social media strategies Archives

Social Media Strategies: Integrated Social Media Marketing

December 17, 2012/by Corey Padveen

Social media strategies must consist of a multi-platform integration aspect in order to be successful.

What does this mean exactly? Well, let’s look at an example. Say you have a Facebook page, accounts on Google+ and YouTube and a Twitter handle. Now, it’s a given that there will be some crossover among fans and followers on these different social networks, but realistically you will have a wide audience as a result of the different demographics on multiple social networks. The graphs below detail exactly how different social networks’ demographics are broken down:

As a result of this age and gender distribution, it is appropriate to have social media strategies in place that take into account your different audience, but you must also be sure that your social media strategies reach all of these audiences by integrating these social media strategies into every one of your networks. How can you go about doing this? Let’s take a video, for example. Say you are a real estate agent and you have put together an instructional video on staging your home before it goes on the market. These kinds of videos tend to gain a lot of attraction, and will help you build credibility in your field. What is important is showcasing this expertise on every one of your social networks.

On Facebook, short, noticeable posts garner the most exposure, so posting a short introductory line with the video uploaded directly into the social network might work seeing as how links tend to have the lowest click-through rates on Facebook. But this post should contain a link to your YouTube channel, which in turn will allow you to integrate your Google+ page. Dom Carr of Google recently posted about the newest feature on YouTube that allows users to simply upload a video to both YouTube and Google+ by simply checking a box. As for Twitter, a link to your YouTube channel showcasing the video would be best along with a short description of where the link is going. (Remember, people hesitate to click on links that are not clearly defined.)

By integrating your social networks, an umbrella is created for your social media strategies. While it is important that every one of your social networks has its own, clearly defined strategy in place, there should be an overarching plan in place that encompasses every one of your social networks. Social media marketing is a category unto itself in your marketing strategy, and you should have clearly defined goals and a clear roadmap to success for all your social media, not just the individual channels themselves.

How have you configured your social media strategies to integrate all of your platforms? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Maximize Your Twitter Marketing

December 15, 2012/by Corey Padveen

How can your Twitter marketing efforts pay off for your business?

Having a Twitter marketing strategy in place can do wonders for your social media marketing, but if you don’t know how to properly monitor and optimize your Twitter marketing, how can you know if you are doing it right? Below are a few pointers that can help you get the most out of your Twitter marketing by using some analysis techniques that often go overlooked.

1. Monitor Your Click-through

URL shorteners like bit.ly can be very helpful when it comes to monitoring click-through rates for a given campaign, the only problem is that studies show that people are hesitant to click through to a link when they do not know where it is going. So, the first step is to customize your bit.ly links. This is easily done, even if you do not have a professional account. For the Webmaster experts, there is a free way to customize a bit.ly link with your website. However, for those of us who are not well versed in the world DNS servers, shortened URL customization is as easy as typing in a new extension. When you save a bit.ly URL, you can edit it by simply clicking on the small pencil next to the link, and typing in your own title.

Now that we have that settled, we can employ a strategy for these links. Data in the backend of your bit.ly accounts allow you a great deal of insight into who is clicking, how often and which links are working best. Take advantage of these bits of data when it comes to evaluating your Twitter strategy, and find out where users are clicking. It is important to make sure that links are not used without a conscious decision on where they should be focusing. So if you have a link that you have designated to a Twitter campaign, keep it in Twitter so measurements are not skewed. You can also pull out the bit.ly link after it has been active for a while and add a “+” to the end of it. This will bring you to that link’s statistics page where you can evaluate how it is working. This is also great if you plan to use a link for multiple platforms, as it tells you where the clicks are coming from (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Comments, etc.).

2. Don’t Focus on Going Viral

Hashtags might be nice to use if you are trying to join a conversation, but they are relatively useless when it comes to generating business from Twitter. Marketers love seeing a campaign’s virality on social media, but virality does not necessarily mean business generation. If you use a generic and somewhat obscure hashtag, like #blahblahblah, you might find that it picks up steam in the Twittersphere, and you might even find that your hashtag is a trending topic on Twitter. That’s great news, right? Not necessarily. Particularly if it is a generic term of phrase. Specificity trumps obscurity when it comes to trending, because you might see #blahblahblah trending, but does anyone even know that you started it? There is no point of origination that users can observe on Twitter when it comes to trending topics, so while you might have started a trend, you will eventually get lost in the noise.

Using something specific might benefit you far more, like #yourcompany. If you see that trending, then you have good reason to be on cloud nine. But you might be better off focusing your efforts on measurable actions, like the click-throughs we mentioned above, as opposed to something like hashtags.

3. Pay Attention to Your Google Analytics

Sure, click-throughs from your shortened URLs might look good. And hey, you might notice a spike in traffic on your Analytics dashboard. But how much of that traffic is converting, and what is the quality of the traffic you are driving from Twitter?

It is important to pay attention to your social signals in Google Analytics by setting up a Social Media Dashboard. It is here that you will be able to see exactly what the quality of your social traffic is, and if your efforts on social media networks like Twitter are paying off. This is especially important if you are seeing clicks but no conversion. Google Analytics gives tremendous insights into your social activity, and it will help you greatly when it comes to evaluating your Twitter programs and repositioning them to increase your returns.

What other Twitter marketing tips can you think of? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Google+ Communities: Revolutionizing Niche Social Media Marketing

December 14, 2012/by Corey Padveen

Social media marketing took a major leap forward recently with the creation of Google+ Communities.

Considering Facebook’s first mover advantage when it came to social media marketing, it has always had an edge over the competition, namely Google+, when it came to businesses setting up shop and promoting themselves within the social network. So, despite the numerous complaints businesses have launched against Facebook for the poor quality of their business services, companies and brands have stuck around. With the launch of Google+ Communities, however, that might change very soon.

The key issue businesses have with Facebook for their social media marketing efforts is that the EdgeRank algorithm is quite biased, and the result is a lack of exposure for businesses on their fans news feeds. That’s right – EdgeRank determines what people see and what they do not see on their news feed. The EdgeRank system is based on engagement, so if a fan neglects a brand, it is unlikely that the brand’s post will appear in their news feed. Seems hard to believe considering how much companies spend on their Facebook advertising efforts (i.e. promoted and targeted posts) but it’s true. In fact, it was recently announced that only roughly 16% of a brand’s fans see that brand’s content. If only there was a better way! Well it looks like there might be.

In the last week, Google+ has launched their Communities feature which rivals Facebook’s entire marketing core as it guarantees that 100% of community members will see a brand’s posts. This means that 100% of a brand’s social media marketing efforts on Google+ can produce results, and that is a return no company can ignore. Facebook Groups, despite their targeted nature, still abide by the EdgeRank system when it comes to a Facebook user’s news feed. With Google+ Communities, any member of a community can see the content posted by a brand. Not only that, but because of the infrastructure and backing of Google, posts on Google+ Communities are also indexed on the social network and the monstrous search engine. That means that content posted by a brand on a Google+ community is available to 100% of both Google+ members and your average Google user. Oh, and did we mention that you don’t need to pay Google for this service? That’s right, contrary to Facebook where you must allocate a portion of your social media marketing budget to gain some exposure to your fans, Google+ Communities is a free service integrated into the social network, and the benefits are substantially higher.

With the superiority of Google+ Communities, it seems like Facebook may have to reevaluate their platform as it pertains to businesses. The advantage of exposure, cost and SEO (Oh yeah, did we mention Google+ is backed by Google?) it is a wonder why businesses would continue to allocate so many, if any, resources to the social networking giant as opposed to Google+.

Would you considering focusing more of your efforts on Google+ now that Communities are available? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Social Media Marketing: 4 Ways to Improve Your Facebook Engagement

December 13, 2012/by Corey Padveen

When it comes to social media marketing, engagement is crucial, and Facebook is one of the best avenues to get the most out of it.

Despite the fact that Facebook is apt for social media marketing and a key source for customer engagement, several companies are not approaching the social network in the right way when it comes to business. Below is a set of 4 tips you can use in your social media marketing strategies to improve your Facebook engagement and get the most out of the social network for your business or brand.

1. KISS: Keep It Short and Simple

People, particularly experts in a given field, feel as though Facebook is the perfect place to showcase their talent and boast about their services over a competitor’s. While Facebook is a great place to capitalize on watchful eyes, it is the wrong place to bore potential leads to tears with long, drawn-out posts explaining what you do and how you do it. This is a step best left to the lead nurturing phase of a relationship, and it is the wrong way to approach social media marketing. In fact, a recent study shows that the optimal number of characters for an engaging Facebook post is 80. By keeping your posts short, to the point and full of engaging content (Point 3) people will feel more compelled to engage with your brand and find out more about you. While you may be able to write paragraph after paragraph of self-touting information, Facebook users are not looking for that. So, to sum up, keep it simple!

2. Nobody ‘Likes’ a Showoff

That holds true for both the real world and the world of social media marketing. Social media is about being social, and one of the least social things a brand can do is post content that is purely self-promotional. (This holds true for parties as well, by the way.) LinkedIn is a network designed around the concept of promoting services and expertise, and Facebook is not. Like we mentioned above, engagement arises out of commonalities, not from promotional posts. Share information, ask questions, and get visitors to your page interested in carrying on a conversation.

3. Engagement Only Happens if People are Encouraged to Enagage

We noted above that you’ll need to post updates with engaging content. Now you may find yourself, asking, “Well, how can I have engaging content that is short and simple?” There are two answers to that question that have proven effective and easy to use: questions and pictures. Images and questions prompting an answer have the highest engagement rates of any for of content on Facebook. By asking short questions or prompting a comment like, “Provide a caption for this image!” people are seeing far more engagement than they do with other types of posts.

4. Do Your Research

Those first three tips are a cakewalk. They’re easy to follow, easy to employ and do not require much more work than simply following the given steps. This last tip is a little bit trickier. If you want to capitalize on views, shares, comments and other engaging aspects offered on Facebook, you’ll need to do you research to find out when your optimal times to post might be. Luckily, Facebook Insights offers tons of great information that can help, but you will have to find it, study it and adjust your Facebook strategy accordingly.

If you follow these four steps you are sure to see quite a bit of improvement when it comes to your Facebook engagement. Can you think of any other helpful tips that will add to you engagement levels? Tell us in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter!

Why Influence is Crucial to Social Media Strategies

December 12, 2012/by Corey Padveen

Are you building your influence to get the most out of your social media strategies?

Influence is key aspect to all social media strategies, but it is often overlooked by those putting strategies together. Whether it is the growth of your own clout when it comes to different social media channels, or your engagement with other key industry influencers, one of the cornerstones of any of the most successful social media strategies will undoubtedly be a focus on influence.

So, why exactly is influence important? We have often pointed out that establishing yourself and your brand as an industry leader is crucial to finding success through your social media efforts. In doing so, you increase the reach of your communities, gain tremendous credibility and become a go-to when people are looking for answers from the expert. Connecting with other influencers in your industry also brings exposure to your brand and, just as important, helps you learn from the experts and find out why they are so successful in your industry. It is hard to compete with the best when you do not know what makes them the best.

Now that the reasons behind the importance of influence are clear, how should you go about increasing your influence in social communities? A few years ago, Brian Solis conducted a poll to determine what industry leaders believed were the most important factors to increasing influence. The graph below details where the responses lay:

Insightful, engaging content is most important. We mentioned this earlier this month and anyone familiar with social media strategies will tell you that without great content, your efforts are doomed to fail. It is by posting this kind of content that people can see your expertise and recognize you as an influencer in a particular industry. But it is not enough to simply post the right content, you need to know where the best places are to post it. Below are a few examples of the best places to increase your influence on social media.

LinkedIn

This is especially true if you are a B2B company. LinkedIn offers you the opportunity to respond to questions by people in your industry, which can then lead to endorsements for a particular skill or expertise. LinkedIn is also a fantastic forum in which you can not only increase your own influence, but connect with other industry influencers.

Google+

Yes, it’s true – Google+ is one of the top areas in which you can increase your influence on social media. This came with the advent of communities on Google+. By engaging in conversations with other members of your targeted communities, you can directly increase your influence and connect with other influencers within the community as opposed to hoping your community finds you. This is an excellent tool and one that brands and individuals should certainly be taking advantage of.

Forums

Forum replies are a great way to showcase your knowledge to a community of individuals in your industry, particularly because you will in all likelihood be answering questions that exemplify your expertise. So look for forums that are either directly or indirectly related to your market and engage with those users to build your clout.

Influence is crucial to the success of your social media strategies. Where else do you think you can be building your social media influence? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

What is Pinterest? [INFOGRAPHIC]

December 11, 2012/by Corey Padveen

What exactly is Pinterest and how can you use it for your social media efforts?

Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media networks, and was one of the first of its kind with regards to an image-centric social network. Since the launch and immediate success of Pinterest, social networks like Facebook have been looking for ways to improve on their photo sharing aspects, and businesses have taken advantage of the use of images for their social media efforts. The infographic below details exactly what Pinterest is and how you can use it for your business.

Pinterest – The Social Media Darling Of 2012: Infographic by Infographiclabs

Do you use Pinterest in your social media efforts? Why or why not? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

How Are Small (and Some Large) Businesses Using Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]

December 10, 2012/by Corey Padveen

How exactly are businesses implementing their social media strategies?

In a recent blog post, we showed you where small businesses were spending when it came to social media, but how exactly are they using it? The infographic below does a fairly good job of showing you exactly how small businesses are using social media, and how it is paying off.

How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media by Infographiclabs

How are you using social media for your business? How do you plan on using it in the new year? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Why Content is Crucial to Successful Social Media Strategies

December 7, 2012/by Corey Padveen

If the goal of your social media strategies is to get found, then content is crucial.

We know this seems like a given when your goal is to get found and convert those leads into sales, seeing as how a site without content won’t attract too many clients. What we mean is the quality of your content will directly impact the success of your social media strategies.

One of the most powerful ways to create engaging content is through a blog. An industry-specific blog with focus on keywords relevant to your industry’s top searches will surely result in an engaged audience coming back for more. The added benefit is that the content is continually updated, which stands to benefit your search rankings. But be warned, new Google algorithms Panda and Penguin monitor blogs and content-driven sites and penalize sites that focus only on keyword stuffing and never creating authentic, engaging and insightful content for visitors. So, if you think you have content people want to see, then take a look below to find out why it is crucial for your search rankings.

A recent study done by a UK-based SEO group noted that 70% of consumers prefer reading about a company through articles posted as opposed to reading about it through advertising. Furthermore, 60% of consumers feel more comfortable with a company after reading customized content on their site or blog. One can safely assume, then, that strong, engaging content leads to more conversions, and who would say no to that?

So, what do we mean by ‘engaging’ content? This is where your social media strategies come into play. Integrating social media into your blog and web activities is crucial to expanding your reach and increasing your search rankings. Through the content on your site, propose ideas and ask for feedback. Comments are a great way for leads to engage on-site, but there should also be options for them to get in touch with you on other social channels, like Twitter or Facebook.

With great content and the integration of said content into your social media strategies, you stand to benefit greatly both in your search rankings and with increased conversions.

Maximize Your Twitter Marketing Efforts

December 5, 2012/by Corey Padveen

How can you go about maximizing your twitter marketing efforts to get the most out of the social network?

Twitter is a phenomenal resource for any kind of business. The real-time conversational aspect that it brings gives it a certain unique feel and a environment apt for engagement, but what are some Twitter marketing techniques businesses should adopt in order to get the most out of it? Below are some of the top Twitter marketing strategies businesses can employ in order to capitalize on all that Twitter has to offer to businesses.

1. Be Authentic

Don’t automate your posts – no one wants to hear what a machine has to say as it randomly generates messages using your pre-loaded content. People follow you to hear what you have to say, so tell them! If you decided to take the stage, and hundreds or even thousands of people came to hear you speak, would you simply play a recording a leave? Probably not. And if you did that, di you think they would stay? Also unlikely. So share what’s on your mind and engage with an audience that is eager to hear what you have to say.

2. Engage!

People like to converse and be heard. As a brand, it is your responsibility to listen to the customer and engage with them wherever possible. Nowhere is it more possible than on Twitter! As we noted above, Twitter is an avenue build for real-time conversation. So when someone is engaging with your brand, it is always in your best interest to address their comment, be it positive or negative.

3. Avoid Self-Promotion

Sure, the end goal is to convert these leads into clients, but endless self-promotion is nauseating, and the only thing you’ll succeed in doing is alienating your brand. We noted this in an earlier blog post and we are sticking by it. Social media is not for self-promotion, but for brand promotion thriugh engagement. When people are loyal to your brand, they will convert into customers.

4. Create a Relevant Database

It might be nice to see that you have thousands of followers and are following thousands of others, but this might not mean you have an account full of quality. If the goal is sales, then you will want to have as many targeted followers as possible, and the same goes for those you are following.

Can you think of any other best practices when it comes to Twitter marketing? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

How Much Time Are You Spending on Social Media Networks? [INFOGRAPHIC]

December 3, 2012/by Corey Padveen

A recent study shows that social media accounts for 18% of all time spent online. Even without seeing the numbers, that sounds like quite a lot of hours spent on social media. So, how much is it exactly, you ask? The infographic below details how much time users are spending on different social media networks. The numbers don’t lie…we’re hooked!

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