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How Do You Evaluate Your Social Media Strategy?

Evaluating the effectiveness of your social media strategy is just as important as the strategy itself. Many small business owners forget about this part – don’t let that be you!

  1. Are your friends and followers increasing? It is very important to remember that an increase in friends and followers does not mean that profits will immediately increase too. An increase in friends and followers does mean you are doing something to attract attention, which is a good thing! If the number is decreasing, it is definitely time to change your strategy. You may be sharing content that is not relevant to your audience.
  2. Monitor the engagement of your followers. Are your posts and pictures getting comments and likes? Are tweets getting re-tweeted? Do your events have a significant following of people that will ‘attend’? These numbers can be monitored very easily. Make sure to be aware of them. You can also apply various tools (like Google Analytics) to receive deeper insights. Pay attention to which posts and pictures seem to be the most popular – and ask yourself why.
  3. Analyze what is working for your audience.  If you are seeing an increase in sales, consider what it is on social media that could have been responsible for the spike. In other words, what is your audience responding too? Was it a promotional discount or the free shipping option?

The takeaway: you should be regularly evaluating how your audience is reacting to your social media presence. If you are constantly up to date on your social media progress, you will find it easier to identify your strengths and weaknesses.

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Why Use Google AdWords?

Using a combination of marketing platforms is healthy for your business. If PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising is one of the platforms you are considering, you’ve probably contemplated Google Adwords.  There are a few elements that make Google AdWords worthwhile.

One of the clear benefits to online marketing is that your results are measurable. As a marketer, one of your biggest priorities is determining if your campaigns are working and returning ROI. PPC Advertising through Google Adwords is one of the most measurable online mediums. Adwords provides a variety of metrics that allow you to evaluate what is working and what is not.

With Google Adwords, your campaigns are completely customizable. You can target your campaigns to reach the audiences you want too. You have the ability to narrow your audience by the time of day, location, and device type (after all, there is no point in your ads reaching those in England if you are promoting a weight loss seminar in Colorado).

By using the right resources in AdWords you can see results immediately. You can monitor the clicks and impressions. In doing so, you can determine if your keywords are working. If you are not seeing the results you want after a certain amount of time, changing or adding key words is simple.

Once you have established your PPC campaign is working, there is not a huge amount of maintenance thereafter (although you should always be monitoring the campaigns and results).

It is no secret that visually appealing ads get results. Google AdWords provides new ad formats, so you have options to differentiate your ads (consider using ad extensions as well)!

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What Makes A Marketing Video Effective?

Successful marketing videos engage, educate, and persuade audiences towards a call to action. Ensure your next marketing video is successful by incorporating the following ideas:

Utilize the power of video marketing by showing your audience what you are talking about. In other words, do not just tell them. Video marketing can be incredibly powerful because it allows you to engage and persuade your audience directly. Make sure that your video illustrates the benefits of your product or service. Demonstrate how your product works and why they should care. Play on the visual power you have with video marketing!

Make sure your video has a beginning, middle, and an end.  In this sense, your video should be formatted like a good story. Good stories make us think and feel. But most importantly, they make us remember. The beginning of your video should establish who you are as a company and as a brand; this would be equivalent to establishing characters in a novel. The middle of your video should explain the product or service and give your audience a call to action; this is similar to the climax or problem in a novel. The end of your video must leave the audience with a reason to interact with your brand.

Play to your audience. Think about where your video will be displayed. Your video should be targeted to the audience you want to communicate with and in turn, the audience that will be interested in watching video content. The tone of your video should align with the personality of your company. Give your audience a strong sense of who you are through your video.

Keep it simple and interesting so that your audience views the entire video. You would not want to lose them half way through!

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Why You Might Be Loosing Twitter Followers

You’ve been building your Twitter presence and you feel good about it. It is great to increase that number, but it is equally important to maintain that number. If you have been loosing followers lately, there are a few things to consider that might be behind it.

Are you delivering the content you promised you would? If you own a clothing boutique, your followers are likely expecting you to tweet about fashion trends, clothing tips, store deals, etc. If your tweets are about your political opinions, or the new frozen yogurt place you tried yesterday then your followers are not getting what they signed up for by following you. Make sure that any personal opinion tweets go to your personal account and not your business account.

Do you respond? If your followers ask you a question, or reply to your tweets they probably want a response back.  Being responsive on your account assures users that they are tweeting to a real person, and not a pre-scheduled system. Twitter is about building relationships. If you are not building a relationship with your followers, they are not going to stick around to build one with you.

Do you use Twitter solely for promotion? Remember that Twitter is a social media platform. People join to be social – they do not check their twitter solely to read promotional messages. If you are doing some promotion tweeting, be sure to provide a value to your followers. If you are promoting something on Twitter, make sure your followers get a benefit from reading that tweet. For example don’t tweet “Buy our new perfume…” instead consider tweeting, “Mention this tweet for 10% off our new perfume.”

Are your tweets original? If you are abusing the retweet button, that may be why you are loosing followers. The retweet feature is wonderful for sharing content, but when you retweet something you should add your own opinion. Use a few words to share why you decided to retweet something. Your followers connected with you on Twitter to hear what YOU have to say – give that to them.

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The 411 On Hashtags

Have you been using hashtags in your tweets? If you have not jumped on the hashtag train, you have no doubt seen them on Twitter.  Hashtags are the words, or sometimes just jumble of letters that you see following the # sign. Hashtags are not essential, or appropriate for every tweet. Before going hashtag crazy, it is important to know how they can help your business, and when they are actually useful.

Hashtags work for categorizing content. Adding a hashtag into your tweet makes it easier for other users to find. This can be extremely useful when discussing a topic other Twitter users may be discussing as well. For example, during the Superbowl you could search #Superbowl on Twitter and a display of Superbowl related tweets would be the result.

From a marketing standpoint, hashtags can also help to create some buzz around your product or business. For example, say you are the owner of a shoe boutique and you are having a sale on winter boots.  Tweet something about the sale, and then use the hashtag #winterboots. This is a broad category, and someone in the market for winter boots is likely to search “#winterboots.” By incorporating the hashtag into your tweet, your tweet will show up in the search results.

Keep the hashtag brief and easy to read. If you use the hashtag #WinterBootsAreHalfOffAtTheShoeBoutique it is not only hard to read, but it is also likely that nobody will search for that hashtag – and your tweet will not appear in any searches.   Your tweets are already limited to 140 characters, so use them wisely! Use hashtags to get your point across but still remain brief.

Remember there is no point in using a hashtag if you do not keep using it. In other words, be consistent with your hashtags. If you do not repeat the hashtag, your tweet may go unseen by potential customers. Make sure to use your hashtags. Last but not least, be sure your hashtags are relevant and easy to understand.  Twitter is about simplicity – so do not confuse your Twitter followers with a confusing hashtag.

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Your LinkedIn Group Guide

LinkedIn is becoming a vital marketing resource for businesses. Make sure that as a small business owner you are taking in all the opportunities LinkedIn has to offer you.

The beauty of LinkedIn is that it is full of resources. You can join groups that are full of professionals in your industry. Then you can use these groups to get product or service feedback, network, and even connect with future business partners or employees. In addition to creating a personal LinkedIn account, you should also establish a company page on LinkedIn for your business.

If you are considering starting a group on LinkedIn, here are some tips that will help you take full advantage of all of LinkedIn’s opportunities as a group leader.

If you choose to begin your own LinkedIn group, you have the option of creating a closed or open group. An open group allows any member to contribute and is visible to the public. A closed group is private and requires a user to be accepted to the group before contributing. When making your choice, consider that an open group will clearly grow faster, but it is also likely the group could be prone to spam.   Alternatively, a closed group will grow more gradually. Yet, the members will be much more targeted. Consider how you want your group to be seen and used when making this decision.

Remember that you started this group, so you must be a part of it. Be active and let your presence be known to your members  – it will help you network rapidly.

As the leader of the group, remember that you can make rules – this is a power that should be taken seriously. If there is an unruly member of the group, you can remove them. On the flip side, if there is a member that is a great contributor to your group, be sure to acknowledge them!

One huge advantage to creating a group is that you can send weekly announcements out to your members! This is an opportunity for you to contact your members directly. Just be careful to fill those messages with useful information – you want to ensure that your followers actually engage with the message (not just overlook it as spam).

There are countless opportunities on LinkedIn that may be of benefit to your company – capitalize on it!

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3 Ways to Use Apps on Facebook

Anyone can make a Facebook page. This is why it is so important to incorporate ways to engage your friends on Facebook. Getting those “Likes” does not mean too much if you do not interact with your fans beyond that. One of the best ways to bring excitement to your page is to use Facebook apps.  Keep in mind that some of the ideas below are complex – they are often developed by a third party and then can be run on Facebook.

  1. Create interactive quizzes. The truth is, as ridiculous as it may seem, people love taking quizzes about themselves. So whatever quiz you decide to create, make sure that the quiz is all about your customers. For example, if you are a frozen yogurt company the quiz could ask, “What frozen yogurt fall treat are you?” The bottom line is to make sure the quizzes ask personal questions. Keep it relevant to your business and all about your fan. To get it started, you could offer discounts to the first 100 people that take the quiz.
  2. Use personal Facebook information to create a story about the user. People love interactive apps like this. Typically, apps such as these use the Facebook user’s photos, name, and hometown to fill in the story gaps. This usually gets a good laugh, which is great because it is likely to be shared. If you are a tax company, use the information to narrate a scary tax scandal.
  3. Make your apps about your fans. This option is not as complex as the two above.  Ask fans questions and encourage them to reply. Then, each month your company can highlight the fan that had the best response to your question. If you work for a beauty company, ask a question about the meaning of beauty. Offer a coupon or a free product to the participant with the best or most creative answer.

The takeaways: be creative and stay relevant to your business.

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Be The Small Business That Does Social Media Right

So you’re a small business. That means you probably don’t have the budget to run with the big dogs of social media. AKA – stop trying to keep up with Starbucks. If you do not have the budget to giveaway the latest IPad – don’t do it. Offer a prize your company can handle such as a service, discount, or small product.  This also means that the participants in your giveaway are likely to be interested in your company, and not just in it for the free Ipad.

You have probably already picked up on the fact that there is no physical cost to join social media.  As a small business, marketing without fees probably sounds like the best kind.  But don’t be fooled – social media marketing is anything but free. Doing it right requires serious man-hours. The commitment to social media is unrelenting and endless. Engaging with followers and sharing valuable content is a full time job.

Most small businesses feel a sense of urgency to get onto social media because of the tidal wave big brands have made on all social media platforms. Focus on your social media goals. Whatever they are, the bottom line should be to build relationships and grow customer trust. That means that social media is not the place to display your promotional copy. Get rid of anything remotely resembling a “BUY ME” button. Social media is about social engagement. Think of yourself in a social situation – do you spend the entire time talking about yourself? Hopefully the answer is no. This type of etiquette applies to social media as well. Just as you would in a social environment, strive to be interesting on social media. Post content that gives your followers or friends something to react too. If someone were to walk up to you and give you a compliment or ask you a question, you would never just ignore it. You would acknowledge it with a “thank you” or a reply. The same thing should be done on your social media platforms.

As a small business, you do not need to be present on every social media account. If you use Facebook over Google +, it does not mean you are a social media failure. The biggest error you could make is to have a Google + account that is completely neglected and shows inconsistent activity. It is better to have one or two active and up to date social media accounts than have five accounts that are not receiving adequate time and management.

Avoiding these social media mistakes small businesses tend to make is crucial to your success. Be the small business that gets social media right!

 

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What Is Social Media About?

Social media is generally not limited by budget – this is huge. The beauty of social media is that it is not just another advertising platform. This means that your advertising activity is not restricted to a few campaigns per year. Companies tend to conduct two to three campaigns on social media per year. It is important to place equal focus on your social media activity the rest of the time. Social media does not have to be limited, and this is something to take advantage of. Abandon your campaign-focused mindset and adopt a strategic one. Your mindset should treat social media as an opportunity to connect, engage with, and learn form your consumers in an uninhibited space.

 

Social media allows you to talk directly to them, capitalize on that. To better your social strategy, respond to your audience. . This is invaluable feedback that you cannot get as easily or as quickly with other advertising platforms. Get to know your customers by using social media as a resource. You have easy access to what pages they are “Liking” on Facebook and who they are following on Twitter. Use this information to find out what matters to your customers. By gathering this insight, you can more effectively engage. Once you have this insight and customer data, use social media to drive action for your business. Keep in mind that being personal and active on social media can go along way. Your online presence can do wonders for your company if you are sure to use it the right way.

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Reward Your Customers

How do you connect with your customers online?

Rewarding your customers is an essential component of driving customer loyalty. Foursquare, the leading location based social network, offers a great medium to connect your offline and online audience. Foursquare allows users to check into locations on their mobile phones. Then, users can share that location with friends on other social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook. Your company can benefit from these check-ins. When users’ friends see where they are checking in to eat and shop, they are more likely to follow suit to eat and shop there too!

Your goal on Foursquare should be to connect your customer’s online habits and offline habits. You can do this by offering deals and specials on Foursquare. Use specials to attract new customers, and reward loyal existing ones.  Personalize your rewards to your customer. For example, to reward a first-time customer, award them a free cookie on their first check in. To reward a frequent customer, offer them 10% off their bill every third check in.  Use a combination of different specials to encourage a growing clientele and satisfy returning customers.

Make it easy for your customers to check in. You’ve already gotten people in the door, now its time to make sure you capitalize on that. You must claim your business’s location! Make sure to claim ownership of your physical location. If you do not see your business listed, you can access Foursquare from your mobile phone and select “Add this place”.  Provide as much relevant information in your profile as possible – this will help inform your current and future customers.

Switch up the specials you offer and see what seems to appeal to customers most. Get to know your audience by running two specials at a time. This way you can see if your customer base are mostly returning customers or new customers.  Treat your customers well with rewards – they will return the favor!

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