Why Facebook’s Ad Preferences Works In Marketers’ Favor

21Aug

An advertisement has to be really well made and relevant for the average social media user to pay attention to it. If it looks like spam or is pushing a product we have absolutely no interest in, we ignore it like the plague. Facebook knows this and is giving more power to the consumer by introducing ad preferences. However, this isn’t doomsday for social media marketers. Instead, it’s actually good news.

In Facebook’s announcement, they explained that the new ad preferences feature allows its 1.6 billion users to narrow down the type of ads they receive. With just a few clicks (or taps for mobile users), users can weed through some annoying subjects and narrow down their interests and hobbies. Imagine that, ads you actually enjoy!

At the first sight of this news, marketers may begin to sweat bullets. They gave consumers the ability to control the ads? What kind of chaos is this? Yet in truth, this will help deliver the right message to the right person. When companies create a Facebook ad, they already have the ability to specifically pick and choose who gets to see the ad. From a marketer’s standpoint, there are plenty of options so the right person sees your message. Ad preferences will allow that scope to be even narrower, which only leaves the people who would buy your product or service to see it. There’s no point in wasting time, some people just won’t be interested. You might be thinking that a smaller scope is a bad thing. While your reach will be narrower, the possibility of someone actually clicking on the ad will be greater. It’s about quality leads over quantity.

Because of this further filtering, Facebook has another treat. Ad Blocks no longer work on Facebook’s desktop version. Since users have the option to see content they enjoy, there isn’t an excuse anymore to not see ads. Once again, social media marketers should be cheering.

Facebook has never denied that they need advertising to live. It’s what makes their employees happy and their websites free. Without ads, there would be trouble on the horizon for marketer and consumers alike. No one wants a Facebook monthly fee. Because of that, ads will always be a necessary element to all social media platforms. Now, the required experience of advertising seems to be a little less painful.

What do you think of ad preferences? Comment below!

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6 Ways Your Social Media Might Look Like Spam

By Christopher Tompkins

17Aug

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

Let’s face it. Nobody is a fan of junk mail. It doesn’t get much love thanks to the nature of the message it sends and tends to wind up in a trash bin. The same applies to social media marketing. There is a TON of content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the other platforms, but you can still spot spam, scams, and solicitations quickly. Is your content getting flagged as junk? Here are the tops methods that are problematic: Drowning your content with an overabundance of hashtags. Sure, hashtags are important, but moderation is key. Don’t be the internet equivalent of a tacky billboard.

Spelling and grammar errors. We’ve seen those emails from the Nigerian prince. Tons of spelling errors. Don’t follow the prince. Write professionally and proper.

Sparse profiles with blank spots. If you want to seem like a real company, make sure all the fields on your profiles are properly filled out. Take time to write precise, engaging copy and optimize those pages!

100% sales posts. You won’t be able to get very far if you only post promotional content. Do you blame your customers? They want more out of their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram time than weeding through a sea of ads.

Low-quality photos. If a customer has to try to decipher what a picture is because it’s pixelated, there’s a good chance they are going to dismiss your content as nonprofessional. Online spammers snatch whatever image they can get because they can’t afford to buy quality images. Don’t settle for blurry images.

Non-conversational marketing. Your customers want what social media was made for. A conversation! If you aren’t responding to messages or comments, you profiles will seem illegitimate.

It’s much easier to seem like spam than legitimate. It’s synonymous with low quality and low effort. However, if you avoid these 6 big no-nos, your social media marketing will be the real thing!

What other ways can social media marketing come off as spam? Comment below!

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Leave It To The Pros! The Benefits Of Outsourcing Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

16Aug

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

We’re at the last part of our series focused on preparing your 2017 budget for social media marketing. After going through a variety of subjects including advertising, analytics, reachability, and training for employees, you may find your head spinning a bit. That’s entirely understandable as social media marketing can be a complex subject. One last item to consider for your 2017 budget is… to erase the previous three. What exactly am I talking about? The final option is outsourcing your social media to a professional marketing firm so they can handle everything that comes with online marketing!

Handing your social media over to specialists comes with a wide variety of benefits. While it is one more thing to incorporate into your marketing budget, the perks of hiring a company that works with Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms every day are very substantial. Here are the top reasons to consider outsourcing:

Experience and professionalism – Online marketers like us at The Go! Agency have been around the block once or twice. We understand how Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and even Google+ work. As you could imagine, it’s easier said than done.

Adaptability – There’s only one rock-solid law about social media and this is “everything changes”. With every new algorithm change Facebook instills or new restriction Twitter implements, social media marketers have to come up with ways to use it to their advantage.

Quality – Let’s face it. Your marketing team is already swamped with a million other aspects of promotion. Social media marketing is the main element of The Go! Agency’s wheelhouse, and we take pride in creating captivating content that entices engagement.

There are many reasons why hiring specialists like The Go! Agency could benefit your company. Social media is more important now than ever for a brand’s reach, credibility, and customer relations.

If you have any questions about anything that was covered in this series, or would like to speak with us about social media marketing, please feel free to contact us at any time!

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What The Presidential Election Can Teach Us About Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

8Aug

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Go For The Gold! How The Olympics Affect Your Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

6Aug

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

If you can believe it, it’s time for the 2016 Olympics! Yesterday, the opening ceremonies commenced, and the whole world watched with their flag of choice waving in their hands. These flags were also waving on Twitter thanks to a new development the social media giant implemented especially for the games.

You can see the update for yourself. Go on Twitter and enter #USA. An American flag emoji will pop up! Twitter has also created emojis for other elements of the Olympics. Ranging from #Archery to #Gold, these little illustrations will be sure to grab attention to your business profiles quickly.

On Facebook, we will see new bright and flashy updates throughout the games and Google is sure to impress us with unique Doodles. The Olympics’ influence goes beyond emojis and doodles, however, it comes with both opportunities and hurdles.

First of all, the internet is going to be as busy as the Rio streets talking about their favorite athletes, their country’s standing, and maybe a controversy or two. The Olympics are going to be trending for a while. What does this mean for your business?

As always, it is important to stay relevant and knowledgeable about what’s happening in the world. Depending on your industry, it may be a challenge to incorporate #Olympics or other festive messages, but it is possible with enough brainstorming.

Be sure to keep a positive voice. There will be plenty of people putting down athletes, administration, and whole countries out there. Your job is to use the best parts of these games and somehow craft them into a way to spread your brand. You can have “Olympic-themed” photos, contests, sales, and more. Finally, be patriotic! This is one of the times people tend to back their country and show pride. Make sure you promote your country’s colors on all your accounts.

Since cyberspace is going to be crowded, be sure to have your message as sharp and impactful as possible. The Olympics can muster up just as much engagement as the Holiday season if executed correctly. You need to use this opportunity to your advantage, and you can truly win gold for your business.

How do you plan on incorporate the Olympics into your marketing? Comment below!

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The Best Ways To Level Up Your Social Media Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

2Aug

Social Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Why You Need To Be A Social Media First Responder

By Christopher Tompkins

2Aug

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

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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Don’t Wait To Make Your Social Media Marketing Plan

By Christopher Tompkins

Dont-Wait-To-Mkae-Your-Social-Media-Plan-200x300

2Aug

Advertising, Local Marketing, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Uncategorized

The world of social media is not the place to be unprepared. Yes, the time may come when you have to publish a post on the fly as a situation unfolds, but for the most part, you should have a solid strategy at your content’s core. Planning is what separates success stories and failures when marketers try to tackle the internet.

In the first part of this series, we emphasized the importance of tweaking your approach and assessing what works for your brand. The same ideas apply when trying to devise a plan, only now we are applying them. Here are the six major steps you need to complete.

Think of strategizing like a treasure map to your goal. What is the bounty lying under the X that marks the spot? Better customer relations? A wider audience? The ability to promote our company’s events? All of the above? You will need to keep your goals in mind with every step you take.
Know your target market. Who is your ideal customer? Every product, whether the seller wants to admit it or not, caters to a particular type of person. To take an advantage of this step, you should create buyer profiles. Who is your ideal customer? A female in her mid 30s, middle class, who enjoys cycling? Perhaps it’s a senior male who just retired from a long and lucrative banking career? It might seem unnecessary to add the small details, but trust us, these buyer profiles will help you sharpen your content.
It’s suggested to have your posts ready to go for the upcoming week. Even if you want to post about subjects that are happening “in the moment”, you can add more in later.
Study the calendar. Plan out holiday greetings and upcoming events such as Motivational Monday, Wisdom Wednesday, Friday Feeling, and other daily and trending topics. This all should be supplemented with hashtags or keywords. With this in mind, keep an eye out for fads, pop culture happenings, and news events. Be sure to stay relevant!
O.A.R. What is OAR? Observe, Analyse, and Research! After your posts hit the Wild Wild Web, take time out to see how each post performed. Did people click the link? How many comments did it receive? Was it a total dud? You can use analytic tools such as Hootsuite to figure out what your audience is being more receptive to at this time. Be sure to do this on a regimented schedule, because we often see patterns change.
There’s nothing wrong with a little spying. Check out what your competitors are doing online. What type of posts is work for them? Obviously, you should never just copy someone’s content, yet you may be struck with inspiration when you see what other professionals share.Now, it’s time to plan! Gather up your social media team and lay out the groundwork for an effective strategy. Stay goal-oriented, knowledgeable about current events, and study which posts work and which didn’t. There are many accounts at the brink of failing that were able to recover by preparing. Alternatively, there have also been successful social media accounts who plummeted due to poor management. As you can see, preparation is key to reaping social media’s rewards.

How do you plan social media planning? Comment below! Be sure to watch out for the third part in this series about how to effectively succeed at social media marketing and what to avoid!

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Your Website: Your Social Media’s Biggest Fan

By Christopher Tompkins

26Jul

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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How Social Media Can Rock Your Company’s Events

By Christopher Tompkins

20Jul

Social Media

Who says social media is confined to the digital world? While we do not have a physical leather-bound book called Facebook, or tiny blue birds sending out messages out to our favorite people, the digital world often visits reality through several avenues.

One of the biggest ways businesses can use social media is to cover a live event. We see this during big unveilings like Apple’s press releases. Soon enough, we will see the social media platforms exploding when iPhone 7 is announced. However, it doesn’t have to be as monumental as Apple’s releases. It can simply be a get-together or your team attending a local charity event. Here are the best ways to cover an event through your social media channels.

Live Video- With the advent of Facebook Live, Periscope, and Snapchat, people all around the world can attend your event with just the tap of a button. By providing a live broadcast of your event, customers from all over will be able to join in the fun, or could benefit from the knowledge your event is providing.
Tweeting- Twitter is perfect for live events. Reporters use Twitter to unveil news stories as they happen, minute by minute. It offers an alternative method of covering live events as opposed to live video, since you can read the tweets at your own pace.
Checking In- Facebook’s popular feature that allows people to check into a location is great to advertise your event. Be sure to remind all attendees to check in on their individual Facebook accounts so the word can spread quickly.
Event Pages- You can also use Facebook and Google+ as a way to invite your friends, family, and colleagues to your event. They can let you know if they plan on attending and, through notifications, will be reminded that a fun time is on the horizon.
Ongoing Promotion- A post saying what a good time you had will be a great closer to the event. Posting pictures, tagging your fellow attendees, and an invitation to the next event are all great ways to keep people invested, even months after the actual event.

As you can see, social media is made to promote your real life party, meeting, or conference. It seems that the internet and the “brick and mortar” world aren’t so separate after all!

How do you use social media to promote your event? Comment below!

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Tag : facebook marketing