Build Up Your Flock: 5 Ways To Be The Top Bird On Twitter

27Oct

Advertising, Business, Copywriting, Social Media, Social networking, Tailwind, Twitter, Uncategorized

Since its incarnation in 2006, Twitter has become a major social media marketing staple. Few businesses use social media for marketing without utilizing the microblogging platform. We call it “microblogging” because it mainly performs the feature of a regular blog, only at a microscopic scale. Are you able to tell your story with 140 characters or less?

Twitter is the place for speed, efficiency, and effectivity. You need to hit your readers hard and don’t let them forget it! Are you looking for the best ways to approach the platform that has over 310 million users?

1. Use an Image – EVERY TIME. Good news! Twitter no longer counts visual media against a tweet’s 140 characters. Because of this new advantage, you have no reason for a bland, image-less tweet. None. Make sure you incorporate eye-catching imagery, so people hone in on your update.

2. Analyze trends. Twitter is the king of current events. As such, incorporate contemporary happenings into your content. While treading controversial waters can leave you burned, there’s plenty of positive, unbiased news you can use.

3. Call Upon Your Team. The beginning of a successful social media marketing campaign is your team’s efforts. Ask them to help your marketers promote their brand with their own following. Their genuine marketing efforts can go a long way.

4. Consistency. There are several social media poisons. Radio silence is one of the worse. NEVER let more than two days go without a post. People will quickly move along to the next best thing.

5. Make Your Tweets Self-Contained. A common trend in the Twitterverse is to tell a longer story in a series of tweets. This is a big no-no. What happens if one of your tweets is read out of context? “(cont’d)We would love to see you there! Make sure to come early so you get a good spot so you can see…” Do you want something like that popping up on your feed? It’s against the laws of Twitter.

6. Promoted and Sponsored Tweets. There are paid options available on Twitter to give your marketing an extra boost. Once you have a grasp on how Twitter works, advertising is the next natural level.

7. Study Data. Don’t be a dodo. Study your current performance and see how you can improve. Is news related content doing better than promos? Maybe videos are getting more attention (they most likely are). You won’t ever know if you don’t look at your data at least once a week.

As you can see, Twitter is a bit like chess – easy to learn, hard to master. At the Go! Agency, our social media experts handle over 100 Twitter accounts for clients. Contact us today to discover how our expertise will land your company on cloud nine!

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Is Your Social Media Marketing Falling On Deaf Ears? Focus Your Reach!

By Christopher Tompkins

31Aug

Advertising, Social Media

Social media marketing is about spreading your word as far and wide as possible, right? What if we told you that your business would actually benefit from a more focused audience? There’s something to be said about quality over quantity in the world of social media marketing.

Think about a simple social media post, whether on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Obviously, you want a lot of people to read this content. But in reality, if you make the update too broad, your content will fall on a lot of deaf ears. If you don’t make it focused and narrowed to cater to your target audience (which is actually your target customers), the wrong people may read it. Sure, the more the merrier, but uninterested people probably will just keep scrolling through their news feed and forget all about that post or advertisement.

How do you really sharpen your scope? There are several different approaches to making sure the right people are reading your marketing masterpieces.

If using Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, always be sure to use hashtags. These are essentially digital homing beacons that will attract people looking for material centered around its subject. Even if your platform of choice doesn’t allow hashtags, (i.e. LinkedIn, Pinterest) you can still write your updates in a way that clearly designates the demographic you’re trying to reach.

Successful social media marketers also understand the importance of content curation. Share relevant news stories and web content that pertain to the interest of your target demographic. This can be an industry update or even something lighthearted. Either way, make sure your followers will want to read it.

Advertising is another way you can be sure the right people are reading your content. Facebook and other platforms offer a wide variety of options so your advertisements, boosted posts, and sponsored content land on the screens of the people who would enjoy the ad instead of thinking it’s a nuisance.

Unsure of who exactly should read your social media content? You better go back to your business’ mission statement. Who is your product or service aimed towards? Every business has a target audience, even if you don’t know it. When it comes down to it, ask yourself who buys your products? When you have the answer, you will also have the same people you should market towards via social media.

Yes, it’s important to spread your brand to as many people as possible. However, if you aren’t focusing on your target audience, there’s no point!

How do you focus your social media marketing content? Comment below!

Why Facebook’s Ad Preferences Works In Marketers’ Favor

By Christopher Tompkins

21Aug

Advertising, Facebook, Social Media

An advertisement has to be really well made and relevant for the average social media user to pay attention to it. If it looks like spam or is pushing a product we have absolutely no interest in, we ignore it like the plague. Facebook knows this and is giving more power to the consumer by introducing ad preferences. However, this isn’t doomsday for social media marketers. Instead, it’s actually good news.

In Facebook’s announcement, they explained that the new ad preferences feature allows its 1.6 billion users to narrow down the type of ads they receive. With just a few clicks (or taps for mobile users), users can weed through some annoying subjects and narrow down their interests and hobbies. Imagine that, ads you actually enjoy!

At the first sight of this news, marketers may begin to sweat bullets. They gave consumers the ability to control the ads? What kind of chaos is this? Yet in truth, this will help deliver the right message to the right person. When companies create a Facebook ad, they already have the ability to specifically pick and choose who gets to see the ad. From a marketer’s standpoint, there are plenty of options so the right person sees your message. Ad preferences will allow that scope to be even narrower, which only leaves the people who would buy your product or service to see it. There’s no point in wasting time, some people just won’t be interested. You might be thinking that a smaller scope is a bad thing. While your reach will be narrower, the possibility of someone actually clicking on the ad will be greater. It’s about quality leads over quantity.

Because of this further filtering, Facebook has another treat. Ad Blocks no longer work on Facebook’s desktop version. Since users have the option to see content they enjoy, there isn’t an excuse anymore to not see ads. Once again, social media marketers should be cheering.

Facebook has never denied that they need advertising to live. It’s what makes their employees happy and their websites free. Without ads, there would be trouble on the horizon for marketer and consumers alike. No one wants a Facebook monthly fee. Because of that, ads will always be a necessary element to all social media platforms. Now, the required experience of advertising seems to be a little less painful.

What do you think of ad preferences? Comment below!

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Planning Your 2017 Budget? Don’t Forget Social Media Advertising!

By Christopher Tompkins

13Aug

Business, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing, Periscope, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Uncategorized

2017. It seems so far away, doesn’t it? By the time the new year comes, the election will be behind us, the holidays will be over, and we’ll even have a new Star Wars film! It seems like a distant future. Yet in truth, it’s only a few short months away and businesses need to be ready. This is the time to prepare your marketing budgets for next year. Is social media incorporated into your plans?

You may be wondering what you have to pay for when it comes to social media. It’s free to sign up, right? While this is true, those in charge of these platforms will only let a company’s reach go so far until they get a cut of the action. This is where social media advertising comes into play. A post’s organic growth is limited thanks to algorithms that are aimed to deliver specific content to users. Advertising has become an essential element of any social media marketing campaign’s success.

Each platform has created advertising opportunities that delivers advantages to your business’s profile. While these tools come with a price tag, they have the potential to deliver serious results. Here are the best ways to harness the advertising of social media, categorized by your platform of choice:

Facebook- Undoubtedly the most popular social media platform in the US, Facebook has a wide variety of advertising options. One of the most popular methods is Boosted Posts. If you notice a post is gaining some popularity on its own, you can boost it so your engaging content will really take off. When setting up online ads through Facebook, they provide you with many demographic-based options so your brand is being noticed by exactly who would buy your product, or invest in your service.

Twitter- If you spend any time on Twitter, you have seen their effective advertising efforts in action. Promoted Tweets are prominently placed inside news feeds in prime spots. If your company signs up to be a Promoted Account, your profile will show up in non-followers’ “Who To Follow” lists.

LinkedIn- The social media platform that is meant for professional networking also offers great advertising options. This is very helpful, especially for B2B companies. Sponsored Content will be visibly seen on all devices, but only to whom you want to see your content. You can also create a Text Ad which will be visible in a user’s sidebar, right near their most explored links.

Instagram- Facebook’s sister site, Instagram, is beginning to take itself seriously as an avenue for marketing. You can create your own special advertisement with their Power Editor so it’s eye-catching to everyone browsing the image and video focused site. You will need to connect your Facebook page in order to get the job done, but it’s well worth it. Instagram has recently tweaked its algorithm in marketers’ favor, so your content will be displayed alongside Instagramers’ favorite pics and videos.

Social media advertising is an important issue since online marketing is becoming increasingly popular on all fronts, especially through the avenues of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This is the beginning of a series about why you need to incorporate social media into your 2017 marketing budget, so be sure to look out for the next installment!

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Why Customers Are Your Biggest Social Media Fans

By Christopher Tompkins

Social-Medias-Role-in-Customer-Service--200x300

28Jun

Advertising, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Local Marketing, Marketing, Pinterest, Social Media, Social networking, Uncategorized

We’re aware of all the benefits social media has when it comes to personal communication. We’re able to connect like never before! That’s true when it comes to customer service as well. Each platform gives us unique opportunities to reach out to customers in innovative ways. Huffington Post explains how social media allows businesses to drop an intimidating veil and come down to an approachable level. Here are the top ways businesses benefit from what will define our generation in terms of business and human interaction:

Technically speaking, businesses now have access to a ton more data. Whether it’s customer reviews, demographics, or analytics, social media now helps get the numbers straight. We are able to look into the minds (and conversations) of our customer bases. This allows us to create better content, more engaging posts, and essentially adapt to the needs of the market.
Businesses now have a direct line to their customers. They don’t have to worry about other mediums like television channels and press releases if they don’t have to. If they want to reach out, all they have to do is press the “Publish” button. Now, with updates to Facebook’s Messenger app, we can greet them with immediate replies in case there isn’t someone near a screen to reply. There are also AI systems in the works so you can allow your customers to enjoy a quick, automated process.
As stated earlier, social media allows businesses to be human. They now communicate like everyone else and can have a real conversation. This is why we post engaging, fun content instead of constantly barraging our followers with ads. This is supposed to be social media, not a sales pitch.

We see a big shift in the way businesses market and advertise thanks to social media’s tools. The internet has opened up a whole new world for professionals to reach out to customers in a fluid, organic, and frankly, fun way.

For more on how social media changes the engagement of customers, check out Huffington Post’s article here: http://ow.ly/FH4P3008ThL

How has social media helped your business? Let us know!

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How To Be A Social Media Business Knock Out

By Christopher Tompkins

28Jun

Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Marketing, Periscope, Pinterest, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized

There’s a big difference in how one uses social media for personal use and for business. When you’re using it personally, you really don’t have much to lose other than agitating a friend or two with an off-color post. When it comes to posting for your business however, every move you make is important. You are no longer posting as a person, you are now a living, breathing, personified business typing away. What are the best tactics to use when representing your business? Here are Small Business Trends’ four best ways to handle this new audience:

Be sure your posts have a nice medium between being widely-relatable and catering to your demographic. They should appeal to a certain audience, but you don’t want it to be so specific nobody will understand but the pros.
Even if you don’t have many viewers, engage with them and listen to what they have to say about your content. Many followers will share your thoughts if you give them an avenue to. Listen to their feedback and adapt your approach. If you use social media right, your follower numbers will increase.
Being ambitious is great, but biting off more than you can chew will leave your audience hungry for content. Having a full list of posts without having the resources to accomplish them is setting yourself up for failure. Don’t automatically expect an ROI from social media posts. It doesn’t work quite like that and expecting a spike in sales immediately isn’t rational.
When looking at your user feedback, take it with a grain of salt. Realize a lot of it is subjective. It is important to remember fundamentals when posting information as well. Having a social media expert’s advice is priceless when trying to figure out the best strategy.

For additional details of Small Business Trends’ four tactics check out their article here: http://ow.ly/pfD930094uZ

Do you have any other tips that can help a business thrive on social media? Let us know!

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Learn How to Share: Sources, Subjects, and More

By Christopher Tompkins

23Jun

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

The internet is a busy and crowded place, stuffed to the brim with relevant content. Every industry has a whole world of knowledge to discover, which is available on the web. Some of it is credible, some of it is junk. It is important to do your research into what your posting and who wrote it.

As we have mentioned before in previous blogs, it is important to mix relevant content into your social media updates to balance out promotional posts. But what exactly should you share? News articles that are directly related to your field of expertise can be great tools for engagement. However, you will want to be sure that you actually agree with what the article says and what the author stands for.

Each industry has their own well-known experts, as well as blogs and news sources that are considered credible. Depending on the field that you work in, you will be able to find many articles that you can share. Of course, there are big news sources like CNN, MSNBC, and The Huffington Post that are renowned amongst all walks of life that you can rely on for quality content. If you find yourself on a lesser-known website, be sure to scan the page for any offensive imagery or copy. Some blogs will have a mess of sketchy ads strewn about the layout, sometimes hosting spam-like material. Advertisement is a necessary evil to make the internet keep chugging ahead, but you don’t want your readers to see inappropriate content. Speaking of advertising, you should check to see if your competitors are advertising on the website. This is especially true if it is a niche news source that covers topics specific to your industry. You don’t want sharing content to backfire!

Where do you find these kinds of articles? You can search your traditional search engines like Google and Bing, however that is going to deliver you a ton of links to weed through. It is suggested to look through social media itself to find articles that are being talked about. This will help you pick the popular subjects, but you will also have access to recently published news. You will want to check the dates of the material you are sharing. If the post is from months or even years ago, the information could be outdated or irrelevant. You want to present yourself as a “mover and shaker” in your field and that means keeping in-tuned with what is happening now.

Sharing engaging and interesting content is essential to your social media activity. You want to seem involved in the community you are trying to tap into. By giving extra publicity to these sources, your name will also pop up in unexpected ways as users search for the subject matter and author. So, start sharing!

How do you find relevant and credible sources? Comment below!

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Location, Location, Location! How Your Region Affects Your Social Media Experience

By Christopher Tompkins

13Jun

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

Even though the internet is a global institution, you’d be surprised just how significant your geographical location affects results. This is also true for social media. It might seem almost like an oxymoron. How could your current location matter when you’re sending something across the globe? It turns out things can change a lot. Here are the most significant elements that affect your social media experience:

–Research- Ever go on Twitter to see the top trending hashtags and are surprised to see a few of them apply to your current town? Yeah, that’s no coincidence. Many search engines, social media included, will adjust your results to accommodate your current location. This way, you’ll be able to really hone in on what’s going on in your area. The bad part of this, however, is that your attempts at finding nationally trending topics can be skewed. You can adjust these kinds of results in the settings of each site.

–Distinct Features- There are some added bonuses when using location services. Snapchat, the rising mobile-exclusive platform, offers Geofilters, which are illustrations to place over a photo or video that are only accessible in certain locations. You can also “Check-In” to places like businesses to promote their products. As a business owner, you can always encourage customers to check-in on their smartphones, which will spread your brand onto their newsfeeds. Periscope allows you to view broadcasters in your immediate area so you can see video streams from your favorite local spots.

While it may be creepy that your social media platforms know where you’re at, it can really help your social marketing efforts. You can take advantage of this by tapping into local markets in unique ways.

What do you think about social media location services? Comment below!

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3 Easy Ways to Stay with the Times

By Christopher Tompkins

7Jun

Advertising, Facebook, Instagram, Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized

There’s a good reason journalists have flocked to social media, it’s always current. For its success, it has to be always updated and fresh. The same applies for its users. With things so connected now, news gets older quickly. What’s happening today will be old news by tomorrow because people have access to things as they happen. That’s why news stations and their employees utilize these tools so much—it’s perfect for their jobs.

Some of us, however, aren’t as lucky to be in an industry as contemporary and “easily updated” as journalism. Some of us work in industries that are pretty set in stone. So, how exactly can these people keep instilling relevant content into their social media posts? No doubt, it can be a daunting task. However, these easy tips will help anyone stay trending.

• Hashtags- Not enough can be said about hashtags. These handy little tools aren’t just to describe what your post is about. It’s like shooting a flair up in the middle of the night. By using popular hashtags, you have the opportunity to be on people’s radar who are searching for the subject matter. Tags as simple as #recipes can work great for broader requests. Complicated tags like #NationalDonutDay2016 will narrow your reach, however you may be able to get better quality results. A big question we get asked is, how can you can tell what hashtags are popular today? It’s a good question. Follow some of the most popular twitter accounts and you can see some of the biggest hashtags in action. From celebrities to relevant companies, you’ll be able to analyze what others are doing. What if you don’t find any hashtags that are right for you? You need to spin your content in a way that will make it relevant. Even if you get to use broad tags like #TGIF or #ManicMondays, pretty universally relatable ones, you need to use something. This brings us to the next point…

• Don’t Only Post Sales- Let’s face it- nobody likes the equivalent of a used car salesman online. If your news feeds are only promotional posts, you’re not going to get much engagement, which is what it’s all about. You need to post relevant topics, but interesting ones as well. You’re supposed to post things that are eye-catching, fun, contemporary, or shocking. Controversial may or may not work for you, depending on your field, but you don’t want to start an online brawl while trying to seek attention. It’s not really recommended to post your own political commentary while writing on behalf of your business. You can also post things just for laughs. Keeping things light hearted can be good.

• Explore Your Field- You may be surprised by just how up-to-date your industry is. Sure, you can spotlight different aspects of your business in different posts and blogs, but look at the social media accounts of your fellow colleagues. From the big names to your local competitors, there are new changes in rules, equipment, policies, and customer requirements that you’ll benefit from reading yourself!

As you can see, there is no excuse your social media content can’t be relevant. These top ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. You’ll find great ways to generate your own creations as you dive in!

Do you have other ways of being relevant in your field? Let us know!

Pinterest Gets Serious

By Christopher Tompkins

26May

Advertising, Marketing, Pinterest, Social Media, Uncategorized, Video

Let’s face it. When you think about the business side of social media, Pinterest isn’t really your first thought. Now, if you’re looking for an awesome recipe or cake topper, this is your site. However, it really can help expand your brand if implemented correctly. With its new update, the social media platform will be able to help businesses even more so.

Entrepreneur.com looks into this new social media news. Pinterest is now offering video advertisement for business users. While this may irk the average user, it will definitely help marketing efforts. With smartphone screens getting wider and larger, video is becoming more popular on all social media fronts. Snapchat’s incarnation and success is proof of this with Periscope and Facebook Live quickly following. This will open up new avenues for Pinterest’s versatility.

We’ve seen the potential Pinterest has on multiple fronts, and social media marketers should appreciate its reachability. We joke around saying it is more for arts and crafts than actual marketing, but the website can be really useful. We like just how”list centric” Pinterest is. Your content and products will be categorized by your customers. This allows its users the opportunity to search for things that pertain to their interests in a constantly growing stream of content.

No surprise, Millennials have flocked to Pinterest, It assists them in event planning, brainstorming, and overall connectivity to a larger world. Pinterest allows businesses and users alike to create boards of images that open up the floor to product showcasing. Like Instagram, Pinterest focuses on imagery. It can create a sort of “catalog” format so you can see multiple images at one time. This social media platform is a little more strict with how businesses use their allotted space. It can be beneficial to read their branding guidelines. Pinterest can stand tall as a social media platform along side Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Ready to start pinning?

For more information, check out Entrepreneur.com’s article here: http://ow.ly/XY0W300puPO

What are your thoughts on Pinterest’s video ad move? Let us know!