YOUR Social Media Brand Engagement Data Science?

Too many organizations maintain a Facebook page, at times without much thought about strategy..

Small business and non-profit social media managers typically squeeze in posts around many other job duties. Still, I think much can be learned from those developing the art and science of social business goals, objectives and tactics.

Related Article: Measuring YOUR Video Ad Campaign's Performance?

Brian Massey, founder and managing partner at Conversion Sciences, focuses on business website performance data analysis. “The Conversion Scientist” (complete with his lab coat seen in my recent interview and during an eMetrics Summit presentation last summer) explores the marketing funnel – from lead generation through the optimization of the conversion process.

Related Article: YOUR Social Media Listening Power?

“Quality leads,” he says, allow marketers to “use a combination of user testing and A/B testing to prioritize and refine those ideas.” Improvement is defined as those tweaks that increase business revenue. It involves a constant process of innovation to respond to market changes driven by social media and other forces.

As I have noted in earlier blog posts, mobile smartphones are a location-based sensor constantly measuring contextual consumer behavior. From inexpensive content testing panels to big data pools, entrepreneurs are developing new tools to help marketers.

We’re talking about someone who understands how to evaluate data, how to collect data, how to make decisions based on the data they’re collecting, and integrate that into their design process.

Facebook target advertising offers social marketers access to millions of potential customers based upon demographic and psychographic filters. For businesses, that translates into qualified prospects. For non-profit and local government organizations, targeting is an efficient way to reach interested citizens, raise issue awareness, and spark new community engagement.

Related Article: YOUR Social Media Brand Screenplay?

Success on Facebook, though, requires advertising experiments and effective “landing experiences” on websites, Massey says. Instead of “spray and pray” blasts, “marketers have to embrace this experimentation culture.”

You may not be ready to wear a lab coat, but Massey makes a good point about Facebook targeting as, “interrupt advertising, as opposed to search, which is intent-driven based on the keywords that are entered.” A strategic campaign integrates words, site design and images, brand management and data. In short, we need to embrace granular, contextual data.

The beauty of testing is that it allows a creative team to respond to data by developing bolder campaigns, Massey says. “We can take those risks because we’re doing it with user testing and small experiments.”

A recent ObservePoint 2017 Analytics Summit made this clear. James McCormick, Forrester Research principal analyst, emphasized that strategic metrics should be coordinated through standards and best practices. Optimization of key performance indicators (KPIs), are grounded in digital intelligence platforms. Understanding “digital touch-points,” he has written, should lead to “optimizing and perfecting experiences delivered and decisions made by brands during moments of engagement.”

Related Article: Putting The "Social" Into YOUR Social Media?

Meanwhile, Massey focuses on site personalized visitor touch-points that locate someone at a place within the marketing funnel. It makes a difference, if a person seeks information, brand engagement, or price discounts. Artificial intelligence (AI) and the use of chat-bots work better for some functions than others. Massey asks, “What is the experience once they click?”

"These devices can be used to manipulate rather than persuade. We want to persuade, not manipulate. So, the more people we have that take on experience experimentation culture, the more diversity we have. I think it will ensure that we have a higher ethical bar of people who are using this data."

Massey says the data trend should not “scare you away from getting excited about the creative part of the job.” Social media marketers will need AI training to do the job five years from now, he adds.

Consider an email subject line. Data scientists can help marketers improve results. “I’ve got to sit down and use it on a daily basis to answer questions.”

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For now, email and Facebook continue to be the primary way to reach people. “Instagram is probably the next frontier,” Massey says. Likewise, Pinterest can be effective. Increasingly, Facebook and YouTube video also are in the mix.

To some extent, the traditional marketing approach distinguishes use of social media from effective Instagram and Snapchat brand influencer campaigns. These sites, along with Twitter, started behind Facebook in offering targeted marketing data. Massey also is keeping an eye on Amazon and its integration of products and user data. “Every campaign is an experiment,” he says. “If we can embrace that experimentation culture, we have the tools, we have the data. We just have to sit down and ask questions that we can answer with data.”

Guest Authored By Dr. Jeremy Harris Lipschulz. Jeremy is a professor in the UNO Social Media Lab, School of Communication, University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is author of Social Media Communication: Concepts, Practices, Data, Law and Ethics, second edition (2018, 2015). Dr. Lipschultz has published books and scholarly articles on media, law, new communication technologies, social media and education. He has been a frequent media source for outlets, such as WGN, NPR, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Omaha World-Herald, KFAB, and others. Follow Professor Jeremy on X.

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For now, Instagram, email and Facebook continue to be the primary way to reach people. “Instagram is probably the next frontier.

Likewise, Pinterest can be effective. Increasingly, Facebook and YouTube video also are in the mix.."

• 

  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Scottsdale, AZ. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

2017 Social Media Mover & Shaker List?

Which brands topped the social media Movers and Shakers list in 2017?

You do not have to be a new, hot technology in order to get consumers talking about your brand. Consumer engagement can happen across all brands -- if you get it right.

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It does seem that new products and those within sectors such as technology that are considered to be the "hottest" are the ones consumers are talking about most.

However, this is more of a myth than fact. New York-based data, analytics, and insights company Engagement Labs has identified the top 10 brands that saw the most improvement with respect to the quality and quantity of consumer conversations.

I looked at 500 consumer brands and ranked brands that gained the most consumer conversation over the course of a year.

It ranked its 'Movers and Shakers' as brands with the biggest point increase in their TotalSocial scores from the year ending in May 2016 to the year ending in May 2017, placing them in the top half of its TotalSocial ranking.

According to its analysis, these Movers and Shakers are not from just one category.

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They range from technology and entertainment to insurance companies, travel services, and food brands.

There is a raft of new products, such as the Apple Watch, along with well-established brands such as General Mills.

It does not seem to matter what the category or age of a brand is.

If there is a strong product, good customer case study, or great marketing campaign, there is always an opportunity to gain momentum and improve how much and the way in which consumers talk about a brand.

USAA and Bayer are clear examples that brands do not have to be 'sexy' to earn consumer engagement. USAA is ranked third on the list. It focuses on providing military members and their families with insurance, banking, and investment services.

Its marketing campaigns focus on patriotism and appeal to consumers emotional. This has resulted in a rise in people who were talking offline about their advertising and marketing.

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Life science company Bayer is second on the Movers and Shakers list. Bayer had a record-breaking year and substantially improved its face-to-face conversations and offline sentiment.

Apple Watch is the No. 1 Mover and Shaker. The brand moved up more than 100 places. During the reporting period, it released product innovations including the iPhone 7, Apple Watch Series 2, and Apple AirPods.

Consumers have long been talking and interacting with the brand. It used the Apple Watch launch to generate consumer conversations.

General Mills proved that even the most established brands can rise up the list, One of the catalysts that enhanced its position was its controversial "Bring Back the Bees" campaign.

Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs, said: "In the case of Apple, it is clear that the company really made the most of its product launch for the Apple Watch."

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Consumer conversations are a proven driver of critical business outcomes, including sales.

Tracking, measuring, and benchmarking the impact of conversations happening around a brand and industry -- both online and offline -- is key to the brands success.

Guest Authored By Eileen Brown. Eileen is a social business consultant who has been working with collaborative technologies for 20 years. Eileen creates the social business, energizes communities and ignites social commerce and social CRM. She develops social business strategy, customer reach and online branding. Her book, Working The Crowd: Social Media Marketing for Business, is available on Amazon. She is a regular speaker at conferences around the world, maintains a blog Here. Follow Eileen on Twitter.

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“Consumer conversations are a proven driver of critical business outcomes, including sales.

Tracking, measuring, and benchmarking the impact of conversations happening around a brand and industry -- both online and offline -- is key to the brands success.."

• 

  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

A Social Media Creativity Boost?

Leave it to a dating app to demonstrate the instant success a creative social media marketing approach can bring to a new business..

Tinder -- the location-based dating service that facilitates matchups between interested parties -- used a tactic best described as word-of-mouth advertising in a digital format To successfuly launch its app.

In a recent podcast, Tinder co-founder and CEO Sean Rad revealed that the company grew by 50 percent the day after it texted 500 individuals a link to its app. That tactic and other word-of-mouth campaigns grew Tinder's customer base from 20,000 to 500,000 users in less than a month.

Clearly, entrepreneurs hoping to quickly reach and grow their own customer bases must embrace social media in all its forms. Social media's free word-of-mouth nature can attract and engage potential customers at a stage in the company's development when advertising budgets are often tight and expenses must be carefully monitored.

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When building a new business, attracting customers is imperative -- and social media is a leading pathway to gathering and retaining loyal consumers.

Reach Out and Touch Your Customers

Consumers love to be engaged, equipped and empowered, Kimberly Whitler, a marketing professor at the University of Virginia, has said. This makes them feel important, as though they have a vested interest in the company. Consumers crave two-way interactions and are flattered to offer reviews of a company's products or services.

Why should this matter to a small entrepreneur? Because every customer reached is a potential repeat customer who will tell others about a positive experience.

When a startup adopts social media marketing tactics that truly engage its customers, the benefits are plentiful: The company likely will grow its customer base while spending less money on marketing, leaving more funds available to invest in higher salaries for employees and other areas of the business.

Social media marketing done right also helps businesses stay top of mind among their followers. Consumers will recall engaging content, helpful advice or a humorous post. According to MarketingLand, consumers don't want to be lectured or bombarded with ads. Good vibes toward the company result in trust, long-term loyalty and a positive bottom line.

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Nielsen reports that 92 percent of global consumers identify earned media as their favorite form of advertising, primarily in the form of recommendations from friends and acquaintances. Those customers trust companies that connect with them in genuine, captivating ways; and they want to establish relationships with them.

Shake up Strategies to Push the Marketing Status Quo

So, how can entrepreneurs change their marketing strategies to create connections with customers and pack more social punch? Here are four tactics to try:

1. Register Accounts on All Major Platforms.

According to Hootsuite, social media can no longer be brushed aside. A business won't succeed without active accounts across several platforms. If social media's word-of-mouth power is not utilized, the chances for promoting a business are largely lost. Get started with accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more to meet customers where they are.

Even companies without a product to sell benefit from engaging on social media. Magic Leap, a private company that is developing a futuristic augmented/virtual reality system, has created interactive content to whet users' appetites for the impact its future product could have on their daily lives. Despite its ack of any imminent product launch announcement to date, the company has still generated about 60,000 likes on Facebook and has attracted 32,000 Twitter followers.

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2. Harness the Power of Community

Reach out to consumers -- and let them reach out to you and to one another -- using social media in order to successfully build community and benefit from positive word of mouth.

Yelp, which publishes crowdsourced reviews of products and services, shows how powerful positive reviews can be. If a customer likes the service or food at a new restaurant in town, a good Yelp review will encourage even more customers to flock to the startup's table. Encouraging customers to leave a positive verified review, perhaps through offering a coupon or discount on future services, can help draw in new customers.

Consider for example the case of Uncle Maddio's Pizza. I came across the family-owned pizza joint while traveling with my son's baseball team. Our hungry team searched restaurant reviews on Yelp and found positive comments about Uncle Maddio's. As promised, the food was excellent, the service was top-notch and the staff was personable. Before we left, I learned that a franchise location would soon open in my hometown.

Related Article: Food and Drink Social Media Marketing?

The owners started a Facebook page for the new location and promoted "spirit nights" that would raise money for schools and youth organizations. Needless to say, when the new store opened, I took my family there and have returned many times to eat and to support fundraisers there. Positive online and word-of-mouth reviews have led this small business to success.

3. Associate With Other Businesses That Share Similar Mindsets

Strive to connect to businesses that are working toward the same type of high-quality customer experiences you are. Good business practice dictates being tied in with others that have strong search-engine rankings and website presences. Interact with them online, and share each other's content across your social platforms.

Many online marketers, such as Neil Patel of Kissmetrics -- whom I've turned to for advice on my SEO projects -- say posts on social media accounts influence Google and Bing search rankings.

Search engine rankings aim to provide users the best possible resources to help them make purchasing decisions and acquire information. These accounts can affect the business's reputation and authority just as easily as they promote the business.

Related Article: B2B Brand-Boosting Social Media?

4. Employ Someone Who Knows How to use Social Media Effectively

Hire someone who thoroughly knows social media -- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and beyond. This person should be able to moderate comments, post daily messages and answer inquiries. Give this person guidance on what your business is trying to accomplish and a list of what's acceptable to post. His or her goal should be to keep customers informed and engaged in a timely manner.

A good social media team can take a business to global heights. Holly Clarke, a marketing manager at Airbnb, says the company has team members in San Francisco, France, Germany and the U.K., along with translators tailoring posts to other areas of the world. Airbnb's #NightAt and #BelongAnywhere campaigns draw in consumers from across the globe to interact with its content.

Guest Authored By Daniel Wesley. Daniel is a Florida-based entrepreneur whose degree is in nuclear medicine. His work has been featured in many distinguished publications, including Entrepreneur and Time magazine. He is currently the chief evangelist at Quote.com and writes for both Credit Loan and DebtConsolidation.com. Follow Daniel on Twitter.

Related Article: Start-Up "Stand Out" Social Media?

"Entrepreneurs have a lot to think about when starting new businesses, but the use of social media should be a no-brainer.

Creative social media marketing tactics, with an emphasis on free word-of-mouth advertising, enable a startup to quickly grow its customer base.

Long-term relationships and two-way interactions with those customers will soon follow.

Make sure you and your business are creating those interactions, as well.."

• 

  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

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