 Communication within social networks have increased significantly during the pandemic. Facebook saw a 50% increase in messaging within countries hit hardest by the virus, with voice and video calling doubling over Messenger and WhatsApp. So what does that mean for small businesses fighting to survive during this unprecedented event in our history? Simple: If you want to stay relevant, increase brand awareness, gain new customers, and stay profitable, you need to use social media marketing.
Social media marketing utilizes social media platforms to connect with consumers to build brands, drive website traffic, and garnish sales. To achieve this, you need to publish great content, listen to and engage with your followers, run social media ads, and analyze your results. At the moment, the major social media platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat. Choosing which platform to use depends on various factors such as your target market, what you have to offer, and your marketing goals. Having a social media content strategy and sticking to your plan will help you pick which platform or platforms are worth the time and effort. For many small businesses owners, managing their social media can be overwhelming with everything else that they need to get done. If this sounds like you, I would highly recommend enlisting the help of someone for just a few hours a week to drive your social media. This can either be an existing employee, a freelance writer, marketing agency, or even a student. In this day-and-age, it should be pretty easy to find someone adept at social media for business. In addition to creating great content, you should consider using a social media management tool like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Zoho. These tools enable you to automate, analyze, better control, and dive deeper into your social media accounts. These apps can post the same updates on all your social accounts, schedule future updates, and help you find the most appropriate and effective content to post and times to post it. Not all social media management apps are the same. However, all of them offer a free trial period and some performance analytics. Several go further and let you analyze your followers and other details from your social media accounts. In addition to using a social media management app, you should create a social media plan for optimum success. This plan should include your messaging, goals, and when you plan to post. To save time, you can and should schedule future posts and updates to provide your followers with consistent content. If your content is far and few between, you will lose followers quickly. Last but not least, when using social media you need to create content that is useful as well as visually appealing. While nearly 90% of all companies engage in content marketing on some level, few manage to produce “share-worthy” content. The reason is simple. Most people who post on social media do so without thinking or creating a plan. To learn how to create killer social media content, please click here to read our previous blog. As always, we welcome your comments and questions regarding this blog post. Looking for more social media tips, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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You think you know all about writing a professional press release. So, why aren’t you hearing from any of those reporters on your mailing list? The answer is simple. Your press release is competing not only against other companies trying to get their story in print or on the air but with actual news events. Yes, actual news trumps your story. So what can be done to increase the odds that your press release won’t end up in the trash?
1. First and foremost, your press release should be timely. Don’t send a reporter a press release about an event that has already happened. This is old news. They are looking for fresh stories to tell their respective audiences. Do send them a story about a future event and be sure to include the date and location in the subject line of your email or press release. Remember, if you want to get a story in a monthly publication, you will need to send your release at least eight weeks before the event to meet publication deadlines. 2. Send your press release to the right people. If you are sending a story about opening a new business in your area, your release should be addressed to the city and/or business editor. Similarly, if you are promoting a community health fair, you’ll want to send your press release to the health editor, and so on and so on. 3. Don’t expect to hear back from everyone who receives your press release. Chances are, unless your story is the next cure for cancer you may not get a single response. Don’t let this stop you from getting results. Instead, pick up the phone and call the individual recipients. In some cases, you will find that they have not read your release yet. Use the call as an opportunity not only to pitch your ‘current news story’ but to establish a relationship with the reporter or editor for future releases. 4. Remember that print, broadcast, radio, and the internet are all different mediums. If your story does not have much visual appeal, it is less likely to turn a broadcast journalist head. Think about it, why do so many five and six-car crash pile ups end up on TV newscast. 5. Make your releases look professional and if necessary ask someone else to proof it. There should be no mistakes, typos, etc. in a professional press release. Make sure your contact information is at the top and your headline tells exactly what your press release is about. One of the most common complaints I hear from business owners is that they are not getting traffic from their website despite investing thousands of dollars with a “professional” web company. My response is usually two fold. “Are there any analytics to show the amount of traffic to your site and where is the traffic coming from?” My second response is “who wrote the web copy?”
Unlike print copy, writing for the web requires resisting the temptation to write “fluff.” Those searching the web are looking for answers to questions and want value and Google search algorithm rewards those with relevant, current and interesting content. The most successful websites include useful content, such as articles or “blogs” that provide the reader information and a reason to come back to the website. The way the Web works is very different from print and the content of your website needs to reflect that. Keep Individual Page Content Short The Web is not a good place to write a novel. Keep the content short. The shorter it is, the more likely your readers will read it. List can also be effective web content. If you have technical information consider an infographic as opposed to a full page of copy or add a blog on the topic to your website. Write SEO-Friendly Copy Google is watching. If you haven’t yet heard about SEO (search engine optimization) yet, is important to note that an SEO content friendly site will rank higher online than one that is not. WThus, when writing copy for your website, it is important to include keywords and phrases in your content. You need to use the phrase enough so that it's recognized as the topic but not so much that your readers notice. Video and Audio Internet marketing also known as digital marketing is constantly evolving. One of the latest trends is to incorporate video and audio on websites. If you plan to do this, consult a web specialist as there are some technical issues you should know before investing your time and money into adding a video or audio to your site. Rules are Meant to be Broken All of these rules can be broken. Know your audience and know why you're breaking the rule before you do so. Don’t be afraid to show your personality in your writing, just keep in mind the audience you are trying to inform or serve. |
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