Showing posts with label Video Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video Marketing. Show all posts

Sunday, July 6, 2025

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?


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)



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.



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.



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.



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!



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.



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.



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.



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.





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..

    • 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 ;)

    Tuesday, May 6, 2025

    YOUR Social Media Video Marketing?


    In this video, Entrepreneur Network partner Salma Jafri breaks down how to promote yourself on social media.

    Social media platforms, -- Facebook in particular -- love video content, and they're often built to help you make the most of your videos..



    So, why are you using the same old tweets or Facebook posts to build your audience?

    Instead, you should create a short video you can play on multiple platforms that previews your content. Look at Hollywood studios -- they don't just put an ad in a newspaper before a new blockbuster comes out. Instead, they plaster their trailers and promos all over social media to drive up enthusiasm and establish an audience.




    And, if Hollywood still feels the need to do this, it only makes sense that you should, too.

    Guest Authored By Salma Jafri. Salma is the host of Content Marketing Tips - a weekly vlog + blog on how women entrepreneurs can market authentically to their audience by using their natural strengths. Grab her free cheat sheet: 25 Free and Feel-Good Ways To Authentically Promote Your Content. Follow Salma on Twitter.




    Watch more YouTube videos from Salma Jafri on her channel..


      • 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 ;)

      Tuesday, April 29, 2025

      YOUR Crucial Social Media Video Advertising?


      Here's why video advertising on social media is crucial for small business..

      Mark Zuckerberg said last year that video is a "mega trend" — and results from a new Animoto survey are proving him right.

      Related Article: YOUR Video Content Is King?


      Animoto, a video creation service focusing on small business marketing, released its consumer and marketer trends report today after interviewing over 1,500 consumers and marketers.

      For small businesses, investment in social media and video is specifically—46% of consumers watch more video ads on social media than on TV and 73% of consumers have been impacted by a brand's social media presence when making a purchase decision.

      Video ads are the top way that consumers find out about a new brand before purchasing, with Instagram standing out as a purchase driver this year. The social media giant is showing the biggest increase year over year of any platform. However, consumers still rate Facebook and Youtube as the first and second best platforms for watching socials videos from brands.

      "The foundation of all these amazing studies and stats and results is that video is how people want their information. What we as businesses need to make sure we’re doing is delivering our message and content in a way people actually want information. That’s why we see video everywhere," says Jason Hsiao, cofounder of Animoto. "People recall six times the amount of information from a video than from text. Video gets three times as many shares as text and images combined."



      While video is quickly becoming consumer's favorite kind of branded content on social media, there are still reasons for marketers to be weary of it.

      Video creation from scratch is time-consuming, with prior knowledge necessary to operate the complex tools and software. Animoto, which has 120,000 subscribers paying annual fees ranging from $100 to $500, has pivoted their business model to help small businesses speak the language of video.

      "Our aim in this world is how do we help empower businesses of all sizes to speak in this world that is video first?" says Animoto CEO Brad Jefferson. "How do we give small business a voice in the intimidating area of video."

      In just the last three years, the landscape has changed dramatically — and the challenges that prevented small businesses from investing in video aren't there anymore. Small business has become Animoto's bread and butter, with the development of a pre-made template that allows customers to easily drag and drop content into the software.



      "As technology is evolving and there are more DIY tools that are available to small businesses, they're able to hop on this trend of video," explains Hsiao.

      In order to succeed on social media, small businesses need to be doing more than just creating brand awareness campaigns — they need to show people the products and services they have to offer.

      Over 30% of consumers look at a brand's presence on social media before going to their website, meaning social media can make or break a decision to buy.

      Guest Authored By Rebecca Lerner. Rebecca recently graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in English and Screen Arts and Cultures. Follow Rebecca on Twitter.





      "With social media, there’s no hoping people find you. You have the opportunity to take your message to where the conversation is actually happening," says Hsiao.

      "Your dollar goes a lot further when you know all your content is being seen by people who should be interested in it.." -RebeccaLerner


        • 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 ;)

        Saturday, October 13, 2018

        Overcoming YOUR Social Media Challenges?


        5 Social media challenges and how to overcome them..

        As a constantly evolving field, Social Media comes with varied developments in terms of algorithms, platform changes and so on. A marketer must be aware of all the advantages as well as the challenges that these changes bring.

        Let’s look at 5 social media challenges, and how you can tackle them successfully.


        1. Organic Reach

        Every year we see organic reach dwindle away, especially for Facebook. One major reason is, social media platforms are pushing brands to adapt their advertising solutions. To tackle the issue of organic reach, you can start investing heavily in paid ads, but if it’s not feasible for you at the moment, you can adopt the following 2 strategies:

        A. Choose Quality Over Quantity: Have a consistent posting frequency, but you do not need to post every blog post you publish. Post only the ace content as this would increase better engagement with organic reach.

        B. Focus on the Trending Content Format: There will always be a few content formats that will be trending for a specific time period. A few years back, it was 'images'. In 2018, videos are outperforming the other formats. Therefore, use videos to get noticed in your followers’ news feed.


        2. Influencer Marketing

        Influencer marketing is a widely used strategy because it is cost-effective compared to mainstream advertising, and generates great returns on your ad spend. However, there are a few challenges that come with influencer marketing. Let’s look at 3 main challenges and how you can solve them:

        A. Getting the Best Influencers for Your Brand: You need to find influencers with authority in your niche and with followers who are similar to your target audience. To find out the influencers who will bring value, use tools such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Followerwonk, Buzzsumo, and Buzzstream, to name a few.

        B. Deciding the Creative Freedom: Ultimately it’s the content that resonates with your audience. You need to understand that influencers know more about their followers. Therefore, it’s beneficial to offer a certain level of creative freedom to the influencers, in terms of content. You can do it by giving a creative brief to influencers and some templates around which they can draft the copies.


        C. Measuring the Impact: Measuring ROI of digital avenues has been a perennial problem for marketers, and influencer programs are no different. To measure the results of the influencer campaign, start tracking reach, impressions, engagement, and conversions. To measure conversions, you can start giving out promo codes unique for each influencer so that you can track the performance of each individual.

        3. Follower Engagement

        What is the point of social media if no one is there to listen to what you have to say? Building a community on social media is a challenge. Keeping them engaged is an even bigger challenge. Remember, social media is a two-way street. Here are 3 simple ways you can boost follower engagement:

        A. Ask Questions: The simplest tactic you can use is to ask questions. Ask questions to get feedback, know what your followers think about a particular trend or just about anything related to your topic. You can ask your followers to leave comments or use the in-built poll feature most platforms provide.


        B. Solve Customer Queries Promptly: Whenever a user tweets or posts on your page with a query, try to address it as quickly as possible. Doing this will build trust and encourage the user to interact with your brand more frequently.

        C. Run Contests: Asking your followers to participate in a contest by tweeting with a hashtag or commenting or sharing your content by offering freebies in return is a relatively low effort activity for both, your brand and your followers to skyrocket your engagement.

        4. Immersive Content Formats

        Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are still in a nascent stage in their marketing adaptation, but that’s where their biggest potential lies. The biggest challenge with the immersive content format is its low adoption rate. If you use Facebook you might come across Facebook 360 videos, but they too are few. Also, devices required for immersive content formats like VR headsets are still not in the trend yet. As the saying goes, “the early bird gets the worm.” The way to overcome this is to become an early adopter in the field so that when this format finally explodes, you will be there to bank on its success.


        5. Consistent Brand Voice

        Brand voice is the personality of your brand. It needs to be engaging, and it should be reflected in your content. Lack of long-term content planning is what stifles the consistency in your brand voice. Also, being unable to convey your voice through the content hampers the communication. To overcome these challenges, you need to start with having a brand guide that details your voice, tone, word usage, dos and don’ts etc.

        Also, while creating content or campaign for a specific business requirement, keep the messaging constant and repeat it wherever you can to build a lasting impact.

        Guest Authored By Indrajeet Deshpande. is a Marketing professional with 6+ years of experience in managing different facets of Digital Marketing. After working with SpiderG - a Pune based SaaS startup, he is now ready to work as a freelance marketer with different SaaS startups helping them with marketing strategy, plan and execution. His love for old-school hard rock and metal music culminated in taking up guitar and starting GuitarGabble.
        Follow Indrajeet on Twitter.





        "Although consistency is crucial, keep your brand voice young, witty and impactful. Understand your audience well and adopt a language that echoes their thoughts, attitude, and lifestyle. Change is inevitable in social media marketing. The best way to overcome new challenges is to stick to the fundamental – content!" -IndrajeetDeshpande


          • 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 ;)