Archive for 'Social Media'

Social media accounts with a lot of followers can be really valuable to your company, or they can be nearly useless.

The key to success is in how you utilse your social media followers, and how well you engage then and the community in order to promote and popularise your brand.

Maybe you’ve thought, “Okay, I have all of these followers, but now what?” If that’s where you’re at, here are a few of the best suggestions on how to engage your users and begin creating some value with your social media accounts.

 

Note that not all of these suggestions will lead directly to value, but they will help you to create a stronger sense of community with your followers and to turn some of them into unofficial allies or friends.

1.    Ask Questions That Start Conversations

People like to be asked about their opinion, and they particularly enjoy sharing their opinions through social media. Ask questions that can create discussions and then take part in the conversation. These questions will tend to be either controversial or open ended. Asking a basic question with a common sense answer is not going to do much for you.

Another idea is to ask questions that give customers and followers some input into your business. Ask them which promotions they like the most, or which products are their favorites. Not only will you be engaging them, you’ll be gleaning valuable interaction.

2.    Plan Time Each Day to Interact

Obviously you can’t afford to sit at your computer all day long and answer Tweets and post on Facebook, but you can set aside a few minutes every couple of hours to respond to mentions on Twitter and comments on Facebook. That should be enough to keep you relatively active and show your followers that you’re not just shouting at them, you’re communicating with them.

3.    Search For Comments Involving Your Brand or Company

Another great strategy is to search for any comments or tweets that include your company or brand name, then respond to any that are particularly important. You may thank people for positive comments, respond to constructive suggestions and attempt to fix any problems or complaints that you find.

While it’s not good to have people complaining about you through social media, it is good that you can address it and try to make things right for unhappy customers.

4.    Use Pictures and Video

People like looking at pictures and watching short videos online, so try to include these in any ways possible. Whether it’s product photos, behind the scenes photos or just random interesting things, try to keep your audience engaged with pictures, video and other media-rich content.

5.    Hold a Contest

People love free things and they like winning, so consider holding contests through social media. Just be sure to check any applicable rules or laws and make sure you’re not violating any. This can not only get people excited and lead to interaction, but it should also get people talking about your company or brand.

Your giveaway may not even have to be that valuable, as long as it doesn’t take too much time or effort for people to enter. The bigger your giveaway, the more time consuming the entry could be although your goal should still be to keep it simple and straightforward.

Remember that social media is all about interacting, not just getting your message out. Thus, do your best to be helpful and think of ways to create interaction and you should be in great shape. Don’t fall back into any old habits of simply putting out your core information and nothing more.

Toby Gonzales is the Revenue Manager for FBiFrames.com. He enjoys helping businesses implement their social media marketing plan.

 

So what do you think?

Do comment below if you have something to add to any of the points here or have anything to add to the conversation.

We would love to know if use social media in your PR and marketing .  What id your favorite or most active platform?  What challenges and benefits do you experience?  What’s been your biggest win?

Here at Milagro we are experts at building targeted and active social media audiences for our clients, so if you have any questions about how to get more from your social media efforts simply leave a comment below and we will do our best to help.

We also love it when you remember to +1 (it just takes a moment) and spread the word by clicking ‘like’ in the share box below. We appreciate it ~ thanks.

 

Google+, is the social network by Google. It is currently the words second largest social networking site based on user count.

Although user activity statistics are not as attractive to marketers as those in Facebook,  Google+ receives a vast amount of activity from a very socially engaged and loyal following.

If you are looking for a deeper connection with your audience and customer base, then Google+ is the place to go to create it.

If you’ve never taken a peak at what’s inside you are missing out. There is masses of help to get started and it wouldn’t take long before you notice that there are thousands of  bustling niche communities inside.

For Google’s part, they have done well to support this community by introducing killer features their users can be proud of.

• Trending on Google+
• Communities
• Hangouts
• Circles

Personally I’n 100% sold. I think the features in Google+ are superior to those the other social networking sites currently offer. That said, we’ve come up with a cheatsheet, meant to lessen the learning curve for those who wants to cdoss over , or jump the fence.

This infographic brings you:

• Introduction to UI
• Hotkeys For Less Fuss Navigation
• Tips For Google+

 

Frances J. Cotton is a work at home mom who makes a living with Lyoness. She does guest blogging for better proliferation of her work. Her work usually involves making MLM training materials meant to introduce internet marketing to newbies.

 

So what do you think?

Do comment below if you have something to add to any of the points here or have anything to add to the conversation.

We would love to know, have you used Google+ yet?   If so, would you recommend to others? What are the challenges and benefits you have experienced. The team at Milagro are avid G+ users so if you have any questions about it just let us know. We will be happy to help you out.

We also love it when you remember to +1 (it just takes a moment) and spread the word by clicking ‘like’ in the share box below. We appreciate it ~ thanks.

SoLoMo is an acronym for social + local + mobile.

SoLoMo is a fusion marketing tactic being used by companies across the world.  The premise behind it is simple:

Since today’s consumers are using social media and mobile devices while accessing the web when searching for local establishments, marketers have realized the importance of combining social + local + mobile factors into one integrated tactic: SoLoMo.

 

Mobile has become a powerful avenue for marketers because consumers that use mobile devices are a captured audience.

Utilising a SoLoMo tactic allows marketers to reach their audience through mobile devices while they’re on the go.

Along with using their smartphones and tablets to perform searches, consumers are also using their mobile devices to find and redeem coupons and promotions or make purchases, which heightens the importance of adding SoLoMo to your marketing strategy.

If you’re new to SoLoMo, you may not be entirely sure how to implement it into your next marketing strategy. The following tips will help you learn how to best use the latest marketing craze for your business.

Think Foursquare.

Foursquare is a great example of SoLoMo. Foursquare allows customers to virtually check in to locations (the location portion). These customers can then redeem offers through their mobile device (the mobile portion) while also chatting with friends and pushing out these check-ins and offers through social media (the social portion). If you want to implement SoLoMo into your marketing strategy, you’ll want to think like Foursquare.

Make it easy.

If your SoLoMo involves too many bells and whistles or is too difficult to understand, it’s not going to work.

Make sure that your company is listed on Foursquare and Facebook so that your customers can virtually check in, or create your own community that consumers can check in to. When your platforms are easy to use, your audience will be more willing to use them.

Quick and simple systems get shared,  so you will want to make sure that your SoLoMo efforts are easy for your customers to understand.  Make it easy for your then to redeem your mobile offers and make the geo-tracking option easy as well. Then they will share your information through their social channels.

Test your results.

It’s not likely you’re going to create a successful SoLoMo campaign right away, which means you’ll need to test the waters before until you find out what gets the best response from your audience for your product and services.

For example, you may want to create a variety of mobile landing page and offers and track which offers are redeemed most often by your consumers and which don’t see much redemption. This can help you learn which promotions and marketing processes are favored and what generates increased purchases from your consumers.

 Add locations to your web content.

Keywords are important to your online visibility, and it’s important that your web copy contains location-based keywords to help your site be found on mobile device searches.

Adding your address as well as other location keywords can help your website get ranked high on the search engines, and this is great if your customers are using their mobile devices to search for products or services that your company offers.

In reality, it’s likely that you’re already taking steps toward implementing SoLoMo into your marketing strategy—or you may realize that you’re already using it. As long as you continue to think about social, location and mobile, your SoLoMo efforts will come naturally.

Caroline Jones is a freelance writer with years of marketing experience.  She has recently been writing about SoLoMo

 

So what do you think?

Do comment below if you have something to add to any of the points here or have anything to add to the conversation.

We would love to know,so you use an integrated SoLoMo marketing method?  If so, what are the challenges and benefits you experienced? What areas do you need specific help in implementing – leave us a comment and we will do our best to answer?

We also love it when you remember to +1 (it just takes a moment) and spread the word by clicking ‘like’ in the share box below. We appreciate it ~ thanks.

 

What is it about Twitter that makes it so beneficial for business users?

Well, without doubt Twitter is  one of the most active and influential social networking platforms used by avid Internet marketing buffs, B2B social networkers and newshounds.

With over 320 million tweets posted daily, this micro-blogging site not only helps web marketers raise brand awareness for their business at a touch of a button,  but also easily helps them target and reach their niche audience without the hefty promotional price tag you can expect to pay in Facebook.

If you’re still not using Twitter to give your business the online boost that it truly deserves, then you are absolutely missing out.

Make sure you check out the rest of this article to find out the best reasons why you need to sign up for a Twitter account right now.

It is still growing bigger and bigger.

On average, there are more than a million new Twitter accounts created each and every day. Apart from showing you how popular the social networking site is, this also gives you an idea of how extensive its reach is when growing your online business is concerned.

Twitter was founded in 2006, its total number of active users has jumped to 500 million this year (2013), which is significantly more than the combined figures of existing Tumblr, Pinterest and eBay accounts.

It allows you to link all of your social media strategies.

One of the best reasons that Twitter is considered an essential tool when it comes to Internet marketing is its unique attribute of allowing users to link almost anything to their tweets with ease.

Whether you’re looking to highlight your business website, blog, Facebook page, YouTube video or simply anything that’s relevant to your web marketing efforts, you just have to copy the URL, place it on the tweet bar and you’re pretty much all set.

The only limitation is the 140-character limit. If you don’t stick to that then your message will appear incomplete to other users. As long as you can deliver your message within that short and sweet framework, you’re sure to engage your target audience almost immediately.

It helps you know what your competitors are up to.

If you’ve ever imagined how  getting access to a cutting-edge tool that allows you to gain competitive intelligence at a touch of a button can benefit your business, then you had better set up your very own Twitter profile right now.

Twitter allows you to monitor the tweets your competitors are sending out, and getting that information in real time will give you an idea what they’re working on. From keeping on top of almost anything from future product upgrades to possible expansion plans, you can learn a lot of useful information that keeps you abreast of your competitors news – on the proviso that you check in and use your Twitter account on a regular basis.

It gives your business a personal touch.

What really makes Twitter interesting as an online business tool is its ability to engage in a personal way with your target audience.

Apart from allowing you to connect with your target audience without fuss, if you are strategic about it, Twitter makes for a great market research tool. All you need to do to find out how well your audience likes your product or service is ask!

What’s more if you want to know how they would improve on a product  service you have to offer – ask, and believe me people will tell you.

The great thing about it is that you can engage your audience in a straight forward  conversation which is a feature that you still can’t find in other social networking platforms until now.

Paolo is working with Claire Jarrett and enjoys internet marketing.

 

So what do you think?

Do comment below if you have something to add to any of the points here or have anything to add to the conversation.

We would love to know, if you use Twitter.  If you do please stop by and follow us – we will be sure to follow you back?   If you work from home what are the challenges you experience? Would you recommend to others?

We also love it when you remember to +1 (it just takes a moment) and spread the word by clicking ‘like’ in the share box below. We appreciate it ~ thanks.