Social Media

It’s easy to miss the mark with social media marketing. Every now and again, your analytics may show low points in which your content just didn’t attract a crowd. Every marketer can appreciate the frustration when their efforts are fruitless. Online marketing, especially social media marketing, gives us a significant advantage to help us hit the mark.

Every week, gather up your social media marketing team to study your analytics. Whether you use Hootsuite, Buffer, or just analyze the native numbers on the platform of choice, you need to review your data.

Your company’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other accounts should have a decent amount of posts to study. Which ones rocked and which flopped? Did a particular hashtag gather in the readers? Did a picture or video get people talking? What advertising efforts really struck a cord? All of these questions need to be answered. Since most successful social media marketers write for the upcoming week, you have the opportunity to change your formula ahead of time to make things work.

Every month, look at the past several weeks and study your marketing efforts at a macro level. How have your numbers risen or fallen? This data should help you set up goals for the next month, and reveal areas you need to improve. It’s important to work on things when you notice them, don’t push them off. Additionally, look at the present trending topics and what is coming up, so you can take advantage of contemporary topics.

Does your team know how to study analytics and data metrics? We do! We can help your business hit the spot on social media.

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The 20 Most Important Social Media Marketing Terms

By Christopher Tompkins

9Oct

Social Media

Like every industry, social media has exclusive terms. Unlike every industry, however, those not in involved should know them as well. That’s one of the things that makes social media different – it’s for everyone. For you to promote your business the right way on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or other platforms, you should know the following terms. Get ready to spice up your vocabulary!

Avatar – Also known as a profile picture, avatars are the main images that represent you. Make sure it’s a good one and consistent from profile to profile.

Bio – A short, but detailed description about yourself or your company. No social media profile is complete without one!

Blog – Short for “web log”, a blog is where a company posts longer articles centered around their industry (like this). These are vital to any business’s website to look professional and knowledgeable about the field they work in.

Clickbait – A slang term for an eye-catching, but possibly misleading title. For example, “You won’t believe how this man lost 50 pounds!”

Direct Message – A private message to or from a Twitter profile. The Twitter equivalent of an email. Every platform has their version of direct messaging. Facebook’s is simply called Messages and has its own smartphone app.

Engagement – This is the ultimate goal of social media. Engagement is people interacting with your brand and its content. Comments, shares, likes, etc.

Facebook Live – Facebook’s live video streaming service. It’s already integrated into the website and app.

GIF – A looping animated picture that is typically soundless. You will find these on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr the most.

Handle – @TheGoAgency is our company’s handle. It’s our username, but also how you can tag someone in a post on several platforms. A handle isn’t complete without the “@.”

Impression – A unit of measurement for social media advertising that analyses an ads’ reflectivity.

LinkedIn Groups – Groups are communities on LinkedIn where like-minded professionals can connect and share their work.

Meme – A popular running joke on the internet using familiar visuals. You will often see these with captions that incorporate the pre-existing joke into someone’s own message.

Native content – Original content that you upload directly to the platform.

Periscope – Twitter’s live video broadcasting app.

Pins – Pinterest’s signature feature. It’s their version of updates. However, you can also “pin” content to relevant boards.

Retweets – Twitter’s sharing feature. You can share someone else’s post onto your Twitter feed.

Stories – Snapchat and Instagram both have this feature, which allows you to view the recent posts from your friends or followers.

Tag – A way to incorporate someone into a post. You can do this on a majority of platforms.

User-generated content – Content that your followers, fans, and friends can share that involves your brand. Whether the content is reviews, posts, check-ins, etc., it’s still all about your brand!

Viral – Viral, or “going viral” is a term which means a piece of content reached extremely high engagement.

As you can see, social media is a very different world. That’s why a dedicated social media marketing team is so valuable. We know the ins and outs of this industry and can make your business shine.

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The 20 Questions Your Social Media Marketers Should Be Asking

By Christopher Tompkins

8Oct

Social Media

Did you ever play the game 20 Questions? The goal is to figure out what the person you’re playing against is thinking of. The following 20 questions will help social media marketers learn what their brand’s marketing strategy is. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the other platforms require a well-developed approach, and by asking yourself the following questions, you will be able to go in with an advantage.

1. Who are my ideal customers?

2. What am I trying to promote?

3. What is the tone of my brand?

3. What are my competitors doing online?

4. How does my company fare against my competitor’s online activity?

5. What problems do my ideal customers have?

6. How does my company help solve those problems?

7. Where are my customers geographically?

8. What content do my customers like to see?

9. Which social media platforms work for me?

10. How can I incorporate compelling content into my brand’s message?

11. What are the most important keywords in my industry? (For instance, mine would be “social media”, “online marketing”, etc.)

12. When should I post content?

13. What products or services are my “bread and butter”?

14. What original content can I use? Do I have blogs, web pages, original images, etc.?

15. Who industry’s top online influencers and how can I incorporate their content?

16. What scheduling software is right for me?

17. What visuals should I incorporate into my content? (You better not say “none!”)

18. How often should I be posting every day?

19. How much time can I invest into social media?

20. What are my ultimate goals for social media?

Do you have all the answers? If not, you better get to work!

Every day, we work with companies and incorporate their individualized situations into their strategies. We can help you answer these questions and get started one the most effective avenue of marketing today!

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How To Navigate The Chaotic Internet Landscape

By Christopher Tompkins

6Oct

Advertising, Business, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized, YouTube

There’s a reason my colleagues and myself call the internet the Wild Wild Web. Sure, there are some rules, but there’s quite a bit of anarchy out there. Social media both deters and exacerbates this chaos. Yes, everyone’s comments, spam, ads, and sharing are all contained within the walls of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc., but there are so many people who break the rules of netiquette, it seems like it’s non-existent. Your brand is above all that, right?

The disorder of the internet is both a blessing and a curse for social media marketers. For one thing, it won’t take much for someone to have a professional look. However, you will soon be overwhelmed with the amount of spam, unprofessional business pages, and trolling out there.

Here are the top ways to stay on top amongst all the lawlessness:

– Keep your chin up and stay classy. If you find yourself getting bombarded with a slew of fake messages or negativity, don’t forget the brand you represent! Be sure to approach everything with a delicate nature.

– Don’t add to the chaos. Here at The Go! Agency, we understand “netiquette,” and we apply the unspoken rules of the internet to our client’s accounts. No spamming, just good, honest marketing.

– Have a schedule. Stick to a dependable regiment, and stay consistent when posting. Being a reliable source of interesting content will have your followers looking forward to your next post.

– Add eye-catching content. Make sure your posts stand out with compelling copy, imagery, and subject matter. People recognize quality posts, make sure yours can be spotted!

– Stay focused. Don’t forget, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are not the fun sites you love to browse while you’re marketing. They are tools of the trade. Don’t get sucked into all the cool stuff popping up on your feed. Power through it for the sake of your brand!

Are you ready to face the internet? You’re not alone! We can handle this online marketing thing together! With our years of experience, you will stay on top of the chaos with ease!

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