Social Marketing and Email: A Perfect Combination
December 18, 2012
If you are ignoring email marketing as part of your social media campaign, you are making a big, and potentially costly, mistake. Email marketing is an effective tool to reach your customers with your message, build your brand, and increase your revenue.
From newsletters to e-blasts, there are many advantages to reaching your audience through email:
• You can customize your lists to reach a targeted audience with a specific message, product or offering.
• Through email you can drive additional traffic to your web site and social media pages. It’s not often you will see a marketing email these days that doesn’t invite readers to “like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.”
• By encouraging your audience to forward your message, you increase your potential to reach new prospective customers.
Email marketing is still the most effective way to sell your product. According to mediatrust.com, 66 percent of online Americans reported making a purchase due to an email from a brand (compared to 20 percent via Facebook and 16 percent via text message).
Despite the rise of popularity and use of social media, email is still considered one of the primary ways to get information and stay connected. Although email and social media can be effective in their own right, they are even more powerful when combined into an integrated marketing strategy.
Incorporating email into your social media marketing plan will keep you a step ahead of those who have forgotten the impact of those three important words: “Compose New Message!”
Improving Your Social Presence
November 15, 2012
Many have become familiarized with the Facebook timeline but businesses still have tweaks to make to enhance their pages. These 10 Facebook apps are sure to improve your businesses social presence.
1.Facebook Forum
Give your fans a forum to chat about your company, services and products. These will both increase fan interaction and you will reap the benefits with internal market research.
2.Scribd For Portfolio Sites
The Scribd app makes it easy for you fans to view images, slideshow presentations, PDF’s, documents and any other portfolio items you wish to post.
3.Google Maps
If you rely on ‘walk-in’ traffic use this app to make it easy for your fans to find your storefront and include ‘Google Maps’ in your timeline.
4.Involver RSS For Pages
This app allows your fans to read your blog directly from your Facebook tab in one quick click.
5.The Pinterest App
Add your Pinterest profile to your business page and give your fans insight on all of your great marketing-orientated pins.
6. The Contact Tab
This creates a seamless contact form interface which includes all of your contact information, maps, social icons, URLS and more all in one place.
7.YouTube Video App
If your business has a YouTube feed than it is nothing short of necessary to give your fans access to it – and there’s no easier way than having the video show up across your timeline.
8.Twitter App
Give your Facebook fans some quick tidbits of info from your business – just make sure you don’t link your Twitter and Facebook accounts.
9.FAQ App
Adding this app to your timeline will provide fans with easy access to all of your most important details.
10. Customize
Choose an app that will compliment your business presence! For example if you a re a bookstore trying to promote ebook sales select a app built that will do this for you.
Don’t forget to contact Social Marketing Solutions with all of your marketing needs!
Why We Don’t Use HootSuite
October 19, 2012
We here at Social Marketing Solutions don’t use HootSuite and some people have wondered why that is. We’d like to share our reasons on why we don’t incorporate it into our social media and why we think you shouldn’t either.
- Posts show up via HootSuite which shows your audience you didn’t take the time to check your social networking pages and update them on your own.
- It leaves room for error. There’s a lot of information on social media networks anyway but using HootSuite to check them all instead of individually checking each one may cause you to miss something and that something could be extremely important!
- You’re relying on an outside app to monitor your engagement on pages but that means you’re losing the personal connections.
- You’re forced to use the ow.ly url shorteners. As well as broadcasting to everyone that you are using Hootsuite (which, to be fair, happens with any non-custom url shortener) you can only track any click throughs that have been added from within Hootsuite. This is a real problem, as if like many, you use other services.
- Data won’t appear in Facebook insights. When posting new content to Facebook via Hootsuite, those posts do not track the, likes, shares, and comments that you received in Facebook’s Insights analytical data for that post. The likes, comments and share do exist when viewing from the front end Wall and Feeds, but the “credit” for getting them is not recorded in any way by Insights.
These are just a few of the reasons we prefer to not use HootSuite and instead give our personalized attention to each social media platform we use. Personalized attention is important in today’s marketing world and people want to know that you’re taking the time listen to them.
A Note From Our Intern, Toni Demaio
October 4, 2012
I have been interning for Social Marketing Solutions, LLC for almost a year now and I have loved every second of it. As a journalism major, the experience of writing blogs for companies and businesses has been an experience that will forever help me in my writing future. I am so thankful that Kelly has given me this opportunity (even if it was after much begging) because it is truly advancing my writing skills and abilities in so many ways.
Expanding my Horizons
Working with Social Marketing Solutions has taught me how to successfully write about topics that I am not familiar with. It has turned me into a pro at researching! Understanding how to write for companies that specialize in areas that are beyond my knowledge has helped me to develop researching tools and tips that I can carry out both in my major and career. It has actually been a blessing to write about certain topics that I am unfamiliar with because I know in the future I will not be able to just write about whatever I want. Therefore, getting the experience that I have gotten here has been amazing!
Writing, Writing, and More Writing
Above all, interning with Social Marketing Solutions has allowed me to write more than I ever had before and this is exactly what I needed. Allowing me to write as much as I have has given me the practice and capability of being the writer that I eventually wish to be. I would have never gotten the experience that I need if not for interning here and I am so grateful for that. It will prepare me in the near future when I have a heavy work load and multiple projects to have finished by a certain time.
All in all, the experience on interning with Social Marketing Solutions has great! I love the understanding that I am gaining of what a career in writing will be like. I know that this is helping to successfully graduate from college as a journalism major and eventually help me to obtain an accomplished writing career.
Video: A simple step to enhancing your social media technique
October 2, 2012
Status Updates, Tweets, Pins & Videos?
It seems that new social media platforms are emerging every day. From creating witty statuses on Facebook, creating enticing hash tags on Twitter, and finding fabulous products to Pin, why add video into the mix? The answer is simple: YouTube.
YouTube
Video has become not only necessary but an integral part of using social media to reach your customers. The worldwide video-sharing community, YouTube, is the second largest search engine in the United States with 24 hours of video downloaded every minute.
Selling Point
YouTube is where consumers are doing their shopping. By providing your customer base with something to watch, they are staying on your website longer and are much more likely to buy.
Quality Over Quantity
The quality of the finished product of the video is as equally important as the video’s content. The most effective videos are honest, transparent, real, relevant, educational and authentic.
Hit Your Target
Since this video is for marketing purposes it is crucial that it is targeted. This is easy. First, identify your audience and highlight your product with what it can offer to that group. Second, target specific groups because if you are too broad you will glaze over most people. Finally, understand and relate to the groups’ needs and interests that you are targeting.
Who’s Shooting?
Let’s face it, not all of us can shoot a quality video. Remember trying to watch an old dance recital or soccer game and it’s so shaky you feel like you’re on a rollercoaster? I sure do! This is the time where you need to let the professionals take over. Grey Sky Films Social Marketing Solutions, LLC. and Grey Sky Films have partnered to create enticing and intellectual videos that make an impact. After all, “Helping brands make an IMPACT! one film at a time,” is the film company’s motto. Check out the videos we have produced together!
For more information on Grey Sky Films make sure to visit their website http://www.greyskyfilms.com/ and see what this New Jersey based production company has to offer for your company!
Choose Your Words Wisely – The Importance of Keywords
September 12, 2012
When creating a website, it is important to use keywords that focus on the products or services that your company provides. A good way to get started is to brainstorm words that play a big role in your business. Once you have this list written down, incorporate those words as much as possible on both your websites and your social networks.
Benefits of Keywords
Using certain keywords will greatly help your business become widely known. The more keywords that you use, the better ranking you will get when consumers type those words into search engines. If you give your website and social media sites a theme and continue to relate back to that theme using your keywords the greater your SEO. Because most people click on either the first or second website that pops up on their search engine, you want to be as high up on the list as possible leading potential buyers to visit your page. In order to achieve this, you may want to do some research on which words people use in search engines to find the area of your expertise. Use those keywords as well so that your website has a better chance of being viewed.
Chose Your Words Wisely
Now that we have covered how to get your website to be viewed, the next step is to make sure people STAY on your site and are interested in your content. The goal of your website should not be just to be seen but also to catch the eye of consumers. Keywords play a huge role in this aspect. You do not want to overwhelm those who are reading your page. Instead of heavily using keywords and putting them in every sentence, you want to simply scatter them throughout your website so that it is getting across the point yet not coming on too strong. People will be attracted to websites that use keywords strategically giving their site meaning and allowing the viewer to think for themselves. The stats from your website counter should tell you how successful your attempts are at pulling in the visitors with clever use of keywords so use that tool to help your cause.
While using keywords can be a tricky thing, it can also be extremely helpful. Just be sure to disperse them equally throughout your site and social networks to keep the viewers interested but not overwhelmed. If you ever needed help using keywords, you can always hire a professional writer to aid you through the process because believe me, it make a huge difference!
The Importance of Blogging
August 27, 2012
We’ve touched upon the importance of blogging before but now we’re really going to go in depth. Blogging is a versatile tool with which to better connect with your company’s targeted audience. Why? Because blogging lets your audience really and truly get to know not just your company but the people behind it.
WAYS TO USE YOUR BLOG
- Blog to Attract New Customers: Remember the purpose of your blog every time you publish a new piece. Attracting new customers means writing blog posts that are easily found online and compelling enough to result in a new purchase of products or services from your website or establishment.
- Communicate Customer Service Material to Customers: Blogs provide an excellent vehicle for businesses to address common customer service issues or complaints that used to require issuing a press releases or media statement.
- Relationship Marketing Through Posting Sharable Content: Using the internet to establish a long-term relationship benefiting businesses and customers is becoming increasingly popular. A blog is an important tool in a relationship marketing strategy as it is a good place to post up-to-the minute useful information, news articles, and new developments in a field or industry.
- Establish Yourself as an Expert in Your Field: Think of your blog as a platform for you to share your knowledge and expertise with the world. By sharing advice, suggestions, tips and tools, you establish yourself and your business as knowledgeable and helpful. Perhaps your reader isn't quite ready to make a purchase just yet, but when they are, your name and website will be the first they remember!
Call us today to get started with your very own blog designed to enhance your company and brand!
973-265-2833
Social vs. Face to Face Networking
August 21, 2012
There are numerous types of networking that can be practiced by everyone. The most common these days is online networking – using tools such as Facebook and Twitter to build your brand. There is also a mostly forgotten about network which is face to face networking. The differences between these two types of networking are few but crucial.
Online Social Networking
We have spoken much of online networking. The myriad of ways that Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can easily aid in growing, expanding, and enhancing your business is worth the small trouble of updating them. Because so many people have internet and social networks, online networking is one of the simplest and most effective ways of growing your company brand by harnessing the world wide power of the web. One downfall of social networking, however, is the impersonality of it all. Although you can communicate to your clients through the internet, you are not face to face with them. Clearly, this is where face to face networking comes in handy.
Face to Face Networking
Face to face networking may be a classic but there’s a reason for that. With all the technology in this day and age, people are missing the lengths that businesses will go to just to talk to their clients. Buyers will appreciate the fact you are still willing to not just log into your computer, but also come to their house to make sure they are happy with your product. Facing clients will reassure them that you are still interested in them as an individual rather than just a general client. The con to face to face networking that is a pro in online networking is that it’s less effective in reaching a wide range of people. Online networks can reach millions of people with a click or a button whereas meeting with people will not give you as much quantity.
Both networking types are efficient and needed and each strategy complements the other. A mixture of the two networking types will lead to a perfect networking agenda. Having both the intimacy of face to face networking and the number of people that online networking can reach is the exact combination that is needed. Mix up between the two, and your corporation will thrive.
JOIN US IN WELCOMING MISTY LAYNE TO OUR TEAM!
July 19, 2012
Social Marketing Solutions would like to welcome our newest team member, Misty Layne! Not only does Misty have four years of experience in social marketing but she’s also a varied writer. Misty has written articles for the New Jersey dedicated site “Notes on the State of New Jersey” and also runs a movie review site. She’s self-published a book of poetry and written a novella and is in the process of starting an online women’s magazine.
She has written articles, blogs, newsletters, scripts and website copy for numerous clients. Misty is excited to be joining Social Marketing Solutions not only from a social media standpoint but also from a writer’s standpoint. She firmly believes that blogs and newsletters are essential in today’s marketing world and hopes to help you create these for your own companies.
We are excited to have Misty join the Social Marketing Solutions team and are equally excited to help YOU with your online identity and blog posts! Call us Today! 973-265- 2833
Social Media for Success!
July 17, 2012
Social media pages are crucial to success in the world of business. Creating these pages opens a plethora of doors: from new clients to targeting your audience in the correct way to hearing directly from your audience in real time what it is they truly want! With that being said, there’s a bit more work involved than just creating your social media presence. You must update and maintain these pages on a regular basis, otherwise they are useless.
Know Your Audience
Using social media (or social networking, as it’s also known by) can help you to better understand your current and potential clients. Hearing feedback and obtaining information from your networking followers will allow you to get a better idea of who you and your company are dealing with. Then you can easily redesign or rearrange your pages according to your clients feedback, tailoring it to their needs and wants. Once you have developed a feel for your target audience, you will then be able to use it to your advantage in your future networking plans.
Keep Your Pages Current
Your target audience needs to know what is happening on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Keeping your social media pages up-to-date will show your clients that you are doing your best to keep them in the loop. Networking has become the most efficient and simplest way to let potential consumers know everything they need to know, so use it! It will not only keep your audience educated on your company but it will also make them feel as though you care about keeping them involved. And who doesn’t want to be involved in something they’re a fan of?
Use to Your Advantage
Not only can you use these pages to your advantage by keeping your clients and fans in the know but you can also use them as a way to deflect any issues or problems that may arise. If someone posts something negative on your page, reply to them as soon as you see the posting. Try your best to find a resolution that works for you both. Not only will you keep a customer but you’ll likely gain more when others see how you’ve handled a potentially sticky situation.
Remember, having the social networking pages is not enough! In order to see results, the pages should be relatable and up-to-date. Just updating them a couple times a week will help tremendously. Do this and watch how your company grows!
Author
- Kelly Jones
Social Media Manager
