Success On .Social

Author: jonathan.howard

  • Planning Your Social Media Content Calendar for 2018

    Tips for Planning Your 2018 Social Media Content Calendar

    It’s not too late to make a plan

    Have you started planning out your social media content calendar for 2018 yet? Don’t worry it is not too late, despite what everyone may be saying to you. It is not too late! Yes, it would be great if you had started 6 months ago, but I am a realist. I run my own small business, I know that doing things 6 months in advance is a pie in the sky dream that we almost never can reach. And I am the first to say, that is okay! To help out I am letting you in on some great ways to plan your content calendar that will actually alleviate stress, streamline projects, and fit into an overall business plan. The best part is these tips are useful for planning a week of content, or a year of content.

    Where to start?

    In order to get the most out of your social media, your content calendar should be closely tied to your overall business goals for the year. So the first thing you should do is define your goals for 2018 (or whatever time period you are planning content for). Then define the who, what, when, where, why, how and how much for each of your goals. After that, decide how your social media can help you reach those goals and that will be the basis of your content calendar.

    Next up, decide what tool you will be using to keep your calendar, as a social media manager I utilize Hey Orca to manage the calendars of multiple clients and gain approvals, but you can use a spreadsheet, a handwritten calendar, or tools like Hootsuite or SproutSocial its all up to you.

    Once you decide on the tool you can begin mapping out your content step by step. Make sure you are keeping your business goals in mind throughout the process. Here are steps I take with clients when planning content calendars.

    1) Holidays

    Don’t miss a holiday in 2018 and have your social media posts ready to go by marking all the key holidays down on your calendar right from the start. If you are using HeyOrca or Hootsuite you can even schedule last year’s posts as placeholders or update them with the appropriate year and info if they were successful. Want some help with planning for the Holidays? Check out this infographic from “Social Media Today”

    2) Review Last Year

    Review 2017 and look for the successful promotions, themes, and sales. What did well and will “anniversary” in 2018? What will not anniversary but you have sales numbers that you will need to compensate for? Mark all of these instances on the calendar. For those that will not anniversary what opportunities do you have to build on successful promotions or create a new one based on the parameters that lead to success last year.

    3) Monthly Themes

    Now that you have the Holidays and successes from last year penciled in, its time to look at what content you will be adding to the calendar. A great way to do this is by creating themes for the months. In my past life as a Bookstore manager, our general book department would live by the monthly themes, we would have an overarching theme each month i.e. African American History Month or Banned Book Month or Valentines Day. Followed by sub-themes like for Valentine’s Day sub-themes like Romance Novels, Books About Love, Teen Angst etc. This is a great way to divide your content calendar as well, as it gives you direction and focus. Themes can be a great guide if a post doesn’t fit into the theme that doesn’t mean you don’t use it at all. Themes can also help you plan your blog content, write one blog a month based on the theme you have for your content. 12 blog posts a year should seem do-able, right?

    What’s Next?

    So you have your themes laid out, now what do you do next? It is time to start laying down your campaigns. Take a look at all you have compiled and begin to lay in the campaigns that you are going to run this year. Your campaigns should be tied to your themes but they do not necessarily need to just be the theme.

    An example of this is with the garden center I work closely with our theme for January is New Year, New Items. The theme for February is Valentine’s Day. However, the campaign that we will be focusing on the three weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day is our “Say I Love You Longer” campaign! So, on the calendar for the garden center, I penciled in this campaign. I also added a campaign leading up to St. Patrick’s Day “Plants Behaving Badly”

    Pro Tip:

    Add links to the best and worst posts of these campaigns from the previous year. These provide some guidance on what worked and what can be eliminated.

    After The Campaign Lay Down!

    After the campaign lay down it is time to start filling in the specific posts. Here are a few things to keep in mind when filling in the specific posts, even if you are focusing on a single campaign.

    • Consistency is key to social media plan to post at least once a day on all platforms
    • Make sure all posts are reflective of your current brand standards. Update posts that were used in the past to reflect current brand standards.
    • Only schedule approximately 75-80% of your monthly content in advance leaving about 20% of your posts unscheduled.  This allows for flex, reposting user-generated content, and posts that are timely or ultra-local in nature. This 20% allows you to be current and timely while still having a majority of your content ready to go!
    • Remember the 80/20 rule still applies to all your content posted.
    • Vary your content. Make sure it is edutaining in nature! Need suggestions on what to post? Check out the 9 Suggested Posts for every Business 
    • Evergreen Content is your friend, don’t be afraid to build a library of it. If you want some direction on this check out the HubSpot article I linked to above!
    • Schedule your 12 blog posts now and begin writing them when you have the time.
    • Don’t forget about video content and social selling opportunities.
    • Are you collaborating with other businesses? Make sure to leave space in the schedule for cross-promotional and collaborative posts. Hop on over to the shop to get your hands on the collaboration toolkit to start planning your partnerships now.
    • Take into account the social media trends we are expecting in 2018. Review this awesome article from Entrepreneur Magazine about the 10 Things to Plan for in 2018. Chances are this will be the subject of my next post!

    And then…

    So now you have the tips and a few extra minutes! Go start the process of planning your social media calendar for next year now! If you have questions or concerns please feel free to ask and check out the Social Media Tools in the Shop as well!

    Ah yes, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

  • Strategies to Expand Your Reach on Social Media

    What Strategies Will Expand Your Reach on Social?

    What strategies should I use to expand my social media reach quickly? is there an easy way to gain a following on social? What strategies will help jumpstart my social media and make sure that my content is seen? How do I get more people to like my stuff? This post was inspired by my clients and that ask to increase their visibility, influence etc on social media. And don’t get me wrong I love these questions and I love to share my knowledge with folks. The one thing that I warn you of is I am not going to provide you with a quick fix. I don’t believe that one exists. You gotta hustle hard if you want to see results!

    Some Basic Strategies

    Yeah, I don’t believe in quick fixes but here are a few strategies to optimize what you are doing on social…

    1) Get your friends, family loved one and co-workers where appropriate to follow and share your profiles. Engage with them and provide the content that they want to see, its a start and if they share content it expands your reach.

    2) Include your profiles everywhere you can with a message encouraging them to follow you along with the benefits of following you where space allows. Don’t forget to include in email signatures, business pages, LinkedIn Profile, alignable profiles,  on business cards and visible on the website above the fold.

    3) Search important Hashtags within your niche and favorite interesting tweets.

    4) Retweet, Repost, or share content you like and join conversations to engage new followers

    5) Link to high-quality content on your site/blog

    6) Provide useful and edutaining tips that relate to your field of work and provide useful and actionable info to your followers

    7) Use a branded #hashtag

    8) Get a wider reach by promoting events that you are attending using the appropriate hashtag combined with your profile name and or hashtag so posts show on event with a link back to your profiles. Its another way to engage others effectively.

    9) Show followers a bit of the behind the scenes for some realness

    10) Don’t forget to promote your profiles and include them in content you create

    11) Share your brand story as well as your story

    12) Ask this important question to your followers on a fairly regular basis “How can I help you?” and when someone responds, help them. This si a major part of an effective engagement strategy.

    13) Want some additional tips, tricks, and strategies I recommend to clients and followers? Check out this collection of social media tidbits! 

    An Important Note On Content:

    Before exploring some strategies a bit more in depth, I want to be sure that I clarify the importance of content! Content is king, always will be and that is why you can’t try to get around it the easy way. The two essentials for a successful social media strategy are ENGAGE FOLLOWERS AND PROVIDE GREAT CONTENT!

    The content you create should be aimed at EDUTAINING your followers by being informational, educational and fun. Great content will always win so focus on creating that and let the rest fall into place. It takes time but you want to be a thought leader, a resource, and an innovative thinker content creation is the surefire way, Your followers may not need your services right now but if you are sharing winning content that educates and informs them they will think of you first when they need you!

    The “Advanced” Strategies to Extend Your Reach

    I say advanced but really these are all essential things that all businesses on social media should do in order to get the most out of what they are doing on social media!

    1- Brand

    Make sure your brand identity is fully developed, down to knowing what you would post and wouldn’t post, and how you want followers to perceive your brand. Know Your Brand, Be Your Brand, Believe In Your Brand

    2- Social Mission

    Have a clearly defined mission and goals for social media as well as what success will look like for your brand. In this mission include if the goal is to sell on social, influence or educate. My recommendation is always to educate and engage by creating great content!

    3- Audience

    You can not create a content strategy until you know your audience. What type of person/business do you want to attract? Do you know their interests and needs? What problems do they have and how can you solve them? where do they get their information or what websites do they read daily? Understanding your audience is fundamental to creating content that they’ll find valuable.

    4- Be a thought leader in your niche

    Share content that highlights your innovative thoughts and ways of handling situations. You can also share content of other thought leaders and well-respected members within your niche.

    5- Communicate and Engage

    Promote two-way communication on your social media platforms by asking questions to your followers and encouraging them to share questions and ideas via comments on your social media. Then answer and engage those who share with you. Provide them useful information that they can see the value in. Don’t only link to your website link to other respected people in the industry as well.

    6- Social Service

    Build brand ambassadors by providing stellar “social service” and encouraging followers to share experiences with your brand. Provide an incentive for followers sharing reviews both good and bad (seriously), ask for feedback regularly on social, and act upon the feedback you get.

    7- Interaction

    Interact with other profiles regularly and provide thoughtful and relevant comments when commenting. This will give your brand more exposure especially if you target very popular posts, where several people will receive a newsfeed update with your comment. But beware of wasting time posting on posts that are “too popular” this is a judgment call but if you are comment number 300 on a post people may not be paying attention anymore.

    8- Collaboration

    Message interesting pages that you think your target audience follows and propose doing a featured post about them or their site and ask if they will do the same. Or work together on an event, or do a photoshoot together. Collaboration is key to social media success. See my blog post on collaboration.

    9- Quality not Quantity

    Focus on quality not quantity in regards to both your blog posts and your followers. As long as you have a consistent posting schedule that features high-quality content you will be good. In regards to followers, I’d take 400 fans who engage with my content and generate business over 5,000 who are indifferent to my business any day!

    10- Vary What You Post

    Experiment with different types of posts and mix things up a bit. Ask questions, share a behind-the-scenes picture of your workspace, or take advantage of the social aspect to ask for ideas, feedback, and input. Get creative and keep things interesting for your followers.I’d always recommend seeking and sharing the best content with others too. As well as helping to build trust and relationships, this helps your channels become a destination for people looking to learn and be inspired. See 9 Posts Every Business Should Try on Social

    11- 80/20

    Remember the 80/20 Rule 80% of what you post should be educational, informative, useful or funny 20% should be promotional… Or, as author Gary Vaynerchuk puts it: give, give, give, then ask… see more Gary V. here… 

    12 Be yourself and it is okay to be funny

    Keeping your audience in mind at all times but that does not mean hide who you are. Your personality is the key to

    Social media is also a great place to share a little more of you, whether behind the scenes shots or sneak peeks of a new product you’re working on. Trust is a huge component of the buying process; letting people in a little help your readers feel like they’re trusted, which in turn helps them to trust you too.

    13- Influencers to Influence Step 1

    Find influencers in your niche to engage with because following them and engaging with their posts by liking, commenting and sharing (without overdoing it, of course) you put yourself on their radar and may well find that they’ll reciprocate later!

    14- Use Images, Always

    Use relevant high-quality images as images have a much higher engagement than just text or links,

    15-DIALOGUE AND RESPECT

    Think about paying it forward. As well as responding to messages, be proactive and start conversations. Congratulate people on their achievements, comment on and share relevant posts and offer your input when someone asks a question. Seek to add value and make meaningful connections. Doing this has not only helped my business, it’s helped me make new friends too!

    16. Stop. Review. Revise. Restart

    Regularly using the metrics and feedback from followers as your guide. While you are doing this also review what others are doing, get ideas and see how you can do something that works for your brand

  • 9 Types of Posts Every Business Should Try on Social Media

    The 9 Essential Posts for Businesses on Social Media

    This post is aimed at those businesses just starting out on social media and for those looking to diversify what they are posting to make sure they are hitting the recommended 80/20 ratio. When you are just starting out it is easy to feel overwhelmed by a posting calendar, and if you are stuck in a rut it may be hard to see a way out. These 9 social media posts are a great way to round out your content and make sure that you are educating and informing your followers.

    • PRODUCT POSTS
    • CUSTOMER POSTS
    • EMPLOYEE-CENTRIC
    • A DAY IN THE LIFE
    • MOTIVATIONAL
    • FOOD POSTS
    • IN THE HOOD POSTS
    • GIVEAWAYS AND CONTESTS
    • EDUCATIONAL

    Product Posts

    These seem easy but be sure to constantly post or repost the same content about your product. Keep it fresh. Get content from your customers or “product in the wild” posts. Also, make sure to highlight what features and benefits users will get from your product that differentiates it from the products of your competitors.

    Customer-centric Posts

    Customer-centric posts focus not only on the overall customer experience but this is also where a lot of your user-generated content comes from. User-generated content is huge for a business because when you share that content the creator is much more likely to also share the content with followers. And beyond that it shows followers you care about how you engage with your customers and encourages them to share without even asking.

    Day in the Life

    Highlight things that usually happen at your company a pre-opening chat, lunchtime discussion, shared news about employees. Remember Instagram is very visual so make sure you have a good brand appropriate visual if you are sharing on Insta. Think of these as a quick filtered peek into the back of the house.

    Motivation

    Yes, you see these all over the place, motivational quotes on #motivationalmonday or any other days of the week when a little pick me up are in order. Keep these visuals and the quotes brand-appropriate and try to share posts that you find meaningful and provide followers with background about your business.

    Food

    Want some more social media gold? Then post about food, babies or dogs!! Food is a great way to have a fun light post mixed in… feature a new restaurant or favorite dish. These non-branded lighter posts are a great way to break up some of the content you post. And while they are not branded, you can always figure out a way to tie them back to the brand or business.

    Neighborhood Posts

    I call these the “In the Hood” posts. They touch on the things happening in the community around you. It does not mayyer if they are lighthearted and silly or seriously important. What is important is that you are engaging the potential clients that are immediately in your area. Its another avenue you an use to tell your story and sho people why they should believe in your brand. These posts also allow you to partner with other businesses in your neighborhood to magnifying your reach.

    Giveaways & Contests

    Product launch, new item, a special time of the year… make it super special with a giveaway or contest. Its a great way to gain followers. Encourage them to follow you on social media as a way to be eligible for prize. You can also generate interest by givving away free tools that help followers solve a problem. Keep in mind that if you are running a contest or giveaway make sure to post appropriate disclaimers and follow all posted rules!

    Educational Posts

    Remember you are trying to establish yourself as an expert in your field you should be EDUTAINING your followers. When you EDUTAIN you are providing information that is Educational Useful and Entertaining. Share fun little bits of knowledge or inside info on what you do. Ask them what they want to know and then educate them. The type of info should be useful to help people win trivia contests in bars, you are not teaching them how to be an astrophysicist.

    Employee-centric

    These are probably the hardest to do but they are also what gives any business a heart on social media. These are peeks into what the culture of your business is. Remember however to always be on brand! Below are two broad options for employee-centric posts, I recommend regularly using both.

    Employee Takeover

    These on Facebook and Instagram and are combined between the story and your feed with just a couple refined images in the feed that are on brand and the rest the story. The story can be less refined it is set up to be snapchatty for a reason!

    Employee Profiles

    These are a bit harder but they are great for morale and a great way to feature specific employee on social media. Ask a set of questions to an employee and take some cool fun photos and viola.

    The 9 Essential Posts on Video

    Jonathan reviews this important Framework for businesses in a video. A video he ironically did as part of one of his one challenges based on creating Video Content for each of the 9 Essential Post Categories!JTBBJTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGRUYxcUZlcjhYdWslMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjBhbGxvdyUzRCUyMmFjY2VsZXJvbWV0ZXIlM0IlMjBhdXRvcGxheSUzQiUyMGVuY3J5cHRlZC1tZWRpYSUzQiUyMGd5cm9zY29wZSUzQiUyMHBpY3R1cmUtaW4tcGljdHVyZSUyMiUyMGFsbG93ZnVsbHNjcmVlbiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRSUwQQ==

    Things to Keep In Mind

    With all of these posts it is imperative you keep a few things in mind. The most important being the 80/20 Rule of Social Media. 80% of what you post should be informative, entertaining and useful for your followers with only 20% being promotional. And secondly, you are looking to engage customers and position yourself as an expert in your field. Conversations will get you followers! Useful information gets you followers! Real engagement will get you followers! Hounding and sales pitches will get you ignored!

    Need more assistance?

    We are here to help. JRH Graphics can provide you with sample posts and social media recommendations customized for your business? Get these 9 Posts Customized

    Or get the 9 Posts Worksheet to do it yourself

    Want to schedule a free 30-minute social media consultation with a member of the JRH Graphics team? Just tap that link! We would love to sit down with you and see how we can help!

     

     

    https://jrhgraphics.com/product/free-30-minute-social-media-consultation-call/

  • Discounting Your Customers: The Customer Experience v. Vanity Metrics

    What Moment will Define Your Customers Experience with Your Business

    Faces Get Likes

    The stat included above shows a very simple social media concept… faces get likes! But many times likes are viewed as a vanity metric, with good reason. But as a business owner, it is incredibly important to be aware that those vanity metrics that we may be discounting are our potential customers.

    Vanity Metrics?

    As I was looking for some content to support the statistic above and to see what I wanted to say when I posted it and I found myself wadding into a soupy mess of negativity about “collecting likes for likes” or “vanity metrics.” Plus lots of folks ranting about how stupid social media interaction is in general. I spent far too long spiraling downward into this mess and found myself downright angry. I get the idea of vanity metrics, yes you should always aim for valuable deeper interactions with followers.

    Your end game should always be creating customers for life but that relationship needs to start somewhere.

    But c’mon people lets be real here the customer (who we will call Becky) to the business relationship has to start somewhere. Maybe Becky just stumbled upon your page and thought one of your posts was cool. Becky Double taps. What if Becky was the only one that liked your post? What would you do? Discount Becky with the mentality of likes don’t matter and move on?

    Don’t Discount Becky

    No, a smart business owner would have brought on someone to handle social media at least part-time and made sure that Becky was engaged. That has the potential to start a relationship.

    “Thanks for the like @Becky, we have tons more of these in store we hope you come in and check them out soon.

    Becky sees that comment on her way to work and it makes her smile, unfortunately, she has a crazy busy week and didn’t respond. But Becky smiled and maybe that relationship is budding because she wanted to respond back and see where the store was located but life got crazy.

    Sadly, this time Becky lost track of this company, couldn’t remember the name but really wanted to check them out when life calmed down.

    Another Chance to Begin the Customer Relationship

    Three months later while on vacation Becky again stumbles upon another cute post from this company and she is happily reunited and quickly double taps before throwing here iPhone onto her lounge chair where it took an awkward bounce and landed in the deep end of the pool.

    Poor @Becky just a poor discounted customer “like” on the sale rack.But while on vacation, Becky met her future husband and they bonded over wet iPhones and they both loved social media, and how he also ran a small business and he was looking for creative people to partner with.

    The  Customer/ Business Relationship Finally Begins for Becky

    A little Instagram stalking and they find the post that Becky liked, he loves the same post, he follows the company. When he returns, he send a DM and sets up a meeting. Becky finally gets to see the store and thrilled with all the quirky offerings! She buys 20 items for friends and family that Christmas. She knows they will love them.

    See where this is going?

    Yeah, the store is about to have a lot of new customer relationships!  19 of the 20 recipients of the gifts from Becky love the items. They get and can’t wait to visit this new found treasure.  When they all visit over the next few months they all buy items to take to friends! Becky’s friend Becky actually has her bridal shower in the store. Sales are up 200% that year and the social media manager lands a full-time gig with an assistant to help!Ok, I know what’s my point: My point is Becky’s like was easy but it was a start, as a business owner I don’t know where my next meal may come from. I don’t know if that one like is a gateway. Be aware of your mindset and tone of conversations about social media metrics. Each one of those likes could be a new customer for life if they feel valued; discount them and they will find someone else to take money from them

  • What? That’s Just Stupid of Course I Control My Brand!

    Welcome to A Rant on Brand:

    Your Brand Is One of the Most Important Things You Can’t Control!

    I could fill pages if I was asked. I have filled hours at the front of a class (hours no joke) talking about a brand. Things like misconceptions about it, why it is important, what differentiators really matter, what connects with your audience and the list goes on and on. But it always comes back to one important thing…

    How do you even define a brand?

    Dare to be distinctive

    What makes you different? Why would someone select you over another? But the differentiators are just the start. Yes, it is important to be able to speak to why are you different from X. What do you offer that Y doesn’t? What do you do better than Z? These all help consumers decide if they value what you offer more than they value what another has to offer. But differentiators are not the end all and be all.

    It is important to remember that a comany is not in control of it’s brand. All you really control is the identity- the colors- the language – the logo and the differentiators.

    BRAND IS…

    …WHAT HELPS PEOPLE DECIDE ON ONE OVER ANOTHER.

    …IS A RELATIONSHIP WITH CUSTOMERS

    …IS MEMORIES AND EXPERIENCES

    …CAN BE SIGHTS SMELLS SOUNDS

    …BRAND = EMOTION!

    A company can not directly control the emotion of others.

    So why is all of this important?

    Why should you dare to be different? Why should you remember that brand is more than just things you create that represent your brand identity?

    It is important because

    BRAND SHOULD INFORM AND DIRECT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, AND BRICK AND MORTAR REPRESENTATION OF YOURSELF.

    It should be front and center in everything you do. Not just because you want all your things to look pretty, but because every customer interaction, every social media post, every experience is creating those memories and moments that truly create BRAND.

    Every employee you hire can impact your brand, every social media post you like without fully understanding what the author represents impacts it. Every product you decide to carry, every product you decide to not carry. All of these decisions impact the emotional responses of your customers to your company and therefore impact brand.

    My Suggestion

    I have always made one suggestion to all my clients when it comes to brand. The first thing you need to do as a company is to define your brand clearly. What would your company say in difficult situations? What are your core values and what do you offer to your customers? But what is most important is simple… you need to believe in your brand and show that belief in all that you do, all that you say, and in every interaction with your customers/clients. The moment you waver is the moment you have a brand identity issue and in this social media age, an identity issue could mean major issues for your company.

  • It Started With An Orchid

    How an Orchid Began A Mutually Beneficial Collaborative Relationship!

    This story of collaboration starts with an idea and an orchid! The main cast of characters includes a retail manager taking on a new line of work, a newly established garden center focusing on orchids and succulents and a very kind, business-minded and inspiring “influencer” who does more than influence.

    This story highlights what can happen when businesses play well in the sandbox of life together, understand the benefits of partnership; and having a defined and well-respected brand.

    In the Beginning:

    It was a simple idea and one that I list below as a way to collaborate with other influencers and companies. We reached out to @blonde_inthedistrict (Dani Sauter) to see if she would like an Urban Jungle orchid leading up to Valentine’s Day, all we were asking for in return was a post on Instagram before the holiday. In actuality, what Urban Jungle got in return was a brand ambassador, a believer in the Urban Jungle brand and by extension a believer in JRH Graphics. And because she believes in JRH graphics she has supported other brands that I represent when the missions and beliefs are a good match, like most recently with Lea Berry Coaching!

    Lea and Dani Get Down to Business Tips

    Both strong business women the photo collaboration started early in the morning and was a lively exchange between Lea and Dani the entire time. They exchanged tips and trick, learned from one another and of course slayed more than a few photos that 21-year-old photographer Callum (ce_photogs) shot. Callum and I chatted about our photography experiences and the importance of social media and expanding reach. I know that I watched closely as he set up and framed shots and listened to how he directed his models. After all, it was an opportunity to show this old dog some new tricks!

    Combining Strengths and Learning New Tricks

    Learning and teaching is one of the values I share with the businesses and influencers I agree to work with. Exchanges of knowledge, ability to learn from one another’s successes and mistakes; as well as combining the strength and reach of collaborators is the most important reason to collaborate.

    Other Benefits of Collaborating Include

    • inspiration
    • Re-enforce the idea that you are a leading expert in your field
    • Expanded Reach
    • Expanded exposure and increased following
    • Future collaborations and partnerships
    • Increased sales
    • New Audiences
    • A different POV
    • New friends, mentors, and people who support your mission
    • A partner in crime to help you come up with those amazingly great ideas.
    • Not a bad goody bag huh?!?

    All photos by @ce_photogs on Instagram!

    So Here is Some Useful Collaboration Information

    So I blabbered on and on about my experience with a portion of a collaboration but here is the useful stuff. Some info on influencers, questions to ask yourself pre-collab, what to look for from a collaboration and types of collaborations

    Collaborations:

    An agreement between brands to work together on a project with the intention of creating something. In many cases on social the brands are working together to create content that will engage both of their followers.

    Influencer:

    An influencer is an individual who has an impact on a specific niche of social media. Influencers are normal people, who are often connected to key consumer groups, industry associations or community tribes. The importance of influencers is best understood when you look at who millennials look to for advice, influencers are peers of the groups they influence so as a brand if you want to gain the inside connection to a certain group look to see who the influencers are in that group.

    Do Collabs have to be with an influencer?

    Absolutely not, collaborations can be with other brands, people that make complementing items and other media members. Anyone! Businesses and influencers and bloggers and plain ole normal folks can all work together like one big happy supportive family!

    What to Look for Pre-Collaboration:

    Be smart and strategic in the way that you approach collaborations, know your audience and what they would like to see from your collaborations

    Will you be developing content that is edutaining for your followers?

    Do collaborators share a vision and a brand identity with you?

    Are the lines of communication and brainstorming open and easy? Do you feel comfortable sharing ideas with one another?

    Will the benefits be equal for all brands?

    How will you promote the collaboration and what do you hope to get out of it?

    Do you feel like you will be able to learn from the collaborator?

    Types of Collaborations:

    Be creative in your collaborations look at what your strengths are and the strengths of the other brands involved and how you can use them. Here are some ways to collaborate:

    Giveaways: Woohoo free stuff!

    Giveaway an item you wish to promote to influencers and other businesses and ask if they will post about it on social or via a blog if they like it!  I am a strong believer that in these situations when you believe in your product you should not even have to ask them to share- your product will do the work for you. I also believe in follow-up. If you do not hear anything back then follow-up with them, they may be busy and not had time or they may have useful feedback!

    Photoshoots

    Photoshoots are a great way to collaborate because lets face it, we all need 9 zillion pictures a year to have the amount of content needed to keep our Instagram feeds alive an fresh, so these collaborations are great ways to get to know people and plan future collaborations, get some new photographers some exposure, and keep you feed fresh with new content!

    Guest Posts and Story Takeovers

    Guest posts on your blog or story takeovers are great ways to expand your audiences and expose your followers to new and edutaining content that is created by the partner. Keeps things fresh and exposes followers to a different POV!

    Photo Contests

    Photo Contests or Competitions: It engages followers and encourages them to contribute to your page. Each follower has their own circle of friends and can be viewed as mini-influencers each able to expand the reach of your brand with this type of collaboration. The other bonus of this type of collaboration is the creation of user-generated content which is awesome. When you share user-generated content you are engaging your followers with content that they are more likely to share, thus increasing your reach .

    Get Influencers to Compete

    Influencer competitions: Similar to above just engaging influencers within a certain market to highlight your brand and gain exposure.

  • Use Stories to Tell Your Story

    Stories are the New Black

    Across my social media, my Tuesday Social Media Stat was about Instagram Stories because if you aren’t talking about Influencers or Insta Stories you are so talking about old news! There are over 200 MILLION people who use Instagram Stories every day. That is a lot of customers using stories so using stories the right way can make a major difference. So here are some tips and tricks to using Instagram Stories!

    Side Note

    It is social media, none of us are sure we are doing it the right way because it is so new.  This information is based on some research on what seems to be working for companies and some great campaigns I have personally seen work. I also mention some I have personally contributed to that have been successful. I would love to hear other tips tricks and ideas, because if you aren’t innovating on social media- well- YOU ARE BORING!

    What should I Use Stories For?

    So what do I think you should be using your Instagram Stories for? I think it is a great opportunity to show the heart of your brand (your people, your values, your customer care, and your differentiators) in a manner that is perceived as less polished,  and more unadulterated. Keep in mind that I said perceived… while it is okay to be less buttoned-up less spokesperson(y) in your stories you should still remain true to your brand as should anyone representing your brand in your stories! So here are five ways I suggest you go about it, a few extra tips and tricks to wrap up, and an example of a stellar use of stories from J. Crew that even includes a great way to measure ROI!

    A Day in the Life

    Get this… people like to shop at businesses that represent their values and that they can easily identify with,. A great way of promoting your brand via stories is by handing over your Instagram handle to an employee and let them post “A Day in the Life” story posts. Remember to keep them creative, and interactive. Some can even be quick and spontaneous. In my past life, we would post a snap from a store managers huddle showing what the team was working on. For these posts, I also recommend having a quick list of dos and don’t for the person you are handing the handle over to! (Click for a FREE generic day in the life stories tool)

    Use Stories to Tease

    Tease an event, promotion, or something happening on another platform. It is okay to promote one of your platforms using another! Plus using stories to tease an event and/or promotion keeps your feed clean and curated the way Instagram is intended! But seriously you can post a 50% off sale creatively 2-3 times in a story and no clogged feed or posts to go back and archive later.

    Go Live

    Go Live and after done add it to your story! Yup, that’s right your live video can be saved and used as a story for 24 hours now. So you went live, had an expert to discuss the wonderful new yoga pants that make you look up to 90 pounds slimmer and only five people joined in… now that’s ok!  Save the video to your story and more people will have access to that awesome information! And next time before you go live… promote it in your story, on Facebook, on Twitter and let people know you are throwing a party!

    Celebrate

    Celebrate a company milestone or a professional one that an employee has reached, it’s a great way to highlight accomplishments, pat yourself on the back without looking too cocky and it engages employees! This is a win-win situation because we know that engaged employees are great employees and awesome brand ambassadors!

    Support Blog Content

    Have your blog and stories work together. Part of any businesses goal on social media is to establish themselves as experts in the field by providing useful tips and tricks and answering followers questions. Many accomplish this via an online blog so why not promote the blog while establishing yourself as an expert via a story. As a social media manager, I use my clients’ blogs to create sometimes what feels like endless posts!  A well-written blog post is chock full of bite size information perfect for stories and posts. Think of the blog as the Thanksgiving Turkey and the posts and stories as the turkey sandwiches and you’ll be on the right track!

    Your company probably has more EDUTAINING stories than you give it credit for and stories show the heart of your brand and heart equals engagement and engagement equal loyal customers which equals sales! That’s the long way to get to what I used to preach as a retail manager when talking about customer service- STORIES SELL! Plain and simple!

    CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO READ HOW J. CREW SLAYED IT WITH INSTAGRAM STORIES AND SOLD OUT OF THE INSTAGRAM ONLY PRODUCT IN HOURS!

    http://www.retaildive.com/ex/mobilecommercedaily/j-crew-sells-out-instagram-exclusive-product-showcasing-new-mobile-sales-opportunities

    A few other things to try

    Promote Limited time giveaways to your followers it’s a great way to reward loyal followers who already engage the brand!

    Remind people of events and promotions that are happening that you have already posted

    Bring in an expert besides yourself to educate followers

    Host Mini Book Discussions

    Hot Topic Talks

    Be playful and coy, keep your followers stimulated and guessing!

    Don’t forget you CTA!

  • If you are not on social, you are not in the game!

    Some Stats to Think About

    Only 74% of small businesses use Social Media

    26% still do not use social media,

    28% just started using social media in 2016.

    90% of small businesses surveyed are only on Facebook

    41% actively engage followers and share content daily!

    Source: https://clutch.co/agencies/social-media-marketing/resources/small-business-2017-survey#important

    Now compare that with the statistic that 44% of American’s believe that it’s important for institutions they engage with to have a strong social media presence.

    Small Businesses on Social Media

    It is time for small businesses to step up and decide to be a part of the social marketplace. Failure to commit resources to social media is negatively impacting your business right now. You may not be seeing the effects of it but your market reach is shrinking. More people begin to adopt social media across all demographics. In order to be a brand people decide they want, you need to be a part of the conversation. This conversation is happening on social media! Here are just some stats to support the importance of being on the right social media platforms:

    Of those who have been using social media for at least 1 year, 63% found it useful for building a loyal fan base.

    Almost 90% of marketers say their social marketing efforts have increased exposure for their business, and 75% say they’ve increased traffic

    More than 50% of marketers who have been implementing social media marketing tactics for two years have reported improved sales

    Things I Want

    Now as a small business owner myself, I want to have increased exposure, a loyal customer base, increased traffic and of course improved sales. These all help improve the bottom line, which is one of the most important things for maintaining a business. Not mentioned here for those not as concerned about profit. Being active on social also increases your reach allowing you to have a greater positive impact on more people.

    So Now that we all agree that you need to get into the game in order to be successful, how do you actually get in the game!

     How Do I Get in the Game

    1. Pay attention to your ideal demographic.

    Where do they live their social media lives? Are you after the 18-30-year-old female, Facebook, and Pinterest or Facebook and Instagram may be your wheelhouse. If they live their social lives on these platforms then you are more likely to engage them by posting and creating content within their social sphere that is informative and educational, as I always like to say you are aiming to edutain. I challenge you to pick and maintain two platforms regularly engaging customers.

    2. Define your brand and stay consistent

    Be Consistent with your brand on all your social media platforms on your website and in your physical location. Your brand is more than just your colors and your logo although they do help identify you online. Your brand identity includes what you stand for, how you do business, taglines, verbiage, and images that you use. All of this should a support your brand definition.

    3.But Why Your Brand?

    Once you have defined your brand, you then need to show customers why your brand is different. Why should they choose you over the other options? This is where you can really win on social media. A good starting point for any brand is identifying what the features of the products you offer. Then decide and highlight benefits customers can gain from those features and how they are different from your competitors. This is a much more in-depth topic that I will explain more deeply in a future blog post.

    4. Create a Schedule and Stick to It

    Post regularly and consistently for a long period of time. On top of posting of content, engage your customers, respond to every comment and thank them for being loyal customers with special promotions. Make them feel special and like they matter to you and your business because they should.

    5. Blog

    Here is an advanced tactic you should move to as soon as possible and that is to BLOG REGULARLY AND WITH EXPERTISE! I personally blog because I have opinions and I want people to listen to me! but any business should have a blog on their website where they are actively blogging and then sharing this created content with followers via social media.

    But any business should have a blog on their website where they are actively blogging and then sharing this created content with followers via social media. This helps define you as an expert in your field it helps you differentiate your business and it helps build customers for life. Customers value your knowledge and build a relationship with you when you provide valuable information to them that they can use.

    Yes, blogging can be difficult but think of your blog as the Thanksgiving turkey, then think of your social media posts as the turkey sandwiches. You can get a solid 10 social media posts from one well-written blog post that is chock full of information!

    6. Think About Standing Out

    Finally, take the time to think about how you and your brand can stand out on social media! What can you do that will capture the attention of others and set you apart in a positive way. How can you stand out? Better pictures? Cooler presentation? Eye-catching layouts? Bright colors? Hilarious captions? Being an educator? Being a great collaborator? Whatever it is that makes you stand out, whatever you believe is the biggest differentiator is your gold! Make sure you have content behind it but if you stand out and support that with real-life tangible things your followers will benefit from then you WIN because you captured them (standing out) and kept them (by engaging with great content)!

    So the challenge is to research what platforms you should be on for the most bang for your buck, then define your brand, and begin posting consistently for a long period of time. Provide useful and entertaining information to customers, not just a sales pitch, and finally begin to blog.

    If this is too much then look for some help around your town many small business offices offer classes on social media, I personally offer tools and calendars along with posting materials, many at low cost. There are also many tools on the Internet and Social Media Managers like myself that can help you tap into the social media economy.

    If you need help please reach out and we will get a plan together for you! Or get a free 30-minute Social Media Consultation Call!

  • Take Better Photos for Social Media

    Social Media Photography

    Let’s face it good photos are necessary for success. Instagram has forced us all to be better photographers, and some of us have been successful!  Others are still working on what it takes to snap killer social media pics. Today I am providing you with a few essential tips for taking better photos for all social media- because a better picture will help on all platforms! You are looking to capture clean, crisp images with a specific point of view and limited distractions!

    First things first, know your equipment and how to use all of its features. An iPhone can take amazing pictures in natural filtered light when used correctly. But it can take awful pictures that look grainy or over-processed if using the wrong settings. Get to know the camera you are using and take lots and lots of pictures with it, which brings me to my first and in my opinion my most important tip.

    Take More Photos Than You Think You Could Possibly Use

    The most important thing I can suggest is to take more pictures than you think you could need! If you follow the rest of the tips and tricks, then at least a few of the photos will turn out awesome. Plus even the most experienced photographers with the best equipment and most excellent cameras on a perfect day end up with a few awful photos! They won’t show you them, but I promise you this is true.

    The Essentials: Tips You Need for Killer Social Media Photos

    What else should you do to improve your photography skills? How about these tips:

    1. Make sure that your lens is clean and not cracked or obstructed.
    2. Steady your phone by bracing your arm against a table or use a tripod
    3. Come closer, no closer, no closer- yup right there is perfect
    4. Food- Life coach, lawyer, or chef; it does not matter food is a win on Instagram and other social media. Find a way to rotate it into your posts. After all, food is one of our 9 Essential Posts for Businesses on Social Media
    5. Use the grid feature in your camera app on your phone to straighten out the horizon and keep your followers from getting seasick.
    6. Embrace cloudy days; filtered light is perfect for photos
    7. Don’t over-edit your photos. Which is absurd coming from the king of overediting! But seriously, don’t go too far with the editing it makes it look grainy and odd unless you are going full-fledged nutty with them as I do.
    8. Tap the screen to hold the focus on your subject
    9. Try not to use the flash- be willing to redirect and filter light to eliminate bright and dark spots and shadowing.
    10. Are you taking a selfie? Turn your phone around its a better, more flattering camera.
    11. Learn the rules, take some great photos, then break the rules and take lots more photos but take a lot of photos! I mean it! Click Away!

    Staging and Presentation Tips

    1. Stage the photo and make sure that the foreground and background are clean and well-presented Take a few shots to look at them. Adjust lighting and correct issues. Repeat.
    2. Take the time to clean the surface, stage the photo, and eliminate the distractions like a dirty fork or crushed beer can.
    3. Stand on a chair above the subject of any flat lay photo, but make sure you aren’t casting a shadow on the subject.
    4. Take photos in front of cool things like murals and large-scale objects helps you focus and will draw the viewers attention
    5. Pay attention to framing and learn the Rule of Thirds which by many is considered the golden rule of photography- it helps you successfully find a way to direct your viewers to the subject of the photo while capturing a story or emotion. It’s applied by aligning a subject with strict guidelines and their intersection points made into squares, to allow an image to flow from section to section and creates energy and interest.

  • Sales & Engagement Up Due To Social Media Marketing

    Social Media Marketing is Increasing Sales and Engagement

    A recent report released by Social Media Examiner indicated that 74% of businesses using Social Media as a marketing tool saw an increase in sales. 91% saw an increase in engagement. But do these numbers tell the whole story?

    The Gap in the Numbers

    It takes time to develop meaningful relationships that lead to sales. Your followers may not be ready to make a purchase quite yet. They may have no intention of buying something. But they can still be loyal followers. Even if they aren’t buying from you right now keep the long term in mind. Treat them with respect. Provide them useful information. Entertain (or edutain as I like to say). That formula allows you to potentially have a loyal customer for life.

    The amount of time someone has been doing social media marketing also plays a role in the time utilized and success.

    A large percentage of marketers now know that you do not see immediate results with social media marketing. For example, more than half of marketers who’ve been using social media for more than 2 years report it helped them improve sales. More than half who spend 6 or more hours per week find the same results. 74% of those who spend 40+ hours per week earn new business through their efforts.

    Businesses Not Seeing An Increase

    What if you are on the opposite end of the spectrum? 48% of all marketers taking this survey report that social media has not helped them improve sales. Do these marketers have the tools needed to directly track sales? Many companies have gaps in their customer journey. This leads to being unable to truly track the actual impact of social media marketing on sales.

    Visibility and Exposure for Your Business

    What about increased exposure (getting more people in front of your profile and brand). The vast majority of marketers (91%+) indicated their social media efforts increased exposure for their businesses. Nearly all marketers (88%+) who’ve been employing social media marketing for 1 year or longer report it generates exposure for their business. So the challenge then becomes converting those followers to shoppers.

    Social Media is Not A Get Rich Quick Scheme

    Combine the right plan of attack with someone with experience managing your social platforms. Add in some great content and you can see success. Just remember building an audience and establishing yourself as an authority takes time. Stay in it for the long haul.