Social Marketing Solutions Podcasts with Fractal Recording!
December 31, 2014
The day after Christmas, Social Marketing Solutions, LLC founder and owner, Kelly Jones, had the pleasure of sitting down and recording her first podcast with Chris Curran of Fractal Recording, located in Parsippany, New Jersey! Chris and Kelly had an awesome time discussing social media trends and focuses for the new year. This experience allowed SMS employees to understand the importance of podcasts and the benefit of podcasts in regard to online marketing efforts. We are so pleased to share the end result with you all, so take a look by clicking the links below.
You can listen to the podcast at FractalRecording.com, also available on ITunes and Stitcher! Or just click the player below! Feel free to let us know what you think by commenting below. Thanks again for your constant support and interest in Social Marketing Solutions. As we enter into the new year we are so appreciative of you all, and we wish you all the absolute best in 2015!
Wrapping up 2014 and Preparing Your Social Media for the New Year!
December 24, 2014
How influential was your online presence in 2014? As the year comes to a close, it is a good time to reflect on and review your social media presence, evaluate what has and hasn’t worked, and begin planning your social networking strategies for 2015. Here are a few tips to remember while planning your social media marketing efforts for the new year:
- Remember the importance of visuals- The importance of visual content is on the rise, as photos and video clips become increasingly popular online. Studies have shown that postings on social media that include a visual get many, many more views than postings that consist of only text. As you plan out your 2015 online marketing, find where visuals can factor into your postings. You can do such things as posting photos of your employees, to making short videos that highlight your services. Also consider using such social media platforms as Pinterest and Instagram to highlight products and broaden your online presence. The possibilities are endless!
- Communication goes both ways- This has been stressed many times, but people aren't online just to see you consistently throw traditional marketing (such as constant talk of how wonderful your company is, advertising and business statistics) in their faces. People want to relate to businesses, and bringing personalization and conversation to the table is key to social media success. Ask your customers what they want and need from you. Respond to any criticisms with offers to fix the problem. It is crucial to think like the consumer and respond while remembering the consumers position. You want your audience to engage in conversation with you.
- What to expect in the New Year- The “larger” social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter will remain important to connect with others, but there will continue to be new sites, and edits to our current social media sites that expand our social media reach. There will be new apps, tools, and updates that increase the social networking possibilities. There will be an increase in the demand of mobile platforms as more people continue to rely on smartphones. The importance of staying ahead of the curve in regards to mobile marking will be important for success in 2015.
Reviewing and revising your current marketing plan for the new year is a must. You can only achieve success if you consistently monitor and evaluate your current and future strategies, as social media is constantly evolving . Make sure you're getting the most out of your social media efforts. If you need help evaluating your current efforts or putting them into place for the New Year don’t hesitate to give us a call! Social Marketing Solutions is happy to help enhance your online identity, and get you seen throughout the new year.
‘Tis the Season! Holiday Website Promotions
December 13, 2014
As a business, you know there are many ways to promote yourself during the holidays. These range from email blasts to circulars to television ads to social media and more. But what are you doing with your website to promote your business during holiday season? By now you also know the importance of keeping your website constantly updated with fresh and relevant information, both to entice fans and to keep yourself high in the SEO rankings. That means that updating your website during this season is one of the most important things you can do! Here are some great things to remember during this busy time.
Timing is everything. It's not just Christmas that's currently going on – there's Hanukkah and other holidays too. And each holiday starts on a different date. Make sure that any sales or promotions you might be offering for a particular holiday are timed to coincide at least a couple of weeks in advance of said holiday (if not earlier, depending on how early you like to spread your holiday cheer!). Make people aware in advance that a particular item is going to be discounted on a particular day, on your website, by sending out email blasts and sharing the news on social media.
Keep your customers up to date. Keep your customers up to date on your website by creating new web pages specifically for certain sales and promotions. For example, if you're a toy store that will be hugely discounting Barbies on December 20th, why not make a new web page listing all the Barbie deals so people don't have to search through your site to find them? This makes things easier on your customers, which could result in more sales for you!
Consider video. Nothing says “holiday” like nostalgia. If you have a restaurant, for example, capitalize on guests’ holiday memories at your restaurant through videos on your web site. Encourage guests to submit their own videos to your Facebook or YouTube page, then post them to your site. Also think about doing a holiday video card – you can do anything from filming a simple holiday greeting from your team members to something more elaborate like a holiday sketch and post it to the front page of your website.
Give thanks. 'Tis the season to be grateful, so thank your clients for their years of loyalty! This can be anything from a simple and elegant "Thank you" message on your front page to a page dedicated to listing your most loyal clients' names and/or businesses. Not only will you make people feel appreciated but this makes your brand more approachable, more open and more down to earth.
Do a giveaway to gather more clients. Want a way to reach more clientele? Run a giveaway on your website that has the option for people to opt-in to your newsletters. This promotion is one of the most simple and effective!
There are so many wonderful ways to use your website to promote your business this holiday and these ways can often be overlooked in favor of ways like social media. Don't get us wrong, social media is essential! But your website is your home, your storefront. It's where people get to really know you. So don't forget about it this holiday season! And while we've got you here, sign up over there on the right for our mailing list that's full of the latest social media and online marketing tips and news!
Why You Should Send Newsletters and Tips to Get You Started
December 3, 2014
Newsletters are a very cost effective way to market your business. Sending out a newsletter creates awareness of your business and all that you offer. It also keeps you in the mind of your current clientele.
Newsletters give you the opportunity to promote products as well as your business. If you are introducing a great new product, it is important that you also send out a newsletter about it for people who may not regularly check your website or other social media forums. Make sure that your newsletter is worth reading by adding in special deals or discounts for loyal clients. When you add value to your newsletter it makes people want to keep reading it!
More content ideas for newsletters include:
-
A message from the CEO or President of the Business (Owner)
-
Human interest stories (ex. a feature on a special client of yours)
-
New products
-
Employees (employee of the month and a little about them or achievements )
-
News relating to your business (local and National)
Make sure you pick a timeline and stick to it. Whether you choose to do weekly, monthly or bi monthly newsletters make sure you stay with your schedule. Your customers will be expecting an update, so make sure you are prompt and on time with it.
These are just a few reasons why email marketing is definitely one of the best ways to market! Need more help? Call or email us today! We can help you get started with your newsletter campaign or if you find email marketing is taking up too much of your time, we can do the hard work for you while you sit back and reap the benefits!
Why Blog?
November 27, 2014
Blogging is a great way to direct people to your website, gain their trust and attention, problem solve any client complaints and so much more! How so? Think about it this way – you cannot explain your self fully or always post everything you want on sites like Twitter, Instagram or Facebook all the time, but by blogging you can connect with your audience on a deeper and more personal level.
Blogging is a way for you to explain a certain topic, specifically one related to your industry. This enables you to be viewed as an expert in your field. And people trust the companies they believe are knowledgeable. Another great reason to start blogging is SEO (or search engine optimization). By blogging, you are regularly updating your website which makes you more relevant to searches. Adding in important key words will also have the effect of your blog and site coming up closer to first place when it comes to Google searches and the such. And the higher up you are, the closer you are to expanding your business and clientele. Finally, blogging can be very cost effective. These days it's easy to start a blog – everyone and their grandma has one! There are a variety of blogging platforms (which we will discuss at a later date) available at your disposal with prices starting at FREE. You can't beat that!
Blogging can be a great tool for any company to use and doesn’t take too much work! Make sure you are keeping up with your blogs and if you don't already have one, set one up today. And if you need help setting up your blog, reach out to us as we are always happy to help and have expertise in the blogging field. Happy blogging!
Learning about your Competitor
October 31, 2014
We want to talk about something we find very important here at SMS. Sometimes it is hard to keep track of all the things you need to do to keep up your social media marketing, but one thing you cannot forget is to research your competitors. You need to see what they are doing for holiday specials and what they are offering as incentives to customers. You need to see what you are up against. How can you compete if you don't know what they are doing? Make sure you are also learning about they're mission statements are and why they appeal to customers . You can use the knowledge of what is drawing in their customers to help you because if you can offer something better or similar you will have more of a chance to bring in new customers.
See what your competitors are doing on their different social media sites. Are they posting pictures? Are they having special discounts and sales? If they have great ideas don't be afraid to borrow and tweak them to fit you and your business. Reach out and let us know what you want to read about next month!
Fall Social Marketing Tips for any Business
October 29, 2014
As we head into the last couple of months of the year, it's easy to get caught up in the craziness of the holiday season. An important thing to remember during this time, when it comes to your social media platforms, is to make sure that each post you make is relevant to your brand and message. People want to read informative pieces, such as news articles about what's currently happening in your industry, and keep up to date with your company – your latest news, sales and events. Sometimes it seems as if no one is "listening" online but trust us, someone is always viewing your company's messages, so make sure you're doing proper posts.
Also, make sure you are keeping all of your sites up to date, not just some of them. If you post about a great sale you are having for fall, make sure you post it on all of your platforms so you can reach a larger audience . This also enables your brand to have a consistent voice in the online community.
Take note of holidays or important dates in fall and acknowledge them on your sites, if doing so fits in with your brand and message. Coming up, we've got Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and many more.
These are just a few ways to keep fall fresh and fun for your audience and to have your voice heard loud and clear! If you'd like more ideas for fall or the upcoming holiday season, or are looking for help planning your next marketing campaign, give us a call today!
How to Keep Your Social Media Sites Customer Friendly
October 22, 2014
A great way to keep clients involved in a business is by making sure they feel heard. Social media has become a quick and easy way for buyers to relay what they want and need from a corporation. While they may be eager to contact a service for personal concerns, it can also be used by businesses to collect new and fresh ideas. There are numerous ways to accomplish receiving client input through social media outlets.
Questions
Pose simple and easy to answer questions that followers can reply too in a short amount of time. Everyone seems to always be on the go, so while they want to feel heard, they also want to be efficient. Responses will come in as long as the buyers are able to answer in an effortless manner.
Polls
Posting polls on your website is a better idea for those customers who are willing to take a little more time out of their day. Managing polls on certain products or services will create more details on what buyers like/dislike and what can be improved. Bonus: You can also post these polls to your Facebook page!
Hold a Contest
A new social media trend has emerged where followers are able to participate in a contest in order to win a prize. Using a “photo challenge” or a “best answer challenge", for example, will keep consumers involved in a fun and unique way. Winners can be given rewards such as a new product or a free trial.
Keeping customers involved and listening to their advice is vital to the success of any business. Over the past few years this has become much simpler due to social media outlets. Contact between buyers and business owners/corporations is easier than ever and should be fully taken advantage of. Using the above techniques will be guaranteed to positively affect the success of a business.
Start Fall Right with Fall Promotions!
September 15, 2014
Fall is the best time of year to thank your customers, especially around Thanksgiving as we are giving thanks for everything else in our lives. Reward them for being so loyal to you and your brand. Now is a great time to give customers extra savings and do fun contests. Below you'll find some of our favorite fall tips!
1. Contests can include costume contests for Halloween, best poems about Thanksgiving, anything that will get your customers involved. Ask your customer's to post their photos of their costumes on Instagram and Facebook and tag your company with a hashtag for a chance to win a prize. Or if you have a poetry contest, post the poems to your site's blog where people can vote for their favorite (this will drive people to your website).
2. Fall is a great time to get sports fans involved in your company. Having a sweepstakes that your customers can enter after purchasing something from your company is a great idea! As a prize for the sweepstakes have tickets to an NFL game or other football related merchandise.
3. Do a food drive for your community. Fall is perfect for this activity as many people seem to be more involved in community activities around Thanksgiving. Make sure you post photos and tag customers who attended. This will show your audience that you are involved in and care about your community. . A good way to let all your customers know about the food drive is to send an email blast promoting it so they will be able to participate. Also as you advertise your food drive, be sure to include your newsletter signup on Facebook or your website, so more people can get involved.
Using these great fall tips will help increase your exposure online and off! Fall is a wonderful season to remind your customers of the good things in life – everything pumpkin, Halloween, football, and the gratitude of Thanksgiving – so use this to your advantage. And if you need a little help getting started with fall promotions, reach out and call us today!
Use Back To School to Your Advantage!
September 12, 2014
Now that it's back to school time, its time to start thinking about using back to school sales and events in your social marketing.
-
You can hand out exclusive back to school deals for fans of your social media sites who post about you and spread the word of your great services. For example, post on your Facebook page that you are trying to reach a certain number of "likes" and for everyone who shares your page and leaves a comment saying that they did, you will mail them a coupon for a certain percentage off their order or a product. Now's a great time to get feedback from your clients! Add a poll or survey to your website and then post about it on your social networks. Entice people to fill it out by doing a drawing for a prize at the end of the survey period.
-
Support local sports teams and you will begin to increase your positive image within your town. If you sponsor town run teams, your name could be on jerseys and if you help support school teams you become more integrated in the area. Make sure you post on your social media sites about games for the team you are supporting and pictures of you getting involved. It will really resonate with your followers in the area.
-
Our last tip is to reach out to college students. Many college students look for internships to get experience and credit. These can be great connections for you to make because many hand-working interns will end up working for a company and having a true passion for it. These interns can be very useful when trying to manage social media sites and many times can give you different insights on what they like to see in social marketing and what catches their eyes and makes them take notice to a company’s social marketing.
These are our "Welcome Back to School" social marketing tips! We hope they're as useful to you as they have been to us. If you use any of them, please come back and leave us a comment about how they helped!
Author
- Kelly Jones
Social Media Manager
