Social Media Marketing Archives - Page 14 of 41

September 23, 2019
Social Media Marketing

#GrowYourBusiness – What is Organic Growth in Social Media?

With all of the constant changes to social media algorithms, it can feel like organic growth is impossible. Not only are you never quite sure what still works, but networks like Facebook are making it harder and harder for your business posts to get seen.

Don’t worry: All hope isn’t lost. In fact, with a solid social media strategy (and a little elbow grease), it’s still possible to build a thriving organic audience.

What is organic growth on social media?

“Organic growth” is a term that gets thrown around a lot in the marketing world. It doesn’t always refer to social media, but it does always mean one thing: Free. It means leveraging your brand’s existing content and depending on word-of-mouth referrals to gain a new audience.

In social media, it usually refers to the number of people who come across your posts without paid distribution. Some examples include:

Someone who is on Twitter right at the moment you post and saw your message organically
A person who saw your Facebook post because it was shared by one of their friends
Someone who searched a specific hashtag on Instagram and found your post that way

How to grow organic reach

We’re not going to beat around the bush: Growing your audience organically takes some time and effort. But if you’re on a tight budget, or you simply enjoy the loyalty that tends to come with an organic audience, it can’t be beat.

Here are a few simple(ish) ways you can get started:

Keep things fresh: If your go-to social media post is a shared article from an outside source, switch things up! Try sharing behind-the-scenes photos from the office, live videos with helpful tips, or original blog posts. Keep track and see what performs the best, and then do more of it!
Use quality images: Images are a crazy important part of your social media presence, especially on a network like Instagram. Keep in mind: The photos and videos you share are the first things your audience sees, before your written caption. If what you post is sub-par, they’re going to keep scrolling.
Know when to post: Various social media tools, including Facebook Insights, can tell you exactly which days and times your audience is most active online. By using this data, you can make sure you post when your fans are most likely to see it.
Focus on engagement, but don’t bait your audience: Engagement is pure organic reach gold. The more people like, share, and interact with your post, the more people will see it. HOWEVER, you should never, ever post something with the express intent of gaining engagement – for example, “Comment with a smiley face if you love ice cream!” Most networks will penalize you for that.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of other tactics you can use to boost organic reach, if you’re willing to put in the time. If you’d like to learn more about how your brand can incorporate these and other strategies into your online marketing plan, reach out today.

Our Social Power Program is the perfect way to bring you and your employees up to speed.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

September 16, 2019
Social Media Marketing

#GrowYourBusiness – How to Grow Your Followers in Social Media

There has been a lot of talk lately about “vanity metrics” such as followers, likes, and downloads. The general gist is that these numbers don’t really matter, they just make the page owner feel good about themselves.

I disagree, at least on one front. Having followers, and a lot of them, can be very good for business.

More followers means that more people see your content and have a chance to interact with your brand. Not only that, but it creates social proof. People are more inclined to trust a brand and do business with them when they see that other people like them.

So, what can you do to grow your social media follower count? Follow these simple tips:

Have a strategy

You can post to social media every single day for months on end, but without a strategy, you won’t get anywhere. The key to an effective social media strategy is, of course, knowing and understanding your audience. What can you post that will grab their attention and make them want to come back for more?

Once you’re familiar with your ideal client, a content marketing plan will help you outline the type of content your audience wants to see and create a strategy for each channel you’re going to use. Remember: All social media networks are different and require their own unique strategy!

Promote your social media on all of your “owned” channels

An “owned” channel is something you have complete control over, like your website or email newsletter. One of the simplest, and most effective, things you can do is to use these channels as a sort of “distribution platform.” For example, you can install social media follow buttons on your website or blog or you can install a plugin that allows you to feature social media posts on your website.

Many brands choose to promote their social media in their email newsletter, and it makes sense. You already have a dedicated audience and they’re likely to want to view your other content. Simply embed a link to your social media in your email signature or embed a social media post, just like you do on your website.

Create a compelling profile

No matter what social media networks you’re on, the first thing the audience is going to see is your profile. Make sure they get all of the information they need by filling it out completely. This means:

Fill out your “about” section or “bio” completely on every network
Use a real photo of yourself as your profile picture
Have a custom header image
Post a steady stream of content targeted to your ideal client

Bonus tip: Use the same profile photo and header image across the board, so no matter what social media channel a prospect ends up on, they will immediately recognize it as yours.

Don’t forget about paid ads!

Social media ads are a sure-fire way to reach new prospects. The various networks collect a lot of data about their users, including age, location, education, interests, and so on. As a business owner, you can use this information to make sure your ads reach the people most likely to enjoy your product or service.

Want to learn more? Through our Social Power Program, we can teach you and your staff how to use social media to grow your business through a series of online videos. If you prefer a face-to-face workshop, we can do that as well!

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

September 2, 2019
Social Media Marketing

#GrowYourBusiness – How to Generate Leads in Social Media

When someone talks about social media as a lead generation tool, how do you feel?

For most people, the immediate response is, “Social media is for engaging with your audience and building brand awareness, but it is NOT for sales!”

Somewhere along the line (perhaps it was after one of Facebook’s endless algorithm changes), social media gained a reputation for difficulty. It’s difficult to reach your ideal client, it’s difficult to get your posts seen, and it’s definitely difficult to generate leads.

Our response to that? Psh. You just need a few tricks up your sleeve!

These are our favorite tips for generating leads on social media and producing real results:

Know your audience

We know – it’s been said a thousand times. But the key to gaining interest and creating an engaged audience is knowing what they like and need.

If you want to gain contact information from a member of your social media audience, they first have to feel like you can offer something that is useful to them. Ask yourself:

What is my ideal client interested in?
What are their pain points?
Which products or services would help make their lives easier?
What makes my product different from all the others on the market?
Which social media networks do they use?

Don’t be afraid to get personal! Consider things like their marital status, whether or not they have children, if they like animals, or what they do for fun. Discussing the “fun” stuff on occasion is how you can really form a connection!

Generating leads with social media

Once you understand your ideal client, generating leads is much easier. Still, you need to have a bit of strategy. While each social media network is different, there are a few tactics that work across the board:

Run contests: Contests do pretty well across the board. The trick is, the prize has to be valuable enough that people want to enter . . . but only valuable to your target audience. You don’t want a bunch of random people signing up for your giveaway, because they’re not likely to become clients. Again, this is where knowing your target audience comes into play!
Share links to gated content: Gated content is content that is hidden behind a virtual gate. Audience members must share some basic information in order to gain access – For example, they might provide their name and email address in exchange for an exclusive handout. Like contests, if your content is good enough, people will sign up.
Use social media advertising: Social media ads allow you to target viewers based on very specific demographics, like their age, where they live, and their hobbies and interests. Running these targeted ads allows you to make sure the people most likely to enjoy your product are the ones that see your promotion.

Do you want to train your employees on using social media as a lead generation tool? The Social Media Advisor’s Social Power Program can help bring them up to speed on the fundamentals of social media, building brand engagement, enhancing visitor experience, and more. Reach out today to set up your free consultation.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

June 24, 2019
Blog, Social Media Marketing

#SocialMediaSupport – Questions to Ask a Social Media Manager

There are many good reasons to hire a social media manager. One of the most common, for business owners like you, is that you simply can’t do everything. A professional social media manager is someone who can take on the challenges of making sure you are consistently establishing, improving, and growing your social media presence across all channels.

Like all hiring, it can be a challenge to determine if a candidate has the necessary skills and temperament to excel. The good news is that there are questions you can ask to ensure that you are getting the right person for the job.

Need some guidelines for vetting a social media manager applicant? Read on!

10 Questions to Ask a Social Media Manager

What makes each social media platform unique? How would you use each for our business?

Look for a good understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each platform.

What do you think of how we are using social media now and how would you improve it?

If he or she has done relevant background research, they should be able to give you a few key points.

What metrics would you use to evaluate your campaigns?

Social media managers use a variety of measures to determine success. Likes and shares won’t tell you if you are converting to sales, and leads won’t necessarily indicate if your content is hitting its mark. If the idea of monitoring and managing your own analytics sounds awful, you should be able to delegate this to your social media manager.

What specific tools would you recommend we use to manage our channels?

There are many tools for managing media across platforms. While you may not end up using that tool, it may help determine the level of experience.

What are some examples of successful campaigns you have managed? What went right and what went wrong?

Examples can offer insight into how they approach projects and how they look at the work they do.

What is the most critical role of social media?
Social media managers know that content drives everything, but that content must help you gather leads, strengthen your brand, and provide customer service.
What is the most important thing a social media manager needs to do?
A social media manager wears many hats. He or she must create original content, engage the audience, monitor and manage success metrics, and perform with similar quality across a variety of platforms.
What determines if a social media campaign or a piece of content will be a success?
Remember, it’s not just about metrics.
How would you approach handling a social media crisis?
The goal of this question is to see what they define as a crisis and understand the process they would undergo to develop a strategy for handling unusual situations.
What would their initial goals be for your company?
Look for details about how they would learn more about your company, your brand, and your audience.

Whether you’re hiring an outside firm to handle your social media or making a permanent hire, you need someone who can handle a variety of tasks and work both independently and collaboratively. Proven experts at The Social Media Advisor will help you get a quick start with monthly social media support. With their varied plans, you can be sure you’re getting the professional assistance you need at a cost-effective price.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

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Free + Free = Win!

Are you telling your brand story in social media?

#GrowYourBusiness – What is Organic Growth in Social Media?

#GrowYourBusiness – How to Grow Your Followers in Social Media

#GrowYourBusiness – How to Generate Leads in Social Media

#SocialMediaSupport – Questions to Ask a Social Media Manager

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