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Quit wasting your time with social media

By Facebook, Social Media, Strategy No Comments

There, we said it!  Quit wasting your time with social media.  If you don’t have a strategy, a plan, and a focused result you are looking for then YES!  You are wasting your time.  You know you are “supposed to be there”, says who?  The person who doesn’t even do a good job at it themselves?  You are also supposed to be doing a lot of things.  For example, you know you are supposed to exercise and eat right, but do you?  Probably not because you don’t have a strategy or a focused result you are striving for.  Just because someone says you are supposed to be there doesn’t mean that you should.  Going to the gym and walking aimlessly on the treadmill is pointless if you are trying to build your arm strength.  Get it?  Same applies to social media marketing, don’t just “be on Facebook” because some expert told you that you should be.  You should be on Facebook or any social media platform for that matter because you want a specific result from your efforts.  Do you want to build relationships?  Do you want to grow your online presence?  Do you want a tribe or community of people who view YOU as a the expert?  Then great, you should be on social media platforms….. but that isn’t all.  You should actually BE THERE!!!  Not just with a profile and a cool pic, be there, and be active.

Just quit already.

Nothing is more annoying to myself and your viewers than when you post some really good stuff for a week and then boom, nothing….. hello?? Bueller….. Bueller…….Oh well I guess they are gone.  Then OH you’re back… umm ok where did you go?  That is extremely annoying and frustrating to the people who have chosen to connect with you.  So you post a few more things and connect with more people and then do it all over again.  Those efforts are futile and pointless, and you should quit wasting your time with social media  You do more harm than good when you are not present and active in your social network.  So quit wasting your time.  I do a lot of education and the #1 excuse I hear for not being active on social networks is….. drumroll….. I don’t know how it works” Let me clue you in really quick….. it works if you work it, that is how it works.  It works like real life, you connect with people, you provide value to their lives, and you build a relationship, shocking I know!   How well do you think that relationship would be if you made a new friend and all of a sudden you fell off the face of the earth?  Doesn’t come across as very reliable right?  You are there, then you aren’t, then you are, then you aren’t.  Not reliable at all.  Is that the message you want to send?  I don’t think so.  Any time you have spent on social media is completely wasted and gone when you quit with your efforts and forget your focused result you want.

In conclusion.

So there you have it, you have my permission to quit wasting your time with social media.  Now, if you want to rock it and get some outstanding results with your social media and you don’t have time or desire to learn to be consistent then outsource it. (I happen to know a great company wink, wink,)  If not, then no worries mate, move on to something else.  Whatever you decide to do just do it, don’t kinda sorta do it, just do it.  Are you In or Out?  Leave a comment below or share this on your favorite social media site and let’s start a conversation!

The impact of social media over several businesses

By Business, Facebook, Social Media, Strategy No Comments

The truth is that there are many marketing strategies, one being more successful than the other. This means that you have multiple ways to promote your business in order to succeed. As you can see, it is easy to promote your business, and yet you need to act carefully. If you want to have a truly successful business you should think about using social media as well as possible, finding a way that actually fits your overall marketing strategy. Nowadays there are many people who have used social media in order to promote their business, being able to succeed. Following their example you can easily find success, being able to raise above your competition.

Everyone knows that social media plays an important role in the evolution of any businesses, but the truth is that each individual is responsible for this evolution, and therefore social media has only a partial influence with this process. Therefore the impact of social media over a business depends in some way on the business owner’s activity, and not only in using social media in a random way. The truth is that there are many businesses that have used social media, failing at the end because they did not know how to use it properly. Therefore, if you are in the situation when you need social media marketing in order to save your business, you should really think about using it properly.

As you well know, social media websites play an essential role in the marketing strategies, having a great influence on the branding process. Therefore, it is no wonder that there is an increasing number of businesses that have decided to use social media for this purpose. For instance, there are many startups that are using social media, some of them without even knowing what to do. Therefore they create a Facebook account hoping that this will do the trick.

Since social media websites are very important in the development of a business, there has been conducted some research concerning this subject. It has been found that a great amount of the businesses that were using this marketing strategy have managed to develop in a considerable way, and therefore nowadays every business has a website where one can find several social media websites attached. In this way the customers are able to find all the information they need.

Now that you know the true importance of social media marketing and its influence over any business, it is time to start using it. This is not a difficult process and therefore you should get it right. However, if you feel that you need help you should hire someone professional who can handle the situation. No matter how you will use social media, the important thing is to keep using it for a long time, reaching your target audience. In this way you will be able to attract more customers, having the power to increase your overall profit.

The importance of social media marketing

By Facebook, Marketing, Social Media No Comments

Social media plays an important role in many fields, and marketing is one of them. As you well know marketing is essential in the life of any business, and therefore every business owner should be aware about its importance. Therefore, if you own a business you should know that marketing is the only field that with decide whether you will succeed or not. The truth is that there are many people who believe that if they have an innovative product they have already succeeded. However, the history is full with situations when a product that has been invented hundreds of years before has managed to become popular only after the right marketing strategy has come around.

Marketing is a field that adapts according to the personal needs of a company, but also to the times in which it has been used. Therefore, you should pay attention to any marketing strategy you are going to use. For instance, even if the television commercials are important, they are no longer effective in the case of new products. This means that you need to think about all the ways you can create an amazing marketing strategy that might actually help you.

Social marketing has developed right after the apparition of the social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn. Since all these websites are very popular all around the world, they have managed to become the perfect marketing tool, being able to prove that marketing is indeed an adaptive science. Even if social media marketing is only at the beginning, the truth is that it managed to become very important, especially when it is used in a proper manner.

The influence of social media upon the present society is very important, and therefore it should not be ignored. Right now there are many people who are using Facebook for instance in order to promote their products or services. If you look carefully you will see that all the main websites of a certain business have attached all the social media links that may entertain them in a great way. The main principle of social media marketing is to promote the products or the services in an entertaining and informative manner that will attract the attention of the target audience, which is spending its time visiting these social media websites. On the other hand, social media marketing also promotes the publication of valuable content that is able to engage the user in the best way possible.

As you can see, social media marketing is very important, and therefore it should be taken into account. Now that you have all this information concerning social media marketing you should know that this is the cheapest form of marketing, and at the same time it is also the most successful marketing strategy. Thus, you should definitely use it in order to attract a greater amount of possible customers. Social media marketing represents the future of the marketing strategies.

Using Psychology In Social Media

By Social Media No Comments

Can you use psychology in social media?  If so what can it do to benefit you or even worse, hurt you?  Psychology uncovers what inspires human behavior and how the knowledge of this can help lure clients and even retain them. It is only by understanding people and their behavior that businesses can provide them with solutions to their problems. Here are great ways of using psychology to enhance a firm’s content or marketing efforts on social media.

Reliability

People like to depend on reliable sources of information and so are brands. If they can trust your brand, they will always return for more of your products or services. This is the reason videos, blog posts, and eBooks, among other reference guides provide users with information about their expert authors so that their information can be trusted.

Reciprocation

Reciprocation can easily create mutual and trustworthy B2C relationships that can transform visitors into loyal clients. This is due to the fact that humans like to help out. When a person does something good to another, they can expect to receive the same. This also applies to businesses when they offer clients incentives that are genuine and real; they expect the customers to buy from them in return.

Social Evidence

People trust products being used by the persons they trust or know. When many people are using a product or service, people are likely to use or buy the same. Follow and like button on social media sites allow firms to take advantage of this effect of social flow-on that is very effective and powerful.

Visibility and Affability

Businesses that are highly likeable and visible do enjoy an increase in profits. Improved online presence makes a firm more visible to users and thus increasing their chance of purchasing from them. Improved visibility of brands makes clients remember the firms for longer periods, in addition to captivating and offering them information that is useful. With enhanced familiarity of clients to a business, the more they develop positive emotions towards it and thus affability. A positive attitude or emotions towards a business can convert leads into sales.

Demand and Supply

Demand of products or services increase when they are scarce. Naturally, people tend to scramble for things that are less in supply than the prevailing demand for them.

Essence of Priming

People like feeling happy, being part of a community and doing good things, hence they can easily relate to brands that make them feel that way. Therefore, firms should convey their brand image to clients in a positive limelight by using phrases, words, videos or even images that will do nothing, but induce feelings of confidence, empowerment and even security in the product or service being promoted.

3 Ways to Completely Revamp Your Social Media

By Marketing, Social Media No Comments

Define the Role of Social Media in your Marketing Campaigns

It is essential to determine the role social media platforms will play in your campaigns before even signing up for an account with any social network. Social media can be used to enhance a firm’s digital image, attract and generate leads, build customer loyalty and engage them, or even position a brand as a leader that is very thoughtful through the creation of curated and compelling content.

They can also be used to build and develop relationships or connections by a firm’s salesperson, support and communicate the process of sales to the relevant parties, and even optimize the sales idea through the utilization of the resources, tools and consultants offered by the social media sites.

Determining the needs of clients, and finding out opportunities existing in the market can be found out through social media market research. Moreover, social sites are a perfect tool for businesses to learn and get to know their target market.

What are Your Social Media Objectives?

It is also essential to come up with an objective for your social media use or campaigns. For instance, the quality and quantity of shares, follows and referral links either on social media or a firm’s site can be used to attain its objective of building an awareness of being a thoughtful leader. Lead generation, building of client loyalty and increasing of revenue are some great examples of social media objectives a firm can adopt.

Social Media Channel to Adopt

There are several social media websites on the internet to choose from, ranging from LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to Google + and Instagram, among others. The social media site to be chosen depends on a firm’s specific audience or target market. For instance, LinkedIn is perfect for sales representatives working for a B2B firm trying to build new connections and relationships, Twitter for businesses looking for a large following, Pinterest for visual niches like wedding photographies and food, while Google + is perfect for user engagement, communication in real time (via the site’s robust toolkit) or even optimization of interactivity.

Facebook Ads – Worth it or Wasteful?

By Business Services, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy No Comments

We are constantly asked if Facebook Ads are worth it or wasteful.  While this is focusing on Facebook Ads, you should really ask that question of any advertising you are doing,  is it worth it or wasteful?

Despite the fact that Facebook was not designed to provide businesses with a marketing platform, it has grown to be a social media advertising giant. In 2013, the firm made more than $5.6 billion from ads. Facebook allows businesses to purchase ads according to the marketing strategy or method they are implementing because the ad options are objective-oriented. This means that the strategy Facebook uses for advertisements is based on a firm’s marketing goals and objectives.
This ensures that the chosen ad option by a business will bring them a higher return on investments. Unlike in previous years, Facebook has improved its social context to ensure that every user can see the businesses their friends have liked. These strategies have been improved by Facebook trying to enhance the value of its ads so that businesses can attain great results.

Is this really Worth it or Wasteful?

Yes, it is sure worth it. According to a survey conducted by Hubspot in 2013, 74% of marketers integrate Facebook in their lead generation campaign initiatives, and 52% said they got a buyer through the social media platform. Datalogix (a firm that records the behaviors and habits of shoppers in more than 100 million households in the U.S) and Facebook partnered in 2012 to determine the Facebook ads’ effectiveness. The study showed that 60 distinct Facebook campaigns realized great results: 50% of the campaigns realized a ROI 5 times higher while 70% received 3 times ROI on their investments.
Hashtags, likes, the ‘boost post’ button and the ‘build audience’ button are some features of Facebook used for advertising. The ‘Ad Manager’ feature allows businesses to monitor or track their campaigns in addition to getting reports.

One quick way to make it wasteful is to not have a clear objective in mind or a clear understanding of your budget. If you have questions about your Facebook advertising or want to get started.  Contact us below and let’s get in touch!

Are Facebook Ads Worth it or wasteful

Is Social Media Really That Easy?

By Facebook, Social Media No Comments

Is social media really that easy?  In short, NO!  There is nothing easy about it.  It takes time, preparation, strategy, time, education, time, software, time and above all time.  Are you seeing a common thread here?  We get asked at least once a week “Why can’t I just have my neighbors kid do it, or the receptionist or (insert random person here) do it?, It doesn’t seem that hard.”  REALLY?  You think that is what successful brands and businesses did, let a random person who is good on the computer or mobile phone handle their brand in the online space? No, no they didn’t.

My simple answer is “You can absolutely have (insert random person here) do it, and it will look like they are doing it too.  So if that is ok with you, it’s ok with me”  The expanded answer is this: Quit being so lazy with your social media marketing or any marketing for that matter.  This is your brand people!  This is your dream, your vision, your income, your responsibility, your livelihood.  The lack of importance placed on social media and digital media still blows my mind as we enter 2015. The amount of time that it takes to be in the digital space effectively is nothing to overlook.  So when people ask, where is the ROI with doing business with you guys the answer is kind of obvious.  You don’t have the time to do it right, so you don’t have to do it. That is some ROI.  Of course there is always additional ways to show the return on investing in your social media, but the time you save is a simple way to look at it.

I recently found a great infographic from The Whole Brain Group that is just a small sample of a checklist you could use to make sure you are effective on social media.  As you look at this small portion of what social media is really all about ask yourself, do you really have time for this?  And if you don’t why on earth would you trust this amount of work and this representation of your brand to (insert random person here)?  After looking at this infographic and your head is spinning, give us a call, we will unwind you and get your social media under control.

WBG_Infographic_Social_Media_Checklist_V3_FIN

The effect social media has on our brain – INFOGRAPHIC

By Social Media, Strategy, Successful Marketing No Comments

What is the real effect social media has on our brain?  We hear people talking about it all the time, but what is the real effect?  I know that we have taken a social media detox for a few days and literally felt better physically and emotionally.  We realize this can be strange coming from a digital agency that promotes the use of social media, but after reading this infographic from tolltreeforwarding it got us thinking about doing a social media detox a little more often.

The most interesting statistic about social media and your brain.

The average user is on Facebook 81 hours a year!  That is huge! Click this image to tweet this!  Tweet: The average Facebook user is on Facebook 81 hours a year! #thatsalittlemuch

But even more importantly, the amount of Oxytocin that our brain produces is insane, making it harder to give up social media than it is to give up smoking!! Do you think we will start to see some Facebook Anonymous Groups soon?

This inforgraphic will blow your mind!

 

Now What?

Now you should tweet, share and +1 this infographic so your friends can see it and help you with your problem!  Just kidding, but in all seriousness, take a break every once in a while, it will do your brain and relationships some good!  Questions or comments?  Sound off below!  We would love to hear them!

Top 10 Reasons People Don’t Have A Social Media Strategy

By Marketing, Social Media, Strategy No Comments

The top 10 reasons people don’t have a social media strategy is just the beginning when I sat down and looked at all the reasons I have heard over the last 5 years.  Education is key, but when I do education I still continue to hear the same excuses.  I figured that if the people who come to my classes feel this way, others probably do too!  So I have compiled a list of the Top 10 Reasons People Don’t Have A Social Media Strategy and we are going to break them down and provide solutions over the next few weeks.  But first, let’s look at the list compiled together and see what the common theme is.  There is usually one solution to a lot of questions, but the delima is if people will hear the solution and be willing to jump when the answer is presented to them.  I have to look at some of these and laugh a little on the inside, but never the less, here we go:

Top 10 Reasons

Top 10 Reasons People Don’t Have A Social Media Strategy

  1. I don’t know how it works
  2. I don’t have the time to learn how it works/or to actually do it once I know how it works
  3. I don’t know what the benefit to me or my business is
  4. There are too many platforms/it is confusing
  5. No one cares what I have to say
  6. It is just for kids, I want to reach MY customers
  7. It is always changing and it frustrates me
  8. I tried it once, nothing happened
  9. I don’t want to say something stupid/ I don’t want to look stupid
  10. I do have a strategy, my neighbors kid does my social media

What is the common theme?

Do you see a common theme?  I do, I see fear.  Let me ask you this Mr/Mrs. Business Owner, were you afraid when you started this business or you knew everything that was going to happen?  You knew that you wouldn’t have any competition, or training issues or changes in software, or changes in the economy, or your customer base would change, or you wouldn’t be confused or frustrated?  I bet you did, but you figured it out right.  Or did your neighbors kid figure it out for you?  On a side note ~ hiring the neighbors kid is NEVER a good idea unless that is what they do for a living.  Would you trust them with your books?  Then why would you trust them with your online reputation and communication with potential customers?  I digress…..  Fear is not a reason to not have a social media strategy.  Get with a pro, get some help and get out there!  If you don’t want to do it yourself, then outsource it.  For example, I don’t want to do my taxes or keep my books on a daily basis so I outsource it.  (and not to the neighbors kid)

Stick with us, I promise it is worth the wait.

If any of the reasons/excuses up there looked familiar to you then please come back and keep your eyes out for our new blog series where we will address each one and provide solutions with a video blog!  If you just can’t wait becuase you don’t want the fear to live in you anymore then click here and let’s start a conversation right away!