No Need to Start Over – Use Content Management Tools

For the month of March, my team is focusing on getting your online marketing back on track. Have you created, even used, some social media accounts but have let your content slip through the cracks? It’s okay. It can be daunting, as a small business owner, to keep juggling all the things you need to get done each day.

So, there’s a gap in your content. It’ll be all right. While consistency is important in social media and online marketing, a presence is better than no presence. Only this time, you are going to work smarter. There is no point in sending you back into the trenches without a game plan to make it work this time around!

What’s the magic to getting you ramped back up? It’s in knowing and understanding online marketing tools and resources. There are so many tools available now that take the stress, and sometimes the guesswork, out of staying on top of your online content.

Social Media Scheduling

There are many different choices but Hootsuite and Buffer are the most popular. They offer free accounts that will allow you to use many of their features. Scheduling software allows marketers to plan content ahead of time and then post it at the most opportune time of day.  Hootsuite also offers suggestions for content in case you are ever in a rut and need a little help. Buffer offers some insightful analytics as well.

Twitter

This platform moves fast and can be difficult to keep up with. Good thing there are so many apps, websites and tools to help make tweeting more manageable.

• -       Bit.ly – used to shorten links in order to conserve space within that 140 character limit.
• -       CoTweet – an analytical tool to track engage and analyze conversations.
• -       Paper.li – a site that gathers online content and displays it in a newsfeed fashion. Can be used for content curation.
• -       Triberr – A community based site to join tribes of like-minded content creators.
• -       TweetDeck – a slick desktop management tool for Twitter uses.
• -       TwitterFeed – got some RSS feeds? This tool allows you to share your tweets through your feeds.
• -       Twitter Character Counter – This website is a simple to use box to copy and paste your tweets and edit them down so they fit the character limitations of Twitter.

Images

Want to quickly, and easily, create high quality graphics for your blog posts and social media accounts? Check out Canva. This free to use tool is set up to churn out graphics and images in a speedy and hassle-free way. Take your online content from blah to wow in only a manner of minutes!

By planning ahead of time, you could be creating a month’s worth of online content in just a couple of hours. This would keep you consistent and relevant on the web but still free you up to work on your business and keep bringing in new clients.

If you implement some new tools and still find yourself struggling to keep up with your online marketing, contact us at The Social Media Advisor and ask for help! We thrive on helping small businesses #BeAwesome online!

~ 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.

Three things you can do to enhance your Facebook Content

As Facebook is changing the dynamics of its engagement algorithms, increasing engagement with your followers has become more  difficult.  If you are like me, you probably only see posts from a small percentage of your Friends and Pages you follow. This is simply because the platform s designed to show you information from Friends or Pages you engage (comment/like/share) with.  There are a few things you can do to increase possible visibility on a minimal budget to increase visibility.

(1) Color is more attractive than text

It is a psychological fact that reading a text paragraph is less inciting than seeing a relatable color image.  your viewers will be more inclined to not "scroll past" your post if an image is included with your story.

(2) Ask questions in your posts

Let's be honest, it is a good feeling to share your opinion or experience about something.  People are more encouraged to comment, like or share a post if there is something they agree with, disagree with or have the opportunity to share how they feel.  Don't be afraid to ask them what they think.

(3) Budget for Boosting or Page Suggestions
Plan to budget for Boosting your post or Suggesting your Page because of the dynamic of the properties of Facebook, you are more likely to get a new follower through engagement (someone commenting, liking or sharing your post), but if this isn't happening often (or even if it is), plan to budget into your marketing the Boost option within Facebook to expand your reach even further.  Your budget can be as low (currently) as $5/boost which if done properly (time of day for your audience could make a difference) could gain new followers and increase your visibility.

Play with the tools you have before you.  Begin tracking your activity, your audience; days each week and times of day they engage most and optimize those for the most optimal exposure.

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

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a social media manager, trainer and author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , Pinterest and the tools to manage them. Click here for her Social Media Links

Sign up for your Free Social Media Analysis 
 

Frustrations with Social Engagement

Time and time again, I talk to people who have gotten frustrated with social media because they aren’t sure how exactly the tools are supposed to work. It is one thing to create a Facebook Fan Page, setup a Twitter account or add a profile to LinkedIn.  It is another program all together to engage socially, while drive traffic to your website. The same applies to any social profile including Pinterest, Google+ and YouTube.  The relationship building, social engagement and conversations that can happen in these sites are very important. Understanding an learning how best to use the tools before you is only half the battle. It is important to take ownership of your profiles and understanding the many dynamics of who they function is most important.

Facebook marketing work differently than LinkedIn marketing. From personal to professional engagement, profile privacy settings to the types of users vary greatly. Even the paid advertising/promotion options in both tools are different.

Twitter has different social “rules” than Google+. From 140 character messages to rich image and “tagging” enabled posts could change the feel of your marketing campaign dramatically.


YouTube is amazing for video sharing, where Pinterest has a lot of capability for viral exposure as well; just formatted in a different way, with a different set of users and functionality.
While all of these social profiles are a must have for many businesses, the way your messages are displayed (alone) could make or break your post. It is important to understand how your messages will be displayed to give you the highest probability for a click through, RT, Pin, +1, comment, like or share.

How can we help you maintain communication with your customers in a way that is most appealing to them? Here are some examples of what the variance of social posts may look like. As you can see, thinking about color in your posts, including a link and even the types of information shared will be strategic in planning on how your content will be shared.


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

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a social media manager, trainer and author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , Pinterest and the tools to manage them. Click here for her Social Media Links

Sign up for your Free Social Media Analysis