Did you know that almost half of the people who visit Pinterest have a clear intention of purchasing products? If Pinterest is still not a part in your social media marketing strategy, now is the right time to include it.

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest connects people based on their common passion. That being said, this could be beneficial for business owners as users can easily view contents which they find interesting; thus, leading to more sales.

Listed below are a few tips that would help you develop the right Pinterest marketing strategy. Read on to find out more.

Set up a business page

If you have jumped into Pinterest early, chances are great that you are still using a personal account for your business. Now, you can easily turn your old personal page into a business page. Your profile may not appear any different to your previous one, but you’ll get some built-in analytics that would allow you to track which among your pins are the most popular.

Keep your board organized

Pinterest is known for its neat structure. Even large boards consisting of hundreds of posts can be easily understood and looks pleasing to the eye.
If you are planning to use Pinterest for your business, we recommend that you use proper classification so that users would find it easier to browse through your boards. Create multiple boards so you can organize the content based on their category. This way, relevant content can be placed together.

Learn from your customers

In order to help you create a more engaging experience, we suggest observing the interest of your target audience.
Take note of the people who are following you, re-pinning your content and pinning from your domain. From there, you’ll be able to see other contents that they are pinning. This will give you an idea about the latest trends across your fans.

Make inspiring and exciting content

Thousands of pins get posted on Pinterest on a daily basis, but not all of them are engaging. In order to capture the attention of your target audience, your posts should be engaging even if they are not interesting enough.
The best way of doing this is by creating a giveaway event. Everyone loves free merchandises. Well, who wouldn’t want to be rewarded by just sharing a post?

No one is perfect. And sometimes, we have bad habits that we would like to get rid of. But while you’re trying to change how you do things and get too occupied, falling back into these old habits happens sooner than you might have expected. While some of these habits do not have an overall impact, some may have a negative impact, especially on your business.

There’s a good chance that you have visited a page that has done some of the things listed below. Make it a mission not to repeat them.

Overcompensating for inactivity

When you’re just starting and you don’t have someone to manage all your online accounts, your page may remain inactive for a few days. That in itself is a problem. However, some people make the mistake of overcompensating for being off the radar for a few days by posting numerous updates in one day.

While inactivity is not a good thing, keep in mind that there are only a few people who would choose to unfollow you due to lack of activity. However, if you bombard them with numerous updates and tweets, which is quite annoying, they are more likely to unfollow you.

Hashtag overload

Hashtags are a great way of categorizing content, providing context and curating information to help you reach your target audience. However, some people tend to abuse it by using like a dozen hashtags in a single tweet.

Depending on the platform, 2 to 4 hashtags are acceptable: 2 for twitter and a maximum of 4 for Instagram.

Asking for shares or retweets

Not only does it come across as demanding, it’s not also engaging. As a result, it does nothing for your cause.

If you post something like this, the only people who are going to enthusiastically oblige are your family and close friends. Everyone else will most likely ignore your post. Even if people did share it, it’s not because they believe in what you’re saying, but because you begged them to do so.

Posting only about your company

Social media may be comparable to phone conversation – it has to go both ways.

Creating great content for your page is important, but you also have to talk about something else other than your business. Find ways to engage with your audience and interact with them.

Make sure to share a variety of content from time to time. This would capture the attention of your audience and keep in them interested. Share inspirational quotes and images, updates from online sources or contents from fans.

Studies revealed that a huge percentage of American adults spend most of their online activity in social media sites, topping time spent on Google and email. Having this knowledge, marketers have decided to chase online users and focused their attention on social media. In fact, one study revealed that 97% of marketers use social media to promote their business.

If you have not yet taken advantage of the power of social media, then you might be missing a large chunk of your target consumers. Here are a few social media strategies that would allow you to take control over your social channels.

Create a game plan

Without an execution strategy, your content may begin to fall through the cracks. Set a limit on the number of tweets and Facebook posts you have to publish each day. If you are just starting out, you might want to check how often industry leaders are posting and take note of the ideal amount of content that should be published each day. You want to be active, but not overly active.

Treat each channel as an individual entity

Each social media channel should be treated as a separate entity. Make sure that the contents you share on each channel would appeal to the audience. LinkedIn caters to business-focused audience. So, you’ll have to provide them with educational contents. Instagram users, on the other hand, are in search for engaging visual contents.

Go above and beyond in customer service

Social media users today are expecting fast response from you. If someone posts on your Facebook page and they do not receive a response, the dissatisfied client may turn to your competitor and seek answer to their questions.

Taking time to respond to a personal inquiry is of great importance as it builds your authority. When you deliver a thoughtful and timely response, this will have a positive impact on your brand.

There’s nothing more frustrating than a writer’s block. You stare at your screen and the cursor just taunts at you maniacally. For those times of desperation, content creators are in need of a more forthright solution.

If you are struggling to come up with new articles for your blog and keep your audience engaged, here is a list of some of the most tried and tested resources that you can turn to when word drought sets in.

Yahoo Answers

Yahoo Answers is probably one of the most underrated resources for blog topic generation. This site mostly serves a resource for people who are in search for answers. Creating contents that responds to the challenges that these people are facing will not only boost your credibility, you are also guaranteed that people will return to your site the next time they are looking for an answer.

Google trends

There’s no better way of generating a blog topic idea than using phrases and keywords that are performing well in terms of search volume. Those are the topics that you want to write about, and Google trends can help you bring those topics to light.
The Top Searches option allows users to view the top searches that Google conducted. These searches are sorted into different categories like Sports, Entertainment, Business etc. The Hot Searches option, on the other hand, gives you an opportunity to view the top searches by day.

Blog comments

Content writers fail to realize the importance of blog comments for generating a new entry for their blog. Believe it or not, your next blog entry lies in a small bit of reader feedback. That being said, we suggest going through your old blog posts, especially the most popular ones, and take time to read the comments.

Make a list of all the questions and suggestions that you see and feel free to use it as a resource the next time you find yourself staring at a blinking cursor.

When your customers love your beer and brewery, they want to help build your brand! They want to be able to share your brewery with their friends and family. In today’s world of Social Media it is VERY simple for them to do that as long as you have the right strategies in place. Remember it is more than just posting onto Facebook and Twitter, it is about getting your hands dirty and letting those that love your brewery get involved in the process!

3 Tips to build your “Online Beer Brand” 

  • Tell Your Story: Behind each great brewery there is a unique story to be told! For example Sam Adam’s founder Jim Koch fondly tells his story on the back of the Boston Lager six pack. He found his grandfather’s lager recipe in his fathers attic, brewed the first batch it in his kitchen, and with a little tweaking, Boston Lager was born. The rest is history, with the creation of Boston Lager Jim Koch began the highly successful Sam Adams Brewery. Through that story they were able to build “trust” amnugst their fans! This is KEY, once you have told your story and built that trust you have a loyal customer for life!

 

  • Create a Clear Identity: Your image embodies your brand. The reason why craft beer is so fascinating is that each has a unique identity. Craft your identity using traits you feel closely align with your personal brand. Remember, once your image has been set out into the world, it can be hard to change or retract it. Your identity should show something about your story!

 

  • Stay the Course: Once you begin the branding process, stay consistent throughout social media, websites, marketing materials etc. You do this so your customers and potential customers will recognize who you are and already have an idea what you are about. Without consistency, your brand will seize to exist.  Along those lines of being consistent you also must be able to make adjustments. You may want to update website images, and social media images as needed, still staying consistent with your brand!  To find out which areas of your branding campaign may need adjustment, talk to your customers and monitor your brand!
Follow these three steps and your brand will continue to remain true and your core values will shine through! Your craft beer brand will thrive!!! There are so many opportunities out there for craft breweries to be able to thrive online and build an amazing online and offline community. We would love to help your brewery with their online marketing strategy! Please call us today for a FREE 1 hour consultation and strategy session (720)338-6996 or email Marketing@TheBIMSTeam.com we look forward to working with you soon!

These days, almost everyone seems to want more likes, shares and comments on their Facebook posts, but creating content is not easy. As a matter of fact, a lot of businesses are having a hard time coming up with ideas that sometimes they just give up.

If this sounds like you, then we’re hoping that this post will help you come up with an effective Facebook post that will get you crazy likes, shares and comments.

Post photos

Most Facebook marketers believe that images are the cornerstone of Facebook. People love seeing photos.  These days, people are so overloaded with information that they prefer something that is easier to consume. Plus, photos are fun to share too.

By posting the right images, you are guaranteed to generate more engagement from your fans. But please keep in mind that moderation is the key. These photos may get you some viral sharing but posting an endless stream of random photos could do you more harm than good.

Fill-in-the-blank

If you love getting comments, feel free to use fill-in-the-blank type of posts. People love to offer their inputs. Be creative and have fun creating your own posts. However, be sure not to leave it too open-ended as the engagement may suffer if you require your fans to come up an entire sentence. Keep the post short and ask for a short answer.

Videos

Video is a great marketing tool. If you are willing to appear on those videos, then it would be easier for you to connect and build trust with your audience.

One of the best ways of using video is through education. By creating an educational video, you are showing your audience that you know what you’re talking about and that you are an authority in your business.

Telling stories is another way of using videos. If you have just launched your business, this will be a great way of telling your story and introducing your company to the public.

 

 

Social media disasters may come in a range of fails and embarrassments. Insensitive statements and inappropriate opinion may reflect poorly on your company. Add this to the fact that social media is very public in nature, one mistake may become potentially disastrous.

If you have accidentally sent out a regrettable status update or tweet, don’t panic. Calm down and see if the situation is salvageable. If you’re not sure what to do next, read on and use these tips to help you bounce back from a social media disaster.

Disaster response

Being on the verge of jeopardizing your company’s reputation, it is important to come up with a thoughtful and well-crafted response. As much as possible, avoid a knee-jerk reaction.

In most cases, businesses are not prepared in handling social media disasters. Responding quickly and inappropriately will only make matters worse. Calm down and take a moment to deliver a carefully-worded and rational response to your fans and followers.

Accept your mistake

Everyone makes mistakes, including the most savvy social media marketers. However, the worst part of committing a mistake is by acting like nothing wrong has happened. Whether you have criticized a customer, made an offensive comment or post, or something else, it would be best to accept your mistake and be accountable for your mistakes.

We understand that damage control is on top of your priority list, but deleting the post or comment and acting as if nothing happened can hurt your reputation.

Rebuild your image

A lot of companies have survived a social media disaster, and so can you. After everything has been done, you now have to rebuild your image. Mind you, this may involve an extensive process and you’ll have to work for it for a long period of time.

The key to stopping a social media disaster is by building an incredible brand image. This can be achieved by serving your customers well. At the end of the day, it’s about being honest to your customers/clients and humanizing your brand.

Taking appropriate action immediately after committing a mistake will not only reduce harm, it can also save your brand’s reputation.

 

Social networking sites have been used by business owners to build their network, engage with their
customers and bring team members together. If you are a business owner and still hasn’t been
embracing the benefits of using social networking sites, now is the best time to hop onboard.

Social media also has the ability of dividing industries as outdated companies usually fall behind their
competitors. With the advancement of technology, it is also seen as a way of opening up opportunities
for small, medium and large businesses. Having said that, it becomes clear that social media is one of
the most important aspects of doing business today.

Developing a social network strategy
Before you decide to open an account and become an active member, you first have to consider what
each site has to offer and how you can benefit from them. Also, take a look at your current social media
strategies and see which one would best suit your target audience. Without a fully-developed plan, you
may end up meandering through a variety of sites and eventually realize that you have wasted too much
time and resources in the process.

Choosing a site
Choose a social networking site that would best fulfill the goals of your marketing strategy. Though most
of these sites are similar in nature, they are also categorized according to the purposes they serve. If you
have enough people to handle a number of social networking sites, then that would be great. If not, it
would be best to focus on 1 or 2.

Social network marketing
This is not about selling your product; it’s about interacting with your followers. Companies who interact
more with their followers and share contents that are related to their brand are the most successful at
converting followers to paying customers.
Feel free to ask questions on your wall, comment on other user’s post or post links and events related to
your business.
Social network recruiting
This is one of the most effective ways of using your networks in finding the best candidates for your
company. Social networks have truly changed how companies build their team. Plus, it helps business
owners to zone in on the best candidates for free.