5 Reasons Companies Still Don’t Use Social Media

14May

To be perfectly blunt, there is no excuse for a company to have zero social media presence in 2018. According to the Pew Research Center, 69 percent of adults in the United States use at least one form of social media; 88 percent of adults age eighteen to twenty-four are active on one or more social media platforms. Most people have multiple accounts on different platforms.

Here are five common excuses for not using social media to promote your brand.

1. “Our target audience doesn’t use social media.”

Yes, they probably do. At least some of them do, anyway: the majority of American adults participate in one or more social media platforms. Social media has almost become our de facto national pastime. As with most new technology, the younger generations have been the most fervent adopters: almost 90 percent of young adults are active on at least one platform. These kids, teens, and (young) adults grew up with social media. However, their parents and grandparents are quickly adapting to the digital landscape and participating in social media. Pew states that 64 percent of people age 50 to 64 and 37 percent of people age 65 and older use at least one social media platform.

2. “A social media profile will only attract negative attention.”

No, it will not. While it is true that some negativity is inevitable with any form of marketing, establishing a presence on social media offers more rewards than risks. The consumers of today actually want to connect with their favorite brands. Customers routinely seek out companies that make the products or services they love. You can minimize your risk of attracting negative attention in a few simple ways. First, devise a set of social media guidelines for your company. Second, enforce those guidelines with an iron fist (the modern equivalent would probably be a sternly worded email from HR). Additionally, consult with an expert. A good social media manager will be adept at public relations in addition to being a wunderkind with marketing and data analysis.

3. “It doesn’t get results.”

Yes, it does. Granted, those results can be difficult to quantify, but they can still impact the brand. A presence on social media is at the very least an additional chance for your brand to be seen. Social media accounts offer your customers another avenue to contact your company with questions, concerns, or comments. This will go a long way toward engendering good will and repeat clients. Social media also keeps your customers better informed about your latest products or services–remember, customers need to know what you have to offer. Your social media presence can enhance your brand. A cosmetics company, for example, could post makeup tutorials on its Facebook page, while a sportswear manufacturer might include photos from its staff’s annual camping trip to its Instagram account. Social media strengthens your brand’s image in the minds of your customers.

4. “It’s too much work.”

That depends. As with any marketing strategy, you get what you give when it comes to social media. You’ve worked for years to bring your company this far, why refuse to take this step? If you genuinely do not have the time to run your company’s social media activities on your own, have an employee to do it for you. We don’t mean that you should reassign an HR director to focus solely on your Facebook account: as with any other extra responsibility, you should find a person who possesses both the will and the skill to do the job.

5. “I don’t understand how to use social media for marketing.”

This is perhaps the most common–and seldom revealed–reason that companies choose to avoid social media. Thankfully, it is also the easiest to address. If you are unsure how to navigate social media marketing, simply hire a consultant. There are many firms that focus exclusively on social media marketing. These experts want to help you develop your strategy and analyze your results. For many small businesses, seeking out the services of a social media pro is best and most cost-effective choice.

Do any of those excuses sound familiar? If so, stop waiting and start planning! Now is the perfect time to begin. That’s the great thing about marketing: every day is another chance to turn it all around. Don’t let your preconceived notions and unfounded fears about social media hold you back any longer!

If you need help developing or revamping your social media marketing strategy, just ask!

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5 Creative Ways To Share Data On Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

9May

Social Media

When my team and I work on our clients’ social media marketing campaigns, we know that balance is a big factor in our success. Whether you’re talking about balancing text and images, promo and news, or curated and original content, everything has to be just right. It’s all part of the job. But one aspect that many companies fail to execute correctly is educational VS entertaining posts. Things end up leaning much heavier towards the “fun” side of content because of two reasons. 1- They think it will gather more engagement. 2 – Well, they don’t know how to do it right. But, we do!

So, here’s a secret from the pros. Educational and fact-based content have proven to be some of the most engaging material on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. In 2016, the most popular posts were in fact-based industries. Here are the most popular strategies for spreading the wealth of knowledge with your followers:

1. Infographics. There’s nothing quite like a ton of pictures to make a complicated concept more understandable. The truth is, visuals always help us learn. That’s why infographics are so effective. You can transform large concepts into digestible chunks that are accompanied by interesting graphics.

2. Videos. Video is dominating social media right now. Sure, when we think of internet videos, we think of funny cats running around or how-to recipe guides. But you could actually utilize the video medium to explain a complicated educational subject. Captions are your friend in this instance, as you can add to the visuals. Now with live videos, you can offer your followers tutorials and lessons “in the moment” and answer their questions immediately.

3. Blog. Blogging continues to reign supreme as one of the most effective ways to inform your followers about important concepts and topics. Blogging is a fantastic companion to your social media marketing efforts as it will establish your brand in a professional light and give you a whole slew of original content.

4. Trivia and Did You Know? Keeping information simple and sharing it in the form of a trivia tidbit or a #DidYouKnow post will keep your audience’s attention with a short, simple post. They won’t have to spend much time with this content, but they will still learn something big.

5. Content curation. As always, it’s important to share other’s work from your online community. But it doesn’t have to begin and end with what they’ve said. You can comment in the form of Quote Tweeting or simply share your thoughts as a Facebook comment.

As you can see, it’s time to face facts – you need to create and share educational content! Social media isn’t just about fun material or even promotional marketing. Serious content like blogs, videos, and infographics will attract a significant amount of engagement and in the long run, conversions.

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The 4 Ingredients To Cutting-Edge Social Media Content

By Christopher Tompkins

7May

Social Media

Creating new content for social media marketing can be a challenge if you’re not a professional. Once you’ve ticked off the obvious topics in your industry, you may find it a bit of a struggle to come up with new ideas.

It doesn’t seem to get any easier either. The more you write, the less there is to write about.

The upside is that this creative chasm can challenge you to come up with more engaging content that isn’t on every other website in your industry. The downside is that coming up with ideas takes a little more work.

Below are a few exercises and routines we follow to keep ourselves inspired. To lessen the work of idea creation.

1. Start with an image

Whenever we make a piece of content, we also make an image afterward. Whether it’s a blog post or a social media update, once the copy is done, we move on to the picture.

But who says the copy has to come first?

Sitting down to create an image without any copy to restrict you is a great way to find some inspiration. Once the image is done, you can allow that to inspire your copy.

Ask yourself, “What type of article would this image be good for?”

2. Read

A good writer is also a good reader.

We write about marketing, so we also read a lot about marketing. News articles, emails, blogs, social media posts, and books. Reading the views of others in our industry keeps us in the conversation and aware of current trends.

But we also dip outside of marketing too. Marketing, like many other industries, is something that can be relevant to many other areas.

Whenever we find out about a new idea or a new trend, we wonder, “Can this be applied to marketing?” This can often lead to inspiration for content.

Could the last book you read apply to your industry in some way? Does a trend in the news also point to something in your own industry?

If the answer is yes, you’ve got something to write about.

3. Take your time and forget about inspiration

Inspiration is the strangest thing. The more you try to grasp it, the further it seems to be.

One exercise we often do on team building days is we ask our Go! Agents to come up with an interesting fact about themselves.

Most of the time no one is able to think of anything. They’re stumped! All of our staff are creative and interesting people, so why is it so hard for them to come up with something?

The issue is, no one likes to be put on the spot. When you try to force yourself to come up with an idea, that’s exactly what you’re doing.

Our best ideas happen when we’re not trying to come up with them at all. When we’re driving home, taking a shower or just before we go to bed.

It’s good practice to carry a notepad with you so you can collect ideas when inspiration strikes. Even when your deadline is weeks away.

As counter-productive as it seems, not thinking about coming up with an idea makes ideas appear on their own.

4. Revisit old content

After my last tip, I’ve either got you nodding your head, or I’ve completely lost you. You might be frantically screaming at your monitor, “BUT I NEED AN IDEA RIGHT NOW!”

When this happens to us, we always find it’s good to revisit our old content. Creating content that is a direct response or follow-up to old content can be a winner.

One thing we like to do is find our most popular older content and write another post that expands on it. If lots of people loved your post about skincare tips, chances are they’re hungry for more!

The best thing about this is you’re giving your audience more of what they want. So your content is defined by others instead of yourself.

Completely stumped on how to turn your content around? Contact us today to learn how we can help your company put out consistently great content!

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5 Engagement Tips For Small Businesses

By Christopher Tompkins

2May

Advertising, Business, Facebook, Facebook Advertising, Instagram, Local Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter

Running a small business can be a daunting task. When you add marketing to your other duties, it almost seems impossible, right? Whether you’re trying to create a business empire from scratch or just trying to maintain the day-to-day, being in charge of a company is not easy!

There’s a good chance that if you’re running your own business, you’re probably trying to maintain your social media accounts on top of everything else. If this is the case, you might not have the time, energy, or resources to promote yourself in the right way. Who has time to bother with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? As tough as it can be to fit social media into a packed schedule, it’s essential for any business to grow. Social media marketing has the strength to bring even a small local shop increased online visibility. How do you start? Check out these steps:

1. Invest in update management software. A busy business owner can’t be bothered with spending several hours crafting content, posting, sharing, and liking. You will need help! A variety of programs are available to help you master social media marketing. Whether it’s Hootsuite, Buffer, or Onlypult, the right software can make social media management easier.

2. Engaging content. You need social media marketing, but you need GOOD social media marketing. The right content will attract customers to your page, but the wrong content will repel them.

Find out how you can get your customers to create engaging content for you here.

3. Moderate promotions. Small businesses can use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms for many different reasons, but you want to make sure to promote specials, happy hours, sales, events, etc. That being said, don’t forget to add other content into the mix. Don’t make your social media marketing presence solely about sales!

4. Promote in real life. Make sure people know about your online presence when they visit your store. Whether you run a restaurant, retail shop, or another small business, have “Follow Us!” signs up and offer exclusives that can’t be found anywhere other than Facebook, Twitter, etc.

5. Advertising. The biggest disadvantage a small business has is, well, it’s small. Because of this, it might be a little harder to get the word out about your brand than say, Coca-Cola or Chevrolet. That’s why it’s important that your message stands above the rest by investing some money into Facebook and Twitter advertising. Advertising has become an absolute must for companies trying to increase brand awareness and online visibility. The results are quickly visible, but a thought-out strategy is necessary.

Today’s small businesses have a special edge with social media marketing. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help strengthen your online presence, professional status, and customer relations.

Are you stumped by social media marketing? Let us take care of it for you! Click here to get started!

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5 Ways To Find The Perfect Customer Online

By Christopher Tompkins

30Apr

Social Media

Are you trying to promote your business through Facebook advertising? Do you want to increase brand awareness on a local or global scale? Do you want a VERY specific group of people to see your ad? Maybe you want anyone and everyone to see you? It’s all possible, but you need a pro’s help.

When we work on Facebook advertising for our clients, we are fully aware that we’re in for a task. Each business is an entirely separate entity and as such, requires a unique approach. Why? Because Facebook gives us so many options and avenues to visibility that we have to carefully craft a strategy for every advertisement.

What are the best ways to fully utilize Facebook strategies? How should YOUR business use them? Below are five of the most effective options that you can take advantage of when trying to market your brand.

1. Location. When we’re looking at these options, we have to ask ourselves “Who do we want to click this ad?” Obviously, the answer should correspond with who your target customer is. Does your brand appeal to customers in your hometown or all across the U.S.?

For example, the law office of Payne & Price wants to reach out to more potential clients. However, they only handle cases in Atlanta. Obviously, there wouldn’t be any point for them to pay for a national reach. People in non-relevant areas would see the ad and move on, and they would do so fast. Narrowing your geographical reach is important, especially if you are trying to appeal to a particular area.

2. Age and Gender. We have bunched these two together because many times they go hand-in-hand. Age and gender are important options that need to be specified in any campaign. Whether you know it or not, your product’s appeal has an age range. Often, it will also appeal to male or female audiences as well.

Safe Haven Nursing, an in-home caregiving facility typically for seniors, is trying to raise their brand awareness on Facebook. Their target audience is not the elders themselves, but rather their adult children. They should target the ages of 40-55 in their specified area. Since studies show that the children who make decisions about their aging parents’ healthcare are often daughters, they may also want to choose a female audience.

On the contrary, My Cali, an eager startup clothing line that is aimed at Millennials, will want to target those between 18-35 to match their desired clientele. They can also make separate ads that feature male and female apparel.

3. Life Events. Are you a wedding planner? Baby clothes retailer? Marketer for a college? This one is for you. People celebrate milestones in their life on Facebook quite often and as a result, you can offer them targets to compliment this time.

The marketing team at Hampton Ridge, a beautiful event venue in the Pocono Mountains, is trying to reach out to engaged couples looking for places to spend their special day. With Facebook marketing, they can target couples in the area who have been engaged for 3 months and 6 months. They won’t bother with those who have been engaged for over 12 months because those couples are typically ready to walk down the aisle. With Facebook advertising, you can be that specific.

4. Income. To be frank, what is the sense of marketing to a crowd that can’t afford your product? Or, you may want to reach out to a more or less wealthy clientele. Either way, you have the ability to target those in a specific financial bracket or those with a particular household income.

The folks at Everclean Housekeeping were tired of being rejected after giving quotes for their services. Instead of lowering their rates, they decided to use Facebook marketing to target those with incomes $100K or above. They quickly saw a different demographic start calling in, and business improved.

5. Interests and Values. When I say interests, I don’t necessarily mean you should target people who like to play basketball or go hiking (although you could do that). Facebook has the ability to look at the Pages people have liked as well as tap into their profile information so users see promotional content they are actually interested in.

This goes beyond hobbies or passions. Perhaps your product appeals to a more conservative or liberal audience? Maybe you want to reach out to the Christian, Jewish, or Muslim communities in your area? Or maybe you just want to promote your products to those who support your local football team. Whether it’s a personal interest or something that your target market values, it’s possible to connect with people with that shared commonality.

As you can imagine, of all of these strategies this one takes some finesse. I would suggest you take a step back and look at your “typical” customer. What do you imagine them doing or participating in when they aren’t in your business?

Banyan Tree Tutoring was trying to reach out to parents in the Chattanooga, TN area. When they began their advertising journey, they chose to add several elements from above. First, they wanted to reach those who were interested in the local schools, Facebook pages about parenting and home-owning, and local sports teams. Then, because they are considered a premium service, they chose a specific income. Next, they chose the age range of the typical parents with school children, 28-50. Finally, they decided to stick within 20 miles of the Chattanooga city limits. Through these efforts, Banyan Tree Tutoring and thousands of other businesses are drumming up more business in ways they didn’t expect.

Are you excited yet? You should be! But you need to face facts, Facebook advertising is intense. It takes time, effort, and strategy. However, once you have it down, you will have an advantage over the competition and reach an audience you wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

Ready to start Facebook advertising for your business? Contact us today!

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4 Ways To Add A Human Element To Social Media Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

16Apr

Social Media

Here’s one of the biggest secrets of the social media marketing world — people like to speak with other people. The human element of our work is what makes it stand out from any other form of content marketing. Brands can connect with customers and build lasting, long-term relationships like never before. But how do you add a healthy dose of humanity to your content strategy?

We recently spoke with Todd, the marketing manager of a fast-growing app company. While being firmly set in the tech world, Todd had a hard time grasping social media marketing , especially when we told him the content he had been publishing lacked a bit of the human touch. These are the suggestions we offered Todd:

1. A casual tone. Yes, you want your brand to come off as professional. However, you also want your brand to have an approachable position. Your copy should be written in a way that your followers feel comfortable enough to interact with it. Ask questions, invite comments, and have some enthusiasm in your content.

2. Showcase your favorite people. Do you have great customer stories to share? Send them out and do so often! Share testimonials, reviews, and customer feedback. This will make your customers smile because it shows how much you listen to your audience.

3. Offer a “behind the scenes” look. What better way to make your organization look more human than to show the humans that run it? Speak with your employees and share their story on social media. Explore your office with Facebook Live broadcasts. Host Q&As with various different members of your staff and address your audience head-on. It’s a proven method to get people talking!

4. Chatbots. Wait, chatbots? Yes! Chatbots may seem to be the opposite of human, but if you have a well-developed chatbot, the experience will capture your brand’s tone, message, and mission ; all while seeming conversational. You can capture a human tone through your responses and push the envelope on customer service in the process.

It’s important to show the human side of your business on social media. If you try to approach this type of marketing without considering the, well, social side, you will fail to generate the right level of engagement. The good news is that if you follow the above steps, your brand will have an approachable and effective content strategy.

Click here to learn how we can help your brand perfect its tone on social media! http://ow.ly/ngnZ30jtNvO

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4 Steps To Writing A Professional “Away” Message

By Christopher Tompkins

12Apr

Copywriting

Customer service is one of the main reasons why Facebook Messenger has risen above most other messaging apps. With its connection to Facebook itself, users can contact brands on Facebook easier than ever before. But what happens when a customer sends over a message at 5:01p.m. and your team leaves at 5:00? If you have a great customer service team, you may have reps who are willing to stay a few minutes to respond to that message. But what happens if your company receives a message at 3:00 a.m.?

The best answer to this is to create an away message for your Facebook Messenger. It will automatically reply during your off hours, which you or your social media marketer can set up in Facebook’s settings. Your message should be well thought out and informative.

Here are four simple steps to take so you can create a message like this:

1. Friendly and professional tone. First, you need to set the tone. Obviously, this isn’t the message that your customers thought they would see, so make sure this surprise is positive, friendly, and professional. Apologize that you missed them, ensure that their message is important, and that you will get back to them as soon as possible.

2. Offer information. Before they become upset that you’re not at the office, make sure you include your hours of operation. This will help them gain a better understanding of your business, and also when to expect a response. Additionally, add your phone number and other basic info. This may answer their question without any further steps, but whether their question is answered or not, you should still reply when you return to the office.

3. Offer resources. You may not be able to help them in real time, but you can still be a resource. Provide a link to the F.A.Q. page on your website or links to pages that answer some common questions that your customers ask. These links should be helpful and be very easy to navigate.

4. Gratitude and a promise. The whole goal of this message is to make sure that the customer understands that their message didn’t fall down some virtual rabbit hole and itwill never be received. So making sure they feel appreciated and heard is key.

Here is an example of a well-executed auto-reply away message:

Hey [name], thank you so much for reaching out to Green Logic, LLC. Our hours of operations are Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. We’re sorry we missed you today, but we assure you that we will see your message as soon we log back in! In the meantime, be sure to visit our F.A.Q. page here for some quick answers. We promise we will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!

We can’t all have a team ready to respond 24/7. For those times that your office is empty and your team’s smartphones are off, an away message is important. The above steps can help you make a message that will make your customers smile.

Click here to learn how our team can help you with any aspect of social media marketing: https://ribbitmediasolutions.com/

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3 Steps To Timely Customer Service On Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

9Apr

Social Media

Sorry 1-800 numbers, social media is the new way to reach out to a brand. There’s no hold music, no dropped calls, no “transferring to another department.” All those infamous customer service pet peeves are fading away thanks to social media marketing. But is your customer service team using this platform right?

When a brand is represented on social media, they are automatically expected to give a response in under an hour. In fact, studies show that approximately 65% of people who reach out to a brand via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or another platform expect a response within an hour. They want their inquiries responded to at a rapid rate– and who can blame them? Everything else is happening at lightning speed thanks to the internet, so why should their friendly, professional, and thorough answers come at a slower pace?

If you’re one of the many businesses that respond slower than the “one hour standard” or fail to respond at all, you need to checkout these tips.

1. Have a rep at the ready. Your business should always have someone available to respond to customer inquiries. The best and most obvious way to do this is give your employees access to the social media platforms on their mobile devices. Even on the go, they can offer a quick response. They may not have all the answers right in front of them as if they were at their desktop, but they can refer them to the right solution.

2. Establish your hours. Don’t feel like setting up a night-shift rep? Many companies don’t want to have a rep immediately available at all times, especially after their hours of operations have ended. There’s an easy answer to this. You can create and schedule an automated “away” message inside Facebook itself. If you really want to go the extra mile for your customers, include helpful links that answer the most common questions.

3. Chatbots. A chatbot should not replace a live person. Instead, it should enhance your customer’s experience. If created correctly, chatbots can help customers with troubleshooting issues, placing orders, and much more. People love getting an immediate response when they have a question, and chatbots run 24/7, so they’re a great way to keep your customers happy.

As you can see, it’s easy to always be in touch with your customer base. If you respond fast enough, Facebook will reward you with a note at the top of your page (and will sometimes even alert your page visitors!) that says “Usually responds within an hour.” This is something your a business should strive for, because it lets your customers know that you provide great customer service.

Looking for help with your social media marketing? You’ve come to the right place. Our team of marketers are here to help you achieve the best customer service possible. Click here to get started: http://ow.ly/Zgrh30jm0nU

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The Most Common Design And Visual Mistakes Social Media Marketers Make

By Christopher Tompkins

4Apr

Graphic Design, Social Media

In our previous blog, we discussed five techniques to incorporate into your social media marketing strategy when you are creating visuals. We promoted these so you can avoid big mistakes that many brands (even major ones) often make. With that in mind, you might be asking about the biggest foul-ups you should avoid. That’s why we created this list.

These are the biggest branding blunders you can make on social media. As you read, you may find yourself itching to log into Facebook, Twitter, or even Pinterest and fix these mistakes immediately. Don’t panic, however. Even the biggest brands make mistakes– that’s the beauty of social media marketing, there’s always room for improvement.

1. Controversial imagery. A few years ago, major clothing retailer Gap made a major faux-pas by creating an ad that was perceived as racist. They took down the ad and withdrew it from all their channels, but the damage was done. Dove, Peta, Pepsi, and Sony have all made similar huge mistakes by not thinking their imagery all the way through. The results ended up offending a group of people and backfiring on their brand considerably. Do yourself a favor and look at your marketing from ALL angles.You can cause a firestorm if you’re smart.

2. Poor quality imagery. You would be surprised at how many brands don’t see a problem incorporating blurry, pixelated or poor quality imagery– especially when designing a cover image for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or another platform. Make sure your images are at least 300 dpi and used in its more optimal form. Of course, there are other mistakes that could be made. Typos in superimposed texts, content that doesn’t match your branding, off-subject content, and more.

3. Cut off imagery. You spent hours designing that cover image. You uploaded it and it looks great. So why is your VP of Sales calling you saying it looks all wonky on her iPhone? When you’re designing your imagery, you need to accommodate for all screens and platform specifications. While it is possible, it can be quite challenging without a team of designers helping you. Even more frustrating, they have changed these dimensions before and continue to do so, so your team must be ready to adapt their catalog of files at a moment’s notice.

Take a moment and do a quick Google search for marketing mistakes. You will find countless examples of big brands that have made these errors and in some cases, continue to do so. Make sure you get the right kind of publicity and market appropriately.

To learn how our team of designers can improve your company’s online branding, click here: http://ow.ly/aMtS30jdZHM

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The 5 Secrets To Improving Your Social Media Imagery

By Christopher Tompkins

2Apr

Graphic Design, Social Media

Let’s say you’re looking at a house online. Sure, knowing the dimensions, numbers of rooms, and statistics are all vital factors to learning about the property. But what you really want is a large album of photos to check out. Even though they were angled and staged by a professional photographer, we prefer to have a visual of the real deal. It’s the photos that make you want to contact the realtor. Without great pictures, you would never even consider visiting the home.

Your social media marketing should abide by the same laws.

Take a look at some of the most recent updates your brand has published on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms. What do the images look like? Is it the content you want to represent your brand? Are your proud of it? The truth is, social media is quickly becoming the first piece of content many consumers see when experiencing a brand for the first time. The last thing you want is to present your brand with shoddy images.

Since it’s spring time, you might want to consider some spring cleaning on your social media images. These five techniques are used by professional content marketers when they are creating quality work. Are you ready to get creative?

1. Crisp, clean, and quality photos. Photos that capture certain elements of your company are effective on social media due to their originality and human nature. However, you want to make sure that these photos are high-quality. If a quality camera isn’t in the budget, most smartphones come with a decent camera of at least 12 megapixels. This will allow you to take a clear photo and minimize blurriness. When deciding on your subject manner, make sure it is in the center of the photo and is self-explanatory. No one wants to try and decipher what the subject of your photo is. Photos can be action shots of your employees helping customers, snapshots of your latest products, or even pictures of your organization’s location. All of these are great ways to add a bit of originality to your strategy.

2. Stock photos. If you’re not ready for the camera, you might want to consider high-resolution stock photos. These files should be large in size and as clear as day. One thing worth noting– if you’re going the stock photo route, keep in mind that because of the number of people that use these purchased images, they may come off as inorganic. Some of these photos have cheesy actors or props in obviously fake scenarios. Weed through the stock photo sites such as iStock and find ones that don’t look staged. Another good rule of thumb is to avoid clear cut face shots of the actors. It’s all about capturing a certain element of your business, not identifying a person to represent your business specifically.

3. Logos. For some businesses, this one is fairly simple. Others may have to go back to the drawing board. When creating a social media page for your business, you should have your logo as your profile image. This should be the latest version of your logo and be as high-quality as possible. If you have this logo in vector form (.AI, .EPS, and smart .PDFs), that would be best since you will need multiple different files with dimensions that meet platform image specifications. In other words, the image you use for Facebook may be cut off on Twitter, or vice versa, depending on the platform’s current standards (which often change).

4. Branded images. Combine steps 1-3 for this step. Harness the power of graphic design and create images with your branding superimposed upon relevant images. Whether you just add your logo or further graphics that match your tone, colors, and style, this is an important part of a your content rollout. One of the best ways to create this is through Canva. The team at Canva has created a world-class platform in which you can generate and share truly original designs that are sized to each platform’s specifications.

5. Videos. Ask any professional in the social media marketing world what the most crucial part of an image strategy is, and they will say video. This medium must be incorporated into your monthly content calendar because of its effectiveness but also because of how it takes priority in the current platform algorithms. Incorporate production-quality videos showing demonstrations of your products or services, Q&As, behind the scenes, announcements, interviews, and much more. Camera shy? No worries. A collection of pictures can be morphed into a slideshow that matches your branding.

It’s time to jazz up your imagery. With the above 5 techniques in mind, how does your current content stack up? If you’re starting to see room for improvement, that’s a good thing. You’re taking your first steps into a better understanding of quality content. But here’s the issue many face– each one of the above requires a team with both skilled creatives and analytical managers. That’s where The Go! Agency can step in. Every day, we create a variety of quality imagery for our clients so they look their very best online!

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