How To Heat Up Your Hashtag Game

11Aug

Advertising, Business, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Local Marketing, Marketing, Periscope, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized

One of the most important elements of social media marketing is to spread your content as far as possible. To achieve this goal, we have hashtags as handy tools. These little guys allow our posts to appear when someone searches for that hashtag. They’re basically the advanced version of a keyword. Simple, right? Hashtags are easy to learn, but can take some finesse to master. Here are the best ways to make the famous internet tool work for you!

Know your platform’s limits. Do you think all the social media platforms are the same? Think again. The way each site uses hashtags is completely different. You should not use more than three for Facebook. There isn’t a limit for Twitter, but you still have that 140 character limit hanging over your head. LinkedIn and Pinterest don’t use hashtags at all, rather utilize keywords. Instagram, on the other hand, is the king of hashtags. Be professional, but 10-15 hashtags max is recommended.

Do your research. A hashtag will only do its job if someone is actually looking for it. You need to figure out what is trending. Luckily, you have tools. Ritetag and Hashtagify are both third party websites that allow you to see what the market is talking about. Facebook and Twitter both have trending sections that allow you to see what all the buzz is about at the time.

Don’t be too specific. #FacebookSocialMediaMarketing may not get as many hits as #Facebook, #SocialMedia, #SocialMediaMarketing and #Marketing. You want to make sure that people are searching that exact phrase, otherwise your content won’t come up.

Don’t be too broad. On the opposite side of things, you want to make sure your hashtag isn’t going to drown in a sea of the same. #California may work, but if you are trying to get San Diego residents to pay attention, #SanDiego will work better. Otherwise, people who are looking for things pertaining to San Francisco may also see your post and it will be a waste.

You need a little bit of imagination, research, and common sense to master hashtags. The symbol that used to be called the pound symbol is now your best friend in the social media world, but you need to know how to use them!

How do you use hashtags? Share below!

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Is Facebook Adding Commercial Breaks To Your Videos?

By Christopher Tompkins

9Aug

Advertising, Business, Facebook, Local Marketing, Marketing, Periscope, Snapchat, Social networking, Uncategorized, Video

It looks like we are going full circle with advertisements. TV gave us ads mid-program and the internet provided uninterrupted entertainment. Now, however, Facebook is about to try a nostalgic business tactic by testing “mid-roll” ads on Facebook Live.

The social media giant is trying to find a way to incorporate advertisements during live broadcasts in order to boost revenue on their fairly new service, Facebook Live. They are hoping to work with pre-existing advertisers as well to get bigger names onto their live-streaming website.

The most important part for business owners is that this is proof of the following two things.

One, that live streaming video, while still being tweaked by the big names such as Facebook and Twitter via their sister site Periscope, is going to impact marketers in a big way in the future. Businesses from many industries are beginning to use these platforms to debut products, broadcast events, host Q & As, and more. It’s an attempt to get social media to be more “in the moment” and well, social.

Secondly, this shows how much advertising is Facebook’s bread and butter. Since it is a free service, they are making advertising more and more essential for companies to thrive on their site. Twitter, Instagram, and others are not much further behind Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg’s thought process. Without advertising, there is little revenue. However, they definitely reward those who pay them. Advertising through social media has become a huge source of attention and a way to spread a brand’s reach.

Commercial breaks seem to be on the return as people become more invested in streaming video. It may be time for you to get your camera ready and start going live!

What do you think of Facebook’s new advertising method? Share your thoughts!

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What The Presidential Election Can Teach Us About Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

8Aug

Advertising, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Local Marketing, Marketing, Periscope, Pinterest, Snapchat, Social Media, Twitter, Uncategorized

You may not have noticed if you’ve been in outer space for the past two years, but it’s time for the Presidential Election again. Everyone knows who the two major candidates are and what they stand for. By the time November hits, most of us will be able to recite the many commercials by heart.

Social media has had a substantial role in spreading Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s thoughts and opinions. It also allows everyone else to state their own thoughts about issues and who they want to vote for. Where does this put a business amongst all the debates and promotions? For one thing, this whole thing can be used as a learning experience. Here are the top lessons to take away from the Presidential Election that you can use for your own social media marketing:

Negativity spreads. Unfortunately, we have seen controversial tweets, posts, and other forms of marketing and due to the reachability social media grants us, it’s not easily forgotten. That being said, if something negative is said about your business online, social media becomes a tool for you to be able to contain the situation and address the problem in a professional manner.

Positivity spreads. Yes, even if though negative messages can spread quickly, so can well-crafted, beneficial content. Your followers are both your audience and siphon, they have the ability to amplify your reach by sharing, retweeting, and commenting.

Advertising works. What would an election be without ads? What would a business be? Facebook, Twitter, even Pinterest offers advertising opportunities for your brand’s message to spread all over the world, or just around the block.

News and social media are symbiotic. Current events and social media seem to be in a give-take relationship. While social media is supposed to reflect the real world, the opposite can happen and a good or bad Tweet could raise headlines. Be sure to be knowledgeable of trends on social media and how you can use them.

The most important thing to take out of this is that everyone is watching. Be sure to choose your words carefully, but you do need to speak, or your lack of internet presence will make you look obsolete.

What marketing tactics have you learned from this election? Share with us below!

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Why Reddit Is About To Make Marketers Smile

By Christopher Tompkins

3Aug

Reddit, Social Media

From its inception, Reddit seemed to be the exception to many social media rules. Yes, you talked to people, but not people you knew in real life. You could like (or upvote) content, but you could also downvote it to internet oblivion. As popular as it is, Reddit always seemed to be an alternative to mainstream tactics. Well, one major change is in the works for the website, and marketers are sure to smile.

Reddit announced a new plan to feature sponsored posts online. This is a significant change for the platform, as it tried to keep advertising to a minimum. Unsurprisingly, like everything else with Reddit, this update is just slightly different than Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This marketing effort will do something truly unique, which will allow brands to sponsor user generated content. This means that if a company sees a post that puts their product in a positive light or is relevant to their industry, they can work with Reddit administrators to sponsor that post. Reddit will then ask the post’s creator for permission, and if everyone is on the same page, magic will happen. The user will be compensated with gold. No, not real gold, but rather Reddit Gold which is their premium service.

As you could imagine, this is something untested. Since “Redditors” have an aggressive stance on any corporate advertising, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman hopes this will be a natural and non-intrusive way to make revenue. By actually helping content instead of being a distraction, the reception may have a better light than previous attempts.

One thing Reddit and its future sponsors should be wary of is reposts. Like all other social media platforms, users tend to repost pieces of content that were not originally theirs. At times, Redditors will acknowledge this, while others are simply taking trying to get some internet glory through another’s work. Perhaps a simple reverse image search could solve some situations, but deeper digging may be beneficial to the company.

If advertising is implemented correctly, Reddit may be able to gain some steady income which will result in better upgrades for the site and it’s all uphill from there. This update shows just how important advertising is for social media platforms and marketers need to take advantage of this need. Because of this, they will deliver extensive benefits to brands and companies. Reddit’s new service is scheduled to launch August 4th.

What do you think of Reddit’s new advertising venture? Comment below!

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The Best Ways To Level Up Your Social Media Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

2Aug

Social Media

To this day, Facebook, Twitter, and the other social media platforms proudly proclaim that they are a free service. This business model is both a groundbreaking and troublesome tactic for companies trying to promote. Users can log into their profiles worry-free and see what their friends, family, and favorite brands are up to. While individuals may not have any price to pay, companies are a different story. There are several ways to enhance a professional social media marketing campaign. Yes, some may cost some money, but their results will truly make a significant difference.

A big mistake some social media marketers make is sticking to the concept that social media is free advertising. At first glance, it certainly seems that way. Free exposure on the world’s biggest websites! It seems too good to be true, and you would be right in thinking that.

Here is the dilemma in a nutshell. Because of the “free factor”, there are many people and businesses roaming these websites. There are over 1.6 billion users on Facebook alone. Obviously, you are going to need some help to stand above the masses. Additionally, each website has a specific algorithm to help deliver what they think is the best content for each user. Algorithms may or may not put your content’s reachability at a disadvantage, and a social media marketer needs to know how to circumvent these obstacles. Unfortunately, the playing field isn’t as level as it used to be. You are going to need some secret weapons to succeed on the internet. Here are the most helpful tools that are well worth it:

Third Party Tools- As intuitive as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the others are, they aren’t perfect. Fortunately, there are some amazingly helpful tools to assist you along the way.

Hootsuite is a great tool that helps you on multiple fronts. It offers scheduling services, news streams for researching content, detailed analytics, and more. Consider Hootsuite your social media all-in-one pocket knife, equipped with tons of tools you will need.

RiteTag helps social media marketers understand the current trends and hashtags that are getting the most attention. This will help your content stay relevant.

Grammarly will help your team stay professional by helping their writing stick to proper spelling and grammar. Nothing is worse than a glaring typo!

Advertising- As we have said, the websites we all know and love contain algorithms designed to help the user. At times, however, this may cause an extra hurdle to overcome for marketers. To allow your content to soar above the rest, you need to advertise on Facebook, Twitter, and the others. Social media websites need to make money through advertising, but they do make it worth your while by putting your content in the best possible locations.

Outsourcing- Let’s face it. Social media isn’t as easy as you thought. There are many intricacies that need to be adhered to every single day. Your employees may be too busy to manage multiple pages. That’s why outsourcing your social media marketing is such a helpful solution. At The Go! Agency, our social media managers are thoroughly trained to handle everything the online marketing world throws their way in a quick, professional, and creative manner.

Social media marketing is too important to take lightly or to take the cheap route. Yes, it is an investment, but every business can benefit from having a strong online presence. The world is heading down a digital highway, and you need to be ready to cruise along!

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Why Your Social Media Content Is Flopping

By Christopher Tompkins

2Aug

Copywriting, Social Media

Is social media an artform? We would certainly like to think so. Sure, we may not be dealing with paint or pottery, but it is a very creative industry. Whether you agree with that statement or not, it undoubtedly shares the subjectivity of the art world and like paintings, music, and sculptures, there will be some mistakes made. This ambiguity is why practicing, and tweaking your method is essential to becoming a social media master!

Certain tactics work amazingly well for some users, while the same will flop for others’ business pages. Additionally, a particular type of post could produce substantial engagement once, and it could gain little to no attention at another point in time. Like all marketing, social media campaigns require time, effort, and critical analysis to succeed.

For those just getting started in social media, well, welcome to the 21st century! Yet regardless if you are just starting out or trying to fine tune your content, this type of marketing can be daunting. Social media trends are reflective of users’ wants, concerns, and current interests. Because of this, strategizing can be intimidating, albeit necessary. It’s time to experiment a little bit, see what hits home to your audience. You need to generate creative, bold, and attractive content that is going to get your page noticed. After all, practice makes perfect, and nobody is going to visit your page if it’s empty.

To get the most out of social media, you should ask yourself these three questions:

What is the message I want to send out?
Who do I want to read it?
How do I want to convey it?

You need to be able to answer these questions without breaking a sweat. Your content, whether they are news articles, promotions, quizzes, or blogs, should abide by your goals. You are going to need some PR tactics to score big on social media, which means you will have to spin content in your favor.

Once you assess your content using these three questions, ask yourself three more:

Which types of posts are the most engaging?

Where do you see the most response? (Facebook? Twitter? Instagram?)

When are people reading your posts? (Sunday mornings? Tuesday nights?)

Your content should never contradict any of the answers to these questions, and the answers should never contradict your business’ mission statement. These are the elements of social media marketing that will either make or break a company’s online presence. Many companies don’t understand the importance of crafting a thought out strategy. Some will just continuously spit out the same type of content carelessly. Others will just use their Facebook, Twitter, or other profiles as sounding boards for sales and only sales. As you might guess, people aren’t going to flock to an “ad only” page. There are many pitfalls to avoid when trying to create quality posts.

So, why are your posts flopping? It might be time to sit down and reassess your approach. By answering these six questions and understanding where your social media posts stand, you may find the source of the problem. During your journey of internet introspection, specifically look out for inconsistencies of tone, irregular posting times, grammar errors, typos, and irrelevant content. Once you straighten out the kinks in your plan, stick to it and be patient! Social media is not typically an overnight success, so you need to keep on top of things and observe your growth attentively. Like the great artist of history, social media marketers should step back and stare at their canvas to formulate a detail-oriented plan. This was the first in a series about how to effectively succeed at social media marketing and what to avoid. Be sure to watch out for more to follow!

Share your thoughts below about how you approach social media!

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Why Bloggers Need Facebook Instant Articles

By Christopher Tompkins

27Jul

Copywriting, Facebook, Social Media

Facebook is starting to resemble an all-inclusive resort- they do not like guests leaving their walls. Native content is becoming more preferred lately, and Facebook is providing new ways of keeping content inside Facebook.

We originally saw this with videos. Video streams now continuously play videos that were uploaded to Facebook, allowing users to enjoy a steady flow of content. Yet this takes attention away from YouTube links and could bring engagement down. Now, Facebook has made a new tool called Instant Articles that are specially crafted for your writing. Check out how Facebook’s next invention will help bloggers:

According to Facebook itself, readers of Instant Articles are 70% less likely to close the article before finishing. There are 20% more Instant Articles read on average as opposed to a link to a blog. Additionally, they are 10x faster to upload than being taken out of Facebook to open a new website. This is because you have actually uploaded it to Facebook itself, and there is nothing else to load!
These special types of articles are also interactive. You can add videos and pictures and they can perform in unique ways. Essentially, you are making a new version of the article that is optimized for a mobile device, which will deliver some added benefits.
Facebook also states that Instant Articles are more likely to be shared than traditional posts.

As you can see, there are some perks to creating an Instant Article version of your blog. It is still your content, but it will now live on Facebook and your readers will appreciate it when reading on the go.

What are your thoughts on Instant Articles? Comment below!

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Your Website: Your Social Media’s Biggest Fan

By Christopher Tompkins

26Jul

Advertising, Business, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized, Website Design, YouTube

Online marketing is a broad term that encompasses both social media and a company’s website. Because of this, these two need to work symbiotically. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the other platforms need help from your website, and vice versa.

There is a bit of quid pro quo in online marketing. Some social media content should send the reader back to the website so they can read informative web pages, fill out forms, etc. On the other side, a website needs to be designed with those social media icons proudly being promoted in a prominent corner. There are so many websites out there that tuck away the links to its company’s social media page and even if you wanted to find their accounts, you wouldn’t be able to! It is very important to have those buttons right where viewers can see them.

Your website will generally stay the same. It tends to be a steadfast, unwavering piece of marketing as opposed to social media which is constantly updated with news, sales, articles, etc. You can see why these elements are very important to a successful online presence.

When promoting separate pages on social media, do not always link back to your home page. Share the wealth of attention to other pages that can provide the customer further insights into what makes your company tick. One of these important pages is your blog.

A blog can be one of the most important parts of your website. It is one of the sections that is typically updated, albeit not as quickly as your social media. By promoting your blog on your social media pages, you will bring attention to your website, which is a valuable resource to your company. What’s that? You don’t have a blog? You need to start one up ASAP!

A business’ website and social media pages are both integral elements of online activity and as such, a good marketer knows how to take advantage of both.
How do you promote your website on social media? How do you promote your social media on your website? Share below!

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Why Your Business May Be Oversharing On Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

24Jul

Social Media

Geico has a new radio commercial talking about people “oversharing” on social media. They depict a woman that posts on Facebook every 10 minutes with photos, comments, and tags all her friends constantly. As social media marketers, we cringe at the commercial because we know the real implications oversharing can have.

Social media is becoming an established element in our society and as such, there are some unspoken rules. Here are the top 4 ways your followers may be yelling “TMI!” when checking out your updates:

1. Too many posts- Even if your updates strike the right balance of push and pull messages, flooding the social media channels with a massive amount of content is not recommended. This will surely annoy your followers. For Facebook and Instagram, it is recommended to post varying content twice a day. Twitter should be 3-4 tweets or original content (but don’t forget to utilize retweets and other tools on a daily basis)
2. Personal opinions- Don’t forget, you are representing your business when managing their social media page. It is not a good idea to push your personal beliefs on your company’s account. Do not talk about controversial, religious, or political subjects. It’s a good way to alienate or infuriate your customers.
3. Irrelevant sharing- If you manage social media for a law firm, you wouldn’t post a bunch of DIY carpentry videos, would you? Make sure the items you share are professional and somehow connect to your industry.
4. Inside References-We have all seen those social media posts that mean absolutely nothing to anyone except the people tagged in it. Do not send out those types of posts. Make sure everything is relatable to the general public. Even if you are mentioning an employee in an update, make sure people understand what you are talking about.

Quality over quantity is the name of the game in social media marketing. Be sure to take time and consider every post you share. After all, people from every walk of life will read it!

How do you feel about oversharing? Comment below!

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What Can Twitter Engage Do For Your Social Media?

By Christopher Tompkins

21Jul

Social Media, Twitter

Twitter really wants you to succeed. They had previously announced updates to the website’s infrastructure that will give more leeway for a tweet’s character count as well as allowing more options when retweeting. Now, they are offering us a brand new tool exclusive to American iOS devices. Engage, a companion app, will deliver helpful analytics to a marketer’s fingertips.

This new software allows Twitter users to study their tweets in real time through comprehensive data. Engage covers a wide range of area pertaining to the social media giant’s functionality and reachability. This will help marketers succeed and understand new insights.

Engage also notifies you of trends and important conversations happening on the internet as they happen. Now, you will never miss a trending hashtag or news story that could attract a slew of followers to your page. This brings a whole new meaning to “in the moment”!

Have you ever wondered who your content attracts? Engage allows you to study the demographics and activities of those who read your tweets. Are these the people you want to reach out to? If so, great job! If not, it may be time to tweak your writing and when you are ready to try again, Engage will be by your side.

Like Hootsuite and other third party analytic programs, Engage provides insights into your account’s performance. You can even compare post-by-post to see if your pictures, videos, GIFs, or text-based tweets do the best.

Why would Twitter create Engage? After all, it’s a free service and there is no profit to be made. They made it because those who run this social media platform appreciate that businesses all over the world use their website to market. Twitter has become a necessity in the business world, despite not having nearly the amount of tools Facebook offers. Now, Engage ushers in a new level of intuitive tools by Twitter itself, as opposed to third party applications. Twitter is proudly proclaiming that they want to help your business succeed.
What do you think of Twitter Engage? Comment below!

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