Tag Archive for: social media

The Importance of Mobile in the Marketplace [INFOGRAPHIC]

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The importance of mobile in the marketplace is growing every day, and marketers should always take mobile into consideration.

Mobile marketing is not the newest trend (relatively speaking) but as the number of smartphone users continues to rise, the importance of mobile grows faster and greater. Just look at the data below: in two years, the number of mobile searches on Google has grown five fold. Therefore, it is important to always take mobile marketing into consideration when putting together a strategy.

Of the impressive data in the infographic below, perhaps what is most important is the fact that local searches now account for nearly a quarter of all Google queries; with roughly five billion searches done on Google every day, that’s a lot of local search.

What is also important to note in the data is the fact that 60% of mobile users use their devices for daily activity on social media. The key takeaway derived from this further adds to the importance of mobile marketing: your brand and your message are amplified across a number of social channels and to far greater networks when your mobile marketing incorporates social elements.

Have a look at the infographic below and consider your own mobile strategy. Do you have one? If so, how is it generating business for you? If not, do you plan on developing one? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

importance of mobile infographic

4 Tips to Creating a Great Facebook Ad Campaign

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Facebook can be a successful, cost-effective channel on which to promote your business, and these tips will help you create a great Facebook Ad campaign.

great facebook adWe see Facebook Ads every time we log into the social network. They may not always be captivating, and you may not always notice them, but they are always there and always trying to grab your attention. But more often than not, they are not achieving the goal of converting eyes into clicks.

Facebook Ads may be easy to use, straightforward and simple to monitor, but there are a few key factors that distinguish your average-performing Facebook Ads and great Facebook Ad campaigns. Below are four tips that should help take your Facebook advertising to the next level.

Do Some Research

The first time you put together an ad campaign on Facebook, you are going to be eager to get your content out there and watch the “Like” counter shoot up. Unfortunately, without at least a little bit of research, you are not going to see the results you are hoping for.

Look through your insights, study engagement levels and develop a campaign that both fits the brand you’ve created on Facebook and appeals to a specific audience. If you are trying to target everyone, you might end up reaching no one. (Don’t worry – that makes more sense after you see the next tip.)

Target a Very Specific Audience

When you first start building your ad and you see your options for targeting, you might be excited by the prospect of potentially reaching upwards of 150 million people (and that’s in the United States alone!). But the reality of the situation is, if you are not creating an ad directed at a targeted audience – namely, one based on the research you did before you got started – there is no telling who will see it, and you will likely miss out on opportunities to reach engaged audiences as opposed to a broad audience of uninterested persons.

To put it in perspective, if you are trying to attract people to your page about food and dining for female college students, a broad, unspecific audience might only show your content to middle aged professional men. The result? A lower-than-hoped-for conversion.

greatfacebookads1Create an Appealing Ad

Sure – it sounds like a no brainer. Why would you do anything else, right? Well, it is not as easy as it sounds. The key to a great Facebook Ad campaign is appeal. People should be intrigued by the content in your ad – and you don’t have much of it considering it might be as small as a little image and text on the right-hand column of someone’s news feed or timeline.

This is where you need to let your creative juices flow. The content and images in these ads should not simply be your logo and a brief description of your company. Leave that on your page. Share a fun fact, an interesting quote, an curious question or any other engaging bit of content. People should feel compelled to see what else you are offering when they see your ad.

Though it has been done by plenty of businesses, let’s look at the “abs of steel concept” we often see floating on the right of our Facebook screen. It might be for a personal trainer, a mail-order program or a diet, but they are showing a picture of a killer six pack and asking something along the lines of, “Do you want abs that look like this in 60 days? Then click here and get started today!” Even the skeptic is compelled to click, just to see what the offer is. Go for something irresistible and your click-through rates will be much higher than average.

Try, Try and Try Again!

There are a billion accounts on Facebook and your first campaign is not going to reach them all. In fact, you might be disappointed in the results of your first campaign. What went wrong? Were you targeting the wrong audience? Was your content not as great as you thought it was? That’s all part of the learning process.

You might find after a few tests that your most engaged market is nothing close to what you thought it was. That’s a great lesson and can translate into a lot more business, and it is not particularly expensive to figure out; your ads can be budgeted very modestly. Testing is the best way to turn your trials into great Facebook Ad campaigns.

Apply these tips and you’ll see your Facebook marketing take off in no time. Once again, one in every seven people on Earth is checking Facebook multiple times every day. Why not try and talk to them with a carefully laid out strategy in place?

What other tips can you think that help build great Facebook ad campaigns? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

Social Equity: Communities on Social Media

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Building and joining niche communities on social media can be one of the greatest assets to your business.

communities on social media social equityCommunities on social media have been a growing trend since the concept originated with the networks themselves. While any network – like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. – can be considered a community, the true Social Equity derived from communities on social media comes from the niche communities filled with like-minded and highly engaged individuals from around the world.

In this week’s Social Equity segment, we aim to understand how social media communities add value to your business, and where there are unique traits to these communities compared to other types of communities that may also be beneficial to your business.

Niche Communities on Social Media

One of the most touted features of Google+ is their Google+ Communities. In these groups, content is shared with each member without any filtration, as each community consists only of users that have an expressed interest in the content being published. These communities can range anywhere from five or six members to tens of thousands or more; it all depends on how interested people are in the content.

The benefits of communities like those on Google+, groups on LinkedIn and others around the social web is the ability to reach an audience far greater than what was ever possible. Furthermore, unlike conventional, expensive digital and print marketing, communities on social media offer an inexpensive way of reaching out to an engaged audience, sharing relevant content to prospective clients all over the world.

communities on social media social equityThe Key Difference with Social Media Communities

As noted above, there are a few key differences between communities on social media versus conventional business communities. Think about your LikedIn groups and Google+ Communities. Every member is there for the same reason.

The only other type of communities like this that exist are business networking communities, and before social media, these were local business people who may or may not have shared an interest or mutually beneficial business opportunity. Of course, there were conferences, but for many small business owners the cost of attending one is prohibitive, and thus few people (relatively speaking) were able to take part.

Now, with these social communities, opportunities exist where there were none before, and for a fraction of what it would have cost to reach an audience as targeted and wide as those in these social media communities.

Social Equity of Communities on Social Media

The ability to build influence and drive new business in a community on a social network is perhaps the most crucial aspect of the Social Equity derived from these communities. In an infographic we posted recently, we noted the importance of influence on social media. These communities allow you to build that influence with a very targeted audience, very quickly. This in turn results in your market power increasing and, subsequently, your business increasing.

In addition to influence, there is also the ability to reach targeted audiences worldwide without incurring massive costs as with traditional forms of marketing and advertising. Therefore, there is a twofold bump in Social Equity: business generated from engagement in social communities and expenses saved from your involvement in them.

Communities can be a major asset to growing your business, and there is no doubt that they add a considerable degree of Social Equity to your brand.

Where do you see the benefits of communities on social media? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

Social Media Case Study: Best Buy

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The Best Buy Twelpforce program has taken the brand from a major force in local retail to an industry leader on social media.

social media case study best buyEveryone knows about Best Buy, and everyone knows about their expertise. But a few years ago, Best Buy was faced with a challenge: How does a giant in electronics retail go beyond the walls of a store and engage with an audience, provide ongoing, real-time support, garner brand advocates and build their own brand on multiple channels in the most efficient, measurable way possible? The solution: @Twelpforce.

Twelpforce is Best Buy’s Twitter handle for their online community. Essentially, the Best Buy team provides support and answers to thousands of engaged users who want access to the Best Buy experts.

In this week’s social media case study, we look at what Twelpforce has accomplished, and what genius lay behind the concept that led to it being such a huge success.

The Concept

How is Twelpforce designed? Essentially, it is a handle to which all Best Buy employees have access. Questions about anything and everything electronics-related can be sent, and the Best Buy team answers them as quickly as possible.

With thousands of employees actively engaging with the Twelpforce platform, there is no shortage of experts that can answer a customer’s question without ever trying to close a deal. Thus, people can be comfortable knowing that they are getting a genuine, qualified response from someone who truly knows what they are talking about without being worried that they have fallen into a sales trap.

The Genius

When it comes to Twelpforce, there is a lot for Best Buy to proud of. Tens of thousands of questions have been answered since the program was founded and it has been a continually growing success. Below are a few features of note from the Twelpforce program.

Focus on Conversation

If this social media case study proves anything, it is that conversation is always better than monologue. In the first year of the Twelpforce program, Best Buy noted a 20% drop in customer complaints online. By engaging in active conversations with their clientele and providing simple, straightforward answers, Best Buy managed to boost customer morale and shrink complaints.

People like to talk to someone, with thousands of people ready to answer, conversation was inevitable.

social media case study twitterUse Your Whole Team

People might hesitate to look at every employee and ask them to participate in a public, unfiltered conversation. Understandably so; particularly when you have a company as large as Best Buy. But the benefits to this tactic far outweighed the risks.

Limiting your engagement to a small team detracts from the purpose of a program like this. The goals, as noted above, are to start a conversation, and when you are simply providing support, there is nothing exceptionally unique. By involving the expertise of their whole team Best Buy accomplished two things: first, they ensured that questions would be answered promptly. Second, they ensured that no question would go unanswered, as they had a veritable “expert” in every field imaginable!

A 20% drop in complaints proves this was the right move.

If You’re There to Help, Help!

One of the most crucial aspects that led to the success of Best Buy was that they did not use their social community as a direct sales tool. Of course, if someone is asking about Best Buy-related products, then they can be driven to a landing page that helps them out further. But as far as sales go, that is not why people engage in a conversation with Twelpforce, nor would that angle have led to the same amount of success.

Twelpforce was designed to Tweet help (Twelp). By steering clear of the sales angle, Gina Debogovich, Community Manager at Best Buy noted the following: “Factoring in call deflection and sales influence, our online community engagements provide around a $5MM benefit to the organization.”

What strategy do you employ when it comes to engaging with your online community? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

The Importance of Influence on Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]

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What metrics exist to show us that there is a great deal of importance when it comes to influence on social media?

We are all familiar with influence measurement sites like Klout, Kred and PeerIndex, but what makes influence on social media so important?

There is a lot of talk about your influencers and the people and brands you influence on social media, and people and brands go to great lengths to figure these things out. In fact, in a recent social media case study we looked at Honda’s use of Pinterest influencers to penetrate new markets and reach a massive audience with little cost to the brand. While there are many ways to go about reaching out to influential groups on social media, we might not be sure why they are so important, or how they can benefit our brand.

This infographic does a great job showcasing how and why influence is so important. The most crucial point? Influence on social media translates into influence on decision making. A recent finding showed that 85% of  Facebook brand fans recommend those brands to friends and followers, compared to 60% of average social media users. That’s a substantial group. When you consider the power that comes with influence on social media, you can’t ignore its importance.

Take a look at some of the stats in the infographic below and let us know which ones you find to be the most shocking or important! Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

influence on social media infographic

Social Media: Week-in-Review, April 27, 2013

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In case you missed some of the topics we covered this week, here is the social media week-in-review!

seo on page optimizationEffective SEO Tips for Optimizing Content on Your Page

There is an curious irony when it comes to SEO: everyone knows that it is important when it comes to getting found, but few people understand how it works. While it may seem like a complicated endeavour to optimize your content – what with all the talk about algorithms and pandas –  there are few simple steps you can take that will make a big difference!

Social Media for Small Business [INFOGRAPHIC]

Social marketing is not something that should be adopted only y big companies. Businesses of all sizes, even small businesses, can use social media to their advantage and help grow their business! Find out how social marketing is helping small businesses in a great infographic!

What are ‘Targeted Tweets’ and How Should You Use Them?

Recently, Twitter unveiled their newest marketing tool: Targeted Tweets. This new feature brings in an entirely new advertising angle from which marketers can take advantage. Find out what these updates are and how you can use them to gain a competitive edge early!

pinterest marketing social mediaSocial Media Case Study: Honda

About a year ago, Honda noticed a growing trend and near-obsession with Pinterest. They decided that the best way to promote their newest CR-V was to launch a cost-effective campaign aimed at spreading the word virally. The approached worked and Honda created a campaign worthy of a feature in this week’s social media case study.

Social Equity: The Effect of Social Media on Your Brand

How does your brand’s image benefit from your involvement in social marketing? In this week’s Social Equity segment, we decipher how your brand equity increases both in the short- and long-run with the strategic use of social media marketing.

Have a look through some of these great articles and enjoy your weekend!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

Social Equity: The Effect of Social Media on Your Brand

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The direct impact that social media can have on brand equity translates into a significant boost in Social Equity.

social equity brandingSocial media has created an entirely new avenue of measurement when it comes to brand equity. The value of a business is based on, among other things,  the quality of work it produces, the position it holds in the market and, perhaps most important, the public perception of the brand. Social media tackles each of these aspects in some way or another, and that level of power means that the benefits to Social Equity can be great.

There are three key areas of focus when one looks at the impact social media has on a brand’s image: reputation and crisis management, customer service, and market influence. Social marketing has quickly become one of the cornerstones of increasing a brand’s value in each of these categories, and the results are increased Social Equity for a business in both the short- and long-term.

Reputation and Crisis Management on Social Media

The power of social media can make or break a company’s reputation. Peer-review sites are among the most trusted in the industry, and a poor reputation here can mean a fast downfall of your brand. Managing your brand on social media can significantly boost your Social Equity.

People look to engage with a brand, particularly in the time of a crisis, and if you are listening and conversing with these users, you not only quell any unease customers might have, but you have the opportunity to turn these people into brand advocates.

By carefully monitoring and managing your brand’s reputation in real-time on social media, you eliminate much of the risk of bad press being out there and not even being aware of it.

Customer Service on Social Media

This is a relatively new concept referred to as Social Care. In a recent study by Nielsen and NM Incite, results showed that one-third of active social media users prefer to engage with brands on social networks in order to deal with questions or complaints as opposed to conventional methods of customer service (e.g. by phone).

The ability to engage with your audience on multiple platforms adds to both your brand’s transparency and approachability. These are both crucial to developing customer loyalty and, in turn, building your Social Equity.

social equity brand influenceInfluence on Social Media

There are plenty of services, like Klout, Kred or PeerIndex, that aim to measure a brand’s influence on social media. Influence is of ever growing importance, particularly when it comes to brand equity. Building your industry influence and establishing your brand as the foremost expert in your vertical has never been easier than it is with the strategic use of social media.

Using multiple networks and implementing a methodical engagement program can quickly help you boost your credibility to a much wider audience than ever before. Furthermore, it can be done much faster than ever before. The results? Increased brand trust and subsequent business and Social Equity.

Brand and reputation management are of ever growing importance. The ability for an international set of consumers to share opinions, complaints and praise of brands with one another has never been easier. With the right strategy in place (and a good product never hurts!) it will not be long before you see the impressive results from your efforts in terms of Social Equity.

How do you manage your brand’s reputation online? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

Social Media Case Study: Honda

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Honda was looking for a way to promote their new CR-V to a specific demographic, and they found that the best way was through Pinterest.

social media case study hondaThe Honda CR-V has a very specific audience in mind: young adults on the verge of a major step. Whether that is starting a new career, getting married, or beginning parenthood, the Honda CR-V is aimed at making the transition easier for this group.

So how do you market to them?

The Campaign

In 2012, Honda decided to take advantage of the growing addiction to Pinterest among young adults to market their brand. How? By making people stop (for a whole day)! The #Pintermission campaign was intended to get influencers fitting the targeted demographic to stop using Pinterest for 24 hours and go out to live life. This is the aura Honda aimed to cultivate with the new CR-V, and this campaign was how they got that message across.

What was the reward for not pinning? Well, Honda reached out to a group of 5 key influencers and asked them to stop pinning for one day. In return, Honda offered them $500 to put towards making one of their dream pins a reality. Each of the five users was given a board on a designated Honda Pinterest page and asked to pin about activities they dreamed of doing. The reward money for not pinning over the course of 24 hours was then to be put towards making one of these dream activities a reality.

So how did the campaign do? Nearly 5 million users were exposed to the Pintermission boards. Furthermore, these five pinners managed to garner over 5,000 repins and 2,000 likes in a very short time frame. And what’s most impressive? There were over 15 million impressions on different media platforms. That’s a lot of exposure for Honda.

The Lessons

Some of the most important lessons from this social media case study appear to be counter-intuitive when it comes to marketing and advertising. But the proof is in the numbers; this method works.

social media case study influenceNever Ignore the Power of Influence

Similar to our social media case study on Kotex, Honda reached out to influencers on Pinterest in the hopes that their reach would mean a viral campaign. Once again, this method proved to be a winner.

Influencers can take your campaign to the next level. Honda reached out to five people. Five. Granted, they have an internationally-recognized brand to fall back on, but they still attained those numbers with little effort. The brunt of the reach was due to the fact that these pinners had 6- and 7-figure follower counts.

Never ignore the power of influence on social media. Your average high-school senior can have more social clout than the most powerful executives in the world. Keep that in mind.

Make It Easy for Others to Do the Work

Apart from creating the #Pintermission campaign and the designated boards for the five pinners, Honda did not have much involvement in the evolution and growth of the campaign. They simply asked that they be included as collaborators on the individual pin boards in order to garner exposure.

There were no fancy apps or special requirements for the pinners to qualify, they simply offered five people a chance to win $500 (that’s right, the campaign only cost $2,500 plus some time) for not using Pinterest. After that, it was entirely up to the participants to provide the content.

By making a simple, straightforward campaign, Honda managed to reach audiences far beyond expectations and for minimal cost. When you open the door for others to collaborate on social networks, you can very easily decrease the costs of running a campaign.

social media case study engagementEngagement > Selling

Honda did not, at any point in their campaign, try to sell a car. That was not what this campaign was about. The CR-V is intended to get people off the couch and outside to experience life. This campaign was about making people realize that, and having Honda to thank.

By creating a campaign that promoted the spirit of their product, and linking that product to the campaign, very superficially, Honda managed to capture the attention of a massive portion of their target demographic.

One of the most important marketing rules when it comes to social media is to avoid selling (at least, in most cases). People are on social networks to engage, not to be bombarded with promotional offers. Honda recognized that and their success is the proof that it worked.

What is your favorite aspect of the Honda #Pintermission campaign? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

What are ‘Targeted Tweets’ and How Should You Use Them?

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Targeted tweets were recently announced by Twitter, and it is still a little unclear as to what they are and how targeted tweets can be used.

targeted tweets social mediaThere has veen quite a bit of speculation about how Twitter planned to monetize their audiences. Sure, there are 500 million or so accounts on the microblogging network, but where does the company stand to generate revenue from those numbers? Last week, Twitter unveiled their answer to that question: Targeted Tweets.

We have all heard of Promoted Tweets – essentially, these are tweets designed to reach a broader audience based on a select criteria picked by the user paying for the ad. Well, this next generation of Promoted Tweets takes targeting your Twitter audience to a whole new level. With targeted tweets, marketers can take a wealth of new steps to increase engagement and conversion rates. Namely, tweets can be targeted by location, platform (e.g. mobile) and even outside an account’s follower base.

This can mean a lot as far as Twitter marketing is concerned. Below are a few things to consider when it comes to advertising and marketing your brand on Twitter with the new targeted tweets.

Promote for an Audience in Mind

Promoted Tweets, as they were originally designed, were intended to reach a broader audience, and not much else. Thus, tailoring your tweets for a specific audience would not necessarily do much good seeing as how you did not have control over those viewing your message. Targeted tweets changes that.

Now, as noted above, you can target your content to a very specific audience. Therefore, you should not be sending out the generic promotional 140-character message. Pick your audience based on the given criteria and write a message for them. People do not simply want to see a piece of advertising from a brand on Twitter. They want to feel like a brand is talking directly to them. So write for your audience. You’d be surprised at the success you find – initial reports are showing engagement rates of 11%. That’s high by any standards.

Get Mobile

Targeting messages by platform means that you can now advertise to people on the go. That’s a whole new feature for Twitter. Sure, their smartphone app is great for on-the-go users, but for marketers, there was no real way of marketing directly to smartphone users – until now.

The ability to send targeted tweets to mobile users means that you can now create mobile campaigns specifically for Twitter. And, considering the fact that the pricing scheme for these tweets is based on clicks, you don’t have to worry about spending on a mobile-oriented campaign that is seen on desktops.

targeted tweets twitter mobileUse Your Analytics

Along with these new changes on the frontend comes some new features in the backend. The analytics featured with these targeted tweets means that you can be monitoring the progress and success of different campaigns in real time. It might be a CPC-styled campaign, but you need to pay attention to your insights!

With the new targeting abilities of promoted tweets, you need to be constantly reshaping and evolving your campaigns in order to reach the largest, relevant and targeted audience available. These analytics help you do that and they help you in a timely fashion. So instead of the set-it-and-forget-it mentality that many marketers take to social campaigns, keep an eye on your analytics and see how you can further optimize your targeting strategy to get even more out of your Twitter marketing efforts.

targeted tweets real time analytics

These are some exciting changes for Twitter. The ability to create targeted tweets means that marketers can now go a step further with their Twitter marketing and advertising strategies. Just when people thought Twitter was at a standstill, they release an exciting new feature.

Do you plan on using Twitter’s new targeted tweets feature? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

t2social social medis marketing strategies

Social Media for Small Business [INFOGRAPHIC]

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There is no shortage of benefits when it comes to social media for small business.

There is a common misconception that social media is a tool best used by big businesses and multinational corporations. While it’s true that some of the best and most recognizable case studies happen to be from major brands, there is plenty of use when it comes to social media for small business. And that goes for both full-scale and small-scale programs.

Social marketing is a growing trend in all verticals and in businesses large and small. Each day, new businesses are adopting a social media program and seeing tremendous results. However, adoption is taking longer for some than for others, and understandably so. Social media for business is not fully understood by everyone and not a simple “plug-and play” style of marketing. That is particularly true when it comes to social media for small business. With all that small business owners need to manage and tend to, social media does not always make the cut. That’s a shame, because the benefits when it comes to social media for small business can be just as great, if not greater, than all those major case studies mentioned above.

Essentially, social marketing can level the playing field and place small businesses in a category where they never thought they were competitive. It also opens a new set of markets and potential that would have otherwise been closed off.

This infographic breaks down some of the more popular uses of social media for small business, where these companies are seeing some notable results and a few good lessons to take away if you are planning to incorporate social into your marketing strategy.

Take a look at the infographic and let us know how you or a colleague’s small business is using social media! Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

social media for small business infographic

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