Mediaboss Marketing

A lot of businesses do social media marketing wrong. They hear everyone screaming, You must have a social media presence, but what that entails isnt always spelled out correctly. Social media marketing should be effective and affordable, and when done correctly, it can help scale businesses of all sizes.

Just like with traditional channels such as television commercials, radio spots and print ads, your results are going to be minimal at best if you broadcast your message to the wrong audience. To help you execute a successful social media marketing campaign, I spoke with six entrepreneurs to put together a list of must-do's.

There are a lot of social media marketing tips available online, fromfree content on websites like this one to paid courses you can complete at your convenience. Its not very complicated if you take the time to educate yourself.

Charles Gumbley, Director of Flower Telecom, explains, Its important that you take the time to learn how social media marketing works for your specific business. While the fundamentals are similar across the board, different businesses will have to alter their strategies slightly in order to capture the attention of their target audience. In the beginning, consume as much content and free resources as you can. From there, you can then focus on your specific goals and objectives.

Related:11 Ways to Make Money While You Sleep

The only way you are going to know what your customers want is by listening to what they have to say. Its important that you use your social media platforms as an extension of your customer service. More customers are going to voice their opinion on social media than via email or over the phone, says Ryan Koechel, VP of Marketing for ABODO.

When you listen to your audience, you open the door to other opportunities as well. For instance, when my influencer marketing agency planscampaign strategies for a brand, we often audit their social media followers to identify key influencers. Learn to listen to your audience -- it can provide you with valuable information.

There is smart automation and then there is spammy, ineffective automation when it comes to social media marketing. You dont want to blast out promotional offers all day long -- thats a quick way to lose all of your followers. Use social media as a way to communicate with your audience and provide them valuable information. When you do that, you create happy brand supporters you can eventually convert into sales.

If you have a full-time social media employee, make sure they are consistent and push out content across all of your social media profiles. There are several pieces of automation software, like Hootsuite, that offer a free planthat can greatly increase your efficiency. If you schedule your posts in advance it gives you more time to dedicate to replying and engaging with your social media followers, advises Daniel Moravec of StreetSaw.

Related:Inspiring Quotes to Help You Get Through Your Work Day

Its one thing to fillup your social media feed with posts, but its another thing to actively engage with your audience and turn them into satisfied customers. I see a lot of small business owners posting a couple times a day, thinking that they are doing the right thing when it comes to social media marketing. You cant just post and walk away. If you do that, you are missing prime opportunities to engage with your audience and convert them, explains Roy Surdej of Peaches Boutique.

Engaging your followers allows you touncover problems or issues other customers might be experiencing as well. Then, you can be proactive and address those issues quickly before they turn into fires that are difficult to put out. When your communication lines are always open, you will often discover problematic situations before they spiral out of control.

Its nearly impossible -- and almost alwaysineffective -- to be active on every single social media platform. I always suggest new brands should start with two or three social media platforms they are certain their target audience is active on. Master those, and then expand your social reach as the business grows and more effort can be allocated to additional social platforms.

Jasper Hillaud, Managing Partner of elf925 stresses the importance of focusing on the social media platforms that complement your brand, explaining, While Pinterest marketing might not be effective for some businesses, it is one that we put a lot of energy into because we see that it works first-hand. Just because it wouldnt be a preferred social media channel for a law firm, that doesnt mean it should be ignored. Its important to pick where to focus your social media efforts based on what works for your specific customer base.

Related:22 Qualities That Make a Great Leader

You will never run a successful social media marketing campaign if you dont measure your results. Its important that you lay out clear goalswith benchmarks that allow you to determine whether or not your social effort is paying off. The data you collect and analyze can then be used to make changes to your campaign. You must be willing to constantly optimize and test your efforts if you want to develop a truly successful campaign, explains Eric Ritter, Founder & CEO of Digital Neighbor.

It doesnt matter if you are working with a $10 daily social media budget or six figures. The objective is the same -- put your message in front of the correct audience and trigger engagement. In order to do that, you need to track and measure everything.

Jonathan Long is the founder ofMarket Domination Media,a performance-based online marketing agency, blerrp, an influencer marketing agencyand co-founder of consumer productSexy Smile Kit&trade...

Visit link:
6 Must-Do's for Effective Social Media Marketing - Entrepreneur

Forbes

7 Important Hacks For Effective Social Media Marketing - Forbes Forbes 92% of marketers say they have increased exposure through social media, and 80% see positive results for traffic. 6 Must-Do's for Effective Social Media MarketingEntrepreneur 5 Social Media Marketing Myths and Their RealitiesBusiness 2 Community Social Media platforms offer marketing opportunities for credit unionsCUinsight.com (press release) all 24 news articles »

Read the original:
7 Important Hacks For Effective Social Media Marketing - Forbes - Forbes

As social media marketers, we have a lot to learn and adapt to on a daily basis. With each new day, there are new trends and tactics for us to adopt or dismiss. How do we determine which way to go?

With each new trend or tactic, theres the chance it isnt all its hyped up to be. The potential is there, but is it worth your own time, efforts, and even your budget? Some social media marketing techniques work, but too many times I see people fall for the wrong ones.

I wrote this article to help you avoid the social media marketing myths and empower you with their alternative best practices. It is with this list that you can strengthen your social marketing without falling for the most common traps.

I see them everywhere: Post on Facebook at 1pm on Wednesdays! Tweet every day at 11am! Dont post on LinkedIn on weekends! All these recommendations for best times to publish on social media present a problem instead of the solution.

The problem is: now everyone is going to think that they need to publish content at those times. As Stephan Hovnanian wrote in his article on this subject:

Its like announcing at the amusement park which ride youre going on next, which influences everyone around you to go on the same ride, and then youre all stuck in line together.

With everyone posting on Facebook at 1pm on Wednesdays, theyre all going to see their posts get lost amongst the overwhelming supply of content. Now that Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram use algorithms to filter users feeds, its even more important that social marketers be strategic with their timing.

Do your own research to create a custom best times to publish document. Make one that fits with your own target audience and industry. A great idea is to add your research findings to your overall social media strategy and calendar.

If youre just getting started with a platform, you can use the standard recommendations in the beginning, but dont rely on them for long. Its important that you experiment with your own accounts to see what days and times work best for your brand.

Use platform analytics and third-party tools to get more insight into whats working and when. Youll need to determine whether it was the content or the timing that worked.

Once you have a good schedule set up, should you stick with it forever? No. As with everything, your audience, content, and the platform youre on will all change. Youll need to continuously adjust your schedule accordingly.

Too often I see brands hop onto the latest trending hashtag just to receive significant backlash. Yes, there are the standard daily trends: #MotivationMonday, for example. These arent the ones you have to be wary about. Its the ones that cover current events that have the highest risk.

Sometimes I see marketers recommend participating in viral trends. A few even recommend controversy. This isnt a good idea for most businesses. You have a brand reputation at stake at the very minimum. At the worst, you also run the risk of sales damage.

If you dont need to post about a viral trend, you shouldnt. If your target audience isnt interested in seeing your opinion on a viral trend, dont participate. If you know it holds no value for your business and its audience, you are better off focusing your efforts on other techniques.

Marketers often see backlash from participating in viral trends because they didnt research the topic properly. This is a big mistake. Even if you heavily research what the topic is about, you also need to consider:

Be careful which trends you participate in, when, and how:

Webcast, April 4th: How This Startup of the Year Accelerated User Acquisition Growth 18x in 10 Months

This just isnt practical for many businesses, especially SMBs. While social media support offerings are a must in todays social environment, its not a tactic SMBs can offer in real-time, full-time.

With Twitter customer service leading to increased revenue and customer satisfaction, more businesses are spreading their resources thin in an effort to earn those results. Its simply not something all businesses can offer.

If your business cannot afford a fully-human, real-time support offering, you have options. You want to be able to respond to your audience quickly and effectively, but you dont have the manpower to do this. What can you do?

Facebook introduced Messenger bots last April during the F8 Conference. Their primary purpose is to give brands a way to automate their customer service through private messaging. The most important part about bots you need to keep in mind is: they are not a 100% automation solution. You still need to monitor questions during the times when your business is open. Bots cant answer all customer messages, so make sure youre checking in on whats been happening while you were away.

You also have another option for being there when it counts. Use a tool that will collect and organize your interactions in one place. You want to find a tool that will make responding faster and easier. The more efficient you are, the less resources you invest. Respond by Buffer is just one example of such a tool. You can also try Hootsuite or Mention.

A while back, a popular blog site I follow quit Facebook. They stated the lack of organic reach and engagement to be their reasons for the departure. They couldnt see a return on their investment without being forced to pay for promoted posts and ads.

Are these reasons valid enough to give up on Facebook? The honest answer is: it depends.

Not every business will see the same issues the example above had. Organic reach still has potential despite the Facebook algorithm. Some businesses may even find Facebook to be their best platform for audience engagement. Its about offering quality content. It doesnt always have to be about ads and boosted posts.

Does this mean the blog site I mentioned was wrong in their decision? Absolutely not.

Facebook isnt right for everyone. If youre not seeing engagement if your reach is below 2% if youre being forced to pay to be seen Facebook may not be the right platform for you, and thats okay. It may mean your target audience is more active elsewhere, so its better you focus your resources to that platform anyway.

Facebooks algorithm makes your page presence much more limited than it used to be. Thankfully, you dont always have to invest financially to get your posts seen. With the following Facebook strategies, you can improve your organic reach to improve both exposure and engagement:

Now, the question is: are you able to commit the necessary resources to create and share the right content for your Facebook audience? If they want to see live video, can you consistently create them? Images are key on Facebook. Can you create and post them on a daily basis?

If youre having trouble seeing your business invest in all that effort, you might have better luck looking for your target audience on other platforms. However, if your audience is most active on Facebook, you should definitely consider making the necessary changes to your strategy to make your business capable.

Not long ago, I came across an article that listed the top social media platforms for marketers. In the article, the author gives you convincing data and reasons for why each platform is important. Its a handy article if youre looking for that information.

The problem is: why is the focus on marketers benefits? I appreciate the information I see, but its missing a key component: why is each platform important to the user? Or, better yet, how are users engaging with businesses on each platform? The author gives you examples, but where is the information about how and why each is effective?

You may also see articles like that one, which convince you to hop onboard the latest, most popular social network. Unfortunately though, this isnt always the right approach. Your focus shouldnt be on joining the top platforms. Sometimes, when you dont research and measure properly first, you can make the mistake of joining a platform that wont benefit your business.

When youre deciding whether to join a platform, your primary focus shouldnt be on its overall user statistics or general activity capabilities. These are secondary compared to whats most important.

Your first priority should be on researching whether your own target audience is not only on the platform but also active there. Thats right. They cant simply have a silent account there. If you want to see a high reach and engagement, you need to be on the platform(s) where that will happen.

Only once you know your audience is both there and active should you start considering the following:

The platform may be popular, but you need to check whether your audience wants to see you there. Even if they actively use the platform, they may be using it for other reasons. They may not want to engage with your business there.

Its important that you research before making the leap. Once youre there, make sure youre monitoring its effectiveness regularly. If its not producing results after 6 months, re-evaluate your strategy. Maybe you just need to tweak a few things, but maybe you need to abandon ship instead.

You may want to stay with the times and on the right track with your social media marketing, and thats important. However, whats most important is that you know what will work best for your business and your target audience. You dont have to join every new trend or technique. Instead, focus your efforts where they would be most beneficial.

These 5 social media myths are just the beginning of a long line of marketing mistakes. Would you add any others to this list? Leave a comment with your input!

Read the original:
5 Social Media Marketing Myths and Their Realities - Business 2 Community

Forbes

Five Factors To Evaluate When Deciding Whether To Hire A Social Media Expert Forbes With all the hype, success stories, data corroborating the advantages of social marketing, it brings up the question, are they using the platform accurately? Here are five factors to help you consider whether it's time to hire an expert: Marketing ...

Originally posted here:
Five Factors To Evaluate When Deciding Whether To Hire A Social Media Expert - Forbes

(Image: iStock/andresr)

Social media marketing is the great equalizer of businesses big and small. Many startups have blown the large, mega brands out of the social media pond, because of their ability to meet the client on their level and be more responsive to their needs.

How is this accomplished? By understanding the main market demographic your business serves, and channeling your time and marketing dollars in that direction. Without question, the first step to an efficient social media marketing strategy is to understand who your key market segment is and where to find them online.

As a social media manager, it is my job to understand the audience my client is trying to reach. The main thrust of the overall digital marketing strategy, including curated articles, social media posts, and paid advertising, should be focused on the identified market segment.

Next, I must decide where to boost the ad to get the most bang for my marketing buck; research is critical to achieving this goal. When I am looking at demographics for most clients, it has nothing to do with the racial makeup of their customer base, and according to Pew Research, there is no significant racial difference in how various social media platforms are used. The most critical factors for social media marketing are interest and searching behavior. I look for people who are searching on a question to which my client can provide the answer.

Developing a demographic analysis for a client starts with a conversation: Who do they believe their client is? Extrapolating from there, I work with the client to help them think outside of their preconceived customer box. At the end of the day, I want to get my clients content in front of as many eyes as possible. Age, gender, and status in life are more important determinants of how potential customers use social media than their racial or ethnic identification.

Facebook remains the predominant social media platform, used by 68% of Americans who are on social media according to Pew Research (Social Media Update 2016). The second most popular social media platform is Instagram. But, since that social media outlet is heavily dependent upon images to connect, it may not work for all businesses.

For example, for my HVAC client, Mobley Heating and Air, I can certainly post pictures of my client fixing and replacing HVAC units, and post them to an audience on Instagram, which will get us into an audience sharing 248,624 posts from people who follow the hashtag #HVAC. But at this point, we are preaching to the choir, and I am not getting this client in front of anyone that is indeed looking for HVAC repair.

That is not the case for my wedding planner client, the Payne-Corley House. Instagram is a great venue for them to get noticed,with a #wedding audience sharing 77,356,200. As the social media manager, I must be aware of these differences and choose wisely, on behalf of my client, where to spend those precious marketing dollars.

Based on the demographic you are serving, you will have various options. Twitter looks at household income and basic interests. Facebook drills down a bit more, and you can choose not only topics but groups that are interested in what you are promoting, based on likes and interest. Pinterest has their list of interests and keywords. So, take the time, look at who uses a channel, and determine from there how best to use them.

This post was written by Wendy Pace, founder of Pace Setting Media, and it was edited bySamara Lynn.

Wendy Pace is the founder ofPace Setting Media, a social media strategy agency.Paceholds a B.A. in Communications and Marketing from Hunter College. She credits her husband and children as motivation for getting up every day to face the world of social media.

The rest is here:
Who Are You Talking To? Tips for Social Media Marketing - Black Enterprise