facebook business page optimization Archives

10 Social Media Marketing Tips For Your Small Business

August 26, 2018B2B Social Media, Business, Social Media, Social Media Marketing 0

There is no question that the power of social media marketing is one of the most important single areas which every entrepreneur should be focusing on, in terms of reaching an intended audience. The sheer numbers of users involved should point that out clearly, but when you consider the potential for sharing among all those users, reachability can grow exponentially. Here are 10 recommendations for making good use of social media marketing to reach your target audience and grow your business.

Focus on your business objectives first

Your strategy with regard to the social media should be careful to avoid putting the cart (social media) before the horse (your business). Instead, consider what your top three business objectives are, and use the social media to drive those objectives, rather than the other way around. Don’t just try to achieve a presence on social media – use the specific platform frequented by your target audience to help you acquire 25% more leads this year, for instance.

Be authentic

People relate to other people more so than to a faceless business entity. That means you need to give your business a ‘face’, a personality. Emphasize the human aspect of your business by telling your story, and the story of your employees. By showing that your company personnel are involved in the community, or perhaps that you support a local worthy cause, you will connect much better with consumers you’re trying to reach.

Think Visual

It’s worth remembering that people’s attention spans tend to be very limited on the Internet, so if you don’t capture their interest immediately, they’ll probably move on to the next website. More than 50% of all people who visit Facebook watch at least one video every day, and that’s just one social media platform. Live Facebook videos are exploding in popularity because they’re such a great way to launch new products, provide background on your company, demonstrate ‘how-to’ use products, and make important announcements.

Content Is King

While blogs are valuable, your content shouldn’t stop there. You want to create content that’s tailored to the three stages of the funnel – awareness, evaluation, and conversion. Blogs and social media posts are great for awareness. However, you’ll want to craft effective content that work best for evaluation and conversion. This includes content such as case studies, customer/client testimonials, a coupon, webinar, software download, and more.

Visual content is super powerful, as well. If you can create an Infographic that has genuine value and appeal to your target audience, there’s no telling how much it might be shared around the globe. It’s imperative to determine your target audience and what type of content will be valuable to them.

Build Your LinkedIn

Almost all business owners would benefit by increasing their LinkedIn marketing. By promoting greater engagement of LinkedIn users with your company, you will undoubtedly see a boost in conversion rates and sales. Become an authority in your field, and reach out to potential customers with messages tailored to their specific needs. You can use Sales Navigator to build your target audience list, and then reach out to decision-makers with personalized messages.

Dominate the most appropriate platforms

It’s alright to have a presence on many of the social media platforms, but you really need to focus your attention on the one or two platforms where most of your target audience spends time, and where your business can fit right in. Twitter for instance, caters to an audience interested in breaking news and technology announcements, so if that fits your company, that’s where you should try to dominate.

Match your content type to the social media channel

When you’re crafting social media content, make sure it’s of the type which is well-suited to the platform you’re using, even if you have to create separate kinds of content for each platform. Tools like Stencil and Canva can help you produce content ideally suited to the platform.

Be Social

Starting a conversation in social media can be a terrific way to get people engaged and interacting with you. You should also be sharing content, re-tweeting posts that are interesting, and ask questions of your own which elicit responses from other users. You should also jump into conversations around your expertise, as well as nurture conversations you have started. By showing that you’re actively engaged yourself, your business can be seen as an involved, caring entity.

Have a Clear Goal When Advertising on Facebook

If Facebook is your platform of choice, or at least one of them, you’ll need to create some ads which fit well with it. The tremendous ability of Facebook to target a specific audience can lead you to the success you crave, but only if you’ve pre-determined what you’re trying to achieve, and have crafted your ads accordingly.

Don’t try to do it yourself

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, your focus is on launching and scaling your business. If you don’t have the in-house personnel to execute your social media marketing strategies, hire a San Diego marketing firm to ensure that your objectives are achieved. Social media marketing is often more effective when left up to the experts who work in that arena on a daily basis. Contact us to learn more about how we can help grow your small business!

Posted by Patrick

Why Social Media Marketing is Essential for Small Businesses in 2016

May 19, 2017Advertising, Business Tips, Facebook, Social Media, Socially Connected, Strategy, Twitter 0

Most small business owners recognize that, in order to be competitive in their chosen industries, they must have an online presence. This includes participation in social media, which continues to evolve with regards to strategies and platforms that are effective at any given time. What was once just Twitter and Facebook has now been expanded to include Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube, among others. Regardless of where you market your business online, there are several reasons why social media marketing is essential for your small business in the new year.

Mobile

Mobile devices are now everywhere. According to Google, mobile internet traffic in 2015 surpassed desktop traffic and the way that people use their mobile devices is very telling. More mobile device users than ever are browsing social media sites, viewing content and videos, and posting comments or reviews on businesses. If you are not participating in these social sites that more than half of the population is visiting, you are leaving money on the table.

Video

Speaking of video, the average adult in the U.S. spent 1 hour and 16 minutes daily watching online videos in 2015. Last year was the first in history that Facebook video views surpassed YouTube, with over 8 billion views. Social sites now have their own native video apps that small business owners are using to market their businesses very effectively. Whether it be Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or Snapchat, video is exploding online and should be an essential part of any social media marketing strategy going forward.

Search

While Google is still the world’s most powerful search engine, the social media sites that small business customers spend so much time on have also introduced search functions. This is a recent development and platforms like Facebook, with its Facebook FYI, now make it easier for 1.5 billion searches per day to return relevant results about local businesses and services. Results may include public posts from friends about a business, public conversations, or prior business reviews.

Personalization

Social media is about both creating brand awareness and establishing relationships with customers. Some social media sites are rolling out tools to make it easier to establish and maintain that personal connection with current or potential customers. Facebook offers Businesses on Messenger, currently only in the U.S., that allows businesses to have these real-time conversations.

Social Commerce

Social media marketing can include such things as paid ads, which continue to evolve on the various platforms. These ads will allow you to bring customers straight to your website once clicked. A new development that takes things even further for business owners is the ability to use the social media platforms themselves to display and sell products or services, essentially turning them into e-commerce platforms. Facebook has Canvas, Twitter has a Buy Button for In-Tweet purchases, and Pinterest has Buyable Pins.

With over 2 billion active social media users worldwide, there is no doubt that the exposure companies get by being involved in social media marketing has a positive impact on a company’s bottom line. Simply having an online presence isn’t enough, however. Being effective and successful in social media requires a purposeful online strategy. If your small business is ready to start the new year off on the right foot with a strong social media program, give us a call or email us. We’d love to answer your questions and help you move forward.

Posted by Patrick

How to Maximize Your Digital Marketing Efforts During the Holidays

May 19, 2017Advertising, Business Tips, Social Media, Socially Connected, Strategic Planning, Strategy 0

Some of the busiest shopping days of the year take place during the holidays. Whether you run your business online, as a bricks-and-mortar-store, or a combination of both, marketing it online is essential. The following are a few of the top ways to maximize your digital marketing efforts this holiday season.

Advertise via Email

Email marketing is especially important during the holiday season. Consumers generally seem to check their email accounts more often at this time. This is partly due to the fact that people need to consult their email for confirmation of airline and hotel reservations. Additionally, many individuals communicate with their friends, relatives, and coworkers via email regarding holiday parties and other plans.

You can maximize your digital marketing efforts by reaching people in the place you know they are likely to go often (their email account). Consumers do a lot of shopping at this time of year, and they are generally looking for the best deals possible. Offering such deals via targeted emails could help you to generate much business throughout the season, as well as in the months that follow it.

Focus on Your Mobile Efforts

More people than ever use their mobile devices to search for products, services, and sales. Once they find what they’re looking for, they are just as likely to make their purchases by using their smart phones or tablets. Hopefully, your website and ads have been optimized for mobile devices (if they haven’t, then you are probably missing out on a great deal of business since Google made its recent algorithm change).

This is also a good time to streamline your emails to accommodate mobile shoppers. Be sure to utilize a template for your emails that is mobile-friendly. Make your email messages brief so that mobile shoppers don’t become frustrated when viewing them. Use a larger font than you ordinarily might – this will be easier for people to read on their mobile devices.

Feature Your Customers in Your Social Media Content

Another way to get the most from your digital marketing efforts is to provide your customers with user-generated content. When people log on to their social media accounts, they might automatically ignore overt marketing techniques. However, when you feature your users strategically, you may capture the interest of many other users, as well.

Try holding a contest to see which users can devise the most creative photos of themselves using your products or services. If you own a beauty salon, your customers might send photos of their hair and nails as they frolic at holiday parties. If you run an auto dealership, you could hold a contest to see who can send in the silliest vehicle-related selfie (not taken while driving!) – and the winner could receive a new car for the holidays.

The holiday season is the best time to step up your marketing campaign and increase your profits for the year. Consumers are looking for deals, so your business should reach out to them now and advertise your holiday promotions. If you wish to maximize your digital marketing efforts during the holidays, you may want to consult an expert for assistance.

Posted by Patrick

Facebook: Survival of the Fittest?

May 19, 2017Business Tips, Facebook, Socially Connected 0

So EdgeRank released a new study today, and what did it say? The average Facebook post is only “live” for about three hours. “Live” means that it is visible in the Facebook News Feed, and detectable to your fans and followers.

The average is about 3 hours, but some only last 15 minutes. So what is the determining factor for the lifetime of a post? One word: engagement. The life of a post, according to EdgeRank, is based on the engagement opportunity of the post. If more people are engaging with the post, the longer it will thrive in the never ending labyrinth that we call the News Feed.

What is engagement? Here is a little engagement 101. Engagement consists of comments, like, and shares. The more you can get, the more chance you have to survive. Facebook has turned into Darwin’s “survival of the fittest.” You must be the best, the most intriguing, the most enchanting of all the pages and posts out there.

So how does a brand page accomplish this? I, for one, have found that some of the most engaging posts happen to come from pictures. Just as I have mentioned in my previous blog post, Pinterest, a social network entirely based on photos, is taking off, and, I believe, the trend is trickling over. Photos, even photos that are semi irrelevant to a company’s mission, can go viral in an instant. You never know what will spark it, but in this stage, it’s all about knowing who your followers are and acting accordingly.

Another surefire way to spark engagement is to simply ask for it. Demand a call to action. Ask questions, request “likes” or comments. You would be surprised how many people will actually acquiesce to your requests.

Essentially, Facebook is now forcing you to become what it has always been, a social network, and a place where people interact with each other. It is no longer enough to just push content out there. You must be creative, innovative and fresh. Think of it as a battle royale. What will make your post last longer than your competitors?

As previously stated, know your followers. Test them. See what they will interact most with. Once you have established that, you will find the perfect equation for success. Math may not be a matter of opinion, but what you post is. Figure out what your followers want, then determine what will constantly intrigue them.

Be creative. Engage. Interact. BE SOCIAL.

Posted by Patrick

The New Facebook Timeline: Reliving the Past in the Future

May 19, 2017Facebook, Socially Connected, Uncategorized 0

So you activated your Facebook Timeline. Now what? As I’m sure you have noticed the new layout of your personal Facebook page is completely different than it used to be. This new layout is an easy way to track your life through pictures, posts and status updates. The Timeline has received mixed reviews, but I love it.

Some obvious changes to your Facebook profile are the following:

Cover Photo: You now have the chance to pick a photo, any photo, to display along with your profile picture. This can be changed at any time, and is just another way to further customize your page, and make your Facebook profile, you. Check out some cool cover photos here.
Two Column Layout: Instead of having one big wall, you now have two columns that display your pictures, status updates, wall posts, check-ins, etc. This function allows for greater visibility and, in my opinion, makes you page look much more appealing. I really like the fact that each post/ activity is in its own box. Great look and super functional.
New Header Format: The new header format is super cool because it contains all pertinent profile information at the top of your profile, including your friends, photos, maps, Likes, and whatever other apps you have activated on your profile. Instead of having to search through various tabs like the old layout, everything is right there in a dashboard format. Again, very functional and appealing to the eye.
The Timeline: If you notice on the right hand side of your profile, you see a timeline that you can scroll up and down on. It starts, well, when you were born, and takes you all the way to present. Click on “2009” and you can see all the posts and Facebook activity that went on in that particular time. This can be a good and bad thing. When I looked back at my timeline, I was shocked to learn how much I have changed and grown up. I was frankly embarrassed by some of those status updates I made back in the day. So, what’s the good part? Well the first cool thing is that, one, you can go back that far and really take a look at your life over the past few years since you joined Facebook. The second great part is that you can actually edit or remove posts that, if you are like me, wish were not there anymore!

So what does this new Facebook Timeline really mean, besides having to scour through your past and choose two profile pics instead of one? Well, for one, when Facebook makes a change to personal profiles, it typically means that there is something in the works for business pages as well. It would not be a surprise if business pages took on the same look as the new personal pages. This would be quite beneficial, because I can see the cover photo as well as the timeline layout being great for brand promotion.

All in all, I think the new Timeline is great, and once everyone stops resisting to change and just goes with the flow, they will too.

Posted by Patrick

Back to the Basics: Facebook Tips Part 1

May 19, 2017Facebook 0

It’s been a while since we have addressed the basics of creating a killer social media campaign. For this post I am going to focus on Facebook, and tips that a small business can use to stand out from the rest. The chances of a brand going viral or becoming an everyday household name are a lot higher with an effective Facebook marketing strategy in place.

Don’t leave any part of the profile incomplete. If you leave parts missing, then the page looks unfinished and unprofessional. Pay attention to detail, and don’t let small things like that slip through the cracks.
Make sure that when your Facebook page reaches 25 fans, create a unique Facebook URL. Facebook.com/NameofCompany is a lot easier to find then Facebook.com/345e5949ufl. It is like having a website. It is far better to have www.companyname.com then www.webs.companyname.com
Make use of different Facebook applications to create unique tabs and landing pages for the brand. Facebook along with third party applications allow small businesses to customize their Facebook page quickly and easily. It’s like having a personalized website, but easier and most of the time 100% free!
Perhaps a business has an online store? How about integrating a “Shop Now” tab on the Facebook page? This allows the audience to easily shop products and services right from Facebook. This makes for great customer service and ease of use. People like ease of use.
Let Facebook Be Your Playground

Engage fans by pushing out unique and valuable content. I know this is a standard, but it is surprising how many companies only use social networks for self-promotion. This is the chance for a business to show their audience what they know, and how good they are at what they do. Strive to become an industry expert. Be the brand that the audience looks to for valuable insight into the industry.
Run Facebook contests and promotions. People love having the chance to win free stuff. Giveaway your product or service or perhaps even third party products. A person who may not even be a fan of the brand will take advantage of the opportunity to win something free. J On this note, when running contests or promotions make use of the customized pages and tabs I talked about earlier. These make them more official and professional.
Finally, be friendly, funny and inviting. Facebook is a marketing playground, and the best part about it is that this sandbox is filled with millions of people to play with. Don’t be the bully that no one wants to build castles with. Invite people to engage and join the conversation with lighter topics and content. You don’t always have to be so intense. Peoples’ lives are stressful and serious enough. Give the audience something to laugh at and something to enjoy. People are attracted to positive energy and attitudes, and will be more likely to engage with the “feel good” company, rather than the thundercloud.

Posted by Patrick

B2B Social Media: The Business POV

May 19, 2017B2B Social Media, Business Tips 0

So we know that social media is valuable for B2C marketing, but what about for B2B? Past statistics have shown that B2B social media marketing is increasing, and becoming important in this arena.

According to a study done by eMarketer, the use of social media in B2B marketing increased by 60%. What are they using social media for? Let’s explore.

60% use social media for “thought leadership”. Companies put out content that illustrates their expertise in the industry. Pushing out information that other businesses see as valuable increases the chance that they will approach said company before another company that have not demonstrated their knowledge. Proving one’s value and capability is the best way to advertise a business. Businesses will always be attracted to those that have the “savoir-faire”.
49% use social media to generate leads. Social media is a great way to get out there and promote a business to another business that may need its services. Outreaching to businesses through social media can be very effective, as it seems less threatening then a cold call or direct walk in. A water company I used to work for did this all the time. They would contact little cafes and restaurants to let them know about their water and their specials. It worked. They generated a lot of interest that turned into ongoing customers.
46% use social media for customer feedback. It is critical for any business to know how they are performing, and what issues might be arising. Using social media to find out what is working or not working is a great way to instantly address and fix an issue in a time-sensitive and efficient manner.
35% use social media for advertising. Advertising on social networks is fine, but it is not as effective as engaging and establishing relationships. It is the relationships on a more personal level that are more trustworthy then an advertisement that is only promoting a particular business.
29% use social media for market research. Personally, I think that this is one of the best ways to make use of social media for a business. Find out what others are doing, find out what works, what doesn’t, and what opportunities exist to expand or better a business. A successful business is always aware of the competition, and what that business is doing vs. another. It is a great way to find out what the audience is responding to. It is also helpful between businesses, seeing what business relationships exist already, as well as what companies/businesses are looking for.

B2B Social Media is just another space allowing people to grow their business without the huge marketing budget. With more avenues for marketing, business just became a whole lot easier and a whole lot more complicated at the same time.

Posted by Patrick

How to get more Facebook business page “LIKES”

May 19, 2017Applications, Business Tips, Facebook, Strategy, Uncategorized 0

Why is it important that your Facebook business page be “LIKED” by followers/fans?

IMG_0531_2 — I “Like” you. Tell me more!

When someone “LIKES” your business page, they give you access to post your content on their wall/page, which is then viewed by everyone in their network, increasing your visibility to an even larger network of potential fans/customers. Businesses with 1000’s of followers actually have access to 10’s of thousands of potential customers and are taken more seriously by the general public.

The first step in getting more “likes” starts with your current network.

Step 1) Click “Home” at the top right of your FB page and then click “Friends” at the top left of your page, just under your profile picture.

Step 2) Click “Edit Friends” at the top center of the page.

Step 3) Click “Create a List” at the top center of the page.

Step 4) A window will pop up where you can name your list and pick up to 20 friends at a time for each list you create (FB only allows you to send to 20 people or less from the messaging section). Name your list something you will remember and something that has an order. For example, I named my lists List 1, List 2, List 3, etc. so I know exactly which list to message next (don’t make the mistake of messaging people twice!).

Step 5) Once you have gone through your entire Friends section and made a list for every 20 people you can simply go to the messaging section –> send message and start with List 1, List 2 and so forth and send each list a message about your new page with the proper link to your page. Be sure you are clear about asking them to navigate to your new page and “LIKE” it. You can go one step further and ask them to share a link to your page on their wall. The important thing to remember here is if you took the time to reach out, you want your contacts to take action.

The easy part is over! Now it’s time to start posting valuable content, establishing your business and business page as a valuable resource and interact with your fans and customers!

If you found this helpful, please share it with your friends, thanks!

Tag: facebook business page optimization

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