6 Social Media Trends That Are Already Dominating 2018

19Feb

When clients come to us with failing social media marketing campaigns, we try to look at the nuts and bolts of their strategy and content. Sometimes, the answer is obvious. Other times, it takes some serious analysis. Yet one of the most common issues we see when business owners try to manage their own social media is a lack of innovation.

If you’re trying to be successful on social media and maintain an ever-increasing level of engagement, you absolutely must adapt your strategy to appeal to today’s trends. All the experts agree, 2018 is expected to be the year that millions of businesses begin their social media marketing journey. As such, you need to know the most popular and trending strategies.

At The Go! Agency, we take pride in incorporating the most current and engaging strategies into our client’s social media campaigns. Whether it’s a new video format or communication tool, we’re there to try it out. Here are the current trends of 2018 and how they can help your brand today:

1. Chatbots. It seems that we have come full-circle with customer service. For a long time people preferred humans over speaking with a machine. Now, over 65% of customers who shop online prefer to converse with chatbots in platforms such as Facebook Messenger. Chatbots make customer service simple, effective, and fast. The best part is that Chatbots are specifically crafted for your brand. So whether you sell shoes or auto insurance, a chatbot can level up your customer satisfaction.

2. Re-Targeting. In the world of Facebook advertising, re-targeting has proven to be one of the most effective ways to further develop relationships with existing customers. If a customer completed a transaction or if they were interested in your brand at one point in time, re-targeting will be able to position your brand in the spotlight of their mind (and screens).

3. More Engaging and Longer Tweets. In 2017, Twitter made the monumental decision to change their character limit from 140 to 280. For marketers, this was a game changer. Now, you are able to really embrace your brand’s message and story through a single tweet. Moreover, more and more brands have been crafting their content with content that will get people talking. Content that incorporates requesting feedback, asking questions, posting polls, etc. has proven to be really on the rise. A real, organic conversation with your audience. Imagine that!

4. A Heavy Focus On (Optimized) Blogs. Despite blogging being one of the original forms of internet-based communication, it’s stronger than ever. Blogging is particularly great for both B2C and B2B businesses that have a desire to share pertinent information with their customers and the online community as a whole. And thanks to SEO, your blog will get you more web traffic than ever before. Optimized blogs are a sure way to increase your search result rankings and gain more online visibility.

5. A Real, Engaging Voice. Of course, you want to stay professional. Of course, you want to be as polite and mannerly as possible. But more and more brands have employed a casual and fun tone when engaging with customers- especially when responding to comments and questions on Facebook and Twitter. If you decide to take this route, you’re humanizing your brand, thereby strengthening the relationship between business and buyer. It’s a win-win in the marketing book.

6. Stories, Stories, Stories! Have you been on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat lately? If so, you’ve most likely seen a menu of circular profile images on top. Those are Stories, content that only lasts for 24 hours and gets a ton of visibility. Stories have taken over social media feeds and are changing the way audiences interact with brands. Platforms, such as Instagram, are consistently adding new features and options that will make your content pop. This is especially true for Instagram, which has a ton of features and options that will really make your content pop. Be sure to utilize this tool in both video and image formats.

For some, 2018 is off to a great year. We’ve seen some brands skyrocket to new visibility heights. For others that are struggling to stand out, they may need to adjust their strategy. Keep the above ideas in mind when going forward with social media to gain an advantage like no other.

Did you know that we work with hundreds of brands in order to help them stay ahead of the marketing game?

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5 Marketing Habits That Kill SMM Campaigns

By Christopher Tompkins

14Feb

Content Creation, Social Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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7 Innovative Tools That Social Media Marketers Love

By Christopher Tompkins

24Jan

Content Creation, Copywriting, SEO, Snapchat, Social Media

When you are trying to market your brand on social media and raise awareness, there are good times and bad. Sometimes, it seems like no one is out there, despite there being literally billions of people on these sites. The truth is, the audience is right there. You just need to have the right tools to amplify your voice.

As a professional in the social media marketing world, we spend a lot of time on official social media sites. We can’t type in the letter F without our browsers compulsively prompting us to go to Facebook or T for Twitter. However, to truly be effective and engaging, you need more than just the basics. Here are the top social media marketing life-saving websites and apps that will ramp up your marketing game.

1. Hashtagify – Let’s face facts. A hashtag is only good if it’s popular. This is where Hashtagify comes in to save the day. Type in a hashtag to see how many people are talking about it or if it’s dead. As you’ll quickly learn, a hashtag is a very time-sensitive tool, and I’m not just talking about calender-centric ones like #ManicMonday or #MerryChristmas. They focus on trends and hot cultural topics and should be used accordingly.

2. BuzzSumo –While Hashtagify helps you see what hashtags are popular, you will still need a tool to help you find the best content. You should note that BuzzSumo Pro is not cheap, but the free version will help you discover the best shareable and popular content on the web.

3. BundlePost –Bundle Post’s tagline is “Stop managing your posts. Spend more time engaging.” This tool can help you with the quantity side of social media marketing. Sharing and curating others content is essential, albeit time-consuming. Bundle Post can automate a personalized bundle of content for your social media accounts. It even works alongside Hootsuite.

4. Hootsuite –Speaking of Hootsuite, it’s rare to find a marketer who isn’t in love with this tool. You can find content, schedule your posts, and study analytics inside one lovely tool.

5. StayFocused –Here’s a secret. Our brains do not automatically block all distracting content. We work on the sites many go on to play, so we must ignore a whole lot of enticing content while we’re trying to execute marketing strategies. StayFocused will help you stay on task by limiting the amount of time you spend on distracting websites. This is great so you can keep moving and complete your task. A Google Chome extension is available for free.

6. Grammarly –Ah, the typo- destroyer of worlds. Luckily, Grammarly has the power to fight back. This handy tool will help your copy become sharper, more engaging, and correct. Remember your English teacher in high school? It’s like her, only nicer.

7. OneTab –Social media marketers need to research and do A LOT of web browsing. On average, most managers visit 200 web pages a day. That sounds like a nightmare for those who only like one or two tabs open at a time. Well, OneTab is here to help. It’s a fantastic tool that will combine all our pre-existing tabs into one, shareable web page that adds a bit of convenience to a chaotic day.

HELLO?! Is anybody out there? Trust me, there are tons of people out there. The above tools will help your brand’s online visibility to skyrocket and your following to increase exponentially. Try a few today and get back to us and tell us what you think!

5 Secrets To Writing Engaging Social Media Posts

By Christopher Tompkins

21Nov

Content Creation, Copywriting, Social Media

Ever since the early days of the newspaper, people have studied the power of the headline. Writers carefully selected each word so their paper would pull in readers. Social media marketing has evolved this concept. Thankfully, we don’t need people shouting “Extra!” on street corners. Instead, we have to make sure our updates are noticeable on the web.

Internet communications changed the way we write and promote our brands. What strategies work the best for social media users? The following five types of updates are sure to pull in readers!

1. Lists. Whether your post is “Top 10 Restaurants in Nashville” or “The 5 Most Important Documents For Estate Planning”, people love lists. They are easy to read and get right to the point.

2. Definitions and industry terms. Does your industry have specific terminology? Teach them to the audience! For example, “The Legal Terms You Need To Know!” is an excellent way to spread a wealth of knowledge.

3. Casual tone. Today’s consumer likes a casual and conversational tone for marketing. “Check out these…”, “Come see our…” further strengthen your brand’s approachable feel.

4. Questions. “Could These Foods Help With Alzheimer’s?” Crafting a social media post in the form of a question is always a good way for readers to click and search for the answer.

5. Powerful vocabulary. Finally, no matter what way you craft your message, your words need to pack a punch. Don’t waste room on weak words. Instill a sense of urgency and importance.

Does your marketing team have writer’s block? Contact us! Our copywriting department will be able to craft your brand’s message into a professional and effective piece of marketing.

5 Ways Twitter’s Character Count Upgrade Is Great For Marketers

By Christopher Tompkins

14Nov

Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter

Right now, the biggest news in the world of social media marketing is that Twitter changed its character count limit from 140 to 280. At one point in time, tweets were only as long as this one sentence (not including media), which is pretty tiny from a marketing standpoint. Now, it is double that. Seems like a small change for those who haven’t tried to cram an intricate thought into this microblogging format before, but for copywriters, this may be one of the best updates in history.

How can marketers benefit from this? Let us count the ways!

1. Let me finish my thought.

Let’s face it – sometimes 140 characters just wasn’t enough. You can now share a better-composed message with your Twitter follows, just like you can with Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms.

2. Improved visibility.

I wouldn’t recommend using these extra characters to flood your tweet with excess hashtags, but by carefully using this prime real estate for optimized copy, complete with trending and relevant keywords, more people can find your content.

3. A new flock.

One of the biggest cons of Twitter was the 140 character gap. However now that that is gone, experts predict a significant spike in Twitter users.

4. You can still be short and sweet.

Some people are a bit concerned that Twitter will be flooded with longwinded rants. First off, the 140 limit never stopped rants, it merely forced writers to break it up into chunks, turning news feeds into confusing landscapes of half-written stories. Now, these rants can be contained into one tweet. However, you may still want to keep it short and sweet, and you should go for it! In fact, if you publish a melody of tweet sizes, it will draw new readers since it changes pace and rhythm.

5. Advertising, ahoy!

For a long time, Facebook had the advantage of being the better advertiser simply due to space. Now with 280 characters, you can send out a powerful message and promote it through paid advertisements.

It’s easy to see why the 280 character limit is actually a very good thing. Marketers will now be able to comfortably tell their brand’s story without getting hung up on one or two characters over the limit. Get started tweeting today!

How Creativity Can Boost A Social Media Marketing Strategy

By Dale Griffen

11Oct

Content Creation, Pinterest, SEO, Social Media

Imagine the social media landscape as a city — it most certainly has the population of one (actually a whole continent, for that matter). Just like any city, businesses both big and small are trying to get out their message in one way or another. While a real city uses billboards, posters, blimps, and sign twirlers, the social media city utilizes more effective tools such as optimized content, boosted posts, audience targeting, etc. However, similar to a marketing piece in New York or Los Angeles, your message may be lost in all the clutter and noise that surrounds it.

Do you want to get more attention? Of course you do!

Social media marketing has the ability to allow businesses of all shapes and sizes to harness the power of the internet to significantly raise brand recognition. Yet because so many people are using Facebook, Twitter, and the other platforms, it can be a challenge to truly strike it big with your audience. That’s why it is so essential to create unique content.

When we consult clients, one of the most common and significant problems I encounter is their inability to change. Thinking outside the box and generating innovative content is where the creative and analytical parts of your brain meet.

Here are a few suggestions that may help you create new, refreshing, and original posts:

1. Unique social experiences. It is social media after all. You want people to start talking! You can do this in the form of polls, quizzes, live video broadcasts, and many more innovative ways to invite your audience in to the conversation.

2. Add Video. Video works for multiple reasons. First of all, you are presenting the content in an enjoyable medium that consumers love. Secondly, most social media platforms give preference to video, especially on their mobile apps, which is where a majority of social media users go to. Finally, video allows for strategies that may prove to be undoable otherwise such as behind-the-scene tours, tutorials, and more.

3. Add new visuals with new colors. Sure, you want to stay consistent with your company’s branding, but the right graphic designer knows how to turn the pre-existing material into something new and exciting. Find a way to create new pictures, videos, live broadcasts, GIFs and more.

4. Incorporate podcasts and blogs. These two handy mediums can help you position yourself as a credible source of information in your industry through innovative forms of media. Blogging and podcasting are extremely popular methods that businesses share their story with an audience. The best part of all is that once you have the writing down for one, the other is essentially finished too.

The above four content ideas incorporate social, creative, and informational tools to allow your audience to get a new glimpse of your brand. This is the best part of social media – there are always new and exciting ways to engage your audience. Start creating today!

Creativity not your thing? No problem. At The Go! Agency, we have a team of creative copywriters, graphic designers, podcast editors, and many more professionals who are waiting to help you! Contact us today.

The 20 Questions Every Social Media Marketer Should Ask

By Christopher Tompkins

26Sep

Social Media

When someone first signs up on a social media platform for personal use, they are forced to think about themselves a great deal. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and all the other sites want you to create a cohesive digital identity on their sites for several good reasons. It will help tailor content to your specific interests, allow people you know to find you, and allow the social media experience to be the personalized journey it was always meant to be. That being said, even for those creating a personal profile, it can be a daunting task to answer all these questions. Creating a social media presence for your business can be just as challenging.

As a business owner, you should already know your company inside and out. But how well do you really know your work? There’s no doubt that your knowledge about your enterprise will be put to the test when setting up your social media pages. Yet this goes beyond knowing your mission statement or hours of operation. You have to ask yourself what the goal of your marketing is. What do you want out of your social media marketing journey?

I created the following questionnaire that you should keep handy when starting out. As you will see, most business owners will be able to answer some of these questions. However, others will require a bit more thought. Have your marketing team ready to do some some soul-searching for the sake of the business!

1. What is your industry?

2. Who is your perfect customer? Which demographics do they belong to?

3. Do they interact with your business online or in person?

4. If you were a customer, what information would be needed to have a successful and positive experience?

5. What are your business’s basics? (Hours of operations, address, phone number, email, website, etc.)

6. What is the tone of your brand’s message?

7. What are your spotlight products or services?

8. What products or services are the most profitable?

9. What is your desired geographical reach? (The people in your town? In your state? In your country?)

10. What is your business’s online presence before social media?

11. What content does your ideal customer actually enjoy to read, listen to, or watch?

12. What content do your competitors share?

13. What online presence do your competitors have?

14. How much are you willing to spend on social media advertising?

15. What visuals do you have at your disposal?

16. Who are the thought leaders in your field?

17. What news sources can you incorporate into my mix?

18. What are the busy and slow times for your team?

19. What pre-existing marketing material (blogs, podcasts, banners, etc.) do you have to use?

And of course the ultimate question:

20. What is your marketing goal?

The reason why number 20 is so critical is due to social media’s diverse possibilities. A somewhat outdated mentality when looking at marketing is trying to figure when and how you are going to get your money back. In other words, return on investment, or ROI. However, while return on investment is important, there is another ROI that should be considered – return on influence. Social media has the ability to increase your stance as a legitimate and influential thought leader in your industry with a large following. Keeping this in mind, your ultimate marketing goal could be the following:

– Increased website clicks

– More blog visits

– Increased podcast listens

– More substantial sales inquires

– Improved lead generation

-Better quality customer service and communication

Social media marketing can do all this and much more, but you have to figure out what your business’s particular focus needs to be, otherwise your online marketing strategy will be a mess and not produce anything at all.

As you go through this book’s many lessons, keep in mind your answers to this questionnaire and determine how your goals can benefit from these strategy ideas.

How To Start Your Social Media Copywriting Journey

By Christopher Tompkins

26Jul

Facebook, Marketing, Social Media

When you first set foot in the world of social media marketing, you have some “company soul searching” to do. You have to reassess what is important, which services you want to promote most prominently, and perhaps most important, what you want your customers to remember the most about you and your team. All of this is of course conveyed through the written word in all the fields that the social media platforms provide.

This is the time to start talking about yourself. Every company needs to make sure their social media profiles are optimized with the most relevant, updated, and essential information so a customer does not have to make an effort to find the information needed to interact with your brand and in the long run, make a transaction.

Fill In Every Field.

Creating a social media profile for your company from scratch will force you to go back to the drawing board for certain items such as “mission statement” and “company objective.” Other times, you will (and should) have all the information immediately available. It’s important to fill out every single field the platform offers. Some sites such as Instagram will require very little information to achieve a 100% optimized profile. Others such as Facebook will have request quite a bit of writing. Additionally, others may have certain functions hidden behind a paywall or only allow so many details before you have to upgrade to a premium account. Regardless of platform, be as thorough as possible.

But here is the good news – a lot of the heavy lifting may be already done for you through pre-existing marketing and general information you have created for your company for other purposes.

However, if you are writing from scratch, ask yourself what you would want to know about your company if you were stumbling across it as a customer for the first time. What is your team’s work ethic? What do you hope a customer can take away from their experience with your company? What products are your pride and joy? Consider these questions when trying to define your business and what makes you stand out.

Keep in Mind the Keywords!

In the world of social media marketing, we often talk about keywords when referring to content. Yet keywords also help you when you are in the early stages of page optimization. When you are filling out your company’s About section, Company Overview, Mission Statement, etc., keep in mind the words that people would use to search for a business like yours.

For example, if you run an auto repair shop in Miami, you should definitely incorporate “auto repair,” “Miami,” “Florida,” “automotive,” and other relevant words in your copy. You may want to even consider some top-performing hashtags. Just make sure you don’t overuse them and ensure they are evergreen. In other words, make sure they are hashtags that stay relevant and do not depend on the time of year or a temporary element of your business.

Set Hours and Mark Your Location

Consider social media your online “open / closed” sign. Many people use company’s social media pages as resources for information and perhaps one of the simplest requests is to figure out if a location is open or closed. Simple, but very effective.

Another vital aspect of optimizing your social media pages is to set a location. Yes, this may seem obvious. But I cannot tell you how many companies I have interacted with that have not added a location to their Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram pages. These companies miss out on location service and targeting audiences. This is particularly useful for mobile users because they will be able to see what companies are in the area that offer a particular service or product. This is also very helpful when companies who wish to delve into more advanced advertising techniques, as locations, zip codes, and regions are all instrumental in finding the right audience.

Time Travel and Stockpile

Let’s face it – no one will like or follow an empty page (except for Apple, which hasn’t shared a single tweet, but manages hundreds of thousands of followers thanks to its name). You will want to create a ton of content and, if the platform allows, backdate it. This is only a function offered by Facebook and a select other platforms, but it proves to be useful when you are trying to position your business as legitimate and modern.

You should also stockpile content that you can start sharing, including tweets from industry influencers that are available for retweeting and quote tweeting, news articles you want to share and comment on, and ideas you may want to later talk about in the form of a blog or note.

Pin Your Spotlight Content

After you have been created content for some time, create a piece of content that you are particularly proud of and pin it to the top of the profile. This will be the first post that your followers see when they visit your page. This should be a piece of original content that expresses just what your company is all about, whether it’s a promotional piece or a useful piece of content that can be used a resource.

Later down the road, you can use this prime piece of real estate as a spot to promote a sale, holiday greetings, or other time sensitive information. Yet when you are just starting out, pick your best content and start pinning. This post should be switched out on a weekly basis.

Invite Your Regulars And Start Following Prospects

Now that you have your social media page fully optimized, you are ready to invite followers. Think of it this way, you have cleaned up the house and set up decorations, now it’s time for your party guests to come by and enjoy what you have prepared! There are many ways to start gathering a large following on social media, many of which will come as you start sending out relevant content and generate a large amount of user-generated content and feedback. However, when you are first starting out, you need to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Offline, you need to ask your loyal customers to like your pages and share them with your friends. Encourage employees to do the same. Have social-media-exclusive incentives and sales only to be found online and make it known at your location. Train your employees to tell customers and clients about your pages. Most importantly, your content and copy should be a homing beacon for these people to come because of the “takeaway” they will receive. This is why you cannot just write promotional posts. You need to become an informative, educational, and entertaining resource that people will welcome into their social media sanctum.

Online, you can start following major influencers and those who follow them. This will introduce your newborn pages to new people and social circles. Try to be selective about who follows your page, but do not be too picky because you never know who those people will know and they will be able to see your content if and when they share it.

How Do I Optimize My Company’s Social Media Profile Imagery?

By Christopher Tompkins

19Jul

Facebook, Social Media

Once you finally decide that your company needs social media, you have some work to do. The truth is that just having a couple social media profiles isn’t enough — they must be fully optimized.

What does it mean to optimize a social media profile? Essentially, it means to take every step possible to personalize your profile and load it with as much information about your company as possible.

Optimization will help your marketing efforts on multiple levels. First, by ensuring that your profile is loaded with information, your company will look legitimate and professional. Secondly, when done correctly, a fully optimized social media profile will improve searchability and visibility online. Finally, by taking the time to complete the following steps, your customers will be able to use your social media profiles as intended – as a resource. Certain platforms have algorithms and features that will only work if your page is optimized. An example of this would be if you have your hours posted on Facebook, users will be able to clearly see if you are open at that time with a bright green “Open Now” sign is lit, and will also inform your user if you are available for chat.

Remember when you first made your personal Facebook page and decided to skip entering where you went to high school or your birthday? Well, as a business owner, you do not have that luxury in the world of marketing. You want to stuff your profiles to the brim with content!

Check out the following tips that will help you as you begin optimizing a profile. For this first blog, we’re going to cover the two first visuals you will need – a profile image and a cover image.

Choosing An Appropriate Profile Image

The first step to optimizing your profile is to pick an appropriate profile picture. This is also one of the very first choices to make in your social media marketing in general because when you are creating your page initially you will be prompted to choose a profile image. While you will be sending out tons of visuals in your social media journey, this is perhaps one of the most important visuals of your marketing.

Typically, companies incorporate their current logo into their profile picture so there is no confusion as to whose page it is. Ensure that profile picture is clear and easy to decipher when it’s just a tiny avatar next to your content. People will see your profile picture on a regular basis when your content pops up on their feeds, so make sure it is unique and recognizable.

One of the most important rules to consider when choosing a profile image is to make sure the image is high resolution. Nothing makes your company look amateurish more than a blurry or pixilated picture. This is especially the case when you choose a logo as your profile pic.

What else makes your company look amateurish? A cut off profile picture. You ever take a picture and the tallest person’s head gets cut off or maybe something important is just out of frame? It looks bad, right? Well, it looks even worse if a business does this. This is when you are going to need to pay attention. Each social media platform have different dimensions. Some of them have a square frame while others have circles. Annoying, right? Well, to ensure your image looks just right, do a quick Google search or explore the platform’s FAQ section for the currently preferred dimensions. They change all the time and as such, it’s best to check out the most updated information.

If you are a smart marketer, you are creating a profile on all the top platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. all require your attention! Yet as you optimize all these profiles, make sure that all your information and assets are consistent all across the internet. In other words, use the same pic for all your profiles. But as I just said, every platform has different dimensions to adhere to, so you must a unique version for each site. If you have a graphic designer, they should be able to quickly tweak the original profile to accommodate these needs.

Finally, if you do not have a logo at all, go create one right now. It will be a major help in both online and traditional marketing. Keep in mind that bright colors and simplicity are best when it comes to customers recognizing your branding. Ask yourself these questions about your company’s message. What is its tone (Serious, fun-loving, etc.)? Which, if any, iconic elements of my industry and work translate into a logo successfully (for example, an auto repair shop could use tires, cars, tools, etc.)? Who is my target demographic?

Choose A Cover Image That Fits

Many of the rules for picking the right profile picture can apply to the creation of a cover image. Once again, each platform has different dimensions and as such, you will need to make individual image files for each of your platforms. A note to designers, do not just stretch or shrink these designs. Important elements will get lost or disproportioned in the process. Additionally, just like profile pictures, a cover image should be representative of your company the work you do, complete with bright colors and attractive imagery.

However, cover images have several additional rules that will help you take full advantage of this prime real estate. After all, this is the very first thing your audience will see when they visit your page. Consider it a banner, welcoming your users. You have to make sure it speaks volumes about your company in the most simplistic way possible.

A cover image and your profile picture should go hand-in-hand. If you are using your logo as your profile pic but still wish to incorporate it into the design of your cover image, make sure it’s subtly placed in the design.

It is important that a cover image has some form of information. You could have your tagline or slogan elegantly sprawled over a beautiful photo, or you could add a call to action with your phone number or web address. Regardless, you must choose how much info and copy you incorporate. Make a conscious effort to keep it simple and not busy.

Some companies will regularly update their cover image to showcase newly-released products such a new menu items, movies, services, and more. You can also change it up to incorporate holiday messages, support for charities, and more.

A word of warning when you are designing your cover images – test out your new design on several devices, especially smartphones. These images have a tendency to be clipped to format to a smaller screen. As a result, you should always have your most important information closer to the center.

7 Rules For Writing Eye-Catching Tweets

By Christopher Tompkins

20Jun

Copywriting, Local Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter

Writing a tweet is a lot like writing a headline. You have to consider every letter, space, syllable, and of course, the audience’s reaction. A tweet is a powerful tool that could make your brand stand above the Twitterverse, or make it sink into the depths. It’s up to you to make a tweet compelling.

Today we’re going to focus primarily on the copywriting side of a tweet, as opposed to the visual side. The following are proven ways to improve your Twitter marketing and marketing copywriting in general.

1. Front load your keywords.

Let’s face it. People don’t have very long attention spans, even with a 140 character limit. Don’t risk people missing the message and make sure the important detail such as keywords are at the beginning of a tweet.

2. Use hashtags — in moderation.

Hashtags are a great way to join a larger conversation about a particular topic. If possible, convert a normal keyword into a hashtag and for those that don’t fit, place them after a link. I would suggest no more than 2 hashtags per tweet.

3. Use “big brand” handles.

Tagging a large company, especially when sharing their content, is an excellent way to garner attention from big names. You will be surprised how many times major companies will interact with medium to small-sized businesses.

4. Make sure your content is relatable and shareable.

One of the most important elements of Twitter is to ensure your content is shareable and relatable to a larger audience. Make sure you tweet about subjects people care about and love talking about.

5. Keep in mind the “curiosity gap.”

The curiosity gap is what all marketers strive close. What makes people interested enough actually to click, thereby making all this work worth it? The answer is enticing content.

6.Chime into nationally trending conversations.

What’s everyone talking about? #NationalSelfieDay? The Olympics? Breast Cancer Awareness Month? Make your brand have a human voice and speak about human issues. Just try and stay away from controversy if at all possible.

7. Simplify, then simplify again.

Okay, so you have 140 characters. That doesn’t mean you should create every tweet at that amount. You shouldn’t do 130 either. Try to leave enough space that people could “quote tweet” your comment with a simple response. Twitter is all about keeping it simple, so the fewer unnecessary words, the better.

Twitter is a valuable tool in your social media utility belt. Each tweet you send out has the power to draw in a broad audience, and increase engagement. Take your time and craft every tweet carefully!

Need help with Twitter? Contact us! We’ll handle your company’s Twitter account and help you achieve online brand recognition.