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

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22Feb

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.

Liked this post? Get even more social media marketing content at The Go! Agency’s blog: http://ow.ly/GWoF3092bvu

The First Rule of Social Media Marketing…

By Christopher Tompkins

15Feb

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

Bad news for phone book advertisers and billboard makers – the internet has changed the way we do marketing. At the head of this revolution is social media marketing which has the ability to boost your brand’s online visibility exponentially. Yet like everything else in life, our industry has rules. What is the first rule of social media marketing?

You do not talk about social media marketing…. kidding! Actually, it’s the opposite. Shout it from the rooftops!

While new customers and leads will find out about your brand through these online avenues by searching in a variety of ways, your pre-existing customers will only be able to engage with your business if they know about your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms.

How can you spread the word about your social media accounts?

– Encourage your employees to promote social media when interacting with customers or clients.

– Ensure there are links to your social media accounts on your website.

– Offer exclusive specials and sales in which customer must mention the social media post to get the deal.

– Invest in social media advertising to local areas and ideal demographics.

– If your business entails packaging, proudly showcase the Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram logos.

Social media marketing is effective, but you need to make an effort so your customers visit you online! While you are spreading the word, make sure you are creating a constant stream of content so when customers do visit your page, they aren’t disappointed!

Are you ready for social media marketing? Contact us today to jump on board!

How Customers Can Spread The Love On Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

14Feb

Social Media

Love is in the air! From its inception, social media has been all about connecting with those who are important in your life. For businesses, who is more important than the customers? They are already out there, logging in to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on a daily basis. Isn’t it time that you take your relationship to the next level?

Over 50 million businesses are already connecting with their customers through social media marketing. It has become a modern standard and proven to be one of the most effective methods of online brand awareness.

But how can a company benefit from these connections? The following are the ways customers share their love for their favorite businesses:

Likes / Follows. Each platform has unique mechanics, but they all have similar approaches to connecting businesses with their intended customers. The “like” and “follow” systems are similar to how you would follow a friend or family member. For example, customers on Facebook can “like” a company’s page. As long as the user agrees to follow the company, its content will come up in their timeline. Twitter and Instagram are very similar, although users simply follow pages directly.

Why should this matter for businesses? Because when a customer likes and follows you on social media, they will see your content on their timeline, which will be a constant friendly reminder of your business. They will be able to utilize this tool to communicate, but also stay up to date with sales, promos, news, etc.

Checking In. This one is a Facebook exclusive but can prove to be one of the most effective tools in all of social media. If a person is visiting your business or attending your event, they can “check in.” This becomes a visible update for all that customer’s friends to see. It’s a great way to give your businesses a little boost.

Ratings. Facebook features a five-star rating system so companies can show off their golden flair. Users have the opportunity to leave reviews on business pages and give a little blurb about their experience. You may be thinking “what if someone leaves a negative review?” Even negative reviews are good because now it’s time for your PR side to shine. Publically and positively respond and address the issue head on.

Engagement. No matter what social media platform you’re using, it’s all about engagement. Likes, shares, retweets, comments, etc. are what we love to see. Why? Because engagement increases the chances of the golden Cs- customer communication, conversations, and conversions. The more people start interacting with your content, the better!

Your customers are waiting for you! Social media isn’t just for fun. It is an innovative avenue in which brands can building lasting relationships with pre-existing customers and discover promising leads.

What Social Media Updates Do Your Customers Love?

By Christopher Tompkins

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6Feb

Snapchat, Social Media

Does social media marketing have you stumped? You are not alone! Reaching out to your customers can be a challenge for many business owners and professionals. To be a social media success, it’s vital to study what content generates the most engagement. Your audience will gravitate towards certain content more than others. What types of posts should you send out?While each industry has special circumstances, we have seen the following types of posts do particularly well time and time again:

1. Educational – Sure, social media is a form of entertainment, but knowledge is power! People flock to videos, blogs, “did you know” tidbits, and similar content. Tips straight from the professional in social-media-sized bites produce great results.

2. Sales – As marketing professionals, we can appreciate the power of a sale. Social media has the ability to spread the word of your promotion no matter the size. Trying to push a BOGO? Maybe you have a big clearance blowout? By utilizing platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you’re giving your sale a special advantage.

3. Fun – This is the part of social media where many marketers fail. Traditionally, marketing is all about getting sales, leads, and conversions. While all of this does apply to social media, there is much more to our work. We connect with customers in new and innovative ways with fun posts. Trivia contests, games, even giveaways are big parts of reaching out to customers in a fresh and engaging way.

Sure, social media marketing can be daunting. But there’s good news – you’re not alone! We have helped hundreds of businesses connect to an online customer base in new and innovative ways.

How Can Online Communities Help Your Brand?

By Christopher Tompkins

5Feb

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

They say it takes a village to raise a baby, but what about a brand? After all, it takes a significant number of customers and a ton of marketing effort to make a brand successful. The good news is that there are plenty of online communities out there on a wide variety of platforms to help you spread the word about your amazing business. But how do you begin?If you aren’t very involved in the world of social media yet, you might be surprised that people develop brand new relationships with both people and brands every day. How is this possible? Well, if people can find their true love on the internet, you can certainly promote your brand online.

So, how do you spread the word in these virtual worlds? It all depends on which platform you are using. Whether you’re logged into Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, there are specific rules, tools, and features at your disposal. Of course, some platforms are better to build up a community than others, so let’s break down the best “community building” places on the web:

1. Linkedin – Of all the social media platforms, LinkedIn perhaps has the strongest sense of online community. LinkedIn Groups is an innovative way to connect with prospects, colleagues, and new avenues of growth. But marketers, beware! LinkedIn is NOT the place to post a ton of ads.

2. Facebook – There are millions of Facebook groups out there where people meet, converse, and learn about new products. But groups is just the beginning for the biggest social media platform on the world wide web.

Hashtags will help those who are interested in your service via specialized keywords. Facebook advertising proves its worth time and time again with its various forms of outreach. Finally, Facebook’s “checking in” feature is huge for local markets. When one of your customers check in, they’re letting everyone know that they stopped by and liked their experience enough to tell their friends about it. It seems like a marketer’s dream, doesn’t it?

3. Twitter and Instagram – While Twitter and Instagram are significantly different in purpose, features, and user tools, these two reach out to communities in similar ways. Hashtags are essential on both of these platforms, as they allow people to find exactly what they’re looking for.

While comment sections are used in all platforms, comments on Twitter and Instagram end up being big discussion boards where people can have whole conversation thanks to the tagging feature.

Finally, one thing that marketers need to notice about these two is that they offer, at least compared to Facebook standards, even playing fields. Yes, they both have algorithms that steer user’s feeds towards what they think they will enjoy, but your content has a good fighting chance of standing above the rest by using good old fashioned content creation.

Ready to meet your new fan base? Social media has the potential to connect you with untold masses. With millions of people logging in every day, you just need to put in the time, effort, and creativity to make your brand stand out!

What LinkedIn’s New Engagement Insights Means For Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

4Feb

Advertising, Content Creation, Copywriting, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social Media, Social networking

LinkedIn, in partnership with DataSift, is leveraging user data to enhance marketer techniques for consumer engagement in a more personalized way.

PYLON for LinkedIn Engagement Insights allows globally positioned marketers access to site user data to improve engagement and ROI on Linkedin.

LinkedIn wants marketers to have the ability to learn about potential prospects on the platform before beginning formal communications.

The platform is replete with members’ personal information from hobbies, career and educational goals to professional skills. Marketers can use these insights to innovate campaigns.

LinkedIn is aiming to take the guesswork out of ad optimization and media planning. With Engagement Insights, marketers are able to to take in-depth information and transform it into enhanced marketing campaigns and efficiently reach premium audiences through LinkedIn.

Engagement Insights help marketers map types of content and topics appealing most to certain audiences. This provides the “insights” that help marketers formulate a plan to enhance audience reach.

Marketers can then use the insights to further narrow down target audiences into niche groups and then engage the prospect in a 1 on 1 fashion. This will personalize the relationship between the marketer and the prospect.

With Engagement Insights, marketers can filter searches with specific topics like industry or job function. This allows the marketer to gauge how their brand compares against the competition.

By utilizing elements of data from a prospect profile, the marketer can help generate a conversation void of work topics. A little bit of small talk could go a very long way.

Successfully selling your service or product on LinkedIn can be accomplished by locating, engaging, and constructing a personalized 1 on 1 relationship with prospects. Personalization is key to finding success LinkedIn.

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5 Facebook Changes That Will Rock 2017

By Christopher Tompkins

2Feb

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

Every day, technology impacts the ways in which we communicate with each other and the world. The rapidly evolving realm of social media is creating new avenues of social engagement, and revenue generation that marketers have never seen before. Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, but it’s also the one that changes the most often. As you can imagine, this requires social media marketers to stay on their toes.

As a social media marketer, it is in your best interest to stay up-to-date with the latest in the evolution of Facebook and Facebook marketing. Here are 5 predictions set to reshape marketing efforts and strategies 2017:

1. Facebook groups will now see paid ads. Facebook will begin reducing the reach of pages and introduce paid ads to groups. We’ve noticed many people are more inclined to engage within a group of peers with similar interests versus pages on Facebook.

2. Stories via Messenger will be available to publish on timelines.The success of Snapchat is influencing Facebook to create a similar functionality in Messenger. Embellishing videos with text, filters, and drawings is currently only in use for direct messages, but all of that will change in 2017. This advancement will allow users to create Snapchat-esqe videos and post them directly to their page. As the function evolves, expect more professional grade studio editing and post production offerings available to the app and desktop platforms. You may even begin to see Facebook Live appearing next to Netflix and Hulu on your television screen.

3. End-to-end sales communication will be developed for Messenger. Products will be created to enhance instant communication between you and your (potential) customers. B2C instant communication is slowly becoming mainstream within Facebook. Often these conversations are inexpensive in acquirement and are a catalyst to a rapid escalation in customer-building progress. Since these innovative chats start in a flash, you will be able to begin a new relationship with your audience quickly.

4. We may see Facebook as a cable TV Network. In 2017, Facebook has peaked regarding news feed creativity. Diversity of new media means the introduction of original content programming for Facebook Live. Some believe the social media leader will start a major television network or perhaps buy an existing one. Would you watch a Facebook channel on your TV?

5. Video analytics will become crucial marketing tools on Facebook. Demand for transparency surrounding Facebook Live and video analytics will become forceful in 2017. Brands are paying big dollars to produce, advertise and distribute video. Agencies, publishers, platforms and influencers will be expected to start sharing data.

Educating prospects on the new touchstones of Facebook communication and having the ability to overcome objections will ultimately decide the winners and losers of the social media marketing landscape.

When Facebook changes their system, it’s both a blessing and a curse for social media marketer. They will have new features and tools to utilize, but they must adapt and learn. Take heed and create a social media strategy reflective of the 2017 technological landscape.

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5 Tips To Boost Your Social Media Advertising

By Christopher Tompkins

1Feb

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

Executing the right social media marketing plan can be the acceleration your business needs. However, even though social media at its most basic and free level is effective, you can really reach untapped masses by investing in social media advertising.

When it comes to advertising on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms, it takes some expertise. It’s not as easy as writing a post and clicking “post.” Analytics, budgeting, demographics, and targeting are heavily involved. Check out these helpful tips as you begin your journey through social media advertising:

1. Utilize Reduced Advertising Costs in Q1

Using social media platforms to advertise in Q4 can be extremely costly. E-commerce stores and retail giants push hard to get the limited amount of inventory for holiday promotion. Q1 is less competitive and easy on your budget.

2. Update Your Copy and Visuals

Your social ads are begging for new copy, video, and images in 2017! Ask yourself: What grabbed the most attention? What was click-worthy? Analyze the creative properties you used in 2016, take and iterate what worked best.

3. Test the Waters of a New Platform

By discovering and trying a new platform, you are allowing yourself to engage new prospects and learning new ways to interact with older clients. There are endless means to reach your end of engagement. You can run mobile app install campaigns in Pinterest, which is a new and exciting feature. What about Snapchat? Did you know you can send users to your site or store? Don’t get left behind, I am sure you’re a smart person who likes to read. So start now! Research new social media platforms and venture into unknown territories. You may find your pot of gold at the end rainbow.

4. Keep Track of Targets

Your campaign is useless without targeting the right consumer base. When you are prospecting, keep your customer exclusion lists up-to-date. In doing so, you are preventing yourself from wasting time by targeting current customers. Hopefully, your Q4 was a home run in terms if your business. If so, it is essential to retool your custom audiences for targeting methods.

5. Create Your 2017 Playbook

2017 can be your year to shine, but first, you must plan and do it well! Spend time putting into focus the tests you want to incorporate, the new and exciting platforms in which you will use and other social media marketing objectives, strategies and plans.

By using the tips of the trade above, you can efficiently launch or continue a successful social media campaign accompanied by a booming business.

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