YOUR Local Business Social Media Marketing?

You have a brick and mortar business, but is something missing? - You're chatting up with the locals, hosting events, you're even posting on Instagram..

But you know, you're missing something. You're having the case of the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and perhaps the truth is, you're just not being social enough?

Related Article: Social Media Mistakes YOUR Company Makes?

It's now just a push of a button and a fingertip away from engaging with your ideal customer. Google has now even begun to use the term Mobile Moments in regards to the consumer's journey across devices. Social media is a 24-hour powerhouse, with users engaged in all hours of the day. There are roughly around 2.1 billion smartphone users.

Mobile Moments

In a recent study, it showed 54% of shoppers are expected to shop in these Mobile Moments (meaning online on their mobile devices).

So what can help you target these incredibly tech-savvy consumers? Before we go there, here is a list of how many people are plugged into social media on some of the most popular social media apps, giving you a bird's eye view of the potential reach that a good social media campaign can have on your business:

--Instagram with 300 million + users

--WhatsApp with 700 million

--Facebook messenger has 600 million users

(All of the above owned by Facebook)

Related Article: Marketing Trends To Dominate In 2018?

And That's Just The Tip Of The Iceberg

But how will they know you even exist? There are still apps such as the ever-elusive Snap Chat (Which FB tried to buy out at one point), LinkedIn, Twitter, and honestly, the list goes on and on.

This can be a bit intimidating if you're not up to speed with how social media functions and that's why I put together a list that would help you start off on the right track when it comes to reaching the technologically empowered shopper.

11 Social media marketing tips that can help you connect with your audience & take your small business up a notch.

When it comes to posting on social media remember that it's not just about captioning off that perfectly captured filtered image, it's about connection, networking, being socially intelligent and strategic.

Related Article: YOUR Brand In The Age Of Social Media?

1. Brand your Social Media

Stay away from those generic filters. Just because it's easily available doesn't mean it doesn't come with a price. The price of engagement, that is. Branded images allow you to have a distinctive look and appealing brand to those who pop in on your feed. Allowing them to stay a bit longer, convert into a lead and possibly a sale. No one likes murky, dark or blurry vision, why use it on your social feed? A great app to help you edit as easily as pressing a button is the VSCO app which you can download straight to your smartphone. It allows you to make your Instagram pop like it's never done before. Light and Bright are usually a great starting point.

2. Have A Blog

This is something I advise all business owners to have because it allows you to have more online visibility, customer loyalty and set you apart from your competitors. You don't have to write up a novel, 250 - 350 characters work great. And you don't have to post every single day! Once a week to every other week is perfectly fine.

Related Article: Social Selling To Build YOUR Client Relations?

How powerful can your blog be?

"Your Google ranking will go up dramatically. Whereas Google and other search engines may take two or three weeks to list your new website in search results, new blog sites and new blog entries are indexed every day. From comments, you will accumulate external links both into and out of your site, and get additional ranking from Google" -via Business Insiders

3. Add Value

Make sure you're adding content that not only jives with your brand but incorporates value to your readers. Done right a blog curated, branded and socially spread the right way can have you hundreds up-to thousands of visits a month. You can easily set one up through your website hosting provider and if you're using Squarespace or Wordpress.org it is nothing but a phone-call or easy set up away.

Related Article: How YOU Become A Social Media Pro?

4. Use Pinterest

Tailwind is a great app that allows you to schedule posts on Pinterest. Pinterest is like Google with images. It's a large index of beautiful digital sticky notes that you can't help but click and read. Pinterest, in a nutshell, is a visual search engine. It's not just for looking up incredibly tasty Christmas cookie recipes or how to decorate your home for the holidays, it's a social media beast! Use it wisely my friends.

5. Design Your Images

Canva - If you're not already using it you need to. Canva is a graphic designer that you've folded up and placed in your back pocket. If you don't do anything but create pinnable images, it is well worth your time to look into it. Plus canva has a FREE version. With this tool in your back pocket consider making your post pin worthy. Meaning, slap some clickbait on that image!

Related Article: Marketing Strategies To Transcend YOUR Industry?

6. Cross Promote Your Content

Thank goodness for integration! If cash is King automation in the small business world is Queen. The best way I discovered in cross posting meaning posting one time and it posts just about on every social media channel you are on. Using an app called IFTTT (If This Then That).

You can easily cook up recipes that post on Instagram and have your images also showing up on Twitter.

Instagram doesn't play nice with Twitter when it comes to posting images. Instagram also integrates and allows you to post on Facebook and Tumblr, but with IFTTT all you would have to do is share it one time without choosing additional options when posting. Zapier & an FB messenger tool called ManyChat are other apps which allow you to automate and stay connected.

Related Article: Getting Your Social Media Content Shared?

7. Use Strategy

With Facebook constantly changing their algorithms, Instagram no longer being what it once was there is a unique way of posting that can help you drive in more traffic to your business and using Apps such as Social Sprout or Hootsuite that can make your life much easier while your social engagement climb.

They allow you to post to your Twitter, Facebook group, Facebook page etc. on a schedule. For Facebook, I recommend scheduling post directly onto Facebook as its algorithms are more in favor of a "genuine" post as opposed to a post, posted from an outside app or bot.

While using Twitter, go ahead and schedule out those posts straight from your app. Tailwind (used for Pinterest as stated above) can also point toward your Instagram but I recommend having the traffic drive more towards your website.

Related Article: How Facebook's Changes Impact YOUR Social Media Marketing?

8. Using Tags

Hashtags are not just to randomly use in a sentence just to look #cool. Used strategically it can help customers and clients better find you. Make sure to include and use Geotags towards your overall location helping those tech-savvy customers find your business and land on that beautifully curated feed you created, making them want to scroll a bit longer and visit in the future. Don't have a brick and mortar? Geotag the city you do business from.

9. Giveaways

Allow you to engage with your audience. A great way to truly use the giveaways to your advantage is by asking your audience not just to comment but to tag a friend in order to enter said giveaway. A bonus is hosting giveaways both on your Facebook business page & Instagram Accounts. If you really want to get techy, FB ads are a great way to place new eyes in front of your business. And since you got the branded images, cool looking #hashtag sentences, what prospect wouldn't you lead towards a very worthy sale. Win-Win.

Related Article: Social Media Secrets To Going Viral?

10. Schedule Posts

In favor of using the latest apps, I recommend building content at least a month in advance, scheduled out around those special moments or promotions you would like your customers or clients to take advantage or be a part of. This allows you to think outside the box, giving you time to be creative and prepare for those amazing turnouts.

11. Be Authentic

People don't want to connect with a "business". They want to connect with real people, with a heart and soul behind those beautifully displaying images and perfect captions. Business is about serving people and sometimes the best way to do that is by being authentic & genuine with your audience. By allowing the consumer to get to know a bit more about your brand identity opens up a deeper relationship and brand loyalty with them. An example of this is by posting campaigns that you care about, local events that your business funds or are a part of and why. This can also help build awareness into the heart of your brand because influence in any capacity is powerful.

Alas, if all else fails you can always outsource or hire someone to help you set up your social media the right way for your unique business needs.

Guest Authored By Linda Mendible. Linda is an ABC11 Influencer who specializes in digital marketing. Learn more about Linda on her website. Follow Linda on X.

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

Go LIVE - Videos are the new black.

Meaning, in the words of Zoolander, Videos are hot right now. If a consumer were to choose between a business that was using video versus the same type of business who wasn't using video, the consumer would choose the business capitalizing on video visibility hands down.

The reason? Brand Awareness.

There is a deeper connection made with video and a result of higher visibility. In other words, adding a product video on your landing page can increase conversions by 80%. Using tools such as Zoom can help in creating great live videos with just a push of a button..

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBr@nd.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Scottsdale, AZ,  where 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 ;)

7 Ways To More Social Media Traffic?

7 Ways to generate more social media traffic?

Want more social media buzz for your brand or business?

Here are my seven best tips for generating more social engagement, and traffic.

Related Article: Overcoming YOUR Social Media Challenges?

1. Install a Facebook Customer Chatbot

You know those customer chat widgets that pop up on the bottom of a website? You can take them to the next level with a Facebook Messenger website widget.

You know those customer chat widgets that pop up on the bottom of a website? You can take them to the next level with a Facebook Messenger website widget.

It functions the same way as a normal website chat, but with an added bonus - every time a customer chats with you, they have to opt-in to Facebook Messenger communications.

That means you can get contact information from them, and follow up with them down the road. Every time someone talks with you via site chat, you'll automatically gain a new Facebook Messenger contact, and that's a huge win.

Upgrading your old customer chat to a Facebook Messenger customer chatbot is a great opportunity to pounce on.

Related Article: YOUR Augmented Reality Social Media Marketing?

2. Point to Your Social Media Accounts From Your Website

Having social icons which link out to your various social profiles is an easy way to broadcast your social media presence to your website visitors.

Ideally, you should add them prominently above the fold, so it's impossible for your visitors to miss them.

3. Make Your Content Easy to Share on Social Media

Make it simple for users to share your content on social media.

Add "Share This" buttons to any blog post, infographic, video, podcast, or any other engaging content you produce.

When you make it easy to share your content on social media, people will be far more likely to do so.

You can install a plug-in that adds share buttons on every page of your website, especially if you're using a CMS which supports it.

Related Article: YOUR 2020 And Beyond Social Media Marketing?

4. Enable Comments

Enabling comments on your content enables users to interact with you directly from your site.

The comments section of popular posts can host great discussions - just make sure your comment plug-in or widget has a way to automatically filter spam, so the comments section doesn't get overwhelmed with junk.

5. Make Sure Your Content Looks Good When Shared on Social

There's an additional step beyond just buttons which enable users to share your content - you have to also make sure the content looks inviting, once a user goes to share it.

Have you ever gone to share something on Facebook, only to find that the thumbnail or title was missing?

Chances are you probably stopped in your tracks and didn't share it - that's why, as a digital marketer, it's so key that you take the time to ensure that when someone attempts to share your content, it looks like it's supposed to.

Mark up the Open Graph tags with a super-clickable headline, and attention-grabbing image which fits the proper dimensions of each network.

Related Article: Visual Content In YOUR Social Media Marketing?

6. Add Click-to-Tweets Throughout Your Content

If you've never heard of a click-to-tweet, it's a neat little tool which enables you to handcraft tweets featuring little snippets from a piece of content, like a key line or a great quote.

When you insert click-to-tweets in your content, it makes it easy for readers to post a great tweet without even thinking about it - you've done the work for them.

The quote, image, headline, and link are all ready to go for them - they just have to click and post.

There's even a click-to-tweet WordPress plug-in which makes it super simple to craft click-to-tweets (though you can also do it without the plug-in, of course).

Related Article: The Future Of YOUR Social Media Platform?

7. Have a Social Login

If you really want your website to go full-on social, then incorporate a social login to increase membership and participation in your website.

Give people benefits for joining your website through their social media accounts - you can make it a necessary step to facilitate commenting, for example, incentivizing the action.

It's another way to gather extra visitor data, and boost awareness for your business' social presence.

Guest Authored By Larry Kim. Larry is the CEO of MobileMonkey, a chatbot building platform for marketers that enables mobile messaging between businesses and customers via Facebook Messenger. He’s also the founder of WordStream, the World’s top PPC marketing software company. Follow Larry on Twitter.

Related Article: Should YOUR Business Advertise On Instagram?

Taking the extra steps to make sure your content is social media-friendly, easily shareable, and, of course, worth sharing are key moves for any modern brand or business.

Always keep social traffic in mind, and stay up to date with the latest trends and shifts to maximize your opportunities.

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  Post Crafted By:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, CO. where 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 ;)

7 Organic Social Media Prospecting Tips?

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7 ways to organically use social media for prospecting..

Social media has become one of the most important sales and marketing tools for today's companies.

You can draw in and convert a lot of new leads with timely, relevant social posts.

Related Article: What Other Peoples Advertising Can Teach YOU?

But your approach to creating and sharing content matters: If your posts feel overly sales-oriented and not organic or authentic, you won't get very far with potential customers.

1. Be Approachable

Social media is all about conversations. Not every company can pull off a sassy Twitter account like Wendy's or Moon Pie, but finding a way to be more casual than you would be in other channels will invite others to engage. Consistently start and maintain open conversations around relevant topics for your customer profiles; when prospects find your account, they will feel comfortable interacting. -Jonathan Yagel, Spire Labs

2. Engage With Trending Topics

Always check for trending hashtags, such as #MotivationMonday and #FridayFeeling, and incorporate them into your social messaging. Incorporating these popular hashtags can help expose your message to audiences you might not have been able to reach otherwise. Use social media to create a fun personality for your brand. If you do so successfully, it can help bring in new prospects. -Christian Valiulis, Automatic Payroll Systems

Related Article: Trends YOU Should Be Using In 2018?

3. Bring Your Products To Life

Rather than proactively targeting prospects and advertising your services on social media, consider posting content that brings the prospects to you. Write blog posts, record videos or share case studies across social media platforms to bring your offering to life. This is a more organic and less sales-oriented way of reaching a broad audience. Remember to use keywords and hashtags for even greater impact. -Rakhi Voria, Microsoft

4. Show Interest In The Content They Post

While the social content your organization (and you personally) put out is important, the target customer is always more so. We utilize prospects' social media posts/shares during the sales process as an excuse to engage with them. For instance, if a prospect is a bit cold we can share one of our colleague's thoughts on a recent post to show engagement and interest. -Jared Shaner, Trellis

Related Article: Redesigning YOUR 2018 Social Media Presence?

5. Stay Consistent And Always Drive Value

The basic problem solved by social media is one of access and voice. Without social media, one does not have access to their prospects nearly as often, nor do their prospects have access to them the same way.

So embrace an authentic voice, remain present and consistent and drive value in your posts. Remember that good things take time, and so do the results of social media activity! -Andrew J. Herkert, M.A., TruScribe

6. Respond To People

Engagement and responsiveness are crucial. People want to be heard, but more importantly, they want to know they have been heard. A simple response engages and fosters good relationships. -Wayne Elsey, Elsey Enterprises

Related Article: YOUR "Innovative" Social Media Advertising?

7. Prioritize Authenticity

Savvy customers can see past "snake oil salesmen" and are similarly adept at assessing the authenticity of a company's social media presence.

Make sure that whichever social media platforms you work to optimize are grounded on a foundation of sincerity and honesty, as the alternative approach will ultimately turn off your target audience. -Adam Mendler, Beverly Hills Chairs

Guest Authored By Forbes Business Development Council. Forbes Business Council is an invitation-only organization for senior-level sales and business development executives. Follow Forbes Business Development Council on Twitter.

Related Article: Social Media Secrets To Going Viral?

The power of advertising for your business cannot be underestimated. But remember, you don’t need to break the bank to get there.

Stick to these simple tips to be resourceful with your message and spread the word about your unique value.

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBr@nd.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, CO  where 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 ;)

Maximize YOUR Social Media Conversions?

Eight tips to maximize social media conversions..

According to Statista, there were roughly 2.7 billion social media users all around the world in 2017 and in each succeeding year this figure is expected to rise for about 7%. That's why every social media marketer should consider their growing audience as an excellent opportunity for their marketing campaigns.

However, amidst the sea of opportunities, social media can be complicated and nothing is ever static. Things quickly come and go and interests can shift from one object to the next.

Related Article: Harness YOUR Social Media And Win Clients?

Why Is A Social Media Strategy Important?

Developing a social media strategy is like creating a roadmap that guides you in all your planning and activities in various social media platforms. It lets you stay on track with your original intentions.

According to a Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey, approximately 56% of business owners don't have a social media strategy. But marketers who set goals and milestones are 466% more likely to experience success.

Three essential traits define the most successful brands on social media:

--They know their audience well.

--They know how to thrive on competition.

--The reach prospects in various social media platforms.

Moving forward, we've come up with different strategies to grow in your niche and increase your conversion rate through social media marketing.

Related Article: How To Get Millennials To Buy From YOU?

Schedule Your Social Interaction Right

One of the most significant benefits of social media is that you can have many followers from all over the world.

But with that, it's not always easy. Trying to interact with people is a challenge especially if you live in different time zones.

That's why you need to schedule your interactions with your social media followers during peak times of the day ‒ these are usually the hours that most of your audience is online.

So be consistent. Regularly interact with your audience whether through automated tools or in person. Over time, this can help build your brand loyalty and boost your conversions.

Related Article: How Social Media Changed YOUR Public Relations?

Create Attractive Yet Informative Content

Ideally, you need to create and develop a type of social media content that is useful to your audience, something that offers a solution and is considered valuable to them.

While trends and all sorts of gimmicks may generate a certain degree of buzz and curiosity for some time, it isn't sustainable.

The bottom line is that people will always want solutions.</p><p>They want to experience relief from their particular pain points; they want answers from a particularly complicated question that helps them achieve a goal or overcome a hurdle.

Your post doesn't have to be long and drawn out to be considered informative, either. Short and sweet is the key.

But some businesses tend to struggle with this because they struggle to find their expertise in a particular field. That's why it's crucial to become an expert and know what you are talking about. That way, it's easier for you to find legitimate solutions in your niche.

Related Article: YOUR Video Content Is King?

Reshare Your Content

If you come up with a material that's worth sharing, then schedule it for future shares.

To ensure maximum efficiency, the type of content that you need to share should be compelling and unique to your audience. For example, if you come up with a product video that's worth sharing again in the future then why not consider taking on a different question, snippet, or quote from the same material?

Again, the type of content that you create all points to the same source. You're just reshaping the material that's already existing and turning it into something unique.

Whenever you're sharing a piece of content for the second or third time, try to tweak your message. Ask your readers a question or get a quote from the post. That way, you don't come off as if you're spamming.

Related Article: YOUR Social Media Content Is The Next BIG Thing?

Optimize Your Posts For Each Social Channel

You have to be aware that each social media platform handles various texts and images quite differently.

Therefore, you need to know the various strengths and weaknesses of a particular social media network, so that you can learn from it by adding variety into your content.

For instance, Facebook posts that have pictures generate 53% more likes than the average post. Meanwhile, posts that have images in LinkedIn get 98% more comments.

There's no denying it ‒ people respond well to visuals. So try to produce almost every single piece of sharable content with high-quality images.

Related Article: YOUR Crucial Social Media Video Advertising?

Don't Forget Social Sharing

Social sharing is a vital aspect if you want to create a robust online community. It builds traffic on your site and helps you achieve your marketing performance goals.

Here are the additional benefits of social sharing:

--Builds your brand as an industry expert by providing users with useful content, resources, news, and ideas.

--Enhances your social visibility within the community, helping you get into the radar of prospects, users, and potential partners.

--Excellent, sharable content generates the best conversations.

--Makes it easier to find your target audience.

--Builds great customers relationships and loyalty.

Related Article: 8 Branding Questions For YOUR Social Media Strategy?

Use Social Media To Build Trust

If you want to attract a large following and boost your conversions, you need to build trust for your brand. The highest conversion killers are a lack of trust and credibility.

The good news is, social media can be a powerful trust device, assuring potential customers that it's okay to buy from you. Prospects perceive a brand that has a high social media engagement as a measure of integrity and authority.

Maintaining an active social media presence will always be a crowd puller that shows your followers interested in your brand, attracting new and old buyers alike.

Allow Social Logins

More and more businesses let people sign up in their social accounts, making accounts more manageable and paving future visits to a site.

Because social media channels is a demonstration of new social interaction, you need to facilitate this kind of communication in many ways as possible.

Related Article: Finding YOUR Target Audience On Social Media?

Utilize Data Analytics

Maintaining an active social media presence isn't enough as it won't generate ROI for you. If you want to improve your conversions on social media, you have to know first what's working and what is falling short in your expectations. That's why you need to track your performance for social media content, shares and likes using data analytics.

Utilizing tools like Google Analytics helps you monitor real-time results on your social media campaign. It removes the unnecessary guesswork from data analysis and gives you results that are real and relevant.

When you regularly analyze and monitor data, you'll know which posts are working from the ones that don't. You can make necessary changes, helping you find the right kind of audience, the right message to send out and the right time of the day to post. As a result, you're creating better conversions.

Guest Authored By Suzy Viola. Suzy is a social media marketing specialist and a photographer. She loves sharing her knowledge and interest to everyone that led her to become a freelance writer. The topics that she writes about are social media strategies and eCommerce marketing that helps a business grow. Follow Suzy on Twitter.

Related Article: YOUR Social Media Business Insights?

"Maintaining an active and robust social media presence is a fantastic way to improve your conversions over time. Note, however, that getting the results you want does take time, so you need to be patient and develop a more systematic approach.

Aside from that, you need to continuously analyze your data and improve your social media efforts to stay on top of your game.." -SuzyViola

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  Post Crafted By:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, CO. where 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 ;)