4 Ways Simplicity Is Best For Social Media

9May

When people log on to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or another platform, they are immediately bombarded with enough content to make their head spin. With millions of tweets to read, comments to like, and live videos to stream, just viewing social media could be a full-time job! This, in a nutshell, is why simplicity is key.

People do not have time to try and decipher your message. They like clear-cut, concise ideas that are presented in the most convenient fashion possible. How can your brand adapt this simple philosophy?

Check out these 5 methods of keeping things simple with your online marketing.

1. Short, punchy sentences.

When you are writing social media content, take a step back and try to determine which words are absolutely necessary. Take out anything extra and while you’re at it, replace weak words with stronger ones. This will help your message get across in a reader-friendly fashion.

2. “Iconic” imagery.

A rule of thumb in the world of graphic design is “if your design can’t be recognized when it’s on a billboard and you’re speeding by a 70mph, then it’s not an effective design.” Simplicity is the answer for designers and as such, your visuals should be instantly recognizable as online viewers “speed scroll” through their news feeds.

3. Call to actions.

Don’t make your readers have to go very far to visit your website. Provide a link and most importantly, make sure it takes them to exactly where you want them to go, whether a homepage, landing page, contact form, etc.

4. Numbers and bullets.

Imagine this article without these ideas being broken down into numbered points. It would be just a blocky mess. Breaking down information, specifically blogs and social media articles help your reader to take easy, digestible bites and understand the overarching takeaways.

So, let’s not waste any more time. It’s simple. Get to work on social media marketing!

Need help with social media? Contact us today!

Why Data Is A Social Media Marketer’s Best Friend

By Christopher Tompkins

7Feb

Social Media

Is there something wrong with your company’s social media marketing? You may have spent a ton of time crafting updates and still, no fish are biting. Maybe you just can’t put your finger on what the problem is. It’s time to study your data. Social media analytics may reveal the weak links in your content or strategy so you can adapt to what your audience is responding to the most.

Every week, gather up your social media marketing team to study your analytics. Whether you use Hootsuite, Buffer, or just analyze the native numbers on the platform of choice, you need to review your data.

We always recommend posting 1-2 times a day on your social media accounts. Because of this constant stream of content, your company’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other accounts should have a decent amount of posts to study. Which updates rocked? Which flopped? Did a particular hashtag gather in the readers? Perhaps an image or video got people talking? What advertising efforts really struck a cord? All of these questions need to be answered. Since most successful social media marketers write for the upcoming week, you have the opportunity to change your formula ahead of time to make things work.

On top of your weekly analytics, you should also have an in-depth monthly review. Study the past weeks of your campaign on a macro level. How have your numbers risen or fallen? This data should help you set up goals for the next month, and reveal areas you need to improve.

It’s important to work on things when you notice them, don’t push them off. Otherwise, these problems have a tendency to compound and worsen.

Of course, data isn’t all about you. When you are planning the month ahead, you should speak with your team and come up with a game plan based on projected trending topics. What holidays are coming up? What season are you entering? Perhaps the upcoming month tends to be a slow time for business, or maybe it’s the beginning of an annual rush. Planning ahead is essential for your content calendar and the success of your marketing efforts.

As you can see, you should get excited over charts and graphs! If you are stumped as to why your social media marketing strategy is a dud, you are in luck thanks to all the analytics available to study. The right marketer knows how to harness this data and fine-tune a strategy to social media excellence.

Does your team know how to study analytics and data metrics? We do! We can help your business hit the spot on social media.

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

By Christopher Tompkins

27Oct

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Avoid These 10 Social Media Media Marketing Poisons

By Christopher Tompkins

23Oct

Advertising, Business, Copywriting, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Live Video, Marketing, Pinterest, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized

We all know what poison is. In a nutshell, it’s a substance that causes harm to someone or something. Unfortunately, poison isn’t always marked with a giant skull and crossbones, nor is it an oozing green substance from fairy tales. Sometimes, such danger isn’t so obvious. This is especially true for social media marketing poison.

For social media, poison can be an “easy way out” or a seemingly innocent mistake. But marketers should beware! Check out the following social media dangers to avoid:

1. Inconsistency. The best way to make people forget about your brand and move onto a competitor is to be inconsistent with publishing posts. Huge gaps of time or sporadic scheduling will cause unfortunate consequences.

2. Plagiarism. Looking for some legal trouble? Then plagiarize away! There’s absolutely no reason to copy someone’s work without giving credit. Social media marketing offers us perfectly acceptable tools such as retweeting, sharing, repinning, etc. to curate content that fits your feel.

3. Unprofessionalism. Just like your personal social media profiles, there is etiquette to abide by. No cursing, no trash talking competition, no personal pictures, no using “I”. Don’t forget about the business you’re representing.

4. Veering off course. Remember your industry! While sharing interesting articles and engaging content is crucial to social media marketing success, don’t post things that are totally in left field. Keep things as relevant and centered around your field as possible.

5. No visuals. No pictures, videos, or GIFs? Boring! You will kill your social media profile by just looking unappealing. People are 80% more likely to check your content if you use imagery.

6. Ignoring customer outreach. Check your messages multiple times a day. Make sure your response time is less than 24 hours for everything that customers throw your way.

7. Living in a bubble. In it’s most primordial definition, social media is about community. Share others’ content, engage with followers, and start conversations by sharing polls, prompts, contents and more. Don’t isolate yourself from the community you’re trying to build. Talk it up!

8. Using personal opinion. Let’s be clear. Unless your company is by nature religious, political, or handles controversial subjects, it should NOT share an opinion. There will be someone out there that get’s offended.

9. Over-promoting. Even if you’re 100% using social media to boost sales, it can’t just be about promotional posts. No one will pay attention to a barrage of sales. Incorporate interesting articles, community-building exercises, quotes, etc.

10. Spam. People have a tendency to spot scams, spam, and junk a mile away. It’s in the writing and approach. Never spam. Even if your business is legit, you will look like a slimeball. We’ve all been pestered by scam artists one way or another, your business is better than that, right?

Your company needs social media, but your social media needs you to stay away from these deadly acts. What’s the panacea to this poison? Experienced, professional, and creative marketers who know their way around the internet.

Contact us today to get a jump start on social media marketing!

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Why Social Media Marketing’s Adaptability Makes It Last

By Christopher Tompkins

19Oct

Advertising, Business, Copywriting, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Local Marketing, Marketing, Periscope, Politics, Reddit, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized, YouTube

Every now and again someone will say “social media is a fad” and we have to smile. Sure, the statement is understandable, albeit unfounded. Yes, there is a certain sense of “fad” like quality to the internet as a whole because it hasn’t been around as long as the newspaper. But social media marketing has something that the newspaper, radio, television, and all the other mediums lack: adaptability.

Adaptability is why businesses need to pay attention to social media. It’s also how they should be marketing. Thankfully, social media isn’t exclusive to one site. We don’t log onto socialmedia.com to post our latest updates. This is a VERY good thing. Instead of a monopolized website, we have independent platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, Reddit, and more.

While the ever-popular Facebook has been around for over 10 years and is still unyielding, social media marketers know better than to think it’s eternal. That’s why we learn how to perform online marketing as a whole, learn to be versatile, and use the current internet climate as an advantage.

Take Instagram and Snapchat for example. For a while, these two were not taken very seriously. Now, there are millions of users enjoying these platforms. They have become real powerhouses and significant game-changers. With them came the importance of video. Now, marketers understand that trends are leaning towards a high-volume of imagery, both still and moving.

It’s this level of perception that makes social media marketing able to handle the shifting winds of consumer ideas.

At The Go! Agency, we’re able to study and adapt to the trends, movements, and significant changes. Let us help your business have the same adaptability!

The Best Lead Generation Strategies For Social Media

By Christopher Tompkins

15Oct

Advertising, Business, Copywriting, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Uncategorized

Finding leads and referrals have always been both a goal and obstacle for business owners. For some, it’s the only way they can generate revenue for their company. Social media has become not only a new solution for marketing purposes, but it serves as a way to discover potential clients, customers, residents, or whoever keeps your business alive.

There are several ways to achieve successful lead generation through social media. The following steps will help your business’s clientele skyrocket!

– Advertising. People utilize companies that are well known and have proven themselves. By adding a bit of social media advertising to your marketing budget, you be able to increase your profile’s visibility exponentially.

– Reaching out. Businesses approaching potential customers is not unheard of, but you need to do it with some subtlety. Programs like Crowdfire can help you follow a mass of people on Twitter, which is the starting point of new connections. Inviting those who liked your posts but not your page to do so is a super simple way to increase numbers. By sharing others’ content on Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, you exhibit an appreciation for their posts.

– Groups. LinkedIn and Facebook both have an impressive number of groups that allow you to connect with fellow professionals as well as those looking for your service. Be sure to get yourself out there and connect!

– Offers. The internet is the perfect place to promote freebies. Offer a free e-course, e-book, or trial. Give potential clients a free sample of the goodness of you have to offer.

Your ideal customers are already online waiting to be impressed by your marketing techniques. Get to it! These four strategies will help your marketing efforts and potentially increase leads and referrals.

Our clients notice an increase in referrals and leads through our customized marketing plans, content, and sharing! Contact us today to gain and advantage on social media.

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How Online Marketers Can Hit The Bullseye

By Christopher Tompkins

10Oct

Social Media

It’s easy to miss the mark with social media marketing. Every now and again, your analytics may show low points in which your content just didn’t attract a crowd. Every marketer can appreciate the frustration when their efforts are fruitless. Online marketing, especially social media marketing, gives us a significant advantage to help us hit the mark.

Your company’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other accounts should have a decent amount of posts to study. Which ones rocked and which flopped? Did a particular hashtag gather in the readers? Did a picture or video get people talking? What advertising efforts really struck a cord? All of these questions need to be answered. Since most successful social media marketers write for the upcoming week, you have the opportunity to change your formula ahead of time to make things work.

Every month, look at the past several weeks and study your marketing efforts at a macro level. How have your numbers risen or fallen? This data should help you set up goals for the next month, and reveal areas you need to improve. It’s important to work on things when you notice them, don’t push them off. Additionally, look at the present trending topics and what is coming up, so you can take advantage of contemporary topics.

Does your team know how to study analytics and data metrics? We do! We can help your business hit the spot on social media.

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The 20 Questions Your Social Media Marketers Should Be Asking

By Christopher Tompkins

8Oct

Social Media

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

1. Who are my ideal customers?

2. What am I trying to promote?

3. What is the tone of my brand?

3. What are my competitors doing online?

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

5. What problems do my ideal customers have?

6. How does my company help solve those problems?

7. Where are my customers geographically?

8. What content do my customers like to see?

9. Which social media platforms work for me?

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

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

12. When should I post content?

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

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

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

16. What scheduling software is right for me?

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

18. How often should I be posting every day?

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

20. What are my ultimate goals for social media?

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

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

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How To Navigate The Chaotic Internet Landscape

By Christopher Tompkins

6Oct

Advertising, Business, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized, YouTube

There’s a reason my colleagues and myself call the internet the Wild Wild Web. Sure, there are some rules, but there’s quite a bit of anarchy out there. Social media both deters and exacerbates this chaos. Yes, everyone’s comments, spam, ads, and sharing are all contained within the walls of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc., but there are so many people who break the rules of netiquette, it seems like it’s non-existent. Your brand is above all that, right?

The disorder of the internet is both a blessing and a curse for social media marketers. For one thing, it won’t take much for someone to have a professional look. However, you will soon be overwhelmed with the amount of spam, unprofessional business pages, and trolling out there.

Here are the top ways to stay on top amongst all the lawlessness:

– Keep your chin up and stay classy. If you find yourself getting bombarded with a slew of fake messages or negativity, don’t forget the brand you represent! Be sure to approach everything with a delicate nature.

– Don’t add to the chaos. Here at The Go! Agency, we understand “netiquette,” and we apply the unspoken rules of the internet to our client’s accounts. No spamming, just good, honest marketing.

– Have a schedule. Stick to a dependable regiment, and stay consistent when posting. Being a reliable source of interesting content will have your followers looking forward to your next post.

– Add eye-catching content. Make sure your posts stand out with compelling copy, imagery, and subject matter. People recognize quality posts, make sure yours can be spotted!

– Stay focused. Don’t forget, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are not the fun sites you love to browse while you’re marketing. They are tools of the trade. Don’t get sucked into all the cool stuff popping up on your feed. Power through it for the sake of your brand!

Are you ready to face the internet? You’re not alone! We can handle this online marketing thing together! With our years of experience, you will stay on top of the chaos with ease!

Why Social Media Marketing Is A Two-Way Street

By Christopher Tompkins

4Oct

Advertising, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social networking, Twitter, Uncategorized

What is the goal of social media marketing? The same as any marketing – brand promotion and awareness- right? On the macro level of things, sure. But when you take a closer look, it’s more about communication. Sales, ROI, and all that jazz comes a bit later. Social media has become the front line between brand and customer. As such, there needs to be engagement. That’s the golden ticket. Don’t forget that communication is a two-way street.

Conversation. That’s the big differentiation between a website and a social media account. You can ask your brand a question, and a good company will answer quickly. This is why marketers can’t expect engagement to be drummed up solely from their followers. The social media should be point A in the conversation. Their comments are point B, and your reply to their comments is point C. Always strive for point C! Do not be a silent brand, or post robotically with no human connection. If someone asks your company a question, you need to respond.

Technology has made it so there’s no excuse anymore. We’re in a VERY convenient world. You need to answer your customers and converse with them. The whole point of having a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram page is to become more approachable. Do not hide behind the screen, get into the nitty gritty of the people!

Does social media have you stumped? Consider The Go! Agency your online representative! We help many clients connect to their ideal customer base in unique and professional ways! Contact us today!

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Tag : twitter