Tag : online advertising

5 Ways To Find The Perfect Customer Online

5 WAYS TO FIND THE PERFECT CUSTOMER ONLINE
30Apr

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 market 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 wouldn’t be any point for them to pay for a national reach. People in non-relevant areas would see the ad and move on, and they would do so 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 who 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 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 have liked as well as tap into their profile information so users see promotional content they are actually interested in. 

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. Whether it’s a personal interest or something that your target market values, it’s possible to connect with people with that shared commonality. 

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 home-owning, and local sports teams. Then, because they are considered a premium service, they chose a specific income. 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 competition and reach an audience you wouldn’t have access to otherwise. 

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

Click Here to Subscribe

Read More

Why Reddit Is About To Make Marketers Smile

Why-Reddit-Is-About-To-Make-Marketers-Smile-200x300
3Aug

From its inception, Reddit seemed to be the exception to many social media rules. Yes, you talked to people, but not people you knew in real life. You could like (or upvote) content, but you could also downvote it to internet oblivion. As popular as it is, Reddit always seemed to be an alternative to mainstream tactics. Well, one major change is in the works for the website, and marketers are sure to smile.

Reddit announced a new plan to feature sponsored posts online. This is a significant change for the platform, as it tried to keep advertising to a minimum. Unsurprisingly, like everything else with Reddit, this update is just slightly different than Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This marketing effort will do something truly unique, which will allow brands to sponsor user generated content. This means that if a company sees a post that puts their product in a positive light or is relevant to their industry, they can work with Reddit administrators to sponsor that post. Reddit will then ask the post’s creator for permission, and if everyone is on the same page, magic will happen. The user will be compensated with gold. No, not real gold, but rather Reddit Gold which is their premium service.

As you could imagine, this is something untested. Since “Redditors” have an aggressive stance on any corporate advertising, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman hopes this will be a natural and non-intrusive way to make revenue. By actually helping content instead of being a distraction, the reception may have a better light than previous attempts.

One thing Reddit and its future sponsors should be wary of is reposts. Like all other social media platforms, users tend to repost pieces of content that were not originally theirs. At times, Redditors will acknowledge this, while others are simply taking trying to get some internet glory through another’s work. Perhaps a simple reverse image search could solve some situations, but deeper digging may be beneficial to the company.

If advertising is implemented correctly, Reddit may be able to gain some steady income which will result in better upgrades for the site and it’s all uphill from there. This update shows just how important advertising is for social media platforms and marketers need to take advantage of this need. Because of this, they will deliver extensive benefits to brands and companies. Reddit’s new service is scheduled to launch August 4th.

What do you think of Reddit’s new advertising venture? Comment below!

 

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Read More

Your Website: Your Social Media’s Biggest Fan

26Jul

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!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Read More

Hashtag Your Holiday! Why The Calendar Is Your Social Media Friend

Go-Agency-Blog-Template-6-200x300
4Jul

Happy Fourth of July! As Americans celebrate their Independence Day, fireworks will set off, hot dogs will be grilled, and beer will be slurped all throughout the fifty states. Meanwhile, our fun moments will be documented online via social media. These are the kind of days social media was made for! We will see tweets upon tweets of firework videos and Facebook status updates wishing America a  Happy Birthday in the coming hours. Guess what? Your business needs to join in the fun.

Social media marketing rocks holidays. They bring inspiration to the writers, deliver a massive amount of content, and by using appropriate hashtags, your posts will show up on a whole lot more screens than traditional content. By acknowledging a special time which customers are most likely participating in, you will be showing the humanity of your company which is a key goal in social media marketing. You want to be involved in the community you are reaching out to.

Of course, Independence Day isn’t the only holiday and each festive time brings its unique array of content curation ideas. When December rolls around, you are in for some holiday overload so a nice balance of holiday-centric posts and business-centric updates will give your audience room to breathe. You should not ignore a holiday, even if you are a bit of a Scrooge. Every year, Google catches heat for not acknowledging Easter Sunday with their Google Doodles. You don’t want that kind of publicity.

There are also holidays beyond those that the Post Office acknowledges. Each industry has awareness months and niche holidays that pertain to its demographic. They can range from events like Breast Cancer Awareness Month (which is October) and National Ice Cream Day (which is coming up on the 17th! Get your scoopers ready). No joke, every single day is a holiday, sometimes two or three of them on the same day. A little bit of research will give you a plethora of things to celebrate.

From a strict business sense, you should use social media marketing to take advantage of holiday shopping rushes. Between Black Friday specials to Back to School sales, the Sunday Paper inserts have nothing on a boosted Facebook post. So, get your Santa hat on and light those sparklers, because your business will benefit from participating in these special fun days.
What holiday posting techniques does your business utilize? Comment below!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Read More

Why Your Company Can’t Fly Without Twitter

Go-Agency-Blog-Template-3-200x300
3Jul

Many people immediately think of Facebook when social media is brought up in a conversation. Sure, it is the most popular of the platforms, but it isn’t the only helpful tool available. Twitter is a unique social media platform. Think of it as Facebook’s hyperactive, social butterfly of a cousin. News flies quick on Twitter, and more businesses flock to the platform everyday.

For those thinking, “Isn’t Twitter just a smaller version of Facebook?” they are in for a surprise. Yes, the infrastructure of the site enforces a 140 character limit for each tweet you publish, however effective social media managers use this to their advantage.

As we have said, news travels fast on Twitter. Because of this, you can quickly grow an effective brand with a wide reach. Due to the speed of the website’s activity, the 140 character limit is a necessity, otherwise it would be too long for someone to read, and it would be swept away in the news feed. For those saying that they only need a Facebook, you may want to realize that Twitter is where stories break the fastest. Time is a factor with social media, and your whole audience can watch your tweets unfold during an event, a Q and A session, or an unveiling of a product. As responsive as Facebook is, Twitter is even more so. This allows customers’ questions to be resolved as quick as they ask them and relevant topics to be on your news feed immediately. As a leader in your industry, weighing in on important news topics and rising issues is crucial. This is why reporters use Twitter every single day. They are able to post and tweet while a situation is still unfolding.

Twitter is like a sports car- without excess baggage, lightning fast, and it has the ability to turn heads. It has become one of the central hubs for social media professionals to promote a consistent and contemporary brand, and its demographic is universal. You can also gain some extra firepower in your marketing by utilizing Twitter Ads. They can ensure your promoted posts are in the spotlight, which will be extremely helpful considering how quickly other tweets fill up news feeds. We recommend you tweeting multiple times a day and share others’ content by retweeting and quote retweeting so your twitter account is top notch.

How does your business use Twitter? Comment below!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Read More

You Published A Blog! Now What?

You-Published-A-Blog-Now-What-200x300
29Jun

We are here at the end of our blogging for business series and you should be ready to post some great content on your new blog! After you hit that publish button, thousands of fans are guaranteed to visit your site in just hours, right? Not so true. While SEO is an important tool in promoting a blog, you will need a little more help getting noticed in the overly crowded internet landscape.

Your blog is not meant to replace your social media marketing. Quite the opposite, actually. Both of these internet-based tools are meant to work symbiotically together. You should be proud of your new blog post and as such, you will want to promote it on every social media account you have! On your website, where your blog hopefully lives via a link on the menu, you should have the links to your social media pages. All of this is your material and as such it should complement itself through internal promotion.

WANT MORE SOCIAL MEDIA SECRETS? CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE EBOOK!

You can also publish your newly-crafted article on Facebook Notes and LinkedIn to share with your followers. LinkedIn is particularly effective at this as it has the ability to share your writing with fifty groups. Talk about publicity!

You will also be able to use your blog article’s copy in your newsletters and email blasts. Original material is precious so you should take advantage of the writing you now own and broadcast it through all avenues.

We hope you enjoyed our series about blogging for business. Now let’s see what kind of awesome blog posts you come up with! If you ever have any questions about blogging or social media marketing in general, please feel free to contact The Go! Agency team!

Do you have any thoughts on how to share your blog? Comment below!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Read More

Avoid These 3 Blogging Mistakes

Avoid-These-Blogging-Mistakes-200x300
28Jun

When you begin your blogging adventure, you will find that like all forms of writing, it takes time to master. Do not give up! If you find yourself with a small audience (or none at all) there may be some room for improvement. Like social media, it will not happen overnight. Be patient with yourself, but stay consistent. Yet as you try to improve your content, there will be a few pitfalls to steer clear from. Here are the top three blogger crimes to be vigilant of:

  1. Overly-Promotional Posts- Let’s face it. If your audience wants to read a piece of advertising, they will pick up a brochure. You do not want your articles and subject matter to be all promotional material. There are a few reasons for this. First of all, you are missing the point of a blog. It isn’t about posting ads. It is rather supposed to be a professional piece of writing that entices your target audience and hopefully invokes engagement along the way. Second of all, nobody is going to read your posts if they read like an infomercial. As a concept, a blog has a certain reputation to uphold and if readers discover that your writing is just ads, they will back out quickly. Lastly, you are going to come off as pompous. If all you talk about is your own product, then perhaps you need to conduct more research into your industry.
  2. Grammar and Spelling Errors- Nothing looks more unprofessional than a glaring typo on a blog. You want to be sure to skim over your work multiple times. Also, a second pair of eyes such as a proofreader is a priceless member of a writing team. Try to have the piece as perfect as possible before sending it out to the scrutinizing world wide web. In addition to grammar and spelling, fact check. You will cause a firestorm of criticism if you post half-truths or unreliable information. Be sure to be as professional as possible and do your research.
  3. Inconsistent Publishing- Because a blog places your most recent posts “above the fold” on the screen, an old date will stick out like a sore thumb. People like reliable and consistently new content on their favorite blogs, so be sure to deliver and often.

There are several faux pas to avoid, but these three big baddies should never be done on a professional blog. If you steer clear of “salesy” posts, grammar and spelling errors, and big time gaps between posts, your blog will be better for it and you will have internet success.

What other blogging mistakes can you think of? Comment below!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Read More

5 Things You Need to Know Before you Start Blogging

5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-blog-200x300
27Jun

A blog is a powerful tool for a business to have in its utility belt. It can significantly improve your internet presence and, if done correctly, your peers will soon flock to you for your insights! However, one must learn to crawl before they can run, and one needs to learn how to blog before you become an internet sensation.

Consider this segment of our blogging for business series a crash course. These are the 5 essential elements you need to consider before you begin to publish posts. We all had to take our time to learn the basics and now it is your turn!

  • Platforms. First of all, you will want to figure out what website you want for the blog’s home. There are many platforms to consider, however we have found that WordPress is one of the most effective and comprehensive. They offer mobile applications so you can blog on the go and is comprised of an interface that is easy to use, no matter what level of experience a user has. There are other well-known sites such as Blogger and Tumblr, which have proven themselves as useful. Tumblr specializes in microblogging and has a more of a social media  feel to it. While it was once very popular, more serious bloggers currently flock to WordPress and Blogger.
  • SEO. Search Engine Optimization is a complex beast. In its simplest form, it is a tool to help articles reach the front page of search engine results based off of their keywords. However, it can be considerably more intricate than that. Luckily, WordPress incorporates a simple SEO field so you can master Google and others with ease.

  • Your Audience– Now that we have the technicalities down, you need to figure out who will be reading your blog! Will it be potential customers, your peers, or simply avid readers? By figuring this out, you will make the next two elements easy as pie.
  • Topics- Now that you have figured out who will read your writing, you need to figure out what they like. Business 2 Business blogs like to center around practices in the industry or current events and policies that affect your work. Those who want their customer base to read their posts would benefit from tips, tricks, and ideas that would essentially incorporate their product. Sure, you could make every article a sales post, but you will not get many readers that way.
  • How to Write- You need to figure out the tone that will work for your audience and subject matter. Is it a strictly professional piece of writing or does it have a conversational feel? Regardless, make it unique! You will want to be sure that there is a reason readers are going onto your website as opposed to others’.

Do you feel ready to write now? Once you have these five elements down, you should be able to rock the blog world, no problem!

What do you think about these five essential elements? Comment below!

 

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Read More

The Power of “Local”

The-Power-of-Local-200x300
9Jun

Sure, social media is about connecting to people far and wide, and you can spread your word to the other side of the planet with the right tools. However, for some businesses, your success is right in your backyard! No, we’re not talking about those squirrels running around in your garden bed, but rather your local community.

For some, this may be easier said than done. Bigger cities obviously have a larger network and reachability, where small towns may be tougher to push online marketing through. Yet there are multiple ways to use your location to your advantage, no matter what size your business is.

People usually love their hometown. Do some research to see how they announce their pride! It can be hashtags like #PAPride or #IloveNY that are relevant to your location. You can find these by using tools like Hootsuite, Tagboard, or just research Twitter and Facebook. These will be a helpful way for you to show up on the radar, and it’ll put you in a positive light.

What events are happening around you? Whether it is a festival or a sporting event, you can write some posts about it. Supporting your community by talking about local events is a big deal. Send an employee out there to take some pictures. Speaking of sporting events, if you have a local team, support them! Whether through a hashtag, mentioning the team’s profiles, or just saying “Good luck!” it’s a good idea to cheer them on. However, be careful you don’t anger some customers who root for an opposing team.

If certain things are happening that aren’t fun, cover them too. #HurricaneSeason is popular in Florida every summer. #HurricaneSandy was buzzing when that terrible event happened. If a local celebrity passes away, you can give your respects as well. Just be sure you stay involved in the community and be an active citizen.

Tapping into a local market can be a challenge but it can be very rewarding. Be sure to see what’s going on in your neighborhood today!

Do you have other ways to be a good neighbor? Let us know!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Read More

Netiquette and Niceties: How to Behave on the Internet

Niceties-How-to-Behave-on-the-Internet-200x300
8Jun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What are your thoughts on these rules? Comment below!

Click Here to Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

Read More
  • 1
  • 2
x
Bulletproof Marketer