As an authorized local expert for Constant Contact, I often teach the benefits of email marketing as a lead generating tool. Combining email marketing with your favorite social media channel can be even more powerful. Recently, we put together a few campaigns with business owners and organizations to do just that.
So often when I'm training business owners about social media I ask, “What is it that keeps you from getting involved with social media?” They answer, I don't know what to write or share.
First, we will discuss what types of posts are working well on social media channels. No longer is Twitter just 140 characters of text. You can add photos and videos, too. For Facebook, you can use live videos, videos, photos, and text. If LinkedIn is where you are, it's videos, photos, long posts, and short posts. As far as what works best, it's videos, next is photos, and last is text.
So often I hear business owners say, “I really need to get involved on Facebook but have no idea where to begin.” What we say to business owners is the first step is to face your fears. If your fear is that you’re afraid of making a mistake or post the wrong thing, know that on Facebook you have the ability to put your posts into draft for someone to look at before you publish them. Even if you happen to post something, but you’ve made a mistake, you can delete the post.
Gathering the results for traditional marketing usually comes in the form of phone calls, feet in the door, coupons, and increased revenue. But how do you know what's happening with your social media marketing? This month's column will be all about tools to track your social media marketing results. There should never be any money or time spent on promoting your business with social media without measuring the results.
The expression "Use a picture. It's worth a thousand words." appeared in a 1911 newspaper article quoting newspaper editor Tess Flanders discussing journalism and publicity. With the ability to add text to that perfect photo, we can now say it’s worth more than a thousand words.
Why visuals?
In 2015, both Facebook and Twitter introduced video to their platforms and for good reason. Studies have shown that users are 44 percent more likely to engage with content that contains pictures and video falls into that category.
As I was preparing for my Social Media Class at Reading Area Community College, I had the most interesting experience happen to me. A week before the class a friend asked me to help him learn how to use Facebook. Me, being the helpful person I am, said, “Yes.” We sat down for what I thought would be a mundane experience for me which turned into a great lesson to share with my class and also you.
In a conversation at a Youth Leadership event with the local chamber, we were discussing social media and one of the comments shared was when posting on the internet, we should ask ourselves the question, "would you wear what we have said on a t-shirt?" What a great way to look at each message you are sharing online with that lense.
This month's column is focused on the content you are sharing on social media: how to monitor; what tools to use, and systems to follow in writing content.
I’ve discovered a new favorite Social Network… Periscope.
First of all, what is Periscope? Here’s the official description direct from trafficgenerationcafe.com. Periscope.tv is a life-streaming app owned by Twitter, which allows you to share, watch and engage with comments to live video broadcasts. With only 10 Million users since its launch in March, it’s really a baby in the world of social networks, but a baby who could quickly grow.
Each year, I like to research what's being projected to happen in social media marketing for the upcoming year. It's a great way to make adjustments of what we are doing and find out what's being planned for growth and changes. Last year it was all about Facebook and Twitter adding videos to their social media platforms. This year, my review includes projections from Huffington Post, SproutSocial, AllInOneSocial, to mention just a few, and it seems we're still looking at video as a focus, but with a twist.
Ok. You haven’t seen much from me in the way of promoting Facebook boosts in my column. Maybe it’s because of my allegiance to print advertising where I know how many real, live people are receiving the papers. No bots there! I cringe when people say to me I spent only $20 for 1,500 people on my boost to become fans. Really? Only 1,500 people when you could have taken the very same amount of money and advertised to 30,000 real, live people. Well, enough of comparing notes on print verses online. I don’t even have to defend that fact.
It’s 2020 and the importance of video content is not going away. It's favored by all the algorithms and people will stop their scroll to watch it. Now is the time to make a plan to regularly incorporate video into your social media strategy. It’s pretty easy and you can do it right from your phone.
Social Media Bios help potential customers find you. They can also be the first impression a customer will have about your brand. It’s important to make a good impression.
Two factors to keep in mind are the platform and your audience. If you are writing your bio for LinkedIn, it will be more formal and professional than if you are writing it for Facebook or Instagram. For all platforms, think about keywords that your ideal customer will be searching for when you write the bio. Someone should read your bio and have a clear understanding of what you will do for them.
It’s that time of year again. Are you ready? You might be thinking it’s too early, but it’s not. This is the time to be building your audience and making plans for the upcoming season. It’s important to grow your audience as much as you can before Thanksgiving. Or before; the entire week of Thanksgiving has become a sales week.
The best way to create engagement on social medial is to be consistent. As a business owner, that can be a tall order. You can make it easier on yourself if you have a process. If you sit down and plan for the next few weeks or months, then you can batch schedule your social media.
Even local businesses can reap the benefits of maintaining a social media presence. If you haven’t, now’s the time. Here are a few facts: 78% of the US population has a social media profile and 97% percent of consumers aged 18 to 34 read online reviews. Just to bring this local, there is a Facebook group, called 422 Families, where people regularly ask for recommendations about local businesses. That group has over 7,700 members.
Video is becoming an essential part of social media content. It's favored by all the algorithms and people will stop their scroll to watch it. That’s why businesses should try to use video when they can. The great thing about video is that you can do it right from your phone.
Here are some helpful ideas for using video as social media content.
Facebook has signaled that their algorithm is changing again. If you’ve been thinking about starting a Facebook group, now might be the time to do it. Facebook is favoring more personal engagement, so your page might not reach as many people as it has in the past. Here are some things to consider about creating a group.
Give people an incentive for joining your group. You could offer early bird discounts to the members or previews for new products. Then once they are in, give them more information about your products and services.
Recently, I watched a video on YouTube on a subject of interest to me and after watching the video, decided to click on the “infamous link” below the video. Part of the reason for clicking on it was to experience the engagement funnel with this individual, as well as see how long she would send emails to me about it. Well, it is two weeks later, and I am still getting emails from her daily. They have taken different directions along the way.
Have you thought about Instagram for lead generation? If you haven’t, I have some hacks to generate leads from your existing followers. As you grow your business account you can use these strategies going forward.
Your profile should have the following:
• A picture that reflects your brand.
• Your bio should be concise and clear about what you offer people.
• A link in the bio — your website or a link to a newsletter signup.
Should I be using hashtags? That’s a question I hear a lot. The answer depends on the platform that you are using. Hashtags are used to index keywords for search results. They are more prevalent on some social media platforms than others.
