social media marketing

Confronting All Those Challenges – Best of June

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Challenges

One of many challenges

This month’s top articles consider a number of challenging “How-To’s”. Overcoming challenges of content marketing, social media, strategy and your business website. Also considered are the opportunities hidden in business trends and becoming more productive by loosening up on your to-do lists.

Social Media Top Challenges

Social Media Top Challenges

Social media has been around long enough for there to have some settled challenges for businesses, regardless of size and scale. Read on to discover what they are, and some ideas on addressing them so you can be more successful in this central component of your digital marketing.

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Value, Story, Strategy and Facebook Ads – Best of April

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There are Stories....

There are Stories….

Key words for your business include VALUE, STORY, and STRATEGY (and for a LOT of us, FACEBOOK, too!). This month’s Best Of collection includes some ‘must-reads’ in these areas, plus a couple of great tips articles on Instagram and little-know Facebook features.

Instagram Fail

Instagram Fail

There are probably a “whop-tillion” (the official definition is ‘a one with more zeroes behind it than you can shake a stick at….’) articles and lists on the internet with titles like “Seven Things You Must Do to Get New Customers On LinkedIn” or “The Short List to Absolute Success and Better Skin Care For Businesses on Facebook”. Much can be learned, however, from the FAIL point of view on any platform or any process, to if you are invested in Instagram as a platform, or are considering it, THIS is the article for YOU!

Hidden Facebook Goodies

Hidden Facebook Goodies

Facebook was always a platform in flux, and now that the issues about user data and privacy have hit the headlines, changes are coming fast and furious. As a result, it is REALLY EASY to miss some of the more subtle goodies for marketing on the platform. Fortunately, the folks at Social Media Examiner haven’t missed them and share their findings in this article. Want to leverage the things that your competitors are probably NOT taking advantage of? Read on….

Strategy

Strategy

From an academic point of view, it would be really easy to write an article about the components of a good social media strategy. However, in this article, Dhariana Lozano takes the approach of what makes up a SUCCESSFUL strategy….and, of course, success is what you’re going for, right?

Facebook Business - Ads

Facebook Business – Ads

Everyone starts at the same place when spinning up your advertising online, and Facebook is the place where an enormous number of entrepreneurs and small businesses get going. This Guide of Eight (8) chapters is a terrific short school on how to get started, how to use the tools, how to set up a campaign, creating images and messaging, how to manage and review performance….all the bits that can take your Facebook marketing to the next level.

Blogging

Blogging

Blogging for your Business, eh? Then you are putting a lot of quality time and work into creating solid, gold-medal content….want to learn how to leverage that great stuff over and over again? Sure you do….

Story

Tell Your Story

A story is the shortest distance between a human being and the truth. We have been enthusiasts and consumers of stories for thousands of years, and the online experience is no different than anywhere else. So, how do you build out your story on your Facebook Business page to reach your VACC (Visitors / Audience / Customers / Community)?

Measuring REAL Value....

Measuring REAL Value….

As Nietzsche said, we value things that cost us. But cost and price are not the same. Cost is more like prize, as Steve Jobs alluded to in his keynote as returning Apple CEO in 1997. Something we earn through work, participation, and what we stand for, because we act on our beliefs. What is your business’ value?

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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Stop It With the “LIKES” Already!

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The Ubiquitous LIKES

The Ubiquitous LIKES

For years you would hear it and see it:

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!!!!!
 
Looking at those numbers, particularly if they grew big and fast, could make you feel very good about yourself, and certainly gave you the kind of strokes you wanted if you were a marketer working for a company of any size.

Then the whole conversation shifted to, “What are all of those ‘likes’ getting us?“, which led to a number of uncomfortable pauses in the report. While getting the right kinds of measurements in place years ago was much more difficult, nowadays there isn’t the thrashing about there used to be around them. You still need to have a clear goal around what you’re trying to achieve online…of course, the end is to generate sales, but following the trail, building the relationships, etc. with your customers hasn’t changed. The platforms and practices have to a large degree, when executing a digital marketing strategy (as opposed to what your company might have done 50 years ago…..), but people are still people.

So what SHOULD you be investing in?

In a recent article in the American Marketing Association Journal of Marketing Research entitled “Does “Liking” Lead to Loving? The Impact of Joining a Brand’s Social Network on Marketing Outcomes” (you may find the abstract here) I discovered a number of valuable insights to consider as a small business builds out their social / digital marketing strategy. The question that kicked the article off is this:

Does “liking” a brand on Facebook cause a person to view it more favorably? Or is “liking” simply a symptom of being fond of a brand?

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Setting Up for 2018 – Best of December

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Make the Leap to 2018

Make the Leap to 2018

The end of 2017 brings a focus to planning, strategy and change in the marketing teams of every business, whether you have an actual team or it’s just you, the solopreneur. This collection of the best of December articles reflects this focus and gives you the thoughts and processes for consideration as you launch into the new year.

Sincerity

Sincerity

This article about sincerity and dialogue in business is my most popular for 2017. The value of sincerity in business cannot be overstated, especially as building solid, long-term relationships with your customers is easily one of the most profitable things you can do.

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Where Should I Be? – The Case for Facebook

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Facebook

Facebook

OK, so you’ve done all the heavy lifting research about your market, your products and services, and your audiences.

You’ve worked closely with your marketing lead (either your own or a trust-worthy consultant…), deciding that digital marketing is a key component of your plan. Now you have arrived at the question that bedevils a LOT of small businesses:
Which social media platform (or platforms…) should I choose?

This is more than just a familiarity choice. This decision must be based upon:
  • What are your goals for your digital marketing?
  • Where are the bulk of your customers / audience?
  • How and where do you your customers / audience prefer to consume content?
  • What are the resources you have to devote to executing the plan?
There are many reasons to go with one or another platform, or more than one!

With this article I’m starting a series of articles (one platform per article over a few months…) that will give you some data, some analysis, some rationale, and a few recommendations. Each article will help you make that fateful decision:

Do I spend my limited and valuable resources on THIS platform, or not….or What?

First, the proverbial “Elephant in the Room”….

FACEBOOK

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STORY: A Must-Have for your Facebook Business Page

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Tell Your Story

Tell Your Story

There are a LOT of things that make for a successful Business page on Facebook. 
Books and entire web sites (and businesses!) are devoted to staying on top of the almost daily churn of what works best for your business.
There is no “one size fits all”. However, there are a few things you can do, regardless of your business, to check a few of the boxes towards having an effective business page.
So, What’s Your Story?
The ABOUT tab on your page is one of the most important parts of the page you will neglect. There are two spots on that tab where you can enhance your discoverability and help visitors get to know you.

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Content Ideas and the Holidays – Best of November

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The Holidays are Here!

The Holidays are Here!

Well, here we are….

It’s after Thanksgiving and before the twin end-of-the-year holidays of Christmas and New Year’s Day. If you’re like me you already have a lot going on, both in your business AND in your personal life (all those holiday get-togethers, plus trying NOT to gain, like, 50 pounds thanks to all the food involved…)! You’re probably wrapping up your 2018 business and marketing plan, executing on the holiday marketing and delivery, and trying to keep the cat(s) out of the tree. Still want to keep up on what’s happening in the digital marketing world? You KNOW it impacts your business and has knock-on effects on your plans, right? I thought so….
So here are my recommendations for the TOP articles from November to help you stay on top of it all!

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All About the Numbers! – The Best of October

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Holidays!

Holidays!

The holidays are nearly upon us!

Shortly we start that Rocket Slide toward year’s end…a rapid countdown, for sure.
In the spirit of a countdown, this month’s articles all have numbers as part of their headlines, so you can come away with some actionable points you can use.

Grow Your Facebook Page

Grow Your Facebook Page

Not every idea will work for you business, but these 32 “out-of-the-box” notions just might give you some other ideas about how to grow your Facebook page. Be Creative! Try new stuff…..

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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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