by admin | Sep 30, 2019 | SocialEyes
Remember
when traditional marketing was the only way to promote your business?
Business owners would buy newspaper ads, billboards, bus stop ads, and drop
flyers at every doorstep. Snail-mail promotional flyers were considered
high-tech. While some might sigh, longing for the good ole’ days, others are
flourishing in the new age of marketing. Today, we have amazing online tools,
like social media, to promote our businesses to the exact people we want to.
Here are some of the other reasons why brands keep moving their marketing
budgets out of traditional marketing and into social media.
Targeting to the Extreme
How
do you target with a bus stop ad? If your target customer is middle-aged men,
how can you ensure that demographic sees it the most? You can’t. Targeting in
traditional marketing only works if you’re targeting a specific neighbourhood
or city. Any further specifications aren’t possible.
Social
media and digital marketing have changed the targeting game. You can set the
parameters of your Facebook ad to only show up on the feeds of men of a certain
age with a certain profession and certain income level. You can even set your
ad to target people with specific interests or buying histories. That’s
incredible for your return on investment. The money you spend on social ads
gets utilized as efficiently as possible.
Analytics are Everything
When
you buy a paper ad in a magazine, how can you tell how many people read it? Can
you calculate how long most people stayed looking at the ad before flipping the
page? No! With social media ads, you can determine both of those metrics. You
can count how many people saw your ad, clicked it, shared it, or engaged with
it. Then, you can see how many of the people that clicked your ad purchased
your goods or services. This is crucial for knowing which ads work for your
audience and which get less engagement.
Reporting for Future Planning
Since
your analytics are constantly and automatically being tracked, you can create
reports weekly, monthly, and yearly. These reports are amazing for showing
which marketing campaigns have been successful and why. You can see the promising
trends in your content. For example, you might notice in your monthly report
that your Instagram posts that included a person’s face in the image got higher
engagement. Or, that Facebook posts that were written in the first person
received more comments. By reviewing this month’s social media report, you can
plan an even more successful content calendar for next month.
Sure,
you can create reports for your traditional marketing campaigns. Before the
internet, brands would pump out paper ads for a month and then hopefully see an
increase in sales. But, there was no feedback on which specific ads caused the
influx or why. Traditional marketing reports are far broader than social reports
based on analytics.
It’s
no surprise that more businesses are transferring their marketing budgets from
traditional marketing to social media marketing. If you’re curious about making
the change, contact us.
by admin | Sep 30, 2019 | SocialEyes
Three
months ago, Instagram rolled out a pilot project in Canada to hide the number
of likes on all posts. For mental health advocates, this was a huge win. When
you don’t know how many likes your peers’ posts are getting, there’s less to
compete with. But, what about the Canadian businesses that once used this
metric to determine the success of their campaigns? This change has left
marketing directors and social media managers at a loss. With the ever-changing
landscape of Instagram, here’s how to keep utilizing this free resource for
your business.
Hiding
likes have changed the algorithm Instagram uses to organize feeds. Before,
posts with very high metrics would be shown to more people. Without likes, how
does the algorithm work? Well, no one knows for sure. But, we can deduce that
it favours direct engagement more now. That means brands need to focus more
on receiving comments, starting discussions in the comments, and encouraging
the sharing of content.
Having
a solution to focus on takes away some of the stress marketers were feeling.
Sure, no one can see the like count. But that seems to be okay because users
are clicking the heartless and less. Instead, users are commenting on posts that
spark their interests, even if it’s with a simple thumbs-up emoji.
There
has been some anxiety over the assumption that Instagram is changing the
algorithm to favour paid ads instead of free posts. For small businesses with
small marketing budgets, this is worrisome. There’s no doubt that paid ads were
successful before, but brands could also be successful without them. Now, it
seems you’re better off if you do a mix of both. Some experts recommend making
one out of three posts paid. If that’s still not feasible for your
marketing budget, experts recommend placing more effort into making posts
primed for engagement.
What
does that mean exactly?
It
means creating posts that spur engagement, like discussions and shares. Treat
your Instagram feed like an extension of your email newsletter. The focus is
always on adding value to your followers’ lives, not spamming them with sales
copy. Does that mean you can’t talk about your products or services? Of course
not! Just don’t talk about them in terms of sales; your call to actions shouldn’t
be encouraging users to buy your goods. Instead, create content around the
purpose of your offerings and the problems they solve. Call to actions
should pose questions that spur discussions in the comments or encourage shares.
Post content that your target audience wants to read, even if it’s not directly
promoting your business.
The
learning curve of Instagram for business is ever-changing. The moment you feel
like you have a handle on it, it changes. It’s important to be adaptable and
committed to learning; get comfortable with rolling with the punches. Instagram
is still an amazing resource for marketing if you adapt your strategies to its
changes.
For
expert guidance on rolling with the punches and improving your Instagram
marketing plan, contact us.
by admin | Sep 6, 2019 | SocialEyes
Social media has changed the game for businesses everywhere. Suddenly, business owners can connect with thousands of potential customers without even opening their doors. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have created space for brands and consumers to socialize and build relationships. These relationships and connections lead to trust, which can lead to sales.
Unfortunately, many business owners underestimate how long that process can take. The crux of successful social media marketing is networking and nurturing, both of which take time.
Forging Relationships from Scratch Takes Time
There’s a reason most people don’t get married after the first date. You don’t know the person well enough; you don’t know if you can trust them or will even enjoy spending time together.
The same thinking applies to social media marketing.
Why would a user buy something from you when they don’t know who you are, if they can trust you, or if they’d even like your products? For them to answer those questions, they need to feel a connection with you.
Building their trust takes time, effort, planning, and genuine care. You need to be transparent and authentic in your online presence so they can see who you truly are. The most successful social brands view their followers as friends and part of their tribe.
Of course, building so many deep connections will take time. Once you put in the work, these followers become loyal ambassadors for your brand.
Proving Your Value Takes Time
“Add value” is another buzzword phrase in digital marketing. The idea is that providing value to your potential customers makes them value you. It can help them trust you, see your authority, and genuinely like you.
However, adding value isn’t as simple as creating a free e-book and promoting it on social media.
You have to think outside the box. Here’s an example. If your business sells Christmas trees, posting about the trees you sell isn’t adding value to their lives. However, discussing how they can save money on decorations during the holidays does add value. Showing how they can help less fortunate families get a tree adds value. Showing them new and trendy ways to dress a tree adds value.
This is a lesson in content marketing. Understand what your target customer finds value in and start creating it for them. Over time, and as you provide more and more value, users will care about what services or goods you also provide.
Sticking With It Takes Time
Regardless of the algorithm each platform uses, consistency gets rewarded. When you post quality content every day for years, it shows in your engagement rates and sales.
So, how long do you have to be consistent for?
Social media isn’t a one-and-done marketing tactic. That’s why successful brands hire a social media agency or social media manager to work on their pages full-time. The more content you post, the more chances users have to see it on their newsfeeds. If the content you post each day is high-quality, authentic, and adds value, you’ll gain followers and eventually, increase your sales.
Plus, consistency shows users that you’re reliable and active on the platform. By being consistent (posting, commenting, liking, outreach, etc.), you create more opportunities to build relationships with users.
For as long as you care about growing your business, be consistent on social media.
If you’re ready to step up your brand’s social media game, remember that success takes time. We can help you improve your social media marketing; contact us to learn more.
by admin | Aug 13, 2019 | SocialEyes
Digital marketing is an ever-changing landscape that can be tough to navigate without the right resources. However, thanks to an ever-growing market there are plenty of companies that work to help businesses create engaging, interesting content. We’ve gone through several programs and resources for you and have selected our top 3 digital marketing apps/programs, focused on content creation and planning, to help you get the best tools for your business quickly!
Promo
Videos are a great way to break up static content and deliver information to your audience, and Promo is a great resource for people who want to create high-quality videos to use for advertising, product or service explainers, and social media content. Their library contains tons of footage, copy and music that you can choose from and edit to suit your own business. There’s also support for various aspect ratios so you can ensure your content looks great on whichever social media platform you’re using. Additionally, the online video editor streamlines the process so that anyone can create beautiful content quickly – regardless of your experience or skill level working with video content.
Story Maker
To give your Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook stories a boost, Story Maker is a great option to expand on and polish your ideas. The app offers a catalogue of 50 templates, stock images, backgrounds, and fonts to enhance your content and create professional stories, with the option to purchase additional resources in-app. Import your high-quality images and take advantage of the options within Story Maker, including unique photo framing options and combination templates, to make sure your stories catch the attention of your audience right away.
Planoly
Designed to make organizing and planning Instagram content easier for users, Planoly is a great multi-tool for both new and experienced Instagram users. The app features a drag and drop grid system that lets you determine how your feed will look before posting, and the scheduling and auto post features ensure that your stories and posts go out to the world exactly when you want them to. Planoly also supports audience engagement with a separate comment section, making it easier to connect with your followers. If you’re interested in tracking Instagram analytics, the app will generate the top five most liked and commented posts, respectively, on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Plus, if you find you prefer working from a computer, Planoly supports mobile and desktop use.There are plenty more apps centred on digital marketing, so if you find that you would like even more options when it comes to content creation feel free to combine our top three picks with your favourite apps! And if you find that digital marketing isn’t something you enjoy doing, or if it’s outside your comfort zone, you’re not alone – it can be a difficult field to navigate. If you need help with content creation and getting your digital marketing plan organized, contact us today.
by admin | Jun 12, 2019 | SocialEyes
When Instagram was created, the coolest features were the filters and frames. You could post “instant” memories to your feed for your friends to see. Today, the platform is increasingly used for business and influence. Hence, the hidden likes test and development of business accounts. If you thought the hidden likes test on Instagram was big, just wait. There are even more interesting tests and developments coming down the pipeline. These two new changes target today’s users: businesses and influencers.
1. Like Separation by Time
The more you know about your audience, the more you can optimize your profile for them. That’s why Instagram Insights tells you when your audience is most active on the app. You can see which days have the highest reach and the age range of your followers. This new change will only improve your ability to learn about your users.
When you want to see how many likes your post has, you click the bolded text beside“Liked by.” With this upcoming feature, you’ll be able to see which likes have come in most recently. Instead of one giant tally of every user that likes your post, you can see who liked it and when. They’ll be separated by “New” and“Earlier” sections. This is immensely beneficial for businesses that want to engage with accounts that engage with them. It can teach you the types of posts certain followers interact with and when. Albeit a small change, it could be huge for social media strategy.Unfollow Counts
2. Unfollow Counts
Instagram provided the platform for a career that has never existed in history: the influencer.High-profile users, like influencers and celebrities, are eligible for Creator Accounts. These accounts come with specific insights that dive deeper than the insights for Business Accounts. One of the new metrics slowly being rolled out are unfollower counts. Until now, you could only see how many followers you gained in a period. By doing some basic math, you could see how many you lost. Now, the Insights Page has a section for your unfollower count based on days, weeks, and months.
This change is super helpful for influencers and their social strategies. In a world where follower counts equal pay checks, understanding when and why you lose followers is crucial. We already know the “follow-unfollow” strategy that affects follower counts. What about the reasons non-business users have for unfollowing? If you can learn more about that, you can potentially grow your follower count exponentially.
Instagram’s updates and changes are exciting and intriguing. They can also be intimidating to those who rely on Instagram for their business’ marketing. If you’re interested in upgrading your Instagram strategy to keep up with the changes, contact us today!
by admin | May 22, 2019 | SocialEyes
It has never been so easy to create and post amazing content. You don’t have to be a graphic designer or a social media manager. Run your social media account like a professional with a few simple but effective apps. Here are three we found recently that we absolutely love! Whether you need help posting consistently or creating images that land, these apps can help.
Apphi
Any social media strategist will tell you there’s an optimal time to post your Instagram stories. For some industries, that’s before and after the workday. For others, it’s on weekends or during lunch breaks. What do you do if the best time to post for your followers isn’t the best time for you? That’s where Apphi comes in. This sleek and easy to use app does something other scheduling apps don’t: it lets you schedule posts and stories. Running multiple Insta accounts? No problem; Apphi lets you decide when your stories will go live foreach account, in one sitting. And, you can do it all from the desktop version or the mobile app. Apphi takes the stress of posting stories in real time away so you can focus on engaging with your followers.
Mojo
Have you ever wondered how some Instagram accounts get such beautiful images? They must spend hours making graphics, right? Wrong. Most big accounts use graphic design apps like Mojo. With Mojo, you get access to 40 different templates that you can customize and edit to your liking. Choose from 50 different fonts, tons of colours, and share your creation to any platform. The coolest feature on Mojo? You can animate the images or add animated text to your Instagram stories. Make the text or images gradually appear or show up with a bang. Animation makes your stories stand out from the competition and engages your viewers.
Spark Post
From the creators of Photoshop comes an app that allows you to edit your images and create graphics from your smartphone. No prior knowledge of Photoshop is needed, just download Spark Post and start creating. Spark Post gives you professionally designed templates, filters, and text effects. You can even source free photos within the app to use in your content. Looking to create branded content for your business account? Spark Post allows you to create branded graphics and add them to any post you create. Everything from the colours to the font to the animation is on-brand. Spark Post is used for social posts, YouTube thumbnails, posters, blog headers, memes, and more.
With fantastic apps like these available for download, there’s nothing stopping you from producing flawless content. Create, schedule, and share your customized content from your smartphone. If you’re interested in learning how to take your social media strategies to the next level, contact us today!
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