Video

Get Facebook Ads Right, Engage, and Stretch Those ‘Little Grey Cells’!! – Best of November

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November

jill111 / Pixabay

November allowed us all a chance to be Thankful, and then take a deep breath as we dive into the pre-Christmas / New Year period. Depending on your business, this may be the best and most hectic time of year, or things may cool down a bit while your customers work out their plans for 2019. This months’ “Best Of…” articles cover some important pieces to get right when using ads on Facebook, honing your LinkedIn presence, some recommendations for video-editing apps (since video is on your content list for 2019, right?), and several other goodies for you!

Of course, you don’t just slap something together, point it at your credit card and hit PUBLISH, right? Pause for a moment and go down this handy checklist, and your success rate is likely to improve….

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Engagement and Choosing the Right Platform – Best of July

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Engagement

How’s Your Audience Engagement Coming Along?

July always feels like the mid-point for summer…the home for vacations, cook-outs, and many more outdoor activities (especially here in the Pacific Northwest…) than the rest of the year! There’s still the constant tsunami of articles and tips online, though, holiday or not! July’s compilation is weighted towards engagement online, assessing the right platform and service for your digital marketing efforts, video tools, and taking a bit of that “sunshine time” to practice thinking for the benefit of your business and your life.
"Follow Us" = Engagement?

“Follow Us” = Engagement?

How frequently you post, how relevant your posts are to your audience (based on you research…), how many clicks and likes you get….it’s all empty until you can really “engage” with you audience. That’s the point of a lot of social media content and your presence…so how do you DO that? Here are some great tips, delivered in a very helpful infographic, to help you!

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Video Success and the Right Metrics – Best of March

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Lamb of March

Lamb of March suju / Pixabay

March is going out like something like a lamb here in the Pacific Northwest…but the turmoil online with data protection concerns, Facebook revelations, and announced data breaches (apps, sites, phones….seems to happen everywhere….) draws more and more attention. Turning from these concerns a bit, this month’s top articles put some focus back on tips and opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses in the digital marketing world.

The Right Metrics?

The Right Metrics?

Thankfully, a lot of companies have moved past the “vanity metrics” problem of a few years ago. Still, to move past that to the numbers that truly reflect your online goals and move the needle for you business requires some research and work with an expert. Doing so will REALLY PAY OFF, so don’t shirk this….

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Facebook Live Video and the Point – Best of February

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Live Streaming Video

Live Streaming Video

 

In the face of the January announcement by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, a LOT of brain power has been focused on just what this means for business. One of the early analyses posited that live video, already a big player online, will become even MORE important. Hence the Video heavy listing with this month’s edition of the BEST!

Start that LIVE VIDEO!

Start that LIVE VIDEO!

Like any valuable effort, you need to plan and prepare. Making streaming video is no exception, especially when it can be portrayed as “point-click-talk” by casual users. Your resources are valuable, and you need to spend a BIT MORE up front to GET MORE in the return!

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Facebook Live video – “Hit the Button, Buddy!”

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video live button

VIDEO – GO LIVE!

It’s Live Video Month! This article is the second in the series in which I’m going over:
  • Strategy and Planning
  • Processes and How-To
  • …and include a few examples.
This week is all about what happens when you push the “GO LIVE” button and what you do through to the end of your video, and what you do afterwards, too.

But first, a quick recap:

My earlier article, “Facebook Live Video – Getting Everything Ready To Go!” is all about Strategy, Planning, Content Format ideas, and the Hardware / Software you can use. If you haven’t read that yet, follow the link and it will take you through the pre-process, getting you to…..

How To Start
 
Actually, you start before you start, so to speak.

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Facebook Live video – Getting Everything Ready To Go!

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Start that LIVE VIDEO!

Start that LIVE VIDEO!

It’s Live Video Month! This article is the first of two (for now….) in which I intend to go over:
  • Strategy and Planning
  • Processes and How-To
  • …and include a few examples.
This week is all about the Strategy and Planning, along with a little “Why do this video thing, anyway?”

Facebook Live Statistics that will convince you!

There are a ton of numbers out there that demonstrate the value of Facebook’s Live video streaming service even above that of “standard” video.  Here are a few:

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Get Ready to Smile – Live Video is Coming for You!

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You're LIVE on Video!!!

You’re LIVE on Video!!!

While we’re all waiting for the smoke to clear around Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement a few weeks ago regarding the BIG CHANGES taking place in the Facebook Newsfeed and how that will hit your marketing, one thing is pretty clear…

Video remains HUGE, and Live Video (Facebook Live, for this article…) is going to become something that all businesses are going to have to come up with a plan for.  This ties in directly with many things that Zuckerberg mentioned in his announcement (emphasis mine):
  • “…recently we’ve gotten feedback from our community that public content — posts from businesses, brands and media — is crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other.”
  • “We started making changes in this direction last year, but it will take months for this new focus to make its way through all our products. The first changes you’ll see will be in News Feed, where you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups.  As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard — it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.“
  • “The research shows that when we use social media to connect with people we care about, it can be good for our well-being. We can feel more connected and less lonely, and that correlates with long term measures of happiness and health. On the other hand, passively reading articles or watching videos — even if they’re entertaining or informative — may not be as good. Based on this, we’re making a major change to how we build Facebook. I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions.”
  • You can read his entire post here.

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END OF THE SUMMER! THE BEST OF SEPTEMBER

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Autumn is HERE!

Autumn is HERE!

The beginning of Fall is upon us and we’re all planning for what our holiday business is going to look like, right? In a final look-back on our collective Summer, here are some articles I found to be particularly arresting……

CLICK THAT HEADLINE!!!

CLICK THAT HEADLINE!!!

Great article…but the headline you wrote for it is a definite “…meh…”. Want to figure out how to get your audience to click through and actually READ it? Here’s some tips, backed up by data, that tell you how!

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BEST OF AUGUST – Customer Reviews, Surveys, and Top Social Media Listening Tools!

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Well here we are…the unofficial End of Summer! Labor Day (in the U.S.), Back to School, and the business planning for 2018 is no longer avoidable!

There has been a lot of great information published this month, so here are the best articles I’ve read. I know you’ll find them worth the time, and packed with actionable goodies.

Social Media Listening

Social Media Listening

There are an ever growing number of social media listening tools (most also do other things, but the focus is on listening for this article) on the market. Some are free, some are “freemium” (free, but with some more functionality if you pay a bit more…), and others will cost you in a much bigger way. This article lists out 10 top tools in this category that won’t break your bank account. Be sure to assess carefully what you really need, and then add some extra headroom….you will ALWAYS end up needing them to do more than you think!

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Digital Media, Audio, and Video: It’s BOTH – AND!

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Digital Audio Video

Can you hear me now?

Media choices: there seem to be a zillion of them! Curated links, status updates, ads, photos, graphics, GIFs  short videos, long videos, animations, audio podcasts, webinars, hangouts, blogs…..SHEEEESH!!  Look at all the options and it’s easy to just throw your hands up, post a picture of your cat and call it good…

Talk with solopreneurs and small business owners about digital marketing strategy and the need for a content strategy that maps to their business needs, the needs and desires of their audience…..well, it can seem complicated.

It’s not really. There are just a lot of choices.

Based on who you are trying to connect with and how they wish to be connected, that is the foundation. After that comes resources required / available, and the other deciding factors.

Let’s take a look at a couple of these: Video and Audio.

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