Location, Location, Location! How Your Region Affects Your Social Media Experience

13Jun

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

Even though the internet is a global institution, you’d be surprised just how significant your geographical location affects results. This is also true for social media. It might seem almost like an oxymoron. How could your current location matter when you’re sending something across the globe? It turns out things can change a lot. Here are the most significant elements that affect your social media experience:

–Research- Ever go on Twitter to see the top trending hashtags and are surprised to see a few of them apply to your current town? Yeah, that’s no coincidence. Many search engines, social media included, will adjust your results to accommodate your current location. This way, you’ll be able to really hone in on what’s going on in your area. The bad part of this, however, is that your attempts at finding nationally trending topics can be skewed. You can adjust these kinds of results in the settings of each site.

–Distinct Features- There are some added bonuses when using location services. Snapchat, the rising mobile-exclusive platform, offers Geofilters, which are illustrations to place over a photo or video that are only accessible in certain locations. You can also “Check-In” to places like businesses to promote their products. As a business owner, you can always encourage customers to check-in on their smartphones, which will spread your brand onto their newsfeeds. Periscope allows you to view broadcasters in your immediate area so you can see video streams from your favorite local spots.

While it may be creepy that your social media platforms know where you’re at, it can really help your social marketing efforts. You can take advantage of this by tapping into local markets in unique ways.

What do you think about social media location services? Comment below!

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4 Steps to Keep ALL Your Social Media Accounts Consistent

By Christopher Tompkins

11Jun

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

To really make it in the social media universe, you need to establish yourself on the most popular platforms. Becoming a user of many accounts is a great idea, but easier said than done. To truly take care of social media, your business will need one of the following:

– Facebook

– Twitter

– LinkedIn

– Instagram

– Twitter

– YouTube

Google+, Snapchat, Periscope, and more are helpful additions, but when you’re starting out, I’d try to tackle social media’s “Big 6” first. Take our word for it- it’ll be more work than you think. At first glance, you’ll want each of these accounts to be as unique as a snowflake. Well, first of all, you’ll turn social media into a round-the-clock gig if you do that. Second of all, your branding will become an absolute mess. While you want each post to be consistent, you don’t want each account to be unrecognizable from each other. Here are some of the best ways to keep your many profiles consistent with branding.

Pictures– Even if you have a large portfolio of headshots, and many versions of your logo, you need to stick with one for your profiles. You don’t want people guessing if it really is you. They want something familiar when trying to follow you!

Adapted Updates- When you’re writing your posts, you’ll typically want to make two versions. One will be for your Facebook, Google+, etc. The second one will be to conform to Twitter’s 140 character limit. For the Twitter version, you’ll also be able to mention other Twitter accounts with their twitter handle. For example, you can say “Congrats @JasonTodd for closing on your new house!”

Long Forms- When you’ve written an article based around your profession, you can share it on Facebook’s Notes feature, LinkedIn, and of course post it to your own blog. Social media is an exception to the “duplicate content” rule for websites. People who use social media tend to understand that these posts are yours and you should spread it through all avenues.

Keeping Info Straight- Have multiple website domains? What about phone numbers? Social media isn’t the place for inconsistencies. You want to keep things clear and concise for your followers. Don’t make it so they have to guess what phone number to call.

You want your social media to be unique, but you don’t want it to be a “mishmash” of content. Keep things correct, clear, and constant so your customers and followers will know what they’re dealing with!

What are your thoughts on keeping things straight? Comment below!

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The Power of “Local”

By Christopher Tompkins

9Jun

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Local Marketing, Marketing, Pinterest, Social Media, Uncategorized

Sure, social media is about connecting to people far and wide, and you can spread your word to the other side of the planet with the right tools. However, for some businesses, your success is right in your backyard! No, we’re not talking about those squirrels running around in your garden bed, but rather your local community.

For some, this may be easier said than done. Bigger cities obviously have a larger network and reachability, where small towns may be tougher to push online marketing through. Yet there are multiple ways to use your location to your advantage, no matter what size your business is.

People usually love their hometown. Do some research to see how they announce their pride! It can be hashtags like #PAPride or #IloveNY that are relevant to your location. You can find these by using tools like Hootsuite, Tagboard, or just research Twitter and Facebook. These will be a helpful way for you to show up on the radar, and it’ll put you in a positive light.

What events are happening around you? Whether it is a festival or a sporting event, you can write some posts about it. Supporting your community by talking about local events is a big deal. Send an employee out there to take some pictures. Speaking of sporting events, if you have a local team, support them! Whether through a hashtag, mentioning the team’s profiles, or just saying “Good luck!” it’s a good idea to cheer them on. However, be careful you don’t anger some customers who root for an opposing team.

If certain things are happening that aren’t fun, cover them too. #HurricaneSeason is popular in Florida every summer. #HurricaneSandy was buzzing when that terrible event happened. If a local celebrity passes away, you can give your respects as well. Just be sure you stay involved in the community and be an active citizen.

Tapping into a local market can be a challenge but it can be very rewarding. Be sure to see what’s going on in your neighborhood today!

Do you have other ways to be a good neighbor? Let us know!

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The Domination of Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

6Jun

Advertising, Email Marketing, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing, Pinterest, Social Media, Twitter, Uncategorized

It seems that we have an interesting relationship with social media. Sure, we get our news, connections, entertainment, and business advertisements through these intuitive websites, but in the same breath we’ll complain how our lives are being dominated by technology. Maybe people are addicted to these websites and the screens we view them on. Yet our culture has created a need to be constantly connected to the web we’ve created. Because of this, viewers are being fed a large quantity of content everyday.

It may be expected that complaints about social media and “technology addiction” would be from an older generation that weren’t always used to it. However, we’ve seen younger people have similar thoughts. The only thing about them, though, is that they keep using it. Some Millennials may have strayed from the traditional and uber-popular Facebook, and now flock to platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat. But social media is social media. In fact, speaking of generations, older users are increasing on many fronts. So, even those who complain are still using them!

There is no doubt that we use this medium more than we have with television and radio. This is because, frankly, we’re able to. Social media is on our phones, desktops, even on some people’s Smart TVs. Even if we try to avoid screens by going out, we see those iconic logos everywhere as businesses try to promote their pages. We’ve even seen this Presidential Election being molded by tweets and followers. Let’s face it…it’s everywhere.

Businesses are at a special advantage with this. Since it’s being used so much, you have ample opportunity to grow your customer base in a short amount of time if implemented correctly. Yet, since social media never turns off, how can you, as a business person keep up with the demand? Certain applications will allow you to schedule posts so you don’t always have to be online. If you get a message from a follower, you can schedule auto-replies when you’re out of the office, even when your office is a smartphone. You can view analytics to see key times when people are online so you know exactly when to send your word out.

The point is, even though social media is demanding and everywhere, you can be successful when sending out your message, especially since your audience is always present. Many of us use these platforms as news sources and sole means of communications with family and friends. We’ve invested a lot into these accounts and ended up connecting many, many aspects of our lives into them. As a result, these tools have become constants, even more so than previous tools. As a result, we can use this to our advantage and get important messages and branding out.

What do you think about social media’s impact? Let us know below!

New Tools of Trade

By Christopher Tompkins

5Jun

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

Okay, so say you’ve finally decided to sign up for social media and you have some fresh accounts. For starters, you’ll most likely have a Facebook page, Twitter account, and maybe a LinkedIn account. You might start the first few weeks strong, one to two posts a day, sending out really engaging content to the internet. However, maybe you take a day off and you start to falter, or your work day was too busy to post. Now you’re two days behind, three days, four… soon this whole social media marketing thing seems to be too much than its worth and you give up. If done incorrectly, social media can be a slippery slope to internet anonymity. The pressure to post on a constant basis can be daunting for many, if you’re doing it alone. So, how can you stop this from happening?

Software developers aren’t oblivious to the digital world around them. There’s tons of helpful third party apps, programs, and websites that can help you tackle the social media landscape with ease.

Hootsuite – We’ve mentioned this big helper before, but it’s definitely worth talking about twice. Hootsuite offers multiple features to make you a social media pro. Their Streams feature lets you view multiple news feeds of content at once. You can post from any social media account, or schedule them for the future. Hootsuite is, in a word, irreplaceable.

Notifier– Yet as awesome as Hootsuite is, it is not a one stop shop. Notifier does something few other programs can. It analyses your content for references to other companies and does research so you can tag the appropriate accounts to get a little extra publicity. Most social media managers try to tag other users if possible, but Notifier is an excellent tool to utilize.

Crate– One of the most important tactics a social media pro uses is to analyze trending topics. Crate is here to help you figure out the hot topics that are relevant to your brand and interests. It’s primarily aimed towards Twitter users so they can hone their content to get the most views and followers.

Canva- The above tools are great for text content, but what about visual? After all, social media success requires a nice balance between pictures and text. Canva is a great tool to help users make stunning imagery. While graphic designers are always amazing resources, websites like Canva can be quick alternatives that can make your posts look amazing.

Tagboard- Hashtags may seem to be a mystery to novice users. But in reality, they’re cornerstones to popular posts. Tagboard is a resource that offers you lists of the most used hashtags in present day. This is a great way to keep relevant.

As you can see, these five tools go above and beyond and will help your content do the same.

Have you tried any of these tools? Did we miss any great ones you’d like to share? Comment below!

How Musicians Can Rock Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

30May

Social Media

Every business has a place on social media and every industry has unique rules when engaging with their audience. Each field has different tones, terminology, and demographics that can only make sense to those involved in that world. This also pertains to the music frontier. Musicians, at no matter what stage in their career, thrive on publicity and visibility. How else are they going to get their tunes out there? It can help all those aspiring music legends to listen to these tips from Hypebot that can really get your social media accounts rocking:

– Pick your crowd. It’s important to be sure your messages aren’t falling on deaf ears or the wrong ears. This is essential for any online communication, especially on the business aspect. As Hypebot says, Google analytics can be really helpful to figure out who to target. This tool will work great for musicians who want to reach out to those who listen to their particular musical style.

– Once you found out who your audience is, figure out what they like to see in their news feed. Is it music videos? Tour dates? Perhaps merchandise giveaways? Figure out what they prefer and you’ll have an advantage.

-Hashtags are always important when constructing social media posts. If you’re having a concert in a particular area, you may want to consider using local hashtags like #NewYork or #StPete. If using Snapchat, their Geofilter feature is always a fun way to show local pride.

– All that being said, be sure to stick true to the brand you’ve created. Be sure to have consistent logos, voice, and marketing.

– Be sure to answer your fans and feedback, both positive and negative.

As you can see, the above rules can be adapted to any type of business, but for musicians, it is particularly helpful to stick to these rules and strive for social media consistency and effectively.

For more info, check out Hypebot’s article here: http://ow.ly/W8z4300pxZl

What do you think of these rules? Comment below!

The New Age of Silent Films is On Facebook

By Christopher Tompkins

29May

Facebook, Social Media, Video

Have you ever watched a video on Facebook? Chances are you have. Did you watch it with your sound turned on? According to a Digiday article, chances are you haven’t. The article states that an overwhelming 85% of Facebook videos are watched on mute. It seems a little odd to watch videos, meant to be listened to, without the volume cranked up. However, Facebook users, and apparently a lot of them, make it work.

This seems particularly helpful for those checking their Facebook timeline at work or places where sound would be inappropriate. Sometimes you just have to get a few cat videos or recipe “how to’s” in while at the water cooler. Yet how can they get any enjoyment out of it? Digiday explains that through subtitles and a strong lean towards the visual as opposed to audio, filmmakers are starting to work around this challenge. We’re seeing big bold captions on the top or bottom of videos lately. Some will add text commentary as well. These videos need to hold a viewer’s attention for a minimum of three seconds for it to count as a view, so they better have something stimulating on the screen right away. This is even more true with Facebook’s app and how all the videos on one’s newsfeed comes right after the other like a television channel. This means that there are lots of things to skip, which makes it as important than ever to be eye catching. Since viewers are watching and not listening, marketers and businesses need to take this into consideration. Yet you don’t need to be Spielberg to succeed. Making videos accessible to those who won’t or can’t have their speakers cranked up is a simple step in sending out your videos.

For more info, check out Digiday’s article here: http://ow.ly/xfx7300pGPF

How do you think videos fare when they’re on mute? Let us know your thoughts on this subject!

Facebook’s Advertising Firepower

By Christopher Tompkins

28May

Advertising, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized

Social media is a great tool to reach out to peers, clients, and potential customers. But where would it be without the websites and its advertising features? Whether it’s a good or bad thing, there isn’t a single website that drives the industry, no SocialMedia.com that every user has to use. In fact, that domain redirects to Living Social, which isn’t even a social media platform! That being said, social media tends to be synonymous with its biggest facilitator, Facebook. Most people know the name by now, but not many understand how powerful it can be for business. Turns out its advertising can make your brand go viral!

Originally, Facebook was only intended for college students. Now, their target demographic is… well, everybody. It has an estimated 1.65 billion users every month and is considered the easiest platform to establish a business page with. With that many users, you have ample opportunity to reach out to exactly who you want as a customer and Facebook’s advertising power can set your page up for success.

One thing that Facebook was always proud of was the lack of a price tag for its users. Yet they still make quite a profit by the amount of people that invest in advertising on their website. However, it’s worth every penny. Facebook has made it so your ads are targeted towards exactly the right person based on their likes and hobbies, but also for what they search for and post themselves. Have you ever searched for something and then you got hit with a barrage of advertisements about it later? That’s not a coincidence. They’ve worked tirelessly on the system and it really is effective. Their advertising has the strength to bring attention by doing the best thing Facebook knows how, putting it right in your customer’s line of sight.

Facebook has been around since 2004 and doesn’t seem to be fading any time soon. While many social media platforms have faded and others have risen, Zuckerberg’s creation continues to stand tall in the constantly changing winds of the internet. Because of this, it has become a staple for any business. They’ve provided resources for people to thrive using their pages, and their advertising is undoubtedly the most effective.

What do you think of Facebook advertising? Share your thoughts below!

10 Ways to Get More Facebook Leads, Referrals and Visibility

By Christopher Tompkins

12Jan

Facebook, Uncategorized

Its not too surprising to hear that Facebook, while known as one of the most popular social media sites for marketers to use, is still one of the most mysterious and difficult to use to market your business.

How do I know this?

When I am teaching, speaking or consulting – Facebook is always, and I mean always, the subject of the most questions:

How do I get more leads?
Why don’t I get more engagement?
Why doesn’t anyone like my content?
Who creates the cover image for you?
What is Facebook Advertising?

And the questions go on!

So, with that in mind, I thought it would be helpful for me to share my 10 tips to getting more leads, referrals and visibility on Facebook. Let’s go!

*Make Sure to Set Up Your Page Properly: In order to do this you must choose the right category and the right subcategories for your page. This helps your audience find you through searches. Also a must in this tip is filling out all of your page information and making sure your page settings are maximized to get you the exposure you need!

*Optimizing Your Visuals: Here are some useful numbers you should be using to create hi-resolution and beautiful Facebook Images: COVER IMAGE: 851 x 315 pixels, PROFILE IMAGE: 180 x 180 pixels, SHARED IMAGES: 1200 x 630 pixels

*Call to Action Button: This lives in the bottom right hand corner of your Facebook Page cover image. Simply click and set it up using the options available. This is a great way to get more click-throughs to your website or get more people to claim your promotional offer.

*The Power of Video: With Facebook video on the rise (at a rate of 758% year on year…yes that is the rate, no typo), you need to be using video to increase engagement. Remember to upload your video directly to Facebook rather than using a link: this will increase your visibility by leaps and bounds.

*Facebook Advertising: With ad clicks on the increase at the rate of 70% year over year and ad click-through rates increasing 160% – it is time to consider adding Facebook advertising to your strategy! There are more than 2 million active advertisers on Facebook, proof that this is not a passing fad.

*Optimizing Your Tabs: Your tabs can support your page to no end. Make sure to choose and format your tags, choose the best order for them, and use sites like Woo-box to customize them to fit your brand and to promote click throughs to your website.

*Optimize Your Posts: Writing posts is just half the battle. Optimizing them to be found in searches by your audience is even better. Some extra tips: shorter posts receive 60% higher engagement, use keywords, create quizzes and contests, and don’t forget your visuals!

*Post at the Right Time: Did you know that 75% of a post’s total engagement will happen within its first 5 hours?! Track the time when your audience is using Facebook the most and post then! Highest traffic occurs mid-week between 1 and 3 pm. On Thursdays and Fridays (especially during the Friday afternoon slump), engagement is 18% higher.

*Integrate it Into Your Website: If you do not have a button on your website that links to your Facebook Page – you need to get that on your site NOW! This connectivity will get you more likes and engagement using the website traffic that you are getting already. An untapped resource. Top Tip: don’t bury it at the end of your page. Put it right at the top so that it is easy to see.

*Consistency: I know you may be getting tired of me saying this, but consistency is the key and a common mistake that marketers make. Create a content strategy and schedule and stick to it!

These are tips that will work for you right now, but remember that Facebook is a constantly evolving medium that you need to stay on top of. There will be constant changes to your page layout, how your content is ranked and delivered, and how you are able to manage the page. Stay on top of trends and updates, but also implement them. The key to Facebook success is being able to ride the wave of change and innovate along the way.

The Reason for the Season? Last Minute Tips to Boost Your Facebook Success During the Holidays

By Christopher Tompkins

6Nov

Facebook, Uncategorized

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the holiday season marketing machine is in full swing. Come on, let’s think about it: Christmas trees have been available in stores since September!

While mega brands are dumping most of their advertising and marketing dollars into selling you the latest must-have gadget, toy, foodstuff, or service – smaller brands and companies think, “ It’s too late now, we missed the boat!”

If that sounds like you, snap out of it!

When it comes to your Facebook marketing, you are NOT too late to throw your hat into the holiday marketing ring. But….you do need to act fast!

Here are some quick ideas that you can apply to your Facebook strategy that will help you to enhance your holiday marketshare:

1. Create a Seasonal Offer: Whether it is a special discount, special package, or a limited time product offer – you need something that is going to pique your audience’s interest in relationship to the season taking place around them. Ensure that your offer is not only attractive enough to your target audience, but that you have created enough urgency around it to force your consumers’ hand to decide and act.

2. Facebook Advertising: One of the best ways to bring more attention to your range of products and services on Facebook is to advertise. There are many options available on the Facebook Advertising platform that you can use to drive traffic to your site, help people claim your special offer, build awareness, boost posts, and much more. With a minimal budget set to run up to Christmas, you will be able to maximize your exposure to your target audience. Play with your budget and timings and remember to track your results!
3. Seasonal Branding: A big mis-step that companies who are looking to do a focused holiday campaign make is not adding seasonal branding to their Facebook Cover Image. Within reason and within the confines of your own branding, add seasonal imagery, show your special offer or package, and give deadline specific information. Be creative!

4. Themed Posts: Make sure your content strategy supports your discount…and make it fun! Run contests, post quizzes, and get your audience interested in engaging. The more engaged your audience is with your content, the more that your Facebook Page content will be served up to them in the future. If no one is engaging – odds are that no one is seeing your content at all.

5. Use Video: Don’t ignore the fact that videos are among the most viewed content on Facebook. You need to create your own video, upload it to Facebook, and enjoy the exposure! When it comes to exposure, video can add over 65% more engagement.

When it comes to Facebook, coming a little late to the holiday marketing game is not a problem. Just make sure that you use the 5 tips above, track your effectiveness and make changes as needed. You will need consistency and a close analytical eye to truly reap the most benefits during the holiday season. Seasons greetings everyone! Hope this holiday season is a winner for you and your business!

Tag : facebook