by cassandr | Sep 13, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Interactive, Social Media
Everybody is still talking about Facebook and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Yes, people use Twitter to jib jab… but ultimately you need a home base for online social persona… and an extension of your website.
A fan page is great way to connect with your users and a place to advertise your business, post pictures, videos and connect a variety of your other networks at one central location. But in order to do this effectively, you must have a solid number of followers so you can maintain the momentum of engagement. So how can you go about that?
Create Contests
To add value to your fan page you have to ask yourself for what reason are users going to join my page, aside from brand loyalty? You don’t want just to be a gateway for offering resources. A great way to create participation is through offering coupons and contests specifically to Facebook users. This is key in enticing existing fans to engage… and more importantly reach and get consumers to join.
Many stores offer their fans coupons on Facebook that can be used in store, providing an added reason as to why the consumer should join. For retailers, it’s a great mechanism to collect a customer database for future promotions. Coupons require consumers to click the coupon, which re directs them to a page where their contact information is required prior to the coupon being downloaded or sent.
Post Regularly
Like Twitter, and various social networking sites you must post regularly in order to attract new fans. In most cases two to three times a day is plenty, you can post more than that … however there is a direct correlation between the number of posts you post and how much time you spend on your page. You can also use the social media management software Hootsuite that can schedule your posts releases, although there’s a school of thought that suggests that fans feel that this is less authentic and isn’t perceived as favourable.
Respond
The easiest way to show your Facebook fans that your listening to what they have to say is to simply “like” their response. You could also just write a written response, it’s up to you. Again, being authentic is the best way to blend in with your fan base . Either way you want to show your fans that you pay attention with what they have to say, and stimulate discussion.
Include Surveys
One of the best ways to engage your audience is through surveys. People like sharing their opinions. With that in mind why not hold a poll on your page. In order to create discussion its best to stick with open ended questions that people can go on and on about. Make sure you keep people up to date with the results of the survey, again to keep them engaged and wanting more.
What tactics have you found useful on a Facebook page? We want to hear from you!
by cassie | Aug 21, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Interactive, Social Media
Social Media change…what else is new!
The only constant in life is change, and this seems especially true in terms of social media. It seems as if every other day there is a new platform that is coming into vogue and those that have been around awhile are changing to keep up. Once you finally learn how to leverage networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, they change the next day.
Let’s take a look at some recent social media changes:
Klout has altered its scoring system to include “moments.” Moments are posts that have generated activity. Through moments users can see what action was taken, who did it and what network it happened on. In similar fashion to Facebook, Klout is also including insights, which allows users to have a better idea of their influence by allowing them to view data quickly and simply.
LinkedIn has changed its user interface. The homepage now features a more modern design as well as incorporating more visuals in the updates stream. Additionally, updates and posts can now be organized and viewed by what is most relevant, not that which is most recent.
Twitter has taken its promotional tweets one step further with targeted tweets. Targeted tweets allow advertisers to send tweets to specific audiences without tweeting to all of a brand’s followers. Advertisers using targeted tweets can segment by location, devices and platforms.
Facebook is following in the footsteps of Twitter by testing promoted posts. Promoted posts allow ads to show in the news feeds of all members regardless if the user has liked the brand page or if they have friends who have liked the brand page.
The question remains, are these changes necessary and useful or just annoying?
As with any change, there are going to be positive and negative aspects.
The best instances of change come out of necessity. In the case of Klout, there were many critics voicing opinions about whether the score is truly accurate and even questioning how the score is determined.
Klout’s response was to try to develop a better user understanding through its new features. Whether it will silence the naysayers remains to be seen.
Facebook is also a good example of necessary social media change. One of its largest competitors was offering a way to reach more people, so they are testing a similar approach to stay relevant.
This particular case has huge potential for brands and advertisers. Facebook already offers ads, but they are small and cast off to the side of the page. Promoted posts will bring the content onto the news feeds of users, giving it more space and attention.
These changes have the potential to transform the way those specific platforms are used and to open new ways for marketers to engage with their audiences. These changes show that the platforms are listening to their users and work to serve a purpose.
Change for change’s sake is not necessarily good. Facebook is notorious for changing their user interface and often times the reasoning behind the change is not clear. LinkedIn is the most recent platform to alter its appearance and one could question why the now and if it was even necessary.
Changes, such as those mentioned, can seem superficial and can lead to “user rage.” With the speed of technology and the amount of platforms out there, users can easily become overwhelmed. It takes time, a precious commodity they don’t have, to learn and adjust to a new interface and many initially resent being forced to make the change. It goes against the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality.
Change has the potential to bring about great things, so long as it serves a purpose and people are willing to accept it. How do you feel about the recent changes in the social media landscape?
by cassie | Aug 17, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Design, Social Media
The rise of social media has brought about many advantages: instantaneous and constant communication; the humanization of brands and stronger relationships with customers.
However, it all comes at a price, mainly the diminishing attention span of users. Social media creates a constant feed of information virtually 24/7, resulting in people spending less time engaged in your content – if they even read it at all.
So how does one make sure that not only does important information reach the intended audience, but that it also gets absorbed?
It’s funny how everything old is new. Social Media content has taken “a page” from traditional print. Remember how newspapers were very rudimentary in layout and content was “the star”, making for a very text heavy presentation. Well, here we are once again.
Social media is becoming increasingly more visual and that means if you want your content to be read, you need to make it visually appealing.
Moving away from being text heavy, Twitter has a limit on the number of characters a message can have as well as allowing for postings of photos. After all a picture is worth a thousand words! Taking that adage to the max is Instagram, a photo-sharing platform in which users take photos, apply a filter and share it to their other social media accounts. Then there’s Pinterest, a virtual pin board that allows users to “pin” photos of things they find interesting and share with others for inspiration.
Making numbers and dry data interesting is easier said than done. One way do that is to use infographics. Infographics are visual representations of data and yes, they too have been around for a long time, just not called as such. Chances are you’ve used infographics long before venturing into social media. Maps, diagrams and charts are all examples.
So why now are infographics gaining popularity?
First of all, with the rise of social media, people don’t want to dig to find the relevant information. Infographics can streamline what needs to be known in a concise and easy to read manner. At the risk of repeating myself, the attention span of audiences is lessening by the second!
Secondly, infographics can take information that, while important, might be boring and transform it into something that is eye catching and visually appealing. With a whole spectrum of symbols, characters and colours to use, what once was boring can be made fun. By using those elements, the creator of the infographic not only catches the eye of the reader, but directs them where to look, helping ensure the information is read.
For example
This is an infographic taken from www.timeout.com. It provides interesting stats on the Olympic and Paralympic games through recognizable symbols, colours and limited text. If the information were presented written in a black and white article, people might not care, but through the use of infograhpics the information has suddenly become quirky and worth a second look.
How can brands leverage infographics to their benefit?
Brands can use infographics to tell their story. Through statistical graphs and charts brands can show how the brand has grown and the direction in which it is evolving.
Brands can also use infographics to assist in developing or establishing a persona. The images, characters and colours used will all have connotations and those choices directly reflect the brand.
Lastly, brands need to put their infographics out into the world. The whole point is to make the information easy to understand and absorb quickly, making it ideal for sharing. Being easy to read and understand, visually appealing and fun are all characteristics that help generate engagement and propel brands. The greater the impression an infographic makes on a reader, the greater the likelihood of the reader sharing it with others on social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest– that’s what social media is all about after all.
Just like having a brand and not advertising it…. It doesn’t matter how great an infographic is, if it’s not posted to social media, it’s not worth anything.
What has your experience with infographics been? Do you think they are here to stay or a fleeting trend?
by Madi Secareanu | Jul 19, 2012 | Business Success, Interactive, Social Media
How to Better Leverage Twitter for Business:
Some brands select one social media outlet for their campaigns and do it well. For the most part that outlet is Facebook . Yes, it is a very effective tool for reaching consumers and running campaigns, but let’s not forget about Twitter. To help brands cut through the noise, Twitter has several features that brands can leverage for promotional and engagement campaigns. Here are 5 ways a brand can better leverage Twitter to get loud and reach and engage users.
- Amplify your message with Promoted Tweets
With promoted tweets brands can buy promotional packages to amplify their messages. Promoted tweets can be targeted to search results or to users’ timelines. Promoting tweets in a search allows brands to reach users when they are searching for specific topic, hashtag or term on Twitter. Much like Google search, they appear at the top of the results page. Promoted tweets to timeline reach a brand’s follower base or users who are like their followers. Why is this important? Like I’ve said before, the life of a tweet is generally only a few seconds. Using promoted tweets, a brand can make sure their message is seen. For example, if a brand is running a contest, one quick tweet might not result in many entries, but promoting that tweet will drive higher levels of engagement.
- Get Found by utilizing Promoted Accounts
It’s important for a brand to build a strong Twitter follower base that will then share and amplify the brand message. Also paid, promoted accounts appear in search results and within the Who To Follow section – Twitter’s account recommendation engine that suggests accounts to users. Generating awareness, this can be a useful tool for brands that are new to Twitter and want to introduce themselves and brands looking to get more followers. Brands can also promote their accounts if they are running a campaign or if they are celebrating a milestone.
- Build Behavioural Habits with Twitter Customs
Knowing the Twitter customs and syntax can help a brand integrate itself in the Twitter community. Participating in “Follow Friday” for example can be a part of a brand’s Twitter mandate. Each Friday, Twitter users promote accounts they think their followers should follow. Brands can take part by tweeting #FF of their followers, related accounts, or accounts they find interesting. Before long, and given a brand pushes out interesting content, users will begin including them in Twitter customs. Brands can also create their own customs to engage their followers.
- Make the Right First Impression with Enhanced Profiles
An enhanced profile page allows brands to visually feature important and interesting content. Similar to Facebook Pages’ Cover Photo, brands can add a 835×90 header to their Twitter profile that could be a logo, image, tagline or any other visual branding. They can also feature their content more prominently by highlighting a tweet at the top of their profile, again similar to Facebook Pages’ Pin functionality. Unfortunately, enhanced profiles are currently only available to a select group of brands.
- Make yourself known with Promoted trends
Promoted trends are strategically positioned to amplify the conversation. By promoting a term, a campaign or a hashtag, brands can give Twitter users the opportunity to discover their message quickly and get involved. This can be a great tool for brands that are running contests on Twitter that require users to tweet a specific hashtag to enter.
Has your brand leveraged Twitter and its features to reach and engage users? Were your efforts a success?
by cassie | Jul 18, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Interactive, Social Media
Social Media is a wonderful thing… or it can be! It allows for a brand to engage directly with their customers, one on one… in real-time. It has an incredible and indefinable reach potential. With so much going for it, why is it so hard for Corporations to jump on board? Despite all its accolades, measuring the success of social media remains problematic. Determining ROI is difficult to assess simply because the cost of social media is difficult to assess.
The Creative Group recently did a survey, interviewing more than 250 marketing and advertising executives, and determined that 27% of them found measuring results the biggest road block with social media.
There are multiple factors that contribute to the problem:
- Results aren’t always instantaneous. Social media is used to raise brand awareness and develop customer relationship over long periods of time.
- The value of a “Like” on Facebook can mean different things depending whether or not the customer continues to be engaged after liking a product or page.
- Engagement can be positive or negative.
There are ways, however, to determine the success of your social media campaign based on your goals:
- Awareness: if you want to measure your brands awareness reach and virality are indicators you want to look for. How many people have seen it and how many have shared it?
- Establishing a relationship with customers: if a relationship with customers is your goal you need look at engagement. How many likes and followers do you have? How many people comment and share? Is the discussion positive? Are people retweeting?
- Traffic: Are you trying to drive traffic to a website that sells goods through Facebook? If so, you need to look at actions, number of clicks, cost per clicks and link sharing.
Determining your vision of success enables you to know what to look for once you have the data… then you need to turn all that data into information.
Many social networks provide their on analytic services, for example Facebook insights. Facebook insights allows for a brand to track growth in terms of likes, reach and who is talking about the brand. It provides metrics to let you know where each like came from, to allowing you to evaluate media channels and their success. It provides all kinds of different demographic and geographic profiles… which status posts did well, which didn’t. This allows you to assess the type of future posts to add.
If you looking for the success of a social media campaign outside of the platform used, Google Analytics offers conversion services that helps determine the monetary value gained due to visits directed from social media sites. There are also some very comprehensive dashboard platforms that enables for social media integration.
When determining a brand impression, Sysomos has a service that monitors social media conversation and determines how much of it is positive, negative or neutral.
Knowing how to create and define a successful social media campaign can go a long way in building a brand and achieving a high return on investment. To learn more about ROI, read out blog “Brand Building: How to maximize ROI”
These are just a few of the options available to help make sense of social media. How do you measure your social media campaigns?
