The Essential Guide to Social Media Metrics

14Nov

If you’re new to tracking the success of a social media campaign, all of the jargon can get confusing. Still, it’s important to look at these metrics to determine how you can adjust and optimize your strategy.

I’m going to walk you through the metrics that will be worth watching for you and your campaign. Of course, all of that begins with establishing a goal!

Choosing a Goal
It’s impossible to say, “Always track these metrics,” because the key performance indicators (the metrics that are relevant to your campaign, also known as KPI) will change depending on your goal. The first step in identifying your goal is to look at what you need.

Let’s say you want to see some additional revenue from your social media marketing strategy. You’re looking to increase sales, so you should focus on the metrics:

Conversions: When customers take a specific action as determined by your campaign. This can be downloading an ebook, signing up for your newsletter, making a purchase, etc. For a sales goal, tracking the number of people who click on your ad and make a purchase is absolutely vital!
Clicks: Exactly what they sound like! The number of clicks you get on ads and posts can increase your web traffic, which means more people are browsing your site and considering making purchases.

Measuring these KPIs lets you see how to improve the number of sales that your strategy generates. If you find that your posts/ads aren’t being clicked on, then you know it’s time to change things up and restructure your posts to be more inviting to your audience.

Or maybe you’re a new business. You’ve got a good product and a great team, but not many people know about you yet. For your campaign, I’d suggest tracking:

Reach: The number of people who see your post or ad. Focusing on reach will get the word out about your business and help build your follower count.
Brand Awareness: How aware the public is of your business. Can they recognize your name and logo? Brand awareness is key to developing a following for your growing business!

It can take a long time, but nobody can buy from you if they don’t know who you are! A bigger audience will also make you more credible. If a potential customer is weighing between your product and a competitor’s, the side that has a larger following will seem more trustworthy.

What about once you’ve got a large audience? Well, then it’s time to focus on quality. What good are 10,000 page likes if nobody is interacting with your posts? As you work on getting more interaction, you’ll be following this KPI:

Engagement: The number of likes/comments/shares/interactions your posts generate. A horde of followers is great to have, but a smaller audience of people who are interacting with your content and your brand is usually going to be more important.

When evaluating the quality of your audience, engagement should be a major factor. Not only does the increased interaction on your posts make your brand look better, but it shows that users are getting value from your content marketing strategy. That’s a great sign, and when you’re noticing low engagement, it may be time to reexamine how you’re appealing to your audience!

Choose Wisely
Everyone wants to have a better social media marketing strategy, but not everyone wants to put the work into finding ways to improve. You need to find the right KPIs that align with your goals and keep a close eye on them. Once you’ve identified the trends across your chosen metric, you’ll be ready to make an actionable plan to craft an even better campaign!

Do you want to talk strategy with experienced marketing experts? Set up your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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GoTV Episode 6

By Christopher Tompkins

12Oct

GoTV, Marketing, Social Media

Welcome back to Go!TV! We’re glad to have you as we take a look at this week’s breaking news in social media. Here’s the marketing news that you need to know!

Facebook

Expect Facebook Stories Ads Soon
After months of preliminary testing, Facebook is now encouraging its Marketing Partners to prepare for Stories Ads. In the coming months, Facebook Stories are expected to become the place to be for digital marketers. While Stories are only viewed by 150 million people, a comparatively small portion of the Facebook audience, experts anticipate that Stories Ads will be hyper effective since users won’t already feel inundated with ads through the new medium.

Marketing Land

Facebook Pages Can Join Groups to Build Engagement
Most marketers are still less-than-pleased with Facebook since their recent algorithm shifts have made it harder for brands to engage with their audiences. That sentiment may shift a bit now that Facebook pages will be able to join groups to directly engage with potential customers. Ideally, this development will let advertisers recoup some losses by interacting with their target demographics and generating more conversions.

Social Media Today

Third Parties Gain New Access to Pinterest’s API
In a boon to advertisers everywhere, Pinterest has announced that it will make its API available to third-party platforms. This means that brands advertising on Pinterest will be able to track important metrics like views, impressions, and click-through rates. Because engagement is already so high on the site, marketers in relevant industries should seriously consider the advantages of expanding campaigns to include this DIY giant.

Marketing Dive

That’s it for this week’s episode of Go!TV! Thanks so much for joining us, and if you liked this episode, come visit our podcast and blog for even more social media news and know-how!

Want more Go? Here are the other places you can follow us: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter!

Tips For Social Media Marketing Rookies (Part 2 of 2)

By Christopher Tompkins

Tips For Social Media Marketing Rookies (Part 1 of 2) (1)

27Jun

Local Marketing, Social Media

In our previous blog, we discussed the best practices for social media marketing. We gave tips for marketing your brand via Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest. Now we’ll cover the the other three major social media platforms for digital marketers.

Keep in mind that some rules apply to every platform (e.g., sign up for a business account, engage with your followers, take every opportunity to use SEO). One crucial concept that will help you with any and every social media network: social media marketing is a form of content marketing! Even though you might not be posting full blogs or webpages, you still have ample opportunities to create quality content. (For other general tips, check out Part 1 of this blog series!)

LinkedIn

Become a joiner. Join LinkedIn groups that are important to and appropriate for your target audience. Don’t be a lurker, however: maintain your presence by staying active in these groups. On a similar note, consider creating your own LinkedIn group!
Invite your employees. While this might be considered odd for other social media platforms, LinkedIn is based on professional connections. Your employees will probably at least mention your company on their own profiles, after all!
Focus on making connections. Reach out to your audience. Aim to grow your email list. Once you connect, you can build relationships!
Share quality content. Along with creating original content, you should share content that you know your target demographic wants to see. This will engage your audience and help establish your page (and thus your brand) as a resource.
Don’t forget about images! Include images in your posts whenever possible. Create graphic templates for inspirational quotes that you post. Make and share infographics, as well.

Instagram

Get personal. Profile employees in a few posts. Share candid images of your staff and behind-the-scenes pictures of your business.
Understand link limitations. You can only share links in your profile or “Bio.” Links will not work in captions or comments, so remember to direct readers to your profile for the link.
Take advantage of Instagram’s special features. Instagram Stories are very popular. Recently the network introduced a feature that allows you to take a live video and leave it up for twenty-four hours.
Focus on quality. While this is true for every platform, Instagram photos need to be perfect. Don’t slack on presentation.
More is more when it comes to hashtags. A 2014 study found a correlation between the number of hashtags and the number of Likes. With this platform, you can include up to 30 hashtags per post. You should still only use hashtags that are relevant to your brand, though.

Twitter

Follow the (industry) leaders. Follow the leading companies in your industry. Retweet from experts and influencers in your field.
Be direct. Include a Call to Action in the appropriate tweets. Ask for opinions from your followers on topics in your industry.
Read the room. Do your due diligence on trending topics before you hashtag! A topic or hashtag might seem innocuous or even funny, but it could actually have a deep meaning to legions of Twitter users. Learn from this company’s mistake.
Graphics are powerful. Don’t be shy about using images and graphic in your posts. Create your own templates for different types of posts, like quotes or blog previews.
Be respectful. Never attempt to capitalize on somber occasions like Memorial Day or September 11th. Either post a sincere message of thanks/condolences or avoid the subject entirely. When in doubt, don’t post.

These are not the only sites available. Tumblr and Google+ are two social media networks that, although often overlooked by marketers, still have legions of devoted users. International brands have additional options (like VKontakte and Qzone), although foreign governments often have different rules and restrictions for social media.

Setting up a business profile might seem daunting, but it is completely worth the time and effort! Do you need help mastering the social media landscape? Whether you just need a little bit of expert guidance or would prefer that a professional team manage your social media presence, look no further! Contact The Go! Agency today for your free consultation!

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Tips For Social Media Marketing Rookies (Part 1 of 2)

By Christopher Tompkins

25Jun

Social Media

No matter how experienced you are with personal social media accounts, business accounts are a different animal. We’re not even talking about social media marketing: most social media platforms have different rules for business accounts. Today we’ll share the best practices for each of the most popular social media networks.

General tips:

First and foremost, follow the basic rules for content marketing. That means aim for quality over quantity, provide valuable content for your audience, and stick to a consistent posting schedule.
Sign up for (or convert your personal account into) a business account. This is recommended–and often explicitly required–by every platform. Social media networks usually have different rules for business entities than for personal accounts, and most networks are very strict about keeping business and personal accounts separate. Business accounts often have access to tools and perks that a personal user would never need.
Carefully review and follow each platform’s Terms of Service. What one network considers acceptable, another network may find objectionable. You need to make sure that you follow not only the rules for that network, but also its rules specific to business accounts.
Your profile matters. Make sure that your profile is completely filled out and contains all the relevant information your consumers might want. Include clear images of your company’s logo. Your branding should guide your profile’s design: colors and fonts should be consistent with your other branding materials!
Don’t forget about SEO! The format might be different, but you can still optimize your social media presence for search results! Utilize SEO in your profile’s About section, your posts, and your descriptions.
Take advantage of the platform’s analytical tools. Most social media networks offer analytical tools for free. These tools are not offered to personal or non-commercial users, which is another good reason to sign up for a business account.
Engage with your audience! Social media marketing (like all quality content marketing) is about connecting with your customers, so respond to all comments and answer their questions.
Confirm that all of your images adhere to the network’s size restrictions. An infographic that took your team hours to design will be worthless if automatic resizing makes it indecipherable.
Your posting schedule should be dictated by your audience. Schedule your posts for whenever your audience is most likely to be online and/or on that site. Different networks have different peak times, as do different demographics.
Tailor your profile and content to each network. Every individual social media platform was created for a specific audience and purpose. You should customize your content, message, and branding for each platform.

Facebook

Make your profile pop! Always include images and your logo whenever possible. Your profile picture should clearly display your logo or brand.
The design of your page can drive engagement. Install a Call to Action button on your profile, near your header image. Pin important posts to the top of your page.
Reach out to your followers! Surveys and polls are gold for engagement. Include a Call to Action in your posts or descriptions.
Crowdsource your content! Ask followers to share photos or stories that involve your brand (a maker of yoga gear might ask followers to take pictures of themselves wearing the brand while doing yoga in untraditional places, for instance). Are you trying to choose a new design, flavor, or product? Ask your followers for their opinions!
Don’t forget about hashtags! These handy tools aren’t just for Twitter and Instagram! Hashtag the relevant keywords in your posts and captions. Don’t go overboard, though: two hashtags should suffice.

YouTube

Your content should be current and relevant. You don’t have to jump on every trend, but don’t be the last to join either. Likewise, avoid format trends that don’t apply to your brand. Just as some industries/products/services are suitable for a tutorial video, the same format would not work as easily for other specialities.
Titles should be clear and concise. Put keywords before branding in your titles (i.e., the video’s subject matter, then your company’s name). Titles need to clearly describe video content.
Tags still matter, even though you can’t see them. Tags are not visible on the view page, but you can download an extension that reveals them. Remember to list the most important tags first, as the first tags are prioritized in search results.
Take advantage of captions and transcriptions! Not only does closed captioning make your videos more convenient and accessible, it improves your SEO rankings! Likewise, including a transcription of the video in the description is another opportunity for SEO. Beware the auto-captioning tool, though: garbled captions will make your brand look clueless. Double check the captions and translations before you post your videos!
Descriptions should be short and informative. The first three sentences of your description will be displayed in the search results, so make sure that they include the most relevant information. Mention your value proposition in those sentences. Include a call to action in the description as well.

Pinterest

Curate as well as create. Pin things from related brands. This will drive engagement and spread your brand’s message.
Use Boards to your advantage! Create boards around your lesser-known products or services. Repin content from your popular boards to your lesser-known boards.
SEO still matters. Optimize your descriptions and your “About” section. Use keywords for Board titles. Use descriptive names and alt-text for your pins.
People love infographics. Infographics are great everywhere, but Pinners in particular adore this content! Created or curated, make sure that you include a few wherever possible!

As we said earlier, social media marketing is an offshoot of content marketing. If you follow the same general rules for good content marketing, you should see good results. Pinterest is just now receiving recognition for the marketing opportunities it provides, so your brand should definitely take advantage before it’s too late.

Don’t miss our next blog, which will cover LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter!

Need help navigating social media? The Go! Agency is at your service! Visit our site to schedule your free consultation!

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5 Marketing Habits That Kill SMM Campaigns

By Christopher Tompkins

14Feb

Content Creation, Social Media

We recently talked about what to do if your social media marketing strategy is failing to produce results. We offered plenty of positive, proactive tips to incorporate into your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and blogging techniques. Today we’re going to talk about the mistakes you could be making that may be putting a damper on both your online reach and reputation.

Every day we use the internet. Searching for content, talking with clients, checking advertisement performance—you name it. Many brands we encounter have decent strategies and online content. Every now and again, however, we’ll see a truly glaring error. Sure, the company will quickly delete it, but anything you put on the internet can live forever. Just like us, their audience most likely saw it. Screen shots were taken, comments were posted…sure enough, an article will be written about it before the hour is up. Major blunders that end up profiled on BuzzFeed and immortalized in memes are what most of our clients think of when we discuss social media mistakes. However, the less extreme and more common errors can impact your brand just as badly.

Perhaps you’ve suffered from one of these mistakes already and want to be sure it doesn’t happen again. Or perhaps your marketing is relatively unscathed and you would like to keep it that way. Either way, the following social media marketing mistakes will surely put a damper on your current strategy.

1. Hashtag hijinks. When used appropriately, hashtags are extremely helpful for social media users who are seeking specific content. They are also valuable for marketers who are trying to target those niche readers. However, there are so many marketers out there who either over-utilize or under-utilize this tool and it ruins their content entirely. Depending on your platform, it’s essential to incorporate relevant hashtags. But remember that you can have too much of a good thing: don’t cloud your content with hashtags. Generally, use 2-3 hashtags for Facebook and Twitter, 7-10 for Instagram.

2. Keeping quiet. Are social media users making comments, leaving ratings, sending private messages to your company? Then you better respond. If not, your brand will look like it does not care about or is too busy for its customers. People hate to be ignored. Don’t forget: if you don’t treat your customers right, you may as well hand deliver them to your competition. While content, visuals, and data are all essential to a successful SMM strategy, never forget the “social” part of social media. Engage with your followers! Customers wouldn’t be on social media if they didn’t want to communicate with their favorite people and brands in a unique way.

3. Controversial commentary. Are you a political pundit? If your answer is no, then there’s no reason to have a political agenda with your content– trust us, this happens more often than you could imagine. It is crucially important to remember that your company’s social media account is NOT the same as your own personal account: corporate accounts should only be used for marketing purposes. While it’s true that a few companies have taken political stands (Patagonia commenting on national parks, as a recent example), it might land you in some hot water. If you want to be all-inclusive and avoid alienating (or infuriating) customers, then avoid hot topics like politics, religion, and scandals. Finally, keep it classy; don’t use social media to badmouth your competition. Stay positive, respectful, and considerate. All that being said, we have seen a large increase in brands infusing political stances into their messages. If you feel compelled to make a point, just be ready to defend it.

4. Go public. Your account is thoroughly optimized, your content is eye-catching and you have used your hashtags wisely. Yet, you are not seeing the results you want. So why isn’t this social media thing working? Before you scrap your entire SMM strategy, take a look at your account settings – are they set to “private”? This could be the case for Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and other platforms; it’s the social media equivalent of leaving the lens cap on your camera during a photo shoot. Luckily, this mistake is an easy and quick fix.

Social media marketing is a great tool that you can use to build lasting and rewarding relationships with your customers. Don’t ruin your SMM strategy by making any of the above blunders—and don’t get discouraged if you have already.

At The Go! Agency, our team is trained to avoid these mistakes (and many, many others). Our goal is to make our clients shine! Contact us today to make 2018 the year your master social media marketing!

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The 5 Social Media Marketing Strategies That Boost Transparency

By Christopher Tompkins

27Dec

Content Creation, Copywriting, Social Media

How has social media marketing changed business? In more ways than you can count. The most significant though, for better or for worse, is that it increased transparency enormously.

If you run a restaurant that offers bland plates and rude service, social media may be a nuisance for you. If you manage an A/C Heating service and you overcharge your customers, it will most certainly pop up around the web. However, if you run an honest business and do your best to produce quality service and products, the internet is an amazing place that you can really shine and reach new people….. if you let it.

The truth is, as long as your business is run right, you should want your brand to be as transparent as possible — and social media marketing has the ability to do this if you keep in mind the following 5 elements. Not only will they allow your business to have a better transparency, but your customer relationships will become so much better.

1. Communication. You don’t want to be a “mute brand.” Yes, you’re sending out content multiple times a day, but if a customer responds to you, it’s vital that you respond quickly. Remember the 3 “P’s” when you are talking with your customers – positive, prompt, and productive.

2. Influence. Take time to find online influencers in your market with quality audiences who would be interested in your products or services. Connect and build relationships with those individuals. By doing so, you are branding yourself as an authority in your respective market.

3. Quality connections. Quality or quantity? It’s better to have quality, focused content versus thousands of online connections, reading your content just once, then disappearing. On the other side of this, you need to be a quality connection yourself by sending out worthwhile content.

4. Consistency. Don’t create a few batches of amazing content and then disappear. This means constantly publishing content and participating in online conversations. Your followers need reasons to stay by your side. Give them what they want.

5. Branding. Show off your marketing skills with consistent branding, color, tone, messages, and mission. This is absolutely necessary as you expand your voice across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and much more.

Are you less than confident in your approach to social media marketing? You don’t have to be, contact us today! We’re here to help you make your mark and hit your targets.

6 Pinterest Mistakes To Avoid

By Christopher Tompkins

17Sep

Pinterest, Social Media

Pinterest is an unsung hero of social media. While many people know about it, not all take it very seriously. When you first visit the site, you may understand why. It’s very sleek, colorful, and a little chaotic. It doesn’t resemble Facebook or Twitter in the slightest. Still, Pinterest has a whole lot of potential, and marketers are doing their brands a disservice by not checking it out.

Where does someone begin on Pinterest? The best way to learn how to navigate to this hip platform is to understand what NOT to do. Here are the top mistakes Pinterest professionals should avoid:- Underestimating Pinterest. There is a stereotype that says Pinterest is only for DIY projects, recipes, and makeup tutorials. While that stuff does have a place, Pinterest is as diverse as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Give it a try for yourself. Look up any topic. There will be a wide variety of content just waiting for you to consume.

– Over-promoting. Pinterest is a place for interesting content. Yes, there is room for advertising, even at a premium level, but not every pin you post should be some form of promotion. It’s a good way to fall off the face of the board. Instead, integrate a motley mix of eye-catching and interesting content.

– Over- sharing. Okay, so since you can’t put only promotions, you will have to post interesting content in some form. The immediate social media “go to” answer might be to share someone else’s pins. Sure, you can like, share, and save a good amount of content, but you need to make your own! Whether it’s a link to a blog, a stunning info graph, or a cool collage, you need to get creative on this platform more than most.

– Ugly Pictures. If you thought making visually appealing content for Facebook was a challenge, then Pinterest will be brutal. This platform thrives on images that pop and can pull viewers in with just a glance. Vertical imagery is key to stand out. This is why info graphs are so effective on this site – they allow you to display a large amount of data, through attractive imagery.

– Sparse boards. Pinterest is all about boards, which are collections of posts that share relevant subjects. Nothing looks worse on Pinterest than empty or incomplete boards. Be sure to add to these collections often and ensure they are about popular, searchable subjects.

– Isolating your Pinterest. No social media account should be an island. Cross-promote your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Invite your followers to check out all the fun your Pinterest has to offer. It’s a great way to start your journey on this platform with a little bit of backup.

Pinterest opens many opportunities for engagement, brand awareness, and your company’s online presence. Did you know that The Go! Agency team has extensive experience with Pinterest? We work with brands every day to make their Pinterest accounts pop off the page and raise brand awareness as much as possible.

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Is Your Business Ready For These Social Media Updates?

By Christopher Tompkins

14Sep

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

Social media marketing is all about a friendly back-and-forth conversation between brands and customers. Companies need to send out a healthy dose of content onto their platforms to achieve the friendly and potentially sales-boosting engagement we all hope for.

While there is a ton of ideas out there, there are particular posts that are reserved for when your audience is really rocking. After you spend time growing your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram community, then you can drum up some real conversations and engagement with the following ideas.

Contests. Obviously, contests will only work if you have participants. That’s why it’s important to hold off on hosting one until you have an active audience. When the time is right, these little competitions will be helpful for boosting numbers. Neither the prize nor conditions need to be elaborate. Usually, entrants just Like the post and page, but there can always be fun and simple twists.
Polls. Looking for some honest feedback? Ask for it! Polls are helpful tools that aid your company in a variety of ways. On Facebook, you can take advantage of the reaction system. For instance, you can say “React with a heart for option A. React with an angry emoji for option B!” For Twitter, many marketers use the, “Quote Tweet for option A, Retweet for Option B” method. There are also more sophisticated polling methods such as customizable widgets. A quick Google search will land you today’s most popular software.
Word games. Add some fun to your content by adding a caption contest or fill-in-the-blank post. Everyone will smile when someone enters a funny response, but they will roll their eyes if there are no responses. This is why you need an active audience for these kinds of posts.
Pro tips. If you are a professional, you should share your wealth of information. Choose a specific day of the week and share a tip for customers and fellow colleagues in your industry.
User-generated content. Once you have a strong internet presence, ask your fans to share pictures of them using your product or service. This instills humanity into your feed. You can even create your own, unique hashtag and request people to use it when sharing. For example, the fine folks at Prisma, an image filter app, share and like most posts that have #Prisma.

These five content ideas are sure to get people talking about your brand online. Be sure to take social media marketing slow and steady, though. Otherwise, your new contest, poll or custom hashtag could fall on deaf ears.

Share your content ideas below!

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How To Heat Up Your Hashtag Game

By Christopher Tompkins

11Aug

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

One of the most important elements of social media marketing is to spread your content as far as possible. To achieve this goal, we have hashtags as handy tools. These little guys allow our posts to appear when someone searches for that hashtag. They’re basically the advanced version of a keyword. Simple, right? Hashtags are easy to learn, but can take some finesse to master. Here are the best ways to make the famous internet tool work for you!

Know your platform’s limits. Do you think all the social media platforms are the same? Think again. The way each site uses hashtags is completely different. You should not use more than three for Facebook. There isn’t a limit for Twitter, but you still have that 140 character limit hanging over your head. LinkedIn and Pinterest don’t use hashtags at all, rather utilize keywords. Instagram, on the other hand, is the king of hashtags. Be professional, but 10-15 hashtags max is recommended.

Do your research. A hashtag will only do its job if someone is actually looking for it. You need to figure out what is trending. Luckily, you have tools. Ritetag and Hashtagify are both third party websites that allow you to see what the market is talking about. Facebook and Twitter both have trending sections that allow you to see what all the buzz is about at the time.

Don’t be too specific. #FacebookSocialMediaMarketing may not get as many hits as #Facebook, #SocialMedia, #SocialMediaMarketing and #Marketing. You want to make sure that people are searching that exact phrase, otherwise your content won’t come up.

Don’t be too broad. On the opposite side of things, you want to make sure your hashtag isn’t going to drown in a sea of the same. #California may work, but if you are trying to get San Diego residents to pay attention, #SanDiego will work better. Otherwise, people who are looking for things pertaining to San Francisco may also see your post and it will be a waste.

You need a little bit of imagination, research, and common sense to master hashtags. The symbol that used to be called the pound symbol is now your best friend in the social media world, but you need to know how to use them!

How do you use hashtags? Share below!

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