by Amber Miller | Sep 7, 2017 | Social Media
You have a Facebook page, and Facebook constantly asks you if you would like to boost a post or start an ad campaign. Maybe you’re hesitant to pull the trigger on Facebook advertising because you’ve heard so many myths about it. However, once you get past the myths, you will see just how powerful a platform it can be to help promote your business and boost your brand. Here are the top 4 myths of Facebook advertising, and what the truth really is:
Myth #1: It’s too expensive.
There’s no need to throw tons of money at a Facebook ad campaign. Did you know that you can run an ad campaign for as little as $2 per day? While that may not get you a whole lot of results, it might get you some results…which is better than nothing at all, right? It’s also a good way to test your ads and see how they are working. Also, Facebook only charges you per click, not per view. You are only paying for people who interact with your ad, so it might not cost as much as you think.
Myth #2: It won’t work for my business
Another common myth is that it doesn’t work for B2B companies, only B2C companies. Well, with over 2 billion Facebook users, that’s not really true. You can bet there are business owners on Facebook who might be thrilled to see what your company can do for them. There are a ton of audience targeting options, and you can choose to run a campaign to generate leads rather than make sales such as boosting a blog post or offering a free ebook.
Myth #3: I need a big Facebook fan base
Do you only have a few likes on your Facebook page? That shouldn’t stop you from using Facebook ads. You can create an audience from scratch, and Facebook will happily serve it up to any of its 2+ billion users. Or, if you have an email list, you can import that to create an audience for Facebook to target. The real key is to focus more on your audience demographics more so than keywords (as you might do in a Google Adwords campaign).
Myth #4: People hate Facebook ads and always skip over them
Facebook has an algorithm working behind the scenes that tries to show its users relevant ads or posts geared toward their likes. The more clicks an ad gets, the more relevant it becomes. It also gets a higher quality rating. Sure, an annoying or spammy ad for slips through occasionally, but it will disappear because it probably isn’t getting any interaction. And when Facebook sees it’s not getting any interaction, then Facebook is less likely to show it to its users.
So, now that you know the truth behind some of the top myths of Facebook advertising, why not set up an ad campaign? If you need help setting up an ad campaign, the team here at Smart to Finish will be happy to assist you. Contact us today to get started!
by Amber Miller | Dec 20, 2016 | Marketing, Social Media
Are you sick of posting the same boring thing on social media? Not really getting a lot of engagement with your post? Maybe it’s time to change things up a little bit and think outside of the box. Below are 10 creative ways you can use to engage people on social media.
10 Creative Ways to Improve Social Media Engagement
- Acknowledge. It’s no accident that this is #1. Comment on your friends statuses and posts. Reply to their tweets. Interact. Acknowledge when they say something bright, funny or helpful. The fastest way to engage others is to meet them halfway.
- Like and retweet. Maybe you can’t respond to everyone, but it only takes a second to give a like on Facebook or retweet on Twitter, and it makes the other person appreciate you all the more.
- Don’t tell – tease. Next time you post a new article or blog post, don’t tell all. Instead, simply post a teaser that gets your readers wondering what the post is about. And don’t forget to add the link – the better the tease, the more clicks you’ll get.
- Play caption-this-photo. Find a weird/strange/bizarre/humorous photo, and then ask your friends and followers for funny captions.
- Offer weird trivia and facts about interesting things. For example, “To keep food from freezing, Eskimos use freezers.” or “In the 1830’s ketchup was sold as medicine.” Here are pages of weird facts that will get you stated: http://www.triviachamp.com/Weird-Trivia-Facts.php – http://www.corsinet.com/trivia/ – http://www.weirdfacts.com/weird-fact.html
- Variation on #5 above – ASK weird trivia questions. You can do this one of two ways: Either ask a question they can find online, such as; “How many dimples are in a golf ball?” or “What is the only domesticated animal not mentioned in the Bible?” The second way is to ask a trivia question they cannot find online. Example: “How did I earn $674 in one day when I was 12 years old?” Or if you’re good at research, you can find something online that’s obscure, such as; “About 100 people choke to death each year on what common object?” (Answer: A ballpoint pen.)
- Play “who-said-it.” Post a quote from a movie you’re watching and ask people who said it and what’s the name of the movie they said it in.
- Update your photo. This works better on Facebook than on Twitter, because on Twitter the photos are so small to begin with. But on Facebook you can post a new photo everyday if you like, and because people notice photos before anything else, they’ll notice yours.
- Play “fill-in-the-blank.” You make a statement but you leave one or two of the words blank. This way your followers and friends can complete it. HINT: Always make the statement about THEM, not about you. Try to use potentially humorous subjects. For example: “I like to while I’m .” or “In bed, I often while thinking of .”
- Ask. Ask for thoughts, opinions, help, advice, etc. People love to be asked and will take the time for surprisingly thoughtful responses. NOTE: Be sure to THANK them!
Are you still struggling to figure out what to post on your social media accounts or want to know what else you can do to boost engagement? Contact us today so we can work with you to get the most out of your social media marketing.
by Amber Miller | Dec 10, 2016 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media
Cliff Notes for Social Media – Part 2
Welcome to part two out of three for our Cliff Notes for Social Media series! Today we are going to discuss the 12 dumbest mistakes you can avoid when using social media for business. Read below and let us know if you’re guilty of doing any of these things. Don’t worry, no judgement here… We’ve all been new to social media before and it took a bit for us to figure it out too.
The 12 Dumbest Mistakes to Avoid In Social Media
- Posting long, messy, nasty URLs. Use a URL shortener like bit.ly.
- Posting too often. Rein this in by posting only when you actually have something to say.
- Not spacing your posts. Sending 20 posts in 10 minutes and then not posting the rest of the day is – well – dumb.
- Not making sense. Posting, “ARGGHHH” with no other information just annoys people. Post complete thoughts that actually mean something.
- Too much personal stuff. You’re doing social media to promote your business or service, right? Then keep it 90+% business and less than 10% personal.
- No picture. Yes, you need a profile picture. And yes, it should be a good one. If need be, pay to get your portrait taken – it’s worth it.
- Wrong picture. Your profile picture needs to be of YOU, not a puppy or a cheerleader (unless the puppy or cheerleader is you.)
- Not giving credit or attributing the wrong source. Give credit where credit is properly due. Always.
- Being wrong. Again, check your facts if you’re unsure.
- Being a jerk. No matter how much you disagree, the other person is never an idiot, a moron or a jack*. Remember, once you put it on the net, you can NEVER take it back.
- Getting political. You’re entitled to your own politics, but they have no business mixing with your business. Keep them 100% separate at all times.
- Ignoring shares and RT’s. Someone retweets or shares something of yours, what do you do? If the answer is nothing, you lose. Instead, THANK them for sharing your content and start a conversation.
Are you simply having a hard time getting a handle of it all? Did you know we provide full service social media management services? Let us handle all the crazy for you. Contact us today to get started.
Part 1
Part 3 (coming soon)
by Amber Miller | Dec 2, 2016 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media
Remember Cliffs Notes? They’re summaries of longer work, designed to get a student up to speed quickly without having to read the entire book. Sort of a cheat, you might say, but a very effective cheat at that.
There are volumes written about how to succeed dramatically and radically with social media. And then there’s our own version of social media notes, designed to help you become a social media savant in no time.
Ready? Here are the cliff notes presented in a three part series. Below is the first, The 15 Rules of Social Media. The other two will be posted throughout the month of December so make sure to check back for updates!
Remember, these are short but exceedingly powerful. Ignoring any one of them may be perilous to your bottom line.
The 15 Rules of Social Media Marketing:
- Help others often, eagerly and without thought of benefit to yourself.
- Be patient with others. Remember, you were once new to social media, too.
- Share great content.
- Forward great content and credit generously.
- Thank often and thank liberally.
- Be yourself, not a cardboard cutout. Show your personality.
- If you don’t have a personality, grow one and then show it.
- Blog often and intelligently.
- If you don’t know something, say so. Then find out and get back to them.
- Don’t just talk – have real conversations. Remember, these are real people, not just avatars and photos.
- Find the time for social media. Schedule it in and then just do it.
- Use tools to schedule posts and monitor mentions. Social media is one facet of your marketing campaign – it’s not your life.
- Don’t automate the whole process. Be there. Reach out and interact. Find the balance between automation and the personal touch.
- Laugh at yourself. Tell tales on yourself. Show your human side – people aren’t friends with Superman, they’re friends real people who have real challenges and real faults and can laugh at themselves.
- Admit your own mistakes and then move on. The mistakes make you human, but dwelling on them makes you annoying.
Still not sure if what you’re doing is right? Contact us today for a detailed analysis of your social media account and recommendations on how you can get the most out of your social media marketing efforts.
by Amber Miller | Nov 14, 2016 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media
Do you have a social media game plan for 2017?
Are you looking to have a competitive edge when it comes to your business? If you don’t have a written social media game plan then it is easy to allow this part of your marketing to fall to the wayside. You need to figure out the right balance of informative, advertising, and conversational posts when it comes to utilizing this power marketing strategy.
Social media should be used to generate leads and drive traffic to your website and/or offers. It is very clear that businesses achieve greater results and satisfaction when they take a more comprehensive approach to social media. Every action you take on social media needs to be a part of a larger social media strategy. That means every update, tweet, reply and comment should be part of an overall strategy that drives towards a pre-determined goal. This can seem a little complicated and daunting but if you take the time to create a written plan the rest of your social media efforts will fall into place.
Here are a few steps that you can take today to create your social media strategy for the coming year:
Step 1: Conduct an audit of your current social media strategy
Prior to creating your social marketing game plan you need to do an assessment of what your current social media marketing efforts are and how they are performing for you. Are they creating a larger following? Are they achieving your overall goals for your business? Are they helping to get your message out in a way that is cohesive across all platforms?
Step 2: Create or optimize your social media accounts
Once you have done a complete audit of your social media accounts it is time to drill down your online presence. You need to determine which social media platforms best meets your social media goals. If you need to create additional social media profiles on the platforms you are not already on then this is the time to create those profiles. If you do have profiles on your ideal social media platforms then this is the time to optimize your profiles so they best meet your business and audience needs.
Step 3: Create your social media goals and objectives
The first step in any plan is to sit down and establish clear, defined goals for your and your business. When you have these goals this will allow you to determine if your actions are moving you towards the end results you are hoping to achieve. If your efforts aren’t accomplishing your goals you can make tweaks along the way until they are.
A simple way to start your plan is to map out three goals your want for your social media efforts. You need to make sure you ask yourself what your goal will look like when completed and you need to determine what you will use to track your progress.
For example:
For Pinterest, we will share photos to communicate our company culture. We do this by posting three photos a week to achieve 30 shares and at least five comments.
Step 4: Get some inspiration
This step is designed to give you some inspiration that supports your social media goals. You can turn to industry leaders, your competitors, clients, industry publications and blogs. There is a wealth of knowledge already available to you that you can integrate into your social media marketing plan. This is great when trying to find out what type of content and information to share via all social media platforms. You need to determine how to give that information your voice which allows you to stand out and separate yourself from your competitors.
Step 5: Create your social media marketing game plan
Your social media marketing game plan is going to be essential to succeeding at social media. Your game plan should consist of strategies for content creation and content curation as well as a calendar for posting.
Your game plan should answer the following questions:
How often will you post your content?
Who will create or source your content?
How will you promote the content?
Who is your intended target audience for each type of content?
What types of content do you intend to post and promote?
Your editorial calendar will list the dates and times you intend to post content to your blogs and social media platforms. Create the calendar and schedule out your content in advance. Planning can be done on a weekly or monthly basis.
Step 6: Monitor, test and adjust your social media marketing plan
To determine if your social media efforts are obtaining the goals your have set forth in earlier steps you will need to be constantly monitoring and testing. You will need to build testing capabilities into every action you take on your social media platforms. You can track your links by utilizing url shortener’s and track your page visits by utilizing Google Analytics. Record and analyze your successes and failures and adjust your plan accordingly.
The most important thing to remember when it comes to social media marketing is its’ ever-changing nature. Sooner or later, you may realize newer platforms may better suit your needs than the ones you are currently using. Don’t forget that you can add networks if you think they will perform better and remove networks if they are not performing like you thought they would. As you grow you might need to grow your social media efforts as well. This type of marketing plan is meant to change so be flexible and open to new ideas and trends.
The team at Smart to Finish can help you to determine what your social media game plan should look like. We can help assess where your current strategies are, what needs to be optimized, and whether or not your current plan is obtaining the over goals you have set forth for your business. Contact us today to get started.
by Amber Miller | Aug 25, 2016 | Blog, Social Media
Let’s be honest here… Using Facebook to market and grow your business has become incredibly challenging over the past couple of years. Most of the time, if you don’t pay to boost your posts, only those who like or engage with your content on daily basis will see posts going forward. Facebook has done an excellent job at cutting out a lot of business socialization on the timeline. Bleh.
But alas, there are still a number of things you can do on Facebook to ensure growth and engagement in a multitude of ways. Here are five to start…
Use your header image as a virtual billboard!
Many people think the header image is there to showcase your company… Why not use it to showcase your sales, products, and promotions? You can update your header as often as you like – use it. Just make sure you use a professional graphic designer or use a Facebook header image template so you don’t block any important content with your profile image or contact tabs!
Completely fill out that about section you lazy bum!
When you set up a business page on Facebook, you’re given a lot of opportunities to add A LOT of information about your business. Take the time and actually fill it out! This means writing up a great summary of your business, adding your phone number, address, website, setting up your custom URL (don’t stick with what Facebook gives you!), etc! Not only will this information help customers learn more about you, but you will show up in searches more often.
Don’t post boring stuff about your company or products all the time!
Do you follow a company that posts nothing but information on their products and services? Get’s kinda boring doesn’t it? Yeah… Make sure to have a healthy mix of quality information on your products, services, industry news, inspirational quotes, and more! You need a good joke every once in a while right? So do your customers.
Don’t rely JUST on Facebook to grow followers!
Did you know it’s super easy to add Facebook widgets and apps to your website? These widgets allow customers to follow you directly from your own website AND share your business with the world – all with just the click of a button.
Spend a lil’ money and increase engagement!
One of the best ways to spread the word about your business on Facebook is by using Paid Ads. They are a great way to showcase new products, services, industry news, and can also be used to build email marketing list and direct customers to landing pages.
Now that you know how to take advantage of Facebook, get on out there and get social! And never forget, if you need any help getting started or just need some advice on what you’re already doing, shoot us an email. We love talking to people about social media management. 🙂
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