The 20 Questions Your Social Media Marketers Should Be Asking

8Oct

Did you ever play the game 20 Questions? The goal is to figure out what the person you’re playing against is thinking of. The following 20 questions will help social media marketers learn what their brand’s marketing strategy is. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the other platforms require a well-developed approach, and by asking yourself the following questions, you will be able to go in with an advantage.

1. Who are my ideal customers?

2. What am I trying to promote?

3. What is the tone of my brand?

3. What are my competitors doing online?

4. How does my company fare against my competitor’s online activity?

5. What problems do my ideal customers have?

6. How does my company help solve those problems?

7. Where are my customers geographically?

8. What content do my customers like to see?

9. Which social media platforms work for me?

10. How can I incorporate compelling content into my brand’s message?

11. What are the most important keywords in my industry? (For instance, mine would be “social media”, “online marketing”, etc.)

12. When should I post content?

13. What products or services are my “bread and butter”?

14. What original content can I use? Do I have blogs, web pages, original images, etc.?

15. Who industry’s top online influencers and how can I incorporate their content?

16. What scheduling software is right for me?

17. What visuals should I incorporate into my content? (You better not say “none!”)

18. How often should I be posting every day?

19. How much time can I invest into social media?

20. What are my ultimate goals for social media?

Do you have all the answers? If not, you better get to work!

Every day, we work with companies and incorporate their individualized situations into their strategies. We can help you answer these questions and get started one the most effective avenue of marketing today!

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What’s The Big Deal About Social Media Engagement?

By Christopher Tompkins

3Oct

Social Media

Ah, engagement. The big “E” word. The thing all social media marketers strive for. But, why? And what does it even mean? It’s time to set the record straight.

Engagement is the interactions users have with your social media posts and accounts. It’s conversations, reactions, shares, and ultimately, close connections. In its definition alone, you should understand why marketers strive for it. Is your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest post’s engagement high? That means your content is compelling and conjures real interaction. If it’s low, that means it’s falling into the neglected void. No likes, no shares, nothing. In the end, a failure.

This is where we see the big differentiation between quality over quantity. You could have tens of thousands of followers and very little engagement. While it’s nice to have that number high, it’s pointless if people aren’t digesting your content. And THAT is what matters in social media, and is also what makes it so unique. Television commercials, magazine ads, billboards, and radio ads don’t have the luxury of this level of engagement. Instead, marketers can study ROI and profit numbers long after the fact. With social media, real-time analytics are immediately available. We can examine just how many people clicked, liked, and shared a particular post.

The whole point of social media is to get people involved with your brand. Lately, algorithms had further solidified this concept. If you begin to interact with a person or page more than others, your news feed will start to present more of that content. That’s the ultimate goal, a prime spot on viewer’s feeds. This is why YouTubers beg us all to subscribe, comment, and share. It’s all about activity, not broadcasting.

So, the big “E” has some value to it after all. Without it, you might as well call up your local news station and ask for their rates. Social media is where the people are, and we need to keep in mind the standard of this age of marketing, which is a close interaction between brand and customer.

Stuck on how to increase your engagement? Fear not! Our team of marketers study analytics on a daily basis and tweak our approaches so we can deliver the best numbers possible to our clients!

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The Single Most Heinous Crime Of Social Media Marketers

By Christopher Tompkins

12Sep

Social Media

As much information there is about how to use social media out there, there’s just as much about what not to do. It seems like everyone has an opinion about how to handle this social media marketing thing. Some ideas are great while others could sabotage the reader. Regardless, most professionals agree there’s one thing that no marketer should ever do…
Trying to market on social media without a strategy.

The heart and soul of your campaign should be a thought-out plan. Without a plan, your content will be aimless, and your followers will notice. However, a good strategy can usually rectify any problems marketers may come across.

As your team plans, ask the following questions:

– What results do we want from social media marketing? From an archaic viewpoint, marketing = sales, right? Seems like a simple strategy. Well, social media adds the human aspect of communication, which means that it’s all going to be a bit subjective. Engagement and brand awareness should be the biggest goals, rather than straight sales. It’s just not how the game is played anymore.

– What tone are we trying to strike? This also depends on your audience. What language, keywords / phrases, and imagery pulls in your desired customers? Figure that out and stick to it!

– Which platforms are best? Not every brand can be on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+. Marketers need to figure out what sites are right for them. The answer may lie in the target demographics, industry, and resources available.

– How often should we post? When you decide on your platforms, your need to figure out how often you’re publishing content. Usually, social media is best with two posts a day, but you may wish to do more or less as well as sharing others’ content. Just remember, there is such a thing as too much and inconsistent sharing.

– What tools are at our disposal? Does your marketing department have access to mobile devices such as a tablet or smartphone? If so, you can access Snapchat and various third-party apps that help create engaging content. Do you have original photos or a copywriter? There are many aspects of social media marketing that could use a professional touch. You should also realize that advertising is your friend. It will help place your updates in the spotlight.

– What content is best for you? Which updates does your audience respond to the most? Interesting news articles, quotes, coupons, funny pictures? How about all of the above? This step is one of the most important when creating a strategy. Check out our blog post about the five types of social media posts here!

Making a social media marketing strategy requires some serious brain power. Your team has some thinking to do. Once you devise the best possible plan, your journey into online marketing will be much easier and more effective.

How do yo make a social media strategy? Comment below!

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13 Daily Duties Of Social Media Marketers

By Christopher Tompkins

10Sep

Social Media

When you’re working on the internet every day as social media marketers do, you need two essential qualities – the ability to focus and capacity to multitask. Focus is required so we can execute our intricate, multi-faceted jobs without a hitch, despite distractions. After all, we’re dealing with the internet, and funny videos and news stories are all around to slow down progress. You need multitasking because of all the steps needed to have a successful day of online networking. Every account needs daily attention. However, marketers who aren’t internet-savvy may be unaware of everything that needs to be done. Here are thirteen tasks that should be on any marketer’s to-do list:

Address any critical issues outstanding on your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. as soon as possible.
Reply to all comments, mentions, emails, shares, complaints etc.
Accept connections and friend requests. Follow back when applicable.
Make sure your scheduled posts were published successfully.
Check what’s trending and utilize these topics in fresh content while conforming it to your brand.
Begin writing next week’s content.
Add a healthy variety to your writing plan. Keep it alive and exciting!
Create long forms or blogs that reflect your knowledge of the industry.
Retweet, Quote Tweet, share, and comment multiple times a day.
Analyse previously-published posts and their engagement rates.
Study the activity of your boosted posts, advertisements, and your overall budgets.
Adhere to your strategy, but be flexible to what your audience demands.
Don’t forget to add a healthy dose of fun to your marketing!

These are just a few of many responsibilities social media managers and marketers need to accomplish on a daily basis. Even when you clock out, things are compiling and ready for you when the next day begins. Having a hard time juggling all this? Let us help!

What other responsibility can you think of? Comment below!

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5 Ways Apps Changed Social Media Forever

By Christopher Tompkins

5Sep

Social Media

Remember when the only thing phones could do was make a phone call? Nowadays, you can literally run a whole business from the palm of your hand. Social media marketing is one of the industries that changed the most thanks to smartphone innovations. The main reason? Downloadable apps. With just the tap of a finger, users can install a brand new program onto their phone and drill even further into their device’s potential. Many of these apps contribute to social media marketing. Here are the top ways applications change the game:

App-Exclusive Features. As we have recently seen with LinkedIn’s smartphone-exclusive hashtags, there are certain features of our favorite platforms that are inaccessible on a traditional computer. Another one of these hidden treasures isFacebook Live, which is a live-video streaming service. These devices allow many new opportunities for social media marketers to connect and create.
App-Exclusive Platforms. Without smartphones, there would be no Snapchat, Meerkat, or Periscope. Live video would be restricted to webcams. Instagram wouldn’t be nearly as innovative, and the rest of the social media marketing industry would feel quite stationary. Thanks to smartphones, we have even more sites to explore.
Location-based services. Facebook’s popular feature, checking in, is all thanks to your Apple or Android device. Obviously, you wouldn’t be able to check in anywhere on a desktop computer besides your own house. There are also features such as Snapchat’s geofilters, nearby interests, and more than rely on being in the right place at the right time.
Third Party Apps. Have you checked out the Social Media category on the App Store or Google Play store? There are tons of tools in there! Third party software has helped social media marketers bring new life into their campaigns. Whether you are creative a video through Ripl, adding a crazy filter to a picture on Prisma, or flashing back to the good ol’ days with Timehop, social media marketers can benefit from the plethora of apps available to marketers.
Instant gratification. Do you want to try out one of these apps? Download it in a flash. Do you like something you see in an ad? One tap will bring you more information. Starting fresh on a new site? Thanks to the contacts that are already on your phone, you don’t have to do any heavy lifting! You can just start communicating quickly. Smartphones are all about convenience, and they definitely help social media marketers make things easier.

As you can see, social media and technology have a tight relationship. Apps bring this to new heights. As we become continually invested in mobile solutions, we expect to see this list of advantages grow!

What other ways do smartphones help with marketing? Comment below!

Tag : Social Media Marketers

The 20 Questions Your Social Media Marketers Should Be Asking

What’s The Big Deal About Social Media Engagement?

The Single Most Heinous Crime Of Social Media Marketers

13 Daily Duties Of Social Media Marketers

5 Ways Apps Changed Social Media Forever