VE Digital

Category: Social Media Marketing

  • Social Media Marketing Basics You Need To Know

    Social Media Marketing Basics You Need To Know

    Social media marketing basics is a part of a digital marketer’s know-how and in this article, we will talk about the basics that you didn’t think you need to know. From content creation to gaining new subscribers to engaging with your audience, there’s plenty for you to do in social media marketing and it requires a variety of strategies and skills.

     

    What is social media marketing?

    Social media marketing is basically using a number of social media platforms to reach out and advertise to your target audience to achieve your goals for your business. These goals may include increasing your brand awareness, interacting with more people, generating leads, and even getting more sales.

    Social media management is the term used to refer to the action of putting together a social media marketing strategy and implementing that plan into action. These strategies can include free, organic, and paid advertising tactics.

    How much does it cost to advertise on social media?

    There is no single answer for this query because the cost of social media depends on what you do. You can allot as much budget as you can to run social media ads, although some platforms have some minimum spend requirements to it will vary.

    If you are hesitating in spending money on ads, you can start with an organic social media strategy.

     

    Being Up-To-Date with Social Media

    Social media is ever-evolving. There are always changes in it once in a while, new features and upgrades, and sometimes new apps enter the game and some old ones rest in peace.

    Because of its ever-changing nature, learning will never stop once you dabble in this field. That’s why keeping up with the trends and latest news is crucial so you can stay on top of things.

    There’s a lot going on in the social media world and for this article, we are going to break down the information into 3 parts: before posting, when posting, and after posting.

    Social Media Marketing Basics You Need To Know

     

     

    Before Posting on Social Media

    When you don’t have a plan before you post on your social media, it’s like you’re walking in a stranger’s house with the lights off with no one to guide you inside. It’s scary, it’s not ideal, and you’ll surely bump on some obstacles along the way.

    There are 3 social media marketing basics you need to know before posting anything on any of your platforms: who you want to reach, what your goals are, and your brand voice and style.

    Social Media Marketing Basics #1: Your Target Market

    Knowing who your audience is is the biggest thing you need to learn early on in the social media game if you want to succeed in marketing your business. Your content needs to satisfy and interest other people so that they will more likely interact and follow you. When you know who your audience is, you’ll know what type of content you should put out.

    When you decide to create social media ads, knowing who to target is incredibly crucial because you don’t want to waste your resources targeting the wrong people. By properly advertising to your target market, you’ll have a successful campaign that will then earn you a positive return on investment.

    Social Media Marketing Basics #2: Your Goals

    Your goals are like your destination and your plans are your stepping stones to reach your goals. If you don’t follow along with your plans, you may never reach the destination you’re planning to land on.

    That said, your plans should align with the goals you have so you don’t go off course. Just like what we said in our previous article: How to Create a Digital Marketing Plan, Goal + Plan = Strategy.

    Social Media Marketing Basics #3: Your Brand Voice and Style

    Find your tone of voice and style before you decide to post anything on your socials. Are you formal? Playful? Serious? Humorous? Friendly?

    What style do you think will suit your brand best? How do you see your brand visually? Do you have a brand color, font, or catchphrase? Determine your branding and follow them through to have consistency.

    Read: Personalizing Your Brand | The Power of A Personal Brand

    Aside from these 3 social media marketing basics, don’t forget to make time to research and review your competitors on social media. To gather knowledge and inspiration, look into the trending hashtags and topics that your audience is looking at and talking about. 

     

    When You’re Ready to Post on Social Media

    When you have already determined your goals, settled your plans, know who your audience is, and determined your brand voice and style, you can now start planning your social media calendar. This is basically just the guide and outline of what content you are going to put out on each platform at a certain period of time. You can make it however you like, though mostly this is done with spreadsheets.

    You can repurpose content from your other content efforts such as blog posts, case studies, infographics, videos, and other forms of content you already have. Social media is important in establishing your authority and building trust with your potential clients. That’s why you need to make sure that your content is relevant and can be useful for your followers.

    Don’t forget your goals and always be on-brand while making your content calendar. Make your content relevant and helpful for your audience. If you can provide solutions to their problems, post about that. Speak to your followers and engage with them. Use your social media platforms like they do to connect with them.

    Also, don’t be pressured to be on all platforms. Just use the ones where the majority of your audiences are. There’s no use being active on everything because you’re just going to spread yourself thin, which is not a good thing. 

     

    After Posting on Social Media

    Now that you’ve scheduled your posts, you just don’t leave it and do not care about what happens next.

    After implementing your social media strategy, you have to regularly check on your posts and how they are performing. Track your analytics and analyze what they mean. See which post works better and structure your strategy based on these analytics you got.

    Don’t ignore your audience because they are your lifeline. If your content appeals to your viewers, you’ll definitely get likes, shares, and comments. Pay attention to these things so that you can incorporate this information to improve your strategy.

     

    Wrap Up

    And those are the social media marketing basics you need to know. It’s not much but it’s the general things you have to keep in mind because this whole cycle repeats all over. When you run the social media marketing strategy for your business, don’t forget to keep up with the trends and your industry’s news, because this will help you make your strategy better.

    For more articles like this, do visit our blog.

  • How To Create Engaging Social Media Content

    How To Create Engaging Social Media Content

     

    How To Create Engaging Social Media Content

    Do you want to upgrade your social media content creation skills and reap the rewards from it but don’t exactly know how to? Does it feel like you don’t have enough time of the day for creating social media content that’s engaging enough and finding it tedious? Are you worried that you’re not doing enough social media for your brand and business? Stop your worries because, in this post, we will be talking about how to create engaging social media content. A plethora of ideas awaits you.

    The Types of Content Categories:

    Offering a variety of content types and sources of social media content is good for your business. It will keep your followers eager for what you have to post next. Basically, there are three types of content categories that you should be implementing in your social media strategy. 

    1. Content that you have created – blog posts, articles, videos, promotional offers, personal ideas, image banners, etc.
    2. Content from others you shared – can be found through natural search and automation
    3. Content created for engagement – replies, likes, mentions, questions, etc

    The most engaging social media content that is created by you should be short and sweet, like images and videos, a variety of formats, and direct links. 

    Content Created by You

    There are so many contents that you can create and share on social media. Here are some ideas to get you started, don’t forget to jot down your favorites!

    Branded Image

    This first type of content is a crowd favorite. You can post anything, from funny or inspirational message to an image with your logo or website URL on it. It’s a great way to get noticed! Just post a branded image like the one below, and it’s going to be great content for your social media.

    Engaging Social Media Content

    Product Photos

    Posting product photos can be great for your social media content. Show off your products and make them eye-catching so it can drive people to buy your products directly.

    Behind-the-scenes Photos

    #candid – that’s what most people put in their description boxes when they post BTS (or behind-the-scenes) photos. Post candid shots of yourself, your office, your employees. It’s a great idea to show your followers how your brand really looks like behind the perfect photos. This content is interesting and fun to see, and it helps humanize your brand.

    Behind-the-scenes Product Shots

    You can also show behind the scenes of your products. This type of content works best on Instagram or Pinterest. Show how your photos were taken. Think of a great angle to show the bigger picture. 

    Ask for input from your followers

    You can ask for input on new products from your fans and followers. Ask your followers what they think about your products. Not only will your followers interact with your brand, but they will also feel valued. Your followers will love giving their thoughts on how you can improve your products.

    Photos that have nothing to do with your products or business

    You don’t always have to talk about your business. Once in a while, post something completely unrelated to your products and your business. Show your human side, your personality. Post a fun photo, or something humorous, because that’s what makes an engaging social media content.

    Link to your most popular blog post

    Do you have a blog? Why not share a link to your most popular blog post? Post a brief intro to that post and tell your followers why it’s your most read and shared post. You can even pin them to the top of your news feed.

    Share pictures from a recent industry event

    Have you recently been to an industry event? This is a perfect opportunity to create original content from photos and quotes taken from the event. Use the event hashtag for maximum exposure.

    Take a trip down memory lane

    It’s fun to take your audience down memory lane with you. Have you heard of #ThrowbackThursday? These types of posts are so much fun to see. Share photos of your old logos, old websites, or even your very first product.

    Use your website analytics to find content ideas

    Take a quick look through your analytics to find out which topics generate the most interest from your audience. From that, you’ll get an idea of what content to create to post on your socials.

    Link to a guest post

    Have you ever written a guest post before? Why not share that? Don’t just do it once, repost it every now and again. This will increase traffic to your post and will keep your host blog happy.

    Share random tips

    As a business or brand, you want to be seen as an industry leader and stay at the top of your game. Why not share random tips for your niche? You can make it into an image or an infographic, and you’ll stand out even more.

    Answer a question from Quora

    Have you heard of Quora? It’s a website where people ask questions and other people answer them. Find a relevant question in your niche on Quora and answer it on your social media. Answering something that people in your industry are looking answers for will validate your authority and will establish you as an industry leader. Search for the most popular question and create a social media post to answer it. Don’t forget to hashtag the keyword for maximum exposure.

    Random posts that show you’re a real person

    Putting a face to a name will humanize your brand. Show people that you are a real person. Post a photo of your dinner or what book you are currently reading. Share your plans for the weekend, or even post stories about your pet. These things will show you most authentically.

    Promote your products or services

    There’s a time and place for self-promotion, but first and foremost, use social media to build relationships, establish trust, and build your reputation as an industry expert. Use the 80-20 rule. 20% promotion and 80% value. Make sure you’re providing as much value as you can and only promoting once in a while so you won’t annoy your followers.

    Content Shared by You

    Social media is not always about creating your own content, most times, it’s about sharing and celebrating other people’s work, too. 

    New and Relevant Industry data and statistics

    This type of content performs greatly in terms of retweets and shares. Data can help you influence your audience to engage with your business and buy your product or service. Remember to look out for reports that provide these data so you can share them with your audience.

    Infographics

    Infographics are visually pleasing graphics to share on social media. Find an infographic that your followers would appreciate. You could check out Pinterest or the daily infographic for ideas and share it with your audience.

    Recommend a tool

    You can also share a tool (preferably a free one) or a resource that you think your followers will find useful. Take a look at your business and notice what tools you’re already using. You can recommend those to your fans and followers.

    Share popular Reddit topic

    Have you ever been to Reddit? It’s a website where everything can be found. Visit Reddit’s trending subreddit page to find popular and trending topics to post and share about.

    Share a trending Twitter topic

    You could also use Twitter’s trending content to find popular and trending content and share it on Facebook, Pinterest, or Linkedin. Just because it’s a trending topic on Twitter, doesn’t mean you can’t share it on other social media platforms.

    Share breaking industry news

    You should definitely stay on top of what’s going on in your industry by using google alerts. If you haven’t done this already, go to this link and start creating alerts that are related to your niche. With this, you could be the first to let your audience know about breaking news in your niche and be seen as an industry leader.

    Promote someone else’s sale

    Again, social media is not always being about you, most of the time, it’s celebrating others. So why not share a link to a coupon or sale from a complementary business? Just make sure they’re not your competition.

    Content that engages

    In this portion, we are going to talk about creating content that will generate engagement with your followers.

    Quotes

    This type of content can create great engagement because quotes are very relatable no matter what people do for a living. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an image, even a plain text quote will do. Just remember to tag the person you’re quoting if you can.

    Fill-in-the-blank posts

    Fill in the blank posts are so much fun. It can potentially generate a huge amount of replies, retweets, and likes. It’s important to make it easy to fill in though, don’t go asking your followers to solve a difficult math problem.

    Run Polls

    You can run polls to create engagement. Both Facebook and Twitter have their in-built poll, but you can also create polls on an external website and link it to your social media post.

    Ask for testimonials or reviews

    Obtaining reviews from followers is one of the best ways to get testimonials you can use as social proof on your website.

    Provide a recommendation

    Share the love by recommending a business you’ve worked with successfully in the past.

    Ask for advice

    Another great way to create engagement is to pose a hypothetical question and ask your followers what they would do in a certain situation.

    Recommend someone else to follow on social media

    Spread the love. Share a link to someone else’s social media profile and encourage your fans to like or follow them.

    “Caption This”

    Post a photo and ask fans to come up with creative captions. I personally partake in these!

    Ask for questions

    #AskMeAnything – This is when you allow your fans and followers to ask you anything for a specific amount of time, say an hour or so. A quick tip: Make sure that you are a known industry leader or expert in your field before attempting to do this, or that you have a lot of followers that really do engage with you because if you’re not in that position, you might not get as much engagement and you might be disappointed.

    Start a conversation with an industry leader

    You can also tag or mention an expert or an industry leader in a post. This is a great way to gain a really good quality following. Build relationships with people that influence your industry, but don’t expect them to reply all the time. Be clever about how you approach them. Never be sleazy or be disrespectful of other people’s time and never demand an answer. Always leave the question open-ended because people don’t like to be pushed into a conversation that they didn’t ask to be a part of. 

    Answer an FAQ

    Do you have a question that you get asked a lot again and again? Instead of answering it only for one person, why not answer it on social media? Or even better, you can link the FAQ page on your website to drive more traffic.

    Time Saving Strategies

    Social media platforms are free and easy to use, but many businesses have trouble finding the time and managing their schedule effectively for social media. It takes a great deal of regular work, so here are some tips for effective time management.

    1. Monitor your Time. Try to keep a detailed record of exactly how you use your time on each platform.
    2. Schedule your social media time. Decide when during the day you are going to spend on your social media. Create time slots according to your audience’s peak times.
    3. Write your posts in bulk. Create posts beforehand to save time and schedule them. You can sit down for an afternoon and create a stock of posts for each social media channel.
    4. Create an ideas file. When you get an idea or something that you like to create, save it to an ideas file. This can be very useful, as sometimes we tend to get inspiration from anything we encounter in our day. This will be great when the “writer’s block” happens. At least you’ll have an ideas file ready so you can just go over it to have something to create.

    Creating engaging social media content is not as hard as you think, but it can be time-consuming and requires regular work. But if you develop a technique and keep the things above in mind, you will have a steady flow of ideas. And I’m sure you’ll be creating engaging social media content easily, like a pro!

  • Make the Most of Your Social Media Presence With 5 Tips For Good Way

    Make the Most of Your Social Media Presence With 5 Tips For Good Way

    Make the Most of Your Social Media Presence With 5 Tips!

    So you have set up all your social media accounts for your business and you’re ready to start publishing your content. Before you go through with it, here are some things you should know to make the most of your social media presence.

     

    Social Media Marketing Tips:

    Customize Your Content

    Don’t just use the exact same static message and format all across your social media accounts. Different social media platforms have different feels for audiences. Depending on which social network you are posting them to, customize your content to fit the tone on your different platforms.

    Read: Conversations on Social Media

     

    Make the Most of Your Social Media Presence

     

    Be Consistent With Your Branding

    To have a solid marketing message that correlates with your brand, the images and social media content you create should reflect on your brand and company values.

    Moreover, customize your avatar and header image to be consistent with your branding and marketing guidelines. Your profiles should ideally be similar to your website.

    Read: The Power of A Personal Brand

     

    Optimize Your Bio

    Use your account bio to make the most of your social media presence. Many companies overlook this aspect and just write generic and basic information.

    Your social media bio is what sets an individual’s first impression about you so it’s imperative to make the best out of it. Your bio can attract followers and visitors, promote your business, and make your brand stand out from your competitors.

    Your bio should include your website, your contact information, and your location. Craft a brief but catchy description of your company and make it as interesting as possible.

    Read: Writing Tips for Social Media Profiles

    Build and Expand Your Audience

    Social media marketing is about building your audience and widening your reach. And while there are a lot of effective strategies to achieve this, here is some universal knowledge you should know.

    1. Follow your clients, business partners, and vendors on social media and interact with them. Like and comment on their posts, and soon, many will follow you back.
    2. Do a giveaway or a contest to show appreciation to existing customers and engage potential prospects. Make it exciting!
    3. Promote your accounts via paid ads. You can use Facebook or Instagram ads, even LinkedIn or Twitter!

    Read Next: Common Social Media Mistakes

  • 7 Helpful Apps to Have a More Successful Instagram

    7 Helpful Apps to Have a More Successful Instagram

    7 Helpful Apps to Have a More Successful Instagram

    Looking for helpful apps to have a more successful Instagram account? You’re in luck ‘cause that’s what we’re getting at today! 

    There are three types of applications to level up your Instagram game namely shooting, editing, and analytics. 

    Whistle Cam

    The first app we are going to explore is the Whistle Cam. People who use Instagram wants to create great content, but sometimes, they won’t always have someone to help them take their photos. When we do ask for help from others to take our photos, some people wouldn’t really care about the angles and how the output looks. One great app that can help you out is the Whistle Cam.

    Instead of using self-timers where you have to always go back and forth to your phone to check it and click the shutter, you can take a picture by simply whistling. You can set the app to take your photo automatically or have a two-second delay after you whistle. You don’t have to press anything to take a photo, just whistle and the phone will pick it up and take a photo.

    7 Helpful Apps to Have a More Successful Instagram

    Snapseed

    Snapseed is a great app to edit and refine your photo, to make it crisper, clearer, and brighter. You can also add a filter to it to make it really pop out. But what makes Snapseed special from any other photo editing apps? What makes Snapseed stand out from others is how user-friendly it is. You can add definition, provide clarity, heighten its ambiance, and have different filter options for your photo.

    If you want to tune an image, you can control the brightness. You can also control its saturation, temperature, shadows, and highlights. Snapseed can be daunting at first, but after a little exploring, you’ll learn how easy it is to use. 

    Always edit your photos before posting them on any social media platform, especially Instagram. Never just take a photo and post it raw. Slap on a filter, adjust its brightness, or whatever, just refine it. 

    Also, Snapseed is purely for editing photos. 

    Videoshop

    If you are looking for a simple mobile video editor, Videoshop is a great option. It makes combining and syncing multiple videos a breeze. If you are one of those people who feels like they’re not good at editing videos like me, this app will simplify things for you.

    Aside from joining multiple videos, this app also allows you to add texts and background music to spice up your output. You don’t have to be an expert to edit videos, you don’t have to feel overwhelmed or scared. Videoshop is very easy to use, and you’ll learn in no time!

    Repost App

    Another useful app is the Repost app, which is used to re-post other people’s content to your own feed. Reposting was mentioned in our previous blog, and it can actually increase your engagements as well as the original content creators. 

    Basically, the Repost app allows you to save another person’s content, and then, you can post that on your Instagram as your own content. Just make sure you tag them as the original video provider to give proper credits.

    Hashem

    Hashtags are very useful to get your content out to your target audience, but how do you get those unique hashtags to post under your captions? That’s where the app Hashem comes in. With this app, you can literally just post about anything and it will come up with all kinds of hashtags that are related to your keyword. Let’s say you enter the word “reading”. Hashem will then give you other hashtags related to ‘reading’ that you can use on your photo. 

    WhenToPost

    When you are trying to grow your Instagram, one of the many worries you might have is when to upload and post. Thankfully, there’s a literal app that you can use to figure out the best time you should post on your Instagram. 

    Knowing when the right time to post is to get your photo out when your followers and viewers are active online so that you’ll get to have more likes, attention, and engagement. This app will determine your best day/s of the week and the best time of the day to post. 

    Social Blade

    There are a lot of apps today that will show you your Instagram stats, like who your highest follower is, who is the most followed among your followers, and even who’s engaging on your account the most. The app called Social Blade is a great one to look at and track your analytics. If you turn your Instagram into a business account, the app will provide you with your analytics which can be very helpful in planning for content. 

    Social Blade shows you how many followers you’re getting per week and how many you’re losing along the way. It also gives you a rank or grade on your social media growth. It will give you very helpful information you can use to tailor how you play your Instagram game.

     

    Wrap Up

    With the help of these apps, you’ll be on your way to having a more successful Instagram page. 

    Social media changing and ever-evolving, so you must remember to always get on with trends. These helpful apps to have a more successful Instagram are merely tools to help you on your social media journey, the rest is then up to you and your effort.

    Good luck!

  • Make the Most Out of Instagram

    Make the Most Out of Instagram

    4 Incredible Ways to Make the Most Out of Instagram

    If you are looking for ways to make the most out of Instagram, then you are in the right place. Today, we are going to cover the best practices for Instagram engagement, using Instagram Stories, and working with brands to level up your Instagram game.

    You can use any content, even from your everyday life, just know that Instagram, or any social media for that matter, evolves over time. It’s never going to be the same, so you’ll have to constantly learn and adapt as you use the platform. 

     

    Always Be Testing

    If you want your social media accounts to flourish, you have to learn about what your audience likes. To do that, your only option is to experiment with different types of posts. People react to posts that inspire them or entertain them or make them think. The best type of posts really is those that tap into people’s emotions. Experiment and figure out if your audience is into inspirational or funny stuff by posting different content. See which posts get better hits and get you more follows. 

    Most people think that to have a successful Instagram account, you have to be a model or someone famous and post iconic shots and bikini photos. While that works for some, there are others who found success in posting other kinds of content. That’s why the most basic thing you need is to learn and understand your audience by experimenting with different posts. 

    Maybe your audience will like video posts, or thought-provoking quotes and graphics. Maybe your audience is geared more towards appreciating artistic shots or funny skits. Whatever your brand is, the way you can attract more audience is by listening to what they want to see on your page.

    Make the Most Out of Instagram

    Moreover, aside from experimenting with different types of content, also test out when to upload your posts. Find out when your audience is most active on the platform and play around with the timing of your posts until you get it right.

    Here’s a trick I’ll share with you when you have absolutely no content to upload: re-post stuff from other people. Of course, don’t forget to credit and tag them. There’s a re-post app you can use for this which I will share in a while. There is always a solution to a problem. If you don’t have any content to post, don’t be afraid to improvise and get content from elsewhere. Just make sure that you’re tagging the original content provider, no harm, no foul.

    The bottom line is, don’t be afraid to experiment and test out different content types. Don’t just focus on your content, focus on what your audience likes to see from you. As you begin to learn more about your audience, you’ll figure out if they are more receptive to pictures or videos. Figure out your platform and find out which helps increase your engagements.

     

    Instagram Stories

    Instagram Story is a feature a lot of people love, including me. It’s freeing to play around with Instagram Stories because the stuff you upload in it only lasts for 24 hours and it stays at the top of the feed without disrupting your follower’s feed. This can give you the flexibility to try out a couple of techniques without the pressure of putting something permanent on your feed.

    Instagram Stories allows you to upload video clips and photos with fun filters to spice up your content. You also have the ability to do a live broadcast. You can go live anywhere whether you’re at a basketball game, your living room, your studio, in your car stuck in traffic, or wherever. Lastly, if you want to save your stories for longer than 24 hours, you can save and put them on a “highlight” which can be seen on your Instagram profile for however long you want. 

    Instagram Stories are great because it gives you immediate feedback from your engaged audience when your content is relevant to them. So, for example, when you upload a post on your main page, you’ll have a comment section where people can say anything they want to say. With Instagram Stories, your followers can react to them and even send you a dm when your post highly resonated with them. This is when you’ll learn that your stories are a hit or miss.

    You can post on Instagram stories for as much as you like or as little as you want, you don’t have to worry about annoying your followers because they won’t pop up on their Instagram feed. You’re not going to overbear them if you’re posting too much. 

    Using hashtags and locations in your stories also helps increase followers. If you’re trying to gain attention to get people to visit your website or subscribe to your newsletter, there’s a feature where you can put a link on your stories that will directly take them there.

     

    Building Engagement

    When you’re using Instagram for business, the thing you probably want to achieve is to increase your followers. To do that, you have to focus on building engagement. 

    Engagement with your fans will boost your posts to the top of people’s feeds. If you have a post that has a higher amount of likes and comments from someone else’s post, your post will be promoted over the other person’s post. 

    Instagram is ever-evolving and constantly changing, and one of the biggest challenges is to beat the algorithm when they got rid of the chronological order. The algorithm includes everything from likes, comments, direct messages, or any other interactions your posts are getting. That’s why you don’t just focus on likes, you focus on everything that will get your posts engagements.

     

    How do you get more comments? The first trick is to respond back to all the people who have commented on your post. This will instantly double the number of comments on your photo. If you want to have a genuine connection with your audience, you have to engage. You can’t just upload something and leave, you have to interact with your followers in the comments section.

    Another way to increase engagement is to ask a question in your captions. Instead of having a long and detailed description, you can add a question that will entice people to reply to it in the comments section. Research shows that when you ask a question, people are going to want to answer it. So, that’s a plus for building engagement.

    Always be on the lookout for new trends and techniques in the community.

    You can also comment on other posts to grow your audience. Go on other accounts that you genuinely vibe with and leave a relevant comment. People like reading through comments. If they like yours, there’s a big chance that they’ll visit your page and follow your account, too.

    Another tip is to use hashtags and locations to get people to stay on your post. The algorithm takes into account how long a user spends time looking at a post, that’s why having a good caption, asking a question, implementing locations, and using hashtags can help your post have engagements. 

    Go look at your posts. Are you using hashtags? Are you asking questions? Are you using a location? If you’re not using these tips and tricks, try it out and see if you’re garnering more engagement and growing your fan base.

     

    Working With Brands

    Let’s talk about brands. Over the years, I’ve learned that audiences really don’t mind ads as long as they’re done in moderation and in a unique and genuine way. That’s the challenge of making ads. Also, space them out because you don’t want to have back-to-back ads that will annoy and frustrate your viewers. 

    What are the Different Types of Sponsorship?

    There are different sponsorships on Instagram. There’s a one-time-only deal in which a brand offers your an X amount of dollars for a one-time post. And then there are others where a brand offers partnership to a person that they believe could be a great representative of their brand. There’s also a unique sponsorship where companies hire people to go out on events and cover those with their Instagram Stories or their main feed. 

    The coveted sponsorship is where you get to have a relationship with a brand. You can build trust in both ways and these brands can then give you more freedom to talk about their product in your own unique and genuine way. When you do well with brands, they’re gonna want to continue to work with you. It’s a win-win situation when you’re helping increase their fanbase and getting their products out there.

    How do you get started working with brands?

    You’re not a celebrity, or an athlete, or an influencer with millions of followers, so how do you get started working with brands? The first tip is to go after them. Search for brands that you genuinely want to work with and send them a direct message. There’s nothing wrong with this method, really. A lot of times when you start reaching out, they’ll send you products, you can try the product out, interact with your fans, and continue to grow those brand relationships from there. Don’t forget to tag or hashtag the brand. 

    At the end of the day, this is another reason why you should grow your followers organically and not buy them. If your goal is to get brand sponsorships or promote products, you’ll want to get your messages across to a real audience. 

     

    Final Thoughts

    Instagram is a great platform and if you are someone who wants to make the most out of it, always work on your engagements. Don’t be intimidated because when you do things the right way, you can absolutely conquer this platform. Make the most out of Instagram with the tips we shared and enjoy success as you build your account. 

    Read Next: How to Leverage Social Media for your ECommerce Business in 2021

  • 7 Effective Ways To Promote Your Business On Facebook

    7 Effective Ways To Promote Your Business On Facebook

    Promote Your Business On Facebook

    Your potential reach on Facebook is practically endless, with over one billion active users. However, there are a few critical considerations to keep in mind while promoting your business on Facebook. It’s not easy to get in touch with users. And, especially when it comes to using social media to market your business, you’re up against stiff competition from businesses exactly like yours.

    Today, Facebook has evolved into the most effective platform for promoting yourself and your business. Most people these days don’t bother visiting websites or blogs, but they do visit Facebook pages. If you use Instagram and Twitter as well, you should be able to get a lot of visits and new clients. It is, however, difficult to stand out among all the other pages that are trying to achieve the same thing. Here are seven efficient techniques to promote your business on Facebook that you should consider using.

     

    Effective Ways to Promote Your Business On Facebook

    Create Your Own Business Page

    Okay, first things first. Before you can actually promote your business on Facebook, you have to create a Facebook Page. And before you can decide what kind of material to put on your business page, you must first build an online presence and proclaim to the world that you are officially open for business. It’s easy to create your own Facebook page and the procedure is quite straightforward;

    • Go to your Facebook Profile
    • At the top right of the page, click the Menu option and select ‘Page’ at the Create section
    • Create a name for your business and enter all the miscellaneous details needed

    That’s it, you have made a Facebook Page for your business. Don’t forget to upload a decent display and cover photo. It’s easy and free to create a Facebook Business Page and with this platform, you will be able to post content and interact with your audience.

    Post Video Content

    Videos are largely popular because they are entertaining and engaging. And over the last few decades, video content has grown in popularity. Today, almost every organization hires a digital marketing agency to assist them to develop video content. But many content creators decide to produce and direct their video material.

    The choice of how to make videos is really up to you, but if you want to take your Facebook promotion on another level, it is highly recommended you also post video content to gain more reach and engagement.

    Use Hashtags to Up your discoverability

    Hashtags have long been available on Facebook, but they’re not as popular as they are on other platforms like Twitter or Instagram. Facebook is actively striving to remedy this by encouraging marketers to use hashtags to ensure that their postings are seen by the relevant audience.

    Add some relevant hashtags to your posts to improve your chances of being discovered organically on Facebook. But don’t overdo it; use only 3 – 5 relevant hashtags to ensure that you appear when someone searches for your term.

     

    Promote Your Business On Facebook

     

    Make Use of Facebook Groups

    While most people associate online networking with LinkedIn, Facebook groups provide a similar thing for professionals. There are several Facebook groups dedicated to different businesses, professions, and interests. Your personal account can be used to join groups of colleagues as well as groups where your target audience is likely to be found.

    Take initiative and engage in conversations in the groups you join so that your name will be recognized. This will be helpful to spread the word about your authority and expertise in the industry. Just make sure not to sound sale-sy in your discussions because this can be the biggest turn-off to potential leads and connections.

    Do Facebook Lives

    According to recent research, ‘82% of consumers prefer live video from a brand to social updates.’ Hosting a Facebook Live allows you to engage with your audience honestly, respond directly to criticism, and answer questions in real-time.

    Q&A sessions with consumers, product or service demonstrations, instructional or inspirational content, and even interviews with prospects or peers in your sector are all wonderful ideas for a Facebook Live broadcast. Think outside the box, or better yet, ask your customers what they’d like to see from you.

    Listen to your audience

    While this may seem like a no-brainer, many firms just don’t do it enough or don’t do it at all. One of the most significant benefits of going live is the ability to listen to the crowd and gain their honest comments. Market your business by asking questions, clarifying your own points of view, and even communicating with other strategic partners.

    Data analytics is also helpful in this regard as well as listening to your audience because their inputs are great insights to take into consideration in taking actions to improve your business.

    Reach the right people with personalized ads

    Every business begins with an idea, and those ideas deserve every opportunity to succeed. Personalized advertisements can help you reach people who have expressed an interest in your items online, as well as find new audiences who are similar to your existing customers. And the best thing about personalized ads is that because these tailored advertising target those who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer, they can help you make the most of your money as you work on new products and services.

    Advertising on Facebook does not have to be costly. Millions of marketers use Facebook’s tailored ad capabilities, with the vast majority of them being small and medium-sized businesses like yours.

     

    Final Thoughts

    While social media is becoming increasingly crucial in corporate marketing, a company’s Facebook page should not be used just for advertising or self-promotion. It should also include information about the company and its corporate culture, allowing users to interact on a more personal level with the brand. It can be difficult to decide what to publish, but having this personal element on the page can often boost brand relations and promote a sense of community. So, if you are looking for ways to promote your business on Facebook and improve your Facebook presence at the same time, these seven strategies are sure to be helpful!

    For more articles like this, visit our blog and like our Facebook Page.

     

  • 7 Social Media Marketing Tips Good for Small Businesses

    7 Social Media Marketing Tips Good for Small Businesses

    7 Social Media Marketing Tips Good for Small Businesses

    It’s no surprise today how social media has impacted the way we connect and interact with each other. Over the years, it has influenced consumers’ actions changing the marketing strategies of businesses. With over 3 billion people having social media accounts, it just makes sense that businesses have also taken up their marketing strategies into these digital platforms. If you are a small business and you are looking to widen your reach, bringing your marketing efforts to social media is the right step to do. In this post, we will talk about social media marketing tips for small businesses. If this perks up your interest, then keep on reading!

    Why Use Social Media for Marketing?

    The power of social media has peaked and now customers rely on what they see and read online before buying anything. Consumers seek out information about a product or service on their favorite social media channels, as well as keep an eye on what the influencers have to say about it. Advertising and marketing your business on social media can boost your company’s reputation and market reach. 

    Social media for small businesses is important, but 2020 has made it essential. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, small business owners have experienced financial hardships. Business owners resolved to create their online presence to reach out to their customers and keep their business afloat. 

    You can use social media to get your brand personality across your audience. You can also get to know your customers better here and answer their questions regarding your products and services while growing your business at the same time.     

    7 Social Media Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

    For a small business with a limited budget and resources, marketing in social media can be a little daunting, but with these tips, we are going to share, this feat shouldn’t have to be. 

    Here are seven tips to help you get started.

    Know your objectives and let them lead you

    What are your top 3 marketing objectives? Evaluate them and find out how social media can aid you in achieving these objectives. Instead of chasing trends, start thinking of social media as a means to help you reach your objectives because if you don’t, you’ll just end up wasting your precious time. Social media is not just a “megaphone” for your business, it can be used as a tool to reach your marketing goals. 

    Know Your Target Audience

    One reason why using social media for small businesses is very effective is that you can micro-target your audience. But before this, you have to know who your target audience is.

    The best thing about social media is that most platforms give you access to your analytics and market data for free. This will help you learn who your customers are and how they behave on social media. Relevant social media metrics enable you to perform audits on your existing social media marketing approach. You can then turn these insights into actionable steps to shape your social media marketing efforts to reach your objectives. 

     

    Social Media Marketing Tips

     

    Decide and Choose the Right Platforms For You

    When you know your target audience, you’ll be able to deduce which social media platforms are the best for your business. This is important so you can direct your marketing efforts and budget to these specific platforms where they will be most effective. Take, for example, if your ideal audience is Gen Z and millennials, TikTok and Instagram will be the best platforms to spend your resources. Don’t forget to factor in the type of business you are running. If you are selling beauty products and clothing, Instagram will be definitely the place for you because they rely heavily on visuals. 

    Share Eye-Catching and Compelling Visuals

    Posting great visuals is a prerequisite now when you venture into the world of social media, and this doesn’t only apply to Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok. You should also have high-quality images on all platforms because these visuals influence your followers’ and viewers’ purchasing decisions, especially when your business leans to the fashion industry. If your content does not capture the viewer’s attention, they won’t stop scrolling to read your post. Even tweets benefit from a good graphic. Adding an image or a GIF is the simplest thing you can do so your tweet gets attention. Every business can tell its story through photos and videos, so showcase your brand through appealing visuals.

    It’s Always Quality Over Quantity

    The number of social media platforms can be overwhelming when you are just formulating out your marketing strategy, but keep in mind that quality content is always the key. Focus on your key platforms and create high-quality content that comes through to your audience as authentic and valuable. Social media marketing is all about connecting to your audience and building relationships. Be human, make your posts genuine and honest, and your audience will respond accordingly. 

    Show Appreciation

    Know that social media is not just about you. It is not a monologue where you just talk about yourself and what your company is about. Social media is an opportunity for you to connect with other people and a chance for you to connect with people who have helped and supported you in business. You can use social media to show your thanks and appreciation to these people. You can give them thanks by recognizing their posts, whether liking or sharing them. Your gestures will be appreciated and your audience will continue to support you.

    Schedule Your Content To Have More Time For Engagement

    Create a social content calendar to keep you ahead of the game. You can use publishing tools to schedule your posts, and this will automate your social media work. This will save you so much time that instead of accessing your social media multiple times a day, you’ll only have to check it once a day. By automating your social media posting, you’ll have more time to actually grow and develop your business and focus on your revenue. You can outsource and hire a social media manager if you have the budget to handle these tasks for you. 

    Bonus tip: Track and Refine your Performance

    As you execute your social media marketing strategy, keep track of what and what doesn’t work. Refine your efforts and performance so you can improve the results. Make use of the analytics tools to track the metrics that matter most to you. When you know how your strategy is working, look for more ways to improve. You can make small changes to boost your success gradually. 

    Being a small business doesn’t mean that you are limited to just doing what you are currently doing. Make use of these social media marketing tips to connect better with your audience, reach new potential customers, and increase your brand awareness. It can seem overwhelming at first, but you can always start small. With these tips, you can build your social media marketing efforts over time and grow your business. 

     

  • 8 Tips to Improve Your Instagram Marketing Strategy

    8 Tips to Improve Your Instagram Marketing Strategy

    Today, visual media is more useful for engaging audiences rather than other traditional marketing channels, and so Instagram has become one of the best advertising platforms in digital marketing. It offers a variety of tools and interesting opportunities for marketers since it shares the same advertising interface as Facebook. There are many options to tweak and optimize your campaigns and in this article, we are sharing with you some tips you can use to improve your Instagram marketing strategy.

    Why Choose to Advertise on Instagram?

    Instagram is an established social networking app and is one of the most powerful tools in the market. It has over 250 million active users daily. If your brand’s target audience is between 19-34 years old, this is the place to be. 

    While organic social media strategies seem cost-effective, they are time-consuming and rely on a lot of trial and error. With the ever-changing social media algorithms, it’s important to focus your strategy on doing both organic and paid advertising tactics. As a visual platform, Instagram is a great way to show off your products and services to your target market. 

    Instagram is a popular network among influencers, celebrities, and brands, and its advertising platform is very versatile, which will allow you to adapt your campaigns according to your objectives and target audience.

    Switch your Account into a Business Profile Account

    Before you start strategizing and making your Instagram marketing plan, switch your personal account into an Instagram Business Account. Head over to your settings and click “Switch to Business Profile” to get it done.

    There are benefits to having a business profile. One is that your followers will be able to click on your contact button on your profile so they can quickly get in touch with you. Two, a business profile will allow you to publish Instagram ads without having to use Facebook. You can also use Instagram’s “Insights”, its free analytics tools that can help you track your metrics and understand your audience.

    Use your Insights

    This free Instagram tool will let you view your statistics, such as your post’s impressions and engagement data. You can also view a breakdown of your followers’ demographics, which includes age, gender, and location. The more you know about your followers and how they interact with your posts, the better you can adjust your content to boost engagement. This can really help level up your Instagram marketing strategy.

    Post Product Teasers

    Product teasers are a simple way to get your follower’s attention and talk about your product without being too pushy or trying hard. When you tease people with products they are interested in, you don’t push them into buying anything. Instead, they will be more likely to get curious, eat the bait, and actually buy something. Otherwise, they will still likely engage with your post or share it with their friends.

    Create Videos

    We all know that Instagram has been mainly for photos. However, when it was updated to accommodate short videos and IGTV, the platform has become even more interesting than it ever was. Videos can resonate with users much more than just a photo can, and it captures their interest in just a few seconds. While a still image can already be highly engaging, using videos will allow you to share your brand’s story to your followers even more.

    Instagram Marketing Strategy

    Use Instagram Stories

    Instagram stories can help you generate leads. These stories are displayed at the top of the timeline where users look daily. You can create highly engaging and pleasing stories that will entertain your followers, such as behind-the-scenes videos, polls, and questions. There is an array of features you can use in creating your stories like photos, live videos, rewind videos, or Boomerangs. You can also tag other accounts if you are collaborating with an influencer or another brand. And there are filters, GIFs, stickers, and texts you can use to make your stories even more visually pleasing. The content you can make with IG stories are endless!

    Partner up with Influencers

    If you want to widen up your reach, one great thing you can do is partner up with an influencer who has a relevant following. People nowadays are buying products and services from what they see on their timelines from the influential people they are following. If you work with a relevant influencer in your niche, you can quickly get your brand out across a wider audience. Find the right influencer, build a relationship with them, and you’ll build lasting brand awareness with a new audience. 

    Post at the Right Times

    Do not over-post on Instagram or else it will discourage your followers and they will be clicking the unfollow button faster than you can say “hey there!”. What you want to do is post consistently so that you will be appearing in their feed regularly. Make a schedule and post only on peak days and hours when your followers are online. Based on studies, the hours between 8-9 AM are the best time to post, while Mondays and Thursdays are the best days to upload new posts. You can also find out when your followers are most active through Instagram Insights. Research also shows that you can post up to two times per day and no more than that. 

    Create Sponsored Ads

    Instagram ads have become popular over time, and the best thing about it is that you can set a budget to control exactly how much you are willing to spend for them. you can make use of the carousel feature to showcase multiple ads. With sponsored posts, you can promote your brand to anyone who fits your target audience, which will increase your reach further than ever.

    Create ad content that’s both engaging and appealing to your target market. You can post a photo, video, carousel, or story. 

    Instagram is one of the social media platforms that has dominated the digital world. With over 800 million monthly users, this app is guaranteed to be one of the social media apps that are installed on an average person’s smartphone. This makes it an ideal platform to do some marketing and advertising. Learn the ins and outs and get to promoting. With these tips, your Instagram marketing strategy will surely improve.

  • How to Leverage Social Media for your ECommerce Business in 2021

    How to Leverage Social Media for your ECommerce Business in 2021

    Leverage Social Media

    It’s no question that social media has a large impact on marketing and advertising your business. Since its advent, having profiles on chosen social media platforms are considered a must if you want to reach a wider and more diverse audience. Perhaps it’s because one of the best advantages of using social media marketing is its cost-effectiveness compared to other forms of traditional marketing.

    According to statistics, 54% of internet users use social media to research product reviews and recommendations. And this is why having a notable online presence is essential on several social media platforms.

    There are still many businesses that haven’t embraced the advantages of the digital age, and those businesses are seriously missing out on the opportunities they can get from having a strong presence in the Leverage Social Media scene.

     

    How to Leverage Social Media for your ECommerce Business

    Every day, more people are creating accounts and getting into social media. As an ECommerce business owner, driving traffic to your website is one of your main goals to attract new customers. This is where you can make good use of social media. As this is not something new anymore, you have a bigger competition out there so the question is, how do you stay on top of the game?

    Here are ways you can leverage social media for your ECommerce business.

     

     

     

    How to Leverage Social Media for your ECommerce Business in 2021

    Interact and connect with customers

    Most consumers that have used your products or experienced your services won’t always write and share their opinions about it. But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have a good experience with you. It’s just that for some customers, it’s not a priority to reach out to businesses to let them know what they think about your product. That’s why you have to be the one to make the first move to thank them for their purchase and to ask them for their feedback.

    Emailing your customers for their feedback is a great idea. You can include clickable links of your socials so that all they have to do is browse on them and click follow if they want to. Who knows, aside from leaving their comments, maybe they’ll also share your social media pages with their friends and family.

    You can also encourage your customers to upload a photo of their purchase and tag you on their social accounts. This can be a really great way to reach more audiences.

    Learn About Your Personas

    With an eCommerce business, knowing who your audience is always the goal. Using social media, you will get to learn more about your target markets and your buyer personas. Each platform has a different demographic user base so you’ll get to gain insights from every group and how to market your products or services to them.

    Think about this: 25% of TikTok’s users are aged 10-19, 32.1% of Instagram users are between 25-34, and about 77% of US adults who use Facebook are between 30-49 years old. If you are a clothing brand, you’ll gravitate towards Leverage Social Media using Instagram more to market your products to these millennials. If your target market is older adults, you’ll gravitate to using Facebook to advertise your business Leverage Social Media.

    With the use of social media, you’ll gain valuable insights that will help you create a solid marketing strategy to better your digital marketing campaigns.

     

    Let your customers get to know you

    Your social media platforms are the best place to show off your brand’s story and personality. It is where you can directly speak to your audience and let them get to know you better. When users know a brand, trust will grow, and you’ll be able to turn them into loyal customers with a little more push.

    Social media is all about visual content and this is a great and easy way to tell stories. Marketing isn’t just about showcasing your products and services all the time. It’s also about creating an impact, a lifestyle that will inspire and empower your viewers. Use social media to share wonderful stories that will reflect your brand mission and values.

    Provide Customer Support

    Customers tend to flock more to brands that they believe have an outstanding rapport on customer service. The use of social media allows companies to provide this in various ways. With Twitter, you can respond to customer complaints. With Facebook Messenger, you can address them by chatting directly with your customers. Leverage Social Media 

    Moreover, you can respond to any customer questions using your social media accounts. You can also share helpful tips and solutions for any issues. Customers appreciate transparency and social media is a great platform to disseminate public information.

     

    Optimize Social Media Posts Leverage Social Media 

    The trends in social media are ever-evolving and you will always have to keep up with them if you want to stay relevant. Share posts that will fit in the platform you’re using, this will help your brand attract relevant users that will actually appreciate your offers and content.

    Take advantage of the features provided on each platform and stay up-to-date with the platform’s updates so you don’t miss out on any opportunities to reach out to more audiences.

    Don’t forget to include relevant keywords in your descriptions when you post images and videos. Also, make use of hashtags, those are very useful. Leverage Social Media 

     

    Social media is a huge part of businesses, particularly when you are in the eCommerce section. It’s one of the best ways to spread brand awareness, generate leads, nurture followers, and generate sales. Utilize the tips stated above to leverage social media for your eCommerce business to achieve your goals – whether that’s driving traffic, earning awareness, or even converting sales.

    Visit our blog for more articles like this.

  • 5 Common Social Media Mistakes and How To Avoid Them

    5 Common Social Media Mistakes and How To Avoid Them

    5 Common Social Media Mistakes and How To Avoid Them

    Previously, we have posted an article about 9 Things You Should Never Do On Social Media. In an effort to give you updated content, we gathered the top three common social media mistakes that people make when writing for each platform and how you can avoid them.

    It does not take an expert to miss these mistakes but the ones that we are going to list are the most overlooked ones. Here we go.

     

    Not Checking The Spelling

    When it comes to social media, the writing style is more casual compared to other channels. We’ve tackled in the previous articles how you can get away with using abbreviations and breaking a few traditional grammar rules. However, nothing is worse than having confusing and funny typos in your copy to interfere with the message you are trying to relay. The unfortunate thing on social media is that if these mistakes are overlooked, these mistakes can be shared by thousands of people and you can’t have any way of taking them back.

    The easiest fix here is to have proper proofreading. Here are three top tips for proofreading your social media copy:

    • Check usernames and hashtags – these are where errors most likely occur because spellcheckers can’t check them. So before clicking that post button, click on them, check the link to whatever you’re expecting them to go, and give them a final once-over before hitting the publish button.
    • Get a second opinion – if you use a scheduling tool to plan a lot of your posts ahead of time, set up a process whereby each post is checked and signed off by another member of your team. This can be a little time-consuming but it can save you a lot of stress in the long run by avoiding typos of any kind.
    • Use Hemingway or Grammarly – for picking up good old-fashioned spelling mistakes, I recommend using either of these tools. They are both free and very easy to use. For Hemingway, you only have to open a tab on your browser and quickly copy and paste your posts in for a quick check. You can do the same for Grammarly or you can install the Grammarly Chrome Extension and give it access to your google docs or anywhere you’re writing and it will automatically check your spelling and grammar. I love the latter more and I use it for pretty much everything I write. But both are really great because they go beyond spelling as both apps also check your grammar more generally. And it gives you tips to make your writing clearer and more concise. 

    Common Social Media Mistakes

     

    Cross-Posting

    Another common social media mistake is cross-posting. This is when you share exactly the same post on different social media platforms – word for word. And it’s always tempting to do this to save time while at the same time keep all your accounts active. But this is a terrible idea. In the long run, it can potentially devalue your brand.

    From our previous copywriting articles, you’d know that there are different elements like the audience, the caption length, and the vocabulary used in every platform. When you share the exact same post on all of your platforms, you might accidentally end up inviting your followers on Facebook to ‘retweet’ you, or you could lose half of your caption or tag a handle from one platform that does not exist on another. Moreover, cross-posting is just so obvious and your followers might assume that you don’t care, or worst, your post can even look spammy.

    Always craft different variations of your posts for different platforms, and this does not need to be time-consuming. Be aware of where you are posting and clarify your message, audiences, brand voice, and call-to-action. Use the information found in our previous articles to write your Twitter posts – keeping them short and sweet. Then from this original copy, tweak your wordings that will give the same message for your other channels, taking into account the differences in captions length, hashtags, and more. In most cases, 90% of your post copy will remain the same, so you don’t really have to start from scratch.

    Emojis ????????✨????????

    They’re all over social media. I bet all of your followers are using them, and if you are too, then you’re cool! Emojis add color and fun to your posts. You smile at your customers in person, right? So why not smile at them online? For some product and services though, the usage of emojis are less appropriate. But if you’re writing them off for no good reason, you’re missing a trick. 

    Incorporating emojis can work as an extension of tweaking your language to match the more casual, informal language your audience is using. In the end, whether and how you use emojis comes down to your brand voice and consistency. As always, audience focus is key. 

     

    Now, you’ve learned practical, actionable steps. Put these things into work straight away to improve your copy and make it more concise, persuasive, attention-grabbing, and engaging.