#AwesomeStorytelling - Stories That Highlight Experience in Your Industry

If you want your viewers to connect with your brand, you’ll need to give them some common ground. One of the most effective ways to do so is by telling some awesome stories that highlight your experience in your industry. Here are some tips that will help you create compelling stories:

Speak truthfully.

Integrity is the cornerstone of brand trust. Don’t try to tell stories in which you are the savior. Instead, show your stories through their eyes. Show their struggles (and yours) to create a successful outcome. Audiences find hope and connection when your stories overcome adversity. It’s the way you tell the story that connects them.

Be Authentic to Yourself.

You need to explain why you do what you do and the purpose behind your actions. The key to success, is that emotional connection, remember? You need to explain how your involvement in this story is special and unique to your industry. Your “why” is just as important as the outcome.

Infuse Personalities into Stories.

Dry, factual statements and arguments will actually create barriers to trust. It is natural to be critical and skeptical of a person’s claims. It will cause a person to click away from an ad, post, or page, almost as quickly as a pushy, “Buy me because I said so” social media push. When those facts are wrapped in the power of a story, however, there is a chance to get them emotionally invested in the outcome. This emotionally connection allows them to follow through to the end, willing to suspend disbelief, and root for an outcome that aligns with your needs.

Know Your Audience.

Knowing your audience means you have to give them stories and characters that they will root for. Simplify your message and make sure you cut out unnecessary details. Anything that doesn’t further the story or the emotional impact has to go.

Include a Beginning, Middle, and End (Story Structure is King!)

There is nothing worse than a rambling story that has no purpose. Make sure that your stories follow a proven story structure for maximum engagement. You’ll want exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and a resolution. Each of these pieces connect your readers with your story in an emotional way.

Here are some ways you can get readers engaged with your #AwesomeStorytelling:

• Use your ads in a sequential story form. Refinery29, actually did a Facebook ad test regarding this, and found a 56% conversion life, and an 87% rise in view-throughs.
• Use visual storytelling. It’s imperative that you use the five senses in your storytelling so that your story can come to life. Visual aids like images, graphs, videos, and infographics can make your story far more compelling. Keep your social media platform in mind, as well, when you consider these options. Instagram Stories are highlighted at the top of everyone’s Insta feed. Facebook Day in the Life is highlighted at the top of the messenger app. We all know that Facebook videos are currently pushed more than regular content. You can tell the same stories in a thousand different ways. Don’t let yourself be limited.

There are so many more ways to use stories in your business. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Take time to create compelling stories, and you’ll see a huge difference in your social media responses.

Start your first story today!

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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

#AwesomeInSocial - Engage with Your Audience Daily

The key to successful social media campaigns is the engagement you have with your audience. It’s been proven that consumers buy based on emotions. If you’re not connecting on an emotional level, you’re missing out on a key component, and your social media influence will suffer because of it.

So how do you establish that emotional connection?

Daily Engagement is the answer.

You want to become a regular fixture in their everyday lives, and a go-to place of inspiration, humor, and guidance. Coming up with daily content can seem like a daunting task, but it’s easier than you think.

Here’s a short list of ideas to get you started. Mix and match as needed.

Ask Questions

Asking questions is a great way to connect your brand to your audience. You want to get your community talking, and the easiest way to do this is by capturing their curiosity.  It sparks dialogue and gets people interested in you and your content.

Tips:

• Keep your questions simple.
• Try to encourage people to tell their stories.
• Use images to help get people interested in your question.
• Make sure you brand any images you use since it’s easy to lose the origin of content over social media.

Themed Releases

Twitter has #FollowFriday (#FF), and you’ve no doubt seen #ThrowbackThursday (#TBT) on many of your social media channels. You can create a weekly theme for your own social media campaigns. #MotivationMonday is a great one to start off the week. Explore options that are unique to your platform as well. Why not start off your Friday with an Instagram Story showcasing the week? Instagram is also a great place to use color themes. If you have a motivational quote for Twitter that can’t be carried in 140 characters or less, consider using an image.

Tips:

• Hashtags are wonderful for Instagram and Twitter, but they can get obnoxious for Facebook users. The only exception to this is in Facebook groups, as that allows a group member to search by hashtag.
• Don’t feel trapped by your content theme. You can adapt to seasons, new products, or on a whim. Just make sure you engage with your viewers and let them know that changes are happening.

Contests

Contests are an excellent way to get people to interact with your content. While this isn’t something you should do every day, it does bring a little punch to the party. Choose contests that have goals in them. Do you want shares, likes, or more?

Tips

• Choose one call-to-action per contest.
• Think outside the box and create fun and inventive contests.
• Make sure you follow up with winners as soon as possible.
• Keep your contests tied to your brand.

If none of these inspire you, look to your own social media interaction. What content gets you excited? What ideas can you gather from your own experiences?

Here are some final tips:

• Share stories from your audience.
• Reply to comments as soon as possible so that they know you’re listening.
• Your spelling and grammar are very important. Make sure you keep up the quality your readers expect in both posts and comments.
• Be consistent in terminology and voice.

Start your daily engagement today, and you’ll see great results and show us all how to #BeAwesome!

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

Learn how to be a Social Media Manager in #BeAwesome In Social Media Workshop

Do you want to learn how to be an effective Social Media Manager?

Do you have an Admin on your team that needs to get up to speed on social media strategy for 2017?

Curious on the best strategies for running successful Facebook Ads?

This is the workshop you should attend.

Can you answer yes to any of the following questions?

- I don't know how to use social media to close business
- I don't know how to build an editorial calendar
- I need to learn how to use social media effectively for my business
- I need to learn how to target new clients
- I want to learn how to create paid Ads and track results
- I struggle with what to say in social media to remain consistent

Do you want to learn strategies to market your business effectively using social media?

NOW is the time. You will walk away with tools, editorial calendars and specific processes to put in place TODAY so that you can stay in front of your ideal client online and attract a new audience.

Just as every established business needs to have a website, you also need to have an active presence in social media. Your clients and prospects are researching you to verify your business has social proof as a credible business. If you don’t have an active presence or systems in place to maintain conversations in social media, you are hurting your business. This workshop is your roadmap to get the right systems, tools and strategies in place to build a solid foundation for a successful social media experience with your audience. Launching these principles into your business will immediately improve your credibility with your customers by maintaining a long standing relationship with your clients so your competition isn’t claiming them from you.

We will provide Social Media strategies and processes for your business to establish social proof and build relationships and leads with your ideal clients through specific activity and proven methodologies.

Workshop Take-aways:

- Content is KING! Discussing and developing the proper ways to integrate the power of native video, branded images and keyword rich storytelling into your online brand that you can implement TODAY!

- How to Budget for Ads and Campaigns: What are your options? How does it work? We will show you how to manage and review statistics with strategy, reporting and targeting the right Audience

- What is the ROI of Social Media? ROI Defined, we will show you reporting options and how to track campaigns

- The foundation of your Editorial Calendar: We will show you how to build consistency, post during the best dates / times in each platform, and roadmap the means for you to develop social proof for your business

- The foundation of Paid ads and getting visibility with your ideal customer: We will show you how to build ads to target the right target client 

- Tools of the Trade: Top tools for creating and scheduling content, monitoring engagement, and processes to keep you on top of your marketing funnel that you can implement TODAY!

- Step by Step instruction on how to use the tools that top social media marketers are using: Tools are great but if you don't know how to use them, you will be lost.  We will walk you through all of the steps for using these tools so you can start building your brand effectively in social media, just as the social media companies do. ***YOUR Laptop is required - Wifi Included

SAVE YOUR SEAT NOW!  

Seats fill quickly and we can only teach this workshop with a maximum of 15 attendees!

Ticket Link:

http://apwt.thesocialmediaadvisor.com/-BeAwesome-In-Social-Media-Workshop-a28/

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

#AwesomeInSocial – Do You Respond to Reviews in Social Media?

Social media marketing and online reputation are a great power partnership. In fact, just participating in social media affects your reputation whether it is intentional or not.

While there are sites, like Yelp, that exist solely to collect and display online reviews – they are not the only place for people to rant and rave about their service over the Internet. Many of the social media platforms, especially Facebook and LinkedIn, have their own areas for submitting an online review.  Why is this important to your social media presence?

88% of consumers in the US trust reviews as much as they do personal recommendations made by friends and family. ~YouGov (research firm)

Knowing that your social media includes reviews is half the battle. The other half is understanding what you need to do when you receive a review – positive or negative.

When a client or power partner takes the time to submit a review of your business – a response is needed. Not everyone will commit to doing that for another business and it is the ultimate compliment to publically praise another person or company in an online review.  Responding to that review is social engagement at its finest! Take the time, as soon as you see the online review, to thank the individual that posted it. Then make time to visit one of their social sites and return the favor. Online reviews are extremely relevant both for SEO purposes and for establishing an online reputation and presence.

If the review is negative in any way, there are strategies for that as well – depending on the source and the review. If it’s a legitimate complaint, responding to it with compassion and a request to take the matter off-line and try to fix it is the way to go. If it’s just an online troll looking for drama, ignoring it is the best course of action. Keep in mind, you can’t delete a negative review – it would defeat the whole purpose of having the feature to begin with. The best strategy is to continue piling up those positive reviews to combat any bad ones that arise. This may mean coming up with a strategy to curate great reviews on a regular basis. Don’t be afraid to ask for them!

Increase your social proof by responding to your online reviews with gratitude to show reviewers that you care and appreciate the effort. It’s one of the cornerstones of showcasing how to #BeAwesome with your social media.

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

#AwesomeInSocial - People Are Searching You Online...What Are They Finding?

When was the last time you searched for you or your company online? Most consumers will start their search online before ever using your company. Reviews, social media interaction, comments left on product pages, website ease of use, and more are key factors in determining whether a new customer or client will do business with you.

When you consider that online reviews are the key to people’s trust in your business, the choice is clear. You have to know what people are saying about you. A recent survey by BrightLocal states that 84% of people will trust an online review the same as word-of-mouth.

This means it’s more important than ever for you to take control of your social platforms. You want those conversations to happen with you and your social channels. That’s not all. Knowing how they find you can help you identify new opportunities to reach customers on platforms that you’re either not using or have underdeveloped. In some cases, it can even help your company evolve to meet the changes of your customer base.

I’ve compiled a list of ways to find out how you’re being searched.

Use Multiple Search Engines

If you want to know how people find you, the best way to begin is by using Google or Bing to see how you measure up. A key point here is to use your browser’s private browsing feature so that your previous searches don’t affect the results. Google uses “Incognito” and Firefox has “Private Browsing” but they both work the same.

Do a search for your business name and see what the first page results are. You’ll likely find your website/blog, Facebook page, review sites like Yelp, online listing platforms like Google My Business, and other social networks.

After that search is complete, you’ll want to try search terms that could drive people to your business. Start with your website. Most website analytics will track the search terms that get people to your site. Compile that list and start searching. Where do you stand in first page ranking?

Next, you’ll want to do a local search for your business using key terms related to your work. This one is easy. Take your most popular key terms and add your town to the end of the search. A repair shop, for instance, would search for “car shop in [town name]”. If you offer particular services, make sure you use those terms as well. Where do you stand?

With this list, you can determine where your business is showing up and note the places where it should be listed, but isn’t.

Social Media

Make sure you use Twitter and Facebook’s search options to see what people are saying about your business. Search your business name first. What do you find? If your business has a more common name, you can add keywords to the list. This is a search you should often perform, since it helps you stay on top of customer complaints and celebrate business successes.

Also, your online presence will play a big factor in the impression you make to anyone searching for your business. What are they finding? Are the accounts current - or have they not been updated in ages? If you have social media accounts active, showing a lack of current content makes the audience believe you are no longer investing in your business. It's better to not have an account at all then to have one that hasn't been updated in ages.

If you have been posting recently, does that content coincide with your branding strategy and goals for the current year? Or is it random and confusing for your audience - sharing content that appeals to you but isn't strategic can be damaging and counterproductive.

Set Up Analytics

You can use Google Alerts to search the web for keywords related to your business. Those results will be sent to your inbox as often as you wish. Social media platforms like Facebook now offer analytics, and you’ll want to keep track of those. Google My Business offers insights for your business listings. As mentioned earlier, you can also set up your website analytics to find out how people are tracking you. The tools are available, so make sure you use them.

Once you figure how they find you, the next step is to make it easier to connect with your business. The key to success is to keep on top of this. Your online reputation and being #AwesomeInSocial work hand in hand in convincing potential clients to contact you and set up a discovery session.

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