How To Be A Social Media Business Knock Out

28Jun

Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Marketing, Periscope, Pinterest, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized

There’s a big difference in how one uses social media for personal use and for business. When you’re using it personally, you really don’t have much to lose other than agitating a friend or two with an off-color post. When it comes to posting for your business however, every move you make is important. You are no longer posting as a person, you are now a living, breathing, personified business typing away. What are the best tactics to use when representing your business? Here are Small Business Trends’ four best ways to handle this new audience:

Be sure your posts have a nice medium between being widely-relatable and catering to your demographic. They should appeal to a certain audience, but you don’t want it to be so specific nobody will understand but the pros.
Even if you don’t have many viewers, engage with them and listen to what they have to say about your content. Many followers will share your thoughts if you give them an avenue to. Listen to their feedback and adapt your approach. If you use social media right, your follower numbers will increase.
Being ambitious is great, but biting off more than you can chew will leave your audience hungry for content. Having a full list of posts without having the resources to accomplish them is setting yourself up for failure. Don’t automatically expect an ROI from social media posts. It doesn’t work quite like that and expecting a spike in sales immediately isn’t rational.
When looking at your user feedback, take it with a grain of salt. Realize a lot of it is subjective. It is important to remember fundamentals when posting information as well. Having a social media expert’s advice is priceless when trying to figure out the best strategy.

For additional details of Small Business Trends’ four tactics check out their article here: http://ow.ly/pfD930094uZ

Do you have any other tips that can help a business thrive on social media? Let us know!

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The New Kids In Town

By Christopher Tompkins

27Jun

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Local Marketing, Marketing, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized

One of the most important elements of surviving the fast-moving social media waters is to keep in-tuned with current trends. While Facebook and Twitter seem to be steadfast names in this industry, there are new ones popping up all the time. How can you tell which ones are worth investing your time and resources into? It can be hard to gauge the firepower of a fledgling social media website or app. After all, who knew Instagram would be so popular? Social Times explores new platforms and sees if they’re worth clicking that “Sign Up” button.

Twitter and Facebook aren’t fools. They foresaw trends leaning towards live video streams and as such, they’ve adapted. Twitter’s sister site, Periscope, and Facebook Live allow companies to project live to an audience and answer questions on the spot. No pressure right? It has been working pretty well and with the help of promoting live events before they happen on your other social media accounts, a whole new wave of publicity is in your hands.
Snapchat. This app is starting to catch some serious speed. It’s a hit with Millennials and a lot of businesses are starting to take notice. The initial novelty behind this “app-only” platform is that you can see photos once and only once. They recently changed that so you can view pics and videos posted on an account’s story for 24 hours. Still, between geofilters that change depending on a customer’s location, to interactive news feeds, Snapchat is starting to be taken more seriously.
There are also niche platforms that appeal to certain audiences. Shouty brings sporting events live to a smartphone. ClearView Social has been used by law firms to reach out to all different platforms. Firef.ly helps travelers understand what’s in the surrounding area. What makes this one different than Yelp is that it actually recommends elements based on your preferences, as opposed to reviewing other user’s comments.
One that isn’t mentioned by Social Time is BizSugar. It’s a fairly new platform that targets small business. It’s kind of like a cross between LinkedIn and Reddit, if you could imagine such a thing. It’s is an interesting way to reach out and check out some relevant articles.

There are tons of ways to connect and there’s more everyday. You don’t need to (and shouldn’t) jump on every new outlet that pops up. At times, it can help to watch how quickly the new platform’s popularity increases and with more of them targeting specific audiences, it can help to figure out if your product is even welcomed there.

For more information, check out Social Times’ article here: http://ow.ly/AlMh3008ZXl

What are your thoughts on the new generation of social media platforms? Do you expect any of them to be the next Facebook?

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Instagram’s New Ways to Reach Out

By Christopher Tompkins

27Jun

Instagram, Social Media

Instagram has been in the news quite a bit lately. First, they revealed a controversial facelift with a new logo and layout. Whether you love or hate it, you have to admit that it is quite different. Yet after the dust settled from the new logo fiasco, there was another change for the popular social media platform. This update, however, may help businesses reach out to their intended audience better.

With just a dash of Big Brother tactics, Instagram’s new “dynamic ads” deliver advertisements based on what users have already searched for on their smartphone. If a potential customer visited a company’s website earlier in the day, Instagram will remind you of what you saw with ads based around similar products. It also has the ability to show off the same product in different styles. This is a good tactic for businesses to be able to deliver their message to the right audience through a high-traffic avenue.

We’ve seen this kind of advertising before through Google, Facebook, and other websites. Now, Instagram is customizing their experience so you don’t mind those advertisements so much and might actually buy something. It’s all good, as long as you don’t mind them watching what you search for.

Instagram is a powerful tool for the creative and business-minded alike. It offers many tools to jazz up your photographs such as filters, and its reach is growing everyday. When it was first created back in 2010, we wondered how exactly we were supposed to take it seriously. After all, a picture can only do so much, right? Turns out, that Instagram is now becoming one of the more powerful and popular of the platforms, and that is only going to grow as their engineers continue to modify it. Younger internet surfers are attracted to its layout and versatility, and its ability to translate the world around them into something they can share.

For more information about this update, check out PR Daily’s article here: http://ow.ly/mr7k3008OvG

What do you think about dynamic advertising as a consumer? What about as a businessperson?

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An Unsurprising Affirmation

By Christopher Tompkins

27Jun

Facebook, Social Media

It’s probably not a shock to anyone to find out that Facebook is the most used social media site for business. However, it was also the site considered to deliver the best ROI. eMarketer reports some interesting numbers about where the social media platforms stand in this side of business.

According to their article, eMarketer reports about a survey that questioned 551 social media marketeers worldwide. An overwhelming 95.8% of them said that Facebook provided the best ROI. Twitter followed with 63% and it dwindled down from there.

While ROI isn’t exactly the best information to gauge social media activity, it can be helpful when looking at things from a strict business point of view. Most importantly, it can be a sign of the amount of engagement. For instance, Snapchat was only considered to have the best ROI by a mere 2.1%. Someday we may see Snapchat pick up those numbers, but for now, businesses aren’t yet comfortable with the app.

Now, Facebook has new tools on its utility belt. Facebook Live and Facebook Messenger are great additional pieces to the social media puzzle. Now, we can broadcast live video streams out to our followers with Facebook Live. We can also converse in new and intuitive ways with friends, families and yes, customers with Messenger’s many features.

One of the biggest reasons for Facebook’s firepower is its advertising efforts. It has the ability to reach out to a massive amount of people in the specific demographic you’re trying to target. If Snapchat had something similar, those percentages would surely rise.

For more information about this study, read eMarketer’s article here: http://ow.ly/VB8030096NM

What do you think of this? Do you think it is a dependable system to gauge effectively? Let us know!

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5 Things You Need to Know Before you Start Blogging

By Christopher Tompkins

5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-blog-200x300

27Jun

Advertising, Email Marketing, Facebook, Local Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Social networking, Uncategorized

A blog is a powerful tool for a business to have in its utility belt. It can significantly improve your internet presence and, if done correctly, your peers will soon flock to you for your insights! However, one must learn to crawl before they can run, and one needs to learn how to blog before you become an internet sensation.

Consider this segment of our blogging for business series a crash course. These are the 5 essential elements you need to consider before you begin to publish posts. We all had to take our time to learn the basics and now it is your turn!

Platforms. First of all, you will want to figure out what website you want for the blog’s home. There are many platforms to consider, however we have found that WordPress is one of the most effective and comprehensive. They offer mobile applications so you can blog on the go and is comprised of an interface that is easy to use, no matter what level of experience a user has. There are other well-known sites such as Blogger and Tumblr, which have proven themselves as useful. Tumblr specializes in microblogging and has a more of a social media feel to it. While it was once very popular, more serious bloggers currently flock to WordPress and Blogger.

SEO. Search Engine Optimization is a complex beast. In its simplest form, it is a tool to help articles reach the front page of search engine results based off of their keywords. However, it can be considerably more intricate than that. Luckily, WordPress incorporates a simple SEO field so you can master Google and others with ease.
Your Audience– Now that we have the technicalities down, you need to figure out who will be reading your blog! Will it be potential customers, your peers, or simply avid readers? By figuring this out, you will make the next two elements easy as pie.

Topics- Now that you have figured out who will read your writing, you need to figure out what they like. Business 2 Business blogs like to center around practices in the industry or current events and policies that affect your work. Those who want their customer base to read their posts would benefit from tips, tricks, and ideas that would essentially incorporate their product. Sure, you could make every article a sales post, but you will not get many readers that way.

How to Write- You need to figure out the tone that will work for your audience and subject matter. Is it a strictly professional piece of writing or does it have a conversational feel? Regardless, make it unique! You will want to be sure that there is a reason readers are going onto your website as opposed to others’.

Do you feel ready to write now? Once you have these five elements down, you should be able to rock the blog world, no problem!

What do you think about these five essential elements? Comment below!

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Why Your Business Needs a Blog

By Christopher Tompkins

26Jun

Copywriting

A blog, or weblog, has been an internet staple for quite some time, preceding our beloved social media platforms by decades. The medium has withstood the test of time and continues to help countless internet users get their word out. Blogs are a bit like chess, easy to learn and hard to master. Well, consider us the Bobby Fischer of the blog world and get ready for our series about blogging for business.

So, first of all, what is a blog? Most of us have heard of the concept, but clarification can always be helpful. Basically, it is a website that presents articles in a reverse order of publication, so the newest posts are always the first pieces of content visitors see. Look at it as a journal on steroids, if you will. Yet a blog can go far beyond recording someone’s thoughts. It can be a priceless tool for businesses that want to reap the rewards of an online presence. It is a great addition to a website and can be a helpful resource for updates once you have a few posts published. Now, you might be thinking that since you aren’t a journalist, how could this kind of tool be useful?

Essentially, blogging is a wonderful way to keep contemporary information on your website and a way to bring attention to your brand. No matter what your industry is, you will be able to write articles about some aspect of your work. We have seen auto shops, self-storage businesses, and even dentists benefit from blogs. Even if you think your work is boring, trust us, there is an audience for it. Many of your fellow professionals scan the internet for articles relevant to their field and with a little help from your website of choice, your articles will be popping up on search engines all over the world.

Essentially, blogs allow business owners to voice their opinion and stance on certain issues or practices. Nothing new happening in your field? No problem! You can spotlight a certain element of your work every post.

We would recommend posting a blog article at least every few weeks. You want to keep it relevant and consistently updated. More is better on this side of the internet. Blogging is a lot like social media in the sense that you don’t want your site to gather dust.

Look out for the next few segments on our series about business blogging!

How does your company utilize blogging? Comment below!

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4 Social Media Marketing Misconceptions

By Christopher Tompkins

25Jun

Social Media

There has been a lot said about our industry. Social media marketing is gaining speed and now even the tech-illiterate know a little bit about it, or so they think. We have dealt with various communication platforms since the Internet started taking flight, and we are finally seeing its effectivity everywhere!. It’s always interesting to see what people who aren’t heavily involved think about social media. One of our favorite stories is about a friend’s grandmother who thought that Facebook was only for gossip, since she was only exposed to people talking about others on the popular website. Like everything else in our lives, there are preconceived notions about social media. The marketing side of things is no different. Eager entrepreneurs and business owners see the reach that the internet offers and want to jump right in. Often times, however, they may not fully understand what they are getting into. So, let’s set some things straight.

Social Media Marketing Isn’t Free. Sure, signing up for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram is free, but once you are ready to dig a little deeper, it will cost you. These platforms and all others like them thrive on advertising revenue, and they sure know how to make their money. Less and less is becoming free, so be sure to save at least 9% of your marketing budget for tools such as Facebook advertising and Twitter Cards.

Don’t expect immediate ROI. It is a businessperson’s instinct to try to analyze a marketing technique’s return on investment. Social media marketing doesn’t work like that. It is more about communication with one’s customer base as well as showing an interest in the global community. Yes, it will most definitely bring life to your business and customers will notice you more than ever, but not in a traditional sense. There is a large subjective element to this type of marketing.

You will not go viral overnight. Social media marketing takes time. Users do not typically soar to Internet stardom extremely quickly. Your internet presence needs to build up over time. You need to be patient and consistent.

Social Media is not a “once and done” type thing. Social media takes effort. You do not just create a page and let things alone. You need to post often- at least once a day for Facebook, and multiple times for Twitter. Social media marketing is an investment in time as well as assets. However, it is absolutely worth it.

As you can see, this new marketing strategy takes some time and effort that social media managers work at great lengths to perfect. However, if you have patience and determination, you will see wonderful rewards.

What other misconceptions do you know about? Comment below!

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Learn How to Share: Sources, Subjects, and More

By Christopher Tompkins

23Jun

Advertising, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized

The internet is a busy and crowded place, stuffed to the brim with relevant content. Every industry has a whole world of knowledge to discover, which is available on the web. Some of it is credible, some of it is junk. It is important to do your research into what your posting and who wrote it.

As we have mentioned before in previous blogs, it is important to mix relevant content into your social media updates to balance out promotional posts. But what exactly should you share? News articles that are directly related to your field of expertise can be great tools for engagement. However, you will want to be sure that you actually agree with what the article says and what the author stands for.

Each industry has their own well-known experts, as well as blogs and news sources that are considered credible. Depending on the field that you work in, you will be able to find many articles that you can share. Of course, there are big news sources like CNN, MSNBC, and The Huffington Post that are renowned amongst all walks of life that you can rely on for quality content. If you find yourself on a lesser-known website, be sure to scan the page for any offensive imagery or copy. Some blogs will have a mess of sketchy ads strewn about the layout, sometimes hosting spam-like material. Advertisement is a necessary evil to make the internet keep chugging ahead, but you don’t want your readers to see inappropriate content. Speaking of advertising, you should check to see if your competitors are advertising on the website. This is especially true if it is a niche news source that covers topics specific to your industry. You don’t want sharing content to backfire!

Where do you find these kinds of articles? You can search your traditional search engines like Google and Bing, however that is going to deliver you a ton of links to weed through. It is suggested to look through social media itself to find articles that are being talked about. This will help you pick the popular subjects, but you will also have access to recently published news. You will want to check the dates of the material you are sharing. If the post is from months or even years ago, the information could be outdated or irrelevant. You want to present yourself as a “mover and shaker” in your field and that means keeping in-tuned with what is happening now.

Sharing engaging and interesting content is essential to your social media activity. You want to seem involved in the community you are trying to tap into. By giving extra publicity to these sources, your name will also pop up in unexpected ways as users search for the subject matter and author. So, start sharing!

How do you find relevant and credible sources? Comment below!

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The Balance of Push and Pull Posts

By Christopher Tompkins

22Jun

Advertising, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Social networking, Uncategorized

What is the point of advertising and marketing? To promote one’s brand, correct? Sure, it is a simple concept to grasp. After all, we have been exposed to advertising our whole lives. Social media marketing, in theory, should be the same since it is all about promoting your brand. While this may be true in the grand scheme of things, the actual execution might not be what you expect. It requires a whole different approach than traditional marketing.

Social media requires a bit of tact and genuine content. You will want to generate updates that are not directly related to your product but are still applicable to your customer’s interests. If every single post you send out to your followers is a sales pitch, your online friends are sure to dwindle quickly.

Mixing engaging content into your updates alongside promotions is an innovative and non-direct way to get yourself noticed. What kind of posts should you create other than sales-oriented content? You can share relevant news stories, holiday greetings, polls, recipes, quotes, and more. These items will have the ability to stretch beyond your followers’ reach and connect to others on the internet. Shared posts need to give the impression that you want to share this update with your friends who are, of course, your customers. Your tone should be conversational and casual. Social media brings everyone to the same level, and your language should feel like that.

When planning your posts for the week ahead, you should realize that diversity is the key to success. Try not to have the same type of content right next to each other. Mix it up! For example, if you have a Facebook account and are writing two posts a day, you will want to make sure there aren’t two promotions next to each other, nor two news articles, quotes, etc. Switching things up will keep your posts fresh and fun.

What kind of content do you add to the mix? Comment below!

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5 Reasons Social Media Marketing Has Become Essential

By Christopher Tompkins

21Jun

Social Media

Even before the internet took over everything, marketers had a duty to adapt the brand they represented to current trends. Whether the fashionable thing to do was to send out a thick catalog in the mail or to put up flashy billboards downtown, those in charge of promotions always had to keep contemporary. Today’s brands needs social media. If you think it is a fad, think again. If the marketing gurus of “Mad Men” worked today as opposed to decades prior, they would all be social media managers! Need more convincing that this is key to today’s business world? Here are the top five reasons that you need social media in your utility belt:

Your customers are already there. The main purpose of marketing is to have your message positioned where your audience congregates. It was the same when we put ads in magazines and commercials in prime time television shows. Now, we need to be on their computers, smartphones, and tablet screens via social media marketing. Facebook, Twitter, and the rest of the platforms have millions upon millions of users. If implemented correctly, your businesses can be on many screens.

Your competition is already there. If you think your business doesn’t belong on social media, think again. It isn’t just for tech-based companies. We’ve seen those in industries ranging from dentistry to real estate, to assisted living facilities to churches benefit from using these communication tools. Don’t think it’s true? Your competition does. Go onto Facebook or Twitter and you might be surprised to see that many of your fellow professionals are already there.

The companies you use are already there. Look around your house or office and inspect the packaging of your most used items. There is a good chance you will see at least a little Facebook or Twitter logo, which indicates that brand’s involvement on the internet. The big brands have already wised up to social media’s power. This should show you that this movement isn’t going away anytime soon, nor should it. It has allowed countless customers to connect with companies they trust in new ways.

You want to seem invested- Because of just how popular social media has become, you need to show that you care about your customer base by participating. You can do this by delivering engaging posts via the avenue of communication your audience prefers. In essence, it is the same as community outreach which, as all professionals know, is amazing for PR.

You want to keep in the know. Social media has become so much more than “connecting with friends”. Many people now use these platforms to network and promote themselves, but also to learn about their industry. Industry leaders post articles and news stories that are relevant to their work everyday.

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to jump onto social media. So what are you waiting for? Start posting today!

Why do you go on social media? Comment below!

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