twitter marketing Archives

120919 The Top Holiday Content Marketing Tips You Need To Know

9Dec

Content Creation

Content marketers and designers love the holiday season. Unlike the lazy days of summer, there is more than enough inspiration to go around for email marketing, social media, blogging, and any other form of content marketing you can think of.

There’s just one catch – there are just so many great ideas out there, there’s not enough time to do them all. Fortunately, we have you covered and we’re exploring the best ideas right here.

Updated festive visuals
Add a Santa hat to your profile pic, a menorah to your cover image, flashing lights to your Snapchat Story. Above all, make sure your holiday-themed contenthas imagery.
Flash sale
Have you looked at the calendar lately? It’s a bit too late to do a “12 days of deals” type deal. However, it’s still fair game for quick “limited time” social-media-exclusive sales. These do surprisingly well, especially as many of us procrastinate. Make sure the sale is worth people opening up their wallets for them because a lot of “wish lists” are complete.
Season’s greetings
Email marketing is a fantastic avenue to send out holiday wishes to your loyal customer base. As always with E-blasts, it is important to send out content that isn’t 100% pushy promotions. A holiday greeting email will do just the trick to make your readers smile and make sure they’re thinking about you when the time to make a purchase comes around.
Pics from the team
Whether you post (not embarrassing) pictures from your Christmas party or your team reaching out to the community for a volunteer event, this idea adds a healthy dose of humanity to any marketing campaign. This type of content, above all else, should be promo-free.
Content your audience will share
Cut out some of the promo posts in your content calendar and make room for some wholesome holiday fun. Take the time to write and design content that your audience members will want to share with their friends and family. Festive videos, recipes, craft and party tips are just a few ideas that can generate engagement.

Maybe the holiday season snuck up on you this year, or you’ve been grasping at straws for what to publish. Either way, the above ideas will help you finish your holiday season content marketing on a high note so you can focus on the new year!

Editor’s Note: This blog has been updated and republished to reflect current information. The article was cleaned up, recommendations were reassessed, and references refreshed.

Not a Popularity Contest: Social Media Metrics that Matter

25Jul

Too many novice social media marketers focus on the wrong metrics when measuring the success of their social media campaigns. They regress to 10th grade students at a new school: desperate to be liked, seeking out the quickest way to popularity. Like those high school sophomores, they don’t consider what they really need or want and instead pursue goals that won’t actually benefit them in the long term. Don’t mistake popularity for validation when it comes to your brand’s goals–in fact, don’t mistake likes for popularity. Determine your goals and then apply strategies that will help you get to those goals. We’ll explain a few of the key metrics today.

1. Engagement

Likes are nice, but on their own will not give you a good indication of audience engagement. You should focus on active participation. For example, comments and replies are proof that your audience is invested in your content. The number of shares will help you determine what content is perceived as valuable or interesting by your audience. Review your content to see what content received the most comments and shares. Do they have anything in common, like subject matter or posting time? What are the commonalities among your less-popular, less-shared posts?

2. Awareness

You don’t want to waste time, effort, and resources on a campaign designed to increase likes when reach is more relevant to your goals. Impressions are number of times that someone sees content (tweet, update, post, ad, etc.). Reach is the number of unique individuals who see the content. If Ward sees an ad for Daughters of the Dragon Sriracha Marinade three times, that ad has three impressions and a reach of one. For some brands and under some circumstances, impressions might be paramount; for other brands and circumstances, reach matters more. Brands that want to broaden their audiences and find new consumers should focus on reach, while brands that want to strengthen their message to their existing audiences should focus on impressions.

3. Conversions

How many users were so impacted by your content or message that they took action? That is conversion in a nutshell. To determine this, you’ll need to have already determined your goals. Note that this should be more than “complete a purchase.” Do you want users to share your content? Do you want users to go to your website? Enter a contest? Fill out a survey? Measuring conversions can be as simple as tracking click rates. Take Joy’s law firm as an example. She ultimately wants prospective clients to come in for a free consultation at Meachum & Gao, but she understands that achieving this will take many steps. Therefore, her immediate conversion goal is for people to click through links from the firm’s social media profiles to the firm’s webpage. By tracking the click rate, she can see what content is most compelling to prospective clients. Armed with this information, she will be able to create enticing content that will motivate prospective clients to contact her office.

Remember that your goals will probably change over time, so it’s important to periodically reevaluate your strategies. Above all, don’t get too comfortable! Savvy social media marketers know that you must continually adapt and evolve to keep up with current trends as well as the needs of your consumers.

What metrics have you found to be most valuable for your marketing strategy? Share with us in the comments!

Are you lost when it comes to social media? We can show you the path to digital marketing success! Contact us today for your free consultation!

The 5 Best Types of Tools for Managing Social Media

4Jun

As we mentioned in a recent blog, social media marketing requires analysis just like any other marketing campaign. The solution for many businesses and brands is using a social media management tool. But what should you look for when choosing such a program? Here are a few crucial elements to consider.

1. Scheduling

Problem: Dana lives in Albuquerque, but her brand of portable speakers is most popular among affluent twenty-somethings in Japan. She’s noticed that her flash sales events have gotten a lot of traction with her domestic customers, but her overseas customers are not informed of the sale until it is almost expired. She can’t really afford to extend the sales, so just posting everything earlier wouldn’t help. Dana needs a way to schedule her posts so that they reach all of her potential customers in time.

Solution: A good social media management platform will enable you to schedule your posts for specific times. With such a tool, Dana can easily arrange for certain time zones to get the message before others. HootSuite and SproutSocial are two of the most popular scheduling apps available.

2. Measurement

Problem: Josie is a Baby Boomer who runs an online record store specializing in vintage blues albums and opera recordings. Thanks to some tech-savvy friends, she understands the basics of social media marketing. However, she still needs to know how her marketing campaign is affecting her sales. Josie needs a clear way to track and measure engagement, conversions, and other data.

Solution: Josie should look for an analytical tool that gathers all of the relevant data in one dashboard. These tracking tools are great for both social media marketing experts and novices! Google Analytics is a free app that covers multiple metrics.

3. Trends

Problem: Carlos runs a website that aggregates the latest in science news. He focuses mostly on climatology and environmental issues, but the eruption of Kilauea has sparked an interest in geology among his subscribers. His husband’s recent cancer scare prompted him to post more articles regarding epidemiology and cancer research. Carlos is worried that he just won’t be able keep up with the news he wants to cover.

Solution: A news or trends aggregator application would help Carlos immensely. Not only would he be able keep track of multiple subjects, he would also be able to see trending topics. That would help him better tailor his material for each day. Carlos should look into Google Alerts (free) or Feedly (not free).

4. Management

Problem: Tamika’s bookstore is flourishing, but her social media profiles have been somewhat neglected. She has accounts on Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter–and she’s lucky if she can get around to even one of them every week! She needs a way to post to multiple social media networks simultaneously.

Solution: Tamika is in luck: most social media management tools feature the ability to post to multiple networks at one time! While she would have to keep track of differences between platforms (e.g., not using Twitter handles on Facebook), this feature would allow her to optimize her limited time working on her digital marketing strategy. Buffer is a good possibility, as is HootSuite. (Note: HootSuite works with most platforms, but will not post to personal LinkedIn or Google+ pages.)

5. Engagement

Problem: Cecil’s podcast and blog on local politics exploded in popularity after he uncovered a major scandal involving the now-former mayor. He wants to engage with his audience, but he doesn’t know how he can now that it has grown so large. Cecil still works full-time, so he can’t just continuously monitor the site. And while he hasn’t had much trouble with trolls, he still deals with some negative feedback.

Solution: Until artificial intelligence becomes a bit more refined, Cecil’s best option is hiring a social media manager, or a social media firm. A social media professional will be able to monitor his accounts and respond to his audience. A good social media manager is skilled in public relations, too: he or she will be able to handle any online audience. If, however, all you need is an away message, you can set those up on most sites.

As long as you keep these elements in mind, you should have everything covered! From rookies to veterans, marketing professionals swear by these applications. Remember: when in doubt, ask an expert.

Do you want to take your social media marketing to the next level? We can help! Contact us today for a free consultation!

5 Big Brand Social Media Secrets For Small Businesses

25Apr

Earlier this week we published a blog showcasing five of today’s biggest brands and their unique approaches to social media marketing. We closely looked at how their creativity improved their relationships with their customers in the process. Today, we are going to further dive into how huge brands, ones that we all know and love, find success on social.

But before we dive into these strategies, you should know something. When we say a “big-brand approach” to social media, it is worth noting that even the smallest LLC can accomplish this kind of online traction. It’s all about strategy and positioning your brand as a viable resource online.

So how can a small business that is just finding its footing on the web increase its visibility? After all, big brands such as Burger King or Hulu already have an international reputation to utilize. How could someone like Mari Events in Allentown, PA hope to go viral? It happens every day, and here’s how.

If you want to generate big brand levels of engagement, you need a big brand approach– despite your size. Try these five suggestions and see where it takes your brand.

1. Make good original content. Go on any social media account of a major brand and you will see a steady stream of original content. High-quality pictures, videos, and copy pack a powerful punch. Do not underestimate your followers – they know good content when they see it. Make sure yours stands tall on the web.

2. Spend money to make money. Here’s the hard truth – you are going to need to invest into some social media advertising, whether it is on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. The good news is that you can quickly see its impact on engagement as promoted and advertised content has the potential to reach a large number of prospective customers.

3. Come in with an attitude. What’s the voice of your brand? Whatever it is, keep it consistent. In our previous blog, we spoke about Wendy’s sarcastic, witty, and brazen voice on Twitter which not only attracts millions of followers, but it put its brand in a unique light against its several competitors. While your business may not want to adopt such a spitfire dialogue, you should create a unique approach that is all your own.

4. Understand what the people want. Take a step back and see what people respond to the most. Is it videos? Maybe Q&As? Maybe your audience is a sucker for memes? Whatever your audience responds the best to, develop it and you’ll continue to grow a following.

5. Have a soul. While all brands have the common goal of making money and creating engagement, a bit of humanity can go a lot further than a promotional post ever could. Showcase an employee, contribute to a charity, show support for the people that make your brand great.

Social media is an amazing opportunity for brands to present themselves in a professional and attractive light. If you are trying to go for the gold and reach big brand levels, try these five strategies.

We can give the big-brand treatment to your brand. Contact us today to get started!

Click here to learn more: http://ow.ly/z6PP30jBd5f

5 Big Brand Marketing Strategies That Broke the Internet

23Apr

Business, Content Creation, Live Video, Marketing, Social Media, Social networking, Twitter

Social media itself is an innovative and cutting-edge approach to customer service. With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the other amazing social media platforms, you can build relationships and connect with customers like never before. But if you add an expert team behind your strategy, it’s a business owner’s dream.

The best part? You will be able to see very quickly if your strategy works or not. Some top brands, such as the ones we will discuss below, raised the bar in terms of social media customer engagement.

As social media marketers ourselves, our team at The Go! Agency loves these brands’ approach to social media:

1. Wendy’s. The fast food chain has become notorious for sending out hilarious Tweets, often times addressing their biggest competitor, McDonald’s. But what’s really impressive about Wendy’s online marketing is how their audience engages, and the brand follows up with their comments. Below is a great tweet that shows how Wendy’s made a customer’s day while maintaining tone and message. It may downplay one of their own rules, but as you can see my the number of retweets, comments, and likes, it was well worth it.

2. Netflix. Netflix will often create trending campaigns that are funny and relatable. These usually tend to align with trending titles that are on their streaming service like Stranger Things or a Disney title, but they have also been known to tap into subject matter that their audience really relates to. And they do it well. A great example is their Netflix cheating campaign, where they “raised awareness” of the epidemic of partners watching episodes of TV shows without their partner– a heinous offense. Not only did it hit home for a lot of their audience, it was just tongue-in-cheek enough for it to go viral for quite some time.

3. DoSomething.org. Clocking in with an astounding 811,000 Twitter followers, DoSomething.org has achieved something that not many businesses have been able to– create real conversations with the members of their audience. DoSomething.org helps activists stand up for causes they believe in. You can see in the snapshot below that they not only respond to the members of their growing community, they continue the conversation and encourage responses.

4. Apple. Apple is a little odd when it comes to social media. If you’ve ever visited their Twitter account they have never Tweeted– EVER. They will change their cover photo to the latest product imagery, but they never say a word . It’s a very odd strategy. But where they DO shine is on @AppleSupport, where they have a dedicated channel just for customer support. They respond ultra-fast and offer tips and tricks for all their devices.

5. Funko. Funko is the maker of vinyl collectibles and pop culture memorabilia.

If they didn’t utilize social media, however, they wouldn’t be able to reach the online success they have. There are two facets to their social media success– contests and Q&As.

Multiple times a day, @OriginalFunko will post contests on their Facebook and Twitter. The prize is usually one or two of their collectible Pop! figures. The only thing people have to do to enter is follow the page and RT or comment. Then, they ask the contest winners to post a pic of their prize when they receive it in the mail, and the conversation continues.

Speaking of conversations, Funko shares weekly #AskFunko sessions, in which their huge fan base can tweet questions to them. Despite getting hit with thousands of questions, the Seattle-based team does their best to answer as many as possible for at least 30 minutes straight.

These five brands are proud of their marketing strategies, and rightfully so. Each one has created communities that reach the thousands and their brand awareness is through the roof. Do yourself a favor and check out their Facebook and Twitter accounts and get ready to be inspired!

Did you know that our team at The Go! Agency, has years of experience in creating effective social media marketing strategies for our clients?

Click here to learn more: http://ow.ly/z6PP30jBd5f

4 Steps To Improve Twitter Customer Communication

18Apr

Social Media, Twitter

We all know about Twitter by now. Public figures and celebrities are always using this amazing platform to sound out messages, for better or for worse, to the masses. But millions of brands are using Twitter to reach out to their customers through social media marketing. The best way to do this? Offer innovative customer service solutions.

A major part of any social media marketing strategy is to employ a successful customer service strategy by using the platforms billions of people prefer. One of the most popular platforms for customer service has become Twitter. In fact over 58% of small businesses are on Twitter and use it for customer service.

Here are the best ways to use Twitter for better customer communication:

1. Offer open communication

Twitter is a great way to deliver top-notch customer service in a quick and convenient fashion. If someone sends a message or mentions your brand, you need to respond and quickly. Some businesses even have a specific Twitter account just for “support” communication, which is a great service to offer your customers because they’ll know exactly where to go when they have questions. We highly recommend this method, as it will also categorize customer service and content marketing tweets separately.

2. Response

If someone tweets at your brand, you better prepare a professional response and send it out quickly. It’s important to show that you care about your customers. The best part about this is that, when paired with a customer-support-exclusive Twitter account, the answers to common questions and concerns can be publicly displayed in your feed. Of course, many people will go the “private message” route. These messages should receive a professional, friendly, and fast response as well.

3. Start the conversation

Another important way to open up Twitter to better customer service is to open the floor to open communication. Let’s face it — Twitter is all about people talking. Turn your Twitter page into a social gathering by giving people a reason to begin a conversation. Ask your audience what their favorite product is, ask for feedback about a new service, or even offer a Q&A session.

4. Go Live

As predicted, live video continues to rock social media and Twitter is no exception. When it comes to customer service, there’s nothing better than instant answers, and live video gives your customers just that. By providing answers in real time, you’re not only helping the person who asked the question, but you could also be answering questions that other people have. We’ve used this method here at The Go! Agency and have started many rewarding conversations with customers this way.

Twitter is easy to learn, but it takes time to master. With over 320 million people flying around the platform, your ideal audience is already there, waiting for your awesome customer service stupport.

Get started on Twitter today by contacting us! Our team of social media experts is here to help your business soar. Click here to learn more: http://ow.ly/PPeb30jtS06

How SEO and SMM Work Hand-In-Hand For Your Brand

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31Jan

SEO, Social Media, Social networking

Does your business need social media marketing?

Yes.

Does your brand need search engine optimization?

You bet.

While some marketers think these two online marketing strategies are completely separate, they’re actually just different parts of the same strategy to increase your brand awareness.

It’s time to set the record straight.

First off, let’s explore these two concepts.

Search engine optimization is a process which allows a web page to appear in the most viewable placing possible in search engine results. For example, if someone looks up “fishing supplies” on Google, Bing, Ask, AOL, or Yahoo, they will get a list of related web pages that feature fishing supplies. Businesses that incorporate SEO strategies will, in theory, appear above others.

Social media marketing, on the other hand, is a tad bit different. Entirely different, actually. This method allows businesses to not only appear in search results on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest, but it also allows them to interact with customers through a variety of avenues. Marketers can represent their brand via profiles and pages. They can also share a constant stream of original and curated content, similar to an individual’s activity on these platforms.

We may be tempted to ask ourselves which one is better. SEO or SMM? Well, these two are not competitors. Instead, they cater to completely different aspects of the online marketing industry. The two are essentially completely different crafts despite contributing to the final product of increased online visibility.

That being said, social media marketing contributes to online marketing efforts in ways that SEO, in its nature, cannot. Here are the top advantages social media has over SEO:

Immediate customer and audience communication.Businesses on social media have the ability to respond to customers who are trying to reach out via messages, tagging, tweets, etc. After all, it is social media.
The ability to send out constantly fresh and updated content. SEO allows you to be in the spotlight in search engine results. Social media allows you to be in the spotlight of social media news feeds. The average Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram user checks their feeds multiple times a day, thereby increasing your chances of getting engagement.
Quick personalization and “damage control.”Are there negative comments about your business on social media? No problem. You can immediately respond to the “crisis” in a positive and professional manner. Does a negative comment pop up on search engines? You’re in for quite a headache.
The benefits of “peer reviews” and user-generated content.People like to read reviews from their fellow consumers. While places like Angie’s List and Yelp are helpful for this, social media is one of the most popular places for reviews and offers a special advantage- companies have the ability to respond and tell your side of the story, whether the review is positive or negative.
Considerably less expensive promotional options. Social media isn’t completely free if you want to be successful. Facebook advertisements, for one, is a very helpful albeit paid service. Still, social media promotional services may prove to be inexpensive when compared to premium SEO options.

SEO, on the other hand, is an extremely important tool for online marketing because once you reach the top of the rankings it can keep sending highly tarted traffic to your website. It will take some time to climb the results pages, but the boost to your brand can be extremely valuable.

Effective SEO requires several strategies, from constant, fresh content to regular usability updates and link building strategies. These activities contribute to your site’s ability to attract customers and give them a reason to do business with you.

When it comes down to it, SEO is a visibility tool. SMM is a communication tool.

There is a place for SEO. No smart online marketer would say otherwise. It can help service-based businesses show up when people are searching for solutions.

However, SEO in no way replaces social media marketing. By representing your business on Facebook, Twitter, and the other platforms, you’re essentially giving your customers the opportunity to benefit your company by tagging your business, giving 5-star ratings, sharing your posts, and much more.

It’s a completely different marketing animal, and one that is proven essential for online brand awareness.

Editor’s Note: This blog has been updated and republished to reflect current information. The article was cleaned up, recommendations were reassessed, and references refreshed.

7 Innovative Tools That Social Media Marketers Love

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!

The 10 Traits Of The Ultimate Social Media Marketer

3Jan