The Essential Guide to Spying on Your Competitors

26Nov

Competition is a great way to make yourself a better marketer. You might be satisfied with your own results, but looking at a competitor can inspire you to keep trying. And why not let your competition help you become even better?

Today I’m going to share my best tips for spying on your competitors and using their successes and failures to improve your marketing strategy!

Find Your Competition
You’ll have to locate your competitors before you can draw any comparisons. But how do you do it?

Go to your preferred search engine and put in any keywords that someone could use to find your business. The brands that come up in that search (especially the ones that are outranking you) are your competitors.

For example, if you’re marketing for a home aide service, you would look up your city and some keywords from your industry. if you’re selling a product, include words that describe that product to help you find your competition!

Start Spying
You’ve got a lot of options when it comes to checking on your competitors. Use Google Alerts to set up a regular notification when anything new is published by or about your competitor. Just to be safe, you may even want to put an alert on their CEO.

If you’re receiving a lot of notifications about them, they’re probably sending out regular press releases or email newsletters. I recommend signing up for their email marketing pieces – it’ll help you see what they’re sending and how often! This can be a great way to see what they’re telling their audience. Even better, you may find gaps in their content that you can fill!

And of course, there’s the simple method of just following their social media accounts. Take stock of what they’re posting and how their audience is responding, and you’ll be ready for the next part of your social media recon plan!

Run a Competitive Analysis
To see how you stack up to your competition, you’ll need to compare. That means looking at a few key metrics!

How many followers are they getting, and how long has it taken them to amass their following? For example, you might be intimidated by their 50,000 page likes, but if you only notice that number growing by one or two per week, then you know they aren’t doing much to expand their audience.

It’s also smart to remember that followers don’t always translate to customers. What’s their engagement like? See which of their posts are getting attention and which are being ignored. This will help you determine what should and shouldn’t go in your content mix!

Keep Tabs
This isn’t something you want to do once and ignore for the rest of the year. Compile all your information so you can check back in and update your numbers. This will let you track how effectively you’re using their own strategy against them!

Start by creating a spreadsheet. Put in the name of each competitor and links to anywhere they have an online presence. Record monthly intervals of things like their follower count. Engagement is harder to assign a hard number, but maybe set up a numerical system for yourself: a zero if they’ve had next to no engagement that month and a ten if their audience just can’t get enough in another month.

This whole process will save you time as you check your competitors’ social media channels and see how they’re stacking up to your own!

Stay Informed
One of the worst things you can do is shove your head in the sand and pretend that your competitors’ actions won’t affect you. Keep on the ball, see what your competitors are doing, and you’ll be one step closer to leaving your competition in the dust!

Could your visual content use some help? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Go!TV Episode 10

By Christopher Tompkins

9Nov

GoTV, Social Media

Welcome back to another Go!TV episode recap! We’re bringing you the information you need to have a successful social media campaign!

Social Media Management Tools
Managing your business’ social media is going to be all but impossible without some extra help. Between graphic design, writing content, and scheduling your final posts, it’s just too much for one person to handle!

That’s why we’re sharing the social media management tools that you absolutely need to use. We look at scheduling softwares to let you plan an effective content posting strategy, design tools to make sure your visuals are drawing in your audience, and writing tools so you’re not wasting hours trying to come up with new ideas for content!

The Go! Agency

And that is the end of another Go!TV episode recap! As a marketer, you need to use your time as efficiently as possible! Take the initiative and check out our podcast and blog for even more useful social media guidance!

Want to see what other marketing advice we dish out? Check us out across social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter!

The Essential Social Media Manager Tools

By Christopher Tompkins

7Nov

Social Media

You’ve set up your social media pages and you’re ready to get posting, but you’re quickly finding that keeping up with all these different platforms is next to impossible. It’s a common feeling among social media managers, and there is a solution!

In a word: tools. There are plenty of great resources out there to make your job easier and let you get ahead on your social media strategy!

I’m going to share the social media management tools that my team uses every day to make sure our clients’ pages are running smoothly and getting them closer to their goals!

Scheduling
Nobody has the time to go through and publish each individual post at just the right time every day. So what’s the solution? Scheduling tools! These little guys can let you write up a bunch of content, then schedule it to post at specific times on your preferred platforms:

Hootsuite: This is one of the most intuitive scheduling tools out there!
HubSpot: If you want a scheduling tool with all the bells and whistles (including monitoring your content’s performance metrics), this is the program for you.
Buffer: While not quite as well-known as the other items on this list, it’s a great program if you find that the other options aren’t suiting your needs.

Instagram is notoriously finicky for its scheduling, which is why you should consider using a tool that’s optimized for Instagram. I’d suggest:

Photos
Need to find stock images for your visuals? I’ve got a few resources that have always done right by us:

Pixabay: Want a huge, international stock of public domain photos, graphics, and footage? Look no further!
Unsplash: More than 70,000 photographers post their content here, all copyright-free under the Unsplash license!
Pexels: Another great source for public domain photographs!

Design
You’ve got your images, but how do you alter them to create your own unique, branded visuals? Try these tools:

Canva: This is a great tool for beginners, as it’s popular among professional and rookie graphic designers alike!
Photoshop: If you’re comfortable using more complex programs, this tool should be right up your alley!
Animoto: This is one of the top platforms for creating video slideshows and other short, moving content!
Ripl: A comparable product to Animoto, Ripl makes it easy to create animated visuals!
PicMonkey: Want to go back to basics? PicMonkey is a no-fuss image-editing program that’s also great for graphic design!

Writing
Writing up heaps of copy and content is no walk in the park! Creating content takes time, which is why I recommend not just creating original content for your business but also curating content from other sources. Instead of searching the internet for hours, these tools gather the content into one spot for you!

Feedly: Feedly lets you search by topics and pulls up great, usable content to help springboard your ideas!
Grammarly: To proofread any technical issues you may have missed!
Google Alerts: Set up alerts on industry-relevant keywords to make sure your writing is current and following trends in your field!
Hootsuite Streams: Track keywords and hashtags to see what others in your industry are posting. If you know what your competitors are talking about, you can figure out how to fill in the gaps they’re missing!
Hashtagify: Not sure what hashtags will get you attention? Use Hashtagify to track the impact of a hashtag and see what’s best for your posts!

When linking to another site, it’s important not to include the full URL. Many link shorteners allow you to see how many times the link has been clicked, which can help you track how your audience responds to content. Use any of the following tools to get shortened, convenient URLs for your posts:

Don’t Feel Overwhelmed
Being a social media manager is stressful, especially if you’re not using the right tools. Skip that anxiety and use these resources to make sure you’re not only doing your work efficiently, but as easily as possible. No social media manager can be successful without a little extra help, and that includes you!

Do you feel like you could use a little extra help? You can have a free consultation with our team of marketing experts!

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7 Social Media Marketing Things You Should Know but Don’t

By Christopher Tompkins

5Nov

Social Media

Social media marketing is constantly in flux, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon. The best practices of yesterday are painfully outdated now. As a marketer, you’ve got two options: fall behind your competition, or stay sharp!

I’m going to share the seven biggest things across social media that every marketer should know—but most don’t. Let’s see how up-to-date your knowledge is!

1. You Need Tools
Social media management tools aren’t just flashy programs for people with money to burn. They’re an integral part of social media marketing, and if you’re not using them, odds are you’re falling behind.

Unless you like the idea of manually posting multiple updates across social media every day, writing error-ridden content, and having low-quality visuals, you’re going to need some help!

2. You Need to Curate Content
Thinking of fresh, original content every day isn’t going to work if you’re not seeing what other people in your industry are posting. Content curation lets you share relevant, valuable news with your followers and can give you ideas for how to produce your own unique content!

3. You Need to Understand Metrics
Nobody likes to learn a lot of jargon, but it’s there for a reason. In marketing, it’s not enough to just “go with your gut.” You need to have hard, quantifiable data to support your social media marketing strategy, and having a working understanding of metrics and when to track them is the only way to get that information.

4. You Need to Work on Visuals
Graphic design often gets pushed aside by marketers who chant the Bill Gates quote, “Content is king.” And sure, your written content is important, but nothing can replace the impact of quality visuals. Think about it: Would you read a blog with Pulitzer-worthy writing that looked like its visuals were made by a toddler? Of course not, because you never would have clicked on their content to begin with!

5. You Need to Find and Engage With Your Audience
The appeal of social media marketing is that you can target specific consumers who are most likely to buy from you, so why wouldn’t you make the most of that? By creating buyer personas and optimizing your engagement for your audience’s preferred social media platform, you can make your campaign much more effective.

6. You Need to Watch Your Competitors
It isn’t enough to just look at your own successes and shortcomings. Your competitors are, by definition, appealing to a similar market, so see what you can learn from them! By tracking their movements on social media, you’ll double your opportunities to improve your own strategy!

7. You Need a Checklist
If you’re running a multi-platform social media campaign, you simply can’t keep it all straight in your head. There are too many moving parts for anyone to remember every little thing! By keeping a checklist and running through it on a regular basis, you guarantee that nothing will slip through the cracks!

Don’t Stop Learning
These are essential parts of social media marketing, but it’s not enough to stop once you’ve mastered these! Take this information as a way to get you started. From there, keep reading! Social media will never stagnate, and neither can your understanding!

Everyone could use some help staying competitive on social media. If you’re not sure what to do, just schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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The Best Ways To Level Up Your Social Media Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

2Aug

Social Media

To this day, Facebook, Twitter, and the other social media platforms proudly proclaim that they are a free service. This business model is both a groundbreaking and troublesome tactic for companies trying to promote. Users can log into their profiles worry-free and see what their friends, family, and favorite brands are up to. While individuals may not have any price to pay, companies are a different story. There are several ways to enhance a professional social media marketing campaign. Yes, some may cost some money, but their results will truly make a significant difference.

A big mistake some social media marketers make is sticking to the concept that social media is free advertising. At first glance, it certainly seems that way. Free exposure on the world’s biggest websites! It seems too good to be true, and you would be right in thinking that.

Here is the dilemma in a nutshell. Because of the “free factor”, there are many people and businesses roaming these websites. There are over 1.6 billion users on Facebook alone. Obviously, you are going to need some help to stand above the masses. Additionally, each website has a specific algorithm to help deliver what they think is the best content for each user. Algorithms may or may not put your content’s reachability at a disadvantage, and a social media marketer needs to know how to circumvent these obstacles. Unfortunately, the playing field isn’t as level as it used to be. You are going to need some secret weapons to succeed on the internet. Here are the most helpful tools that are well worth it:

Third Party Tools- As intuitive as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the others are, they aren’t perfect. Fortunately, there are some amazingly helpful tools to assist you along the way.

Hootsuite is a great tool that helps you on multiple fronts. It offers scheduling services, news streams for researching content, detailed analytics, and more. Consider Hootsuite your social media all-in-one pocket knife, equipped with tons of tools you will need.

RiteTag helps social media marketers understand the current trends and hashtags that are getting the most attention. This will help your content stay relevant.

Grammarly will help your team stay professional by helping their writing stick to proper spelling and grammar. Nothing is worse than a glaring typo!

Advertising- As we have said, the websites we all know and love contain algorithms designed to help the user. At times, however, this may cause an extra hurdle to overcome for marketers. To allow your content to soar above the rest, you need to advertise on Facebook, Twitter, and the others. Social media websites need to make money through advertising, but they do make it worth your while by putting your content in the best possible locations.

Outsourcing- Let’s face it. Social media isn’t as easy as you thought. There are many intricacies that need to be adhered to every single day. Your employees may be too busy to manage multiple pages. That’s why outsourcing your social media marketing is such a helpful solution. At The Go! Agency, our social media managers are thoroughly trained to handle everything the online marketing world throws their way in a quick, professional, and creative manner.

Social media marketing is too important to take lightly or to take the cheap route. Yes, it is an investment, but every business can benefit from having a strong online presence. The world is heading down a digital highway, and you need to be ready to cruise along!

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What Can Twitter Engage Do For Your Social Media?

By Christopher Tompkins

21Jul

Social Media, Twitter

Twitter really wants you to succeed. They had previously announced updates to the website’s infrastructure that will give more leeway for a tweet’s character count as well as allowing more options when retweeting. Now, they are offering us a brand new tool exclusive to American iOS devices. Engage, a companion app, will deliver helpful analytics to a marketer’s fingertips.

This new software allows Twitter users to study their tweets in real time through comprehensive data. Engage covers a wide range of area pertaining to the social media giant’s functionality and reachability. This will help marketers succeed and understand new insights.

Engage also notifies you of trends and important conversations happening on the internet as they happen. Now, you will never miss a trending hashtag or news story that could attract a slew of followers to your page. This brings a whole new meaning to “in the moment”!

Have you ever wondered who your content attracts? Engage allows you to study the demographics and activities of those who read your tweets. Are these the people you want to reach out to? If so, great job! If not, it may be time to tweak your writing and when you are ready to try again, Engage will be by your side.

Like Hootsuite and other third party analytic programs, Engage provides insights into your account’s performance. You can even compare post-by-post to see if your pictures, videos, GIFs, or text-based tweets do the best.

Why would Twitter create Engage? After all, it’s a free service and there is no profit to be made. They made it because those who run this social media platform appreciate that businesses all over the world use their website to market. Twitter has become a necessity in the business world, despite not having nearly the amount of tools Facebook offers. Now, Engage ushers in a new level of intuitive tools by Twitter itself, as opposed to third party applications. Twitter is proudly proclaiming that they want to help your business succeed.
What do you think of Twitter Engage? Comment below!

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Your Social Media Toolbox: Software Your Social Media Needs

By Christopher Tompkins

19Jul

Social Media

Social media marketers need technology to succeed. No surprise, right? While a majority of the work day is spent on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the other platforms, we cannot be truly effective without a little help from third-party tools.

There are new products popping up on the internet and App Store all the time. Some are terrible, some make our lives much easier. The world of social media is face-paced and demanding, so having some tools to help is much appreciated. Here are some of the newest helpers social media professionals are integrating into their workflow:

Crowdfire- Twitter can be effective, but very competitive. Marketers need to keep a sharp eye on their followers. Crowdfire will do just that. This website will help you find new followers based on other leaders of the industry. You will also be able to weed through your followers and get rid of inactive accounts.

One Tab- Researching content is a major part of social media. Whether you are finding new content to share or you are checking your facts, you will find your browser window bursting with tabs. One Tab will combine them for easy access, allowing some space to breathe.

PicPlayPost- Looking for a new way to bring life to your Instagram page? Check out PicPlayPost. It’s an app that allows you to add pictures and video to unique collage template.

RiteTag- Hashtags make the world go round in social media. You got to use them! But how can you find the best tags that pertain to a specific subject? RiteTag is the answer. With a helpful browser extension, you will be able to find trending hashtags in a snap!

There are many new social media sidekicks out there and many more on the way. The above four have proven to be very helpful for businesses. Content curation, sharing, and organization can get a whole lot of easier. You just need the right tools!

What do you think of these programs? Comment below!

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