Investing in your Facebook Followers

Creating a Facebook page for your cause or company is a milestone. This imperative aspect of creating buzz and attention is something that everyone does now. A Facebook page is an essential part of the process of creating something new and then attracting traffic. However, simply setting up a page is not enough to garner an audience or establish presence. There are a lot of tips and tricks for getting more followers but that’s only half the battle. Once you have them, you must convince them to stay and to listen to what you have to say. If you want your followers to invest in you, you must first invest in them.

Give Them What You Want

The good news is that if you have followers, you are already doing something right. You’ve found a way to entice them to visit your Facebook page. Better than that, you convinced them to follow you. The first key to building an audience and investing in your followers, is to give them what they want. What do they want? Pay attention to what posts or interactions spur people to follow you. Then keep doing it! If you aren’t Facebook savvy, sign up for a tracker that can let you know what your popular posts were and where you are making the most impact.

Make Them Feel Good

Now that you have their attention, what can you do to grow the relationship? For those just using Facebook as a spot to push sales, maybe that attention is all that is needed. They are already reading what you post or share. However, what if there is a shortage of comments, likes or shares? The area could be lacking in decent conversation and solid engagement. Now what? Make them feel good! Give them a reason to check the page – make them laugh, make them feel, inspire them. There is no better way to encourage folks to be repeat viewers than to make the experience evoke an emotional response.

Get Them Involved

The next step to giving more to your followers is to get them involved. Set up polls. Hold contests. Ask them questions. Have your audience weigh in on a problem you need to solve. Incorporate appropriate hashtags and Twitter into your posts.  The idea is to make your followers feel like a part of what you do, as if their votes and opinions matter. Their presence is such a vital part of what you do and once they know that, they will be invested as well.

It can be easy to get stuck in a routine of posting what you think is important on your Facebook page. The key to social media is much the same as other areas of marketing and branding. It’s not about you. It’s aboutthe audience. Flip the script and look at your Facebook page as if you were following it. What motivates you to return to a Facebook page? What could a company or business do to inspire you to interact with their posts? That’s the true key to investing in your Facebook page and engaging those who follow it.

Need an extra boost or some great ideas to kick off this new approach to Facebook. Give me a call to discuss how I can help!

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don't get left behind ~ 

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a "#BeAwesome" Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.
Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

What are Trends on Twitter and How to Use Them

The Internet is a vast, endless asset filled with potential just waiting for someone to grab it and use it. Twitter is one of the most popular and utilized social media websites with over 300 million users. Companies and marketers are all vying for ways to make that work in their favor. Going viral is the mark of success on social media and trending on Twitter is the way to get that done. Unfortunately, no one can just decide to trend because that reaction is entirely up to Twitter users. So, how does a company grasp trending and make it work for them?

Do Your Research

To do anything well, you must first become familiar with theterritory. Before going to college, you look into the academic programs and tour the campus. What do you do prior to your big job interview? You look at the company’s website and found out what they are all about. Can you find success in a project by jumping in blindly with no idea what you are doing? Sure. It’s been known to happen. However, you significantly up your chance of being successful if you do your research ahead of time.

This is true for trends on Twitter as well. Do you understand Twitter? If not, register an account and take it for a spin first. Look into what is trending. Why is it trending? What contributes to the trend? Just like a keyword density search, what trends will work for your cause or business? How are people reacting to the trends? The answers to this information will make you so much more prepared to use trending wisely.

Top Ten Troubles

Many companies wanting to take advantage of Twitter trending, head straight to the top ten trends. Then they try to find a way to incorporate what they are doing into what is already hot. The idea has merit. Those trends are already grabbing attention and making waves and jumping onto those coattails might help you.

The masses of Twitter are wise. They can spot a fake interaction. While some believe any attention is good attention, a bright spotlight on how not to use social media is not the way you want to gain visibility. Also, if the trend isn’t related to what you are selling – how effective is the attention you are getting? Things will peak for a short time but then people will drift away because the audience was interested in the trend, not you.

However, don’t give up on trending just because the Top Ten doesn’t suit you. There is so much out there on Twitter and a niche market or service can still make an impression on social media even if it can’t break the top ten barrier.

Trends that Aren’t Trendy

Like with any fad, some are meatier than others. Trends are destined to be temporary so it’s important that companies focus on solid trends and not just what is trendy. The goal behind trending on Twitter is to get enough people talking, and posting, and #hashtaging an idea. However, the true motivation for businesses should be to not only get people talking but to keep them talking long after the trending stalls. The trend is the hook but it requires sustenance to convert those conversations into loyal followers. Ask yourself if this trend has the potential to do that or if it’s just a spur of the moment fancy that fades just as easily as it soared?

Join the Conversation the Right Way

Twitter is a tool and, if understood, can be used to manipulate and garner new followers. However, like so many other paths, if you take the easy route and only think of Twitter as a tool to be used to increase your business then you are missing out on the true potential it possesses. Spamming, scamming, and cutting corners will be apparent to anyone interested enough to pay attention to you.

Join the conversation or a start a new one. Engage and interact with your followers in ways that feel meaningful to both you and your audience. If you are going to invest this much time in figuring out Twitter and its trends, make that time valuable and productive. Find the right trends. Pay attention to what is trending and don’t miss out on something that truly works for what you do. Get familiar with Twitter’s tools and the best way to monitor trends and conversations. Really connect with people and then don’t forget to follow up with them.  Monitor, track and study your results so you can focus on which are working for you. Then repeatyour successes. These are the ways to journey through trending and make it a viable part of your social media arsenal.

Get the idea of how best to utilize Twitter trending but still not sure where to start? Give us a call to brainstorm where to begin or how to make the most out of what you are already doing.

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don't get left behind ~ 

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a "#BeAwesome" Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.
Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

What is the difference between Real Followers Vs. Purchased Followers in Social Media?

The real testament of success on social media is the measured engagement of your audience. However, that means there must first be an audience. That is often an uphill battle for companies new to social media. With a seemingly endless array of options available to the public, how do you direct people to find you and then convince them to become a follower?

There are a variety of strategies to direct traffic to your social media pages. Once you get them there, how do you persuade them to stay? One of the ways to validate your content is the number of people who are already following you. So, that means the higher the number, the better.

Besides, what is the point of having a social media platform if no one is paying attention to it? A common way to beef up the number of followers is to buy them. Social media is huge and that means there are plenty of companies out there looking to turn a profit from it. One of those ways is to offer businesses a way to boost their followers using a few different techniques. This is considered buying your audience.  But, is this a recommended practice?

What It Means to Purchase an Audience

Buying followers is not just something small businesses do; brand name companies and celebrities have all been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar on this one.

How does it work? Some of the methods include depending on the reciprocal nature of social media by following or liking a large number of people with the expectation that they will return the favor and follow you in return. Aggressive following is risky though since many sites will suspend or ban users who they can prove are doing it.

Another trick is to sign up with or pay a company who has numerous fake accounts to pose as followers to boost your numbers. Nearly all of these accounts are set up and then abandoned and exist only for the purchase of increasing followers.

Why Purchasing Followers Is Ineffective

This type of faux engagement isn’t new and the search engine power players are well aware of its existence. As companies continue to find new ways of tricking people into visiting their content, companies like Google and Bing edit their algorithms to make them less effective. Keyword and meta-tag stuffing, hidden text, doorway pages, spinning, and link spam are all well-known methods for companies trying to stack the deck in their favor. The search engines are onto it. Facebook has promised to crack down on their excessive number of fake accounts. This approach is not a long-term solution as things change all the time and if the engagement isn’t real it won’t stand the test of time.

Another reason this doesn’t work is because Internet users are savvy. They know how to inspect a company’s social media and determine it’s trustworthiness. A few moments looking at your list of followers will easily point out whether they are real or not. Your company’s morality could be the deciding factor in whether or not your followers respect you. Trust is key in any type of relationship and that includes the one you have with your followers. Your reputation is on the line!

How to Increase Follower Quality

Social media isn’t just a numbers game. The most effective pages are all about engagement. A company knows they are on the right path when its followers are liking, commenting and sharing content.

These days an online presence is essential. However, poor social media sites do very little to actually enhance a person’s business or cause. The only real way to increase the quantity of your followers is to improve the quality of their experience.

Knowing that you need the work on the quality of your followers is one thing, but how do you begin? Give us a call and we can discuss the right ways to engage your audience.

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don't get left behind ~ 

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a "#BeAwesome" Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.
Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

Top 3 Reasons to Use Images on Your Facebook Page

Top 3 Reasons to Use Images on Your Facebook Page

Facebook is, hands down, the cornerstone of a company’s social media platform. There are plenty of social media sites out there to choose from – each with their own purpose, strengths and weaknesses. However, Facebook boosts over 1.23 billion active users. That’s quite an audience!

Unfortunately, that audience has a lot to look at. In a sea of virtual competition, how can a lone Facebook page hope to stand out and grab attention?

There’s a lot that goes into a great Facebook page. Professionally crafted bios with the most appropriate keywords, branding, consistent posts with interesting and viable information, links to products and partners, and attention grabbing graphics are all part of what makes a business page great. When balancing all those components, why are the images such an imperative aspect of a standout Facebook page?

The Power of Images

A picture is worth so much more than a thousand words these days. In an age of digital warfare, cell phones, televisions and computers are all vying for our limited attention spans. It’s no fluke that social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram thrive on the abundance of photos and memes.

A business has mere seconds to capture the attention of a potential or new customer or follower. To use those seconds wisely, high quality images that draw the eye are essential. This is true for any kind of marketing, but especially on a Facebook news feed where individuals are scrolling through so much information.

The image is the hook – the text is how you close!

The Impact of Images

Today, just about everyone has a cell phone and are taking pictures. Then those pictures and screenshots are being uploaded to visual boards like Pinterest, or feeds like Tumblr and Reddit. Who has time to read a bio or a description these days? Twitter limits its character limit for a reason. People would need to set aside time to digest information like that and companies simply can’t convince users to stop and read how great they are on initial engagement.

This is where a high quality image or meme becomes vital. It’s the page owner’s responsibility to come up with a way to draw their viewers in. And that’s where images make the most impact, introducing Facebook users with the pages they will soon come to love and trust!

The Versatility of Images

An image can be so much more than just a picture these days. One picture can host a variety of links or can carry other embedded photos or multimedia. These interactive images not only grab attention, but can even keep it! Extend those few seconds of an individual’s attention to minutes of connection. Imagine how much value those minutes can bring to a Facebook page – leaving an impression that will keep people coming back again and again.

If that isn’t enough, Google has spearheaded the image search engine trend making it simple to find what one seeks simply by looking through images. That means that SEO today is for more than just keyword density and written content. Properly executed SEO on your images gives people more avenues to locate your online content.  Even Facebook is getting in on the SEO game and pages are popping up more frequently on search engine feeds.

Now that you understand the impact of images on your Facebook page, you might need an expert to make sure your social media content shines! Let us know how we can help increase the presence of your business on Facebook.

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don't get left behind ~ 

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a "#BeAwesome" Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.
Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars