Posts

Infinite Reach Building Twitter Engagement Blog

Tips for Building Twitter Engagement

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Twitter is an extremely popular and important social media platform. It currently has over 270 million active monthly users who send more than 500 million tweets per day.

Can you even imagine…500 million tweets a day? It is mind-boggling to say the least. (don’t worry, I am not going to advise you to send millions of tweets per day!) If you are still asking yourself whether Twitter is important or not when it comes to your social media presence- the answer is Yes!

Now that you know you need to be more involved on Twitter, here are some excellent tips for building Twitter engagement and gaining followers.

Building Twitter Engagement

Infinite Reach Building Twitter Engagement BlogBuilding engagement on any social media site takes time and attention, and Twitter is no different. (Check out this article on Facebook Engagement) Everywhere you look these days you see people interacting with social media. But they are not just blindly following everyone, they only follow brands that they feel offer them something of real value.

There is some confusion as to what exactly engagement means in the social media world.  What engagement means on Twitter is, any time someone reacts to your posts or talks about, or to, you. That is, whenever someone likes, re-tweets, clicks on, or comments on your posts. As well as any time someone responds to you, sends you a message, or mentions you in a tweet.

Include Images in Your Tweets

Infinite Reach Building Twitter Engagement BlogNow let’s talk about how to build this engagement. One of the best ways to get attention is by using images in your tweets. Sandra Vega from Twitter reports that Tweets that include rich media like images and video’s, get an average of 313% more engagement and over 50% more re-tweets.

Images can include photos, funny memes, inspirational quotes, video’s, or infographics to name a few. Funny and inspirational posts are great for building engagement. Everyone likes to laugh and they feel more inclined to share something that makes them feel happy.

Use Hashtags in Your Tweets

This may seem like redundant advice. I mean it is Twitter, and they did invent the Hashtag! But most people either don’t use hashtags, or worse yet, don’t use them correctly. Hashtags were invented by Twitter as a way to categorize the posts.

The most important thing to remember when using hashtags is not to use too many. Nobody wants to read a post that is all hashtags. It becomes hard to read and looks more like a commercial or sales pitch than real, sincere content. Your followers can see through shallow attempts to get their attention by using a lot of hashtags. The general rule is not more than 3 to 4 hashtags per post.

Include Links in Your Tweets

Now that we have talked about images and hashtags, the third thing you should be including in your tweets is links to articles and websites. Providing something of value to your customers means searching out articles and websites that can help your followers solve a problem or issue they may be having.

Including a link to a credible and authoritative website will not only help your followers, it will help you in many ways. It will help you become more credible and authoritative. This is one of the times when being ‘guilty by association’ is a good thing. It can also help you gain followers.

When your current group shares your tweet, their friends naturally become curious about the company they are re-tweeting. Then they make their way to your page. It is a win-win. Believe it or not, it strengthens their relationship with their friend at the same time it allows them to grow a new relationship with you and your brand.

Navigating the Twittersphere can be confusing, but if you follow these three pieces of advice you will do well. As a matter of fact, Sandra Vega of Twitter says the formula for the perfect Tweet is (Image + Hashtag + link). So get out there and create an engaged following.

If you have any questions or need help with Twitter or any other Social Media Platforms, contact us today!

Save

Best Practices of Social Media Marketing

/0 Comments/in /by

Back in the good old days of the Mad Men era, advertising lived and died by television, radio, newspaper, and billboards. You simply had your creative directors, account managers, artists, and so on. Not even the great Don Draper or Peggy Olsen could have predicted that one day, newspapers and magazines would be struggling to make ends meet with printed editions. The words digital strategist, graphic design, and social media marketing were unheard of. Now, advertising lives online. Why? Because we live online. In fact, people check their social media accounts about 17 times per day. This number might seem ridiculous at first, but it actually makes total sense.

Let’s Talk Numbers

Take a moment and think about all of your different social media accounts. Immediately, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter pop into your head. Oh yeah, and now that you think of it, you also love to go on Pinterest and YouTube from time to time. According to a Global Web Index Social Report, the average social media accounts per user sits at 5.54. As far as daily active engagement, people are on an average of 2.82 platforms. Of course, in the older age range, these numbers decrease slightly, while younger age ranges increase slightly.

With these numbers in mind, it’s important to realize that when brands play in this space, they need to be cohesive with the environment. Even it’s called “social media marketing”, users don’t want to feel like they are being marketed to. Lately, engagement on social media, making it imperative that your brand’s content stands out. Follow these best practices when it comes to different platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to help your brand gain popularity with users.

 

2016 social media marketing statistics

Instagram

Hashtags, hashtags, hashtags. Make sure hashtags are relevant and specific to the brand. For instance, if you’re writing a post for a wedding cake from Charlotte Bakery, don’t just put #cake. This makes it very difficult to track the brand’s performance. Instead, try #CharlotteWeddingCakes. This unique hashtag makes it easy to measure how the campaign is doing.

Capitalization within hashtags with multiple words is also key. By capitalizing each word, users can read and understand the hashtag with ease. Isn’t #ReadingWithCapitals easier than #readingalllowercase?

Quality photos and videos are winners. Make sure the brand’s images are taken with high quality cameras. Instagram is all about filters, so make sure the brand’s posts utilize the different styles- just like other users! It’s also important to properly size images according to the specific platform. This infographic from Social Times highlights the appropriate image sizes for Instagram and other prominent social media platforms.

Interact with users when called to do so! Creating enticing content is important, but retaining brand followers cannot be left out.Social media marketing doesn’t end when you hit “post”. Make sure you’re reading comments and checking out what the brand has been tagged in. Respond to comments from users with the brand’s voice in a timely fashion. Thank users for their feedback (whether positive or negative). To initiate interactions, ask followers to answer open ended questions and respond to what they have to say. Keeping a high level of engagement with Instagram users and followers of the brand fosters a meaningful relationship that would not otherwise exist.

Facebook

Business pages are a fantastic resource for consumers on Facebook. Branded profiles bear a striking resemblance to individual Facebook profiles, which allows brands to be seen as more humanistic. A business page should always have complete and updated information about the company. If the page is for a brick and mortar restaurant, it is imperative that the page prominently feature information such as the location, hours of operation, contact phone number, a link to the website, etc. It is extremely frustrating for users when this information is missing or inaccurate. For a brand such as Oreo, the page needs to update users with exciting information that pertains to them. While those that follow Oreo may not care about where an Oreo plant is located, they do care about interesting new flavors of Oreo cookies. Make sure the content within the business page caters to the users needs and reflects the brand’s image.

Time posts well to ensure the most interaction. Users tend to check Facebook frequently throughout the day, so be sure to post when the brand’s target audience is most active. Do research and test posting at different times to see what times are most effective. You may think posting after business hours on week days is the way to go, however you could find that you’re missing out on weekend activity. Don’t want to worry about branded social media posts on the weekend? Tools like Hootsuite can help you schedule out posts ahead of time so you don’t have to do so manually.

Take advantage of Facebook live video for a new, exciting way to engage with users. Live video is already immensely popular within the Facebook community. If something is happening to the brand that fans would be interested in, start streaming! It won’t be long before streaming becomes a key player within social media marketing. If you’re looking for tips and tricks on how to get involved with Facebook live video, there are many resources already available.

Twitter

Be concise in order to get the brand’s message across clearly. You may be thinking, “I’m only allowed 140 characters, doesn’t that make my message concise?”. Not necessarily. It’s surprising how often brands try to cram multiple messages into 140 characters. That’s why it’s a good rule of thumb to stick to one clear idea per post. This allows followers to quickly consume and understand the brand’s message.

Keep track of trending hashtags and utilize them when they are relevant to the brand. Checking out the trending hashtags is a great way to stay on top of what users are excited about on Twitter. Thankfully, Twitter has a whole section devoted to trends, making it easy to see what’s hot in real time. If there is a trend that is highly relevant to the brand, jump in! However, if the brand appears like it’s reaching to be a part of something, users may react negatively.

Use images and videos frequently to entice engagement from followers. Twitter posts with an image or video are about 3 times more likely to receive engagement. Retweeting images and videos about the brand from fans is also highly encouraged. This builds stronger relationships with fans while creating brand awareness among other Twitter users.

Keep Yourself Educated on Social Media Marketing

When it comes to social media marketing, there are always new updates, tools, and processes popping up. That’s why it is so important to stay up to speed when it comes to marketing through social media. Get more wins by being proactive rather than reactive with social media marketing. Your followers will take notice.

 

 

Myths About Social Media Marketing

5 Common Myths About Social Media Marketing

/0 Comments/in , /by

As a business owner operating in 2016 you know about social media, but may still get hung up on some of the myths circulating out there on the web. Social Media Marketing can be an amazing tool to help build brand awareness and also help you stay connected and engaged with your customers. So, don’t let these common myths deter you from trying your hand at social media.

It’s not possible to generate leads for your business on social media

If you put the time into optimizing your social media pages and engaging your customers, there’s no reason you can’t generate leads.  Social media is a tool to help build brand awareness and also stay engaged with your customers.  Building that engagement is what helps get the conversation started about your company and in turn drives people to learn more about what you have to offer.

Not enough content to post

Sometimes less can be more when it comes to social posting.  You want to post quality content that’s relevant to your audience and also something they enjoy seeing in their feed each day.  If you’re just posting content to post, that’s not going to get you the engagement you’re looking for and may even lose you some followers. You can also repurpose old content and topics.  Now, you don’t want the same post going out week after week, but if a few weeks went by and you know it’s a topic that resonates with your audience, create a new post around it.

There is no way to measure ROI

As companies continue to flock to social media, these platforms are making it easier and easier to help them measure ROI.  Most offer metrics on the overall page engagement and even more specific data on how certain campaigns performed.  The key is using those metrics with your website analytics to help determine how much social media is contributing to the overall traffic on your page.

You have to be on every social platform out there

You want to be on the same platforms your target audience is on Otherwise, you may be wasting time engaging with people who aren’t even interested in what your business has to offer.  There also might be certain platforms better suited for your type of business. So, do some research and find out which platforms your audience is on and focus your efforts on those.  Also, if you create too many profiles, it’s going to be difficult maintaining them and you never want a profile sitting out there with no activity.

It needs to be all about my business

This is a big one we cover with our social media clients.  Promotional messages are an important component in your social media strategy, but that can’t be all you post about.  We have an 80/20 rule, where we do promotional posts 20% of the time and then use the other 80% to post about meaningful and relevant content to our audience.  Pushing out more than just promotional messaging allows you to create a conversation and build engagement with your followers.

Want more tips on social media and other topics like SEO and website design? Then head over to our blog!

Instagram; It Keeps Getting Better and Better

/0 Comments/in , /by

In the world of Instagram, things are just absolutely incredible. More and more people are finding ways to use the real-time online mobile platform to create trends, re-invent their style and brand all the way to producing and then also broadcasting a new thriller in short 15 second episodes as in Shield 5. I’m completely enamored with how it’s being used and seriously research and study new trends and ways companies as well as the regular Joe are reaching their followers on this platform daily.

Have a Voice? Instagram Can Be Integral

Okay, so we’ve established that I’m a fan. Let’s really look at Instagram and I’ll explain why. I actually love it and have finally developed a voice on the platform that I’m proud of with my personal profile of @BeingKristiChurch. Over the last 9 months my life has changed dramatically into fitness and eating healthy so I’ve been fortunate enough to have grown a following of over 1,000 people in a short amount of time. I found my voice and my audience. It takes a lot to narrow that down…and now I stick to posting on 3 or 4 different topics with one thing in common. Happy and healthy living.

If you have a mission or truly something to say that people can identify with, it can be an incredible tool. Instagram encourages organic and real-time sharing. It was made for you to stop and share exactly what you’re doing at the time. In addition, the use of hashtags has also developed in helping tell and share your story.

One of my favorite hashtags is #FromWhereIStand. Every now and then I’ll grab whoever I’m with and we’ll all put our feet into the frame of my cell phone and I’ll capture a pic of where we are in real-time. The cool part is that you can geotag that to exactly where you are at that moment, connecting space and time in a way that it gets logged into the Instagram book of time – forever. How cool is that?

Instagram; Not So Easy For Professional Marketers

Here at Infinite Reach, we work hard to include every important social platform we can for our clients to help their followers connect in ways that previously, hasn’t been available. If you’re reading this and wondering why you should hire a social media marketing company to handle your social platforms, our very own Kellie Meisenheimer explains perfectly in this article.

Top of the mind awareness is difficult to achieve these days, especially now that we live in the world of selective consumption. Everyone has a choice as to how they’re reached and what messages they receive during their day; unlike the tactics of first generation marketing where messages were flying at you in all directions and places 24/7 – 365 days of the year. They were intrusive to say the least.

The one issue for marketers is that Instagram has always been difficult to manage electronically. Being that it was designed to be in-the-moment it doesn’t allow for marketing teams to easily plan ahead and include this platform in the marketing plans of their clients, without a lot of extra effort.

For starters, Instagram can only be managed on a mobile device. Okay, let me digress. You can use Instagram on a computer however, what you can do isn’t as important as what you can’t do.

You can’t post an update unless you are on a mobile device. Once you go log in to your Instagram account on your computer device, you can like and comment on other posts, but if you want to actually create an Instagram post you need to move away from your laptop or desktop and use the Instagram app on your mobile device in order to do so.

Dashboard scheduling tools such as HootSuite are popular for marketing teams as they allow for multiple client and platform management. All the major social platforms can be managed via Hootsuite and up until recently, Instagram wasn’t one of them. Still, as of last fall when IG joined the Hootsuite bandwagon it did so with limitations.

With Hootsuite, it’s a known fact that it’s a helpful tool to schedule posts that will roll on your terms while focusing on the main goals of your campaign. With the IG – Hootsuite integration, Instagram still has control over the fact that their main mission is intact – they are a real-time online mobile platform. They’ve been able to stay true to their own mission and still allow marketers a way to use the tool. It’s a win-win, right? Not quite. Posting to Instagram through the dashboard is still time consuming and takes extra effort. It’s not perfect.

Here’s a quick tutorial from Hootsuite on how to add the platform to your dashboard and schedule posts.

 

To make matters even more difficult, in order to manage an Instagram client account, one would have to log out of their own Instagram account and log back in each time they would want to publish a post. Big pain in the back-side! This was a frustrating piece of using the tool that I just had to accept. Not everything is perfect in relationships and sometimes you just have to take the good with the bad. It can be love-hate. A push-pull, if you will.. or in this case a ying and yang… and I’ve made peace with it.

Instagram Announces Account Switching! Ahhh….Thank you, Instagram!

However –Instagram’s recent announcement just took a little bit of the sting out of this bittersweet relationship we have. As professional marketers, we received excellent news last week that Instagram has finally released the much anticipated Account Switching tool! Yes!! Thank you so much Instagram!! You just keep getting better and better!

One can quickly and easily switch between multiple accounts on Instagram now… which is one step closer to helping marketers do their jobs more effectively. Here’s the step by step in how to set that up!

The following is adapted from a post published on February 9th, 2016 by Nicole Cozma of CNET.com

Step 1: Head to your profile in the app to access the Settings menu in the top right corner.

instagram-accounts

 

Step 2: Scroll down to the very bottom of the menu to reveal the Add account option. Tap and enter your details to log in to another Instagram account.

Step 3: You can switch between accounts by tapping your username at the top of the app. Another account (up to five total) can be added through the username menu, as well.

As for push notifications, they will work for all accounts that have them enabled, according to Instagram.

Should you need to log out of any account you’ve added to the app, simply pick it from the username menu, then head to the Settings area through your profile. There be a log-out option for the current account near the bottom of the list.

 

The fact is though; you’ll always need your mobile device in order to post on behalf of a client as that is the core of what Instagram is all about. It takes a little practice to get used to, however after you get going a bit, you’ll see that all the hard work is worth it, especially if you’ve established a great Instagram voice. That’s #instagood!

 

 

Social Media Management

Why You Should Hire a Social Media Management Company

/1 Comment/in /by

Social media marketing can be tricky. Establishing a successful social media presence requires a massive effort. A lot of people think that social media management is simply posting a picture of what you had for dinner on your Facebook page and then waiting for customers to come banging down your door. Well, that is not the case. Posting cute pictures or inspirational memes may get you some likes but if your posts have not been researched, thought out, and specially designed to reach your target audience, you might as well be talking to yourself. That is exactly what a social media management company does.

They have a team of specialists on staff to create a strategy, or type of road map, focused around your business and brand which guides everything they do. When they issue a press release or social media post, it is branded and works in conjunction with everything else in the campaign. That way it funnels all potential customers to the right place through repetition and recognition.

What is Social Media Management –

Social media marketing is one of the best ways to build a brand. It has become an important way for companies today to build lasting relationships and communicate with their customers or “followers”. People expect to be able to reach out to their favorite companies through social media and have their cares and concerns addressed in a timely fashion. It can be overwhelming trying to post current content related to your business or brand, attract new customers, keep followers engaged, and connect and build your brand all while trying to run and grow your business. That’s where the management part of social media marketing comes in.

By hiring a professional Social Media Marketing Company, you save time and money by gaining access to many things you would not otherwise have. Management companies use expensive software and experts which would not be cost effective for most businesses. Professional social media marketing companies will have the experience and expertise needed to target customers who are interested in your brand. They will select the appropriate platforms for your specific demographic, they will build, grow, and maintain relationships with your network, as well as optimize all content to fit your target market. Beyond posting and creating content and advertisements, professional management companies also scan social media for relevant conversations to join and monitor the web for mentions of your company or brand. They also have access to research and analytical tools to show you how the content is working and if it is attracting the amount and type of audience you are looking for.

Lastly, a management company can not only manage your outbound content, they can manage all inbound content as well; being ready to respond to customer inquiries 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, thus taking the pressure off of you and allowing you to grow your business.

Why Not Hire a Full Time Employee –

Many companies choose to hire a full time employee, or Social Media Community Manager to handle their social media marketing. This can be expensive, and as the amount of social media platforms and conversations increase, it can quickly become overwhelming for one person to manage efficiently and effectively. It is expensive to hire a new employee and their salary is just one of the costs to consider. In addition to their salary, there will be the cost of their training, benefits, taxes, equipment, office space, and any other perks offered by your company. The dollars start to add up quickly.

Not only will you save money by hiring a management company, you will gain the benefits of having an entire team of professionals on your side. A management company offers you many benefits, their constant exposure to social media gives them insight into what’s hot right now and trending on social media so they can use it and relate it to your brand specifically.

If you hire a company to manage your social media, they have the resources needed to do the research into areas such as your competitors and target audience, which are important aspects in producing a successful social media campaign. They come prepared with experience from other clients and can provide insights into your business or brand that you may be too close to see.

Social media management is a full-time job best suited for a team of experts, like the one at Infinite Reach Agency, who have the knowledge and experience to react to any situation quickly and effectively and provide you with the best experience possible.

Once You Hire a Social Media Management Company – Be Involved

Once you hire a management company, your work is not done. You can’t just hand over your brand to a management company and expect them to know your story and be able to convey it properly without direction from you. Only you have the insight and knowledge of your brand to make it a success on social media. You need to share your story with them, and I’m not just talking about the 30 second pitch you have practiced a million times and give to everyone. I mean you should really share your story.

Tell them about your passion that first sparked you to start your business. Tell them about your success stories and your failures, your biggest clients and your smallest triumphs. You never know what will resonate with other people and the more your management company knows about you and what your brand means to you, the better job they will do representing you.

You should provide them with pictures and graphics, articles, and any relevant content you have. One of the most important things to remember is…If you build a relationship and work with your Social Media Management Company – Together you will succeed! If you need help with Social Media Marketing Management, Contact us today! Our team can help!

 

Four Things You Can Do for Your Internet Marketing Now

/0 Comments/in , /by

Online marketing—every business needs it! Why? Because the Internet is THE number one source for business referrals. A strong web presence is critical to the success of your business. It is the go-to place to find just about any product or service you can imagine.

New to the world of cyber marketing? Here are four things you can do for your Internet marketing now.

1. Understand the different types of online marketing.

Content Marketing: This inclusive term describes the most published Internet marketing content—also known as blogs—that is used to attract customers. Typically, this type of online marketing is linked to other types of web marketing. If your website features blog posts, it will be more relevant to most search engines, which, in turn, will make it easier for potential customers to find. Content marketing also can serve as a “soft sell” for your product or service, bring attention to the need for that product or service and then drive business to your company.

Search Engine Marketing: Pay Per Click (PPC) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are the most widely used forms of search engine marketing. With PPC, a sponsored ad is put into the results of a web search. Whenever someone clicks on the ad, the business placing the ad pays the search engine provider an agreed upon amount. On the positive side, PPL guarantees your business a constant presence in search results but it comes at a cost. SEO, on the other hand, concentrates on moving your business up in the rankings and it’s free.

Social Media Marketing: Geared more to a younger audience, this type of online marketing has grown in popularity. While it’s inexpensive, it requires a bit of acumen to implement. You might want to reach out to an experienced Phoenix Internet Marketing Company for this one.

2. Identify your target market.

If you are going to put the time and money into online marketing be sure you are going after the right target market. When you have a good idea of who your customer is you can generate better attention-getting advertising and promotional material to lure them in.

So how do you find that audience?

Start by identifying the problem your product or service solves. Next list the characteristics of an average customer in an effort to pinpoint your target market. It’s also important to know who makes up your primary audience. They are the ones who need your product or service the most. For example, if your business specializes in home security systems, your primary customer may live in a residential area with a high crime rate.

3. Take steps to increase web traffic to your site.

The Internet has become a dog eat dog world when it comes to driving customers to your website. The competition is fierce and it’s every business for itself.

What’s a business to do? In cyber space content is king. Use it to entice potential customers to visit your site. Make it easy for visitors to share their experience on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and other social media sites.

Including an irresistible offer and a call to action on each page also can drive web traffic. Make sure your visitors know exactly what it is you want them to do. It could be signing up for an e-newsletter or a free 15-minute consultation. Offering something that relates to your business and appeals to your target market is another way to increase web traffic. It can be a free ebook, white paper or anything that’s been specifically written for your target customer.

4. Boost your website ranking.

Search engines continue to drive the majority of visitors to websites. That’s why it’s important to have a website that is search engine friendly. Also, every page should be optimized and designed for mobile search. Keywords and keyword phrases also play a critical role in boosting your website ranking. Keywords are what someone types into a search engine, such as Google, Yahoo Search, Ask or Bing, when they’re “searching” for something. Generate a list of keywords or phrases people might use to find your website. Take advantage of tools, like Google Keyword Tool, to get an idea of the most searched phrases. Integrate several of them throughout your website in titles, content, even rename your images to contain the keywords or phrase.

Another way to boost your website ranking is by adding captions to your pictures and images that incorporate your keywords. Add an ALT tag to describe the image. Don’t forget to include the same keyword phrase in the text near the image.

Search engines want to be sure users have access to the most up-to-date information. So be sure your website content is updated regularly. Doing so tells search engines that your site is ever-changing and current.

Like it or not, Internet marketing is here to stay. In the future, it will become an even greater force when it comes to how businesses do business.

Whether you’re new to online marketing or a seasoned professional, implementing these strategies can help you break down barriers and use this modern communication tool to your advantage.

Need help creating a web presence? We’ve got you covered! From August 1st – September 30th get 15% off our web design services.  If you’re a member of NAWBO get an additional 5% off! Don’t miss out contact us today.

mobile, user, facebook updates, infinite reach agency

Facebook Update Reduces Page Like Counts

/0 Comments/in , /by

First–your’e not going crazy. Your Page Likes were higher yesterday or even last week than they are this morning–it’s okay. You’ve done nothing wrong.

Second–earlier this year, Instagram created an update that eliminated fake accounts which resulted in a huge drop in followers for celebrities like Rapper, Akon—who lost over 56% of his Instagram audience. It was a good thing—the actual followers that were left on IG were most likely there due to organic growth—not fake spambot accounts.

New Facebook Algorithm Is Here

In the next coming weeks, if you own a business Facebook page, you’re likely to see a small dip in the amount of “likes” your page has. In case you’re wondering why–it’s not because you posted something offensive or followers all of a sudden don’t like your page any longer. Community managers and admins work very hard to engage the right audience and grown Page Likes organically, but unlike the change on Instagram, this update isn’t about fake accounts, only those that are inactive.

As I mentioned in 4 Reasons Facebook Will Remain a Powerhouse in 2015,  Facebook is always moving toward optimizing the user experience and this algorithm change is no different. They are removing two types of accounts from business Page Like totals; deactivated and memorialized accounts.

“To make audience data even more meaningful for businesses, we’re updating the way Page likes are counted by removing memorialized and voluntarily deactivated accounts from Pages’ like counts,” the company explained in a blog post. “This change ensures that data on Facebook is consistent and up-to-date.”

I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself that it might be a no-brainer that once an account was actually deactivated it would naturally be removed from your Page Likes—apparently not so.

This Facebook algorithm change is going to affect those deactivated accounts that are done so voluntarily, but that aren’t actually deleted from Facebook. Should the owner come back in and reactivate the account, the new Page Like will reappear. So, those wanting to step away from Facebook and come back later can do so undisturbed.

What to Expect

Most business Pages will only see a slight drop in Page Likes—possibly less than 2-5%. That’s not much in the grand scheme of things and this change actually keeps us all in the know and belief that those that are following our communities are there because they really want to see our content and care about the engagement we’re creating—which is GREAT!

About Us: Infinite Reach Agency specializes in advanced Facebook marketing through ad placement and daily social engagement. If you have questions on this topic or have questions on how to implement a proper Facebook ad campaign, contact us for a complimentary 30 minute consultation! We’re happy to help!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Facebook's New Call to Action Button is Kryptonite to Marketers

New Facebook Feature Is Kryptonite Against Change

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Facebook. One of my favorite subjects. It’s not my end all marketing tool, but it is a part of a larger strategy that I use within my plan. Like most marketers and people I know, Facebook and I have a love-hate relationship. Some days I absolutely love it…other days I want to bang my head on my keyboard hoping to knock some sense into my brain. The chase is on to find the golden key to unlock the right engagement for best results and just when we think we’ve got it, Facebook ups their game to have us all scrambling again.

There is one thing I absolutely love about Facebook. They are constantly working to strike a balance between keeping their users happy (both social and professional) while increasing their bottom line. Every time they come up with something that might affect marketers in a less than desirable way…(poof!)…they pop out a new feature that gets us all excited again!

For instance…organic reach. In what seems like a strategic 2 year plan on their part, Facebook primed us for the days ahead starting in 2012 when they first announced the paid reach concept. Chatter struck up in forums of how evil Facebook was for starting to charge—and we read conversations for and against it on both sides of the fence—at the end of the day, people were upset that they might have to pay in order to use what they want as a free service.

I get it. I want free too. But truly, nothing in this world is really free. Eventually we’re going to have to pay for what we want and frankly, I’m thankful that Facebook hasn’t adopted other means for making us pay such as going to a monthly subscription rate. While the negative effects for them would have been drastic and huge, they surely could have done that. Rather, they took cues from Google (okay, maybe not…which was first the chicken or the egg?) and developed changes through their algorithms that keep us hopping.

Similar to that of search engine optimization; starting your business, getting your website up and running and clicking on your neon open sign certainly doesn’t mean you’ll get found on the internet. You need SEO to be found. That may also include SEM (search engine marketing), or Pay per Click ads for a little boost. Over the past five years we’ve come to understand that marketing has changed, especially if we want to gain top-of-the-mind awareness.

One thing is certain, Facebook is always changing…..

I’ll touch on some old news for a moment. They have created algorithms that, with their announcement last November, are quickly moving away from organic reach to encourage more paid advertising, which makes it more difficult for us to reach our audience. We knew it was coming so it wasn’t really a surprise. In fact, I really started noticing the effects of this change in mid-January. Again, just because we have followers and are active at posting great content…in most cases you’ll need to be on the pay to play bandwagon to have your posts seen by those that like your page and want to support your business. Early adopters are embracing the change, others aren’t there yet. The key is to develop a boosting strategy for posts that you want to have covered. It should become part of your Facebook marketing plan.

Facebook saves the day!

Here’s a positive development to off-set that announcement. Facebook has given us a new way to engage those that follow us with the new Call-to-Action (CTA) button! Yes, I am enamored with how Facebook is going to allow us to drive traffic to a landing page so that we can convert more potential clients and creatively use this platform to grow our own bottom line as well! Could the new Call-to-Action button become the kryptonite in our tool box that helps us gain more qualified engagement? The answer is YES! Especially when used as part of a strategic ad campaign!  

I mentioned in a recent blog post the “4 Reasons Facebook Will Remain a Social Powerhouse in 2015”, that Facebook is great at building trust, but they’re also great at continuing to develop what page admins want. In fact, they want “to release features that will help drive business objectives to align with a business’s goals”. The new Call-to-Action button is a perfect example of that! Woot! Woot!

Here’s how it works:

dollar shave club call to action test on facebook

Next to the “Like” button at the top of your Facebook page sits the Create a Call-to-Action. You can see in the example below that Sign Up is one of 7 different Call-to-Action buttons that are available. This makes it possible to set up your CTA to work congruently with another campaign to help drive clicks where you want them.

Take for example this 3 week test performed by Brian Kim from the famous online retailer Dollar Shave Club. “The Sign Up Call-to-Action delivered a 2.5x higher conversion rate versus other comparable social placements aimed to drive new user acquisition.” That’s great news! Personally and professionally I’m encouraged and I can’t wait to do some testing of my own in the near future!

So.. the 7 options for your CTA are:

  • Sign Up
  • Book Now
  • Contact Us
  • Use App
  • Play Game
  • Show Now
  • Watch Video

All great options when combining an ad campaign to drive engagement or even as a stand-alone way to promote your business page. The new Call-to-Action button is rolling out to Pages now through the end of 2015.

So as we are all excited and wrapped up in creating our new CTA, let’s try not forget the fact that if we want more than mere 5 followers to see our posts, we still have to pay for that coverage. At least until we pay our ad bill…ouch!

 

About Us: In addition to our other services, Infinite Reach Agency specializes in advanced Facebook marketing through ad placement and daily social engagement. If you have questions on this topic or have questions on how to implement a proper Facebook ad campaign, contact us for a complimentary 30 minute consultation! We’re happy to help!

 

facebook-new-call-to-action

Feel free to use this image in your marketing or better yet, share it on Pinterest!