6 Social Media Content Ideas That Gets An Audience Talking

7Dec

Content Creation, Copywriting, Social Media

“We value your opinion!” We’ve all heard that one before. Sometimes, we just don’t have time to bother with providing feedback to companies. Thankfully, social media allows some convenient and even fun ways for consumers to give their opinion. Check out these ways you can gather tons of info to analyze.

1. Polls. There’s no easier way to get the feedback your team is looking for than to ask for it! Whether the options in the poll are “Yes,” “No,” “Maybe,” or options “A,” “B,” or “C,” many marketers feel this is one of the most efficient routes.

2. Contests. Of course, incentives go a long way. You can ask for some feedback, and in turn, they are entering for a chance to win a prize. The prize doesn’t even need to be extravagant, but perhaps one of your products or gift cards to a service your company provides.

3. Inquiries. Once your following starts to grow, you can publish posts that will drum up conversations. After all, we are trying to create engagement, and someone needs to break the ice first!

4. Announcements. As always, there is the ever-popular comment section. When you make an announcement, whether it’s a new product or change in policy, check out people’s reactions through comments, likes, rants, cheers, emojis, etc.

5. Live Video Q & A’s. Lately, businesses have been getting a lot of feedback by hosting Q&A sections via live video services such as Facebook Live, Periscope, and YouTube Live. As your broadcast goes on, you can read what everyone is saying in the comment section.

6. Custom Hashtags. Hashtags are still an excellent way to hone in on specific information. People will use hashtags for everything they’re talking about even if it’s in a negative light. If you want people to talk about your product, provide a hashtag that corresponds with your brand.

People love to talk on social media. Whether it’s about a positive or negative experience, Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms have become a sounding board for opinions, thoughts, and feedback. Use this to your business’s advantage!

The 6 Most Effective Forms of Email Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

30Nov

Advertising, Content Creation, Email Marketing, Facebook, Local Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media

If the holiday season will teach you about anything, it will give you a crash course in email marketing. You most likely woke up today with dozens of ads trying to entice you to purchase an item. You might have rolled your eyes at one or two of them but chances are you actually were interested in a few of them.

Email marketing is helpful because it’s a direct punch to your audience. They have to acknowledge the email (especially if they want to get rid of that notification on their smartphone). But here’s the thing — your email has to be actually good enough for people to read it and become interested in what you’re marketing.

To win at the email marketing game (or at least get started), check out the following types of campaigns that will catch your reader’s eye:

1. Newsletters. If your brand has a lot to say, then a newsletter is a great way to share your recent news, events, and updates. Newsletters should have enticing articles about your industry and how your company is making an impact.

2. Personalized approach. You often see this type of marketing in industries that closely work alongside clients. Thanks to email marketing software, you insert their name and fashion the copy in a way that makes it sound like you’re actually talking to them- even though thousands received the same message. It can be a bit tricky, but it’s a great way to approach lead generation.

3. Sales / coupons. Widely considered the type of email marketing that has the highest click rate, coupons delivered via email will guide customers down the path of conversion quite quickly.

4. Event invitation. Do you have a big party coming up? Let everyone know via social media and reinforce your message through your email marketing. That’s the best part about email, it strengthens your other channels quite effectively.

5. Contests. There’s nothing easier than delivering a sweepstakes to someone’s inbox and in a few clicks, they have a chance to win a big prize.

6. eBooks and freebies. Offer a free piece of content through your website and social media. The only thing they have to do is enter their email and boom– free stuff digitally delivered in their inbox. Of course now they will receive everything else you send out, but that should be a good thing if they enjoyed your content.

Have you received a piece of email marketing in the timeframe it took you to read this article? If so, look at how that company takes on social media marketing and see if their angle can help out your business with the above ideas in mind.

5 Secrets To Writing Engaging Social Media Posts

By Christopher Tompkins

21Nov

Content Creation, Copywriting, Social Media

Ever since the early days of the newspaper, people have studied the power of the headline. Writers carefully selected each word so their paper would pull in readers. Social media marketing has evolved this concept. Thankfully, we don’t need people shouting “Extra!” on street corners. Instead, we have to make sure our updates are noticeable on the web.

Internet communications changed the way we write and promote our brands. What strategies work the best for social media users? The following five types of updates are sure to pull in readers!

1. Lists. Whether your post is “Top 10 Restaurants in Nashville” or “The 5 Most Important Documents For Estate Planning”, people love lists. They are easy to read and get right to the point.

2. Definitions and industry terms. Does your industry have specific terminology? Teach them to the audience! For example, “The Legal Terms You Need To Know!” is an excellent way to spread a wealth of knowledge.

3. Casual tone. Today’s consumer likes a casual and conversational tone for marketing. “Check out these…”, “Come see our…” further strengthen your brand’s approachable feel.

4. Questions. “Could These Foods Help With Alzheimer’s?” Crafting a social media post in the form of a question is always a good way for readers to click and search for the answer.

5. Powerful vocabulary. Finally, no matter what way you craft your message, your words need to pack a punch. Don’t waste room on weak words. Instill a sense of urgency and importance.

Does your marketing team have writer’s block? Contact us! Our copywriting department will be able to craft your brand’s message into a professional and effective piece of marketing.

The 7 Things Most Businesses Fail To Do On Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

26Oct

Social Media

Does your business have a social media presence? Chances are, the answer is yes. (Although if the answer is no, we need to talk.) But the real question is, do you have a GOOD social media presence? Once again, you may think the answer is yes. However, most businesses out there have quite a lot of room for improvement.

Many times we are approached by business owners who hire us to specifically clean up messes that were created unknowingly. Many times social media is delegated to interns or entry-level employees when they should be given to a qualified person or agency to execute. Social media requires a professional touch. With that in mind, here are seven of the most common things businesses fail to do on social media.

1. Interact with customers. Social media is a new form of customer communication. But what happens when your business doesn’t, well, communicate? It looks horrible when comments, reviews, or even tagging goes unanswered. Although you may have missed those notifications, it just looks like you are ignoring your audience. Hey – if the huge big box brands can do it, so can you.

2. Incorporate imagery. There should never be a piece of copy on your social media platforms that isn’t accompanied by some form of imagery, whether it be a GIF, picture, video, or something in between. You need something that will entice your audience to stop and engage with your content. Visuals are engaging.

3. Pay for advertising. The biggest misconception about social media marketing? It’s free. Sure, it’s free to sign up, but if you don’t create a budget for some well-strategized advertising, you’re going to have an issue. On Facebook alone, without advertising odds are none of your social media updates will be seen.

4. Update ALL accounts. Okay, so you’ve been doing great keeping your Facebook updated. You’ve been posting on a daily basis and even remembered your pictures. What about your Twitter? It hasn’t been updated since July? That’s a problem. Make sure you update all your accounts, even if you focus more of your attention on just one. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube and Pinterest are yearning for your attention! Oh yea, and don’t forget about your blog.

5. Update information. Did your business recently change hours? Do you have a new website? Maybe you rebranded? Make sure your social media reflects the most updated version of your business. Nothing is more shameful than wondering why you are not getting any phone calls when your phone number is wrong on every social account. And yes, I see this all the time.

6. Add informative content. To be successful on social media and stay competitive, you need to make sure that you don’t just share promo after promo. It’s a sure fire way to lose followers. Instead, incorporate content that your followers want such as articles, pro tips, recipes, quotes, freebies and more.

7. Join the community. One of the biggest goals of businesses on social media is to be seen. However, your goal should really be to be seen as an industry influencer or thought leader. You do that by interacting with others in your field, talking about hot topics and much more. Cultivate a following and engage with them regularly. Pro tip: join the global conversation by joining LinkedIn groups and really hit the ground running.

It’s easy to see how having a qualified person handling your social media marketing is important. The truth is that social media needs a team of professionals to deliver quality, creative, and analytical results. It’s up to you to find a way to make it happen, just never be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Professional agencies can help you get started much faster and will help you get results, and training, that you need to stay competitive in your marketplace.

How Creativity Can Boost A Social Media Marketing Strategy

By Dale Griffen

11Oct

Content Creation, Pinterest, SEO, Social Media

Imagine the social media landscape as a city — it most certainly has the population of one (actually a whole continent, for that matter). Just like any city, businesses both big and small are trying to get out their message in one way or another. While a real city uses billboards, posters, blimps, and sign twirlers, the social media city utilizes more effective tools such as optimized content, boosted posts, audience targeting, etc. However, similar to a marketing piece in New York or Los Angeles, your message may be lost in all the clutter and noise that surrounds it.

Do you want to get more attention? Of course you do!

Social media marketing has the ability to allow businesses of all shapes and sizes to harness the power of the internet to significantly raise brand recognition. Yet because so many people are using Facebook, Twitter, and the other platforms, it can be a challenge to truly strike it big with your audience. That’s why it is so essential to create unique content.

When we consult clients, one of the most common and significant problems I encounter is their inability to change. Thinking outside the box and generating innovative content is where the creative and analytical parts of your brain meet.

Here are a few suggestions that may help you create new, refreshing, and original posts:

1. Unique social experiences. It is social media after all. You want people to start talking! You can do this in the form of polls, quizzes, live video broadcasts, and many more innovative ways to invite your audience in to the conversation.

2. Add Video. Video works for multiple reasons. First of all, you are presenting the content in an enjoyable medium that consumers love. Secondly, most social media platforms give preference to video, especially on their mobile apps, which is where a majority of social media users go to. Finally, video allows for strategies that may prove to be undoable otherwise such as behind-the-scene tours, tutorials, and more.

3. Add new visuals with new colors. Sure, you want to stay consistent with your company’s branding, but the right graphic designer knows how to turn the pre-existing material into something new and exciting. Find a way to create new pictures, videos, live broadcasts, GIFs and more.

4. Incorporate podcasts and blogs. These two handy mediums can help you position yourself as a credible source of information in your industry through innovative forms of media. Blogging and podcasting are extremely popular methods that businesses share their story with an audience. The best part of all is that once you have the writing down for one, the other is essentially finished too.

The above four content ideas incorporate social, creative, and informational tools to allow your audience to get a new glimpse of your brand. This is the best part of social media – there are always new and exciting ways to engage your audience. Start creating today!

Creativity not your thing? No problem. At The Go! Agency, we have a team of creative copywriters, graphic designers, podcast editors, and many more professionals who are waiting to help you! Contact us today.

The 20 Questions Every Social Media Marketer Should Ask

By Christopher Tompkins

26Sep

Social Media

When someone first signs up on a social media platform for personal use, they are forced to think about themselves a great deal. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and all the other sites want you to create a cohesive digital identity on their sites for several good reasons. It will help tailor content to your specific interests, allow people you know to find you, and allow the social media experience to be the personalized journey it was always meant to be. That being said, even for those creating a personal profile, it can be a daunting task to answer all these questions. Creating a social media presence for your business can be just as challenging.

As a business owner, you should already know your company inside and out. But how well do you really know your work? There’s no doubt that your knowledge about your enterprise will be put to the test when setting up your social media pages. Yet this goes beyond knowing your mission statement or hours of operation. You have to ask yourself what the goal of your marketing is. What do you want out of your social media marketing journey?

I created the following questionnaire that you should keep handy when starting out. As you will see, most business owners will be able to answer some of these questions. However, others will require a bit more thought. Have your marketing team ready to do some some soul-searching for the sake of the business!

1. What is your industry?

2. Who is your perfect customer? Which demographics do they belong to?

3. Do they interact with your business online or in person?

4. If you were a customer, what information would be needed to have a successful and positive experience?

5. What are your business’s basics? (Hours of operations, address, phone number, email, website, etc.)

6. What is the tone of your brand’s message?

7. What are your spotlight products or services?

8. What products or services are the most profitable?

9. What is your desired geographical reach? (The people in your town? In your state? In your country?)

10. What is your business’s online presence before social media?

11. What content does your ideal customer actually enjoy to read, listen to, or watch?

12. What content do your competitors share?

13. What online presence do your competitors have?

14. How much are you willing to spend on social media advertising?

15. What visuals do you have at your disposal?

16. Who are the thought leaders in your field?

17. What news sources can you incorporate into my mix?

18. What are the busy and slow times for your team?

19. What pre-existing marketing material (blogs, podcasts, banners, etc.) do you have to use?

And of course the ultimate question:

20. What is your marketing goal?

The reason why number 20 is so critical is due to social media’s diverse possibilities. A somewhat outdated mentality when looking at marketing is trying to figure when and how you are going to get your money back. In other words, return on investment, or ROI. However, while return on investment is important, there is another ROI that should be considered – return on influence. Social media has the ability to increase your stance as a legitimate and influential thought leader in your industry with a large following. Keeping this in mind, your ultimate marketing goal could be the following:

– Increased website clicks

– More blog visits

– Increased podcast listens

– More substantial sales inquires

– Improved lead generation

-Better quality customer service and communication

Social media marketing can do all this and much more, but you have to figure out what your business’s particular focus needs to be, otherwise your online marketing strategy will be a mess and not produce anything at all.

As you go through this book’s many lessons, keep in mind your answers to this questionnaire and determine how your goals can benefit from these strategy ideas.

Creating A KPI Measurement Plan

By Christopher Tompkins

19Sep

Advertising, Social Media

It’s time to talk about KPI for your ROI, or key performance indicators for your return on investment. Analysis of these figures are extremely important because it’s what really drives business growth.

Since its genesis, social media has rapidly evolved, becoming a landscape which focuses heavily on quality over quantity. This is a proven truth due to the number of businesses investing big money into their social media budgeting.

Sharp marketers have the know-how to develop social media strategies that provide a foolproof value proposal measuring the appropriate data and pivoting when needed to reach business targets. With this strategy, the value always presents itself through the measurement of the correct social media KPI data.

So how do we define our bottom-line marketing needs through key performance indicators?

In order to discover this answer, first, it’s necessary that you define your social media marketing needs. For example, do you need to reach new audiences? Or are you wanting to ramp-up sales for a new service or product launch? These are just some of the questions you can ask yourself to pinpoint this answer.

After you have defined your critical marketing needs, you can now define measurable goals and set your own key performance indicators.

Here are some useful KPIs to consider:

Audience tracking – Track this demographic data with a social media analytics tool such as Google Analytics to prove campaign progress. When you compare this data against follower growth data, you’re enabled to track if your growth is coming from your chosen markets. Audience tracking also highlights customer trends and recognizes shifts in behavior.

In this particular KPI, you’ll want to measure what your customers are saying as well. Consider tracking your number of direct mentions using a social listening tool that offers a keyword search function.

Engagement measurement – This is possibly one of the most important measurements because it indicates that people cared about what you had to say, resulting in some action. The engagement metric highlights those you should be targeting in your retention efforts as well. Lucky for us, engagement is simple to measure, especially with tools like Google Analytics for a no-nonsense way of gathering this data.

Influence – This can be a subjective metric and solely relies on your business or organization’s perspective for definition. However, no matter how it’s defined, you’ll essentially analyze your engagement metric and determine if the sentiment is positive, neutral, or negative and this will give you an influence measurement, answering the question of if your campaign is being well received by your targets or if it’s a flop.

Lead generation funnel – Exposure, awareness, and engagement compose this measurement funnel. You can define your impact and presence through these social channels by understanding your campaign’s reach, engagement, and influence.

After you’ve tracked this information, it’s time to organize it. Do so by using something as simple as excel to highlight metrics mattering most to your organization. A good way to go about this is creating a tab for high-level overview of your all of your campaigns and a tab for the period of time the report is on. Tip: Use the same format you would use if you were reporting on a traditional non-social media campaign.

Conversion – The ultimate goal is to convert the user to commit to your desired action, correct? Because of this, the most important metric is your conversion rate. This reflects the number of casual users who performed the action asked of them. An increase in conversion rate is the best way to prove the success of your social campaign.

One of the best things about using social media marketing is the tremendous amount of data that’s provided to marketers. You can make well-informed marketing decisions to reinforce your ROI by looking at this data objectively. In addition to quantified action tracking, keep in mind to always take full advantage of the raw feedback published by users too.

How To Start Your Social Media Copywriting Journey

By Christopher Tompkins

26Jul

Facebook, Marketing, Social Media

When you first set foot in the world of social media marketing, you have some “company soul searching” to do. You have to reassess what is important, which services you want to promote most prominently, and perhaps most important, what you want your customers to remember the most about you and your team. All of this is of course conveyed through the written word in all the fields that the social media platforms provide.

This is the time to start talking about yourself. Every company needs to make sure their social media profiles are optimized with the most relevant, updated, and essential information so a customer does not have to make an effort to find the information needed to interact with your brand and in the long run, make a transaction.

Fill In Every Field.

Creating a social media profile for your company from scratch will force you to go back to the drawing board for certain items such as “mission statement” and “company objective.” Other times, you will (and should) have all the information immediately available. It’s important to fill out every single field the platform offers. Some sites such as Instagram will require very little information to achieve a 100% optimized profile. Others such as Facebook will have request quite a bit of writing. Additionally, others may have certain functions hidden behind a paywall or only allow so many details before you have to upgrade to a premium account. Regardless of platform, be as thorough as possible.

But here is the good news – a lot of the heavy lifting may be already done for you through pre-existing marketing and general information you have created for your company for other purposes.

However, if you are writing from scratch, ask yourself what you would want to know about your company if you were stumbling across it as a customer for the first time. What is your team’s work ethic? What do you hope a customer can take away from their experience with your company? What products are your pride and joy? Consider these questions when trying to define your business and what makes you stand out.

Keep in Mind the Keywords!

In the world of social media marketing, we often talk about keywords when referring to content. Yet keywords also help you when you are in the early stages of page optimization. When you are filling out your company’s About section, Company Overview, Mission Statement, etc., keep in mind the words that people would use to search for a business like yours.

For example, if you run an auto repair shop in Miami, you should definitely incorporate “auto repair,” “Miami,” “Florida,” “automotive,” and other relevant words in your copy. You may want to even consider some top-performing hashtags. Just make sure you don’t overuse them and ensure they are evergreen. In other words, make sure they are hashtags that stay relevant and do not depend on the time of year or a temporary element of your business.

Set Hours and Mark Your Location

Consider social media your online “open / closed” sign. Many people use company’s social media pages as resources for information and perhaps one of the simplest requests is to figure out if a location is open or closed. Simple, but very effective.

Another vital aspect of optimizing your social media pages is to set a location. Yes, this may seem obvious. But I cannot tell you how many companies I have interacted with that have not added a location to their Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram pages. These companies miss out on location service and targeting audiences. This is particularly useful for mobile users because they will be able to see what companies are in the area that offer a particular service or product. This is also very helpful when companies who wish to delve into more advanced advertising techniques, as locations, zip codes, and regions are all instrumental in finding the right audience.

Time Travel and Stockpile

Let’s face it – no one will like or follow an empty page (except for Apple, which hasn’t shared a single tweet, but manages hundreds of thousands of followers thanks to its name). You will want to create a ton of content and, if the platform allows, backdate it. This is only a function offered by Facebook and a select other platforms, but it proves to be useful when you are trying to position your business as legitimate and modern.

You should also stockpile content that you can start sharing, including tweets from industry influencers that are available for retweeting and quote tweeting, news articles you want to share and comment on, and ideas you may want to later talk about in the form of a blog or note.

Pin Your Spotlight Content

After you have been created content for some time, create a piece of content that you are particularly proud of and pin it to the top of the profile. This will be the first post that your followers see when they visit your page. This should be a piece of original content that expresses just what your company is all about, whether it’s a promotional piece or a useful piece of content that can be used a resource.

Later down the road, you can use this prime piece of real estate as a spot to promote a sale, holiday greetings, or other time sensitive information. Yet when you are just starting out, pick your best content and start pinning. This post should be switched out on a weekly basis.

Invite Your Regulars And Start Following Prospects

Now that you have your social media page fully optimized, you are ready to invite followers. Think of it this way, you have cleaned up the house and set up decorations, now it’s time for your party guests to come by and enjoy what you have prepared! There are many ways to start gathering a large following on social media, many of which will come as you start sending out relevant content and generate a large amount of user-generated content and feedback. However, when you are first starting out, you need to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Offline, you need to ask your loyal customers to like your pages and share them with your friends. Encourage employees to do the same. Have social-media-exclusive incentives and sales only to be found online and make it known at your location. Train your employees to tell customers and clients about your pages. Most importantly, your content and copy should be a homing beacon for these people to come because of the “takeaway” they will receive. This is why you cannot just write promotional posts. You need to become an informative, educational, and entertaining resource that people will welcome into their social media sanctum.

Online, you can start following major influencers and those who follow them. This will introduce your newborn pages to new people and social circles. Try to be selective about who follows your page, but do not be too picky because you never know who those people will know and they will be able to see your content if and when they share it.

How Do I Optimize My Company’s Social Media Profile Imagery?

By Christopher Tompkins

19Jul

Facebook, Social Media

Once you finally decide that your company needs social media, you have some work to do. The truth is that just having a couple social media profiles isn’t enough — they must be fully optimized.

What does it mean to optimize a social media profile? Essentially, it means to take every step possible to personalize your profile and load it with as much information about your company as possible.

Optimization will help your marketing efforts on multiple levels. First, by ensuring that your profile is loaded with information, your company will look legitimate and professional. Secondly, when done correctly, a fully optimized social media profile will improve searchability and visibility online. Finally, by taking the time to complete the following steps, your customers will be able to use your social media profiles as intended – as a resource. Certain platforms have algorithms and features that will only work if your page is optimized. An example of this would be if you have your hours posted on Facebook, users will be able to clearly see if you are open at that time with a bright green “Open Now” sign is lit, and will also inform your user if you are available for chat.

Remember when you first made your personal Facebook page and decided to skip entering where you went to high school or your birthday? Well, as a business owner, you do not have that luxury in the world of marketing. You want to stuff your profiles to the brim with content!

Check out the following tips that will help you as you begin optimizing a profile. For this first blog, we’re going to cover the two first visuals you will need – a profile image and a cover image.

Choosing An Appropriate Profile Image

The first step to optimizing your profile is to pick an appropriate profile picture. This is also one of the very first choices to make in your social media marketing in general because when you are creating your page initially you will be prompted to choose a profile image. While you will be sending out tons of visuals in your social media journey, this is perhaps one of the most important visuals of your marketing.

Typically, companies incorporate their current logo into their profile picture so there is no confusion as to whose page it is. Ensure that profile picture is clear and easy to decipher when it’s just a tiny avatar next to your content. People will see your profile picture on a regular basis when your content pops up on their feeds, so make sure it is unique and recognizable.

One of the most important rules to consider when choosing a profile image is to make sure the image is high resolution. Nothing makes your company look amateurish more than a blurry or pixilated picture. This is especially the case when you choose a logo as your profile pic.

What else makes your company look amateurish? A cut off profile picture. You ever take a picture and the tallest person’s head gets cut off or maybe something important is just out of frame? It looks bad, right? Well, it looks even worse if a business does this. This is when you are going to need to pay attention. Each social media platform have different dimensions. Some of them have a square frame while others have circles. Annoying, right? Well, to ensure your image looks just right, do a quick Google search or explore the platform’s FAQ section for the currently preferred dimensions. They change all the time and as such, it’s best to check out the most updated information.

If you are a smart marketer, you are creating a profile on all the top platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. all require your attention! Yet as you optimize all these profiles, make sure that all your information and assets are consistent all across the internet. In other words, use the same pic for all your profiles. But as I just said, every platform has different dimensions to adhere to, so you must a unique version for each site. If you have a graphic designer, they should be able to quickly tweak the original profile to accommodate these needs.

Finally, if you do not have a logo at all, go create one right now. It will be a major help in both online and traditional marketing. Keep in mind that bright colors and simplicity are best when it comes to customers recognizing your branding. Ask yourself these questions about your company’s message. What is its tone (Serious, fun-loving, etc.)? Which, if any, iconic elements of my industry and work translate into a logo successfully (for example, an auto repair shop could use tires, cars, tools, etc.)? Who is my target demographic?

Choose A Cover Image That Fits

Many of the rules for picking the right profile picture can apply to the creation of a cover image. Once again, each platform has different dimensions and as such, you will need to make individual image files for each of your platforms. A note to designers, do not just stretch or shrink these designs. Important elements will get lost or disproportioned in the process. Additionally, just like profile pictures, a cover image should be representative of your company the work you do, complete with bright colors and attractive imagery.

However, cover images have several additional rules that will help you take full advantage of this prime real estate. After all, this is the very first thing your audience will see when they visit your page. Consider it a banner, welcoming your users. You have to make sure it speaks volumes about your company in the most simplistic way possible.

A cover image and your profile picture should go hand-in-hand. If you are using your logo as your profile pic but still wish to incorporate it into the design of your cover image, make sure it’s subtly placed in the design.

It is important that a cover image has some form of information. You could have your tagline or slogan elegantly sprawled over a beautiful photo, or you could add a call to action with your phone number or web address. Regardless, you must choose how much info and copy you incorporate. Make a conscious effort to keep it simple and not busy.

Some companies will regularly update their cover image to showcase newly-released products such a new menu items, movies, services, and more. You can also change it up to incorporate holiday messages, support for charities, and more.

A word of warning when you are designing your cover images – test out your new design on several devices, especially smartphones. These images have a tendency to be clipped to format to a smaller screen. As a result, you should always have your most important information closer to the center.

Are You Concerned About Social Media?

By Christopher Tompkins

6Jun

Facebook, Facebook Advertising, Local Marketing, Marketing, Our Work

Does your business and social media marketing seem like a mismatch? Do you feel like it’s too large or too small? Maybe you just don’t understand the ins and outs of this new way of reaching out. Well, don’t worry. You aren’t alone!

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ed Kendrick, who is the owner of Kendrick Home Services. His team specializes in home repair ranging from air conditioning, plumbing, electric, and heating. His team is known in his local area for their professional and quick service. Unfortunately, Kendrick Home Services’s online presence is a single landing page, with little more than a phone number and a few photos.

As you can imagine, that’s a problem.

Ed and I spoke about Kendrick Home Services joining the rest of the world on social media, and he had some reservations. In fact, he had tried to create a Facebook Business Page once for his company and well, it crashed and burned. So our conversation about social media marketing was focused on his concerns, which was as a marketer, was a new way to look at our work!

Here are some highlights of our conversation:

Ed: “I don’t want to reach out to the whole world, I just want to promote my business within our service area.”

Me: “No problem! With Facebook advertising, we’re able to target a very particular geographic location. We can cover your exact service area or even just a portion of it.”

Ed: “Last time I tried Facebook ads, I kept getting calls from people who couldn’t afford us. It was a waste of time.”

Me: “Did you know with Facebook ads you can reach out to a specific income base? That way you can reach the exact demographic you’re reaching for!”

Ed: “Besides coupons, I don’t know what else to put on social media.”

Me: “Social media users like entertainment as well as promos. Mix in interesting news articles relevant to your industry. In your case, you could add DIY home projects or money saving tips for homeowners. Our clients do particularly well when they share Pro Tips and even inspirational quotes!”

Ed: “Last time I was on Facebook, a disgruntled customer gave us a really bad rating. I didn’t know what to do.”

Me: “Bad ratings happen from time to time. It’s part of the genuine experience of social media. The best way to handle it is to approach the customer in a positive and professional manner and address the issue head-on. They will be glad you did. You can also encourage your happy customers to leave good reviews so there is plenty of positivity on your page.”

Ed: “I just don’t know if I have time for social media. Last time I ended up forgetting to post for weeks at a time.”

Me: “It’s true. Social media marketing, when done right, takes time. From analyzing data to creating original creative content, it’s a major facet of your marketing. Luckily, there are professionals out there that can help you every step of the way!”

Ed’s concerns were completely valid but after years of experience working in the social media marketing industry, we know what goes into a good social media marketing campaign. We’re now helping Ed out with a new social media venture, and with specific Facebook advertising, he’s experiencing a spike in calls and new customers.

Tag : facebook

Choosing An Appropriate Profile Image

Choose A Cover Image That Fits