// BLOG
Facebook + Instagram = Sucess
May 31, 2017
Facebook and Instagram are two of the most popular mobile platforms. In fact, one in five minutes on mobile is spent on Instagram or Facebook. That’s more than the next 10 mobile platforms combined. So why aren't you advertising on them? These days it's easier than ever to create and use ads on both platforms!
It all started when Instagram began offering the use of ads to businesses on Instagram back in the fall of 2015. Marketers use Instagram to tell visual and creative stories related to their business and ads can be a BIG part of that. Like Facebook ads, Instagram ads feature photos or videos and use Facebook targeting. But Instagram took things a step further by enabling their ads to link with Facebook ads for smooth, across-the-board performance.
Advertisers can add Instagram ads to Facebook ad campaigns through both Ads Manager and Power Editor by simply checking the “Instagram” box under the ad set’s Placement section. And businesses have seen that doing so helps them reach more people with little added effort. Instagram ads that are available through Facebook ad management tools support both brand awareness and direct response objectives, including website clicks, mobile app installs and video views. And soon Instagram ads bought through the same tools will be available with more objectives, including website conversions. And campaigns that ran across both Facebook and Instagram resulted in similar or better performance for website clicks, website conversions, video views and mobile app installs than those that ran on just one.
What are you waiting for? If you're a small business using Facebook & Instagram (and we hope you are!), this is a perfect opportunity for you to create new leads and increase sales. Setting up ads has never been easier and with the way these ads work, they can be quite cost-efficient as well. Go explore, create, and knock 'em dead!
Need some help getting started? Give us a call at 973-265-2833 or contact us HERE!
New Client Spotlight: Lice Doctors
March 16, 2017
We are incredibly lucky at Social Marketing Solutions to be able to work with some of the best companies from a variety of industries. From clients we've been working with for years, to the ones who are brand new to SMS, we work with a vast array of talent and we thought it would be great if we had a chance to highlight one of our awesome clients. Today we're introducing LiceDoctors!
Lice can be a devastating stage in someone’s life, but luckily there's LiceDoctors! LiceDoctors is the leading lice removal service in the U.S. One of the many reasons their treatment stands out is because they have a medical doctor right on staff. Board-certified physician, Dr. Stephen Beck, realized over 20 years ago the need for efficacious, chemical-free lice treatments after finding other treatments were failing patients. He did extensive research on lice and their life cycle, and he advocates that treatment must attack lice at all stages of their cycle. LiceDoctors' technicians are experienced and use step-by-step, pesticide-free treatments. Treatments are safe and work every time! That's the LiceDoctors guarantee!
Not only do they have the best system around, they're also convenient and affordable! Remember when doctors used to make house calls? Ahhh…the privacy, the care, the convenience! Well, LiceDoctors offers the convenience and privacy of at-home service—7 days a week—day or night. An experienced lice professional comes to your home (or wherever you designate) in an unmarked car so that you can maintain absolute privacy. At-home service also allows you maximum flexibility as when one child is finished being checked, he/she can return to their at-home activities—no need to wait for little brother or sister to be treated! LiceDoctors takes away your stress and makes your lice treatment experience as pleasant as possible. If you pay by the head somewhere else, you may end up paying much more than you should. It's very important that all family members be checked, as lice are highly contagious. In addition, because their technicians are experienced, they are able to work efficiently to ensure that treatment is done thoroughly without wasted time.
LiceDoctors is there when you need them and we look forward to working on their online identity in the near future. Day or night give tthem a call at 800-224-2537 or check them out online. Of course you should “like” their Facebook page too!
Keep checking back with us as we keep introducing you to more of our fabulous clients and sharing more wonderful social media tips and news!
A Look Ahead
December 31, 2016
2017 is just around the corner (quite literally!) and it's important to always plan ahead. Last month we discussed the history of social media, so this month we're going to take a look ahead to see what the future of social media will hold in the new year. 2016 has been a year of shifts in social media, technology and digital marketing. The internet became all about video and every digital marketer is looking for a way to connect business outcomes to their social media efforts. So what's in store for 2017?
-
Live video – Live video took off in 2016, but it has so much more potential that it has yet to reach. There are already social media platforms taking advantage of this – Facebook Live, YouTube Live and Periscope Pro, to name a few, with Instagram recently releasing live video to US residents. Live video is a great feature for businesses to capitalize on. It is now possible for four hours of video to be streamed, and it can even be streamed to groups and event listings. It’s a great way to raise awareness of your brand and build a community.
-
Snapchat – As Snapchat's amazing evolution continues, it will offer more and more interesting new opportunities. Snapchat (now Snap) has transformed user expectations and major trends in the social marketing world. Now it’s looking to develop products outside its main means of exchanging messages, introducing real-world glasses to help users capture first-person visual information. Expect big things and huge marketing opportunities from them in the new year!
-
Inspiration & Imagination – These two things will be highly fashionable in 2017. Practical posts get a lot of consumer attention, while emotionally charged posts have a greater likelihood of circulating virally. But inspirational and imaginative posts are starting to become even stronger candidates for social media success. These are often artistic in nature, giving users something “pretty” as opposed to something pragmatic or reactive. It also forces a separation from any kind of company positioning or low-key advertising, giving users something truly valuable. In 2017, it will be valuable to forgo some pretense here, and just post beautiful images or sentiments.
-
Instagram – Instagram worked with hundreds of businesses to understand what was needed to enhance their Instagram experience, and three key needs became clear—stand out, get insights and find new customers. And the release of Business Tools brought with it business profiles, analytics, and the ability to create ads from posts directly within the app. As Instagram continues to enhance its ad product, we’ll likely see business profiles and tools continue to evolve in order to make it easier for businesses to drive traffic and revenue from their Instagram profiles.
-
Personalization is Key – The need for personalized and relevant content and advertising delivery becomes more important. Facebook re-targeting and adverts driven by identifying where you have been on the web and your interests are becoming the digital advertising tactic of choice for campaigns. Relevance is king for catching a distracted eye and online glance in a noisy world of data clutter.
The social media landscape is ever-changing and businesses must keep reinventing as time goes along. Stay up-to-date on what's new and what's best practices in your 2017 marketing plan and you'll have a fabulous new year! Happy 2017!
A (Fairly) Quick History of Social Media
November 29, 2016
As social animals, people have always relied on communication to strengthen their relationships. So when we can't chat face-to-face, we've come up with plenty of other ways to communicate (smoke signals, anyone?). Social media though has transformed the interaction and communication of individuals throughout the world. Social networking has become daily practice in some users' lives. The roots of social media stretch far deeper than you might imagine. Although it might still seem like a new trend, sites like Facebook are the natural outcome of many centuries of social media development. Let's dive in and see what we can find!
First there were the smoke signals, then there were letters, and then…the telegraph! In 1792, the telegraph was invented. This allowed messages to be delivered over a long distance far faster than a horse and rider could carry them. Although telegraph messages were short, they were a revolutionary way to convey news and information. Next came two of the greatest inventions ever – the telephone in 1890 and the radio in 1891. Suddenly we could talk to people who weren't in front of our faces – or listen to people who were elsewhere! What's the tie to social media here? The first blogs and podcasts came about via phone. No really. See, during the 1950s, phone phreaking (the term used for the rogue searching of the telephone network) began. This was done through the use of homemade electronic devices that gave people unauthorized access to the telephone system to make free calls. Phreaks were able to find telephone company test lines and conference circuits to complete their task. In this way, phreaks were able to hack into corporate unused voice mailboxes to host the first blogs and podcasts. Guess we've always wanted to share our lives, huh?
Next came along supercomputers in the 1940s, the birth of the internet in the 1960s (though the internet wouldn't be available for public consumption till 1991 – so if you're like me, you can say, “I remember those dark days before the internet, when we had to search phone books for numbers and real, live encyclopedias for knowledge!”), and 1979’s UseNet allowed users to communicate through a virtual newsletter. Internet relay chats, or IRCs, were first used in 1988 and continued to be popular well into the 1990’s.
The first recognizable social media site, Six Degrees, was created in 1997. It enabled users to upload a profile and make friends with other users. In 1999, the first blogging sites became popular, such as Blogger and Epinions. We're already familiar with Blogger, but Epinions is a site where consumers can read or create reviews of products. Many online social sites were of the niche market, including sites for public policy advocacy and a social network based on a web of contacts model.
In 2000, social media received a great boost with the witnessing of many social networking sites springing up. This transformed the interactions of individuals and organizations who share common interest in music, education, movies, and friendship, based on social networking. Among those that were launched included LunarStorm, six degrees, cyworld, ryze, and Wikipedia. In 2001, fotolog, sky blog and Friendster were launched, and in 2003, MySpace, LinkedIn, lastFM, tribe.net, Hi5 etc. In 2004, popular names like Facebook Harvard, Dogster and Mixi evolved. During 2005 YouTube emerged creating an entirely new way for people to communicate and share with each other. By 2006, Facebook and Twitter both became available to users throughout the world. (That's right – Facebook originally started as a site for college kids only and grew from there!) These sites remain some of the most popular social networks on the Internet. Other sites like Tumblr, Spotify, Foursquare and Pinterest began popping up to fill specific social networking niches.
Can you believe how far we've come? What does this have to do with business though? Engaging in social media will help strengthen the brand experience which will support brand building. A company is more attractive to customers if it has a well-built brand name, and social media is another way of helping in building a good reputation for your organization. Brand awareness starts with the experiences with the employees of a company. If a company is approachable, people-friendly, then the company must make itself visible by inclusion on the web. Social media becomes a good venue for discussions and becomes a classic goal of marketing and communications, just make sure you're adhering to the rules and etiquette of social media.
Now, there are a tremendous variety of social networking sites, and many of them can be linked to allow cross-posting. This creates an environment where users can reach the maximum number of people without sacrificing the intimacy of person-to-person communication. We don't know what the future of social media & networking holds, but we're guessing it'll be a wild ride!
——————
By Misty Layne
The 2nd Most Popular Holiday is Upon Us!
September 29, 2016
We must admit that it's our favorite time of year – beautiful fall colors, cooler temperatures, pumpkins everywhere…and HALLOWEEN! A lot of small businesses overlook Halloween as a vital piece of their yearly marketing plan, but you really shouldn't. Not only is this the start of the always-crazy-but-oh-so-fun holiday madness (and most businesses best time of the year), but Halloween is the 2nd most popular holiday after Christmas. Plus it gives you the chance to really step outside your marketing box and try new things out (which is always fun!).
So, let's throw around a few ideas to get you started:
-
One of the easiest ways to get into the Halloween spirit and attract people to your business is by decorating your location with spooky or fall-themed touches. This also works online – change your Facebook and Twitter cover photos to something spooktacular or autumn-y for the month of October! (But do be sure to understand how your buyer personas are likely to observe the holiday to best target your blog, social media, emails, and other forms of content.)
-
If you have a physical location and are in a good spot, make your business a trick'r'treat stop. Parents want safe places to take their kids and businesses are always a good bet for that.
-
If there’s any surefire way to get your fans’ talking, it’s to ask them about their Halloween plans. Whether you’re calling for photos of costumes or images of their Jack-O-Lantern, inviting your audience to share their custom content in a contest can provide you with a wealth of resources to share on social media or your blog.
-
You can even create a dedicated hashtag for customers to share their creations or show off how they use your products on platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
-
Halloween themed contests are very popular, and there are no end to the possibilities both online and offline. RES.NET, a company that provides software and services to the real estate industry, has in the past hidden monsters throughout the Internet and their system for people to find, with a prize drawing for each monster found. The purpose of the contest is to drive brand recognition, as well as membership purchases/renewals.
-
One of the simplest ways to get your business in on the Halloween fun is to just incorporate popular Halloween symbols into your branding. Even a little jack-o-lantern or Frankenstein on your signage, website or store bags can show customers that you’re into the holiday and encourage them to visit you throughout the season!
Halloween is one of the few times each year when nearly any brand can be as silly, scary, or strange as they like, so take advantage of it! Get creative – even if you think there is nothing about your product or business that can be tied to Halloween, we promise, there really is. If all you sell is Post-It notes, then have a contest to see who can make the most elaborate, artistic pumpkin from them. If it's food you're offering, dive into fall flavors or give a dish a “frightening” name. The sky's the limit.
And if it's help you need this holiday season, Social Marketing Solutions has got you covered. We create a personalized plan for any company in any industry, and with three different levels of services, we have a plan to fit every business's needs at an affordable price. Call us at (973)265-2833 or message us today to get started! Stay spooky!
