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February 28, 2017
Video in Social Media

#AwesomeContent – Why Native Video Gets Higher Engagement on Social Media

In our last blog post, there was great detail about why live video is important and how it impacts engagement on social media. Live video is cream of the content crop but other videos are almost as impactful.

In a 2016 HubSpot survey, 43% of consumers wanted to see more video content.

Today, most of the major social media platforms have their own native video publishing options. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter… not to mention YouTube and Vimeo…are invested in video content. This makes it simple to take a video from your smartphone or your desktop and upload it to these sites.

We’ve already talked about WHY you should be creating and sharing videos. Now we need to talk about native posting and why it’s important.

Native video is video that is uploaded to or created on social networks and played in-feed, as opposed to links to videos hosted on other sites. Native video formats are specific to each social platform and are designed to maximise video engagement (i.e. number of views), discovery and distribution.

-Wikipedia

Yes, being able to schedule your social media posts in advance is not only helpful, but often necessary to ensure that you remain consistent and relevant online. Unfortunately, this sort of scheduling is not encouraged by the major social platforms and their algorithms are set up to boost native content over scheduled posts.

Video takes time and effort to create and produce. You, absolutely, need to be getting the most return on your time. Since video content promotes the most engagement – you want to expand your reach as much as possible with every post. Facebook and Twitter and Instagram want you playing in their sandbox as much as possible and will reward you with expanded reach and presence when you do so.

According to Adespresso, one case study found that there was a 135% increase in organic reach for native videos even compared to photos.

There are additional perks to taking the time to post videos natively – including better analytics and editing opportunities. However, the real push is that 135% more reach! This is no small number.

Take the time to really showcase and highlight your videos by posting them directly onto the platforms. It’s my mission in life to show you how to #BeAwesome with your social media and native video is exactly the technique to use. I will leave you with this nugget:

According to Facebook, by January of this year there were three billion video views on their platform everyday.

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 her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

February 7, 2017
Social Engagement

#AwesomeEngagement – How to Engage Using Your Facebook Business Page

It’s no surprise that Facebook still holds the crown for most used social media app. The algorithm changes have made it challenging for businesses to gain any true organic reach on the platform. One of the ways to get more presence is to use the app as your business page, but this can be confusing for the average Facebook user. How do you develop #AwesomeEngagement with your readership and represent your business at the same time?

Who are you?

It starts with connection. They need to know who you are. Facebook tools are the best place to start. They make it easier than you think to connect.

Begin with the “about” section of your Facebook page. Your website link, hours of operation, etc. are imperative for business connections. If you have a brick and mortar shop and no hours of operation listed, a potential customer may keep scrolling by, and so does that potential sale. Fill out the short and long versions of the “about” section. Keep it to the point, but try to throw a little humor into the mix. Each social media platform is its own search engine, so capitalize on that by using keywords in this area.

Once you set up the “about” section, look to the link options. You have newsletters, sales, and several other sections you can fill out. This is the backbone of your Facebook generated leads. Before you start your awesome engagement, they need to have a way to follow up with a purchase or other call to action once they do reach your page.

Use your Facebook analytics to determine where your readers come from and when they are the most active on your page. Find the most active times, and make sure you’re there to connect.

Now, let’s move on to the content. Every social media app has their unique selling points geared towards their audience. Facebook gives you a chance to share, like (love, cry, or be angry, as well) posts, comment, and move on quickly to the next thing.

You want your content to be interesting. It needs to make them stop and pay attention. There are several ways to do that. There is no point in investing in an engagement strategy when you haven’t given viewers something to engage with.

Using Facebook as Your Business Page

In May of 2016, Facebook changed the feature that allowed admins to swap easily and quickly between their personal and business pages. The Social Media Examiner goes into this change into more detail in this article. However, they didn’t take the option away, merely changed the way it is used. Basically, you are now given drop down options so that you can like and comment on your pages as your company page instead of as yourself. This allows you to engage, and develop a public presence, as your company on the site. While you can engage with other people and pages as you… that doesn’t always make an obvious connection with your work. Spending time regularly to connect with others as your company is a great a way to boost engagement for your Facebook page.

Sharing Content

Share what interests you and also what gets others interested. Facebook users will share things that make them feel good, angry, or that they can agree with on a humorous level. Whatever content you share, make sure it aligns with your brand in a way that won’t destroy a new potential client or customer’s trust in your company.

If you simply share links to articles without giving at least a one sentence summary of why you liked it, your audience will keep scrolling by. Your content needs to be engaging, eye-catching, and timely in order to gain audience participation.

The real key is to share the content of other Facebook pages that have a similar targeted audience as your own. Make sure to tag them as you share them. This is the foundation of influencer marketing. Putting your Facebook business page out there for people to see and check out takes an investment of time but is a free way to build your organic reach.

Talk to them!

You have comments on your Facebook page. While some may be spam, most of the engagement through comments belong to curious people and current (or past) customers and clients. If you find negative reviews here, don’t delete them! Engage with them. Don’t argue, or try to prove your point, as that will look like you are attacking them. Instead, thank them for their comment (if it was constructive), and then let them know how you can help. Do you want them to contact your customer service department? Or return the item? Or, better yet, can you help them right there? If so, that unhappy customer can turn into a raving fan of your company.

When a Facebook Page fan (a person who has liked your page) leaves a comment on one of your posts, their friends (and followers, whether it’s a personal or business account) will be more likely to see that post. Did you know that? Get your current fans engaged and you’ll build more connections.

Surveys and quizzes are great ways to get them to interact with you. You can set them up on the page or through a secondary service, but whatever you do, proofread everything before you release it.

Thank your audience often and with sincerity. People want to feel appreciated, and that’s hard in this high-paced mobile world. A simple thank you is enough to get people to slow down for just a minute. If you use images or video to do this, even better!

Create calls to action. Social Media Examiner had a wonderful roundup of the different types of calls to action:

CTA to encourage engagement—“Please take a moment to leave your comments or thoughts below.”

CTA to drive the reader to other content—“For an in-depth look, sign-up to download our white paper.”

CTA to increase signups or lead capture—“To get regular updates, sign up for our weekly newsletter.”

CTA to nurture leads—“Watch this video for a more in-depth look at how this product can help improve your business.”

CTA for sales—“To get immediate access to this training and all the bonuses, click here.”

Schedule your posts

Catch their eye

It was mentioned earlier, but it bears repeating. Images, emoji use in your posts, and video creation are amazing tools that catch the viewer’s attention. Remember that most users won’t go to your Facebook page until something catches their eye (even if they’re your fans). You need to post regularly, at peak hours, and use engaging images, quality videos, and solid emoji usage in posts to slow them down enough to click on your Facebook page link and see more. Tag other people and pages that will help build your reach. Make sure your are doing all of this as your business page!

Engaging with your audience is easier than you think. Don’t pitch yourself in every post, and at the same time, don’t ignore your chance to gain sales either. It’s a balance that comes from some quick analysis and a steady schedule. Build that bridge of trust with your current clients and customers and you’ll find more connection than ever before. While you can do this with your personal profile, building your brand will require that you spend time engaging as your business as well.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

November 10, 2015
Relationship Marketing

Forget Me Not – Reconnecting with People Online

The next chapter of our #KeystoKindness series this month covers reconnecting with people online. This is especially true for past clients, colleagues, co-workers, and networks that you might not have thought of in awhile. While social media is all about connecting, having conversations and engagement online, the focus tends to be on making new relationships instead of strengthening those you already have.

The main benefit of reconnection is building on a foundationthat is already established. They already know, and most likely trust, you and what you do. We all get busy and get lost in our own tunnel vision. Taking a moment to remind them that you are around and are thinking of them is a great way to reopen communication channels. From there, both parties are welcome to collaborate, brainstorm or share information.

How to Approach Reconnecting

It may feel awkward to say hello to someone you haven’t thought of in awhile. It doesn’t have to elaborate, opening with something simple works just fine. Try one of these:

“Hey there! I was just thinking of you and wondering how your business was doing?”

“Hello! I’m working on this new project and thought it would be great to get your input on it. I’ve always valued your opinion.”

“I saw this article online and it looked right up your alley. Figured I would share and see how you are doing?”

Where to Reconnect

Sure, you can just shoot people an email or a text to reconnect. There’s nothing wrong with that approach at all. However, consider using your social media platforms instead. For one, everyone is looking for more authentic engagement on his or her online platforms. Besides, a side benefit could be that other people view or even participate in the conversation.

Facebook

Share a link to a website, blog, or article that might be interesting to the person. Like some of their posts. Comment on their shares. Make sure to leave a personal note. Ask them a question to encourage them to respond.

LinkedIn

The good thing is this site is built for connecting. Go through your connections and send people a message. Leave a recommendation or endorsements. Often they will be grateful for the time you spent and message you expressing gratitude. Perhaps they will even reciprocate on your profile. Spend some time looking at the prompts the website offers for reconnecting – congratulation people on their new jobs, promotions or work anniversaries.

Twitter

Twitter has perfected the art of the short conversation. If you use Twitter, get on there and start retweeting, favoriting, and mentioning people you haven’t spoken to in a while. Find creative ways to spark their interest and build your own engaging conversations.

There are other ways to reconnect as well. Know any bloggers? Go read their latest blog post and post a comment. Engage and interact with people you know on forums, community groups, and websites. Pull up a list of people you network with and send them something valuable or interesting.

Challenge yourself to take some time this week to drop a line with some people you haven’t talked to for a bit. It establishes more presence for you online and you never know what kind of benefits might come from engaging others. Keep expressing gratitude, counting your blessings, and sharing kindness.

This is just one of the ways to #BeAwesome this November. Keep an eye out for more of our #KeystoKindness later this month.

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business. Don’t get left behind ~

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 her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars.

September 22, 2015
Social Engagement

Investing in your Facebook Followers

Creating a Facebook page for your cause or company is a milestone. This imperative aspect of creating buzz and attention is something that everyone does now. A Facebook page is an essential part of the process of creating something new and then attracting traffic. However, simply setting up a page is not enough to garner an audience or establish presence. There are a lot of tips and tricks for getting more followers but that’s only half the battle. Once you have them, you must convince them to stay and to listen to what you have to say. If you want your followers to invest in you, you must first invest in them.

Give Them What You Want

The good news is that if you have followers, you are already doing something right. You’ve found a way to entice them to visit your Facebook page. Better than that, you convinced them to follow you. The first key to building an audience and investing in your followers, is to give them what they want. What do they want? Pay attention to what posts or interactions spur people to follow you. Then keep doing it! If you aren’t Facebook savvy, sign up for a tracker that can let you know what your popular posts were and where you are making the most impact.

Make Them Feel Good

Now that you have their attention, what can you do to grow the relationship? For those just using Facebook as a spot to push sales, maybe that attention is all that is needed. They are already reading what you post or share. However, what if there is a shortage of comments, likes or shares? The area could be lacking in decent conversation and solid engagement. Now what? Make them feel good! Give them a reason to check the page – make them laugh, make them feel, inspire them. There is no better way to encourage folks to be repeat viewers than to make the experience evoke an emotional response.

Get Them Involved

The next step to giving more to your followers is to get them involved. Set up polls. Hold contests. Ask them questions. Have your audience weigh in on a problem you need to solve. Incorporate appropriate hashtags and Twitter into your posts. The idea is to make your followers feel like a part of what you do, as if their votes and opinions matter. Their presence is such a vital part of what you do and once they know that, they will be invested as well.

It can be easy to get stuck in a routine of posting what you think is important on your Facebook page. The key to social media is much the same as other areas of marketing and branding. It’s not about you. It’s aboutthe audience. Flip the script and look at your Facebook page as if you were following it. What motivates you to return to a Facebook page? What could a company or business do to inspire you to interact with their posts? That’s the true key to investing in your Facebook page and engaging those who follow it.

Need an extra boost or some great ideas to kick off this new approach to Facebook. Give me a call to discuss how I can help!

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business. Don’t get left behind ~

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 her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

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Forget Me Not – Reconnecting with People Online

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