The year is off to a fast start in the realm of social media updates and one of the most exciting potential items is Facebook showing crossposting to Instagram options!  Welcome to this latest edition of the social media updates. Count on a new update every 2 weeks to keep you informed. Let’s dive in...

 

Facebook Offers More Cross-Posting Options to Better Connect Instagram and Facebook

This seems to be a test going on with no formal announcement by Facebook yet but the ability some Page Admins are seeing to crosspost their Facebook post to Instagram is HUGE!  Creates efficiency and boosts engagement for users.

Why it Matters

As we see more cross-posting between Facebook and Instagram it can positively affect them by providing more content which helps boost engagement and on-platform interactions. Just remember your audience for each platform!  This has been requested by many marketers for years, me included!, and to see it being tested is a good thing.

Again, no formal roll-out but the screenshot in the link shows how it would operate for those who have been given access.

 

Events In Facebook Stories

Have an event you want to promote? Did you promote the event on your page but few people responded? Well, now Facebook Stories have a sticker that you can use to promote events on your story!

Why it Matters

Posting your event of Facebook stories can help your event stand out and get more interactions from your followers for the event. People can ask questions and invite friends adding to the engagement that your event could see. This is another way Facebook is encouraging users to use Stories more.  Stories matter to marketers because they are growing in eyeballs (people watching them!)

 

LinkedIn Unveils New Additions to Company Pages, Including Employee Insights

LinkedIn has been in the process of doing a major overhaul of the platform, making it more user-friendly. One new feature they have added is employee insights. This is a dashboard that provides insights into each employee in the company such as where they studied, job functions, and business location.

Why it Matters

This new feature can benefit business or people looking to hire your company. It allows them to get to know you a bit and bridge the relations. The feature can also help you personally by identify areas where you should be focusing on your own career if you’re looking to get hired by a new company or skills for your desired role.

 

YouTube

YouTube has two new updates that are important for you to be aware of. The first is YouTube will be removing automatic sharing to Twitter and Google+. You will still be able to share on social media platforms; however, it will not be automatic. The second update is YouTube is testing blue bubbles that show you recommendations.

Why it Matters

Removing automatic sharing can actually be a good thing as we have seen viewers respond better to customized messages on posts. Making the message personal can improve post engagement.

YouTube’s blue bubble recommendations make it possible to quickly access related videos, topics, and keywords. This can save you time searching for videos and help other people find your videos.

 

Twitter Beta Program for New Feature Testing

Do you use Twitter? Most people like it or they don’t. As a way to make Twitter easier to use, they have launched a new beta program for a few new features like color-coded replies, algorithm sorted responses to tweets, and tests to hide the twitter heart icon.

Why it Matters

Making it easier to see tweets with color-coded replies, show trending and engaging conversations, and encourage more conversations on Twitter are currently three ways Twitter is working to make the platform more user-friendly and encourage conversations. If your business uses Twitter these new features could be useful for your engagement and interactions with followers and customers on the platform.

 

That’s a wrap on some of the key social media updates from the last two weeks.  Subscribe to my blog to get these by email each time!

It’s the last week of 2018, and 2019 is just around the corner. Here are the latest social media updates you should know as a social media marketer going into the new year.

Facebook Stories For Facebook Group

Facebook is rolling out Facebook Stories for Facebook Groups. In addition to being able to share stories to your Profile or Page, you can now share them with your Groups.

Why it Matters for Your Business

Stories have been an easy way to encourage engagement on your profile or Business page and now you can share stories in Groups. This could be tips, fun moments, upcoming events, or reminders.

Stories for Groups will have admin tools to allow you to manage Facebook group Stories.  It’s another opportunity, and an increasingly popular one, to stay top-of-mind with your community.

 

Instagram Voice Messaging For Instagram Direct

Instagram rolled out a new feature that allows you to send voice messages in Instagram Direct.

Why it Matters for Your Business

As Instagram voice messaging is only out to profiles at the moment, in the future the voice messaging feature can be used to answer customer questions. It’s another way Instagram in expanding the ways you can keep in context with your consumers/audience.  This can offer a way to personalize a message, a way of cutting through the clutter and building trust with your followers.

 

Instagram Adds New Music Sharing Option, Question Stickers to Live

Need a recommendation for music or want to get feedback during a live video? Well, Instagram added two new features to let you do just that.

There is a new music icon in the stickers of Stories. You can post this on your story and add a comment or question and your followers can respond with a song. You can view the responses and test out the songs right there.

Instagram also added a feature where you can add a question sticker to your Live video. This gives you another way to interact with the viewers instead of just the comment stream. You can get the feedback and address the question in the Live video.

Why it Matters for Your Business

With Instagrams growing engagement and popularity, these new features continue to expand the ways you can interact with your followers.  Use the tools to “wow” your community and communicate in the “way of the web” today!

 

YouTube Autoplay Videos On Mobile

YouTube is rolling out auto-plays on YouTube videos.

Why it Matters for Your Business

With so many people publishing videos you have to find ways to stand out and catch the viewer's attention. Showing a brief portion of the beginning of a video is a way to entice viewers to watch the whole video making it important to have a good intro for your video.  Is it good? Will viewers like this? We’ll see.

 

Snapchat Lets You Virtually Try on the Latest Adidas Sneakers in New AR Promotion

In a blog post previously in the year, we talked about AR and things that were to come. Well, here it is! On Snapchat Adidas has a new ad campaign that lets you pick a pair of shoes which are placed on the ground via the camera. Using the camera you can merge them onto your feet to “try on” the shoes.

Why it Matters for Your Business

Giving users interactive experience with your product is a great way to enhance your advertisements. Brands and Businesses can utilize Snapchats Lens Studio to create engaging and interactive experiences for the app’s young audience.  This is beyond most small businesses at this point but it is something to watch and be aware of and we look ahead to 2019.

 

Twitter Rolls Out New Button to Easily Switch Between Chronological and Algorithmic Timeline

Which do you prefer; algorithm-defined new feed or most recent tweets from who you follow? Well now on Twitter the new ‘Sparkle’ button lets you opt-out of the algorithm-defined feed if you prefer to see most recent tweets first.

Why it Matters for Your Business

For those engaging on Twitter, the algorithm was sometimes a pain in the a**!  This gives you an option to view things in order which can be very helpful for time sensitive or specific tweets you don’t want to miss.

 

With that, it’s a wrap on social media updates for 2018!  Have they been helpful? It changes quickly and consistently and the only way to perform well in social media marketing is to keep up-to-date on the latest tools and tactics.

See you next year!

 

Website SEO Grader and keyword tools help you get a picture of how your site is performing, and better yet, how to help improve your site!  We cover 4 key tools you can use today...

In this episode, I dive into what a SEO Grader tool is, what a Keyword tool is, and then the details of four tools and the key benefits of each.

Website evaluation tools help you see how well your site is performing and the areas it may be lagging behind. These 4 site evaluation tools will give insights into how and where to improve your website to gain traffic and rank!

Ready to dive in?

Listen Now:

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Subscribe:  Halftime Mike on iTunes  | Android users via RSS  | Listen on Stitcher.

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Website SEO Grader and Keyword Tools Video

Website SEO Grader and Keyword Tools Show Notes

As I noted, these website tools help you evaluate site performance and the areas it may be not up to current standards. These 4 site website evaluation "graders", or tools, will give insights into how and where to improve your website to gain traffic and rank.

LXRSEO

LXRSEO gives marketers a rundown of their site's SEO performance.

For every page on your site, LXRSEO analyzes the problem areas and gives you tools to fix them. If a page is missing a meta description, you'll receive an alert from the Website Auditor tool. The SEO Webpage Analyzer examines the SEO of a page for optimization.

Key features:

SEM Rush

Seeing your competition's strategies gives insight into strategies to use for your site. With SEMRush, enter a competitor's domain and research their videos, advertising, keywords, and backlinks.

As a keyword tool, SEMRush helps you use the data found on a competitor's site and your keywords to boost traffic. With SEO Keyword Magic, you can save and export keyword research related to your website.

Key features:

Hubspot’s Website Grader

How strong is your site? Hubspot's Website Grader will tell you.  After searching your site, Website Grader grades your site based on over 30 factors and tells you which areas need improvement. Website Grader, answers the following questions:

The grader goes a step further and gives pointers to improve your site. Website Grader provides step by step actions to take on each part of the sales funnel.

Key Features:

Ahrefs

Ahrefs helps improve your content to build traffic and push your blog up the search engine. This web tool lets you see how Google sees your site, as well as a host of tools to see your own site's rank and keywords, backlink growth, and top pages by rank and earnings.

Digital Roo, an SEO agency in Brighton agreed, saying “Ahrefs plays a big role in our SEO department and find it is capable of all that we need, highly recommend.”

Like SEM Rush, Ahrefs gives you invaluable market insights.  By examining competitor content, determine what topics and type of content get traffic and create similar content for your site. If infographics receive a good amount of traffic, create some for your own site.

Website evaluation tools help you see the holes in your marketing strategy so you can improve it. With the help of these 4 tools, you can boost your site's performance.

Key Features:

ACTION ITEMS:

  1. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST!  This is just a sample of the goods I deliver to help you get on track, think through your key online changes and what you need to do this year to succeed.
  2. Identify your "one thing."  What's the next single thing you need to take action on that you learned today?   Share below!

Quick Access Resources: Website SEO Grader and Keyword Tools


Help Spread the Word!

Please let your Twitter followers know about this podcast.
Simply click here now to post a tweet >>.

If you enjoyed this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast, please “go over to iTunes,  leave a rating, write a review and subscribe!

Thank you so much for your support!

Why the Halftime theme Mike? 

I’m an Indiana Hoosier native where basketball is the top sport. Every team heads to the locker room at halftime to evaluate the first half and create an updated plan for the second half. That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn't. The “halftime” is a key review point where the game stops, the team pulls away to huddle in the locker room away from the fans, and they come out prepared and ready to succeed in the second half.

That’s what this podcast is all about, taking the time to pull away for a bit to evaluate, learn, and set some strategies for your business to succeed in the second half. Join me by subscribing and let me be your “business halftime” to help you find great success going forward!

Subscribe: Halftime Mike on iTunes | Android users via RSS | Listen on Stitcher.

Download this Episode:
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Need help planning your Social Media and Online Marketing?

Grab my helpful checklist that includes strategy for social media lead generation. Click image!

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Facebook Marketing offers great opportunities for reaching your ideal audience.

One reason to use it is to grow your email list.  In this podcast I cover key ways you can use Facebook Marketing to grow your email list.

In this episode, I dive into 10 ways to use Facebook Marketing to grow your email list.

Ready to dive in?

Listen Now:

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Subscribe:  Halftime Mike on iTunes  | Android users via RSS  | Listen on Stitcher.

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Using Facebook Marketing to Grow your Email List Video

Using Facebook Marketing to Grow your Email List Show Notes

Facebook is an invaluable resource for digital marketers. Whether it's an active and vibrant community page or a highly targeted ad program, Mark Zuckerberg and company have created a premium platform where people spend upwards of 40 minutes PER DAY.

What many people don't realize is that when you start cross marketing using Facebook with other channels, your impact grows exponentially.

Email marketing and Facebook are a match made in hybrid marketing heaven. Here's how you can leverage your presence on Facebook and take your list to the next level.

1. Go Live! 

People sign up to get updates from experts. So get on Facebook Live, and show the world that you know what you're talking about.  As part of your presentation, make sure to share your sign-up page where they can go to sign-up to be updated regularly.

2. Pin a Post

Use a pinned post to send traffic to your newsletter sign up page. Pinned posts stay at the top of your feed and are first to see for visitors to your page. With an eye catching image and a great CTA, they're the perfect way to drive sign ups.

3. Use the Page Call to Action

If you use a sign up button on your Facebook page, don't send click throughs to a generic page on your site. Send them directly to a landing page. Dedicated landing pages are proven to convert more!

4. Use Apps like TabSite for Sign-up

Add a newsletter subscription app to your Facebook page itself. You'd be surprised how many people would don't want to leave Facebook.

5. Use a Group for Engagement and Alerts

Use a group and a page to generate more engagement. Stats show that people are more likely to get involved in a group on Facebook, so by having both, you cover all the bases.

6. Facebook Offers

If you have a promotional offer you use to generate list subscriptions, Facebook's paid ads can be the perfect way to promote it. They're super targeted, and who doesn't like a freebie popping up in their feed? Make sure you know who you're targeting!

7. Retargeting Pixel for Ads

If you use paid ads, upload your existing list and using Facebook's super smart look alike targeting option. This option generates a target persona for you, and targets people like the ones who already subscribe.

8. Facebook Contests for Lead Capture

Create a contest. Facebook contests have been a staple of the marketer's toolkit for years, but instead of likes or comments, promote a incentive sweepstake prize in exchange for signing up for your list as the criteria for entry!  Lead Capture contests for Facebook can be a boon for growing your email list!

9. Teaser Content on Facebook

Give your fans a teaser of your newsletter only content. If your fans know there's valuable content they can only access by subscribing to your newsletter, they'll be happy to sign up.  Send them from Facebook to your website where you have a signup pop-up or widget on the post using a tool like Waftio.

10 Text to Signup

Use Text to Join to give visitors and fans of your Facebook page another sign up option. After all, up to 90% of Facebook's users access it on their phones!

Facebook is a gold mine for online marketers, in many ways, but the key to success is a clear goal. Don't use Facebook just for the sake of using it, or because everyone else is. Have clear and defined goals about what you want to achieve, and how to achieve it.

Since opt in email marketing is one of the best conversion methods in the digital marketing universes, it makes sense to make list building one of the major goals of your Facebook marketing!

ACTION ITEMS:

  1. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST!  This is just a sample of the goods I deliver to help you get on track, think through your key online changes and what you need to do this year to succeed.
  2. Identify your "one thing."  What's the next single thing you need to take action on that you learned today?   Share below!

Resources: Facebook Marketing to grow Email lists


Help Spread the Word!

Please let your Twitter followers know about this podcast.
Simply click here now to post a tweet >>.

If you enjoyed this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast, please “go over to iTunes,  leave a rating, write a review and subscribe!

Thank you so much for your support!

Why the Halftime theme Mike? 

I’m an Indiana Hoosier native where basketball is the top sport. Every team heads to the locker room at halftime to evaluate the first half and create an updated plan for the second half. That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn't. The “halftime” is a key review point where the game stops, the team pulls away to huddle in the locker room away from the fans, and they come out prepared and ready to succeed in the second half.

That’s what this podcast is all about, taking the time to pull away for a bit to evaluate, learn, and set some strategies for your business to succeed in the second half. Join me by subscribing and let me be your “business halftime” to help you find great success going forward!

Subscribe: Halftime Mike on iTunes | Android users via RSS | Listen on Stitcher.

Download this Episode:
[powerpress]
Catch all the episodes of Halftime Mike by signing up for inbox delivery below!

Need help planning your Social Media and Online Marketing?

Grab my helpful checklist that includes strategy for social media lead generation. Click image!

web and social media marketing checklist planner

Facebook, Instagram, Live Video, and Customer Care were highlighted topics at the recent Social Media Marketing World annual conference that brought over 3,000 marketers together in San Diego, California.

Each year the key focus is on what is happening in social media and what is working best today.  These four items stood out as keys that many referenced and spoke on at #SMMW17 this year.

facebook-instagram-live-video-customer-support

In this episode, I dive into my key takeaways and tips gleaned from over 3000+ marketers who descended upon the convention center in San Deigo.  Ready to dive in and get the tips?

Ready to dive in?

Listen Now:

[powerpress]

Subscribe:  Halftime Mike on iTunes  | Android users via RSS  | Listen on Stitcher.

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Facebook, Instagram, Live Video, and Customer Care Highlight Social Media Marketing World 2017 Video

What a highlight to spend time with over 3000 marketers focused on social media at this year's social media examiner social media marketing World 2017.  The overarching key topics that I heard again and again were Facebook, Instagram, live video, and customer care.

In this episode of my Halftime Mike podcast I want to dive into each of those in more detail and share what I gleaned from the conference, both from sessions as well as the tremendous interactions with peers in the industry....sometimes it was the dinner conversations that delivered the most valuable information!

What you need to know about Facebook, Instagram, Live Video, and Customer Care from the Conference:

1. Facebook

Facebook was a hot topic and in particular Facebook Ads, Live Video, and Messenger.

Facebook Ads continue to evolve in targeting options, types (video!), and in locations.  Did you know you can use Facebook Ads on the web?

Live video continues to evolve.  I discuss more about that specifically below but even in the last week the ability to go live from desktop and now since the conference the ability to invite another person into the live stream so you can do dual-live broadcasts is rolling out.

Facebook is innovating and is here to stay.  Stories for Facebook just launched and is a direct threat to Snapchat.  Watch for more rollouts to Messenger, including a key new arena called Chatbots.

2. Instagram

Owned and part of the "Facebook Family of Apps", the consensus at the conference was what I've been saying...Instagram is on the rise as a social network and business marketing opportunity!

Sessions focused on Instagram Stories (including Live), setting up a killer Instagram Business Profile (Jenn Herman), using the carousel images in posts, and the ability to "Promote" ads within Instagram (tied to your Facebook Ads account and audiences!).

Tip time on Instagram Stories...Use Stories to Introduce:

Stories last 24 hours but can help you gain awareness and drive traffic.

3. Live Video

The consensus was that it's still in the early stages but really represents the future.  Your company becomes it's own media company.  There is still plenty of time to jump in for mainstream small businesses and still be "early."

Facebook, Instagram and Periscope and the mainstays for live.  Periscope was first but has lost ground to the others.  Periscope itself may go away and just be the live video portion of parent Twitter.

Instead of TV ads, you now create your own "infomercial" that is compete with content and your pitch.  Chalene Johnson even did a keynote presentation on the concept of Live Video as the new social infomercial tool that is the next evolution of the television infomercial.

4. Customer care

A theme I heard often was "relationship marketing".  It's not about slick campaigns at the end of the day but about people connecting with and buying from other people.  I talk about that every week with Jessika Phillips on our Magnet Marketers Live Show so it was good to see this picking up steam in other sessions.

A keynote related to customer care that stood out was Joey Coleman's keynote on "The First 100 Days."  It was interesting to hear the stats on customer attrition and how the first 100 days are so key, and that a 5% reduction in clients leaving for a company can yield 25-100% more profits!  Wow!

His focal point was that the first 100 days is very critical for establishing equity and the "wow" needed to sustain a client for the long haul.  Often we overlook the fact that "buyer remorse" can set in and you need to pour into the relationship early on to give the relationship a deep level of equity that can sustain it over the longer term.

I loved his ideas about gifts, video, and snail mail being part of your early 100 days mix.  How can you add value to your new and existing client relationships?

ACTION ITEMS:

  1. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST!  This is just a sample of the goods I deliver to help you get on track, think through your key online changes and what you need to do this year to succeed.
  2. Identify your "one thing."  What's the next single thing you need to take action on that you learned today?   Share below!

Resources: Keys to Online Success


Help Spread the Word!

Please let your Twitter followers know about this podcast.
Simply click here now to post a tweet >>.

If you enjoyed this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast, please “go over to iTunes,  leave a rating, write a review and subscribe!

Thank you so much for your support!

Why the Halftime theme Mike? 

I’m an Indiana Hoosier native where basketball is the top sport. Every team heads to the locker room at halftime to evaluate the first half and create an updated plan for the second half. That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn't. The “halftime” is a key review point where the game stops, the team pulls away to huddle in the locker room away from the fans, and they come out prepared and ready to succeed in the second half.

That’s what this podcast is all about, taking the time to pull away for a bit to evaluate, learn, and set some strategies for your business to succeed in the second half. Join me by subscribing and let me be your “business halftime” to help you find great success going forward!

Subscribe: Halftime Mike on iTunes | Android users via RSS | Listen on Stitcher.

Download this Episode:
[powerpress]
Catch all the episodes of Halftime Mike by signing up for inbox delivery below!

Need help planning your Social Media and Online Marketing?

Grab my helpful checklist that includes strategy for social media lead generation. Click image!

web and social media marketing checklist planner

How to Use Coupons and Discounts to Boost Your Email List - 315

When it comes to digital marketing strategies, email marketing has been one of the popular options. It refers to letting businesses share their products and updates by emailing their customers. Despite the rising popularity of social media channels these days, people utilize email for communication. This is probably one of the reasons why it can help you connect with a wider range of target audiences for your marketing efforts.

However, like other digital marketing strategies, email marketing can be challenging, especially if your contacts don’t open it. Fortunately, this article will walk you through using coupons and discounts to boost your email list.

Compare the carefully crafted email you wrote to your subscribers to a heartfelt love letter sent to your special someone. You most likely can't wait for you both to open that email. However, the subscriber email often ends up in the trash or it gradually floats out of sight to the bottom of their inbox in many cases.

Eventually, your brand (and reach) can start fading from view. Just because you send email marketing messages does not mean they are viewed. Stop the inbox-to-trash lifecycle by adding discounts and coupons to your email marketing strategy.

Consider the following headlines:

Which one has the most appeal?  Of course, it’s the second headline. The first one reads almost as though you are ordering your customer to buy your services. However, the second is more suggestive, giving the customer the feeling of choice and power. It demonstrates your brand's willingness to provide services with value.

Think like a customer. Would you rather read an email that gives you an offer?  Or do you want to be dictated to? Keep that in mind and get creative on how you incorporate coupons and discounts in your emails.

Using coupons in your email marketing

Seasonal Offers

Seasons and holidays are a prime time to add offers to your marketing schedule. Brainstorm how users can utilize your services seasonally or during cultural events.

Repeat Business

Keep customers coming back by offering a "thank you" coupon 1 to 3 months after their first purchase. By sweetening the pot with a discount, your customers more likely to return.

Coupons and Social Media

Offer a progressive discount when customers take action on social media while using a coupon. If a customer would have received 10% with a coupon, they would receive 15% off for being a Facebook fan and 20% off for sharing posts while being a fan.

Keep it Up

While email marketing is a proven method of capturing customer loyalty, your subscribers can disappear if you aren’t consistent. Your email marketing should keep and grow our list.

To be consistent with your email marketing efforts, there are some essential things to consider. For one, you should create a schedule to know the perfect time to send emails to your contact list. That way, you avoid overwhelming your subscribers with multiple emails each week or sending emails infrequently to the point that you’re already forgotten.

Another is to maintain your email marketing’s consistency is to provide formatted email subject lines. Doing so allows subscribers to recognize your emails easily, increasing the likelihood they’ll open them.

Drive Sign-Ups

Use coupons and exclusive discounts in conjunction with your website and social channels. Seed your email list with coupons to keep your audience engaged after signing up. If you want your email to drive more sign-ups, you may incorporate digital coupons and discount codes for some popular shops and marketplaces online. Just learn from the experts of  DontPayFull.com, and you can find the best deals for your email marketing efforts.

With coupons and discounts ready, you can consider some things when using these items to generate more sign-ups. Convey value over deals. Coupons should not be the end all be all of your marketing. Create engaging and informative content that is relevant to your brand.

Offer Coupons with Waftio!

Waftio makes it easy to offer coupons to your audience. With Waftio, you can create a simple form for your site visitors to fill out. Once they've completed it, they get their discount code or printable coupon and you add another lead to the list.

Waftio can be integrated with marketing tools like MailChimp and Aweber to automatically add visitors to your list.

Do you use coupons for email marketing? If not, keep the information mentioned above in mind to know and understand how to use coupons and discounts to boost your email list and achieve a more desirable marketing outcome.

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5 Reasons Facebook LIVE Will Build An Engaged Video Audience

Video is IT, period, end of sentence.

This recent post from the Wall Street Journal reported the social media giant Facebook is developing a stand-alone camera app, similar to Snapchat’s uber popular image sharing platform, which we all know was absorbed by Zuckerberg in the past. Still in its early stage, FB is working towards further increasing video posts on their billion user channel, especially on a live level.

Given the veritable laundry list of successful Facebook ad campaigns, this newbie is certainly worthy of our attention. Here are five reasons to utilize these FB live streams into successful marketing campaigns:

#1 Live in the Present

#2 - Rewind and Replay

#3 - Patience is not a Virtue

5 Reasons Facebook LIVE Will Build An Engaged Video Audience 1

#4 - Mobile Mapping and Invitations

#5 - Filters and Feeds

That's 5! What do you think?

Are you digging into Facebook Live yet?

How to Create an Instagram Ad

Instagram continues to grow in users and business uses. It’s a great visual platform and many businesses are seeing the power of connecting with their ideal customer audiences on the social network.

Running Instagram Ads is a great way to harness the power of this social media powerhouse to reach more of your ideal audience. The Ad platform is new and it offers some great potential for business marketing.

With over 400 million users from over 30 countries on the site, Instagram is a powerful medium for marketing. Creating an ad on Instagram places the spotlight on the business and enhances the reach of a brand. With a few simple steps, an ad can be published to Instagram.

The process of creating the actual ad is quite similar to that of Facebook's ad platform due to Facebook's ownership of Instagram. The benefit is that many same features can be used (provided you're familiar with Facebook's Ad setup model).

Because Instagram uses the Facebook platform for ad creation, ads can also take import user information from Facebook and use it in ad targeting (demographics, locations, interests).

The first step in creating an Instagram ad is to have a Facebook account and business Facebook Page. Then connect the Instagram account to Facebook in the Page area.

Under Facebook's settings, one can add an Instagram account by selecting Instagram ads and then clicking "Add an Account".

Instagram ads for facebook page

 

From there, either an existing or new account can be added or created. With Facebook and Instagram connected, ads can run on both platforms.

 

instagram ads for facebook

 

The next step is to select what kind of ad will be created based on its purpose and the available ad units. For Instagram ads, three objective categories can be chosen: video views, website clicks, and app installs. The major ad units are image, carousel, and video ads.

Because Instagram is an image-rich medium, ad units are designed for marketing efforts that use visual content. Each ad unit has its own effect on the style of the overall ad.

Carousel ads are more flexible than image and video ads. It's particularly effective for attracting mobile users as ad viewers can swipe to view pictures in the gallery and links to the site.

Image ads encourage marketers to use photos to tell stories and communicate brand values visually.

With video ads, short, up to 30-second videos are used instead of photos and galleries.Video ads are used by both big and small brands to add a story effect to ads.

After the actual construction of the ads, the final step is to add targeting to narrow your audience. Ad targeting in Instagram works similarly to Facebook. In addition to the usual targeting categories, there are options to create custom and lookalike audiences. Custom audiences consist of a business's existing customers.

Using that tool, ads can be sent directly to customers who are on Facebook or Instagram. A lookalike audience is an audience with similar interests and demographics to a business's followers and customers. This group can also be specifically targeted.

Just as the steps for creating ads for Instagram are similar to the Facebook method, the tips for enhancing ads are also the same for Facebook and other marketing platforms.

That’s the basics! It’s a new ad platform and is showing promise for driving traffic to websites.  If you want to “be where the people are”, then places like Instagram should be considered by your business. However, many new programs now exist and offer to increase likes or followers with their ads. However, some like Instazood are a scam, and you should choose alternatives if you choose to use a third-party app.

In the comments below, let me know of your successes with Instagram ads.

Review Of Asana

 

Asana is a project management tool * designed to boost productivity and efficiency while eliminating unnecessary features such as a heavy reliance on communicating solely through emails.

An Introduction to Asana

Developed by a former Google employee (Justin Rosenstein) and a former Facebook co-founder (Dustin Moskovitz), it was originally created for use in Facebook's organization. The developers of Asana decided to take it out of the walls of Facebook, simplify it, and let anyone use it.

Instead of having Asana be a bloated tool with many extra and irrelevant features, it was stripped down to the bare essentials. The theory is that a software with only the essentials would be easier and more efficient to use. Users get the features that they need and desire without the hassle of a bunch of features that they may never use.

Working with that theory in the workplace, it is easier to see why the developers designed Asana to be a great website tool for the whole organization. It is designed to reduce the time spent on emails while assisting project managers and organizing communication across the entire company.

Asana's Features and Benefits

Asana's features are geared toward ease of use, the ability to customize, and the organization of information. To do this, it makes an active distinction between tasks, projects, and workspaces.

Typically, workspaces are the broadest category of organization. Within a workspace, you can have projects. Within projects, you can assign tasks.

Tasks

Asana makes the everyday issue of to-do lists and task assignments easier. Asana's task feature is an area where emails are reduced substantially.

Instead of having emails sent as the primary form of communication between workers, tasks can be created, communicated, and kept track of within Asana. Users can add details and comments about a task that everyone connected to the project can see and review.

Asana's task section is easy to use. Users can see what tasks are outstanding, who been assigned to them, and when they are due. Once in "Your Tasks", a user can organize tasks further by "intentions" (when the user plans on completing a project, for example) and they can then archive tasks as they are completed.

Tasks can be scheduled to repeat on a schedule, or certain day and time. They can also be cloned.

Tags

Like many other tools, one can assign characteristics to a task through tags. Tasks can then take on additional, multiple tags.

Multiple tags may signal that the task may need more time and may need to be turned into a stand-alone project. While a nice feature, I find in our use that tags are not often needed.

WorkSpaces

Workspaces in Asana are not the same as projects. Rather, work spaces are areas where related projects and tasks can be assembled.

In a work space, multiple projects can be placed inside of it and organized. Work spaces can be organized to the user's discretion as well as the needs of the project. For example, projects in work spaces may be organized based on whether they are individual or team-based.

Work spaces can be reordered, and members can be assigned to a project through an email invite. A workspace could be designated for a client or it could be for a department within your company.

Projects

Projects are not considered tasks in Asana, and as such can be organized and customized differently. Projects can be viewed by tags, priority, or to whom it was assigned.

Projects inside the work space can be public or private, and members of the work space can see them. Like tasks, a new project can be created by duplicating a project.

Common User Experiences with Asana

Many users have had positive experiences with Asana as it assisted them in their project management needs. A common thread in user experience is the enjoyment of it's simple nature and easy customization.

Some users appreciate Asana as it fits in with the workflow of the individual company without forcing organizations to accommodate to a specific order or set of procedures.

Through the comment system, it can simplify complex projects and make collaboration faster and simpler, while keeping communication organized.

I’m a believer in Asana and use it daily to help our team keep track of key details!

*affiliate link to Asana used in this post

5 Items Every Business Owner Should Invest In (2)

Since its conception, the online digital landscape has gone through many changes. Businesses need to keep up with theses changes by developing an integrated marketing strategy, improving website design, and utilizing social media tools.

I'll outline 5 keys I believe every business owner should be investing in for success on the web:

Responsive Website

A website with a fixed width is no longer sufficient for today's needs. The use of so many mobile devices requires sites to adjust to fit their specific screen size and reorder content for easier reading.

Mobile phone users constitute a large percentage of internet users. Currently, up to 80% of smartphone users utilize their mobile phones to shop online. Also, the conversion rate for mobile users is three times higher that of traditional laptop and desktop users.

For a business, having a responsive website grants access to an important, vital segment of consumers. Not investing in a responsive website is likely to lead to a significant loss in web traffic and ultimately sales as visitors move on to a competitor.

Integrated Online Marketing Strategies

The new landscape also requires new ways of marketing. Because a website is vital to marketing, it's the first component of a good marketing strategy.

A website is a hub for information about a business. It's where customers go after viewing marketing campaigns. Customers often sign up for newsletters and provide contact information through the site.

Having a proper SEO strategy is an excellent way to market a business and its products or services. SEO helps a site rank in the search engines.

SMM or Social Media Marketing allows you to connect directly with the customer. It also allows a company to spread by "word of mouth".

Many potential customers search for products through social media. In response, those platforms have introduced expanded search engine capabilities.

Having a business's brand on social media provides the business with important exposure - and having quality, resource-rich content on your website is the second ingredient that together provides your business the engine it needs to gain steam online.

Onsite Methods for Lead Capture

Converting website traffic to leads is important for generating sales. There are many ways to capture leads. An engaging way to capture leads and email addresses is a freebie form.

Freebie forms offer an incentive for customers to leave their information with a business. This opens up the way for businesses to contact potential customers for future purchases. The incentive can be a coupon or free, downloadable resource guide as simple examples.

Social Media Assets

As explained before, social media can get the word out about a company. Social media assets such as a Facebook page or YouTube channel make connecting with customers easy. It also provides a friendly platform for people to learn about the company.

Social networks often come with an option for using campaigns to market products or events. Businesses can use these campaigns to generate more leads. Share your new website content for starters.

Advanced Website Tools

Advanced website tools make your business's processes more automated and efficient. It also makes marketing content and business products and services easier.

An online CRM software gives one the ability to group leads and customers, and the business can analyze their preferences and market to them more effectively. Make sure to compare a few CRM software options to find what fits your business needs.  As well, a great resource for comparing the best small business CRM systems can be found in this post by Cloudwards.

For example, tied with lead capture on your website, a CRM with email marketing can automatically send a follow-up sequence of emails to “drip” information to a prospect and even trigger different emails based on links clicked in a prior email. It's about developing smarter online business processes and this means investing in technology and software, or finding a solution provider to discuss your custom embedded hardware development needs with.

Together, these keys are critical to a business serious about making the web work for them. Are you maximizing each of these for your business? Contact us for some help.

Bonuses

Looking for your next business investment opportunity? Investing has really become important over the last few years. Franchise Info have a range of weird and wonderful franchises for you to choose from, check them out.  I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

As a business owner you will have to invest in many things that you wouldn't think you would need to, and, depending on what your business is, telecoms consultants can be essential to some businesses, and Soniza is one of the best.

Why Content Marketing Is The Foundation For Organic Traffic

When building a business, every customer contact counts.

Your website is the easiest and quickest way for potential customers to find and learn about your business. Your website tells people what type of products and services you have, where to find you, and what hours you're open.

While this might seem like a simple task, it can be challenging to stay visible online. One of the best ways to be found on the search engines is to create and post more original content on a consistent basis that drives organic traffic.

Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is when the search engine sends potential customers to your website for free. Google looks through the content on your website when it matches what the searcher is looking for and your site is served up in search results.

Content can be blog posts, infographics, videos, and images. The goal is to create an information base that people find interesting and informational.

Your site becomes the resource for people trying to find specific answers online. Then they will come back or share your site with other people. This is content marketing and the foundation of organic traffic.

Types of Content

To have a successful content marketing program, you must put new content on your website on a regular basis. Content can be as simple as regular weekly blog posts, infographics, and videos.

The more varied your content, the more potential customers you'll attract. Varied doesn’t mean any type of content, but content that is connected to your industry or services. Learn more about how to create shareable content that will increase organic traffic.

For example, a real estate agent can blog about the community they live in and local events rather than simply announcing the next open house.

Infographics

People love images, and when you want to educate your viewers, infographics are a great tool. An infographic is basically content that educates developed in the form of an image. By using images and text, you can clearly explain even the most complex subjects. Here's a great resource on how to make an infographic.

Successful infographics on websites are frequently shared via social media sites which further increases your chances of more people seeing and coming back to your site. Thus, more organic traffic!

Videos

Videos are great at creating organic traffic as well. Most people will take the time to view a 1 to 3-minute video, but not everyone will read a blog post.

Videos should be well made and just long enough for an explanation or to summarize a product feature. How-to videos are often very popular for content marketing.

One quick idea is to create a short “how to” video, load it to YouTube, then grab the embed code and create a blog post where you quickly outline what the video is about and have the video as the main feature of the post.

Learn more about the different video options available to you and choose the right platform for your brand.

Why Content is Important

Content marketing gives you opportunities to connect with potential customers anytime and anywhere. Not everyone will want or need the same type of information, so having a variety of content helps attract people to your site.

Infographics and videos help break down information into digestible bits. Blog content helps create a knowledge base on your site online.

Together, these tips will help you attract traffic which means more viewers and ultimately more customers.

Staying at the top of the search engine searches takes work. By using a variety of content, infographics, videos, and blog posts, you can increase your visibility on the search engine. The higher you are in the search engine, the more visitors and traffic you'll receive.

Tap Into the Power of Social Media to Increase Blog Traffic

 

Social media is more than just sharing baby pictures or checking out cat videos and what your friends did on vacation. It's a powerful tool to connect your business with tens of thousands (if not millions) of potential customers.

Another key for social media use for businesses is for driving traffic to your company website. If you're not using the power of social media to increase blog traffic or grow your business community, you are missing out.

Just having a social media presence doesn't drive traffic to your website. You need to know how to take advantage of your networks and what to do to increase your connection with possible customers and fans, to draw them to your website.

Share Your Blog

Without any kind of social sharing, marketing your blog or news area on your site can be difficult. Unless you have a strong following and large email list, people won't know when you post articles or updates.

Facebook and Twitter are excellent ways to share your blog posts. Instantly hundreds of people, who may not normally see your blog, have access to it. You can encourage people to share your blog to their own Facebook and Twitter account and this may bring you even more readers.

With every new share, your blog instantly has access to several hundred, if not several thousand new viewers.

One error that businesses often make is only sharing a blog post once. Social media is about finding and getting in front of people when they are on social media. Sharing a new post when it goes live, later that week, and another time two weeks later is at least minimum sharing that should be done.

Allow Others to Share

A big mistake that business websites often make is failing to make it easy for visitors to share your content. Yes, your business should share your own content, but make it easy for visitors to also share your content by including social media sharing buttons on your blog and news area.

Having the “Like”, “Tweet”, and other social buttons integrated into your blog is a simple but effective way to tap into the power of social media. Social media is about sharing, so make it easy for your people to share.

Communicate and Respond

Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, & Google+ are "social" media. There is a social element to all of these pages. It isn't just about posting a blog link, and that's it. You want to communicate with others.

If someone posts a comment on your wall, respond to it and do it in a timely manner. This can create an open dialog between you and a potential customer.

Comment and post on other people's social media accounts. This can generate interest, and potential readers will be exposed to your blog when they check out who followed them and commented.

By simply writing a few posts and tweets on groups and other pages every day, you rev up your visibility and help drive traffic back to your blog.

Create Compelling Content

Last but not least, create content that people want to share. Start with a catchy title and educate or inform people about your product, services or industry. Learn more about how to create compelling content here.

Your content must be worth sharing before people will add it to their own social media accounts. Use humor or great visuals like infographics and get even more shares.

Use these tips on a consistent and regular basis and your business blog will have more visits and get more traffic!

InstagramApps for the perfect graphic

If you’re starting to use Instagram to market your business, you know the importance of creating the perfect image.

Photoshop gurus can create the perfect photo but even they struggle with Instagram because they'd have to transfer their masterpiece from their computer to their mobile to upload onto Instagram.

But if you don’t have the time or the patience to learn Photoshop and do the file transferring, or if you want to edit your images on the fly, there are a lots of mobile image editing apps that can help.

Here are 6 of the top image editing apps for Instagram users that I've tried and recommend!

Phonto

This is a neat app for Apple and Android smartphone users. It allows you to dress up images to share on social media by easily adding text.

Offering a variety of fonts and styles, Phonto is a good choice for creating quote images to share or adding a bit of text to your own photos.

The app also offers stickers and stenciled letters as well. For free, this is a great app to consider for sprucing up your images!

InstagramAppsIMG_1036

Adobe Photoshop Express

Yes, Photoshop for your mobile device!

For basic image editing, Photoshop Express is a good choice. It’s free, it’s easy, and it works on Android, iOS (iPhone), Windows Phone, and Windows 8.

It offers all the features you use most often—crop, flip, rotate, straighten, etc.—plus a handful of more advanced options.

You can adjust brightness and contrast; hue, saturation and temperature, and more. It offers multiple built-in effects and allows you to import photos or take them directly in the app.

InstagramAppsIMG_1035

Aviary

If you want a great all-purpose app, Aviary is it.

On top of the basics, it offers Tilt/Shift and cosmetic fixes like blemish removal, red-eye removal, and the ability to whiten teeth.

It also adds a ton of Instagrammable features like stickers, photo effects, and the ability to add text and create memes. Aviary is available for Android or iOS and is one of my recommended "go to" apps.

Quick

This is simply one of the easiest ways to add text to an image. It does one thing very well.

With Quick, you can add text to an existing photo, or take a picture from within the app and add text. Then, after adding simply choose a font style, position it, and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or other social channels.

It’s that easy. I like the quick scroll through fonts making it a snap to see how each font would look on the image. Available for iOs and Android. This is a great app for creating shareable quotes.

WordSwag

WordSwag is another "go to" in my mobile app bucket. At a cost of $2.99 it's not the cheapest app out there for editing, but it's one of the best!

Like Quick, it's designed to help you quickly create text on images. With a number of great templates and styles it adds design flare to any quote you want to create.

You can use your own images or select from a wide array of free image they offer. Simply select your photo, add your text, select your text layout, and create! Yes, it's free and for iOS users at this time.

InstagramAppsflipagramFlipagram

Different than the others, this great little app lets you combine photos and create a slick slideshow video that can be shared on social media, including Instagram.

It connects to your phone photo album and lets you select a series of images or even video and then add music to create a "photo-story" that can communicate really well on social media, including Instagram. It's available free for iOS, Android, and even Windows.

So go ahead and download a few of these mobile apps are start taking your Instagram marketing to the next level!

What apps do you use to enhance your Instagram images? Tell us in the comments below.


Hooks- Instant Alerts on iPhone Notifications for Sports, TV, Stock, Weather, Movies And More

Notifications for Sports, TV, Stock, Weather, Movies And More

Have you ever been busy or out of the office and missed an important Facebook post or tweet on Twitter for your business? Perhaps it involved a existing client, a potential great lead, or maybe it was a stock tip or even the weather forecast. Whatever it was, it was important to you and you missed it. What if you didn't have to?

Even though we like to think we are connected, we can't and don't want to be online all of the time. "In real life, life" must come first. And when you aren't online you miss things- sometimes important things. How would you like instant alerts on iPhone or your Android device?  With the assistance of an app called HOOKS, you will never miss another thing!

HOOKS is a unique app for the iPhone and Android. Unlike other search apps, HOOKS allows users to preset specific keywords so that they get notifications in real time when the keywords or conditions are met. HOOKS continuously scans the internet in the background and when it sees one of your presets, it alerts you!

HOOKS is invaluable for business owners and managers everywhere. By using your name, business name and products as keywords, you can monitor what consumers are saying about you. This product can give you a heads up when consumers are experiencing issues. Consumers see an immediate response as a positive experience even when there's a problem and you've responded promptly.

HOOKS can also be used to directly notify you of other activities such as sports events, concerts and political events you might want to be a part of. HOOKS can monitor your favorite sports teams so you can keep up with scores, trades and injuries without needing to surf. Using HOOKS to keep up with your favorite musicians is easy when you use the band name as a keyword.

The uses for this app are endless. HOOKS allows you to monitor more than a million different pre-set alerts ranging from stocks to weather. Setting up and customizing alerts is easy. You can use the over preset channels or create your own. Plus you can use HOOKS on your iPhone, iPad or your iWatch.

Hooks_-_Alerts_for_Everything._Notifications_for_Sports_TV_Stock_Weather_Movies_And_More_2 The newest version of the HOOKS app has been redesigned based on user feedback. It has an updated interface and new presets making it a valuable resource for you and your business.

So instead of searching the internet for information on the things that matter, download the new HOOKS app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Have notifications sent directly to your phone about local events, sports teams, business news, company mentions and more.

With HOOKS you will never miss something important again.

Hooks_-_Alerts_for_Everything._Notifications_for_Sports_TV_Stock_Weather_Movies_And_More_3
Have questions on this or a web topic you'd like addressed here?  Let me know!

YouTube vs. Facebook Video: The Right Platform for Your Brand

Video is an excellent tool for businesses to tell their brands' stories. In today's media driven society, videos are becoming more important as a tool for businesses to be using to communicate and connect with their target markets. Videos convey information in accessible ways. They create emotional connections between a business and its audience. But which online video sharing platform is the best to reach your customers? This article will compare YouTube versus Facebook video.

YouTube

YouTube is the established juggernaut of online video sharing, boasting 1 billion users each month. Owned by Google, it is the most searched online video site on the web and certainly has a lot going for it including:

With all these pluses, though, YouTube has some limitations that are significant for businesses looking to increase brand awareness.

YouTube Versus Facebook Video

Facebook Video

This brings us to Facebook Video. Facebook is already the #1 online platform to promote and share videos, regardless of where the video is hosted. It's also made significant inroads recently as a video hosting platform. Let’s look at the stats.

Even with its impressive promotional potential, Facebook video has a few drawbacks that users can find frustrating.

The Verdict: Be Smart!

Load each video to both!

In the battle of YouTube versus Facebook video, YouTube is definitely a powerful online video platform, and it has the power of Google behind it. Videos should definitely be loaded to this platform for the SEO value and long term searchability power it offers.   As well, videos should be loaded to Facebook when you want traction in the news feed that can drive engagement for your Facebook page and visitors to your website. It's not a "either, or" situation but a "both, and" really! One video can easily be loaded to each location and shared there, creating the power to help your business on each and across the web the most.

 

Free Friend to Friend Payment through Facebook Messenger App: What It Means for Your Business

What It Means for Your Business

Recently, Facebook announced the ability to send payments from person to person through it's Messenger app. Facebook's Messenger app is currently used by 600 million people and is on a steep growth curve! And unlike competitor payment apps Paypal and Venmo, there will be no charge for this service.

Right now, this option is being targeted at individuals. But small businesses could use this feature to make transactions, and most importantly, accept payments for products and services from customers. What is rolled out now is basically phase one of a plan to add more features to the Messenger App and to make it more commerce and business friendly. How do we know this? Facebook held a Developer conference in March and at that event they announced the launch of a series of developer features which is the starting point for opening up the app for more features, much like occurred with Facebook Pages in the past. Payments, of course, is a key feature, and this initial peer-to-peer tool is one to experiment with and watch because it will evolve for businesses!

Facebook Messenger Payments Feature

The app is extremely easy to use. For the person paying/sending the money the process is as follows:

  1. In the Messenger App, the Sender taps the '$' (money) button while conversing with someone
  2. At the prompt, he or she enters a dollar amount for the payment
  3. He or she taps the 'Pay' button and enters debit card information (just the first time) when prompted.

For the business or person receiving the money, it's even simpler:

  1. The Receiver opens the message with the payment and taps 'Add Card' to add his or her debit account details, and payments will flow into that account.

Facebook says payments through Facebook messenger can take up to three business days to complete (which is faster than paid options such as Paypal and Stripe).

Soon, Facebook will integrate CSR (customer service) chat and voice capabilities for businesses via their Businesses on Messenger program, a service for businesses who provide support, service and order tracking. A business will be able to add a customized button to its e-commerce website that'll open Facebook Messenger to a one-on-one conversation with a customer, and give them information about orders, shipping, delivery and more. It will be able to send a customer the following types of communication:

All of these items will also be sent with alerts using smartphone Push Notifications, enabling quick notices and quick access to any message.

Formally integrating payments for business services is a real future possibility. Currently, the 'Pay' button allows smaller businesses to offer payments on Facebook for an individual on a one-off basis. Doing it on a larger scale will bring Facebook up to speed with international competitors. It also keeps Facebook even more relevant to users, not just as a social network but not as a payment system. All of this bodes well for Facebook's future!

To find out how to take advantage of Facebook Messenger for Business for service and support functions, go to: www.messenger.com/business

Will you use the payments feature in the near future? In my opinion it will be wise to get accustomed to it as this is a tool with great promise and with the growth rate of the app already, the user-base is there for this to be a key tool for years ahead.

This is gonna be good!

I'm excited to have the opportunity to attend and speak at Social Media Camp 2014 in Victoria, British Columbia!

What it is:

Noted as the largest social media conference in Canada, this event simply continues to get better and larger! Social Media Camp is a three-day, knowledge-rich conference that covers all key issues for getting the most out of social media marketing, whether you’re responsible for website traffic, managing the online marketing budget, reputation management, customer service or stewarding your company’s online brand.

When it is:

May 1-3, 2013

Find full details here: Social Media Camp

My topic:

Growing Leads and Sales with Facebook - Read more >

Hope to meet you there!

Mike and some friends....

socialmediacamp_ca_speakers

 

 

Digital Insights has put together a great infographic on the latest 2013 Social Media stats. It's a great snapshot of the top social platforms.

Includes items such as:

Some of the stats that jumped out at me the most are:

 46-Social-Media-Stastics-From-2013

Infographic by Digital Insights. These guys offer some great content on social media!

 

What stat jumps out the most to you?

 

 

Timeline Contest eBook Guide

Since Facebook opened up the opportunity for Timeline Contests a few weeks ago, I've tried to keep you informed with a few blog posts on the key differences between Timeline and Tab Contests, ideas you can try, and now....

Your eBook definitive Guide to Facebook Timeline Contests is here! 

Fresh and ready to help you, this free eBook is the first complete guide with best practices, examples, and more. I dive into different types (Likes, Comments, Trivia, etc), explain the Facebook "must-have" disclaimers, and provide specific tips you can follow today to create a successful Timeline Contest.

Go get the eBook now!

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Please share the love!  Tweet about this resource or Share on Facebook.

 After you get the download, I share a few more resources with you over the next week that compliment this eBook and help you improve your Facebook Marketing.
So what are you waiting for?  Get the eBook !

Today's reminder is brought to you by the folks living in reality.  While many of you get this, this is for that 20% that still need to get a clue.

Things have changed!fail1

 It is no secret that online marketing today is different from traditional marketing.

Gone are the days of simply strolling into town with a bag of goodies and knocking on every door with a slick speech and making a run for it at the end of the day with an empty bag and some cash.  Today, we can see you coming.  We've heard about you, and what you said before is documented online.  You cannot expect good results and long term customers from in-your-face-all-the-time "sell, sell, sell" pushes in social media.

It is important in the online marketing scene to intersect with potential customers.  By engaging, interacting, and offering tips and ideas, trust can be built that results in sales. 

In social media marketing this type of online interaction has been coined "relationship marketing".  What makes relationship marketing different from traditional marketing is its focus on customer acquisition and retention through satisfaction rather than direct sales tactics. It emphasizes the necessity of maintaining long-term customer relationships beyond intrusive promotional messages. Both inbound digital marketing efforts and social media fall within the realm of relationship marketing.

So how exactly is modern marketing different from its traditional counterpart?

While traditional marketers conveyed their messages through direct advertising, relational marketers engage their prospective customers through meaningful conversations that makes the company more human, and approachable. This approach realizes the value of relational equity with current and prospective customers, and uses technology both before and after sales to reach and retain them.

Having outlined an overview of what relational marketing is, here are a few common errors that marketers tend to make today in the digital arena. These happen mainly when companies try to apply the old principles of traditional marketing to modern digital and social marketing.

4 Common Social Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

1. The Hard Sell

The hard sell does not work in social media very well simply because an intelligent customer is alert to the ways and tactics of salesmen and gets turned off by being sold.   As well, users of social media are on social media networks to socialize, so a hard, continual, repetitive pitch to "buy now" is disruptive and often unwanted.  A customer prefers information on the ways in which a product can solve the problem they. This calls for marketers serving as a industry resource with the information they share.

The key is offering value and assistance, basically being helpful as opposed to high pressure and totally product feature oriented.  People will want to learn about your product if they feel the company is reputable and friendly.  This means the social perception of a company is growing in importance.  Not simply a online review, but based on real and current interaction.  The information you offer should speak of your unique value proposition and competitive advantage in ways that solve buyer problems, not as a infomercial.  The difference between the two is critical to understand.

2. The Fast Sellfail2

By coming in fast and slick with a message that is too good to be true, sales for the week or maybe a month may be up, but you will be found out and you will not last.  You cannot go to "new towns" where there is no knowledge of you.   Everything you say online can and will be found.  Reviews and customers stories will make their way into Google results so don't think for a minute you can sell snake oil long term.

The first word in social media is "social."  What you offer, what you do, and what you say is available for the world to see, so drop your fast lines and develop a plan that can be sustained long term.  Solve real problems that people have, not artificial ones you create!  Identify the "pain points" in business and life that people have, and outline how with data, testimonies, and real examples how your product or service has helped users overcome those pains.  People will look these up, so take the time to outline them thoroughly as these can be the proof points that build trust and lead to a long term customer relationship with your business.

3. Removing Negative Comments

No one really likes interacting with disgruntled customers.  The fact is, though, that it happens, whether it is from no fault of the your company or actual product problems.  A big way to escalate a situation, however, is to delete negative social comments.  In today's day, deleting is not going to work or last.  Someone, somewhere likely saw it and by deleting it, it only raises the question of whether the company is hiding something.  Instead, negative comments must be dealt with.

A good tactic is to try and post a public reply that is helpful and that attempts to direct the user to off-line methods to move the conversation out of the public sphere so that the details can be addressed.  Something like, "I'm sorry to hear of your issues, if you can send the details to [email protected]" our team will be able to review and look into it."  This offers the public a way to see your response and can actually build credibility.  I have seen where loyal customers come to the aid and chime in with comments and assistance as well, thus making a social "issue" actually into a show of community strength and loyalty to the company.

If the situation escalates and the user will not stop, outlining in clear, yet polite terms that you are willing to continue the discussion offline but that this will need to stop on the page by reporting and/or blocking their further comments may be a last, final step that could need to be taken.  The key is that this is a very last step and it needs to be done publicly so that others watching can understand how you have walked through the steps to this point.  As well, having a outlined policy ahead of time can be a safeguard for you as well.

4. One Way Communication

If you are only broadcasting information and not responding to questions and comments, you're going to lose in the new digital marketing arena!  The key is to have active conversations with your prospects on the social networks where your prospects spend time.  Conversation means dialogue that is two way.

 Asking questions to find out what the needs and problems are that prospects face, and then offering insight and solutions is truly valuable.  The days of one way pitches are over when it comes to social media marketing.  Do not make the mistake of simply queuing up a series of messages and auto-deploying with no plan to monitor, respond, or attempt to engage.  Creating dialogue is critical in the social sphere and in the Facebook world in particular.

 

The bottom line:
be real, authentic and helpful.

A prospect is looking for help or suggestions to address their problems, not hype or hard sell.   While they may not be ready to buy at the moment, positive interactions can make them come back to buy when they are ready.   It's time to focus on marketing that the customer wants, and is comfortable with.  Make way for relationship marketing in your online plans.

YOUR TURN!  Thoughts?  What would you add?

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