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Content Marketing Uncategorized

Lessons in Self-Promotion From Gabrielle Bernstein

When you’re building a brand, one of your first orders of business is getting your message in front of the right audience. From social media to word of mouth, you have so many tools at your disposal to accomplish this task, so where do you begin?

To answer this question, I wanted to share some insights from life coach, speaker and author Gabrielle Bernstein, who has built her business around sharing authentic messages. In following Bernstein’s work, I’ve learned that she focuses on serving her audience from a place of sharing, not pushing, a philosophy that every business would do well to adopt while creating a publicity plan. Here are five lessons you can learn from her.

Lesson #1: You Don’t Need to Be a PR Expert

Before creating her coaching business, Bernstein owned a public relations firm. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Well, of course she’s great at getting publicity then,” consider this: She was completely self-taught. Bernstein didn’t get a degree in public relations; she trained herself. She then leveraged the PR skills she learned to build the business she has today.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of publicizing your business, take a deep breath. Start writing down the reasons you got started and the mission you have in sharing your products or services. Come from a place of helping others rather than serving yourself. What problem does your product or service solve? Start there.

This process will help you to clarify the message you want to share with your audience. Once you connect with the big-picture intention behind your brand, it’ll become easier to be your own publicist. Your message will be authentic, clear and well-received because it’ll come from your heart. You are the best one to share this message because you deeply care about it!

[bctt tweet=”#smm tip: Come from a place of helping others rather than serving yourself. #socialmediatips” username=”rallioHQ”]

Lesson #2: You Have a Message, So Share It

Bernstein frequently talks about being “unapologetic” about your message and putting your work out into the world. Remember, you are coming from a placing of sharing something exciting, not a place of selling or manipulating. The people who need to hear your message will be excited to hear it, so don’t keep it to yourself!

As she imagined her business, Bernstein thought about (actually, she meditated about) what her typical audience member looked like. She determined this person is a young woman living in the city with a salaried job who likely struggles with relationships and self-image. (It gets even more granular than that, but we’ll stop there to keep things simple.)

Once she had that person in mind, Bernstein was able to identify how her work could help this person and start sharing her message freely and unapologetically. Instead of trying to push her message or manipulate her audience into feeling a certain way, she could simply share the intention behind the work she was doing. She believed so powerfully in her message that she was able to share it without feeling salesy.

Lesson #3: Look for Your Audience in Unexpected Places

Having that clear picture of your audience like Bernstein did helps you discover where those people are spending their time. And she didn’t limit herself to thinking her audience only would be looking to health- and wellness-related resources.

In truth, Bernstein conceded, they were probably reading glossy fashion magazines and blogs about cutting their hair. Through the course of her group coaching sessions and social situations, she shared her desire to reach that audience. And within a month of beginning that conversation, she received an email from a client who, to her surprise, worked at Elle magazine. The client had pitched Bernstein to her team, and the magazine wanted to do a six-page feature on her.

Because she was willing to think “without a box,” as she puts it, Bernstein was able to take her message to those places where her audience was actually consuming media, even if glossy fashion magazines weren’t her initial target. As a result, Bernstein achieved some her greatest media placements early on, including regular spots on the Today show and sitting alongside Oprah.

[bctt tweet=”If you have a powerful message, you must become unapologetic about sharing it with the world. – @GabbyBernstein” username=”rallioHQ”]

Lesson #4: You Don’t Have to Master Every Form of Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat … so many social media platforms, so little time, right?

I would say it’s important to have some kind of presence on the major platforms, because you don’t want people to see a ghost town when they happen upon your social pages. However, you’ll want to spend the most time on the couple of platforms that a) you love and b) your audience consumes regularly.

Bernstein, for one, loves providing videos, and her audience loves to watch them. Essentially, she created the space where her audience loves to congregate. For years, Bernstein would put out a video blog every Monday morning. The vlogs were free for her audience, easy to create and something she loved to do. Over time, Bernstein grew her newsletter audience because people watching her videos opted in. (Side note: Don’t be afraid to put out free content. It will help your overall marketing efforts as you build trust and confidence with your audience members.)

Instead of trying to be everywhere all of the time, focus your efforts in those areas that energize you and allow you to feel as though you’re genuinely serving your audience. From there, you’ll find that you’re thrilled to put out your work because it feels authentic, empowering and helpful (again, not salesy).

As Seth Godin puts it, “Ideas that spread win.” What are your ideas? And in what manner would you love to spread them?

[bctt tweet=”As @ThisIsSethsBlog puts it, ideas that spread win. What are your ideas? #smm” username=”rallioHQ”]

Lesson #5: Be Your Own Voice on Social Media

Bernstein has said that every post she creates comes from her, not from a third party posting in her name. You can decide how strict you want to be with this lesson, but the intention behind it is clear: to allow you to speak authentically and put a personality behind your brand. That way, people will trust you, and even your promotional posts won’t feel like sales pitches.

Consider this carefully crafted post from Bernstein where she subtly promotes her course via the hashtag #SpiritJunkieMasterclass while providing a thoughtful image quote to inspire her audience:

Key takeaway: The message you’re sharing is always going to be the most well-received when it’s genuine, not canned. The second your audience senses you’re not being real with them, they’ll unfollow and move along to someone who is.

And that’s no way to promote yourself and build your brand, now is it?

For all the social media strategy and advice that exists out there, make sure you’re getting back to the basics and speaking from the heart. The more you share content that’s meaningful to your audience, the more your message will resonate and the larger your following will become.

 

 

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Uncategorized

How to Run an Instagram Contest and Boost Your Fan Base

Instagram has become a popular way for brands to connect with their target audiences and build a fan base using visually engaging content. If you’re looking for ways to boost your Instagram following organically, running a contest can be a quick, fun means to building brand awareness.

Unlike many other platforms, Instagram’s promotion guidelines are fairly loose, meaning you have the freedom to create a variety of different contests without a lot of red tape. Today, we’ll walk through the steps to create a contest that boosts your fan base.

Step #1: Choose a Prize.

What do you want to promote? Do you want to offer a freebie, a vacation, a consultation? Think about what’s appropriate for your brand and the best ways to spread the word.

Ideally, the prize allows people to remember you and associate the prize with your brand. For example, giving away a Nintendo Switch is great if you’re a video game company, but not so great if you’re a beauty brand. That is, you want to build an audience of users who are interested in your core brand offerings and not just the prize you’re giving away.

[bctt tweet=”#Instagram contest tip: Give away a prize that’s related to your brand. #giveaways” username=”rallioHQ”]

Step #2: Build Your Contest

There are many different types of Instagram contests, and you can combine elements of each to boost your potential engagement even more. Here’s a quick breakdown of a few of them to help you decide on a contest type.

  • Like contests. These are quick and simple: Just ask users to like your photo to be entered for a chance to win. You can also ask for a “follow” on your account for an extra chance to win. As more and more people like your photo, you’ll increase your reach, possibly even show up on the Explore page where new followers will find you.
  • Comment contests. Ask users to comment on your photo. Comment contests are great when you’re seeking customer input and feedback. You can pair this type of contest with a like contest and, again, offer users an extra entry when they not only like and follow, but also comment. Furthermore, you can invite users to tag friends in comments for extra entries.
  • Loop giveaways. This type of contest incorporates several brands all at once, anywhere from five to 30-plus brands that collaborate to host the contest. The organizer creates a graphic that instructs users how to like and follow their way through a “loop” of brands for a chance to win a prize. Organizing a loop is more time-intensive than the contest types above, but you can also simply participate as a brand for the sake of gaining new followers. Here’s a good walk-through of the process if you’re unfamiliar with loops.
  • Photo challenges. Ask users to post a photo on their own pages using a specific hashtag you provide. Make sure the hashtag is unique and brand-specific so as not to overlap with any other users’ pages and so you can easily find and record the entries. (For more on choosing hashtags, see this post.) You can alternatively ask users to repost a photo from your page using a repost app and tagged with your brand-specific hashtag. Other hashtags to include could be: #Instagramgiveaway, #contest, #giveaway, and #(your brand name).

Here’s how yoga brand CorePower Yoga handled an Instagram challenge asking its audience to post photos of themselves in tree pose tagged with #yogisplantingtrees. For every post, CorePower Yoga agreed to donate $1 to the Canopy Project, which in turn would plant one tree for every dollar. The result? A thousand extra trees in the world, thanks to this effort.

Step #3: Spell Out the Rules

As you’ll see in Instagram’s promotion guidelines, the rules are fairly simple. Be sure to acknowledge that the contest is not affiliated with Instagram in any way, and do not inaccurately tag content or encourage users to do so (for example, don’t tell people to tag themselves in photos if they aren’t in the photo).

Provided your rules are not overly complicated, you can include the rules and disclaimers in the caption of your post. Here’s how one Instagram account handled a dress giveaway, combining elements of a like, follow and comment contest:

 

 

The disclaimer is included in the body of the caption.

 

If your rules get too long and complicated for a caption, you can instead create a landing page on your website with the rules and, if necessary, an entry form. Just tell users to click the link in your bio to enter to win, and update your bio with the correct URL.

Should you decide to host your contest as a campaign with a landing page, you’ll have the added benefit of collecting user data such as email addresses. That way, you can connect with entrants and continue to build customer relationships long after the contest ends.

Step #4: Follow Up

Once your contest is over, use any data you’ve collected to follow up with your new followers. And then keep the momentum going by trying out different contest types. Above all, keep engaging with your audience so they continue to follow you. New followers aren’t worth much if you ignore them and they end up unfollowing you later.

Have you run successful Instagram contests? What other tips can you share?

Categories
Content Marketing Reputation Social

Social Media Cheat Sheet: A Roundup of Our Best Tips

There’s a lot to learn when you’re first getting started with social media marketing, and even when you’ve been doing it a while, there’s still more to discover. Rather than get overwhelmed with the things you don’t know, try choosing one or two new ideas to explore each week. Over time, you’ll strengthen your skills, build engagement with your customers, and hopefully boost sales and profits, too!

The following roundup includes some of our best tips on social media, online reviews, and local and online marketing. Start at the top, and work your way down the list until you’ve tried everything! And then lather, rinse, repeat, and try some ideas of your own.

Be a Great Storyteller

When it comes to your content marketing strategy, nothing beats a great story that intrigues readers and connects emotionally with them. When content lacks intrigue and fails to spark an emotion, it becomes lifeless, dull and easily forgotten.

You’ll lose followers and certainly won’t gain new ones if your social media conversations are boring, stale, sales-focused and “me”-centric … exactly the type of person you would avoid at a cocktail party. On the flip side, great stories leave readers feeling like they’ve connected with you. At that proverbial cocktail party, they’ll be on the edge of their seats as you draw them in with conversation. They’ll walk away with a positive impression of your brand and will come back again and again.

How can you become a great storyteller? In short, be yourself. Let your personality, your life experiences and your opinions shine through in your content. See this post for a complete breakdown on telling stories through your content and solidifying your brand with customers.

[bctt tweet=”How can you become a great storyteller? In short, be yourself. #contentmarketing” username=”rallioHQ”]

Create Online Offers (and Make Sure They’re Working)

Online offers get your business in front of more customers and, if done right, get them shopping in your establishment. The key here is making sure your coupons are functioning properly so people don’t get frustrated trying to redeem them. Also, you need to be able to track the redemptions and learn whether your offer is producing growth for your business.

If you’ve tried coupons and haven’t experienced good returns, you might need to take a close look at your coupon process. There can be many reasons a coupon isn’t doing its job, including:

  • You’re overdoing them
  • You’re using the same, repeatable coupon code
  • You’re making them difficult to save
  • You’re making them frustrating to redeem
  • You’re making it hard to find a location near your customers to use the coupon
  • You’re not calculating the return on ad spend (ROAS)

See this post to learn more about each of the scenarios above, and then tweak your process as necessary to improve your offer results. If you’re interested in seeing how our coupons work at a brand and local level, send us an email at sales@www.rallio.com.

An example of a coupon with one too many restrictions

Create Shareable Content

It’s the question every franchisee and brand marketer has been asking for the last few years, ever since Facebook diminished the reach of page posts to 1 to 4 percent of all page followers: How do I get more people to see my content?

Bottom line, you need to create more content that people want to share. Firstly, because Facebook now focuses page posts’ organic reach on the number of shares it receives. And secondly, because when a person shares a post, they can write their own comment about the post before they share it. In a way that gives the page post new life from the perspective of the person, personalizing it to their friends.

We outline six ways to get more shares on your Facebook posts in this post. For instance, you can create how-to videos like the one below.

Get to Know Your Analytics

The amount of data available to review related to your social pages can appear overwhelming. And unless it’s your full-time profession to review and analyze trends and changes over time, you only have time for the numbers that will actually make a difference to your business.

For some, all you’re thinking about is your bottom line: Did I make another sale from this social media post? But think a bit larger than that. Not everything will result in a direct sale, but that doesn’t mean it’s not valuable.

The most important analytics to know include:

  • Follower growth. Look at the data over time, assess where your audience grows the most and the least, and see how you look next to similar local businesses.
  • Engagement. Likes, retweets, comments and shares make up some of the most common uses of the word engagement. However, people can connect with your business in less obvious ways, too, such as with geo-tagged photos at your location. Pay attention to the positive and the negative comments and feedback so you can successfully address both and keep your reputation intact.
  • Reputation. Go deeper than simply customer comments; you need to learn how your business is faring on the top review platforms, such as Yelp. What customers report about you can build your business or greatly hinder its growth. With 67 percent of consumers affected by online reviews, the ratings you have and how you respond to them will impact your brand, trustworthiness and sales.

More advanced analytics cover website analytics, directory listings and conversion rates. We delve into all of the above and more analytics best practices in this post.

[bctt tweet=”The most important #analytics to know include follower growth, engagement and reputation.” username=”rallioHQ”]

Become a Hashtag Expert

A hashtag is a word, a phrase or an acronym after the pound symbol (#). No spaces or other characters (!, ?, -, %, @, ., $, etc.) are allowed in a hashtag (with a few exceptions).

Hashtags are used to connect people to a topic, primarily on Twitter and Instagram. They are public and searchable, and when people look for a specific hashtag, they see the conversation related to that topic. People, brands, businesses, sports teams and nonprofit groups use hashtags to build an easily findable and joinable conversation around a subject matter. And in some cases, hashtags make for great comedy:

It’s critical that you know how to use hashtags correctly so you’re not tagging random words and, more importantly, you’re not jumping into a conversation you didn’t intend to. If you use a popular hashtag out of context, for example, it can become irrelevant or even offensive. Our post about becoming a hashtag expert gives you all the do’s and don’ts for creating appropriate hashtags around your brand.

Improve Your Writing

Because much of my life takes place in the world of social media, I am always on the lookout for well-written social media posts. You know the ones: the posts that cause you to smile, laugh, like and share. These posts not only pass the grammar test, but they also work hard to convey messages that connect with the intended audience. Those are the kinds of posts you want for your brand.

If you want to take your posts from “meh” to great, there are several simple ways to start flexing and strengthening your writing muscle. The most important strategy is to find a friendly, conversational voice that connects with your audience. Save your corporate-ese for white papers, because it has no place on social media. I’ve got a few other simple content strategies in this post, such as using action verbs, being concise and proofreading ad nauseam. You’ll improve your writing in no time!

[bctt tweet=”#socialmediatip: Find a friendly, conversational voice that connects with your audience. ” username=”rallioHQ”]

Brainstorm Ideas

You might already know that it’s important to publish new content regularly on social media. What might not be quite so clear? Knowing what to publish. If you’re running low on ideas for your content calendar, this two-part blog series should help you get the creative juices flowing again. From sharing a “day in the life” to posting your Pinterest boards, it includes 31 days of social media ideas you can use and tweak over and over again, and never run out of ideas!

On some level, if you’re paying attention to your social media pages (which you should be), you already know what types of content work best for you. Let us know in the comments what you’ve seen work and not work for your business.

 

 

 

 

Categories
Social

Social Media Terms Your Company Should Know, Part 2

If you read my last post on Social Media Terms Your Company Should Know, you learned about the most common terms on the major platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. (I also included a roundup of terms that are common across platforms.)

In case you didn’t quite get your fill, today I’ll break down Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr and Reddit. I’ve included a quick explanation with each as well in case you’re not already familiar with these platforms. Here we go!

Snapchat Terms

What it is: A mobile app that lets you send videos and pictures to friends. While these “snaps,” as they’re called, have a limited life span, users also can add snaps to a “story,” which lasts a full day and is viewable either publicly or just by your followers. Snapchat has gained popularity among business users as a way to connect with younger audiences.

  • Chat: A conversation between two Snapchat users within the app.
  • Filters: The fun overlays that let you customize snaps with face swaps, lenses, text, emoji stickers and more.
  • Friends: Your connections within the app with whom you can send chats, snaps (described below) and even cash.
  • Geofilters: Overlays that communicate the “where and when” of a Snap. Use On-Demand Geofilters to promote your brand in a particular geolocation.
  • Snap: A photo or video that disappears after three to 10 seconds. Users can choose to add filters, captions and drawings to their snaps before sending them to their friends.
  • Stories: As with the other platforms, Stories let you post a snap that’s viewable for 24 hours before disappearing.
  • World Lenses: Adds augmented reality into the mix, letting users place 3D objects within any scene they can walk around with their smartphone camera in hand. Confused? See this TechCrunch article for a complete breakdown of this new feature.

[bctt tweet=”Use On-Demand Geofilters to promote your brand in a particular geolocation. #Snapchat #socialmediatips” username=”rallioHQ”]

Pinterest Terms

What it is: A visually driven social platform that allows users to create collections, aka “boards,” of images and videos around topics, as well as browse what other users have added to their own boards. Because users can be just a click or two away from for-sale items or information, more and more businesses are using Pinterest to drive traffic, leads and sales.

  • Boards: Just like your cork board or bulletin board at home, Pinterest Boards are user-created, virtual spaces around any kind of topic. I’ve got Boards set up for “Food & Drink,” “My Style,” “Money Matters” and more. These boards can be public or private. As you browse the web, add photos and links to your boards either by copying and pasting the link or by using Pinterest’s browser plug-in. And then the real fun begins when people follow each other’s boards for ideas and inspiration.
  • Business Account: When you create a business account on Pinterest, you gain access to Pinterest Analytics, Promoted Pins and Videos, and Rich Pins. You’ll also be able to add your business logo to any pin that comes from your website.
  • Buyable Pins: Pins that allow people to find and buy your products on Pinterest. Per Pinterest, “Right now, they’re only available to a select group of retail partners and U.S. merchants with Pinterest business accounts.” See the example pin below with the “Add to bag” button; after adding an item to your bag, the bag is viewable via the shopping bag icon at the top right of the screen.
  • Like: When you see a pin you like (see “Pin” below), hover over it and click on the heart button to save it as a favorite. The original pinner gets notified of the like, thus increasing your reach.

  • Notifications and Inbox: Click on the bubble with three dots (top right) to view notifications about other pinners you follow, as well as your inbox where you can send and receive direct messages.
  • Pin: Images and links saved to boards are known as pins. Also used as a verb, as in, “I pinned a photo of a rose bouquet to my Flowers Board.”
  • Promoted Pins: Businesses can advertise their content via Promoted Pins and get their pins in front of customers who are ready to buy.
  • Rich Pins: Pins that include more context about the post itself. There are currently four types of rich pins: app pins (install an app without leaving Pinterest), recipe pins (includes ingredients, cooking times and serving sizes), article pins (includes headline, author and a brief description), and product pins (with real-time pricing, availability and where to buy).
  • Save: To save a pin to one or more of your boards, hover over it and click on the “Save” button. Again, the pinner gets notified of the save.
  • Trending: Click on the “Discover” icon at the top right of your screen (located to the left of your profile icon) to see the top trending pins across all categories.

Tumblr Terms

What it is: Tumblr is a microblogging and social networking platform well-suited for visual content and campaigns. In addition to visuals, the site supports short-form content, audio, video, quotes, links and chats, and it’s got a largely millennial user base.
  • Asks: This tab features user questions that you can choose to answer on your own blog. To enable it, go to your blog’s Customize area and click on the Community tab.
  • Dashboard: Your command central where you can view your feed of the Tumblr pages you follow, recommended blogs, your inbox and more, as well as initiate new posts of your own.
  • Follow: Follow the Tumblr pages you like, and you become a follower! As you follow new blogs, you’ll increase your reach and attract new followers of your own.
  • Message: Within a post, click on the Message tab to send a direct message to the Tumblr page’s owner.
  • Notes: The activity associated with a post, including likes and reblogs. You’ll find them underneath every post.
  • Reblog: See something you want to share with your followers? The double arrows down at the bottom of the screen will let you reblog (repost) it with a caption of your own, much like a Retweet on Twitter. Reblogging is a great way to hat-tip the people you follow and build engagement.

[bctt tweet=”#Reblogging on @tumblr is a great way to h/t the people you follow and build engagement.” #socialmediatips username=”rallioHQ”]

  • Recommended for you: This tab suggests content tailored just for you, such as trending blogs, staff picks, GIFs, quotes, chats, asks and more. Use it to discover new blogs to follow, like, share and reblog.
  • Sponsored Ads: You guessed it. Throw some ad dollars behind a post to target toward your desired audience.
  • Theme: The design of your Tumblr page. Choose from various free themes available, such as these, or design your own. The ability to customize your theme is what sets Tumblr apart from other platforms. For example, on Facebook and Twitter, you’re limited to changing the cover and profile photos, but Tumblr lets you fully customize your page. Take a look at the clean lines and eye-catching photos on Adidas’ page for inspiration.

Reddit Terms

What it is: The self-proclaimed Front Page of the Internet relies on user votes and includes a mixture of news, links, social commentary, content ratings and discussion. Reddit’s registered community members can submit text posts, photos, videos, direct links and other content, as well as ask for help or suggestions.

To get the most out of the site, be aware of the “Rediquette” you’ll need to follow, so you’ll get targeted traffic, your content will get “upvoted” to the top of the list, and you’ll avoid getting “downvoted” into oblivion. Also, there are lots of acronyms and terms to know, some of which I’ve included below. You can view a more comprehensive glossary here.

  • AMA: Ask me anything. Great for showcasing your expertise in a particular subject matter.
  • Cakeday: Your Reddit birthday, or the day you registered your account. A small cake icon next to your username lets other Redditors know it’s your cakeday so they can gift you with upvotes and well wishes.
  • CCW: Comments and criticism welcome. Be prepared for both the constructive and unconstructive!
  • DAE: Does anyone else. Use the acronym to locate other Redditors who share your opinion or viewpoint on a matter.
  • Downvote: Downvote things you dislike or disagree with, and work to avoid having your content downvoted by other Redditors. Successful downvotes are displayed in blue.
  • ELI5: Explain it like I’m 5. Ask questions for which you want the simplest, most straightforward responses!

[bctt tweet=”To get the most out of Reddit, be aware of the #Rediquette you’ll need to follow. #socialmediatips” username=”rallioHQ”]

  • OC: Original content, posted by an OP (see below).
  • OP: Original poster, the person who started a thread or comment.
  • Redditor: A frequent Reddit user.
  • Repost: Links that have been previously shared, a highly frowned-upon practice, as most people visit Reddit looking for original content (OC).
  • Subreddit: The small communities that comprise Reddit. They can be public or private, and they cover a variety of topics, from niche communities such as r/CatAdvice to broader topics such as r/Music. If you don’t find a niche appropriate to your product or service, you can start a subreddit of your own and invite others to join.
  • Upvote: Having your content upvoted means it shows up higher on the page. Successful upvotes are displayed in orange.
  • Username: The name associated with your Reddit account. Choose it wisely, as you cannot change it once you’ve registered it.

Do you use the platforms above? What are some other terms you think are important to know for these platforms in particular?

Categories
Uncategorized

Social Media Terms Your Company Should Know

Social media has a language of its own, and being able to speak it fluently is critical to any business’s success today. From basic terms such as “comment” and “like” to the more complex “handle,” there is an endless number of terms to know.

Today, I’ll go over some of the top terms you should know as a business owner or a social media marketer. I can’t cover all of them, because by the time I’m done writing this, no doubt there will be new terms to know, while others inch toward being obsolete. Your best bet is to be a regular consumer of all things social, so you’ll always know what’s trending and what’s on its way out.

I’ve included the major platforms, all of which can be connected and managed within the Rallio app (our Instagram functionality is in its final development stages as of this writing). Watch for my next post where I’ll cover some of the other platforms, such as Pinterest, Snapchat and Tumblr.

Common General Terms Across Platforms

  • Comment: A response to your post from a reader. In most cases, comments appear below a post. On Twitter, however, comments appear in the form of a “reply” or a “retweet” and don’t all appear together as they would on Facebook or Instagram.
  • Follow/Followers: Click the “follow” button, and you’ll receive regular updates on that user or business in your feed. Once you subscribe to someone, that makes you that person’s follower! The more followers you have, of course, the better.
  • Handle: Your username, preceded by “@” and used on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. You can also type it on Facebook to tag a friend or a page in a post. Keep it consistent across platforms so people can find you easily.
  • Hashtag: A word or a phrase preceded by “#” with no spaces or unique characters. As I note in this post, you can use hashtags as conversation starters or search terms around topics of relevance to your brand. They’re primarily used on Twitter and Instagram.
  • Like: This feature appears differently depending on the platform. It’s simply a way for users to indicate they like your post. On Facebook, in addition to the “like” button, there’s a range of options on how users may choose to react to your post, including buttons for “love,” “haha” and “angry.” On Twitter and Instagram, there’s just a heart.
  • Mention/Tag: On Twitter, you can “mention” another user by placing an “@” before the username. Same thing on Instagram, though it’s commonly referred to as a “tag” rather than a mention. On Facebook, you would simply type the person’s name to tag that person. Whatever you call it, it’s a great way to thank your followers, call their attention to content of interest and attract new followers, too.
  • Newsfeed: The homepage of a platform where you’ll see a stream of updates from anyone you follow.
  • Post: Content that’s created by an account, including status updates, photos, videos and links. At the end of this section, you’ll see an example of a @rallioHQ Twitter post where we repurposed content from a previous blog post.
  • Profile: A user’s “homepage,” including descriptive information such as name, username, bio, occupation and any blogs or other websites, plus a photo of the user. It’s also a “command central” of sorts where users control privacy settings, account information and other details visible only to the user.

Facebook Terms

  • Business Page: Separate from your personal Facebook profile, a business page is where you post photos, videos, links and events related to your brand. You will need a personal Facebook profile to have and operate a business page. It’s important to claim and create your business page so people have a place to engage with you and, if you have a physical location, to “check in” at your place of business (see “Check in” below). Go here for help creating your Facebook page, or drop us a line with any questions at hello@www.rallio.com.
  • Check in: When posting, users can “check in” to a physical location using this button. It’s great for your business when users check in, because it alerts their friends about your business. Hello, free advertising!
  • Facebook Ads: Facebook allows business users to create ads promoting their pages, events, products and so forth. These ads are a cost-effective way to get your brand in front of more people and potentially increase sales. Here’s some help from Facebook in that department, and again, ask us at Rallio if you have any questions. We regularly help our clients set up and manage ad campaigns for their business pages.
  • Facebook Event: From your business page, you can create in-person and virtual “events” for your brand. They’re essentially like digital invitations. Say, for instance, you’re a yoga studio hosting a special prenatal yoga class. You can create an event from your page with the date, time and place, and then invite your followers and friends to the event/class.

[bctt tweet=”#Facebook Events are essentially like digital invitations.” username=”rallioHQ”]

  • Facebook Live: If you’re hosting an event or just have an important update or message for your followers, you can broadcast live and connect with your followers in real time.
  • Facebook Stories: Accessible within the Facebook app, this new feature from Facebook allows users to share real-time updates within the span of 24 hours, featuring short video clips and photos. Unlike a typical Facebook post, stories disappear after 24 hours.
  • Share: This button appears beneath a post and allows users to share the content on their own pages for their followers to see. For example, clicking the “Share” button below provides users with the option to share the post in various places, such as on their own timeline or on a page they manage.

https://www.facebook.com/rallio/photos/a.213849565434890.1073741826.207889606030886/792734854213022/?type=3&theater

Instagram Terms

  • Caption: A short description or comment about a photo or a video you’re posting. It includes hashtags and, in some cases, you may choose to tag other users’ handles.
  • Direct Message/DM: A private message between users that only those users can see. It goes into an inbox, accessible from your homepage in the app.
  • Filter: When creating posts, you can access various filters that allow you to change the appearance of photos, such as the lighting or coloring.
  • Live: Similar to Facebook Live, the Live feature on Instagram lets you broadcast real-time updates to your followers. Instagram will send out a notification to your followers that you’ve started a live video so they can log in and view it before it ends, making it a great way to capture your audience’s attention.

[bctt tweet=”Go Live on #Instagram to capture your audience’s attention in real time. #socialmedia” username=”rallioHQ”]

  • Public/Private Account: Users may choose to make their profiles private or public. With a public account, anyone can follow the profile and view its photos and videos. If an account is private, users must request permission to follow the account before they can view any content.
  • Repost: A repost of someone else’s post on your Instagram page. You can use an app like Repost, or request permission to repost a user’s photo and then tag the user. See the example at the end of this section.
  • Boomerang: A video app to turn regular videos into gif-like looping videos, capturing a moment in time and then playing it over and over again. The feature is built in as an option within Instagram’s Stories feature, described below. It works great for action shots. Here’s more on Boomerang, but give it a try yourself. You have to see it to understand how fun it is!
  • Sponsored Content: Content with paid advertising dollars behind it. Again, a great way to extend your reach.
  • Stories: As with Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories let you build a “story” over 24 hours with photos and videos.

LinkedIn Terms

  • Company Page: Here’s where you create an overview of your business and share articles, photos and updates. Your updates show up in followers’ news feeds.
  • Showcase Page: An extension of your Company Page where you can spotlight your brand, a business unit or an initiative. You can then share the Showcase Page content with a targeted audience and build engagement with like-minded LinkedIn members.
  • Connections: The people with whom you are connected on LinkedIn. Connections are like your “friends” on Facebook, and you have to request to be connected with a user (known as an “invitation,” below).
  • Groups: Groups are created either by a person or by a company around a specific topic or industry. Once you’ve created a company page, you can join various groups and interact with other users to build more connections.
  • Invitation: An invitation is simply a request to connect with someone on LinkedIn.
  • My Network: Click this tab at the top of your LinkedIn homepage to view your connections, invitations and people you may know. You can also have your email address book imported to see additional suggested users with whom to connect.

Twitter Terms

  • Tweet: The 140-characters-or-less post you create on Twitter. It’s also used as a verb, as in, “I like to tweet out a new promotion every couple of weeks.”
  • Character Count: Twitter is known for limiting its posts to 140 characters. That means whatever you have to say needs to be short and sweet.
  • Direct Message/DM: Messages communicated between users directly within the app. Users can set up their privacy controls either to receive direct messages from anyone, or only from those they follow.
  • Moments: Curated stories that showcase the best, most relevant posts around a trending topic. Click the Moments tab to discover what’s happening on Twitter or to create a Moment of your own.
  • Retweet/RT: Clicking this button allows users to share another user’s post with their own followers. The more people retweet your content, the greater your reach and potential for new followers. In addition to retweeting other users’ content, you can ask for retweets on your content, too. Pair it with a contest or a giveaway as an added incentive. See the example at the end of this section.
  • Trends: From the homepage on Twitter, look in the lefthand column, and you’ll see a list of trending hashtags and topics. Click on any of them to say what people are saying, and then jump in and like, retweet, or create tweets of your own where you include the trend. Be sure you understand the context of the trend so you can be on point with your tweets.

Phew, that was a lot of terminology to get through, and I have only just scratched the surface here. What are some of your other favorite social media terms that are important to know? Comment below!

Categories
Social Uncategorized

How (and Why) to Choose a Hashtag for Your Brand

As you may already know, hashtags are conversation starters. You can use them on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest (less so on Facebook) to connect with your target audience around topics of relevance to your brand.

You can also create brand-specific hashtags for various purposes. For example, as Becca Edwards notes in this post, Rita’s Italian Ice offers free Italian ice on the first day of spring and uses the hashtag #ritasfirstdayofspring to promote the offer.

In that post, you learned all about how to be a hashtag expert, and you’ll want to read that post first before reading mine. Today, I’ll share with you some specifics on creating a hashtag just for your brand.

When to create a brand-specific hashtag? Wait until you’ve used other hashtags to connect with members of your target audience. That way, you’ll have a following that’ll connect with the brand-specific hashtag and it won’t drift off into the great online abyss, never to be seen again.

Brand-specific hashtags work well when you want to promote a specific offer, event or trending topic. Now for some basics on creating one.

Keep It Short, Unique and Memorable

Although there are always exceptions, shorter hashtags are easier to remember and retype. It can be a single word or a phrase, just as long as it isn’t currently in use.

That is, always conduct a search to see that any hashtag you wish to use isn’t already in circulation with a different meaning. Not only would that make it not unique, but it also could spell disaster if you take the current hashtag out of context and try to apply it to your brand. (We discussed this matter in How to Be a Hashtag Expert; see the DiGiorno Pizza #WhyIStayed section as an example.)

Having a memorable hashtag helps keep the conversation about you and your brand. That way, as people use the hashtag, all roads will lead back to you, and you’ll leave people with a positive impression of your brand.

Tug at Their Heart Strings

When Make a Wish Foundation used the hashtag #SFBatKid, they were promoting a documentary about a boy whose wish was to dress up as Batman and save the day. The hashtag was well-received, with even President Obama getting in on the trend. His message to #SFBatKid via Vine? “Way to go, Miles. Way to save Gotham!”

https://twitter.com/416webs/status/813421908934922240

Look for Those Double Meanings

When you jam a bunch of words together, you have to be sure the words don’t also spell something else. One misused capital letter, and your hashtag could become a different animal altogether.

Consider the trending hashtag of a few years ago #NowThatchersDead in response to Margaret Thatcher’s passing. Guess what it turned into? #NowThatChersDead, followed quickly by a hailstorm of rumors that the singer had died when, in fact, she was very much alive.

Proofread, and proofread some more. Look for any possible misspellings that could ensue. And change the hashtag if there’s even a remote possibility of it getting morphed into something different and unintended.

Stay Brand-Consistent

Hashtags offer an opportunity to show your brand’s personality. Make sure your hashtags stay consistent with the kind of personality and social-media tone your brand already has.

Consider Red Bull’s #PutACanOnIt hashtag, inspired by a photo posted on Twitter in which the photographer positioned a can above a Mini Cooper in such a way that it looked like a branded Red Bull car.

People around the world began creating their own #PutACanOnIt images with Red Bull cans positioned uniquely. Moreover, the hashtag earned the company a “Best Use of A Hashtag” Shorty Award. And best of all, the hashtag aligned perfectly with Red Bull’s playful, high-energy personality on social media.

https://twitter.com/staceywolfe_fl/status/694568119516422144

Create Hashtags for Promotions (or Let Your Audience Do It!)

Don’t forget to use branded hashtags for your events and promotions! The rules above apply of course. You can create a hashtag inviting users to tweet about their experiences, post photos and more.

One of the most successful campaigns of all time is Audi’s #WantAnR8 campaign. The tweet originated with a user who tweeted out the hashtag to express a desire to own an Audi R8. Audi then created a contest inviting users to tweet using the hashtag for a chance to win an R8 for a day:

https://twitter.com/anandthepatsfan/status/834042347952410624

As you can see, there are many ways to create a branded hashtag once you have a solid follower base. Your followers will become instant brand champions who not only cast your company in a good light, but also provide the social proof needed to attract new fans.

What are some other great examples of branded hashtags you’ve seen? How about the fails?

[bctt tweet=”Hashtags offer an opportunity to show your brand’s personality. #howtohashtag” username=”rallioHQ”]

 

 

Categories
Content Marketing Social Uncategorized

7 Ways to Boost Your Twitter Following Organically

When you’re looking to boost your Twitter following, it’s tempting to want to make it happen overnight. Nobody wants to have 43 followers when you could buy thousands all at once, right?

However, buying followers or resorting to other black-hat tactics simply won’t get you the kind of long-term engagement you need to maintain a consistently strong Twitter profile. In fact, as this article notes, black-hat social media can do serious damage to your brand.

That’s why when I recently set out to boost our own following on Rallio, I started by focusing on quality over quantity. (There’s a place, of sorts, for quantity as well, but more on that in tip #3.)

Today, I’ll share with you a few things I’ve learned about boosting your Twitter following organically. I welcome additional insight from those of you who have gone through this process, too.

#1: Like and Retweet

The simplest way to begin attracting new followers is by liking and retweeting posts. The more engaged you are with other profiles, the more you’ll be seen, and the more you’ll gain new followers yourself. As a general rule of thumb, aim to retweet at least one or two new people daily.

When retweeting, make an effort to add insight of your own or call out what you like about the post or article you’re retweeting. You can, of course, simply retweet without commentary, but also add your own 2 cents from time to time. This makes it clear you put thought into the retweet and didn’t simply click a button.

[bctt tweet=”The simplest way to begin attracting new followers is by liking and retweeting posts. #findfollowers” username=”rallioHQ”]

#2: Fit It In When You Can

You don’t have to overwhelm yourself spending time on Twitter. Some people like to carve out a chunk of time every day or so, and others will hop on there throughout the day. Or maybe you alternate between these approaches like I do.

Sometimes I’ll devote focused time, and other times I might just need a break from what I’m doing, or might be waiting at the doctor’s office, or … you get the idea. I like this strategy because it allows me to get on Twitter at different points in the day rather than one specific time when I won’t necessarily find anything or anyone worth tweeting about. Also, it prevents me from exhausting myself thinking I have to get on Twitter at 11 a.m. each day.

Try out both strategies and see what works for you. The point is to make it work!

#3: About That Quantity …

Although it’s imperative to have quality followers with whom you engage regularly, sometimes you have to cast a wide net to find those quality people. Some Twitter users will follow several people initially and then later weed out and unfollow accounts that don’t prove to be worth their time.

Note that once you follow an account, or when someone follows you, you’ll want to make an effort to engage with the account and gauge its value.

[bctt tweet=”Sometimes you have to cast a wide net to find quality #followers.” username=”rallioHQ”]

#4 Thank People … Sparingly

Do not do not thank every single person who likes and retweets your tweets or follows you. That practice will get old fast, and you risk flooding other people’s timelines with your thank-yous.

Instead, thank people for specific reasons. For example, if you found a post to be insightful, mention it along with the user and say why you found it valuable. You’ll show you’re actually reading people’s tweets and you’re willing to recommend those you think are worth a follow. Eventually, others will do the same for you.

Here’s a good list of other ways to thank your followers, say, by visiting their website or commenting on a blog post. I like the following approach as well from @twitrartexhibit thanking an artist for her submission to #TwitterArtExhibit. It’s specific and creatively worded:

#5 Locate Influencers

Who are the thought leaders, the movers and shakers in your industry? Find five or 10 of them, and start engaging with them across multiple platforms. That is, don’t stop at Twitter, but rather engage with them wherever they roam (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. … check out this article for more tips on engaging with influencers).

Once you have a fairly established relationship with influencers, reach out directly. You can start simply by asking if they’d be willing to answer a burning question related to your product or service, and then featuring their responses on your blog.

You can then tweet out your new post and mention your influencers, too, so they’ll (hopefully) share your content with their readers. In time, you’ll gain valuable partnerships through which you share each other’s content, create special offers and always have a rich source of content.

#6 Share More Than Once

By some estimates, the life of a tweet is something like 18 minutes. However, you can extend its lifespan simply by sharing the tweet multiple times.

Here at Rallio, we use Coschedule to manage our blog post creation coupled with social media posts that we schedule out over several days’ time. For example, this blog post will get a lot of mileage once I create social media posts about it for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

You can word your social posts differently each time for the same piece of content, whether it’s a blog post, a press release, a video or an image. It’ll read like a brand-new post, you save yourself some time, and you get the most out of every piece of content.

[bctt tweet=”Extend the life of a tweet by sharing the tweet multiple times. #socialmediatips #twittertips” username=”rallioHQ”]

#7 Use Hashtags

My colleague Becca Edwards wrote an extensive piece, How to Be a Hashtag Expert, that will help you master the hashtag game. She breaks down what a hashtag is, what it can do and how to use hashtags effectively. I recommend giving it a read, as it’s an important part of growing your following.

In addition to using hashtags in your own content, you can search hashtags related to your product or service. When you do, you’ll be able to find and join conversations around pertinent topics.

What other ideas do you have for gaining Twitter followers organically? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Categories
Reputation Social

7 Ways to Build Your Personal Brand on Social Media

We often talk about leveraging social media to boost a brand’s reputation, customer base and connection with its audience. But let’s not forget about the importance of building a personal brand as well. People are more likely to buy from people they trust, and social media offers multiple ways to build that trust with your target audience. Let’s look at a few.

1. Identify Influencers

Locate influencers who already have an audience that’s similar to yours. The goal is to establish relationships with them so they’ll be willing to collaborate with you and keep your name top-of-mind among their followers.

Don’t go too over-zealous here; you can’t start following them and then immediately ask for favors. Begin by inserting yourself into conversations, retweeting their posts and mentioning them in your own content. Over time, you’ll build a mutually beneficial relationship while also building your own following.

2. Give Back

As you gain new followers, always remember where you came from and offer to be of help to those who have helped you. This could mean connecting with customers to ask if there’s anything you can help them with. It could mean reaching out to influencers and offering to return the favor if they’ve helped you in some way.

Don’t wait for them to come to you, either. Make it a habit to reach out regularly to your circle. You’re not selling anything, but rather offering your time, your talents and your resources in a way that alleviates a burden or answers a question or a need.

[bctt tweet=”Offer your time, your talents and your resources in a way that alleviates a burden.” username=”rallioHQ”]

3. Join Groups

Both Facebook and LinkedIn have many different types of groups, and chances are there are several that relate to your business. These are places where you can showcase your area of expertise by answering questions, posting your own content and simply being a friendly face among other members.

You don’t just have to join groups specifically related to your business, either. For example, if you are a mom running your own business, you can join various mom-related groups on Facebook. When a need or a question arises, be a voice solving a problem.

4. Be Patient

It takes time to build relationships. You need to be engaged regularly with your target audience, not simply post something once or twice and think people will remember you or care who you are. The key is being a problem solver, not a salesperson butting into conversations. By being of service, you’ll build trust and people will learn that you’re the go-to person for XYZ.

I’ve seen this concept in action in a mom group to which I belong on Facebook. A real estate agent I know makes it a point to answer housing- and mortgage-related questions. Does she shove listings in front of people? No. She just solves a problem.

And people remember her! Anytime someone asks such a question, it seems like at least one or two people tag my friend. Here’s a perfect example in a screenshot taken from that Facebook moms group. I’ve darkened out the names and images to protect their privacy, but my friend is the one who was tagged by another member and replied “Thank you!”:

oc-moms-fb-screenshot

5. Step Outside Your “Industry” Box

In the case of my real estate agent friend, she doesn’t only engage in conversations that relate directly to her industry. Sometimes she simply responds to kid-related questions or other topics that illustrate who she is as a human being. She’ll also show her capacity for compassion by posting links or comments about human interest stories or fundraising efforts.

What are some interests you have? Hiking, fashion, traveling? Get engaged with posts around these topics. Show people that you’re about much more than just selling products or services.

6. Spark Conversations

You don’t have to wait for other people to strike up a conversation. Try asking a question or posting a poll about something that’s sure to get responses. In our moms group example, you could ask for recommendations of a pediatrician, a school or an extracurricular activity. People love to add their two cents, and you’re sure to get a lot of responses!

Avoid topics that could potentially steer your personal brand down a path you don’t want to be on, such as politics or religion. The last thing you want is to ignite a war among your followers, or worse, with you personally.

[bctt tweet=”Avoid topics that could steer your personal brand down a path you don’t want to be on.” username=”rallioHQ”]

7. Stay Consistent

Above all, present a consistent image of yourself across all social media platforms and media types (text, video, etc.). You can’t be all things to all people, so just define your voice, your image and your target audience, and then stick with it. People will be checking you out across all different platforms, so you want to come across as the same person regardless of where they find you.

What strategies do you use to build your personal brand? Let’s hear your thoughts.

Categories
Uncategorized

5 Tips for Improving Your Writing on Social Media

Those who know me know that I’m quite fond of the proper use of the English language. Yes, I am that person who notices typos, errant apostrophes, commas where there should be periods, and incorrect word usage such as “there” when it should be “they’re” or “their.” Shudder.

I also am quick to notice really great writing, and not just correct grammar, but also creative, inspiring words strung together into meaningful sentences. And because much of my life takes place in the world of social media, I am always on the lookout for well-written social media posts.

You know the ones: the posts that cause you to smile, laugh, like and share. These posts not only pass the grammar test, but they also work hard to convey messages that connect with the intended audience. Those are the kinds of posts you want for your brand. Toward that end, let’s dive into five ways you can take your posts from “meh” to great, starting today.

Tip #1: Find Your Voice

Specifically, find a voice that exudes casual friendliness. Social media is not the place for business speak, stodgy words and sales pitches. People will scroll past you quicker than you can say “corporate-ese.” The very term “social media” gives you a clue as to what kind of voice you need to have here. You’re just a bunch of friends chatting it up (and using words like “I,” “me” and “your,” by the way).

Of course, use your best judgment and keep it professional. You don’t want to be remembered for offending anyone or coming across as less than the expert you are.

[bctt tweet=”#SocialMedia is not the place for business speak, stodgy words and sales pitches.” username=”rallioHQ”]

Tip #2: Know the Rules, and Break Them

While I’m all for sticking to good grammar on social media, I recognize there are times when you might want to break a rule or two. For instance, you can play around with emphasizing a word in all caps, writing in fragments and throwing in an extra exclamation point (or three) when it’s warranted. You’re not writing an essay for English class, right? So don’t be too formal. Typo-free? Yes. Stuffy and pedantic? Oh my, no.

Tip #3: Keep It Short and Sweet

Master the art of short-form writing, and not just on Twitter. Imagine you are writing a poem, not a novel.

A caveat: I will say that I follow a few individuals who tend to write longer posts on Facebook, the kind that require you to click a link to read the full post. It works for them, at least in my eyes, because they generally have something life-changing or inspiring to communicate. Say you’re a life coach or a fitness trainer, for example. Maybe you can’t convey your message in a sentence or two.

This is tricky territory, however. If you aren’t sure whether to go short or long, you are safer keeping your posts simple and concise. You can always blog about a topic and then link to the blog from your post. With the sheer number of posts getting flung out to the world every day, you want to make sure yours get read. And readers are more likely to notice your posts if they don’t have to linger too long to read them. Grab their attention, but don’t try to hold them hostage reading your post, yes?

Tip #4: Use Action Verbs

What action do you want readers to take after reading your post? Use strong action verbs to tell them what to do next! Take a look at this post, for instance, from Fantastic Sams seeking support for female veterans. The call to action is clear: “Like and share this post to let women veterans know about available workshops.” The stronger your call to action and the perceived payoff — maybe you hold a contest or a giveaway? — the greater your post is likely to perform.

Tip #5: Proofread, and Proofread Some More

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve let the occasional typo slip past me when posting to social media. Hey, I’m human! And sometimes I’m busy and stressed and scattered, just like you. So don’t beat yourself up if mistakes happen. Just work on slowing down, reading every word (aloud even) and staying focused as you proofread posts.

If you have the luxury of getting a second pair of eyes on your posts before they go out, even better. If not, be extra diligent and constructively critical of your own writing. Is your post clear, correct and concise? Great, publish away. If not, take a few extra minutes to edit your work.

[bctt tweet=”Before you publish, ask yourself: Is your post clear, correct and concise? #SocialMediaTips” username=”rallioHQ”]

With a little extra effort, you can start crafting posts that increase your audience base and solidify relationships with your followers. Who knows? You might start noticing those errant apostrophes, too.

What do you find most challenging about writing on social media? Let’s hear your thoughts below.

Categories
Social

The Real Reason Social Media Is a Problem for You

This is not a post telling you all the things you’re doing wrong on social media. Nor is it a list of things you should be doing to increase your social presence.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I’ll tell you what we will be discussing today. It has much more to do with mindset than mistakes or lists of things to do.

Don’t get me wrong: Those lists of action items for your social media pages — such as those you may have read in many of our other blog posts and others out there on the interwebs — are not to be discounted in any way. By all means, you need real strategies and ideas to make your social pages work for you.

But at the same time, you don’t want to view those tasks as loathsome. Wouldn’t it be nice to get excited about tackling social media marketing? You see, as with anything we do in life, our attitudes about it make all the difference between failure versus success. Dread versus enjoyment. Disgruntlement versus joy.

It’s All About Mindset

As someone who actively pursues ways to shift my mindset from negative to positive — via personal development books, websites and a regular yoga practice — I wanted to invite you to shift the way you think about social media in general.

That is to say, if you have the mindset that social media is difficult, time-consuming and tedious, then it most certainly will be so. If, however, you view it as an asset to your business, then you will more easily embrace social media and take steps to make it work for you.

You might even start to enjoy social media marketing. You with me here? Great! Let’s dive in.

via GIPHY

Problem or Opportunity?

The first thing is to start thinking about social media as an opportunity for your business rather than a problem. I know what you’re thinking: What kind of opportunity, aka return on investment, are we talking about here?

It’s a tricky question because you cannot simply measure your ROI based on direct dollars. Your customer engagement and the growth of your audience over time are other measures of success that deliver value to your organization. Ultimately, it’s the combination of metrics, both tangible and intangible, that paint the complete picture of ROI for your business.

Some metrics are measurable in dollars and cents; for instance, if you create a coupon offer using Rallio’s proprietary technology, you can easily track exactly how many people redeem the coupon. If, on the other hand, you post a photo of you and your staff volunteering at the local soup kitchen, and you earn several likes, shares and comments, then the return is less measurable. Here, you’ve increased your customer engagement and enhanced your business’s reputation.

Both of those metrics are critical in considering what kind of opportunity social media presents. And each leader in your company probably has a different idea about which metric is more important.

If there’s one thing we can agree on, however, it’s that there is undeniably plenty of opportunity for the taking in social media. How you choose to view those opportunities is up to you and your cohorts. Let’s take a closer look at the different types of opportunities around which you can create a mindset for success.

[bctt tweet=”Think about social media as an opportunity for your business rather than a problem.” username=”rallioHQ”]

Tangible Returns

As I mentioned above, online offers present some of the easiest ways to see a tangible return, but here’s the key: It only works if 1) customers can easily redeem the offer, and 2) you are able to track redemptions.

My colleague Becca Edwards goes into great detail about how to create slam-dunk online offers in this post, and I highly recommend reading it. And be sure to get in touch with us via sales@www.rallio.com to see how our coupon technology works at a brand and local level.

With online offers, you have a chance to see which types of offers work the best, and then you can lather, rinse and repeat with future offers, or create similar offers your audience would like to see. If an offer doesn’t get a good return, you can tweak things going forward so you have more people redeeming the offers.

Not-So-Tangible Returns

On the other side of the coin, you see returns that have more to do with analytics, such as organic and paid impressions, ratings and reviews, and engagement with posts. You see how people respond to different types of posts by liking, sharing and commenting on them. Over time, you see the number of page likes grow.

In this post, you can learn more about the social media analytics that matter most to your business. In the meantime, take a look at two main opportunities that are present in building your brand on social media.

  1. You get to interact one-on-one with customers. Think about it. There was a time when the only way to have real conversations with customers was if they showed up in your store or if they sent you an angry email. Nowadays, you get to chat with them and respond to their comments, questions and complaints in real time. You get to show them there are real people with real personalities working at your business, and they care about their customers!
  2. Build a following, and you stay top of mind with customers every day. If you put the time into engaging with customers regularly in a non-salesy way, they will be more likely to visit your page often and share it with friends. Then, when you have a chance to meet a need or present an offer, they will want to listen to your message and take action. Over time, you will become the go-to person in your industry, and when a need arises, you’ll be the first person they think of. How’s that for an opportunity?

[bctt tweet=”Nowadays, you get to chat with customers in real time. #socialmedia” username=”rallioHQ”]

Less struggling, more ease. That’s what we’re going for here. And ultimately, more money in your pocket if you successfully grow your audience and engage your customers to buy.

Think you can shift your mindset to embrace social media as opportunity? Or are you already there? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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