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Tag : social media marketing

The Power of YouTube Advertising

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The Power of YouTube Advertising
5Jun
Advertising, Social Media, YouTube

Does your advertising routine feel a little stale?

I find that clients who are only advertising on one platform tend to get pretty sub-par results. Sure, advertising anywhere is much better than no advertising, but it’s definitely worth the investment to expand your efforts every now and then.

I’ve written a lot on the benefits of Facebook ads, but I realized that I haven’t really delved into the power of YouTube advertising. Let’s fix that!

Reaching Your Audience
With over 1 billion users, YouTube is sure to have viewers from your target audience. Obviously you don’t want your local business to market to tweens in Taiwan, which is why YouTube’s targeting options make it easy to get your ad in front of the right audience.

YouTube lets you place your ads based on demographics, location, interests, and viewing device, which gives you a lot of room to get creative. One noteworthy filter is that you can set the times that your ad runs. That means that if my first video ad is getting a lot of traction at 10:00pm and nothing at 6:00am, I know that my next ad needs to run in the evening and not early in the morning. These are the kind of campaign alterations that make YouTube’s targeting so valuable!

And this isn’t even to talk about YouTube’s advanced targeting options. YouTube allows you to create custom affinity audiences, which are audiences made of people who have already shown an interest in your kind of product/service. For example, if you were selling clothes for young women, you’d normally only be able to get as specific as “18-25 year old women making $X per year, etc.” Custom affinity audiences let you zero into the specifics that really make a sale, and you could target that same audience, but this time you could show your ad only to young women who like floral dresses. Yes, it gets that specific, and yes, you should be using it!

Saving Adspend Budget
YouTube is also a great platform for stretching your adspend dollar. While other platforms generally have you pay per click, YouTube only charges you when someone clicks on your ad or watches the entire thing (i.e. doesn’t hit the “skip” button). That means that you’re only paying to put your money in front of people who are engaged with your content and want to see more!

This is especially helpful when it comes to targeting. Yes, YouTube has great targeting options, but getting it 100% right is tricky, especially if you’re not a professional marketer. With these ads, though, even if you accidentally reach a few people who aren’t in your target audience, you won’t end up paying for that view since they’ll just skip your ad and save you the money!

Influencing Buyers
YouTube is one of the most effective platforms for convincing users to make purchases. One YouTube Insights report showed that 66% of beauty product purchasers, 72% of auto-vehicle purchasers, and 62% of smartphone purchasers were influenced by what they saw on YouTube. Why? It helped them “visualize how products fit into their lives.” That’s not something that you can easily replicate on another platform, people!

Compelling copy and engaging visuals are great—nobody is doubting that. But there’s something about seeing a product or service in action for yourself that makes it much more appealing. And sure, other platforms let you advertise with video, but why wouldn’t you skip the middle man and just advertise on the world’s second most popular website?

Add YouTube Ads
I know that nobody is excited by the idea of spending more money, but remember that when YouTube ads are done well, they earn you much more than you spend. So stop waiting! Make a move and use this untapped resource!

Do you need some help planning your YouTube ads? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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The Hidden Value of YouTube Marketing

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The Hidden Value of YouTube Marketing
3Jun
Social Media, YouTube

I get a lot of questions about Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc., but everyone seems strangely quiet on YouTube marketing and I can’t figure out why. It’s the second largest search engine, so why wouldn’t you want to put your brand on there for some easy reach and engagement?

My best guess is that people just don’t realize what a massive impact YouTube can have on their social media marketing, so I’m going to fix that! For all of you who need convincing, here’s why YouTube can add a ton of marketing value to your campaigns!

Building Brand Awareness
Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t just funny content that succeeds on YouTube. Your content has to be engaging, but you can see real results with videos that are informational rather than comedic. That means that how-to videos and other informational content are great ways to build your online following!

Going Viral
YouTube first became famous as the home of viral videos. When a video gets millions of views, it’s a safe bet that YouTube is the platform earning it all of that attention. YouTube also integrates well with sites like Facebook and Instagram, so you can post branded videos then easily promote them across platforms. Directing people to your YouTube video is one of the most effective ways to take advantage of YouTube’s massive audience while utilizing your existing social channels!

Tracking Metrics
While you can track video metrics on Facebook and Instagram, YouTube certainly gives you many more options. Where you can normally only view metrics such as likes, comments, etc., YouTube tracks when people stopped watching your videos, which can be invaluable when looking to improve your online content. That isn’t even to mention the specific demographic information, traffic sources, and a lot more!

Boosting SEO
Since Google bought YouTube in 2006, YouTube has enjoyed a high ranking with Google’s SEO that makes video content on the platform more likely to land on Google’s front page. But this isn’t just about coasting ahead of your competitors—it’s about staying relevant. Projections show that by 2021, 80% of all internet traffic will be video. If you’re not starting now and working out the kinks, you’re going to fall behind!

Saving Marketing Budget
YouTube doesn’t charge a dime to post as many videos as you want—that’s an opportunity worth taking advantage of! Traditional ad campaigns can be costly, but this is a way to get your video content in front of millions without wasting money on boosting your videos. Don’t misunderstand me though. This is not an excuse to treat YouTube like a cheap side project, and the money you save should be going back into increasing your video production quality!

Earning ROI
Don’t think that these just sound good in theory, either. Like any marketing venture, YouTube is only worth it if you can see a positive ROI. Good news: 78% of marketers get good ROI from video marketing. And as a marketer, I can confidently say that the other 22% aren’t doing it right!

Give YouTube the Attention It Deserves
I know it’s a popular opinion that YouTube marketing is optional, but the data just doesn’t support that conclusion. It’s time to take a serious look at what your business stands to gain with YouTube marketing. Make a move now, before your competitors beat you to the punch!

You know why YouTube marketing is valuable, but how do you act on that? We’ll discuss it during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Why You Need to Start a Facebook Group Today

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Why You Need to Start a Facebook Group Today
20May
Facebook, Social Media

Facebook groups are the hottest new trend in Facebook marketing. But why? What can they do that posting to your Facebook page can’t?

That’s what I’m going to show you.

Here’s everything you need to know about why Facebook groups are the new must-haves for your Facebook marketing strategy.

Better Organic Reach
Facebook has been killing business’ organic reach for years. Your posts just aren’t seen by as many people anymore; that’s where Facebook groups come in.

These present a new opportunity to engage with people interested in your industry. You get a new platform to share blogs, link to your website, and share industry tips. For example, if your company sells cosmetics, it’s in your best interest to start a makeup-lovers group where you can connect with people who care about your products.

And Facebook groups are free, people! There’s simply no reason to pass up on organic reach. Even if it’s a little more time put into your marketing strategy, it’s going to pay off when you’ve got a thriving group of potential customers who are taking cues from your brand.

Increased Brand Authority
The key to any good Facebook group is engaging conversation. But who starts that conversation? Most often that falls to the group owner, which in this case will be your business.

When you’re guiding the conversation, people will look to you for new topics about your industry: trends, best practices, etc. And that’s GREAT for your business!

You want people to look to your brand as an authority. It not only means that they’ll trust your brand, but they’ll trust your products/services, too. They’ll be more likely to make purchases from your business, recommend you to friends, etc. It pays to have people trust your brand’s expertise!

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Free, Round-the-Clock Advertising
The benefit of groups isn’t just that you can talk to people who join—groups give businesses free advertising.

When someone is in a group, they’ll get suggestions for other groups based on their interests and what groups their friends are participating in. That means that your brand’s group is going to come across newsfeeds all the time without you paying a dime! And since these recommendations are targeted, you’re likely to grow your Facebook group without ever asking people to join.

New Prospects
Your Facebook group can be a great tool for growing your prospect list. Just post an opt-in offering (an ebook, a newsletter, etc.) and ask people to submit their email addresses. You’ll be able to email them all of your offerings and track them as they move through your marketing funnel.

While you could theoretically do this with your regular Facebook updates, experience has shown me that this tactic is much more effective in active Facebook groups. If you’ve got a spot where people are engaging with your brand and having conversations about your industry, then you should absolutely use that to pick up a few new prospects!

Receptive Audience for Offerings
When you post a new product, service, or deal onto your Facebook page, you might be a little disappointed by the lackluster reaction. While your Facebook page is sure to have people in your target demographic, they might not be terribly engaged with your business.

Whereas in a Facebook group, people are commenting on your posts and asking you questions. As a marketer, I can’t imagine a better audience for rolling out an announcement. So when you’ve got something new to show off, your Facebook group will be filled with people who can’t wait to try out this new offer!

Don’t Wait
Facebook groups have a ton of benefits for your business to take advantage of, but who knows how long they’ll be there? The time to act is now, so roll up your sleeves and start making your business’ Facebook group!

Not sure what the focus of your Facebook group should be? We’ll discuss it during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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The Worst Status Updates Ever and How to Write Better Ones

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050819 Repub_ The Worst Status Updates Ever and How to Write Better Ones
8May
Social Media

Status updates are the backbone of any social media account. A page can have an amazing profile photo, the best cover image in the universe and hundreds of positive reviews, but the bulk of content that people will see are the status updates. Mess them up, and it can destroy your good work in other areas.

If you’ve read the other posts in this series, you’ll be unsurprised to find out that the page we created as “The Worst Facebook Page In The World,” doesn’t do very well when it comes to their status updates.

I’m going to go through a few of their updates now and show you their issues, along with the best practices that could be used to make improvements.

Status Updates With Bad Writing

Let’s start off with the easiest issue to solve, but also the one my team and I see most often: terrible spelling and grammar.

In this day and age where every phone and computer has spell check, there’s simply no excuse to misspell anything.

Here at The Go! Agency, when my team writes status updates for clients, they use software to help check spelling and grammar. From there, the copy is proofed by another team member to make sure there aren’t any leftover errors.

While this process may be a bit too much for a small business, there’s still no excuse for not doing a quick check yourself before you hit “Publish.”

Using correct spelling and grammar isn’t going to win you any new customers, but it does ensure you look professional. Status updates filled with errors can turn customers off because they make you look sloppy and lazy.

Do you need to be the Ernest Hemingway of status updates? No. But do you need to make sure you’re not posting typos and spelling mistakes? Yes.

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Status Updates With Unappealing Photos

Your business might be in a shack in the middle of a parking lot. It could be in an unappealing strip mall with a dull storefront, or it could be the size of a postage stamp.

Many business owners don’t have the perfect location and have to do the best with what they’ve got. A lot succeed despite these weaknesses.

But showcasing those weaknesses on social media can only hurt your business.

Before you post photos from your business location, ask yourself how potential customers will respond. Sure, maybe your location isn’t the best, but do you really want to highlight that? Remember that you’re in control of how your photos look and what they show, so only show your best side.

That run-down shack might look delightful inside.

Behind that dull storefront might be a sleek, modern restaurant.

That postage-stamp-sized business might be cozy and warm inside.

You decide what people see, which means you can (and should) hide the less great parts of your business.

Which brings us to our next failure:

Status Updates With Bad Quality Photos

You can probably see a theme here: If a visual isn’t the best quality you can possibly make it, don’t post it. Remember the old quote that goes, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt”? The same rule applies with social media.

If you can’t post something of a high quality, don’t post anything. Sure you won’t be making progress toward your marketing goals, but you at least won’t be making things worse, either.

Unfiltered Status Updates

For everyday users, Facebook is a great place to share opinions. People get used to that free space to say whatever comes to mind, and they think that it’s okay to use their business page as their personal soapbox.

It’s not okay.

Your business doesn’t get to have opinions on controversial topics. It’s great to post content that your followers enjoy, but if it even comes close to the realms of politics or overly personal subjects, do yourself a favor and avoid it like the plague.

Don’t Settle for So-So Statuses

You’ll only get one chance to make a good first impression, so make sure your statuses are up to the occasion. Use our “Worst Facebook Page in the World” as an example so you can avoid these common pitfalls!

Need a little extra guidance on your Facebook updates? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Digital Marketing

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042919 5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Digital Marketing
29Apr
Marketing

Now that spring is here, you’ve probably seen a lot of tips and tricks for cleaning out your home. But what about your digital marketing?

Spring cleaning isn’t just for basements anymore! Regular updates to your digital marketing infrastructure are important to keep things optimized and running smoothly. After all, the marketing standards have heavily shifted over the past 5 years, so why would you want a website that hasn’t been updated in 5 years?

Like in your home, an in-depth digital marketing clean is harder than most people realize. That’s why I’m going to share the 5 things you need to do to spring clean your digital marketing.

1. Freshen Up Your Lists
If you’ve been practicing effective digital marketing, then you’ve almost certainly got a few lists lying around. Potential customers, email lists, etc. But when was the last time you looked at these lists to make sure that none of those names or email addresses had lost their relevancy?

For this part of spring cleaning, you’ll want to review your lists and take off any expired emails, addresses, people who can no longer be considered potential customers, etc. A simple way to do this for your email marketing list is to send out an email blast asking users to verify that their information is correct or needs to be updated.

2. Take Out Your Website’s Trash
If you’ve been updating your website over the past year (or more if you haven’t done any site cleaning before), then there’s probably some content that has expired. This can look like: non-functional links, missing images, or pages that your website just doesn’t need anymore.

Now is the perfect time to clear out this digital junk. If you see any pages that are irrelevant, have links that don’t work, etc., then salvage what you can and scrap the rest. Finding a lot of issues across the board is a major sign that your entire website could use an overhaul.

3. Edit Your Email Strategy
You’ve been keeping up with your email marketing, but what results are you actually seeing? I often see that people start email marketing with good intentions, but before long it becomes a chore and is given the least amount of attention possible.

Make sure that your email marketing is performing well by looking at your results and comparing what you’re getting with what you’re aiming for. If there’s a disparity, that’s your sign that you need to give more attention to your email design, copy, or delivery system.

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4. Track Your Social
Do you know what sites your business is on? Maybe you tried Pinterest for a few months before losing interest. Look around every social media platform and see if you have any presence that might have fallen to the wayside.

If you do find any old accounts, you’ll have a choice to make for the account. If you can show that it’s boosting your SEO, then by all means, leave it standing. But if the page looks unprofessional and isn’t doing anything to benefit your business, then scrap it ASAP or put in the work to make it work toward your business goals.

5. Brush Off Your Branding
When was the last time you worked on your branding? Without a devoted marketing and branding team, there’s a good chance it got lost in the stress of day-to-day operations. Take some time to reflect on what you want your company to emphasize in its public image, then compare that to what messages you’re actually sending.

Some questions to ask during this process:

  • Does your logo reflect your brand identity?
  • Are you maintaining consistent branding in your visuals and promotional materials?
  • Does your social content mix advance or contradict your brand’s values?

If your answers are showing anything but a consistent brand image, then you need to redouble your branding efforts or find a team that will handle those concerns for you.

Start the Cleanup
While you’re spring cleaning around the house, you may as well keep the ball rolling and extend that cleanup to your digital marketing. It’s a lot of work, but you’ll be glad that you took the time to focus on digital marketing when you’re seeing increased traffic to your business and engagement with your brand!

Does this sound like too much to handle? Let’s talk about your options during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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3 Ways to Refresh Your Restaurant’s Digital Marketing

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042219 Go Blog_ 3 Ways to Refresh Your Restaurant's Digital Marketing
22Apr
Local Marketing

Making it as a restaurateur is never easy, but it’s especially challenging when you’re not using digital marketing best practices. Two things that should never be stale? Your food and your marketing strategy!

Don’t worry if you’re not sure how to revamp your restaurant’s digital marketing. That’s what I’m for! My agency has helped a lot of restaurants over the years, and here are the 3 big tips that you need to know.

1. Stop With the Basic Photos
At the start, every restaurant posts nothing but pictures of their menus and their dishes. And I get the logic, “Look how good our food looks! Don’t you want to eat this?” But if you’re focusing that heavily on posting pictures of your entrees on Instagram, you’re missing even better opportunities.

Why not show off your restaurant instead? Or your staff, or your promotions, or anything else that’s more interesting than making your followers stare at a souffle?

When you show off your restaurant (instead of the food), you’re showing people what the atmosphere is like. That means they’ll be able to imagine an actual meal at your location, which in turn makes them more likely to want to visit.

Sharing photos of your staff or kitchen area can also give your audience a “behind the scenes” feeling that makes them more interested in your brand. Social platforms are where people go to connect, so help them connect with your restaurant!

With all of that said, there are still times when it’s a good idea to post pictures of your menu or entrees: when there are changes. If you’re rolling out a new menu item, showcase it! Did you recently redesign your menu? Show your customers! But don’t make those things the basis of your digital marketing content. The only goal you’ll accomplish is boring your customers to tears.

2. Update Your Listings
If you’re running a successful restaurant, then you’ve probably been in business for a few years. When was the last time you updated the visuals on those listings? Don’t think I just mean your website, either. This includes every social media page you’re on and your Google My Business profile.

Even if you haven’t had your entire restaurant redone, take a new photo! Camera quality can determine how good an image is, and I’ll bet that your current phone has a better camera than the one you used to take restaurant photos 7 years ago. For this reason, even if you make no changes whatsoever, I’d say to update your listing photos every 3 years at the extreme minimum.

What changes call for new photos? Basically all of them. If you repainted a wall, take a photo! If you got new tables, take a photo! You get the idea. If customers are going to see the best possible version of your restaurant, then they need to see your latest upgrades. Don’t let laziness drive your customers away!

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3. Add Bios On Every Site
As a marketer, the best thing you can do is talk about yourself! Well, your business, anyway.

People want to know the story of your restaurant, and you should tell them! What makes you unique? What sets you apart from competitors? If you can’t answer those questions (and demonstrate the answers to your audience), you’ll lose business! Here are all the places where you should have a bio for your business:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Your Website
  • Google My Business

Obviously a Twitter bio doesn’t have enough space for your restaurant’s full story, but be sure to add your website link so people can learn more about you. Don’t think that you can copy and paste, either! What people want to read on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google My Business, etc. is going to be different. Cater the copy to each site if you want to really engage with that platform’s users!

Don’t Slack
You didn’t get a successful restaurant by taking the easy way, so don’t start now! Take the time and make sure you’re doing your digital marketing correctly, because your competitors will be. You’ve got the tools, so there’s no excuse not to use these digital marketing tips for your restaurant!

If this all sounds like too much, don’t worry. I’ll help you sort it out during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Why Your Successful Local Business Needs Digital Marketing

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Why Your Successful Local Business Needs Digital Marketing
8Apr
Social Media

Making a local business successful is never easy—congratulations! You feel stable and you’re netting a nice profit, so you might not realize how important it is to invest in social media while you’re ahead. Let me fix that for you.

Too many times I’ve been talking to a potential client who insists that they’re successful and don’t need social media, only to look them up a year later and find that they went out of business. And they weren’t entirely wrong; these were successful local businesses! But ultimately, it doesn’t matter how successful you are, because you will always need social media.

Here’s why.

Competition Is Everywhere
Sometimes local businesses luck out and won’t have any competition for stretches of time. That’s great and makes your job easier, but you can’t count on that lasting. Let me share a real example that I’ve seen happen over and over again.

I was trying to get an Italian restaurant (let’s call them “Pastasciutta”) signed on for a social media package, but their numbers were good and they didn’t see any reason to put money into their digital marketing. And I assume that worked fine, until three months later when a new Italian restaurant moved in just a couple blocks away.

I don’t know if the new place’s food was actually better than the original’s, but they were more active on social media, so they started to get a good local following. They weren’t taking all of Pastaciutta’s customers, but a big enough portion left that the restaurant was noticeably emptier even at their peak times.

Without their own social media presence, Pastaciutta just couldn’t compete. The new place ended up moving 8 months later, but by that point, Pastaciutta had lost so much revenue that they had to close.

What’s the moral of this story? 1. Give your Italian restaurant a better name than Pastaciutta and 2. Your local business is not too good for social media. Just because it’s feast today doesn’t mean you’re safe from famine tomorrow!

I think there’s another lesson that we can pull from this story, too.

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Customers Are Fickle
If brand loyalty isn’t dead, it’s certainly on life support. A common mistake I see is assuming that people are going to support your business unconditionally. After all, if someone makes a purchase from you and you know it’s a great product, you can count on that repeat business, right?

You can’t.

It doesn’t matter if you’re the best deli/bar/haberdashery in the county; customers care infinitely more about who your brand is than what you’re selling. That’s where social media comes in! Social media marketing isn’t, at its core, about pushing your latest products or talking about how great you are (although that’s definitely a part of it). The goal of any social media campaign is to engage with the audience to form connections, and if there is ANY way to earn brand loyalty in 2019, that’s the way to do it.

And “mom and pop” store owners, don’t think you’re immune! Great customer service is nice, but people are forgetful. Unless you’re keeping your store’s name fresh in your audience’s mind, they’re not going to remember how you helped them find the perfect product or how friendly your smile was when they came through the door.

Yes, Social Is Right for You
If you want to maintain your local business’ success, then social media marketing is just non-negotiable. Don’t wait until it’s too late! Start looking into how your local business can succeed with social media.

Do you need some help planning your new social media strategy? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Social Spring Cleaning: Throwing Out Your Old Content Mix

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Social Spring Cleaning_ Throwing Out Your Old Content Mix
3Apr
Content Creation

I can’t tell you how often I see businesses posting regularly to social media but not posting anything that their audience cares about! If you’re experiencing low engagement or a drop off in your page’s followers, then I’m probably talking about you.

Please, for both your business and my sanity, take the time to improve your content mix. I know it can seem challenging, but that’s what I’m here for! I’ll walk you through how to create a content mix that works toward your business’ goals.

Post What People Care About
When I ask new clients about what they’ve been posting, the answer I usually get is, “I don’t know man, we just post stuff about the business.”

Not a great sign. Before you try to improve your content mix, figure out what you’re already sharing.

Let’s say you’re posting one message every day on your brewery’s Facebook. In a week, half of your content is about dark ales, one quarter is about brewing techniques, and one quarter is about IPAs. Is that a good content mix? Well, it depends on what people in your area are interested in.

Keeping the brewery example, let’s say you distribute within a 50-mile radius in central Georgia. To determine whether or not you’ve got a good content mix, look at what people are searching for in Google. Look for specific keyword searches by location, then compare those results to your content mix. If people are searching for information about IPAs twice as much as they’re looking at dark ales, then your content mix probably needs to be adjusted.

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It Isn’t All About You
No matter how much someone loves your hypothetical brewery, I can promise you that they’re not liking your Facebook page so they can hear about how great you are every single day. They want you to share relevant content that they can enjoy! And I’ll tell you something for nothing—if you’re not keeping them interested, your competitor will.

Instead of posting 100% promos, break up the monotony with new forms of content. We have a list of solutions that we go to when we need to break up a client’s promos and create value for their audience:

  • Industry tips
  • Quotes
  • News articles
  • Live posts about current events

These are just a few ideas to get you started, but customize it to your audience! There isn’t a perfect rule that says to use X promos, Y news articles, etc. But if you experiment and track your metrics, you can find a great content mix that your audience is eager to engage with.

Get Active Within Your Community
For local businesses, the best way to get organic reach and engagement on your posts is to be an active player within your community. That means posting about local events, showing customers how your business positively affects the community, and tagging whenever possible!

When your audience sees you playing an active role in the community, they’re much more likely to have a positive view of your business. Not only does that make your existing customers more likely to buy from you, but it can be a great way to reach a new audience. If you’re tagging local brands, they’re likely to tag you back in future posts and send traffic to your website!

For this reason, I recommend working in posts about local goings-on whenever possible. Your customers will love it, and that’s how you’re going to keep them around and buying from your business!

Content Mix Things Up
In the world of social media marketing, boring your audience is a death sentence. I don’t want you to fall into that trap! If you’re willing to invest in your business’ success, use this article to make a relevant content mix that your followers will love!

Could you use some expert advice for your new content mix? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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How to Update Your Local Facebook Ad Targeting Practices

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How to Update Your Local Facebook Ad Targeting Practices
1Apr
Advertising, Facebook, Social Media

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already given Facebook ads a shot. How did they go? What I generally hear is that the first ads were okay but a little lackluster, and definitely not as impactful as you’d been hoping.

I hate to be the one to tell you, but the issue probably isn’t with Facebook advertising. There’s a lot that goes into making a successful Facebook ad for your local business, and if you’re not satisfied with your results, then that probably means it’s time to work on targeting.

Finding the right audience is harder than you think.
If your target audience is only X gender of Y age and Z income, you’re going too vague. What are their interests? Hobbies? Even political affiliation can make a big difference, and these are all factors that you can work into your Facebook ad targeting.

When you set up the audience for your Facebook ad, take these factors into account. If you’re still not sure what areas to include when targeting your Facebook ad, let me give you a list of the most common things your business should be considering:

  • Education
  • Zip code
  • Recent life events (engagement, birth of a child, graduation, etc.)
  • Household composition (children in-home, new teen drivers, etc.)
  • Net worth
  • Behaviors (the other ads they have/haven’t clicked on)
  • Pages they’ve liked
  • Websites they’ve visited

The list goes on and on. You don’t need (or generally even want) to target all of these areas, but consider who your buyer is and which of these factors are going to be relevant in getting them to visit your local business.

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Test out custom audiences!
You can go even more specific than regular Facebook targeting, though!

If you’re not using Facebook custom audiences, you’re potentially costing your local business a lot of money. Custom audiences allow you to put ads in front of existing customers (found by traffic to your website, your mailing list, etc.) to encourage them to buy more often, spend more, or otherwise increase their lifetime customer value.

I know that many small business owners don’t have email lists (even though they should), but you can always install the custom Facebook pixel on your website so that you can track visitors and deliver your Facebook ads directly to them!

Unlike other ads where you’re paying in the hopes that viewers will like your brand, your odds of success are much higher with custom audiences. These are people who have already shown an interest in your brand, so why not encourage them to finalize that sale?

Try using lookalike audiences…with a few changes.
Once you’ve got your custom audience established and it seems to be working for you, don’t stop there! Lookalike audiences are pretty much what they sound like—audiences that are demographically similar to your custom audience.

Even if you couldn’t use an email list to create your original custom audience, you can always use your Facebook followers as a base for your lookalike.

Why do it? Your custom audience might be great, but eventually you’ll need to expand your reach, and lookalike audiences are perfect for that. They deliver your ads to people who have similar demographic data to your target audience, meaning they’re more likely to generate clicks, conversions, or any of your other tracked metrics.

The one caveat with lookalike ads that local businesses need to be mindful of its location. Facebook ads tend to go a little broad sometimes, so make sure that your new lookalike audience is still within a suitable distance from your brick and mortar location.

Keep your Facebook ad targeting evolving.
Are you noticing a theme? There’s never a time when you can stop improving on your Facebook ad targeting! Your audience’s behaviors and interests may well change over time, so it’s important that you’re constantly renewing your targeting strategies if you want your local business’ Facebook ads to be successful!

Don’t be embarrassed if you feel a little lost—Facebook ads are complicated! Let’s discuss them during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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How to Optimize Your Local Business’ Online Listings

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How to Optimize Your Local Business' Online Listings
27Mar
Social Media

Social media is an exciting opportunity to engage with your customers, reach new audiences, and all of that happy jazz…but only if you’re smart about it. You wouldn’t believe how often I see local businesses that don’t have consistent, clear listings across social media. Why even advertise on social if nobody can find your store?

I don’t want your local business to fail at online marketing like the others, so I’m going to break down how you should be listing your business online!

Finish the Listing
You’d think this would go without saying, but I can definitively tell you that people need to be told this.

Partially filling out your online listing is not nearly good enough. If people don’t know your hours, it’s not really worth anything for them to know your address, is it? The same goes for photos of your store, your phone number, etc.

If your business is in some kind of middle ground right now, you still have to fill out the entire listing. Maybe you’ll be moving locations soon and don’t want to post the old location—do it anyway. Post whatever is accurate at this moment, then update it when it changes. Which brings me to my next point…

Keep Everything Updated
If your social media page, website, online listing, etc. lists your business’ information, that information should probably be accurate. In my experience, what happens is that people input that information correctly, but it becomes outdated. Hours change, stores get moved around, and suddenly the people Googling your business have no actual means of buying anything from you.

Don’t just think about text, though; visuals can play a huge role in your online listings too. 60% of consumers say that local listings with quality images encourage their business. What does that mean for you? Your images need to be a.) appealing, with no garbage or other clutter in the shots and b.) recent! If you recently updated your storefront, make sure your listing photos match. The last thing you want is for a customer to walk past your business because it doesn’t look like what they saw on the listing!

The solution is simple; just check your business’ listings every now and then, and be especially watchful when big changes are happening. My one caveat is to remember to check more than one platform. Just because your Facebook hours are right doesn’t mean the same is true for your Google listing, so be proactive and thorough if you want people to find your business!

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Have a Consistent Style
If you want people to take you seriously, then the written parts of your online listing need to share a style. For example, if one listing has your business’ name as “The Brewery Co.” and another lists it as “The Brewery Company,” you’ve got a problem. Your business looks unprofessional, and it’ll be more difficult to have a uniform brand identity if you can’t keep the name straight.

This also becomes an issue when listing your address (“road” vs “rd” vs “rd.”), and while I understand that these can sound like nitpicky details, they’re things that all come together to either make your brand look experienced and professional or amateurish and lackluster. When you’re checking up on your listings, just make sure that these stylistic issues are consistent across platforms, or you may be spreading the wrong idea about your local business.

List Wisely
Online listings are must-haves if you want to see your local business grow, but they’re only as valuable as the effort you put into them. Without optimized listings, it’s going to be an uphill battle to get any traffic to your business. Save yourself the hassle and use these tips if you want to save yourself a lot of headache!

Do you have questions about your online listings? Let’s talk about them during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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