Is Your Business Truly Social?
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Networking on August 7, 2012
This year, the Harvard Business Review analyzed the backgrounds of the CEOs and Directors of America’s largest companies and discovered that only 9 companies, 2% of the Fortune 500, are ‘highly digital’. It seems as though we all understand that social networking for companies is important, but when it comes to integrating social media into business practises, many companies just don’t go deep enough.
According to The Social Skinny, 65% of the world’s top companies have an active Twitter profile.
So how is it that only 9 of the top companies are rated as ‘highly digital’ by the Harvard Business Review? To qualify as ‘highly digital’ a company must generate a high percentage of revenues digitally; its leadership (both the CEO and the Board) must have deep digital experience; it must do business significantly enabled by digital channels; and must be recognized as transformational in its industry.
Many companies see social networking as an add-on to their marketing department. Something which they know they ought to have, but which they don’t necessarily accord a substantial amount of resources. It’s no surprise then, that many Board members of Fortune 500 companies don’t have a deep digital knowledge, even though this prevents them from becoming a truly social, and highly digital, company.
It’s also true that while many companies will have active Twitter profiles, they may not be using this channel to its best advantage. Without a thorough knowledge of social networking, many companies are just shouting their offers into the ether, with very little engagement or feedback from customers and associates.
So how can you create a truly social business?
You could take the time to read up on social media advances and techniques, and encourage your staff to do the same, then put that knowledge to use on your various platforms. Or you could bring in the professionals. Save your time and energy to focus on your products and services and let RoryMartin.com start building your social networking strategy.
Be Consistent in your Social Media Marketing Strategy
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing on July 30, 2012
As Seattle-based consultants for social media strategies, one of the most frequently asked questions we receive from clients is “How much time should I spend on social media?” and what usually follows is “How many times a day should I post to Facebook? How many times should I tweet? Am I Pinning too often?” Our response is always the same – stay consistent. Perhaps this doesn’t sound like a straight answer, but consistency in marketing wins out over gimmicks every time.
Creating consistently good blog and website content will bring people back to your site over, and over again. Even if social media didn’t exist, people still have this habit of talking to each other about consistently great articles, videos, questionnaires or giveaways. A giveaway might sound like a flash-in-the-pan strategy, but not if you make it a regular feature every time a new product comes out. Customers will flock back, hoping to win that great new item, every time. Set yourself a schedule and post certain articles and videos regularly each week or month. This encourages your audience to return at certain times, whether prompted to by social media or not.
Handily, social media does exist and brands need to be consistent there too. It’s really no use setting up profiles on all social media platforms and then never updating them, or updating them sporadically. If people choose to follow or Like a brand, they want to know they are going to receive up to date information, regularly. If there are no updates on your Wall for the past three days, they’re going to look elsewhere. For optimum engagement on Facebook, post 2-5 times per day, but what’s more important on social media is frequency of updates. Post, tweets and updates should be spaced out throughout the day and evening (and night, if parts of your audience are in different times zones) so that followers and fans have less cause to feel annoyed and overwhelmed by a sudden influx of updates over the space of an hour (your allotted time that week to ‘do’ social media).
There are plenty of tools available to help businesses and companies to schedule their content and social media updates, or you can arrange a meeting with one of our Seattle social media experts to talk you through a consistent and engaging social media strategy.
What Can Social Media Marketing Do For Your Business?
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing on July 23, 2012
There are plenty of businesses who jumped on the social media marketing bandwagon, set up accounts on every platform they could name, and then expected followers to appear and sales to skyrocket. When this doesn’t happen, many companies give up on social media, claiming that it “doesn’t work”. And they’re right. Just joining these platforms won’t “work” to make sales, there is so much more to be done before that will happen. It may even be that a company never achieves a direct sale from their social media presence. Why is this? What does social media marketing actually achieve?
The first thing to understand is that regular people don’t use social media as customers. They use it as a way to connect, and as we’ve seen through the Social7 program, they use it to build community. People use Twitter to talk about what they’re thinking, when they’re thinking it, and read their friends thoughts too. They use Twitter to catch up on the latest global news, and to feel a part of a larger conversation. People use Facebook to see what their friends and family have been up to, to share cool, funny links they’ve found, and to upload and view holiday snaps. People don’t tend to head to Twitter or Facebook thinking, ‘I’m going to make a purchase today, let’s see what’s being sold on Twitter and Facebook’.
This is why sales streams don’t “work”; because businesses are using social media the same way they would use a billboard or a banner ad. These methods of advertising tend to have captive audiences – commuters stuck in traffic or sat on trains, blog audiences & website visitors. Social media is all about choosing whose updates you see. When someone agrees to Like or Follow a company which then pushes the hard sell, the Unfollow button is right there, waiting to be pushed.
The key to a business having a presence on social media is to first understand why people are there in the first place – as connectors. People like to share what’s going on in their lives, and they do this on social media. They might @ mention the brand of a great dress they bought, or a new brand of ice-cream they tried, or even where they got their concert flyers printed. Their followers click through the mention, see the brand’s feed, and maybe go to their website. Social media is really about giving current customers the capability to be brand ambassadors. Companies can leverage the networks of their client base in order to gain wider brand exposure, and potential new customers – even without hundreds upon thousands of actual followers. And this is how social media “works” to create sales.
Do you use social media to promote your business? How do most people interact with you on these platforms? Are you thinking of using social media marketing? Get in touch with our Seattle web marketing experts to arrange a consultation today.
Social Media Marketing and Content Marketing: The Difference
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing on July 9, 2012
When we at RoryMartin.com talk about social media marketing, we often conflate that with content marketing. While they are both used to the same end, there are some subtle differences which it pays to be aware of.
Content marketing is about drawing attention to the content on your website, and is done through blog posts, infographics, videos – whatever content aligns with the branding of your business. Social media marketing is about encouraging engagement on the various social media platforms which are out there. You can already see how easy it is to conflate the two. Of course, social media marketing promotes the content which is on your websites, and we work to make sure that the content goes viral. In order to do this, however, we need to understand the differences between the two types of marketing.
Firstly, it is necessary to have interesting and engaging content on your company website in the first place. No matter how much a post or product is plugged on social media, there will be no retweets or shares if the content doesn’t excite people. What’s new in your industry? Can you put a personal spin on it? Is there anyone you could invite to comment on a certain topic? What happens when you put your product in a blender? Can you get a cat involved? (Not in the blender, please.) Maybe you think your niche is tapped out for new things to say, but be assured, there is always another angle for what you are saying.
Secondly, you could have the most fascinating video in the world on your website, but it’s useless if nobody ever hears about it. We use social media to get the word out that this exists, and people need to see it. How is your network these days? Are you promoting other people’s work and informing your followers about fresh facts and photos? Are you engaging with other people in the way that you hope they will engage with you? Social media is definitely not a place of something-for-nothing. We hope that people will love our fantastic content enough to share it because of what it is, but users are much more inclined to pass on the work of someone who has supported them, too.
Thirdly, we need to be tracking statistics. Even when you have achieved that perfect balance of fantastic content and a healthy, engaged network, it’s still possible that some updates will tank and seem to be ignored. There could be any number of reasons for this, but by keeping an eye on sharing and engagement statistics, you’ll be more aware of why this might happen.
We hope that by remembering the differences between content marketing and social media marketing, you’ll develop that healthy, engaged network which just loves to share your insightful content, but if you find that one or the other is off balance, get in touch with our Seattle social media and content marketing experts today.
Create a Long-Lasting Social Media Strategy on Facebook
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Networking on July 6, 2012
RoryMartin.com team is here to help businesses succeed in the world of social media, social networking, and web marketing; we’ve got a few questions you should ask yourself to help your business create a long-lasting social media strategy using Facebook.
Is Facebook really where your business needs to be?
This is a question that many businesses never asked themselves, in their hurry to jump on the social media bandwagon with everyone else. There are many, many businesses on Facebook with abandoned profiles, who decided that they should be where everyone else, but then didn’t immediately receive the influx of positive feedback which they were hoping for. Is Facebook really the right platform for your business? Or is it that your business isn’t making the best use of Facebook?
Is my target demographic on Facebook?
Sure, Facebook has over 900 million active users on a monthly basis, so statically speaking, there must be some people using Facebook who are interested in what you’re saying – but how many of these users are your targets compared to how much time you spend creating the perfect Page? Once you’ve ascertained whether your target market use Facebook, and how much, then you need to ask…
When does my potential audience use Facebook?
Thanks to EdgeRank, it’s likely that only 17% of people who have Liked your Page are actually seeing your updates in their timeline. This percentage drops after every update which doesn’t receive Likes or Shares. If even less people see them to begin with, there are going to be even less interactions. You could be crafting the perfect update but if you post at 9am when your audience is mostly active after 7pm, then that’s an incredible amount of traffic which you’re immediately missing out on. In order to create that perfect update though, you need to ask…
Why does my target market use Facebook?
Do women over the age of 50 use Facebook to follow businesses? Are they active on company Pages? Or are they just staying in touch with their grandchildren and cooing over family photos? You need to find out why and how your potential audience uses Facebook – and harness that knowledge to work for you. Do they prefer to share interesting links to content, or Like images of animals skateboarding? Would they rather help you come up with a punchline to a joke, or enter a competition to win vouchers for a family day out? Once you know how they are using Facebook, you can create targeted content, dedicated to engaging your prospective market.
Finally, you need to ask…
What do I want my audience to do on Facebook?
It’s easy to forget that a Like doesn’t equal an opt-in. People who Like a page are not a captive audience, on the edge of their seats waiting for the next update from your company. Using the data from the answers to the above questions, you can create targeted updates and start tracking that data. This can show you the progress towards your goals – what you actually want to achieve with all this Facebook activity – and help you work towards measurable ROI in terms of customer satisfaction, customer acquisition and brand integrity.
When you have answered all of these questions, then you can start to build a long-lasting strategy on Facebook. Not sure where to start? Email RoryMartin.com today for a social media consultation, or to speak with one of our web experts.
Dos and Don’ts of Social Networking
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Networking on July 3, 2012
For a good social media strategy, there’s no make-or-break way to be truly successful. However, being successful at this type of social networking requires a little finesse (and a lot of patience). We’ve got some tips for both companies who are just finding their niche, and established businesses who want to see more ROI from their networking efforts.
Do Give Your Brand a Personality
People, especially on social media, like to connect with people. Come up with a persona for your business, and stick with it. Followers and friends then know what to expect from your feed, and feel more like their connecting with some*one* rather than some*thing*.
The bonus is that having a personality – and a personable networking account – builds trust and authenticity. Trust and authenticity are 2 of the cornerstones of any great social campaign.
Don’t Go Straight For the Hard Sell
Would you ever start a conversation at a networking event with “Hi, have you bought our product yet?” No? Then don’t do it online either. People like to be introduced to a company on social media networking sites before they trust or value them enough to connect.
This also draws us towards our next point – users don’t respond as well to self-promotional talk, as they do to conversation.
Do Start Conversations
You want more information about your client base; people love to talk about themselves. Ask a few questions about contentious, but relevant, topics, and soon you’ll have a full-scale debate on your feed. As a bonus: people will feel more warmly towards your brand, because you actually care what they think.
This is also a great time to show off your customer service skills by engaging and responding in a professional, friendly, and timely way.
Don’t Be Boring
Have you ever been stuck at a cocktail party with the self-absorbed bore who won’t stop going on about their own personal woes? It’s not fun for anyone. Provide value with your feed – link to interesting, informative and relevant content which your followers will value – and even share!
Don’t Use a ‘Comedy’ Photo
While it might be tempting to portray your company’s sense of fun with a photo of Dave in a cardboard crown, remember that people want to believe that you are capable of handling their complaints, inquiries and orders in a professional manner. Unless you are an actual clown, just the company logo or a serious head and shoulders shot will do.
Of course, being too stern in photos can also have repercussions. You want to seem approachable, as well as professional.
Do Have Fun
People turn to social media to enjoy themselves, so go ahead and link to that skateboard otter story for a little light relief. Extra points if you can find something life-affirming or giggle-worthy which is relevant to your marketing pitch.
Still not sure how to make friends and influence people using social networking sites? Get in touch with our Seattle social networking experts today, to improve your business connections.
How to Opt Out of Facebook’s Email Program
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Networking on June 25, 2012
Logging into our Facebook this morning, we realized our email address had been changed to the new Facebook default address – an email@facebook.com account. We realize that many FB users probably don’t utilize Facebook’s messaging system. This is especially true, since as one Forbes writer put it: “social network’s screwy messaging system … auto-sorts your email for you, putting emails from ‘strangers’ in a shadow inbox that’s easy to miss.”
Whether you opted for an @facebook.com email address or not, you now have an email address with Facebook. Facebook has stated that they’ve done this to make their branding (including email addresses) consistent sitewide. Don’t fret, though – it’s easy to opt out. They’ve also added a setting that lets people decide which addresses they want to show on their timelines.
How to Opt Out of Facebook’s email addresses.
Go to your Timeline and click “about”, under your contact info. Scroll down to “Contact Info” and hit edit. For the email addresses you want visible, switch the crossed out circle symbols to a full circle. For the email addreses you DON’T want shown, including the @facebook.com address, switch the setting from a full circle (“Shown on Timeline”) to the crossed out circle (“Hidden from Timeline”). Click save, and you’re ready to go!
As Gizmodo notes, “This is also a good opportunity to check your privacy settings and make sure your various inboxes are visible only to friendlies.”
What do you think about this change? Was it necessary? Do you wish Facebook had left your email alone? Tell us below, in the comments.
Content Marketing For Search Engine Optimization
Posted by Rory Martin in Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing on June 20, 2012
Will content marketing ever replace traditional methods of garnering attention for your brand? This is a question which raises a lot of ire on the internet, as traditionalists point out that blogs and social media will never have the reach of an advertisement placed during the Super Bowl (as if every company can afford to do that!) and content marketers and search engine optimization specialists, like the team at RoryMartin.com, retaliate with the fact that people use search engines before doing anything: buying a product, booking a holiday, hiring a service, going out for dinner.
When people are using search engines to help them make all of their decisions, then your company needs to be ranking high for the keywords they’re plugging in. Content marketing is a part of search engine optimization, and it works like this:
Search engines love fresh content
We all assume that the latest news must be the most accurate, and so does Google. Having a blog which is updated weekly is the perfect way to start your journey to the top of the rankings.
Search engines search for authoritative sites
The way that a website’s authority is measured can vary between search engines, but a big part of authority is how many people are sharing your content. It’s unlikely with a static site that you’ll frequently get enough people linking to your page on Super-Cool Jacuzzi X9500 to boost it up the search rankings – unless you have an offer on! – but if you wrote a blog post about how to clean it, or the latest celebrity to purchase it, then you might find a lot of interested readers deciding their networks would be interested too. Social signals are very important in the early stages of ranking. If your article gets shared by many influential people, you get a higher exposure for a limited amount of time.
Search engines value consistency
Social media shares will boost your page rankings for a certain period of time. This is usually about a week, depending on how large your network already is, and where the post is being promoted. If your article is good, though, this is about the time that people will start linking to you.
There is no long-term ranking without links from one site to another, but if you are publishing new content weekly and it is being shared regularly, then your website should remain consistently ranking highly for your chosen keywords. In fact, you can choose different keywords to rank for each week!
Content marketing also builds familiarity, likeability and trust among current customers, potential customers and most importantly, people who interact online with potential customers. If you need to determine a content marketing strategy, RoryMartin.com’s social media and SEO experts can help.
Create a Cohesive Social Media Brand for Your Business
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing on June 14, 2012
People who come across your content online should be able to recognise your brand immediately, whether or not your logo or company name is there. This is what we call social media branding and it’s implemented across all your social media platforms -from Twitter to your blog, from Instagram to Pinterest – creating a brand personality.
If you have a good marketing campaign in place, then you know your target demographic, and hopefully you’ll have a tone set for your advertising, but what a lot of companies forget is that branding goes so much deeper than the font you use in your posters. Branding is in the way your employees answer the phones. Branding is in the way your shop staff greet customers. Branding is an on-going process, and it happens every time a potential customer or client interacts with your business.
The question which you need to ask yourself is: Does my brand have a personality?
And the second question you need to answer is: Is that personality cohesive across all our social media platforms?
Many companies use the different platforms in different ways, and this is recommended as users go to Facebook for a different experience than Twitter, or Pinterest. However, in trying to appeal to the varied ways in which people use social media, a company’s personality, or branding, can get lost in the haste to gain ‘Likes’ or get ‘Pinned’. It may even be that what ‘works’ in gathering this validation does not actually fall in line with the company’s values.
Perhaps your target demographic are adventurous and fun-loving, but you suddenly receive a lot of likes on Instagram for a photo of your boss’s dog. So naturally, you start sharing a few more photos of the dog because it gets good engagement. Adventurous, fun-loving people love dogs too, right? Except, you sell climbing gear and no-one’s ever scaled Mt. Everest with a dog. (Not with its own crampons, anyway.) People who start to follow you on Instagram who love dogs then go to your website, which is dog-less, and they get upset. People who add you on Instagram because they enjoy your funny climbing stories on Twitter get confused because all they’re seeing is dog pictures.
This is the time to sit down with your social media manager and discuss a cohesive brand identity for your social media marketing. When you decide what your brand personality is (and this might be different from your target demographic’s qualities) then anyone should be able to run any of your social media accounts using this information as a touchstone. Every tweet, photo, update, link and pin should reflect your brand identity, to the point where customers and internet users are able to recognise your signature style without having to see your logo or company name.
Use Instagram to Promote your Brand
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing on June 4, 2012
You probably heard about Facebook purchasing Instagram for a cool $1 billion back in April, and you probably already have a Facebook page for your business, because that’s where all the cool kids are at, right? So now that Instagram has accepted Facebook’s friend request, how can you use Instagram as a part of your social media strategy?
The best part about Instagram for businesses is that it can be seamlessly incorporated into your current social media campaigns. The app allows you to share your photos via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Posterous and Foursquare simultaneously, so you can take one photo, render it beautiful/quirky/vintage with Instagram’s processing features and share it immediately with all your followers on each of these platforms, all from the comfort of your phone.
When it comes to the actual photo, it isn’t necessary to snap the pic through the Instagram app. It’s possible to use photos taken previously through the phone camera, or even upload photos from your computer to your phone and pass them through Instagram. If you’re running an advertising campaign and want to get some high-quality snaps out there on the platform, that’s the way to do it. However, Instagram users prefer real-time shots of actual events, so if you, or someone in your company, is present at the shooting of an ad, a behind-the-scenes sneak-peak might just make more of a splash than a photo which they’ll soon be seeing on billboards everywhere anyway. Major events are getting on board with this idea, even going so far as to employ teams of people to snap away behind-the-scenes, creating an instant avenue for users to talk about the attendees.
Creating user-generated content is easily done with Instagram too. Tiffany’s used the hashtag capability in a recent promotional campaign, asking users to tag photos ‘trueloveinpictures’ and then creating a microsite showcasing the photos; a site which generates droves of traffic, daily. Tiffany’s has created a relationship with Instagram users, while receiving free content and a whole heap of publicity. It’s a perfect example of the possibilities which Instagram provides for businesses.
Do you think that Instagram is a good way to promote your brand? How would you use it?
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