At the Drawing Board: Deciding on a Marketing Strategy

12Apr

Facebook, Facebook Advertising, Marketing

In our last post in the At the Drawing Board series, I discussed the very first stages of one of our marketing campaigns. Myself, Chris (our CEO) and Dale (our VP) met to discuss a goal for our campaign. In the end, we decided we wanted to promote our Facebook Ads service as we believe it’s something we excel at.

During the meeting, I took down all of our ideas and later tried to form them into a concrete plan.

To do this, I first wrote down:

The goal for our campaign. What we wanted from it. This we settled on as bringing more clients in for Facebook Ads Consultancy.
Who our campaign was going to be targeted to. In this case, local businesses seemed a good starting point as they would most benefit from using Facebook Ads.
How people would find out about our campaign. Such as on social media, through our emails or (mainly) through running Facebook Ads.
What options we had for turning potential clients into actual clients. Our blog, social media, email marketing and customer service.

Once these were written down, we could easily form a small funnel to visualize the bare bones of our campaign.

At the top of our funnel, people would become aware of us and our services. From there they would become a prospective client, which would eventually turn into a consultation.

Creating this diagram allowed us to think more about how we would turn people aware of our service into clients.

We already knew our first step, where we made people aware of our service would be done through the use of Facebook Ads. But how would we turn people that had seen our ads into clients?

Possible options were:

Create a drip fed email marketing campaign that would send emails automatically to people on a mailing list to build their trust, before pitching our services to them in an email.
Capture phone numbers of potential customers and call them up to work out whether they could use our services.
Pass people on to our website or social media in the hope they’ll start to follow us and eventually decide to use our services.
Capture physical addresses and send them marketing materials through the mail.

Chris and I decided a drip fed email campaign would be the best option, as it would mostly run itself once set up, it would keep us in contact with people in our sales funnel and allow us to market to them. This allowed us to change our diagram:

With this diagram in place, we had a strategy that we could work on, and our campaign was starting to take shape. This gave us some tasks that we would need to do next:

Think up a Facebook Ads campaign that allowed us to collect the email address of people interested in our service.
Write and create an email marketing campaign based around our theme of Facebook Ads consultation.
Plan a timeline for our campaign showing us when it would start and when the content would need to be created for.

In my next post, I’ll discuss the first stage of our funnel, the Facebook Ads campaign. How we expanded on our ideas to create something more substantial. Meeting with our Copywriters and Social Media Managers for input to create a campaign map.

The Dying Art Of Facebook Organic Reach

By Christopher Tompkins

13Sep

Advertising, Facebook, Social Media

At the risk of sounding old – back in the day, Facebook was a very different place for marketers. Posts had a better chance of reaching the right people organically without boosts. Sure, advertising was still around, but it wasn’t the life force of the platform. Now, it seems like selecting the right avenue in the Ads Manager is almost as important as writing the content itself.

Advertising has become an essential element to Facebook marketing. At the center of this issue is updated algorithms. As you might have noticed, what appears in your timeline is what Facebook thinks you want to see the most, not necessarily what is most recent. Yes, the option of changing the feed results is available, but not many people know or bother with it. The pages you visit the most, the people you converse with often, and topics you like alter your results. This can be good and bad for consumers, but it’s a challenge for marketers, especially those who are just starting out with Facebook.

While advertising’s grasp is hard to escape, marketers can ensure that their content is willing to do some heavy lifting. Appealing visuals, popular hashtags, and interesting news articles can help fight back. In the end, though, Facebook’s infrastructure leaves little choice to marketers. Even if it’s only a few dollars, companies will have to to pay something.

There is a good side to this. Once you decide that advertising is necessary, your page will benefit. It’s not a scam. Your marketing team will be happy with what Facebook does for your content. Once Mark Zuckerberg’s people have a bit of dough, they will take care of you. Not only will your numbers be what organic reach used to be able to do, but you will also have a unique advantage. We see advertising’s growth for various reasons, yet the most significant is that the platforms understand that businesses are thriving due to their social media efforts. With literally billions of people watching, it’s easy to make an impact. For it to keep being easy, they need a little bit of payment.

What do you think of Facebook advertising? Comment below!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

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!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Why Your Business May Be Oversharing On Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

24Jul

Social Media

Geico has a new radio commercial talking about people “oversharing” on social media. They depict a woman that posts on Facebook every 10 minutes with photos, comments, and tags all her friends constantly. As social media marketers, we cringe at the commercial because we know the real implications oversharing can have.

Social media is becoming an established element in our society and as such, there are some unspoken rules. Here are the top 4 ways your followers may be yelling “TMI!” when checking out your updates:

1. Too many posts- Even if your updates strike the right balance of push and pull messages, flooding the social media channels with a massive amount of content is not recommended. This will surely annoy your followers. For Facebook and Instagram, it is recommended to post varying content twice a day. Twitter should be 3-4 tweets or original content (but don’t forget to utilize retweets and other tools on a daily basis)
2. Personal opinions- Don’t forget, you are representing your business when managing their social media page. It is not a good idea to push your personal beliefs on your company’s account. Do not talk about controversial, religious, or political subjects. It’s a good way to alienate or infuriate your customers.
3. Irrelevant sharing- If you manage social media for a law firm, you wouldn’t post a bunch of DIY carpentry videos, would you? Make sure the items you share are professional and somehow connect to your industry.
4. Inside References-We have all seen those social media posts that mean absolutely nothing to anyone except the people tagged in it. Do not send out those types of posts. Make sure everything is relatable to the general public. Even if you are mentioning an employee in an update, make sure people understand what you are talking about.

Quality over quantity is the name of the game in social media marketing. Be sure to take time and consider every post you share. After all, people from every walk of life will read it!

How do you feel about oversharing? Comment below!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Anybody Out There?! Understand your Followers

By Christopher Tompkins

28Jun

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

Those who are involved in the world of social media marketing could learn a great deal from a certain advertising star. Have you ever heard of Old Spice? If not, it’s a company that makes toiletries that are geared towards men. It’s been around since 1934 and as such, they’ve had some time to think about their intended audience. For a whole generation, it became the man’s fragrance. However, because of that, once “the greatest generation” that fought in WW2 and came home to reshape America began to enter their golden years, their iconic brand started to “get old” with it. People began to peg the brand with senior men and as such, their young customers started to dwindle. They needed a way to reinvigorate themselves to become popular again with the young crowd. They broadened their product line with multiple fragrances, body washes, and deodorants. Yet what really put Old Spice back into the hands of young twenty-somethings was their marketing campaign. They enlisted Terry Crews and Isaiah Mustafa, two celebrities know for their “manliness”, to endorse the product. Yet they did much more than that. They blew it up!

Their television commercials, which ended up being viral phenomenons, showed the men in such ridiculous poses in often psychedelic settings, that people had to pay attention. They looked absolutely crazy, entitling the campaign “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”. Yet what was even crazier was that it worked, and then some. See, they didn’t just tap into a younger market, they infiltrated them because they utilized what the youth liked best- quirky, off the wall humor and viral marketing. They knew who they wanted to get and they assimilated the tone of the brand.

Now, we’re not saying you need to hire Terry Crews and put him on a unicorn while holding your product—although that would probably work. But you do need to know who your audience is, and what they want to watch. Like Old Spice, you need to understand how your audience thinks and what they like to watch. That’s the thing- it went beyond a commercial. People actually searched for these advertisements for entertainment value. Now, it’s your turn. Your content needs to go beyond pushy sales. That’s a surefire way to lose followers. You’re going to want to understand the following things to succeed:

WHO your intended audience is. Whether it’s an age, gender, style, or profession, you obviously have some type of target you’re aiming at.
WHAT content they want to consume. Does your audience like cute puppy videos? What about something more substantial like a sale? Figure out the type of things they want to have in their news feeds.
WHERE they’re at. Facebook is a go to. But younger audiences are flocking to Instagram and Snapchat. Professionals hang out over in LinkedIn. There’s those three guys who still linger in Google+ territory if you’re interested.
HOW they talk. This is where Old Spice really hits the mark. They knew who they wanted and they analyzed their tones. Witty, sarcastic, funny, and, to be frank, not all that interested in the complexity of the product. Figure out how your audience talks. Perhaps they like a more serious tone. Maybe they only like shop talk.

Before even clicking that “Sign Up” button on a social media site, you need to answer these questions. Chances are, you already know the answers to them and you’ll be able to translate your pre-existing business tactics onto the web.

What do you think about the tone of audiences? Let’s hear your thoughts!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

4 Social Media Marketing Misconceptions

By Christopher Tompkins

25Jun

Social Media

There has been a lot said about our industry. Social media marketing is gaining speed and now even the tech-illiterate know a little bit about it, or so they think. We have dealt with various communication platforms since the Internet started taking flight, and we are finally seeing its effectivity everywhere!. It’s always interesting to see what people who aren’t heavily involved think about social media. One of our favorite stories is about a friend’s grandmother who thought that Facebook was only for gossip, since she was only exposed to people talking about others on the popular website. Like everything else in our lives, there are preconceived notions about social media. The marketing side of things is no different. Eager entrepreneurs and business owners see the reach that the internet offers and want to jump right in. Often times, however, they may not fully understand what they are getting into. So, let’s set some things straight.

Social Media Marketing Isn’t Free. Sure, signing up for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram is free, but once you are ready to dig a little deeper, it will cost you. These platforms and all others like them thrive on advertising revenue, and they sure know how to make their money. Less and less is becoming free, so be sure to save at least 9% of your marketing budget for tools such as Facebook advertising and Twitter Cards.

Don’t expect immediate ROI. It is a businessperson’s instinct to try to analyze a marketing technique’s return on investment. Social media marketing doesn’t work like that. It is more about communication with one’s customer base as well as showing an interest in the global community. Yes, it will most definitely bring life to your business and customers will notice you more than ever, but not in a traditional sense. There is a large subjective element to this type of marketing.

You will not go viral overnight. Social media marketing takes time. Users do not typically soar to Internet stardom extremely quickly. Your internet presence needs to build up over time. You need to be patient and consistent.

Social Media is not a “once and done” type thing. Social media takes effort. You do not just create a page and let things alone. You need to post often- at least once a day for Facebook, and multiple times for Twitter. Social media marketing is an investment in time as well as assets. However, it is absolutely worth it.

As you can see, this new marketing strategy takes some time and effort that social media managers work at great lengths to perfect. However, if you have patience and determination, you will see wonderful rewards.

What other misconceptions do you know about? Comment below!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Budgeting for Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

24May

Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter, Uncategorized

We’ve finally reached a point where big companies are recognizing social media and as such, a big question is raised. Just how much of a marketing budget should go towards social media prospects? For the casual social media user, cost is never usually an issue. However, businesses need to take cost into consideration, whether it pertains to social media managers, Facebook advertising, or boosted posts. Turns out social media success can cost a bit. According to The Next Web, a study from Duke University found that businesses spend an average of 9.4% of their marketing budget on social media and it’s predicted to only rise from there. The article projects that, at this time, 10% is the best amount to spend on social media campaigns. It might not seem like much, but it can be just enough to utilize the premium tools the popular platforms offer.

You might be wondering to yourself what exactly is there to pay for? After all, Facebook proudly proclaims that it’s free, as is Twitter, LinkedIn and even Google +. However, as we see with many online services, while the base is free, businesses can really shine when investing into things like Facebook advertising and boosted posts. We’ve seen these kind of tools make or break a social media campaign. These features allow you to maximize your “reachability”, which means you can be on more people’s screens and in their line of sight. You’ll have an advantage to those who don’t want to fork out the funding. It can require an investment, however it can be worth every penny if done correctly. You’ll find that when you really enter the professional side of social media, it might not be free. However, your money will not be wasted. Instead, it’ll be used toward this progressive marketing method.

For more info, check out The Next Web’s article here: http://ow.ly/9UoJ300pB6h

Does your business have room in the budget for social media? Should it be more or less? Share your thoughts!

15 Tips to Bring Your Facebook Page to Life: Part 3

By Christopher Tompkins

9Sep

Facebook, Social Media, Uncategorized

So far we have covered 10 ways of enhancing your Facebook Page marketing by enchanting, engaging, educating and entertaining your audience. Now we are going to round off this topic with the final 5 ways to make your Facebook Page work!

11. Where Is Your Target Market?

On Facebook, many of your target consumers have their own pages. So it is a good idea for you to “Like” their page. This brings you onto their radar, but also them into yours (see #12). Search keywords in the Facebook search bar and then filter the results by Pages. Take a look and “Like” suitable candidates. This helps you branch out, grow your base and hit new markets.

12. Don’t Forget Your Newsfeed!

What I mean by this is, when you are logged in as your Facebook Page, click on the Facebook logo at the top left side of the page. This page shows you all of the pages that you have “Liked” (from #11). This looks very similar to your Personal Newsfeed on Facebook and works the same way. Scroll through the postings and see what posts you want to “Like”, comment or share with your own page. Don’t just scroll and click “Like” – browse and make decisions that are on brand and message. Remember, it’s going to be associated with your brand….not your personal account!

13. Trade and Cross Promote.

If you have good relationships with certain organizations or business partners, approach them with an exchange: you will send an update about their page and create a post, and they will do the same thing. This is classic self promotion and works extremely well on enhancing your Facebook Page.

14. Are You Ignoring Your Insights?

Facebook Insights can be accessed from your Home page and are similar in a way to Google Analytics. This is a great way to continually check your progress and make sure that what you are doing is creating success rather than hurting you. It takes time to learn the ins and outs, but is worth the time.

15. Ask Questions!

When you are marketing throughout Facebook, make sure to be inquisitive! Ask questions in your status updates, on other company pages or even start a poll. This is a great way to engage with your audience. This is also a great way of getting some feedback. Think of it as Facebook’s answer to the survey. The best question I have ever seen? What sort of posts would you like to see more of/less of? These types of inquiries will help you actually find out from your own network what’s working and what’s tanking.

Well…there you have it! I truly hope that these 15 tips will help you reorganize your Facebook Page marketing strategy and enhance not only your numbers, but also the level of engagement of your target consumer.

Need Online Marketing Help?

Fill Out the Form Below and We Will Get Right Back to You!

[ninja_forms_display_form id=1]

Tag : facebook social media marketing

Need Online Marketing Help? Fill Out the Form Below and We Will Get Right Back to You!

Need Online Marketing Help?

Fill Out the Form Below and We Will Get Right Back to You!