Tag : Content Curation

5 Unlikely Industries That Excel At Social Media Marketing

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3Nov

When we say social media marketing applies to any business, we mean ANY business. Still, some professionals don’t feel their industry fits this progressive marketing’s mold. It’s time to wake up!

Are you a professional in one of the following fields and refuse to use social media for business? Check out the ways social media marketing can work for you.

Realtors.
The internet is a miracle worker for real estate agents. From Zillow to Trulia, houses close in a snap these days. While this is great news, Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms have the potential to help in a more human and personable way and compliment your Zillow activity as opposed to replacing it. Post your current inventory, share success stories, keep people informed about the current housing market climate. It’s the perfect tool for communication!

Mom and Pop Retail Shop Owners.Just because your company may be more traditional in nature doesn’t mean there isn’t room for social media. Post web-exclusive sales, new merchandise, fun and entertaining content, and of course holiday greetings to your customers.

Restaurant Owners.Yelp and other review-centric sites have made the internet a useful tool. Unfortunately, Yelp doesn’t allow the restaurant to have a voice of its own. That’s why you need a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Post those lovely food pics, share your specials, but most importantly, these platforms allow a place for user-generated content. People can post their positive experiences, reviews, and their own platter pics. The best part is, you can closely monitor what people are saying. Whether you have a pizza shop on the boardwalk or a downtown bistro, there’s a seat for you on social media.

Financial Advisors.Finance may not be the most visually-appealing of industries, but without a doubt, social media marketing is a great place for client connectivity. Post free advice, tips, news, and more. Overall, it’s essential to have the communication lines open.

Charities. A charitable organization is all about spreading the word, right? Social media marketing is the perfect tool for this. Raising awareness about your cause has never been easier with the help of Facebook events, live video, success stories, testimonials, and so much more. We work with several charitable organizations, and we’re proud to say that we helped raise funding for extremely important causes.

No matter what your industry is, social media can help raise brand awareness, credibility, and establish an extraordinary online presence.

Are you unsure about how to begin? Contact us today to learn about our consultation packages!

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Today’s Top Apps To Help Social Media Marketers

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2Nov

The industry of mobile apps is one of the most thriving aspects of software development in our current time. The sheer versatility that an app can possess seems almost infinite. It transforms our tablets and smartphones into gaming platforms, televisions, digital assistants, and so much more. It’s more than just playing Angry Birds and watching Netflix anymore. It’s about enhancing the most crucial aspects of our lives.

For social media managers, the App Store and Google Play stores are saving graces. If there’s something we cannot do with our basic tools, we can download one in no time. While I’ve written about popular apps before, it’s always good to stroll the digital aisles and see what new tools our fellow marketers can utilize now. So, as 2016 reaches its twilight days and the holiday season is revving its engines, let’s see what’s available for our online conquests.

1. Slack. A marketing team is all about communication. However, communication is also needed amongst the team as well.  Slack can help your employees keep in touch and tackle the toughest parts of the work day. Consider it a social media network, exclusively for your business!

2. LinkedIn Recruiter. If you’re using LinkedIn for one of its primary functions, to create a professional network, you might be able to enlist the best and the brightest new employees through LinkedIn Recruiter. It’s a new service that the “newly-acquired-by-Microsoft” platform is pushing heavily, but it might actually come in handy for those trying to generate a workforce through marketing efforts.

3. Facebook Pages Manager. Let’s face it, the world is only getting more mobile. Social media is helping with this process. Facebook Pages Manager helps us well, manage our Facebook pages. Simple enough right? This stand-alone app is solely dedicated to business professionals and helps us focus on the practical side of social media. You’ll now have to switch apps to be disrupted by your friend’s fun videos and rants about the election.

4. TypiMage. Now for some visual aids. It’s important to tweak your visual aid strategy regularly. You don’t want your pictures to get stale. TypiMage sees the need for a balance of text and images in social media posts and allows you to create stunning images with a unique catalog of typography effects. Get ready to get put your creative hat on.

5. Polarr Photo Editor. Of course, Adobe Photoshop will always be one of the top names in the photo editing and graphic design industries. That being said, the world of apps has certainly given the expensive software a run for its money. Polarr allows users to tweak photos so the subject matter is in the best possible light (or filter, or color saturation, or, well, you get the idea).

The app industry won’t be stopping anytime soon. As long as we’re still going gaga for smartphones and tablets, apps will be in demand. Social media marketers should smile about this fact and that there are so many apps to choose from in so many categories that we need to do our research to learn which of the millions are worth the download. These programs that people pour countless man hours into are available for either free or inexpensive, so start experimenting!

No time to fiddle with these apps? Come to us! Every week, our managers study new strategies, and this includes apps, websites, and new tools to make our client’s campaigns the best possible!

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The 5 Essential Steps To Social Media Images

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1Nov

Balance. Not a word that people often associate with social media marketing, but in reality, it’s one of the most important elements of a successful strategy. Just like a meditating monk or a juggler, balance is essential.

But what is there to balance? For one thing, the balance of visual tools and text. One cannot live without the other in the world of social media marketing. Now that Twitter no longer counts imagery against its 140 character count, there is no excuse for not using imagery. That being said, you need quality pics, videos, and GIFs. The following are the best approaches to social media visuals.

1.  Platform logistics. I bet you thought we were going to get all creative didn’t you? Well, that comes later. First, you need to know the dimensions each platform requires. Pinterest images are better if laid out vertically, while Instagram prefers squared images. For full details about what size every image should be, check out our article on the subject here.

2. Eye-Catching Material. Sure, it’s easy to say “make your images eye-catching,” but how do you actually accomplish this?

First, choose an appropriate subject matter. Whether it’s a model, a plate of gourmet food, or a mechanic smiling next to a newly-repaired pickup, have an image that makes people interested and represents what the post is about.

Secondly, make sure the image is high-quality. No blurry photos! Low-resolution photographs or graphics will make your company look like amateurs.

Finally, whether you’re using image editing software or you’re going the “no filter” route, make sure your images have bold colors, snappy text where applicable, and simple, albeit iconic, message.

3. Collage, Slideshows, and More. If you’re going with the static image route, you have a few opportunities to spice things up. Add multiple images to a collage or slideshow to appeal to our media-hungry senses. You can also add music and special effects to images via certain third-party apps. When dealing with Snapchat and Instagram, utilize the array of tools that they’ve already given you!

4. Videos and GIFs. As any social media marketer will tell you, video content is on the rise. 2016 witnessed many software developers trying to take advantage of the video craze. Do you lack a certain Spielberg quality to filmmaking techniques? No worries! You can create a hybrid of sorts with pictures, text, and effects thanks to video editing software like Ripl or Viva Video.

5. Live Video. Are you ready to take the ultimate leap into truly engaging visuals? Nothing pulls followers in an interactive and live video session between you and your customers. Periscope, Facebook Live, and now YouTube allow businesses to connect with their fans in this phenomenal way. You can answer questions on the spot, showcase new products, and much more.

These five steps are proven methods to drum up more engagement by staying in touch with contemporary practices. So, you want a balance between text and imagery? Here’s your path to image excellence. For the best way to get the best written-word, check out this blog!

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Why Social Media Marketing Makes Your Company Contemporary

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31Oct

Remember when we all thought that the future would have flying cars, robot butlers, and pneumatic tubes everywhere? It looks like the Jetsons were a tad off. Instead, we’re working with the thinnest, sleekest, and fastest phones, computers, and tablets. What does all of it have in common? The internet. Heck, even our refrigerators and cars have internet access now.

The world wide web is a defining factor of not only this decade, but our generation. The ways in which we work, communicate, play, and connect has been reshaped into a more convenient and intelligent form. However, one most significant aspect of our lives that has changed is marketing. Is your business with the times?

In today’s age, a mass majority of businesses are on social media in one aspect or another. Whether we’re talking about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or LinkedIn, social media, in a nutshell, has become the central hub for internet users. This is why over 50 million businesses have signed up to Facebook alone. They’re going where the people roam.To have a business profile on social media means your business is not under a rock. Instead, you’re making an effort to connect with customers in a way they love. It’s not just about promotions. It’s about being a part of the community.

Social media has become the go-to place for communication. Whether it’s spreading awareness about events, promotions, news, personal updates, etc. This is the place where people go now. When you add the marketing aspect to it, businesses can reap the rewards of social media’s popularity. Even though there aren’t the retro-futuristic gadgets we all thought we would have by now, social media marketing is pretty fantastic.

Contact us today to stay relevant and build your brand’s online presence!

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# Marks The Spot: How To Hunt For Social Media Content

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30Oct

At times, social media marketing may feel like a treasure hunt without the map. That golden piece of content to like, share, and expand upon tends to be difficult to find without the right tools. But this isn’t a reason to give up. On the contrary, this content will help shape your marketing strategy for the better, so you need to track it down! Check out the best places and avenues to find content that’s not only relevant to your industry but highly engaging.

Reputable sources. Whether the news source is industry-specific or a dedicated news station like CNBC or Huffington Post, a prominent, respectable name is always a great place to search for content. It will validate the article’s reputability and bring a sense of professionalism to your brand.

Content delivery systems. Sure, technically Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are awesome sources for news, but there are times when you need to hone in on a particular subject matter or filter out unnecessary posts. That’s why there are tools like Feedly, Nuzzel, and Daily by Buffer to help you weed through the internet mess to the most trending topics and articles.

Social media managing tools. Hootsuite and Buffer are places to schedule, analyze, and publish content, but you can also use handy tools to filter tweets, updates, and posts by keyword, hashtags, or accounts.

Blogs. There are many blogs out there that are powered by industry influencers and experienced experts. A quick Google search could open a brand new world to relevant and reliable sites that you can regularly check for content.

Google Alerts. Finally, the internet can be wrangled into one nice blast to your email thanks to Google Alerts. Set up a few alerts for your most important subjects and just wait for the content to come flowing every day. I would suggest to only set up a few because that will be enough to keep your inbox from erupting but you will still get a plethora of content and ultimately, inspiration.

There’s no reason to be lost on your content treasure hunt. In reality, there is so much material for every possible subject matter that you will have to weed through good articles to choose which one works best for you!

What about original content? Contact us today to learn how our experts can create content for you that other businesses will want to share!

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Why Social Media Marketers Need To Go Native

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7Sep
Sometimes, social media platforms’ algorithms present wonderful opportunities for marketers. Other times, they create challenges. The need for native content is a bit of both. Facebook, among other platforms, realized that they are better off when users stay inside their walls. They want people to stay on Facebook as long and often as possible. That’s why native content has become so important and given priority. How can marketers jump on board? Here are the three main ways to take advantage of native content benefits:
Auto-Play. One of the most significant ways for a company to reap the rewards of native content is video. If you upload original videos to Facebook itself as opposed to linking it from YouTube, your content will be featured in their auto-play stream. When mobile Facebook users watch one video, it starts a constant stream instantly playing videos that are on their feed. If your video has been uploaded to Facebook, it’s a part of your followers’ streams, raising your chances of views and engagement. That’s the whole point of the game!
Instant Articles. Recently, Facebook unrolled Instant Articles in their armory of mobile-exclusive benefits. This service also caters to the native content system because writers will publish a whole article on Facebook instead of sharing it through links. Blogs, rants, articles, and long forms appear quicker and, thanks to Facebook’s equations, more prominently on news feeds. Because the article will actually live on the social media giant as opposed to a blog or website, there are several benefits.
Images. When creating an update, you should always upload an image that you have created. Additionally, if you are sharing a web page, you may want to consider “killing the preview” and uploading relevant imagery to Facebook itself.
Now, obviously, sometimes this is impossible. You can’t copy someone else’s news article and share it via Instant Articles, nor can you upload parts of your website and showcase them. Native content can, and should, only go so far. For this reason, a company’s social media schedule should have a hearty mix of native and curated content. Keep in mind that while creating original work and uploading it onto your social media site of choice will take longer than simply sharing a link, these updates will give your accounts hefty spikes in views and engagement opportunities. Additionally, boosting native content with advertising will skyrocket that post to new heights.
How do you use native content? Share below!

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Evergreen Content VS Dated Content: What’s The Big Difference?

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3Sep

Did you know that Apple is going to reveal iPhone 7 soon? That may be news at the time of this article’s publication, but in maybe a month or just a few weeks, that sentence will have dated this whole article. In a year, we’ll be getting ready for iPhone 7S, or whatever version Apple is planning next. (Rumors say it’s a big one since it will be the iPhone’s 10th birthday, but I digress) When that happens, that sentence will look like a relic in the eyes of the internet. This type of situation is something all social media marketers need to be attentive to!

Our sentence above is one of the defining factors of dated, or time-sensitive content.This isn’t to say that news updates are bad for social media. Much like weekends, they may not last forever, but they sure are important to our lives. Yet your social media content cannot entirely consist of these fleeting moments. A company’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other accounts need some non-perishables in the mix. Content that will never expire, or evergreen content, is crucial for high engagement rates and legitimacy to your brand. We’re not just talking about stone-cold facts from textbooks (although those would definitely count as evergreen content). This type of content simply needs to stand the test of time. A mission statement, code of ethics, tried and true details about your industry, promotional materials, etc.

Now, why would a business’ social media page need both? Because that’s how the internet works. It’s a constant flow of fleeting and forever content. We see it every day without even realizing it. Trending items deliver a powerful boost to your social media marketing, while evergreen content is your core. Without one or the other, your content strategy will be incomplete. 

Time-sensitive content will show that your company is updated, adaptable, and aware of contemporary business practices. Evergreen content expresses your industry knowledge, experience, and professionalism. It’s plain to see why you would want to have both, right?

At The Go! Agency, we take extra efforts to strike just the right balance of these two categories of content. Our clients deserve to have every reward social media has to offer, and it’s the marketer’s duty to accomplish that.

How does your business utilize both these types of content? Share your story below!

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8 Steps To Conquer Social Media Writer’s Block

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28Aug

Social media marketing requires a large amount of creative juices and sometimes, the well runs dry. It’s okay, it happens to the best of us. Unfortunately, the internet isn’t going to wait for inspiration to strike once more. You need to jumpstart your imagination so you can make fresh, engaging content for your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn and send it out to the content-hungry masses on a daily basis. How is this possible?

Making content for social media is another form of creative writing, which means there is a bit of subjectivity to it. As any writer can attest, crafting the right message isn’t always easy. You constantly have to figure out attractive content that will draw people to your business. How do you find that much-needed spark? Here are the top 8 tips that will help:

  1. Look into your analytics. You may have the answer lying in your previously published posts. Have videos been getting a lot of attention? Maybe it’s a sale? Try to tap into what already has been working. Additionally, just reading what you’ve already made can be enough to get the gears turning.
  2. Look at competitors. Perhaps your quest for inspiration will land you on a competitor’s social media page. Studying how they approach Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms could help you see social media in a new light. That being said, don’t plagiarize!
  3. Stick to a schedule. You will be surprised how sticking to a specific schedule will help you stay creative. Perhaps you feel like you can write better in the morning, or maybe it’s the afternoon. Either way, a schedule can give a subconscious spark of creativity.
  4. Check out what’s trending. There’s no time like the present and that should also be the case for social media marketing. Check out what’s trending on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Somewhere amongst the headlines and hashtags, you may be able to spin a topic to your company’s advantage.
  5. Stay organized. Write down any and all ideas, even if you don’t have room for them at the moment. Trust us, a time will come when you need an extra idea or two. In addition to writing things down, keep the ideas organized and at a convenient spot.
  6. Review your company’s mission. Don’t forget who you’re writing for. Head to your company’s website and review the “About” or “Our Mission” sections. Get pumped up to be a part of such a great company! You can always take a step back and watch your other employees and see if their work will inspire you.
  7. Take the first step – Just start writing! I know, easier said than done right? Trust us! Even if you begin with just random words on the page, a bit of creative gibberish will be a great exercise for the mind.
  8. Take a step back. Go for a walk! Staring at a blank screen doesn’t help. Come back after you try some of these other steps and start with a fresh. 

Social media marketing thrives on intriguing stories, engaging content, and compelling writing. It’s the core of the message you’re trying to convey. If you ever feel stuck, try out these tips to get your writing!
What other brainstorming ideas do you have? Share below!

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Scandalous Social Media! How To Stay Away From Controversy

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23Aug

There’s no doubt about it – people love gossip, controversy, and scandal. It’s these spicy little tidbits that keep the internet alive and thriving. Whenever a celebrity or politician says something wrong, we eat it up as quickly as possible. While this is entirely true, it could be a road block for social media marketers.

While the best social media content taps into current events, it’s best to ignore certain red flag headlines completely. Trying to figure out which topics to integrate into your marketing can be a delicate situation and requires a good amount of discernment from your team.

This is imperative to keep in mind as we get even deeper into this election year. Everyone has their opinions about the Presidential candidates, but should your business have one? Sure, if you want to alienate or offend those customers who disagree. It isn’t a business’ role to provide commentary about politics, religion, or other sensitive subjects. We are all human, we all have beliefs and stances, but when someone represents a business, they become a part of a larger brand. If your company’s marketing team makes this mistake, you will surely get the wrong type of attention. “Any publicity is good publicity” isn’t the case when you join in a controversy.

So, how exactly can you tell the difference between controversial issues and positive current events? When in doubt, stay positive! From light-hearted holidays to positive news like a local team winning the big game, there are plenty of news stories to incorporate into social media content.

Additionally, focus on industry-relevant news that will attract the right people. Once again, though, be careful. As you could imagine, there are controversial subjects in every field of work. Medical professionals, stay away from malpractice stories. Auto Repair shops, steer clear of drunk driver headlines.  Retail stores, don’t create a controversy by badmouthing your competitors.

It’s simple, really. Provide informative, educational information, that’s relevant to what’s happening now, but there’s no need to explore heavy subjects. As we have seen in the past, a controversy can spread very quickly, and social media is all about communication. As always, act professionally, courteously, and stick to your business!

How do you stay relevant, but not controversial? Share your thoughts below!

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Emojis – :) or :( ? What A Smile Says About Marketing

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20Aug

A long time ago, someone very clever saw a colon and a parenthesis next to each other, turned their head, and saw a smiley face. That was the beginning of what we now call Emojis. Now, we see these little images on text messages, emails, and social media posts every day. They have fully integrated themselves into text-based communication, and they express our feelings, activities, even nationalities. It seems that there’s an Emoji for almost everything these days. So, what can social media marketers learn from a smiley face?

Emojis’ rise in overwhelming popularity and pop culture presence is a direct byproduct of the smartphone’s reign. They originally accompanied text messages on Apple and Android devices as a downloadable keyboard. Now, phones come pre-equipped with an expansive library of Emojis due to their popularity.

Products such as Pepsi, Domino’s, and General Electric have integrated the symbols into their marketing. The smiley faces are appearing on our soda bottles, and we can even order a pizza with a few Emojis of pizza slices if you can believe it. It seems to be dominating communication lines, but most importantly, they appear to be replacing traditional words. Is this even possible? The Millennial generation is, by far, the ones to use Emoji the most. They certainly like this quick, to the point, and colorful. We even see texts being comprised 100% of Emojis. The power of the written word is being replaced by an icon. The most important thing to realize about Emojis is that they are shortcuts. They are time savers that are used so someone doesn’t have to actually read a sentence.

Twitter has a special affinity for Emojis. Twitter itself is the embodiment of quick and snappy wordage, but now they are coming up with new ways to incorporate Emojis into a tweet’s reach. If you use an airplane Emoji, Twitter’s algorithm will recognize it as the word “airplane”, and you will receive all the benefits that come with that content. Once again, this internet tool is a space saver.

Does this mean that all your Facebook posts or tweets should be expressed via Emojis? Absolutely not. Sure, these pictures could be taken lightly and seen as a fad, a way to spice up a message, but it brings up two major elements of social media to consider.

First, the rise of Emojis indicates that people’s patience for longer texts is starting to shrink. Social media marketers need to craft their copy in a way that the message comes off immediately, and there is nothing vague to decipher. People will only give your message so much of their time, especially on social media. This doesn’t mean the art forms of the blog or long forms are starting to die. But rather, social media users demand the updates in their feeds to give them the info they need so they can move along down the timeline.

Secondly, Emojis emphasizes the power of the almighty image. It’s easy to see how powerful visuals are on social media, and the rise of these images are even more evidence that massive blocks of texts in updates on Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms just aren’t attractive for the average social media consumer. A picture can make or break your social media campaign as well as video. Emojis are still pictures after all, despite their size and usage. As compelling as any text can be, imagery will bring engagement possibilities to new heights.   

Trends such as Emojis are important for any marketer. They open up the opportunity for these professionals to recognize, analyze, adapt, and learn. To survive the wild landscapes of the internet, you need to do all four, and maybe use a smiley face every now and again. 🙂

What do you think of Emojis? Comment below!

 

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