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Posted by Patrick

Social Media ROI Stats and Struggles

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One of the biggest struggles for marketers in this digital age is the ability to successfully measure social media ROI. This is an issue for many marketers because it’s truly difficult to measure the financial value of all that social media provides. Increasingly, marketers are straying away from measuring ROI and showing an increase in revenue and sales when reporting success. Rather, they value things such as engagement: reactions, shares, comments, and page follows.

While 65% of managers believe that social ROI is important, 87% do not even try to measure it. This leaves 77% of  CEOs believing that marketers are not talking about what really matters most to them: sales. So, when it comes to social media marketing and ROI, what matters most? Is it being able to measure financial gains, or is it the ability to show growth, engagement and an actively involved community that values your content and message via social media?

As a San Diego website design and search engine optimization firm, we can see how the value of measuring ROI would be important to most CEOs and marketing managers. Our social media marketing department also struggles with this question, as there is a delicate balance to be had when showing results. We want to highlight the growth and engagement of a successful social media following, however, there are limitations to proving that an increase in revenues is directly correlated with a specific social media campaign.

Just the same, here are some general—overall statistics surrounding social media ROI across all businesses and industries when done correctly. Companies who have a well-established social media presence have seen a 9% increase in revenues, are 26% more profitable than their competitors, and have a 12% higher market value. The key factor in these stats, is the fact that these are well-established social media platforms that are successful both in terms of engagement as well as ROI. In order for this to happen, it simply takes time. Social media may not translate into ROI for a company right away, but if they put in the time, effort, and energy into building a strong presence, it most certainly can benefit the company in terms of ROI in the long-run.

So how should marketers approach the topic of measuring social media ROI? Marketing managers and CEOs alike should look at entering the social media realm as a necessity in this day in age, as well as an investment that (if done properly) will result in a profitable return. However, like with most investments, it is going to take some time to see the fruits of one’s labor. It is going to take financial and time investments to build a following over social media. However, once you have that following, it’s an investment that will continue to bear profitable rewards and opportunities for years to come as long as it is upkept.

Would you like some help growing your social following for the future success of your business? Our social media marketing experts would love to help grow your brand and following over social media. For more information, or a detailed quote, call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Patrick

5 Social Media Trends We’re Excited to See in 2017

Advertising, Business Tips, Content Marketing, Social Good, Social Media, Social Media for Consumer Products, Uncategorized 0

TRENDS 2017 businessman work hard hand touch

2017 is here, and that means there are sure to be a whole slew of brand new technologies, trends and innovative ways in which marketers will be promoting their business this year. We’ve scoured the web to find out more in terms of what we’re to expect this year, and we’ve found some exciting new trends that we’d love to share with you so that you too are in the loop with the latest and greatest in digital marketing to date.

AI Lenses for Instagram and Facebook

Much like the Snapchat filters, Instagram and Facebook are now working on AI Lenses for profile pictures that are sure to rival the ever-popular filters on Snapchat, according to Sprout Social. Thanks to the popular Snapchat stories, this trend isn’t going away anytime soon, and we should be seeing much more of it overall social media platforms this year.

More Growth for Snapchat

Last year Snapchat experienced an enormous amount of growth to reach a total of 150 million daily users in 2016, with 41% of US adults aged 18-34 being users.

Automation Turns into Social Media Management

Businesses are starting to see the value in real-time posting and engagement for their social media platforms across the board. This is showing business owners and marketers alike that there is much more value in hiring a social media management firm to actively manage all social media accounts in more real-time than setting up everything with automation, so that it is basically on auto-pilot. Opportunities for reaching more people, getting in on what’s most current, trending and up to date, and being more responsive to followers in real-time is going to be essential in 2017.

Paid Content is King

2017 Trends

Navigating the ever-changing algorithms over Facebook and Instagram have forced marketers into boosting and promoting content in order to reach more people. This trend isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. If businesses want to reach more people, advertising their content over platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are going to be essential. It will also help to pair this effort with the expertise of a local search engine optimization firm to reach even more people over the Internet, and gain maximum exposure for not only your content, but your company website as well.

Social Media Expertise Demand at an All-Time High

Nine out of ten companies currently report that their employees lack the skill sets needed to effectively execute social media management and marketing in an overall effective way. This is going to push companies to start considering outsourcing their social media management to an experienced marketing firm. This will save companies time, and even money when it comes to managing their social media efforts in a manner that will not only drive sales, leads and ROI, but build a loyal following that is sure to stick with them for years to come.

Social media is constantly changing, which is also changing the way that businesses must market themselves. Gone will be the days of in-house marketing if companies truly want to get an edge above their competition and become power houses over social media and the Internet. For more information, or a detailed quote, call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Patrick

Add Fuel to Your Social Media Campaigns with Pokemon Go

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As a small business owner, you should always be alert to the possibility of capitalizing on trends which can be advantage to yourself or your business. One of the hottest trends in the country right now is the video game called Pokémon Go, and that fact alone makes it ideal for usage in adding fuel to your social media campaigns.

If for no other reason, the fact of its enormous popularity and the numbers of people who are involved with it, should be something that gets your attention, because it provides you with an enormous built-in audience to promote your small business. Here are some of the ways that you can hop on the bandwagon and use Pokémon Go to grow your small business.

Encourage players to use your business

You can boost social media engagement by encouraging Pokémon Go players to make use of your business – the invitation alone will open the way to greater social engagement with your local clientele, as well as any visiting customers. By making use of social channels to invite people to come play at your business location, you’ll be increasing patronage simply by virtue of the greater number of visitors. If you have a restaurant or store this can be ideal, since the influx of new customers will probably take advantage of time spent there by purchasing your products or services. For even greater participation, you can stage contests or promotions to draw in even more people.

Provide charging stations and free Wi-Fi

You may find that Pokémon Go players flock to your business location if you provide them with charging stations and free Wi-Fi for playing. Two of the critical requirements for extended play will thus be supplied, and your location may become the go-to place in the neighborhood for players. By using your own social channels to inform area players of your generosity, it should quickly become known that you’ve established a player-friendly location which they should be visiting.

Encourage social media check ins

Having players check-in while at your establishment is a great way to boost social engagement, as well as to enhance your Facebook page credibility. Most of the time, a high volume of check-ins is followed by more players coming to your business because of the increased visibility, as well as additional reviews of your business on Facebook. Of course it’s up to you to make sure that those reviews are positive, by providing a pleasant experience for players while they’re with you, and for offering great products and services.

Have players take Pokémon pictures with your products

It can be solid gold for your business to have players taking Pokémon pictures with your products, and have those pictures posted to social media. This amounts to free advertising for your business, and gives you great product exposure all over the Internet. You can encourage this even more by offering discounts to players who take such pictures, especially if they’re products featuring your business name.

Assistance with your social media campaigns

Of course there are many more ways of using digital media strategies for growing your small business. For instance, if you’re considering SEO San Diego or a revamped website, you should contact the experts in San Diego website design, the good folks at My Social Marketing Network. Far more than just a search engine optimization firm, MySMN can handle all your digital marketing needs and website redesigns. For more information or a detailed quote, call 619-291-8181, or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Posted by Patrick

What’s all the Buzz about Live Streaming Video?

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Live Streaming Video (Small)

Live streaming video is hardly new, and in fact the technology that makes it possible has been around for quite a while now, but it has been generating enormous buzz lately, with Facebook’s roll-out of live streaming video available to everyone with an account. This has served to re-kindle worldwide interest, and reinforce the notion of its value as a potential key component of any company’s digital marketing toolbox.

There are lots of reasons for its continuing popularity, beginning with the fact that it’s not difficult to coordinate and present – if you do need help, or more information about live streaming presentations, consult with your SEO San Diego experts at MySMN. Here’s why live streaming is generating more buzz than ever in the marketing world:

  • Content immediacy – a great example of this is a news feed which updates viewers on sporting events, weather forecasts, or world events and politics, and up-to-the-minute business news. There is tremendous value in the timeliness of the information being presented, and that gives it an appeal that’s hard to beat. For instance, Facebook Live and YouTube both plan to present live streaming feeds of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, with down-on-the-floor immediacy.
  • Potential for interaction – almost every other kind of interface with crowds or audiences is associated with a time delay. For instance, if you post a blog or add information to a website, it won’t be consumed by viewers until the next day at least. Even the social media have lags of several hours. With live streaming video, there is often the opportunity for audience members to respond or react immediately.
  • High response rates – live streaming events always generate the biggest responses from audiences, and if you translate that into sales, it causes a spike in activity as the event is streamed, and for the next few days.
  • Live event excitement – there is an excitement about a live event that is unlike any other broadcast. If you ever have any doubts about this, just listen to or read about the recollections of any cast member who has ever been on Saturday Night Live.
  • Better return on investment – a live streaming event that is used to generate leads impresses an audience more and is considered to have greater ROI. People who take the time to sign up for or register for the event are the same people who become the most solid leads.
  • Engagement tracking is easier – streaming a live event, makes it much easier to track all the registrants for it, as opposed to people who sign up for material published in many different places, some of which will not be trackable.
  • Idea piloting – whenever you stream an event live, the likelihood is that it will generate a huge buzz around the particular product or event being highlighted. Sometimes the only way such ideas can be tested out is via live format, and you can even increase the attention it gets by publicizing it as an event that will not be recorded or re-streamed, which should raise interest level with viewers to attend this one and only opportunity.

As previously mentioned, live streaming can be setup fairly easily by knowledgeable professionals like those at San Diego’s premier search engine optimization firm, MySMN. If you’d like to find out more about using live streaming video, San Diego website design, or other professional digital marketing services, MySMN is the company to contact. For more information, or a detailed quote call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Patrick

How To Instantly Get More Organic Leads Via Social Media Marketing

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When it comes to using social media to generate leads, there are many, many things that work.

But here’s what doesn’t work: trying to do many, many things the wrong way.

One of the biggest problems small businesses run into when ramping up their social media marketing efforts is that they try to use social media the same way that big businesses use old media (i.e. radio, television, print ads).

But you can’t do that and expect to make any progress. You can’t use social media to just push ads out into people’s faces and expect them to love you for it. That method might still work on television and radio, but it doesn’t work on Twitter and YouTube.

In order to generate leads with social media, you have to stop trying so hard to generate leads. Does that make sense? You have to put the social back in social media, or your social media marketing strategy isn’t going to get you anywhere. You’ll just be spinning your wheels in vain.

So let’s look at some specific ways that we might do this. Since Instagram is such a hot platform right now, let’s use IG as an example. Keep in mind that while these strategies will specifically be about Instagram, the concepts carry over into other social platforms as well.

EXAMPLE: How To Get More Organic Leads On Instagram

A few months ago we shared some quick Instagram tips on how to grow your business. We shared some actionable tactics, such as using creative hashtags and running contests and giveaways to grow your audience. But we also talked a little about sharing engaging visual content and interacting with your audience, and since that social aspect is our focus today, let’s dig into that a little bit more.

Posting, Following, Liking, Tagging and Sharing

On the surface, interacting with followers on Instagram is very straightforward. You like their posts. You follow them. You might even share one of their posts with your other followers and tag them to let them know about it.

These are the basics, and they can gradually work to build relationships with your followers and eventually get some of them to head over to your physical store – or at least to your website – where you can make an attempt at making a sale or getting some contact info from them.

But there are ways to speed things up.

Partnering With Related Accounts To Quickly Grow Your Audience

You obviously don’t want to waste your time trying to connect with your competitors on social media. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that all other businesses in your space are competitors. There are likely other businesses and other IG accounts that share your same customer base but that don’t necessarily compete with you for the same products and services.

By forming alliances with these other businesses on Instagram, you can quickly tap into their followers to grow your own customer base as well. Get one of them to share your post and tag you in it, and you just doubled your reach. Get several to share your posts, and you can easily 10x your reach.

Are you forming mutually beneficial friendships with other businesses on social media?

You should be.

If you’d like to discuss more ways to grow your social media reach exponentially and rapidly increase the pace at which your online marketing efforts generate new leads, give us a call at (877) 576-9766.

Posted by Patrick

What we Learned From the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Social Good, Uncategorized 0

What We Learned From the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

In 2013 the ALS Association, an organization dedicated to providing care options and assistance to those battling Lou Gehrig’s Disease, raised $2.7 million between the period July 29 through August 27. A year later the organization raised $94.3 million for the same period, attributed to what has become known as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The challenge, which to date has raised over $114 million toward the cause, has become a phenomenon that has taken on a life of its own.

The Ice Bucket Challenge has raised awareness and attention to ALS but it has also caused organizations to re-evaluate how the power of suggestion and social networks can drive attention to your product or service and create a massive call-to-action. Here is some more information about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and how its success may apply to your situation as you work to increase your impact online.

What is the Ice Bucket Challenge?

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was created innocently enough in July 2014 as a challenge between two friends that happened to choose ALS as their charitable beneficiary. The power of networks connected one of the original challengers, Chris Kennedy of Sarasota, Florida, to challenge his wife’s cousin whose husband, Anthony Senerchia, suffered from the disease. What began as a small challenge between friends and family members that was shared via social media became a national and international viral sensation.Digital Marketing Doodle Elements Set

There have been as many detractors regarding the Ice Bucket Challenge as there have been supporters. Many of those who have been critical of the campaign believe that those who participate in the challenge bring attention to themselves as oppose to the cause for which they are broadcasting awareness for. Regardless of the criticism, it cannot be disputed that this type of peer-to-peer marketing brought in measurable results and challenges our norms with regards to messaging and fundraising.

What the Ice Bucket Challenge Teaches Us About the Sharing Economy

If you use social media as a forum for reaching customers and to communicate information about yourself, products or services, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge should provide you with plenty of takeaways for your sales and marketing campaigns. The challenge showed the power of social networks and peer-to-peer connections, which were essential to the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge and the amount of money and attention it raised.

The sharing economy, or peer-to-peer marketing is more likely to appeal to those younger consumers, the very ones that you as a business owner or service provides want to attract. Being able to think outside of the box and utilize the power of tools such as social media in a creative and inventive way is something we all should learn from the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Posted by Patrick

Effective Email Subject Lines and How Not To Look Like Spam

Email Marketing, Uncategorized 0

A few years ago, email marketing seemed to be the newest and best marketing opportunity available to anyone with a computer and an email account.  However, thanks to SPAM, it has ruined email marketing for a lot of busiensses. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a way to use email marketing to your business’ benefit.  The business just needs to make sure that it has a strategy and that it follows the strategy.

The first thing that every company needs to do is to follow the wishes of the person at the other end of the email.  It should be easy to get off the list.  The link should be visibly marked “unsubscribe.”  When that link is selected, the person should stop receiving emails from the company.  There really should not be any argument or questioning why, it should just be done as a form of common courtesy.  Maybe the company can send a confirmation email, but that should be the end of it.   Of course, the company can save itself a lot of this trouble if it only sends emails to people who have said they wanted them.  Creating a group who gets emails is a great deal for everyone involved.

Big Stock / fuzzbones
Big Stock / fuzzbones

The email sent out should be more than an advertisement.  Even when a person has signed up for advertisements, he or she is more likely to delete an email that only has advertisements in it without ever actually opening the email.  Instead of just an advertisement, the email can have an interesting tidbit in it or a good quote from someone famous.  These are not things that will take up a lot of room, but when done well, they will create interest in opening the email – and email is only good when it has been opened and read.

The subject line should be clear about what is in the email.  Subject lines like “Hi,” “It’s been a long time and “What are you wearing?” scream “spam” with the last one possibly screaming “stalker” or “pervert.”  Instead the line should read something like “Quote from famous guy and offer from store.”  Anything that is not misleading and allows the person to delete the email unread if the person is not interested in the content within the email.

The email should also include a positive identifier that the email is from where it says that it is from, and those who subscribe to the email list should know what that identifier is.  Large companies say that they will never ask for a person’s password in an email.  Other companies say that all emails will be addressed by name to the person at the email account.  Having a clear process for contacting people on the email list makes it less likely that they will click on a link that takes them to a page that looks like the business’ page but is actually someone trying to gather personal and credit card information in a fraudulent manner.

Email marketing can still be effective even with all of the scams in the virtual marketplace.  As long as the business is smart about its strategy, it can keep its customers safe, happy and in a buying mood by following the rules outlined above.  Common decency, even if it seems out of style, should be the first rule.  By following the wishes of the people at the other end of the email account, a company can avoid the hassles that come with being known as spam.

Posted by Patrick

Heat Maps and Eye Tracking, How Analytics Can Tell You Everything

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Heat Maps and Eye Tracking, How Analytics Can Tell You Everything

Technology has advanced to help companies better understand the behavior of their customers. Devices that track how consumers use products, as well as what they look for in a company’s products helps guide decisions regarding style, color, size and the way a product looks and feels. The data generated from the different devices used by business is a wealth of information that improves the things customers buy and use daily.

Two such data gathering devices or technologies are heat maps and eye tracking. Understanding what these technologies do can help you make smarter decisions about how your products are designed. It can also guide the type of messaging you engage in, whether via social media, your company website and other marketing portals.

Big Stock / ra2studio
Big Stock / ra2studio

How Eye Tracking Advanced Consumerism

It is important to first understand what eye tracking is and how it benefits you in driving consumerism. Eye tracking is simply technology that shows you where customers look for information when interacting with you such as by way of your website. Simply put it measures where people look and how long they are looking by giving you a visual representation of their sight line.

Why is eye tracking an important data gathering technology? It helps you understand where information should be located in order to maximize its impact on your potential customers. Placing bigger, bolder headlines near the top of your web page along with more engaging content designed to capture attention are a few of the outcomes you uncover when using eye tracking technology. Calls to action can be placed at the end of a page, which also draw attention and help you direct actions by your customers (i.e. product inquiry, find additional information, ordering instructions, etc.).

What are Heat Maps?

Heat maps or heat mapping is a process that works hand-in-hand with eye tracking. Heat maps provide you with the visual representation of where customers look and the amount of time they look at a particular spot on the page. Heat maps provide you with insight as to the behavior of consumers when digesting information and can help you create content that satisfies a customer’s need for information while also guiding them to take action.

Data provided from eye tracking studies and heat mapping is an important tool in helping you manage customer expectations and increase your sales. An investment in good eye tracking software may be the best solution for uncovering the analytics necessary to grow your revenues and improve your online presence.

Posted by Patrick

How to Battle Facebook’s Organic Reach Uphill Battle

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Practical Ways to Improving Facebook Organic Traffic Numbers

If your Facebook organic traffic numbers are taking a bit of a dive, don’t panic! You are not alone. Facebook organic traffic is expected to plummet sooner or later. There is even some indications that maintaining a steady and growing “organic traffic” on Facebook will eventually cost you a fortune. Before you throw another bag of money on Facebook ad promotion, take a few moments to review these strategies and gain an upper hand in Facebook’s organic reach uphill battle!

Are You Attracting the “Right” Audience?

First, review your Facebook organic traffic and ask yourself: What kind of audience am I attracting to my page? Is it mostly co-workers, colleagues, and family members? Compare your finding to your business goals and see if the people who visit your page are the ones you are trying to reach. Remember, you are not interested in attracting a generic crowd, you are looking for the RIGHT crowd. Use your organic traffic data to fine tune your strategy and convert your followers to loyal buyers. In the end, you want people to love you enough to endorse your business to family and friends.

Big Stock / bloomua
Big Stock / bloomua

Creatively Engage Your Audience

Your Facebook page should be designed and marketed to engage people who appreciate, want, and need your ideas, goods, or services. Because the fate of your Facebook organic traffic depends on you using the RIGHT medium to attract the RIGHT audience, evaluating your content marketing plans and ensuring that your service, sales copy, and product descriptions are compelling, interesting, and up to date is the smart way to go. Be creative. Use videos, infographs, free gifts, ebooks, and anything you can think of to grab your audience’s attention and make them want more!

Build Up Your Credibility

Marketing is a two way effort. If you have something to sell, then you need buyers. It’s as simple as that. However, no one is going to spend even a dime on your service if you do not have a credible online presence in your particular market. To develop an authoritative presence, you will need to network with famous bloggers, business owners, and experts in your target nitch. Connect with them online by following them on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. If the person you are trying to befriend has a blog, then visit his/her site regularly and leave valuable comments with links back to your business sites and Facebook pages. The more people know about you, the more likely they are going to be attracted to your site. Give gifts, make friends, and build up your Facebook organic traffic!

Final words on Facebook

The glory days of Facebook and free advertising may slowly be coming to a screeching halt. You may have to accept the fact that Facebook organic traffic was a lucky trend for many but it is something that you missed! While this does not mean you should give up on Facebook completely, putting all your eggs in one basket will do you a disservice. As you compete to get noticed in an increasingly competitive market, it may be time to get some professional advice and let someone help you drum up Facebook organic traffic through a well-developed Facebook battle plan.

Posted by Patrick

What Sort of Questions Engage you Customers / Fans

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Obtaining proper customer engagement can be a difficult challenge if you do not know which questions to ask. Getting organized with your social media accounts is the first step to start reaching out to your customers. The next step is to find a way to have discussions with your customers. Reach out to your customers by asking for their input. Here are some questions to use when you are focused on customer engagement.

Complete this Statement

One of the easiest ways to start getting your customers to engage with you is by asking them a question they need to think about. Some companies do fun strategies including, “My favorite pizza topping is ______________________!” A fill in the blank question is a fun way to get people talking and to bring out some new ideas from your customers. Questions do not always need to focus on everything directly related to the company. Fun questions about holidays mix up the social media posts and get people excited.

Ask for Help

Another way to get people talking is by asking for help. You can ask for help with some small decisions, or have the customers participate in larger decisions such as choosing a new logo or mascot. Asking for help from the customers is a great way to get them talking and show them the importance they are to your organization.

Yes or No

One way to get people talking is by asking a basic yes or no question. This is a simple way to obtain a quick answer from your followers.

Ask For Surveys

Another way to get your customers talking to you is by asking them to participate in a survey. A survey can be a series of short questions the customers can fill out online. Ask them a single question on social media and direct them to your website to fill out the longer version of the survey.

Share Interesting Information

Do you have a unique piece of information to share with others? Find some interesting information about your industry or your product to share with your followers. This is a great way to get people to start talking as they share the information with others.

Either/Or Questions

People love fun quizzes to answer and share with others. A great way to get your customers talking is to ask them an either/or statement. Some statements you use can help you find out which products people prefer.

Ask for Feedback

Ask your customers to provide you with feedback about recent products or services. You need to talk about relevant information for your industry to give you insight into the customer’s minds.

Follow the News

Stay up to date with the latest news that people are currently talking about. Following the news is a great way to engage your customers as you can gauge how they are reacting to the latest information. This method is known as newsjacking, which is to react to a current news story and promote your brand with it.

Big Stock / Jakub Jirsak
Big Stock / Jakub Jirsak

When you want to engage your customers it is important to remember they have short attention spans on social media. People want to answer a question quickly and do not want to be bombarded with multiple questions. Short and sweet is the best way to make certain you do not end up losing the attention of your customers.

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