Tag : facebook for business

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

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20Aug

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What do you think of Emojis? Comment below!

 

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Are Your Employees Ready For Social Media?

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15Aug

There is a substantial difference between personal and professional social media. Just because an employee knows how to post cat pictures on Facebook or retweet a celebrity on Twitter, doesn’t automatically mean they understand how to manage a business page on these platforms. Those who run your company’s social media marketing will require some form of training so they can understand the intricacies of this industry. Like everything else, this type of education has a price tag and you should keep these options in mind while planning your 2017 marketing budget.

Thankfully, the internet has made it so your marketing employees do not have to attend a formal college for this education. Several websites offer online tutorial courses to show you the ins and outs of social media marketing and can explain what each platform requires. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and the others all have very different mechanics. Your marketing team can learn all about them through companies such as Udemy, Lynda, and Shaw Academy. While all prices vary, each site offers premium services and classes, which explores helpful approaches, technical knowledge, and a broad range of lessons that allow you to have a full understanding of online marketing. If none of the above sites match your approach, a quick Google search will present many other avenues to consider.

Additionally, many marketing firms, The Go! Agency included, offers comprehensive consultation packages your employees can utilize. These kinds of sessions provide an in-depth and personalized approach that not only teach the industry of social media in detail but also incorporate your own business’s social media for an analytical approach.

From Facebook advertising to Hootsuite analytics, there is so much to learn in the world of social media marketing! Your employees will be able to expand your brand’s reach, study marketing analytics, and be as effective and efficient as possible in the growing world of the internet.

What training has worked for your employees? Comment below!

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4 Elements Of Social Media That Need Your Attention

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14Aug

When companies create a budget, they want to make sure they are paying for the most efficient tools, products, and services available. Companies are gradually starting to realize that social media fits into these categories. Unfortunately, you can’t just buy a box labeled “Social Media Marketing” once a year and call it a day. There are many facets to this industry, some that must be considered when budgeting for the coming year.

Our previous article covered the advertising side of social media, so today we are talking about four additional major elements to social media marketing. Whether you are just clicking “Sign Up” or you are a social media veteran, these areas require constant attention. Luckily, there’s also helpful resources just a few clicks away. Here are some areas of social media marketing that will be benefited by some paid services:

Scheduling – Unless you want to create a team of 24/7 vigilant workers that stare at Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all day and night, you will need help with scheduling. You have the ability to write posts for the week ahead and schedule accordingly. Several sites can help with this, but we recommend Hootsuite. This handy tool is a fantastic, multi-layered solution that helps marketers set up content for the coming days. However, it doesn’t work for every social media platform. You will be able to schedule Instagram posts via Onlypult, and Tailwind can schedule your pins on Pinterest.

Analytics – A majority of the above schedulers also offer data analysis features so you can study how your social media is working. This is crucial to your online marketing success so you can see what posts, publishing times, subject matter, and platforms are working better than others so you can fine-tune your approach. There are many companies offering tools that help you track this data on a regular basis. A simple Google search will bring back relevant results to get you started.

Reach Optimization – Social media is all about reach. For Twitter, this is particularly important. You need to make sure you have lots of people following you, but you also need to reciprocate so your brand is active in the community. To do this, there are certain tools like Crowdfire that have the potential to deliver amazing results. With programs like this, you can connect with those who follow your industry’s leaders, which will raise brand awareness. You will also be able to switch between accounts quickly if such a case arises. All this can be done with just a few clicks given the right software. As you plan for the coming year, consider these services.

Creative Software – Anyone who spends more than a few minutes on social media will run into eye-catching imagery, captivating videos, and enjoyable GIFs. Since it’s only natural for the eye to gravitate towards attractive visuals, social media marketers need to keep this in mind when creating content. Even the most powerful writing can only do so much. Unfortunately, the power to be an artist isn’t typically free. Adobe Photoshop, video editing software, and creative apps all offer premium services either in the form of one-time fees or subscriptions that will pay off once you start incorporating them into your content.

Social media marketing is most certainly a multifunctional machine. There are many cogs and gears needed to be maintained, so it moves along smoothly. However, as you can see, you don’t go in without assistance. There are many programs, apps, and services that will bring your marketing to a whole new level.

Which programs do you use for your social media content? Share below!

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Slow Summer? Speed It Up With Social Media Marketing

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10Aug

The scorching days of summer aren’t typically days in which summer is sizzling for most businesses. While everyone is either away on vacation or too hot to do any business, the dog days of summer are always difficult for businesses to thrive. Yet there is still plenty to do! Just because business may be slow doesn’t mean the internet is. The world of social media marketing doesn’t sleep, let alone take a break. You can use these days to really ramp up your social media strategy. Here are the top ways to set social media on fire:

Summer Sales- Perhaps the more traditional way to drum up business, a sale is always an eye-catch on social media. While you don’t want to be overly promotional on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, every now and again a sale will cause a rise in engagement.

Email marketing- Does your business have an email marketing campaign? If not, now would be a good time to start. As you create your eblasts, be sure to incorporate your social media accounts and your website. 

Blogging- Perhaps your customer is in the mood for some light summer reading? Your blog will establish you as a professional in your industry. It can also offer your customer base a new level of information. You can use social media to promote these new pieces of writing, and vice versa.

Experiment- This is the time to get your social media strategy down pat. You may have wanted to try different tactics such as incorporating video, contests, long forms, or creating a whole new account for a new platform. Now is the time to do it.

Prepare for the rush- Whether it’s a good thing for a bad thing, summer does end at some point. With the autumn and winter comes a whole new wave of business. From Back to School to the big Holiday rushes, it will be time to rock. If you find yourself with some extra time on your hands now, use it to plan ahead.  

Summer is great for kids and theme park employees, but for the rest of us, it can be a rough patch.You don’t need to fret, though. This time can be used to your advantage, and you can still find a way to shine.

How do you use summer’s business season? Comment below!

 

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Why You Need To Be A Social Media First Responder

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2Aug

It may not be a surprise to anyone that the world is getting faster. Too bad we still only have 24 hours to complete everything. Social media is no exception to this acceleration as we see articles drop down to the bottom of news feeds faster than a falling brick.  

If you want to present your company as an influential member of your industry, you need to prove you are knowledgeable and in tune with what is happening. Be sure watch relevant subject matters carefully and become a news source by spreading the word. You can retweet, share stories, or write an original article or blog post about what is happening in the world.

Content isn’t the only element of social media that demands quick attention. Account maintenance goes beyond sharing posts and staying relevant. You need a sharp eye on all aspects of your company’s profiles. During this series about how to craft an effective social media marketing campaign, we placed a lot of emphasis on planning. One of the most important pieces of a strategy is to stay attentive and responsive.

Social media is all about communication. Because of this, customers have the ability to reach out to your business through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other platforms. They can inquire, comment, or complain, all for the rest of your audience to see. Pretty scary right? Well, it doesn’t have to be if you have an attentive social media manager watching your page.

Even if a customer goes on a rant against your company, you have the ability to diffuse it in a professional manner by responding. However, you will want to do this quickly. Ignoring a tense situation like this will only make your business look like it is either avoiding conflict or neglecting your social media page.

Whether your customers are mentioning you on Twitter or sending a long message on Facebook, you should respond within 24 hours to everything they throw at you. The sooner the better! After all, social media has become the front lines of customer service. By being quick to reply to any and all engagement, you will show your friends and followers that you care about their satisfaction.

Finally, you must be responsive to website updates. Sure, sometimes the big six (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+) will simply change the color of a graphic or move a menu. However, social media marketers need to watch out for algorithm changes. These will affect how your whole social media strategy works. News feeds can change, websites can take preference to certain posts, etc. It is important for marketers to keep an ear out for when algorithms will take effect and must be prepared to adjust.

It’s clear to see that it’s survival of the swiftest on the internet. You need to be quick and responsive to everything social media presents to your team.

How do you stay on top of things in social media? Comment below! Be sure to look out for Part 4 of our series on achieving effective social media marketing.

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Why Your Social Media Content Is Flopping

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2Aug

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

  • Which types of posts are the most engaging?
  • Where do you see the most response? (Facebook? Twitter? Instagram?)
  • When are people reading your posts? (Sunday mornings? Tuesday nights?)

 

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

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

Share your thoughts below about how you approach social media!

 

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Netiquette and Niceties: How to Behave on the Internet

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8Jun

Remember when your parents used to teach you how to act? There were all these rules about how to introduce yourself, how to eat at a table, how to act around your elders, the list went on and on. Well, the internet has its own etiquette (or netiquette, if you’re into corny puns)  on how to act and like any rules, there are lots of people who break them. It is important, especially for those who use the internet for business, to learn online manners!

Whether you’re a casual visitor or heavily involved on the internet, you won’t have to look very hard to find some people being obnoxious and flat out rude. You’ll find this ugliness in comment sections and personal social media updates as people proclaim their opinion or deride others’. What happens if one of these “trolls” find their way onto your business page? If it’s truly offensive, you can report it and the internet authorities, such as Facebook or Twitter admins, can take care of it. However, if it’s a negative review, you’ll want to acknowledge it and see if there’s anything you can do to resolve the issue. Make it public so people can see how you handled the situation.

Yet internet manners go beyond dealing with hate and difficult people. Here are some do’s and do not’s that will make you very proper, indeed:

• Don’t beg for likes- Likes should come naturally. You don’t want to come off desperate. Your content should speak for itself and earn those likes. However, if you’re conducting a poll, you can have people “like” as an option. Still, there are more sophisticated ways of conducting polls now such as widgets to embed in a post.

• Respond…and fast! You want to be sure to respond to messages, comments, RTs, etc. in a timely manner. Try to make communication time less than 24 hours, even shorter if you can help it. This will show you’re being attentive and you pay attention to what your fans have to say. You don’t need to thank everyone who likes your posts, though. If you’re getting a bunch of likes, you’ll be stuck there all day!

• Post in moderation- It’s important to post everyday. However, you don’t want to post so much that your followers get annoyed. Quality over quantity is the name of the game in social media…except followers, the more followers the better.

• Hashtags- We can’t stress the importance of hashtags enough. However, keep it at a maximum of 3 per post. You don’t want to fill the screen with a ton of these tags. It’s another way to look desperate and annoy readers.

• We not me!- If you’re representing a business, always refer to yourself in the plural tense, such as “we” and “us”. You’re a stand in for a larger body of people, so “I” and “me” are inappropriate.

• Avoid “too hot” topics- Relevant and contemporary issues are good, but don’t get involved with sticky controversies or touchy subjects. If you’re representing a business, don’t plug your political agenda, religious ideals, or anything hair-raising.

Many of these can be applied to a real professional conversation. But as you can see, the internet requires some different kinds of formalities. Yet if you follow these, you’ll look like a real pro!

What are your thoughts on these rules? Comment below!

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Advertising on Facebook? Great! But….What’s Your Objective?

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20Aug

If you have not considered advertising on Facebook – there truly is no time like the present to get started.  I know in the past that I have been against Facebook advertising, and I am happy to admit it.  At the time, it was not as advanced, and as crucial, as it is now.

The proof is in the pudding folks.  How many people are your posts reaching?  Just 1%?  If you have ever been presented by this number – here are the facts.  Facebook has changed its algorithm greatly, which is a high level way of saying that it has really reduced the number of people that will be exposed to your posts.

I’ve spoken with peers in the social media industry and we have agreed that organic engagement has dropped across the board.  They have reported drops to 4-6% all the way down to 1-2% in terms of organic reach.

Cue Facebook Advertising.

While I am loathe to shove people towards advertising (as I believe in the online public relations aspect of social media), in this case I think it should be added as a crucial aspect of your overall Facebook marketing strategy.

But there are two pieces of good news – Facebook has made it easier than ever to understand their advertising model and your can get a lot of bang for your buck (currently).

My advice is that before you start ANY advertising initiative on Facebook or any other social media site, that you set forth clear objectives for why you want to advertise.  In this case, Facebook has your best interests at heart and once you click “Create Ad” in your Facebook advertising section (yes, we all have them attached to our personal accounts), they will present you with a wonderful list of objectives to help you make the right choice.

I thought I would go through all of these here so that you can think critically about what your objective is before you even log into your account.  Let’s go!

Possible Objectives for Your Facebook Advertising Campaign:

1. Boost Your Posts: Want to get more engagement on a certain post that you have on your Facebook Business Page?  This option will allow you to create a sponsored post that would be seen by the audience of your choice to increase engagement.

2. Promote Your Page: Want more visibility and LIKES?  Then this is the choice for you.  It is a great way to get started with building your network on Facebook.

3. Send People to Your Website: Want hits to your website, blog, or online store?  This allows you to create a sponsored ad that will be presented to the audience of your choice…right in the newsfeed!

4. Increase Conversions on Your Website: Do you want to promote conversions on your website?  Want more email signups, ebook downloads, free consultation appointments?  Use this objective to get more conversions on your offer.

5. Get Installs of Your App: Are you a developer with a new application that you would like to promote?  What better way to promote this than to share your app via an add with a one-click download?

6. Increase Engagement in Your App: Is your application just not getting the user engagement that you want?  Use this objective to get more people active using your app!

7. Reach People Near Your Business: Are you a local business that relies on your community for success?  This objective allows you to hit your marketing with laser precision!

8. Raise Attendance at Your Event: You may have noticed that the number of people viewing your event invitations has decreased.  Promote your event more aggressively with advertising and watch your numbers grow with targeted members outside of your network.

9. Get People to Claim Your Offer: Are you having a sale or special offer?  Then this objective is the number one choice!

10. Get Video Views: Spend lots of money creating a promotional video or just have a video that you would like to see more people engage with?  Use this to promote your video to a laser targeted market!

As you can see these 10 different objectives are a good starting point to better understanding where you need to start when it comes to Facebook Advertising.  Now go onto your account and check these out in more detail.  Facebook offers lots of flexibility, so click around and learn more about these objectives and what they entail!

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