Social media — we all love to hate it. But in all reality, it’s one of the most convenient, not to mention (mostly) free ways to distribute content, reach new people, and engage potential clients or customers.

While Google boasts in being responsible for over 50% of total visits to websites, according to a recent study, social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter combined were not far behind, driving 30%.

This means there is a huge opportunity to increase your website traffic and ultimately your conversions through social media if you do it the right way!

Each social channel has unique tools and reaches a different demographic, so each should have a different strategy. For the best ROI, you’ll want to ensure you’re using the platforms where your target audience is hanging out and that while you’re there, you’re using that platform to its fullest potential.

With what seems like a constantly changing digital landscape, creating unique, targeted posts for each social platform may seem like a challenge, but trust us, it’s well-worth it. So we’re here to guide you through the process of creating a successful social media strategy tailored to each specific platform.

Facebook

Facebook has recently made it a bit more tricky for businesses to be seen without paid promotion, which is pretty frustrating to say the least, but growing your business on Facebook isn’t impossible.

You can definitely choose to boost posts and do paid advertising, but there are also a few free ways to get your business out there on Facebook!

We highly recommend joining local Facebook groups for networking purposes. This is one of the most important strategies on Facebook to increase visibility and referrals without paid advertising.

Getting website traffic from Facebook through sharing useful blogs and articles is another strategy we highly recommend. When sharing articles from your site, some additional tips for creating captivating and engaging Facebook posts include:

1. Create a click-worthy title
2. Add an eye-catching quote from your content
3. Use a list to break out some of your key points

Instagram

Instagram is obviously a more visual platform, and from main grid video & photo posts, Stories, Reels, and IGTV, you have a lot of options.

A new rising trend on Instagram is to utilize longer captions as a micro-blog post in order to share valuable content with followers.

Here are a few different ways you can make the most of Instagram:

1. Behind-the-Scenes: Is your team working on a fun project? Doing a team-building exercise? Watering your office plants? These are all fun things to share in short BTS videos.
2. Educational Tips & Tricks: With attention spans shorter than ever, if you want to keep your audience engaged, you should definitely be adding value to their lives. Give them a bit (but not too much ????) of your extensive knowledge of your industry. Get your audience wanting more! We’ve actually found the more you share, the more some people value your expertise enough to contact you and become a client.
3. User-Generated Content: You can encourage your audience to post about you on their own pages (AKA: User Generated Content) by sharing tagged posts on your own feed. Some studies show that user-generated content can grow an Instagram account by over 500 percent in a year.

LinkedIn

First let’s talk demographics: LinkedIn’s users are slightly more likely to be men than women, and most of their active users are over the age of 30. LinkedIn is a great place to share job openings, company news, and professional content. It’s also a great place to network!

Pro tip: If you want to drive engagement on LinkedIn, attach an image, a video, or a link to your website. In fact, according to LinkedIn, “images generally result in a 98% higher comment rate” and “links and videos that automatically play in the feed usually result in a 75% higher share rate.”

Final Thoughts

We know this list is by no means exhaustive, but we wanted to provide you with some nuggets of advice as you curate different strategies for the different social media platforms you use to grow your business.

And as you may have noticed, we didn’t mention Twitter, Pinterest, or TikTok. We know every small business is different, but right now, we currently do not recommend for small businesses who are trying to reach local audiences to spend too much time on those platforms, unless it is for a very specific reason.

Speaking of, we’re happy to chat more about that if you’d like to set up a free 20 minute social media strategy session.

From Jensen Karp’s large Twitter following, to his high profile connections, to his last name being Karp, to his famous wife’s last name being Fishel (we could go on…), the Cinnamon Crunch Shrimp fiasco was poised with potential to be the perfect storm.

The Back Story

If you need the full run-down on this situation, you can find that here.

But basically, Jensen Karp took to Twitter in March claiming that he found shrimp tails and what *looked* like mouse droppings in his Family-Pack of Cinnamon Toast Crunch from a local Costco. ????

Quick note to brands before we get into the nitty gritty: Of course, every customer is important. But… well… famous customers with large Twitter followings may warrant an extra bit of thought and planning. After all, every brand longs for celebrities to tweet about them and for the chance to “go viral” on social media, but not like this!

When any customer—but especially a celebrity—shares a shockingly negative experience online, there’s potential for a PR nightmare. Perhaps the most shocking part of this story, though, is that a brand as large as General Mills didn’t have a PR crisis team prepared.

In 2021, people expect prompt responses to their messages and questions. And we get it— the last thing a brand should do is respond too quickly to a negative review, with risk of emotions flaring. But there’s a fine line between taking the time to think of a professional response and well… taking so long that people become angry.

In this case, it’s not that the brand didn’t respond quickly, because they did. However, the replies were sent by lower-level employees who clearly didn’t have the tools necessary to properly handle the delicate situation. Higher-ups, on the other hand, seemed disconnected and unconcerned for far too long, allowing the whole issue to spiral out of control.

Let’s look at a few lessons from this event.

What Exactly Went Wrong?

It was obvious by the messages that this whole situation was initially (and poorly) handled by social media managers. So for many people, it was too little too late, when General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening finally appeared on CNBC later and said, ‘Based on the information we have right now, it is highly unlikely this occurred at a General Mills facility… So right now, we’re in the process of working with that consumer to try to figure out, kind of, what happened between when it left our docks and when he opened it.”

Here are the biggest mistakes:

1. The Brand Voice & Tone

Tone is a very big deal. This is true across the board in life but especially on social media. And the tone of all the replies to Karp was just… not right for the situation.

It seemed the Cinnamon Toast Crunch employees used the same exact tone and response to someone finding shrimp parts in their breakfast cereal as they would to someone upset that there wasn’t enough cinnamon for their taste. The response was definitely too light-hearted and the resolution they provided (another free box of cereal) was definitely not appropriate here either.

2. They Minimized Karp’s Complaint

At many points the employee(s) seemed to minimize Karp’s concerns, even telling him that they decided it was not shrimp. Do we even have to elaborate on how this was a mistake? ???? Probably not–and the result was exactly what you would expect. Karp was so upset that he continued to further investigate the box, and that’s when he found the alleged rat droppings. If they would have handled his complaint with care, he may not have kept digging (and posting). As a small business, how can you apply that? Always take complaints seriously even if you suspect they aren’t valid.

3. Social Media Managers Were Made to Act as Crisis Managers

One of the biggest lessons here is that social media managers should not be required to handle high-level complaints. And one of the biggest mistakes in this case was the amount of communication that happened before the situation was properly escalated. It’s important to train and empower your social media managers to quickly escalate cases that are clearly out of the ordinary or more serious, and then create a clear pathway and line of communication for them to do that. It seems like even Jensen Karp intuitively knew this:

How to Get it Right

1. Have Brand Voice Guidelines & Protocols for Different Situations

The last thing you want when you just ate rat poop is someone to seem super aloof or light-hearted in their response. The same is true for all sorts of situations your customers could be messaging your company about via email or social media. So, set guidelines for how your customer service or social media teams should respond to certain concerns. Or, have a plan in place to quickly handle more complicated situations from a higher level. Which brings us to…

2. Have a Plan to Quickly Escalate Emergency Situations

We recommend establishing a detailed crisis plan that is well-known to anyone who works on your company’s social media platforms. There needs to be a quick and clear pathway for employees to take when needing to alert the right people higher up in the organization who are poised to handle more potentially serious PR problems.

3. Have a PR Expert On Staff or On Call

PR can be expensive, but so is a PR nightmare. We think it’s a good idea to do your research and create a relationship with a good PR person/team, so you can utilize them quickly on an as-needed basis. Even if you don’t regularly need PR, have someone on call for times of crisis, and be ready to listen to and implement their expertise. Team Tangible loves that all of our ongoing clients feel comfortable to message us the minute they have a concern, so we can provide professional PR guidance on a small business level.

Brands Who Got it Right

To end on a positive note, we’re sharing our favorite potential PR fiasco that we think was handled quickly and immaculately: Enter CrockPot.

We don’t know if CrockPot had the PR team of the century on-hand or if they just had someone on staff who was smart enough to act as quickly as possible, but when (spoiler alert) what looked like a Crock Pot caught on fire and ultimately led to the death of one of television’s most beloved fathers on This is Us, the brand acted quickly on Twitter.

While this situation had the potential to crack even well-resourced brands, and most companies when faced with something like this could have been tempted to take a defensive stand (much like Cinnamon Toast Crunch), Crock Pot created a #CrockPotIsInnocent hashtag campaign that was handled extremely well. It was serious, but also fun. The brand also shared real statistics and safety information about their products, assuring their audience that:

  1. That no CrockPot has ever caught fire in the history of the company
  2. They perform extensive safety testing to ensure that they will not catch on fire
  3. That they will continue to test to make sure that it never does happen

They got their loyal CrockPot fans (and we all know some CrockPot enthusiasts…) to fight on their behalf using the hashtag. It was extremely well done and just fun enough, because after all, it’s television, and as a brand you don’t want to come across as TOO serious or TOO out of touch.

In fact, we did some research and it turns out that the Shorty Awards agree with us and even awarded them with first place for “Best Hashtag, Real Time Response.”

Final Thoughts

Every company needs a PR plan, even if you don’t have a PR team. And if you have the money, hire a good PR team. Otherwise, employees may be left winging it in a crisis and well, we’ve seen how that turns out.

In the age of the internet, even if something like this is a hoax, it still has the potential to ruin a brand depending on their response to it. When brands fail to be calm or empathetic, they can violate the trust of their followers and the price they pay can be big. This goes for both large and small businesses.

Your business may not be as large-scaled as General Mills, so maybe you think you don’t have to worry about something going viral… until a local influencer or a well-connected mom has something negative to say. Trust us. And make a plan!

If you need help, we’ve got you covered.

Press release pet peeves, press release pet peeves, press release pet peeves… try saying that out loud 3 times fast. For most people, writing a successful and poignant press release can be… well, even harder than saying “press release pet peeves” 3 times fast.

But that’s why we’re here! We’re going to tell you some concrete and easy (although we may be using that word lightly here…) ways to make your press release more effective.

If you’ve been stumped trying to get your big event, grand opening, or new product noticed by your local press, a lot of people can relate. It’s kind of a whole thing.

Thankfully over the years, we’ve learned (the hard way a few times) how to write a killer press release that gets your business noticed and, well, doesn’t peeve the people you’re sending it to.

So, here are the top five biggest press release mistakes (according to us) and what to do instead to catch that journalist’s eye:

1. Not Prioritizing the Title of Your Press Release

It’s easy to discount the importance of a title when you feel the press release speaks for itself, but journalists sift through hundreds of press releases every single day. So it’s SUPER important to grab their attention as soon as possible to avoid being tossed in the “not-newsworthy” pile. Basically, you want to click-bait them, without the click-baity-ness. (Is that a word????? )

The goal of your title should be to make it immediately obvious what audience you’re wanting to reach and why they need this information. PRO TIP: it can be extremely beneficial to update your title depending on the news outlet or audience you’re reaching out to. Your information might be useful to people of all ages, but the title needs to cater to the type of outlet that you’re hoping will share your story.

2. Including the Wrong Amount or Wrong Type of Links

Alright, this is where it gets tricky. You don’t want too many links… or not enough links… or links that don’t further your narrative. (How many times can we say, “links”?) Links are where a lot of people seem to either take it too far or just not put any at all. We’re here to save you from this blunder!

In 2021, press releases should no longer be written as though they’re going to be read off a sheet of printed paper. They’re going to be read digitally, so make them interactive! A great press release will be an interactive experience where the reader can move between reliable links embedded in the document, along with photos and videos that help in educating them.

We suggest using 2-4 links depending on the length and subject matter of your press release. Any more than that, and your hard work begins to look like spam, and your readers no longer take the time to follow any of the links. ????????‍♀️ It’s also important to be intentional when choosing your links. Before adding any link, make sure it’s relevant to your topic and your target audience, and that it adds value to your story.

When used correctly, links will boost audience engagement AND push more people to your website. (Yay!)

3. Only Using a Distribution Service

There’s definitely value in distribution services. Basically, distribution services work to distribute your press release for you. They allow your press release to end up in the inbox of hundreds of journalists and can lead to tons of backlinks for your website.

BUT

Distribution services are becoming less beneficial for small brands because they can get buried in a sea of PR from huge companies.

Instead, try to build relationships with journalists! Send personalized messages to offer product samples, interview quotes, and attached photos with your press release. Journalists love when you give them a story and all the elements they’d need to run with it right away. Try to make their job as easy as possible, and we promise it’ll pay off.

4. Lack of Focus

People often feel rushed when working on a press release, because as we all know, “time is money.” But in reality, a rushed, unfocused press release can be a huge waste of your time because it’s unlikely to ever gain any traction.

Many business owners can struggle to be direct and stay focused on the main goal of the press release. We get it. You’re not a writer, you’re a business owner! That’s ok. Here’s what we suggest: start with an outline that creates a story. The business, product, or event you’re promoting should be secondary to the main goal of creating something that people want to read. You need to have one subject, one idea, and one goal that you’re striving for with every sentence.

If there are multiple aspects that you need to promote, we suggest writing different press releases for optimal results.

5. Not Making it Topical

Is it NEWSWORTHY? Ask yourself this question at every stage of the writing process, because that is the question every journalist is trying to answer before they invest their time. The goal is to step back and look at it from the readers’ eyes. If you weren’t involved in the project or company, what would make you want to read about this topic? What do you think will get people really talking? Your press release must be valuable beyond just your own interests, because if it’s not, you risk damaging your reputation and even blacklisting yourself to journalists. (???? ) This might sound harsh, but they may not ever spend their time reading any of your future press releases as well once you’ve let them down.

So, our best advice is to spend some time reading topical news and try to find a new angle that people aren’t talking about yet. This automatically puts you a few steps ahead of the other 100 press releases in the journalist’s inbox. If you aren’t able to do this, show how a popular industry trend is related (even in a small way) to what you’re doing. There are lots of ways to make something mundane become newsworthy—celebrity endorsement, human interest, novelty/rarity, proximity, and more.

For example, the event at your business might not be newsworthy, so why not give a percentage of proceeds to an organization to a local organization with a great cause? Voilà! NOW people want to learn more about what you’re doing. Plus, you get to help people in the process.

Pro tip: Make sure to give to an organization you genuinely care about and want to support.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, our BIGGEST pet peeve is a press release that goes out before it’s ready. A good press release takes tons of time and energy, but when done correctly, they’re more than worth it!

And hey, if this is way over your head or if you need to stay focused on big picture business decisions, we can always help with PR for your next big adventure.

When it comes to owning a small business, you have to be good at wearing multiple hats and juggling multiple job titles. And oftentimes in a small business, your employees also get thrown into the exciting world of owning multiple roles. It’s great to have people on your team who can jump in wherever it’s needed, especially when it comes to marketing and social media! But, there are also challenges that come with having employees step into multiple roles.

If more than one person is writing your social media captions, blogs, and email marketing content, it’s important to establish content guidelines to make sure all of your content has a cohesive voice.

Why is a Cohesive Brand Voice Important?

If your content lacks a cohesive voice, you may be creating brand confusion or unintentionally coming across as inauthentic to readers. People want to connect to a brand in a personal way, so if your content feels disjointed or fragmented, your audience may not be able to figure out how to really connect to the “face behind the screen” and fully get on board.

Enter: Content Marketing Guidelines

A great brand feels like a friend you can connect with, and every brand wants to connect with their audience in a meaningful way! So if the person writing your brand content is inconsistent, don’t worry; this can be easily fixed with content guidelines!

Content marketing guidelines may be extensive for certain brands, while for others, it could simply be a one-page reference sheet. The depth of your brand content guidelines will depend on your content and your brand goals.

The 8 Elements Of Great Content Guidelines

1. Audience— The first and most important step when creating content guidelines is establishing who your target audience/market is. What do they like? How do they speak? How do they want to be spoken to?
2. Tone— Do you want your content written in first or third person? Would you like your blog posts, captions, and articles more fun and playful, authoritative, professional, or conversational?
3. Style— Do you follow AP or MLA style? List all of your grammatical preferences. (Oxford comma, anyone?)
4. Keywords— Create a list of main brand keywords and/or ideas that should be included or pulled from for content inspiration and overall brand voice.
5. Headlines— Make sure your content writers know the end result you desire and the action steps you want readers to take so they can include it within their blog titles or email headlines.
6. Copy Organization— Your readers are busy and have short attention spans, so it’s important to teach your writers how to create multiple section headlines in the copy for your audience to keep interested. Set guidelines for section titles, bullets, numbered lists, emojis, and paragraph headers that will keep re-engaging the reader on each platform.
7. Calls to Action— Make a list of go-to CTAs that can be dropped at the end of blogs, emails, or captions to inform your readers of next steps.
8. Internal Approval Process— Detail deadlines, timelines, how writers should submit their content, and what the process is for editing and approval.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to remember that nothing you create is set in stone— and it shouldn’t be! If things aren’t working, or you aren’t getting any engagement on what you keep putting out, switch it up. Just like any good brand, your content marketing guidelines will (and should) evolve over time.

And as always, we’re here to help! If you want help with creating your brand content guidelines, consulting with your writers, or even managing your content creation, we’d love to talk!

It seems crazy that it’s been an entire year since the pandemic started. Just think, a year ago we were all either binge-watching Tiger King in quarantine, learning a TikTok dance, baking bread, or becoming first-time plant parents. ????

Does anyone else miss in-person networking or big conferences? ✋????

Over the past year, virtual events have increased significantly, for obvious reasons. According to a survey by wirke.com, only 42% of organizations were holding virtual events before the pandemic, but now that number has doubled to 84%.

Those statistics are pretty hard to ignore. So what’s the big deal about virtual events and will they stick around post-pandemic? We happen to think they will, so we’re going to share a few insider tips & tricks to help you host a great one…

What Is A Virtual Event?

A virtual event is simply an event that’s hosted online through either pre-recorded videos or live streaming. Social media platforms have all upped their live streaming abilities in recent years, projecting the importance of virtual connection well before the pandemic. (Wait….. No let’s not go there.) TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are all great places to go LIVE for a virtual event, and each platform has its own pros & cons as well as its own target audience.

Why Host A Virtual Event?

Even though the pandemic has put virtual events in the spotlight (mostly because no other type of events were allowed ???? ), virtual events have always had benefits independent of social distancing, and they will continue to in the future. Hosting a virtual event can benefit your business because it can reach an audience that normally wouldn’t be able to attend an in-person event due to busy schedules, financial restraints, or physical disabilities.

As a small business, virtual events are a great way to talk to your audience without breaking the bank. They’re much more cost effective than in-person events because there’s not a physical space to rent out and well, wine and charcuterie are expensive… ????????‍♀️

Virtual events are often used for:

So, Now That You Know What A Virtual Event Is, How Do You Plan One?

Step 1: Create A Detailed Game Plan

Even if your event is in-person, it still takes planning! Having a schedule for the event will keep your team organized and ready to perform. (Pro-tip: If segments become too long, audience members may hop off the Live Event. Keep the event interesting by having a list of commonly asked questions to answer during a demo.)

It’s important to give your team specific roles for the event. The amount of people working an event will vary, but here are some examples:

1. A Camera Person – They should understand what angles are best for the event and to make sure the Live is running smoothly.
2. A Comment Monitor – It’s important to have eyes on the comment section so the audience can ask the questions and feel like they are participating.
3. A Director – This is one of the most critical positions during a Live because they make sure everything stays on schedule, they can give (silent) direction to keep things moving, and they can signal to the MC or host to give more energy.
4. An MC – This is your star! Whoever is the most comfortable giving energy, but also knowledgeable enough to answer questions about your business should be your go-to MC. (Pro Tip: Virtual Events require even more energy than in-person events. If you feel ridiculous, you’re probably giving enough energy for a virtual event.)

Step 2: Pick The Right Day And Time For The Event

Analytics and insights are your best friend. If most of your audience is working during the day and time you choose, the event won’t do as well! So checking your social media analytics will help you choose the best time for your specific target audience.

Step 3: Promote, Promote, PROMOTE!

Alright, this is the fun part. Promoting the event at least 2-3 weeks before is generally the best practice for a virtual event. If you promote too early, your audience may forget, but if you promote it last minute, they may not be able to make time to attend.

There are a lot of great ways to promote virtual events— Social media posts, email marketing campaigns, posting in local groups, and using interactive Stories are all great ways to promote for free! We happen to think promotion of virtual events should be done holistically, meaning use every channel you have to reach the most people.

Step 4: Make It Fun, Engaging, And Inclusive!

Since your audience isn’t in-person, it’s even more important to remember to include viewers in the conversation! Encouraging your audience to ask questions and holding small giveaways throughout the event will keep your them interested and most importantly, will keep them from X-ing out of the event to get back to scrolling their feed. Who doesn’t love free stuff? ????

Final Thoughts

One of the most critical pieces of advice we can give you is: have a practice run-through. During the run-through, you can get an idea of what needs to be changed before the event. Remember tripods for the cameras, make sure all batteries are charged, print out the schedules, secure a laptop & a phone to monitor how the event is going, and grab lots of coffee to excite your speakers. (Caffeine is a good idea, always. ☕️)

Problems are bound to happen, but you’ve got this!

We encourage you to consider adding virtual events to your marketing strategy to increase your brand awareness on a lower budget, reach new target markets, and overall to freshen up your marketing game.

Does this help? Let us know!

It doesn’t matter what size or even what type of business you own, influencer marketing can be a huge benefit to you. If you think about it, famous people have been selling things to the masses for years, whether through commercials or print ads. Influencers just represent a new age of celebrity, and compared to traditional celebrities or commercial actors, social media influencers are actually seen as much more relatable to the average consumer.

In fact, data from MuseFind shows 92% of consumers trust an influencer more than an advertisement or traditional celebrity endorsement. I mean come on, do you really think Jennifer Anniston colors her hair with an at-home box dye kit? ????

Influencers are seen as more trustworthy because they post real thoughts and moments from their daily lives, so their followers actually build a virtual relationship with them, so much so that many would consider themselves to be virtual friends!

Okay that’s all good and well, but what does it mean for your business?

Why You Should Work With An Influencer

Influencers can…

Okay that sounds intriguing…

6 Steps to The Perfect Influencer Partnership

So how do you actually BEGIN to work with influencers? We have 6 simple steps to get you well on your way!

1. Determine Campaign Goals

What are you trying to accomplish by working with an influencer? Brand awareness? Increase product sales? Encourage more user generated content? Before you can properly choose an influencer to represent your brand, you need to know exactly what you want your business to be known for and what you want to accomplish with your campaign.

2. Define Your Campaign Audience

What kind of audience are you trying to reach? It’s important to learn about and identify the exact type of customer you’re going after to help you determine what type of content and which influencer will best appeal to them. You likely know exactly who your target audience is, but you may need to dig a little deeper to understand what type of media your audience is consuming. You want your target audience to align with the influencer’s following.

3. Set Your Budget and Choose An Influencer Type

There are So. Many. Different. types of influencers on social media today, all with completely different followings. There are macro-influencers like actors or Youtubers who have MASSIVE followings, but if you’re not one of the few companies that can afford the $500,000 Kim Kardashashian reportedly charges for an Instagram post, there are other plenty of other options for you! There are also micro-influencers (i.e. stay-at-home moms who share their favorite life hacks with a couple thousand followers). Each type of influencer has its own benefits. So if you’re struggling to get responses from celebrities/influencers, or if they’re asking for more money than you have in the budget, micro-influencers can be a great option for you. In fact, they’re just as or even more effective because of the trust they’ve built with their following and their dedication to building a larger audience. Working with a micro-influencer also allows you to test multiple markets at once to see which get the best ROI. (You can also check out our blog on how to choose the right micro-influencer for tips on getting started.)

4. Choose Your Influencer & Review Their Work

After you find an influencer that works for your brand, take time to look over their page and try to get to know them. Look at what they are posting for other brands to make sure it’s high-quality and they keep their end of other deals they make! Then begin liking, commenting, and replying to their posts to get them familiar with your brand at least a few weeks before you message them. Make sure to include a unique message that directly references things they’ve posted in the past. Some influencers are being bombarded with hundreds of messages a day so you’ve got to find a way to stand out.

5. Finalize Campaign Expectations With Your Influencer

Alright, you did it. You have an influencer and they’ve agreed to post for you! You’re done, right? Unfortunately, not quite. You should be friendly, open to suggestions, but also be extremely clear what your expectations are for the campaign. (Pro Tip: get it in writing and have them sign it!) There’s nothing worse than spending weeks trying to find an influencer and then their post goes out with incorrect or insufficient information about your brand. Or even worse, they never even post (It happens A LOT unfortunately). Don’t forget to thank, compensate, and support your influencer’s posts even after the campaign is over! This helps to build trust with them to keep doors open in the future.

6. Measure Your Results

You’re almost done! Lastly, it’s a great idea to measure your results and determine the level of success you had in reaching your audience with the help of that influencer. How many people did it reach? How many of those people followed your brand after seeing the post? Did the campaign bring in conversions? If the influencer’s reach went above your expectations, make sure to let them know and show your gratitude! If it didn’t meet your expectations, it’s okay! Just take that information and let it guide your decisions going forward about who you choose to work with.

Final Thoughts

OK, so maybe it’s not THAT simple. Influencer marketing requires a lot of time and well thought out planning, but the ROI can be well worth it. If you need help, we’re always here for a one-on-one strategy session. Hit us up here.

If you’ve been in a #MOOD ever since Instagram took away the Recent Hashtags tab in November during the election and stayed there through what we’ll lovingly call the “December Drop” in engagement, we’re here for you. (Isn’t that what businesses are supposed to say now-a-days? ????) But for real… we are.

Every year in December, Instagram rolls out shiny, new changes to everyone’s favorite thing: the algorithm. Add in the distraction of holidays, and this leads to an annual period of low engagement across the board.

Is There Something Wrong With Me If My Engagement Is Down?

This is really annoying, but it’s nothing new, so trust us… there’s nothing wrong with you if your engagement has been down, and it will level out eventually. But in the meantime, we have some tips that may help you boost your engagement, and maybe even get it higher than it was before the recent slump!

Before we get to our #tips for boosting engagement, let’s bust some algorithm myths we’ve seen circulating the interwebs. Is it too soon to say #fakenews? Got it. Let’s get to the list.

The Current Top 3 Instagram Algorithm Myths:

Myth #1 — Instagram Will Punish You If You Edit Your Published Posts

There’s a rumor out there that Instagram will punish you if you edit a post after it is published. There’s even a popular post with what we’re guessing is just anecdotal evidence showing two posts with drastically different engagement, one of which was edited. Here’s the thing. Instagram will not punish you for using a feature they provided to help you. There is tons of evidence showing that editing posts doesn’t hurt engagement. And at the end of the day, if Instagram didn’t want people to edit their posts, they would have never added an edit button. Looking at you, Twitter.

Myth #2 — Instagram Will Punish You If You Use Too Many Hashtags

Here’s another case of “why would Instagram punish you for using a feature they provided?” Instagram currently allows accounts to use up to 30 hashtags per post. If they wanted you to use 10 hashtags, that would be the max. So our advice is to maximize reach by using as many hashtags as you can.

Myth #3 — Instagram Will Punish You If You Use A Partner App To Schedule Posts

Different rumor, same answer. Instagram allows a few official partner apps to schedule and auto-publish posts to their app. Official Partner is code for $$$. Considering Instagram is making money through these apps, it’s highly unlikely that they would punish the apps on their platform. That’s just bad business.

The Current Top 3 Instagram Algorithm Boosting Tips

Tip #1 — Be Consistent

It’s no secret that the algorithm encourages posting as much as you can. But if you don’t have the margin to post quality content every day twice a day (because literally who does?), the next best thing to posting all the time is to be consistent over time. Our advice is to post consistently at the same time over a long period of time, post 3x per week on the same days each week, or posting every other day. Do this for a while and see if anything changes!

Tip #2 — Use Reels

Specifics about the algorithm are usually debated, but one that is agreed upon across the board is that Instagram Reels are currently boosted and favored in the algorithm. If you’re not posting Reels, the algorithm is going to punish all your posts. If you post Reels, the algorithm will reward you with engagement across all of your posts, not just Reels. So if you have the margin, get your creativity on.

Tip #3 — Use #AllOfTheFeatures

Instagram likes when you use all of the things, and we mean all of the things. Feed posts, Stories, Reels, IGTV, Shoppable posts, lions, tigers, and bears… oh my, that was a dad joke. Sorry. Anyway, this includes special features on Stories like the “I Voted” sticker, polls, sliders, etc, etc. So buy in… do all the things… make a deal with the Devi— Okay too far. I think we may be in a #mood, too.

Final Thoughts

We know this seems like a lot. If you can’t do it all, don’t go crazy trying to keep up with the Algorithm Joneses. Just do what you can when you can. Try some of these tips. A little change is better than nothing. And as always, if you’ve thought about outsourcing social media for your own sanity and to maximize your ROI, we’d love to help!

Business owner, if you’re not utilizing email marketing, you may be missing out on a ton of new and even recurring business. In fact, according to a recent study, email marketing produces more conversions than social media, and email campaigns result in 28.5% higher ROI compared to direct mail.

While weekly or monthly emails are one of the most common ways for companies to update and connect with their audience, they can be difficult to pull off really well. You have to not only create compelling copy, but also use clear CTAs, design eye-catching templates that work across multiple devices, and more.

If that sounds like a lot, don’t worry. We’re breaking down the dos and don’ts of email marketing below—

The Top Four Do’s of Email Marketing

1. Use Eye Catching Design – Eye catching graphics are what pull the reader’s eye to your important email content. So, make sure your images and other graphics are bold and draw your readers attention to the content you want them to read.

2. Make it Mobile Friendly – Designing your email for mobile-first viewing is crucial in today’s world. It’s important to create an email design with a width of 600px to ensure it appears correctly on any screen size.

3. Provide Clear CTAs – Great content and design are super important, but they won’t ultimately close business. To drive conversions, your readers should immediately know what action to take next and how to take it through clear Call To Action buttons. The CTA button should be front and center and have straightforward expectations, such as “Read more,” “Download now,” or “Email Us.”

4. Send a Test Email – Always always always send a test email. Then go through it and double check every element of your email including grammar, typos, and links!

The Top Three Don’ts of Email Marketing

1. Write a Vague Subject Line – A great subject line often makes the difference between an open and a “Move to Trash.” You want to develop a subject line that’s both catchy and concise, with 9 words or fewer. The average modern consumer has an extremely short attention span, so your subject line needs to not only grab their attention, but also entice them to take the time to open your email and see what it contains.

2. Forget about Accessibility – Over 2.2 billion people live with a form of vision impairment, so accessibility online is super important. You want to make sure you don’t alienate members of your target audience, while also missing out on potential business. To learn more about online accessibility, you can read our Online Accessibility Blog!

3. Ignore the Metrics – Repeat after me: metrics are your best friend. Most email platforms provide free full analytics reports that can really benefit you. Checking your delivery rate, bounce rate, open rate, click-through rate, website visits, and more can help you see where you may need to improve your campaign!

Also, if you want to take a deep dive into analytics and really improve your campaigns, consider A/B testing your emails to determine the most effective subject lines, CTAs, time to send, and more.

Conclusion

Email marketing is a proven marketing tactic that can have a great ROI. But running a successful email campaign isn’t as easy as writing content and hitting “send.” Need some additional ideas for your next email campaign? We’d love to help!

Maybe you’ve been wondering how to effectively use Instagram Stories for a while, and now you’re overwhelmed with the newest Instagram feature, Reels. ????

Maybe you have no idea what types of content are better suited for each different feature on the platform. Why should your brand care about them? And, most important, how can you take advantage of these features to grow your business?

You’re definitely not alone! And we’re here to help. Let’s start from the beginning…

What Is an Instagram Story?

A Story is mobile content shared in vertical orientation that’s only visible for 24 hours once posted (unless it’s made into a Highlight). Stories formats include: photo, video, boomerang, text, GIFs, and livestream. You can then add filters, polls, sliders, stickers, GIFs, and text to make your Story stand out!

Why Use Stories?

The biggest positives of using Stories are:

  1. They’re given the highest priority spot when a user opens Instagram. Before a user ever scrolls, they have the option to view Stories, and many users watch Stories before ever scrolling down their feed.
  2. Stories are a full-screen format which allows for a distraction-free viewing experience. It’s a chance for your brand to take up a user’s entire screen, which is rare on social media.

F8 is an annual conference held by Facebook, intended for developers and entrepreneurs who build products and services around the website. According to a presentation from Facebook at F82019:

What Makes a Great Instagram Story?

Here are some tips for making great Stories directly from Facebook also shared at F8 2019:

  1. Get Creative – creativity can make or break your Stories.
  2. Use high-resolution Visuals – 56% of a brand’s sales lift can be attributed to the quality of the creative.
  3. Feel the Need for Speed – Capitalizing on quick, dynamic content allows brands to meet users’ expectations and sustain their attention. Think “burst mode” rather than “long take.”
  4. Keep it Vertical – Creating your content in a vertical format makes the most of the screen real estate you have available.
  5. Use Clear CTAs – As much as possible, give a Call to Action. The more clear it is, the higher the chance that you get the response you want.
  6. Test and Learn – Stories are a great chance for a free focus group. If you’re not yet seeing the results you expect, it’s definitely worth trying different things and switching it up to understand which stimuli your audience best responds to. Use Story Polls and Question Boxes to ask them what they want to see more of!

What are Reels?

Reels is Instagram’s latest feature that launched at the start of August 2020 to compete with the highly popular TikTok app. Instagram users can now create bite-sized videos sharing tips, inspiration, or light-hearted content.
What Should You Share in Reels?

Your Reels content doesn’t have to be brand new. You can use existing content from your blog, podcast, and social channels and simply adjust it to work well on Reels.

  1. Educational Content – Do you share informational or educational content in the captions of your main Instagram feed posts? Great. And if you’re not, you definitely should!???? Just take those points, condense them into bullets, and share them on a fun video!
  2. Behind-The-Scenes – Is your team working on a fun project? Doing a team-building exercise? Watering your office plants? These are all fun things to share in short BTS videos.
  3. Your Brand Differentiators – What makes your company unique? What sets you apart? Share that with your following in an engaging video!

Conclusion

Stories are tested and here to stay, while Reels are super fresh. The jury’s out on whether or not Reels are around for the long haul, but brands that invest in this trend will definitely reap the rewards in the algorithm! ????

But hey, don’t feel like you have to do it all. If the only time you can commit to Instagram is by posting regularly in your main feed, do that and do it well! If you have 3 minutes to film a quick “Hello!” on your Stories weekly or snap a pic of some new products when they come in, that’s great, too!

However, if you know you want to utilize these features to grow your brand awareness and your bottom line, but you don’t have the time to commit to it, a social media marketing company or freelancer can be a great asset for you!

If you’re a business owner, you probably know Google reviews are important, but you may not know how to get them.

If you’ve been stumped about how to get more positive Google reviews, we can help! We’re breaking down not only how to get more Google reviews, but also why you need them.

The Benefits of Positive Google Reviews

According to a recent study, 54% of consumers said that the average star rating is the most important factor when researching a company, while 46% consider the quantity of reviews as the second most important.

Google reviews are basically modern-day word-of-mouth advertising. They’re trust indicators for many online buyers, so in short, the higher quantity and quality of Google reviews you have directly translates into higher credibility for your business.

As you get more positive reviews, you should start to see several benefits for your business, such as:

How to Get More Google Reviews

Are you ready for the big secret? There are two extremely important steps to get great Google Reviews. Here they are:

1. Provide a Great Product or Service.

2. Ask for a Review!

That’s it. That’s the big secret. Seems simple enough, right? ????

Most consumers tend to be passive when it comes to leaving reviews, especially positive ones. Online shoppers are far more likely to leave a negative review if they have a horrible experience! So, if a business has hundreds of positive reviews, that probably didn’t happen naturally, they just simply took the time to ask for them.

So, if you provide a great service, you may just need to give your loyal customers a little nudge, and when you do, the majority of them will be more than willing to leave you a positive Google review!

Who Should You Ask for A Review?

Before you dive in head first and ask anyone and everyone in your database to leave you a review, stop and find your biggest brand advocates and most loyal customers first.

Once you have those initial reviews, you can spread out your “ask” to the rest of your database over several months. It’s important to mention that if you go from 0 to 100 reviews in a week, Google will flag this ‘unusual activity’ as potential spam, and it may hurt you more than help. So, play the long game and it’ll benefit you in the end!

How to Curate Your “Ask”

1. Keep it Simple – It’s no secret that people are less likely to read longer emails, so if you really want your audience to get to the CTA, keep it short and sweet!

2. Be Specific – If you want 5-Star Google reviews, ask for that! If you want Facebook reviews, ask for that. Be as specific as possible to get the results you’re looking for.

3. Show Appreciation – Make sure to thank your customers for patronizing your business. Let them know how much they mean to you! And don’t forget to thank anyone who gives you a great Google review, too.

4. Create an Easy Link – Don’t expect people to leave their email app, open a browser, type in “Google,” find your business, and click “Write a Review” on their own. That’s way too many chances to lose them in the process. ???? The fewer steps the better. Did you know you can actually provide them an easy link to click and leave a review straight from your email? It’s true. Here’s a quick how-to for that.

How to Handle Negative Reviews

We know what you’re thinking— What happens if you ask for reviews and get negative ones? That’s a legitimate fear… and the reality is, it’s somewhat unavoidable.

So, if you do get a negative review or two, don’t panic! We’ve got you covered. Check out our blog on how to manage negative reviews here.

Conclusion

If you’re not currently asking for Google reviews, it’s definitely time to start! It’s an easy way to increase your online visibility and conversions.

How much time should you spend getting good reviews? Simply decide how important they are for your business… and that’s how much time you should spend getting them. And we think they’re pretty important. ????

As always, if you need help with consulting on any marketing topics, or if you need to outsource email marketing or a Google review campaign, we’d love to chat!