Does Social Media Have a Formula? Part II

On January 30th, 2012 / Blogging, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media in Business / Leave a comment

Anatomy of Social Media Campaigns

If we ask ourselves what people are looking for when they do a search online, then social media campaigns should make an effort to meet the needs of those searches. Online searches can vary with a wide range of topics, yet all of them break down to these basics: users are looking for ideas, solutions, people, products or information.

Many business owners are overwhelmed by all the options, yet the potential for social media success is worth investigating all the options.

Creating Content for Web Searches

There is always something to create and share within your realm of expertise. You can write a “How To” article or create a video for an even better visual. If you are a photographer, then share your topic with sequential photos on your own blog and on Instagram or Flickr.

Make an effort to create compelling content which will meet an informational need for others. For instance, if you are a balloon maker then you may want to “follow” event planners and organizers because your businesses are already complimentary. At your next event, have photos taken of you and the event organizers and post those on your channel of choice. This creates enthusiasm for your brand. Be sure to use key “content” words within your text and when labeling photos. This will help people find your blog or website.

Pick Your Channels

After creating your content, simply copy the link and paste into your favorite social media network.

Are the people you are trying to connect with on Twitter? Are they on Facebook or Google Plus? Surprising new data just came out from Hub Spot the most effective place for lead generation is on Linked In and it seems the hottest new channel of 2012 is Pinterest. Each of the social media channels can be effective in combination or just by themselves, it just depends on the time you have.

Making it Easy?

Many people choose Twitter as their media hub and “tweet” out all their information from there. I would caution that each gathering place has language of their own and “twitter talk” is not one of them. The human touch of sharing at each point of contact and being real is important.

Even though more companies are putting a process together for “automated” marketing by scheduling posts through Hoot Suite, TweetDeck, or Tweetie, this “push marketing” is missing the point of “social” media. That missing piece is interaction and helping others.

It’s Not All About You

So you’re not the life of the party, but a real “wall flower”? Not to worry, you can still meet others, talk about their event, give someone a little encouragement or maybe just hit a “like” button or “retweet” from time to time. The person on the other end may in turn take a look at what you have to offer, which can begin an online friendship and possible future contact and business.

Unfortunately there is no secret formula for success in social media – it simply takes time, writing, sharing photos and working the social media circuits.

How can 7 Waves help you?

A 2012 Health Check for Your Online Brand

On January 9th, 2012 / Blogging, Marketing Campaigns / Leave a comment

Look at Your Online Branding – a 101 View

As we rush into 2012, it’s time to reflect by taking a look at the status of your current business marketing, while taking the time to look ahead to see where you are going.

Will you be going toward more healthy fresh marketing or sticking with the “bagged” solutions?

Marketers may be the slowest to upgrade, as we are busy helping others with their web identity or in fear of losing web traffic. But, this writing has forced me to upgrade one of my own community blogs which was on a free site. The domain name had been reserved for some time, but just making the move unfortunately kept getting pushed to the back burner.

Your Home Base of Operations

The hub of all online activity should be on your website or blog. Consider this as your home base of operations, where all original content is parked. This is the branded site you own, and where everything can be launched to share on various social media sites.

Can you identify with any of these seven potential opportunities?

Are there current photos of your company team so potential clients can meet and identify each of you online?
Is the information on your site totally stagnant and obsolete?
Is the latest information on your company parked on a free Word Press website blog with a domain name you don’t even own?
Is all your company information parked on Facebook with no website presence at all?
Is it clear what your business does to generate revenue? Envision yourself as a first time visitor to your website – what do you see?
Are all news updates and photos parked on Facebook? (Which could easily disappear – based on past changes) and not on your blog?
Is there evidence of helping clients on your site with testimonials?

Each of the above opportunities should be the foundation of your online brand. Even though you may hire a professional to help brand your image, or do copywriting to expand your brand, there is still preparation work required by the owner, so start making your list of improvements today.

Does your branded image meet the demands of 2012? Let Seven Waves Marketing help – just drop us a line.

Help – Should my Business be on Facebook?

On November 21st, 2011 / Blogging, Marketing Campaigns, Social Media in Business / Leave a comment

Tags: business on Facebook, psychographics, social media plan, what to post

Ramping up your Online Brand

Report after report indicates national advertising budgets are shifting from TV, print, and magazines toward social media. Gigantic budgets paying for TV time and print placement are now paying for social media time at an hourly rate.

Many analysts have also reported social media sites (especially Facebook) are the demise of websites. Say it isn’t so!

With visibility now becoming more affordable, where does this leave your business? I run into owners weekly who say, “I should probably be on Facebook.” Are you willing to spend the time? Then maybe you should not be there.

Is there a plan?

Without a plan or strategy on posting news and events, Facebook would be an empty page. Here are some ideas to help further your online brand:

1) Don’t give up your website – it’s the home base for all your online activity. If you park all your information outside of your website, then someone else owns it. You always want to own your information.
2) Don’t give up on print media or TV – it could play into your social media strategy, but it all depends on who you are trying to reach. (I recommend an exercise in psychographics to help you determine where your customers are). All of the advertising pieces now have the potential to fit together and further your brand.
3) Incorporate your blog into your website, for a place to post current news and photos. This link can then be shared on your social media sites, and works best when there is a lot of information to read.
4) If you have an external blog, make sure there are many identifiers and links to identify this site with the main brand.
5) Having a presence on Facebook is much more than uploading a logo. It’s important to make sure the logo is readable on the news feed, so be sure to resize yours to thumbnail size. Or, create an image sized to fit in the vertical space, allowing the top portion of the logo to appear as the thumbnail.

So what to post?
1. Social media is not just about you, so promoting things that go on within your community or your favorite non-profit organization will help.
2. Helpful tips from your area of expertise or industry.
3. Post “did you know” helpful facts.
4. PHOTOS. Photos. Photos. If you want interaction on your Facebook page, photos are key. Photos of people, events, activities, products, or anything that might tell the story of your business.
5. Make it fun!

Web Sins to Avoid in the New Year

On January 4th, 2011 / Blogging, Social Media in Business / 1 Comment

Happy 2011 to you! Do you blog? Sometimes while getting news out for others, it’s easy to lapse in relaying marketing tips to yet another group through an additional blog. Here are a few things I’ve noticed over the course of time which could become your web sins:

1. Don’t apologize for not writing for a while – most people just want the information, not reasons as to why you have not been blogging.

2. Please don’t vent about politics or why someone did not live up to your expectations. Some tend to use social media as a complaint forum. I suggest avoiding complaints even on Twitter, although there comes a time and place when awareness needs to be raised about an issue. Just don’t make complaining a daily habit.

3. Never steal work from others. I saw so many acts of plagiarism in 2010. Some might consider this flattery, but it’s stealing and fortunately sites like Twitter allow people to call it as they see it. When in doubt – don’t!

4. Remember that words are powerful – they can uplift and they can hurt.

5. Each Social Media Tool should be treated separately. While blogs, Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, etc. all work together – when updating information to one and all, it can come back to bite you. Take for instance the Linked In weekly update. If you have a habit of “tweeting” late at night about random items, yet have a professional Linked In account … the last crazy thing you tweeted could show up in the weekly update (I’ve seen it happen).

Have a Happy Social Media New Year!

Blog with Purpose and Make it Your Own

On July 22nd, 2010 / Blogging, Social Media in Business / 1 Comment

Tags: american idol, simon, urban dictionary

If there is anything we all learned from American Idol, it was Simon and the team saying “Make the song your own”. Sure – we all get ideas from one another, but it’s probably a good idea to make the concepts you read about from others totally your own and not plagiarize.

Providing a practical business or social media application is one of the best ways to create brand new content – especially after you have tested.

So the art of stealing other’s ideas on the web has certainly been going on for quite some time, and now there are even personal attacks going on within the blogging community in response to tweets. Isn’t it amazing how people react and respond to the written word?

Make your words count and blog with purpose, while not getting caught up in the fray of criticism of others. Here are suggestions

1.   Offer insight and tips for social media users.
2.   Share a piece of knowledge from your industry.
3.   Have you made a new software discovery? Let others know how it worked for you.
4.   Write about a service you provide and why others need it.
5.   Tell others about the benefits or unusual features of the products you sell.
6.   Show photos of real people using and enjoying your products.
7.   Write about how you solved a difficult customer problem.

Yes, the rule of thumb is to make blog entries novel length and blog a lot, but contrary to the normal rules, life at the Marketing Dock doesn’t seem to work that way and surely we don’t want this reputation:

From the Urban Dictionary Blog Definition 1. “A meandering, blatantly uninteresting online diary that gives the author the illusion that people are interested in their stupid, pathetic life.” And Bloggers= “Modern day hippies”.
Blog #2 “those written by people who are experts on a topic they’re writing about, and their posts can be very useful to other people who are working on similar things. Such blogs are very informative, and have a purpose.

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