Tag : content curation ideas

How To Avoid Writing Clickbait

214124
26Apr
Ah, clickbait. We’ve all seen it, whether it’s part of an online marketing campaign or simply a scam lurking around the web. Most of us have fallen for its trap at least once. If you’re unfamiliar with the term clickbait, you’ve still experienced the practice without even knowing it. It’s essentially social media posts, news article headlines, and online advertisements, that entice the reader to click to learn more information. However, it’s often a veil for low-quality content. If you’re a social media copywriter, it’s a frowned upon practice that needs to be avoided at all costs.
The reason clickbait has such a stigma in the world of copywriting is that it’s disingenuous and frankly, a cheap trick to get engagement. It’s a way to get your audience’s attention and get some interaction with your profile or site, and while that sounds ideal for an online marketer, it makes your brand look illegitimate in the process.
Here are the top 3 signs that a piece of writing is clickbait. Are you copywriters guilty of them? 

1. The Answer Lies Within

“You will never believe what Apple has in store for the new iPhone! Click here to find out.”

Yes, marketers want people to click and interact with their content. But the above example has no substance or “take away.” It’s simply a way to get people to visit your site for the answer. Often times, blogs and companies won’t even have the answer to the question they pose. They will instead utilize the keywords of a trending top, like “Apple” and “new iPhone” and extort it for clicks. While you should always try to incorporate appropriate trending topics, this kind of approach isn’t the best.

2. Explosive Vocabulary

“You’re MISSING OUT on this UNBELIEVABLE sale!”
One of the first rules of sales writing is to use strong verbiage – which makes complete sense if you want to present your brand or product in an appealing light. However, if you use words of such exaggerated magnitude that it looks like you’re a used car salesperson, then you’re going to look like a scam artist very quickly. When you use words like “unbelievable”, “amazing”, and “once in a lifetime”, you’re almost setting your brand up for failure because you’re putting it on a pedestal.

3. Unnecessary Suspense

THIS is what happens if you don’t have your computer files backed up!”

If a cyber security company created a piece of content with the above sentence, they might get a few clicks from interested viewers. However, instead of luring readers to your website, simply present ideas, facts, and honestly up front. Your writing represents your brand’s code of ethics and as such, transparency is key.

While it’s true that clickbait has the power to create short bursts of engagement, your company will suffer from this type of marketing in the long run for the following reasons:

  • Overuse of these tactics will cause your audience to be annoyed and regular customers to question your legitimacy. Would a huge, established company use this type of advertising? Most likely not. Then neither should you!
  • Your bounce rate will go up. A lot of

    clickbaitwill either lead viewers to an irrelevant website, or it will drag the reader down a rabbit hole of sketchy sites until they finally, maybe, get to the article, which will no doubt be riddled with ads and hard to navigate. Because of this, people will spend a VERY short amount of time on your website and then leave. As a result, SEO and social media efforts will suffer.

  • Clickbait has a tendency to attract the wrong audience. This is particularly the case if you “highjack” a trending topic on social media and try to take advantage of it by shoehorning your own content around it. Subtle, powerful, and clear writing is always the way to go.

To the core of every social media and online marketing strategy is writing. Make sure yours is worth reading and clicking! Even though a short and powerful burst brought on by clickbait may be enticing, clickbait will only hurt your marking efforts in the long run because it has a high chance of annoying and turning away customers who will actually turn into conversions.

Your brand deserves effective and professional copy. Contact us today to see what our copywriters can do for you!

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Build Up Your Flock: 5 Ways To Be The Top Bird On Twitter

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27Oct

Since its incarnation in 2006, Twitter has become a major social media marketing staple. Few businesses use social media for marketing without utilizing the microblogging platform. We call it “microblogging” because it mainly performs the feature of a regular blog, only at a microscopic scale. Are you able to tell your story with 140 characters or less?

Twitter is the place for speed, efficiency, and effectivity. You need to hit your readers hard and don’t let them forget it! Are you looking for the best ways to approach the platform that has over 310 million users?

1. Use an Image – EVERY TIME. Good news! Twitter no longer counts visual media against a tweet’s 140 characters. Because of this new advantage, you have no reason for a bland, image-less tweet. None. Make sure you incorporate eye-catching imagery, so people hone in on your update.

2. Analyze trends. Twitter is the king of current events. As such, incorporate contemporary happenings into your content. While treading controversial waters can leave you burned, there’s plenty of positive, unbiased news you can use.

3. Call Upon Your Team. The beginning of a successful social media marketing campaign is your team’s efforts. Ask them to help your marketers promote their brand with their own following. Their genuine marketing efforts can go a long way.

4. Consistency. There are several social media poisons. Radio silence is one of the worse. NEVER let more than two days go without a post. People will quickly move along to the next best thing.

5. Make Your Tweets Self-Contained. A common trend in the Twitterverse is to tell a longer story in a series of tweets. This is a big no-no. What happens if one of your tweets is read out of context? “(cont’d)We would love to see you there! Make sure to come early so you get a good spot so you can see…”  Do you want something like that popping up on your feed? It’s against the laws of Twitter.

6. Promoted and Sponsored Tweets. There are paid options available on Twitter to give your marketing an extra boost. Once you have a grasp on how Twitter works, advertising is the next natural level.

7. Study Data. Don’t be a dodo. Study your current performance and see how you can improve. Is news related content doing better than promos? Maybe videos are getting more attention (they most likely are). You won’t ever know if you don’t look at your data at least once a week.

As you can see, Twitter is a bit like chess – easy to learn, hard to master. At the Go! Agency, our social media experts handle over 100 Twitter accounts for clients. Contact us today to discover how our expertise will land your company on cloud nine!

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Your Social Media Toolbox: Software Your Social Media Needs

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19Jul

Social media marketers need technology to succeed. No surprise, right? While a majority of the work day is spent on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the other platforms, we cannot be truly effective without a little help from third-party tools.

There are new products popping up on the internet and App Store all the time. Some are terrible, some make our lives much easier. The world of social media is face-paced and demanding, so having some tools to help is much appreciated. Here are some of the newest helpers social media professionals are integrating into their workflow:

Crowdfire- Twitter can be effective, but very competitive. Marketers need to keep a sharp eye on their followers. Crowdfire will do just that. This website will help you find new followers based on other leaders of the industry. You will also be able to weed through your followers and get rid of inactive accounts.

One Tab- Researching content is a major part of social media. Whether you are finding new content to share or you are checking your facts, you will find your browser window bursting with tabs. One Tab will combine them for easy access, allowing some space to breathe. 

PicPlayPost- Looking for a new way to bring life to your Instagram page? Check out PicPlayPost. It’s an app that allows you to add pictures and video to unique collage template. 

RiteTag- Hashtags make the world go round in social media. You got to use them! But how can you find the best tags that pertain to a specific subject? RiteTag is the answer. With a helpful browser extension, you will be able to find trending hashtags  in a snap!

 

There are many new social media sidekicks out there and many more on the way. The above four have proven to be very helpful for businesses. Content curation, sharing, and organization can get a whole lot of easier. You just need the right tools!

What do you think of these programs? Comment below!

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Hashtag Your Holiday! Why The Calendar Is Your Social Media Friend

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4Jul

Happy Fourth of July! As Americans celebrate their Independence Day, fireworks will set off, hot dogs will be grilled, and beer will be slurped all throughout the fifty states. Meanwhile, our fun moments will be documented online via social media. These are the kind of days social media was made for! We will see tweets upon tweets of firework videos and Facebook status updates wishing America a  Happy Birthday in the coming hours. Guess what? Your business needs to join in the fun.

Social media marketing rocks holidays. They bring inspiration to the writers, deliver a massive amount of content, and by using appropriate hashtags, your posts will show up on a whole lot more screens than traditional content. By acknowledging a special time which customers are most likely participating in, you will be showing the humanity of your company which is a key goal in social media marketing. You want to be involved in the community you are reaching out to.

Of course, Independence Day isn’t the only holiday and each festive time brings its unique array of content curation ideas. When December rolls around, you are in for some holiday overload so a nice balance of holiday-centric posts and business-centric updates will give your audience room to breathe. You should not ignore a holiday, even if you are a bit of a Scrooge. Every year, Google catches heat for not acknowledging Easter Sunday with their Google Doodles. You don’t want that kind of publicity.

There are also holidays beyond those that the Post Office acknowledges. Each industry has awareness months and niche holidays that pertain to its demographic. They can range from events like Breast Cancer Awareness Month (which is October) and National Ice Cream Day (which is coming up on the 17th! Get your scoopers ready). No joke, every single day is a holiday, sometimes two or three of them on the same day. A little bit of research will give you a plethora of things to celebrate.

From a strict business sense, you should use social media marketing to take advantage of holiday shopping rushes. Between Black Friday specials to Back to School sales, the Sunday Paper inserts have nothing on a boosted Facebook post. So, get your Santa hat on and light those sparklers, because your business will benefit from participating in these special fun days.
What holiday posting techniques does your business utilize? Comment below!

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Steps To Stay Ahead In Social Media

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30Jun

It seems that news stories have shorter and shorter life spans with every major event. Events that happened last week are already old news thanks to the internet. We are hungry for fast, fresh, and high-quality content and it is up to social media marketers to deliver. How exactly do you keep up with it all? Here are some helpful steps to take:

 

  • Schedule. While planning your posts for a particular period of time won’t help you with breaking news, scheduling ahead will be one of your most beloved tools. If you devote a few hours each week to social media, you will not feel obligated to spend every moment on the computer. Then, use either the native scheduler of your social media platform of choice or a third party such as Hootsuite so your updates will go live when you want them to.
  • Stay Informed. Be sure to have a sharp eye on what is happening in the world and in your industry. To do this, you will want to follow the leaders of your field and reputable news sources. Once you see news start to break, it will erupt over the internet landscape very quickly, so jump in early.

 

  • Watch the calendar. Of course, knowing the date is important, but what we are referencing here is keeping on top of seasonal trends. Holidays, awareness months, and anniversaries all bring success to social media marketing. You don’t want to be that one Facebook page that doesn’t wish a Happy Mother’s Day!

Social media marketing isn’t easy. It is hard to keep up with all the moving cogs and gears that make up the internet. Yet with these tips, you will be good to go!

Do you have any other tips about staying ahead? Comment below!

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The Balance of Push and Pull Posts

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22Jun

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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Are Your Images Social Media Ready?

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20Jun

With social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat rising in popularity, we see visual content becoming increasingly essential. After all, who wants to read anymore? Social media requires a nice balance of eye-capturing imagery and engaging copy. That being said, you can’t just pick a random picture, throw it onto your timeline, and expect gold. There are certain requirements each platform administers. So let us see just how ready your photo library is for social media, shall we?

Those who run the big social media companies know full well that images are key to a successful post. These people have a job to do, which is controlling the stream of content that goes through their platforms and to ensure it doesn’t turn into chaos. As a result, dimensions for imagery have been created and must be adhered to. Since these images are on the web, they are measured in pixels. Here are the rules:

Facebook:
– Cover photo- 851px x 315px

– Profile photo- 180px x 180px

– Images in updates- 1200px x 630px

Twitter:

– Header photo- 1500px x 500px

– Profile photo- 400px x 400px

– Pictures embedded in tweets- 440px x 220px

Instagram:

-Profile photo- 110px x 110px

-Thumbnail photos- 161px x 161px

-Posted images- 640px x 640px

LinkedIn:

– Cover photo- 974px x 300px

– Profile photo- 400px x 400px

– Banner image- 646px x 220px

If you decide to go against these rules, you’ll find yourself with an image that has been inappropriately cropped or a pixelated mess. Consult with your graphic designer, photographer, or social media manager to be sure that your pics are perfect.

Share your thoughts with us below!

 

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The Top 4 Ways to Be Original On Social Media

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19Jun

When you begin to plan content for your social media updates, a little bit of finesse is needed. Sure, you can always share, retweet, and comment on others’ material, but this cannot be your only activity on your account! To have an effective social media marketing strategy, you need original material. It is easier said than done, as you could imagine. However, you do not need to be a master marketer to figure out how to formulate your marketing. Here are some of the tools of the trade:

    • Promotional Posts- Of course, where would social media marketing be without…marketing? Strategically placed sales posts will be helpful as long as you do not drown your feed with them. Use strong language, be confident, and remind your followers why they chose you as opposed to your competition.
    • Events- Depending on your business’ industry, you might host some events of your own and want to spread the word. Whether it is a company picnic, a guest speaker, or a blowout sale, social media is the perfect place to promote. You can also show your support for certain movements such as Alzheimer’s Awareness Month or contribute to fun events like National Candy Month.

    • Imagery- Original visuals are integral to your posts. It is an important tactic to raise engagement levels. The best part is that you don’t have to be a professional graphic designer to make exciting pictures. Apps and websites like Canva and Layout make pictures look like they were done by a pro.

    • Fun Posts- Yes, social media is great for marketing, but it is also a form of entertainment for many users. Create updates that are fun, engaging, and receive some feedback in the process. You can create quizzes, polls, caption contests, and more. These are the types of posts internet surfers look out for when browsing social media. Give it to them!

While it can be important to share others’ content and social media posts, it is just as important to have an arsenal of original and enticing updates to send out to your followers.

Do you have other ways of creating original content? Comment below!

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3 Easy Ways to Stay with the Times 

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7Jun

There’s a good reason journalists have flocked to social media, it’s always current. For its success, it has to be always updated and fresh. The same applies for its users. With things so connected now, news gets older quickly. What’s happening today will be old news by tomorrow because people have access to things as they happen. That’s why news stations and their employees utilize these tools so much—it’s perfect for their jobs.

Some of us, however, aren’t as lucky to be in an industry as contemporary and “easily updated” as journalism. Some of us work in industries that are pretty set in stone. So, how exactly can these people keep instilling relevant content into their social media posts? No doubt, it can be a daunting task. However, these easy tips will help anyone stay trending.

• Hashtags- Not enough can be said about hashtags. These handy little tools aren’t just to describe what your post is about. It’s like shooting a flair up in the middle of the night. By using popular hashtags, you have the opportunity to be on people’s radar who are searching for the subject matter. Tags as simple as #recipes can work great for broader requests. Complicated tags like #NationalDonutDay2016 will narrow your reach, however you may be able to get better quality results. A big question we get asked is, how can you can tell what hashtags are popular today? It’s a good question. Follow some of the most popular twitter accounts and you can see some of the biggest hashtags in action. From celebrities to relevant companies, you’ll be able to analyze what others are doing. What if you don’t find any hashtags that are right for you? You need to spin your content in a way that will make it relevant. Even if you get to use broad tags like #TGIF or #ManicMondays, pretty universally relatable ones, you need to use something. This brings us to the next point…

• Don’t Only Post Sales- Let’s face it- nobody likes the equivalent of a used car salesman online. If your news feeds are only promotional posts, you’re not going to get much engagement, which is what it’s all about. You need to post relevant topics, but interesting ones as well. You’re supposed to post things that are eye-catching, fun, contemporary, or shocking. Controversial may or may not work for you, depending on your field, but you don’t want to start an online brawl while trying to seek attention. It’s not really recommended to post your own political commentary while writing on behalf of your business. You can also post things just for laughs. Keeping things light hearted can be good.

• Explore Your Field- You may be surprised by just how up-to-date your industry is. Sure, you can spotlight different aspects of your business in different posts and blogs, but look at the social media accounts of your fellow colleagues. From the big names to your local competitors, there are new changes in rules, equipment, policies, and customer requirements that you’ll benefit from reading yourself!

As you can see, there is no excuse your social media content can’t be relevant. These top ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. You’ll find great ways to generate your own creations as you dive in!

Do you have other ways of being relevant in your field? Let us know!

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Have Writers Block? Here’s the Secret to Developing a Constant Supply of Content Ideas

Content-Marketing
21Jul

As someone who is passionate about marketing, I love nothing more than having a solid list of approved resources to use when marketing on social media. In this post, I want to share how to concoct your own comprehensive list of content resources that you can add to and edit organically.

Businesses should have two sets of content resources that they use for marketing on social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+:

1. Industry topics, news, and trends that you read

2. Information that your target market read to learn more about your industry

If the second set of resources is new to you, don’t feel left behind. Many marketers leave these by the wayside when formulating a social media marketing strategy. The problems with leaving out this set of resources is that you lose touch with what is important to your target market and just push your agenda down their throats, no matter how off-base it is.  Remember, your content needs to be engaging, and understanding what your audience wants is the first step towards engagement.

First, I want you to think about key problems that your product or service solves.  Get a pad of paper and write down five or more problems that your product or services alleviate.

For example, if I was an assisted living facility that specializes in Memory Care for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, my list might look like this:

1. Alzheimer’s

2. Dementia

3. Aging Parents

4. Memory Care

5. Respite Care

All of the above directly relate to assisted living facilities with memory care units. Let me share another one.  How about a diet pill that suppresses hunger?

1. Eating Disorders

2. Overeating

3. Overweight

4. Obesity

5. Weight Loss

See how each of these is related to the diet pill?

Now, for each problem that your product/services solves, come up with 5-10 topics that can be associated with each problem.  For example, let’s use the diet pill again.  The problem it solves is being overweight/obesity.  So 5 topics that can be associated with the problems of being overweight are:

1. Diabetes

2. Lack of Energy

3. Low Self-Esteem

4. Loneliness

5. Heart Problems

Now identify at least one online resource that corresponds to each topic.  An online resource can be a website, newsfeed, or even a hashtag!  In the case of the diet pill, a health blog or an online fitness magazine could be a great resource, write down the name of the resource with the website address next to it for easy future access.

When you are done with this, start a list of websites that you personally visit to find news related to your industry.  Write down all of the websites that you go to for the latest trend and news with the website address written beside them.  Come up with 5-10 of these as well.

To help you get started, here are a few sites to try out:

1.  Alltop

2. Feedly

3. Hashtags.org

4. Quora

5. Buzzsumo

These lists are invaluable going forward because you need to generate content when using social media to market your business.  Having an approved list of resources is paramount to success.   These will help inspire your writing as well as help you easily find information to share with your target audience that will be valuable to them.

If you like this process, and would like some extra credit, expand your list to include opinion leaders within your industry.  These people share lots of valuable information that you could repurpose as useful tips for your audience.  In order to create an engaging social media strategy, knowing where you can go to pull fresh, engaging ideas for content is an absolute must!

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