The Visual Strategy Coke, Disney, And Other Top Brands Use On Social Media

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8Mar

Advertising, Business, Copywriting, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter

Think about today’s biggest brands. What do you visualize?

You most likely think about their iconic colors or logos. For Disney, you probably think of Mickey Mouse and that iconic cursive logo. For Goodyear, you might think of the blimp we all know and love. What about UPS? The fleet of brown trucks and their golden shield strikes a chord, doesn’t it?

Iconic imagery and branding are essential for the life of a company. That’s why when there is a rebranding project, it’s such a massive undertaking for big businesses. It’s important to have a well-strategized and consistent look everywhere you are seen. With that in mind, it’s obvious that social media should be an extension of your pre-existing brand.

NBC, Coke, Marvel Comics, and other top brands don’t change their look on social media just because it’s on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Quite the opposite. They expand upon what people remember. They create consistent imagery while using the same colors, logos, tone, verbiage, message, mission, and more.

What if you’re just starting out and don’t have iconic visuals like a company such as Apple or Nike? First, you need to decide your intended audience and what colors and message appeal to them. Are you geared towards females? Maybe Millennials? What is their income? What do they value? Your answers should change your approach to design. You first have to take a serious and objective look at your brand and figure out who you are.

Finally, look at your competitors’ social media pages and see how those in your industry approach visuals. You will find that many companies from the same industry use similar colors or imagery for a variety of reasons, primarily demographics and work elements.

This goes beyond your profile image and cover image. When you are creating pictures, video, and other forms of visuals for your social media updates, you should stick with the same color and feel. This should go as far as the color of your wording on your coupons!

Your branding should be a lean, mean, and unified machine. Don’t make anything that doesn’t match the rest of your brand. The top brand like Coke and Disney already know this benefit from it!

Our graphic designers and social media managers can help your business shine on social media and the rest of the web. Contact us today to jump in!

The Best Steps To Dynamite Email Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

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8Mar

Advertising, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter

This morning, I had 37 ads in my inbox. For some, that’s a relatively light number. Like many people, I got on my smartphone and began to skim the subject lines quickly, and after a quick review, I decided about 35 out of the 37 were better off in the trash. But there were two of them whose copy was compelling enough that I actually read them. One, I actually clicked the link and explored the company’s website.

What made the winners stand out? What made the losers fall?

When we create email marketing campaigns for our clients, we are fully aware of two things.

1- The average person is overloaded with ads on an hourly basis.

2 – On a good day, the average person has an attention span of fewer than twenty seconds.

These two factors must be taken into consideration when you’re creating email marketing. To ensure you cater to your reader, you must have the following concepts in place.

A “once in a lifetime” subject. Like I said, we’re constantly barraged with prompts to buy, buy, buy. If we listened to every single one, we would be broke by noon. Make sure your subject line has the ability to stand out. Make the copy pack a punch. Don’t just present deals without some personality.

Short (and I mean SHORT) copy. No one will be willing to read very much about your promotion. If it’s a newsletter, keep it brief and to the point. If you’re repurposing an article, cut it down to a fraction of the size. There’s no room or time for long-winded lectures in an email.

A powerful call to action. Once your copy gets your reader excited, they need to jump in deeper. Make sure there is a call to action, whether it’s a link, a prompt to contact, or a form to fill out. The email should be the first step in a conversion, conversation, or purchase.

Powerful imagery. Just like on social media, people need visuals to maintain focus on your message. Create imagery that is faithful to your pre-existing branding complimentary of your message.

Personalized and specific messages. The best email marketing makes the reader question if it was written specifically for them. Variable data software will allow you to enter a customer’s name and other information into the copy of the message. But most importantly, you should study who your customer is and what would make them be compelled to read an email from their brands.

Email marketing is an integral element of an online marketing strategy. It helps your customers stay in contact with your brand and be informed about updates, sales, and opportunities to save. However, to be specific, you need to tackle it exactly right for your audience.

Does your company have a less-than-stellar email marketing campaign? Maybe it doesn’t have one at all? Contact us today! Our team can help you hit your target.

Why Your Online Marketing Needs To Adapt

By Christopher Tompkins

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7Mar

Business, Content Creation, Copywriting, Email Marketing, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Live Video, Marketing, Social Media, Social networking

It’s 2017 – is your online marketing keeping up with the times? If your business isn’t on social media – then the answer is NO. How can you prevent your company from getting left in the dust? You need to adapt to what today’s customer wants.

At one point, all a brand had to do was have a landing page, and they were ready to go on the world wide web. Things are quite different now, and that’s a good thing.

Today’s customers want more out of their brand. They expect a walking, talking, content-slinging machine – and we have to look good doing it. Social media allows us to do this all while drastically improving our customer relations and raising brand awareness like never before.

Over 50 million businesses reap the rewards of social media’s popularity. The average Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram user checks their timeline and news feed multiple times a day so they can see what their favorite people and accounts are up to. Those are opportunities to connect with your customers through engaging content!

Unlike a website, social media’s new innovations allow companies to literally interact with their audience as if they were their friend. But because of this, social media marketing demands your attention. You have to create a queue of compelling and creative content for your audience to engage with. Otherwise, there will be radio silence, and that’s the death of a brand’s reach.

In addition to having a content calendar that’s stuffed to the brim with diverse and well-strategized content, you also need to adapt to current trends. Today’s most successful marketers study what content and tools people are flocking to and act accordingly. This can range from using a new tool such as Instagram Stories or Live Video, to incorporating hot topics into your brand’s marketing.

It’s all about adapting and beating your audience to the punch. Today’s marketing landscape is drastically different than years prior thanks to the Age of the Internet. But there’s no need to fear. With the right social media experts by your side, you have the ability to tap into markets and audiences that otherwise would be unattainable – you just have to keep up with what the people want!

Every day, our team rocks the world of social media marketing for our clients. Our managers, designers, writers, and strategists analyze what today’s customers want and keep ahead of the game. Contact us today jump on board!

Social Media Success Isn’t About Luck, It’s About Expertise

By Christopher Tompkins

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1Mar

Content Creation, Copywriting, Pinterest, Snapchat, Social Media

You don’t need a four-leaf clover or a lucky rabbit’s foot to do well on social media. What makes a good social media marketing strategy? Expertise and skill.As social media marketers, we have seen the online landscape shift drastically on a regular basis thanks to new algorithms, rules, regulations, and formulas. You can’t just send out a couple posts and wish for engagement. Unfortunately, it’s a bit more complicated than that.

Some people have said that social media success has no rhyme or reason to it. To the untrained eye, it may certainly look that way. You can create a compelling post, and it will do amazing and then send something similar out the next week and get nothing. That isn’t just bad luck or randomness – you missed something. It may have been the timing, the audience, content itself, or it could be that you’ve saturated the market with that kind of content.

How can you fine tune your strategy? You better be ready to get technical.

There are many components to a social media update’s success. If even the smallest thing is off, things may not work as you plan. Be sure to consider the following when writing, designing, and scheduling.

– When is the best time to publish?

– When was the last time I shared a post similar to this?

– What imagery do I have to compliment the copy?

– Is the message strong and compelling?

– Does this message match my branding?

– Does this content appeal to my ideal customer?

These are some of many questions we have to ask ourselves when we create marketing content for our clients. We have to strike a balance of creativity and well-formulated tactics in order to achieve brand awareness.

How do we figure out what works and what doesn’t? Reporting, and a lot of it! There are many ways we analyze a post’s performance. How many people like, shared, or commented? What was the reach? Did anyone click the link and delve into the company’s website? ALL of this matters.

After we figure out what needs improvement, we update our creative strategy. Maybe they need a sale to punch things up or perhaps they need more images to get people talking. No matter what is necessary, we handle it!

As you can see, social media for business is quite a bit different than when we’re using it to look at friends’ photos. 50 million businesses use Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms, so they are seen as industry influencers and active in their communities. You need a constant stream of well-planned content, so you’re in the forefront of your customer’s mind, study, and get ready to do it again!

It’s time your brand takes social media marketing seriously. Contact us today to have the pros work for you!

The Dangers of Doing Social Media Marketing Wrong

By Christopher Tompkins

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1Mar

Snapchat, Social Media

We’ve all seen “self-destructive marketing.” It’s those half-hearted attempts that are so cringe-worthy that they actually hurt the company. It could be a website that uses blurry images or graphics from the 1990s or a Facebook page that hasn’t been updated since last Halloween. It could also be much more subtle, but just as detrimental. Either way, it puts the business in such a bad light that customers wouldn’t touch the brand with a ten-foot poll, let alone purchase from them.

In the age of social media, a brand has a responsibility to represent itself on the most used platforms on the web. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have become standards and depending on your industry, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest and other platforms can expand your reach. But what happens if you make these accounts and sully your brand with self-destructive marketing?

In short, your business will suffer. It’s easier to sabotage your marketing efforts than you may think. Self-destructive marketing can include the following:

– Offensive, politically biased, or vulgar content

– Low-quality imagery

– Poorly written copy

– Broken links

– Slow or non-existent responses to customer communications

– Inconsistent publishing

– Only promotions

– Using false or outdated material

When companies do the above blunders, it’s not only noticeable, but it’s unprofessional. If your company sends content out, it’s out, plain and simple. With a poor strategy and lackluster content, your marketing will backfire by making your whole brand seem unprofessional, illegitimate, and unreliable.

Social media can help a brand reach new heights of online visibility and have access to an audience they wouldn’t have otherwise. However, if you send out poor quality content, you’ll have the same type of results. Engagement will go down, customer satisfaction will drop, and you will lose a very powerful tool.

How can you stop this from happening? Strategize! Craft compelling copy and professional-grade visuals. Most importantly, take social media seriously and devote the time required to post consistently and create an approachable avenue for customer communication.

Interested in doing social media right? There’s no better way to do it than contacting the pros. We have the expertise to help your brand tackle the online marketing world and look good doing it!

The Challenge of Hitting Your Target Audience on Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

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28Feb

Snapchat, Social Media

Sometimes online marketing can be like matchmaking. In order for it to work, you have to know who exactly you’re looking for. Ask yourself, “Who wants my product?”, “Who needs my product?”, and last but not least, “Who’s life will be better if they buy my product?”

When I ask new clients these questions, I get a variety of answers. Every now and again someone will say “Adults” or “Men” or, my personal least favorite “Anyone with money.” You need to be accurate with marketing, especially when you’re trying to tackle social media.

We’ve helped companies of all shapes and sizes hit their target audience on social media. Some of them were nearly there while others had a lot of room for improvement. But either way, everyone was able to benefit from social media. How do we help them hit the bullseye? We ask them the following questions:

1. WHERE does your ideal customer live? The answer to this goes hand in hand with your company’s reach. Do you focus on a local market? Maybe “local” to you means the entire east coast. Whether you’re trying to sell to a global market or your neighbors down the road, this detail will change the way you market.

2. HOW old is your ideal customer? Are you trying to sell to Millennials or Baby Boomers? Grandparents or college kids? Specificity is a major component key to success. Even if you think your business is perfect for all ages, the best brands realize that they cater to a particular age bracket and shape their marketing accordingly.

3. WHAT do your customers do for a living? Does your business reach out to a certain profession or industry? This is especially true for B2B companies with specific clientele. You should also figure out what your customers’ income is. Do you offer a premium service that has a larger price tag or do you offer quality for a wallet-friendly price?

4. WHICH social media platforms do your customers use? All brands should establish themselves on Facebook, but it can’t stop there. Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Snapchat all have major benefits that brands can utilize. You may find that your particular audience uses Instagram or Twitter more than Facebook, or vice versa. This question incorporates all the answers from above. Younger people tend to use Instagram and Snapchat while professionals use LinkedIn more often, etc. It all depends on YOUR brand and situation.

Social media marketing strategies are like fingerprints, not a single one is the same. As you can imagine, each answer you give to these questions alters your approach. It’s up to you to break down your brand and analyze its parts. Then, put it back together as a lean, mean, marketing machine!

Isn’t it time your brand has better online visibility? Contact us today! We’ve helped hundreds of brands achieve better recognition and new customers.

5 Effective Strategies For Facebook Target Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

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22Feb

Advertising, Snapchat, 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 push 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 would be no point for them to pay for a national reach. People in nonrelevant areas would see the ad and move on and move on 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 that 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 maid and housekeeping 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 liked as well as tap into their profile information so users see promotional content they actually would want.

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. Either way, it’s possible.

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 homeowning, and local sports teams. Then, they chose a specific income because since they were considered a premium service. 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 competiton and reach an audience you wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

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

Want More Brand Awareness On Social Media? Start Doing These 5 Things

By Christopher Tompkins

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22Feb

Social Media

I was recently speaking with a friend who had been managing her company’s social media marketing for several months. Her frustration was through the roof as she started talking about her troubles.

“I’m just not seeing any results!” she said.

We sat down and reviewed what was going on. It didn’t take very long to see the glaring issues. Her company only had a Facebook page, hardly used any images (the ones they did use were low-quality), and only posted ads. We decided to go to square one, and I gave her five essential things she needed to start doing ASAP to gain a better online following.

1. Use more than just Facebook. Facebook is still reigning supreme as the world’s most popular social media platform. However, that in no way means you shouldn’t use other sites as well. Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, Snapchap, and YouTube offer unique avenues to engagement that all brands could utilize. Each platform has a different approach to marketing, and by broadening your horizons, you are raising your brand’s online visibility exponentially.

2. Images with every post. For a while, many social media pros weren’t keen on using imagery for every update, largely in part due to Twitter’s 140-character count (they used to take 25-40 characters away per image.) Well, Twitter no longer counts images as part of the character count and there are no more excuses. Images for every post has become the new industry standard. Every post should have either a picture, video, GIF, etc. Social media posts receive up to 20% more engagement with some form of imagery. Make sure the visuals you choose are bright, colorful, and eye-catching.

3. Create original imagery. Now that you’re going to start using images for every post, you have a tough task ahead of you. You can’t just use any old image you find online. The best visuals are original visuals. There are tons of image creating software that you can incorporate, both free and paid. For added branding, add your logo to each piece so people do not forget where this compelling content came from. Finally, make sure your visuals are of a professional quality (no blurry images, please!) and fit each platforms’ image size dimensions.

4. Know what your audience likes. Who is your ideal customer? What demographic flocks to your product the most? As a business professional, you may already know this. But it goes beyond just age and gender. What are their values and priorities? What is their education level? What is their average income? You need to do some serious studying and analysis about your target audience.

After all, you wouldn’t market to a Millennial bookworm that lives in the Northwest the same way you would to a Floridian Baby Boomer who takes care of her elderly parents and likes to bake on the side, would you?

Every demographic likes different kind of content. Those who are in their twenties flock to “how to” videos while those in their forties engage with fact-based articles. Now, once you find one thing that works does not mean your feed should be flooded with that type of content. You can most certainly have too much of a good thing. Add a variety of engaging content with a subtle dose of promotional content mixed in.

5. Watch your competitors. Closely. You’re not the only company on the internet. In fact, approximately 50 million companies use social media for marketing right now, and that number grows every day.

Luckily, you can see what your competitors are up to. How do they approach social media? Does their content generate more engagement than yours? If so, what are they doing that you can learn from?

Perhaps they are getting their customers to join the conversation in a way you have never seen before. While we don’t condone plagiarism of any kind, it’s always good to see how others in your industry handle social media.

Get Going! Social media doesn’t have a black and white formula. It’s very subjective, and as a result, marketers need to analyze, experiment, and make a wholehearted effort to reach their audience and potential customers in different ways. You need to keep at it and consistently generate content for your audience!

Pro Tips For Planning Your Promos

By Christopher Tompkins

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21Feb

Advertising, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter

Where would your social media marketing be without some form of promotion? It wouldn’t it be very marketable, would it?

Yes, it’s true that your social media needs some form of a promotional element. However, this type of content needs to be tactful, organic and most importantly, planned out.

Some companies run into a ton of hurdles when it comes to social media promotions. But to be fair, they aren’t easy to master. How can you become better? These are the big mistakes to look out for.

The first problem marketers run into when it comes to promotional content for social media marketing is the quality. There are so many legitimate companies sending out advertisements that look like complete spam. Why? Poor copy, low-quality imagery, and a severe lack of direction. Make sure your ads seem like they are sent out by a real company with real offers. A little effort will go a long way.

Another problem I’ve seen with many company’s promos is that there are too many of them.

How is this possible? What else is there to marketing?

Well, it turns out there is a ton of content you can send out that isn’t a promo. Incorporate industry-related news, behind-the-scenes posts, even recipes! Social media is about adding a fun and compelling content that your audience can engage with. Who cares if you’re sending out a constant stream of ads? No one. But if you add posts people actually want to check out, then you’re doing your brand a service.

One of the most effective ways to promote your business on social media is paid advertising. It gives your content an exceptional boost. But it’s up to you to determine your audience. Failing to specify who sees your ad is the biggest mistake you could make.

When using Facebook advertising, you have the ability to target exceptionally narrow OR broad audiences based on gender, age, race, income, interests, location, religion, political affiliation, and much more. If you don’t do this right, however, all the wrong people will see the promo you paid good money for.

There are plenty of pitfalls social media marketers can fall into when trying to promote their brand. That’s why you need a professional on your side! It takes time and effort to understand how the wild internet landscape reacts and responds to things.

4 Ways You Can Show Your Customers Love on Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

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15Feb

Advertising, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter

Every relationship needs a balance of give and take, right? The business – customer relationship is no different. Customers get excited when they see their favorite companies make special efforts. It comes as no surprise that social media marketing is a fantastic avenue to make your customers smile.

How can your marketing excite and engage your customers? You have to give the people what they want! Sure, it sounds easier said than done, but your content has the ability increase sales, conversions, and customer satisfaction.

This is what customers love on social media:

1. Giveaways / Contests –Everyone likes a freebie. Host a simple contest on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and offer a free product or service. This will give your accounts a significant spike in engagement, make one lucky winner ecstatic, and the rest of your online followers will be eager for the next chance to win. We have seen these “micro-contests” do exceptionally well, so consider adding this to your strategy.2. Pro Tips – Many people go online to learn or gain insights about a particular subject. As social media experts, we have seen free advice from experts do exceptionally well and lead to new customers. This can be in the form of an article or a weekly update such as “FAQ Fridays.”3. Sales – A social media exclusive sale is a great “thank you” to your online customers. Offer a special deal only available on Facebook, Twitter, or your other platforms. Flash sales do particularly well and will keep your customers on their toes!

4. Customer Service – Okay, so customer service may not be as exciting as a flash sale, but when you have an issue that needs to be addressed, quick and friendly communication can be a breath of fresh air. During business hours, make sure any messages from customers are responded to in a prompt fashion. If a message is sent outside business hours, an automated response that ensures that someone is listening should be in place.

Do customers love your brand? Love them back by making their social media experience with your business fun and rewarding. Still unsure of how to handle social media marketing? Contact us today! Our team of experts can help any business reach new heights of online visibility and brand awareness.

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