// BLOG
Happy 5th Anniversary, SMS!
August 16, 2016
Last month, Social Marketing Solutions, LLC celebrated FIVE YEARS of success! That's right, 5 years ago, in July 2011, Kelly Jones founded SMS and started out as the first representative of the team. Later that year, Kim Perry joined the team and helped manage and grow the company. The following year, SMS joined the Morris County Chamber of Commerce and stayed an active member for the next 3 years.
In the past 5 years, our all woman-employed company has had the pleasure of working with 3 interns from High Point University, Montclair University, and Susquehanna University, as well as 8 amazing employees! Currently we operate a team of three strong women, who manage customers in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Oregon and California. Misty Layne joined the SMS team 4 years ago and has been a crucial part of SMS’s success. Working side-by-side with Kelly, she has helped to grow and develop both the company and its services. There have been a lot of changes over time!
When SMS first started, we only worked with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but we've now grown to include additional sites such as Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, WordPress, Blogger, MailChimp, and Constant Contact (and other social networks!). We now offer blog writing and uploading services, website edits and updates, and newsletter creation and distribution to our many customers. Within the past 5 years, we've worked with over 120 different businesses from a range of industries across the U.S. and even Canada! Some of our clients have included: NY Times Bestselling authors; realtors; lawyers; medical facilitators and practices; therapists; online stores; construction companies; payroll providers; fitness studios; dryer vent cleaners; movers & haulers; health product stores and seminars; mortgage brokers; flower shops; chocolate shops; marketing firms; furniture stores; schools; and home food delivery services.
We look forward to many more years of success and to growing our amazing team of women and roster of wonderful customers. We couldn't do it without you guys – YOU are the reason we're so successful. THANK YOU!
Client Spotlight!
July 30, 2016
We are incredibly lucky at Social Marketing Solutions to be able to work with some of the best companies and people out there. From clients we've been working with for years to the ones who are brand new, we work with a vast array of talent all around the tri-state area and we thought it would be great if you had a chance to meet some of them. Today we're introducing you to one of our newer clients, the Opthof Center for Psychotherapy, LLC!
The Opthof Center for Psychotherapy, LLC is run by therapist, Gerald Opthof, out of two offices – one in Westfield, NJ and one in Morristown, NJ. A graduate of Montclair State College, as well as Montclair State University, and with a doctorate in Forensic Psychology from Eisner Institute for Professional Studies, Dr. Opthof is a highly trained professional with a litany of credentials and accomplishments to his name.
His areas of specialty include:
- Alcohol and drug addition and court mandated therapy
-
Sexual problems, additions and relationship counseling
-
Coping with depression, anxiety and pain
-
Mental Health Evaluations
-
Marital and couple counseling
-
Coping with grief, loss, anger, stress and recovery issues
-
Parenting and family conflicts/issues
-
Adjusting back into a sober/healthy lifestyle
What I personally like about working with Dr. Opthof is – he gets it. Simply put, he is a great listener, and he is realistic in his practice. He supports people in rough times of their lives who are dealing with tough stuff, but he has a passion for getting his clients through the muck and over to a healthier and happier lifestyle.
A client since March of this year, Dr. Opthof has hired Social Marketing Solutions to oversee and build his Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, as well as website editing (yes, we do that too!). And since it's our job to hype our client, we're going to do just that – Dr. Opthof is participating in the Rock-N-Ride Fundraiser hosted by Road Recover Foundation on August 21st! Dr. Opthof and his team are cycling in this event, which helps support non-profit Youth Programs and Community Outreach Events. Road Recovery helps teams and young adults who have been derailed by addition and/or or other adversities, but who want to embark on a path to a healthier future. So far, Dr. Opthof has raised $525 of his $1000 goal. Anyone can donate by simply going to the website below, every donation helps and he appreciates the support – https://www.crowdrise.com/rock-n-ride
Visit Opthof Center of Psychotherapy, LLC online via their website, Facebook, or Twitter! And keep checking back as we keep introducing you to more of our fabulous clients and sharing more wonderful social media tips and news!
It’s Time for Your Mid-Year Review!
July 1, 2016
Can you believe this year is already halfway over?! Where has the time gone? If you're like us, you've been busy this year – growing, building new client relationships, trying out new things in your online marketing – all things you set up at the beginning of the year in your 2016 marketing plan. How's that plan going by the way? Summer is the perfect time to review your marketing plan and strategies to decide what's working and what isn't. What's the best way to review your successes ? Let’s break down some ideas…
First things first, dust off your 2016 marketing plan. Take a look at the plan you put together back in January with ideas on how to grow your business this year, and goals you set to accomplish. Did you ever start that blog or newsletter, test a pay-per-click campaign, or launch a referral program yet? If so, what’s working best for your company, and what requires some more attention? How happy are you with what's been accomplished the past 6 months – have you seen any response to your marketing efforts? Go over each of the points and compare where you are now with where you projected you'd be. Are you on track to hit your goals and accomplish all that you have planned so far? Consider where you are now and decide what you want to achieve by the end 2016. While you're at it, do some spring-cleaning. Cut your least-performing marketing activities and stop wasting your time on a campaign that isn’t driving traffic. Marketing can be hit or miss depending on what you’re doing. Don't keep wasting time on marketing tools that aren’t producing successful results and overall improving your bottom line. You need to see a return on your investment, so if something or some site isn’t working after a reasonable amount of time, then move on and try something new.
Next, identify your audience. To succeed in marketing you need to be sure you are marketing accurately and to the right audience. Who are they? What do they read, what sites do they like, what companies do they follow? What are their wants and needs? How do they communicate with you and your business (i.e. social media, email marketing, phone, face to face)? Once that's identified, look at your company through the perspective of your target audience. If your marketing plan is layered with your ideal customer’s desires it should give you tremendous insight into what is working and what is not.
Think about how you can change and improve things. Try new initiatives in select areas and with select audiences. Update your website. You should be consistently adding new content to your website, as it's your online storefront, but if you’ve found yourself slacking so far, mid-year is the perfect time to give your site an overhaul. Add new content based on your 2016 experiences thus far – like success stories, client testimonials, or best practices. Also edit and disregard information that may have changed, and remember to switch up the wording and sentence structure throughout your website.
You can't let the year pass you by without making a few changes – again the goal is to see the return on investment so it is important to evaluate where your social marketing stands, and where you can improve. A mid-year review doesn’t have to be extremely lengthy – it just needs to identify some key points in where your audience stands, what they are interested in, what they aren’t in an effort to improve your online presence going forward.
We also invite you to open this 100 Point Mid-Year Marketing Checklist as a quick in-depth guide to what you should be looking for. After you've gone through and decided on what changes you'd like to make, remember that Social Marketing Solutions is here at all times to help your company have the best marketing campaign possible!
Speaking of that…check us out on our social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, Connect with Kelly, Connect with Misty), we appreciate your support (and we follow/like back, of course!)
The Orange Effect
May 3, 2016
We LOVE introducing you to our clients and sharing their successes with you! This month we want you to say hello to one of our newer clients (who has TWO locations), Orangetheory Fitness. Located in New Providence and Middletown, Orangetheory Fitness consists of heart rate based interval training in a fun and energizing group environment that actually burns calories after you workout. Cool, right? It's called The Orange Effect.
But HOW does it work? The long version? Well, it's a one hour, heart rate monitored, interval training that combines endurance, speed and power. Workout stations are switched within the workout and all groups (up to 24 participants) are led by a dynamic, certified Coach that gives you cues and trains you through the five heart rate zones using the terms "base", "push" and "all out", as your results are shown in real time on a screen above. This system and guidance keeps you from under or over training.
Spending twelve or more minutes in the "orange zone" creates an EPOC effect (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption), and this effect promotes fat burning for 24-36 hours post workout! Spend ONE HOUR with them, and reap the benefits right into the next day. What will YOU burn for?
But they don't just kick butt in the gym; they're also kicking butt on social media! Just last week they received two inquiries about gym memberships via their Instagram page! They're also 1200 strong on their Facebook pages alone and growing. We're extremely proud of everything they've been accomplishing with our social media guidance and can't wait to see what they do next!
Need help with your own social media? Just give us a call at 973-265-2833 and we'll get started on a customized plan today!
Successful Engagement – What’s It Look Like?
March 25, 2016
You already have a Facebook page for your business (and likely a Twitter handle and LinkedIn profile, Instagram and Pinterest accounts, and more) but are you actually engaging with your audience? What does successful engagement look like? It's comments, likes and shares of your posts, taking quizzes, entering contests, redeeming offers and writing reviews. You don't want people to simply “like” your page, then move on and never return. But how do you GET engagement like this? Simple – by putting in the work.
And it does involve work but perhaps not as much as you might think (and some of it is fun!). Post content that is relevant, timely and interesting. Most people spend an average of 15-30 minutes on Facebook so your time in front of their face is limited. Make sure you're noticed. Post information of value to your fan base and their friends. Educate your audience on something they may value. Posting photos and video also increases engagement. In fact, you'll get MORE engagement with photos and video than you will with any other type of content. So post ways to use your product…photos of “behind the scenes”…positive reviews and testimonials…videos on how to use your product – sky's the limit!
A few other things to remember:
-
Respond quickly to posts or reviews on your page. You may have noticed that Facebook monitors this and highlights how responsive you are on your fan page.
-
Don't over OR under post. Posting more than once a day is great – you'll show up in your audience's feeds more often – but show up TOO often and they'll be turned off.
-
Keep your page updated. Likewise keep your website and all other links updated. What's the point of having a great fan page, if a customer gets to your site only to find out of date information, etc.?
Facebook is an important tool when it comes to online marketing and you need to make sure you're on top of your engagement (by the way, this stuff works fabulously for other sites as well). Get the conversation going and if you're not sure where to start, give us a call. Make the best of the free (or nearly free) resources at your fingertips to exponentially expand your business!
