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Your Nutshell Guide on How to Write Facebook Ad Copy

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Your Nutshell Guide on How to Write Facebook Ad Copy

Ads on social media are hot, hot stuff right now. I think it all started when “organic” reach on social media declined to scarily low ground. A steep  50% + organic decline in Facebook page reach, identified across a short time span in 2014, was an eyeopener for a lot of marketers (benchmark study from social@Ogilvy): Ogilvy said in the same study: “Organic reach of the content brands publish in Facebook is destined to hit zero. It’s only a matter of time. In 2012, Facebook famously restricted organic reach of content published from brand pages to about 16 percent. In December 2013, another round of changes reduced it even more. By February 2014, according to a Social@Ogilvy analysis of more than 100 brand pages, organic reach hovered at 6 percent, a decline of 49 percent from peak levels in October. For large pages with more than 500,000 Likes, organic reach hit 2 percent in February.” That’s rough. So, what can marketers do? The answer: pay a small sum and start doing ads on the platform. Facebook ads are, according to Wordstream, one of the most cost-effective advertising platforms. Check out their CPC (cost per click) study. $1.72 is an extremely low advertising cost – but that’s the “average” cost! And there have been incredible, inspirational success stories from marketers making BIG income using Facebook ads: Franklin Hatchett from Online Dimes made $550,000 by capitalizing on high-return ads in a specific niche Josh Dunlop from Income Diary doubled his money by doing Facebook ads And there are tons more stories like these. A critical element to the success of a Facebook ad is the copy in that ad. Double whammy: it can also be the hardest task on your list. Looking for more social media hacks? Download our FREE resource, A Handy Dandy Guide on How to Write Social Media Posts: Best Practices, Length, & More It’s not a predictable, plodding cow. It’s a wily horse. Meanwhile, Facebook ad copy is like a zebra in a herd of wild horses. Don’t be fooled. It looks like a horse, but it’s not. It’s something else, a totally unique task. To learn how to write Facebook ads that work, you have to know how to approach the zebra so you don’t make it shy away. You have to use a strategy separate from what you’d use for other types of ads. Let’s start with a basic question… How Important is Ad Copy on Facebook Ads? Rule of thumb: ad copy is nothing without great visuals. (The same can be said vice versa: you need great ad copy for a great ad visual.) The proof is in the stats. Take this oft-cited BuzzSumo finding, for starters: Facebook posts with an image get 2.3 times the engagement as posts without an image. On Facebook, ads show up in the news feed and look like posts. Ergo, if your ad has no image, not even a placeholder, we have an issue. The image takes up the most real estate, and has the most impact, in a Facebook ad. Facebook Ads Manager has a variety of ad formats to choose from, but note that all of them are image-centric. Okay… So, What Role Does Ad Copy Play? You may be wondering why we’re worrying about ad copy at all in the face of the facts. Here’s why: The ad copy supports the image. The two play off of each other. The image is what draws the eye, but the ad copy is what seals the deal for the click. Facebook says as much on their Ad Copy Cheat Sheet: Without the ad copy, your ad will be much more confusing. Users won’t know what to do with it. Users won’t have a reason why they should stop and pay full attention. With the ad copy, you provide that reason. You provide the essential why. You answer the customer’s dearest question: “How does this benefit me?” How to Write Facebook Ads, Step-by-Step Knowing the rules is the first step to complete knowledge. Picasso, for instance, didn’t begin his foray into abstract art without first intimately knowing the rules of drawing from life. In the same way, to write great Facebook ads, you have to understand the basic rules first. Know your limitations, then stretch them with your imaginative, creative, effective copy. Step #1: Begin with the Image Before we dig in, we need to qualify something. Steps one and two are interchangeable. Sometimes, you’ll start with a great image and can pull inspiration for the copy from that. Other times, you start with a great idea. This means you flesh out a catchy concept and find the perfect image afterward. If you’re beginning with the image, think about three things: Use as little image text as possible, if at all. Facebook only allows text to occupy 20% or less of your image. Images with more text get less exposure. The headline needs to match up with or echo the on-image text (if you’re including any). If you use on-image text, make sure it’s a value proposition, according to SEMrush. In other words, what will viewers get out of the deal? (A discount? A freebie? A better life?) Users will see your image first, your copy second. Make sure your image is relevant to your entire ad message. Here’s an example of an Amazon ad that uses image text properly: Step #2: Move to the Headline In Facebook Ads Manager, you may notice that you’re presented with one text box to enter your ad copy. Don’t start there, though. Instead, check the box underneath that says “Add a website URL” to access more options. You’ll see something like this: The text box for entering your headline is further down the page. Don’t worry about doing things out of order – you’ll want to create your headline first to give your copy a general direction. The headline is most likely what a user will see second, after the image. As such, this becomes a huge focus for your copy creation. … Read more

Engage! How to Get Customers and Boost Your Business on Social Media

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Engage! How to Get Customers and Boost Your Business on Social Media

Social media is the popular kid on today’s marketing block. For your business, it’s one of the most integral tools at your disposal. Social media helps get you noticed – and stand out, if you’re creative enough to do your own thing, and mix in a little bit of social media platform knowledge on top of it. It’s useful for promotion, engagement, and building a following. The one key benefit social media does better than any other tool, for a business? It humanizes your brand. It puts a face and a voice to a name. It makes you approachable, relatable, and trustworthy. However, this is only possible if you’re using social media the right way. Let’s talk social media & a nutshell guide on boosting your business for more ROI, customers, and action from your time there. A Nutshell Guide to Boosting Your Social Media Presence for More Business & Return If you want your business to have a voice and a presence, you’ve got to jump into social media and get going. Here’s how. 1. Engage and Be Human My number one tip for mastering social media is this: engage. You’re a human being, and your audience wants to see evidence of that. If you don’t personally engage, you’re not providing that evidence. Of course, you can’t engage without being approachable and friendly. Don’t keep yourself at a distance from your followers. Be real and be human! This ties in nicely with my next tip… 2. Get Your Hands Dirty To engage and be human, you have to get in there. In short: do some work to build that relationship. Get your hands dirty. Start conversations yourself. Ask your followers questions, comment on others’ posts, and follow up personally. A great example of this in action is the Twitter chat we host weekly, Tuesdays at 10 a.m. CST. It’s called #ContentWritingChat and it’s a fantastic way to talk to people about a topic we’re passionate about. Rachel, our Content Specialist/Social Media Manager, even writes weekly recaps on our site about the live chat hour. It’s a favorite method of mine to nurture a lively, active community around a single social media event. Anybody can join in and give their opinions, advice, or insight. To get conversations going, start your own Twitter chats surrounding a relevant topic. Engage industry voices as well as customers. The interaction that comes out of it will surprise and delight you. Search #ContentWritingChat on Twitter, and you’ll see some highlights of our conversations. From the 7/25 #ContentWritingChat, here’s a top tweet (I love the point Nicole makes – social media CAN get you out of your shell, in a great way!) — Totally introvert here too and social media has made me a hell more social than I am prone to be in IRL. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/MFGHTZCnRD — Nicole Michelle (@relishwell) July 25, 2017 Other ways to engage on social media: Tag people in your posts – Tagging people in your posts is a good way to respond to their content and keep the conversation going. On Twitter, this is how you stay engaged. Don’t forget to log in, yourself – Don’t let a “tool” be YOU. Don’t fall back on your scheduled posts via software, and let that be it. Remember to manually log in to your accounts, check your notifications, and respond to people. Comment – Respond to people through comments, and start conversations through engaging with comments. [clickToTweet tweet=”Get more customers + boost your business on social media with these tips from @ExpWriters!” quote=”Get more customers + boost your business on social media with these tips from @ExpWriters!”] 3. Set Goals for Interactions If you find yourself forgetting to log-in or neglecting your business accounts for social media, start setting goals. For instance, you might create a simple objective to have at least five interactions on social media each day of the work week. This forces you to pay attention to how you’re engaging and how much. You’ll understand where you need to improve and what you need to do it. As you get better and more consistent about engaging, you can up your ante. Make your goals harder and keep track of your progress. Pretty soon, you won’t need goals to stay active and interactive on social. 4. Start Talking It can feel intimidating to jump into social media and put yourself out there. This is especially true if you’re introverted or haven’t done much interacting online. Don’t worry, though – you just need a place to begin. To start engaging, you have to start talking. Here are some ideas: Jump in on Trending Topics If you want to get in on a larger conversation, post about trends and use hashtags. More importantly, tie together the trends with topics in your industry. Take a look at how Denny’s used the Kentucky Derby to post and poke a little fun at the trending event at the same time. Plus, they reinforced their main draw: They have really good breakfast and really good pancakes. Within the seated sections of Churchill Downs, the upper-crust don hats of elegance & style, a millinery of all shapes, tastes, and sizes. pic.twitter.com/pfkTV0MEJU — Denny’s (@DennysDiner) May 6, 2017 Celebrate and Create Events Along with casual events like Twitter chats, you can also host and celebrate any other event or holiday you like. For instance, celebrate your business anniversary with a themed post and a coupon code for your online store. Or, honor a noted figure relevant to your industry with a post. Out of Print did something like this in celebration of Cormac McCarthy’s birthday. They didn’t use the opportunity to self-promote. Instead, they created a graphic quote that appeals to their book-loving audience. It’s an interesting one that invites conversation. Plus, it’s totally shareable: For the Best Social Media Conversations, Don’t Overthink It – Just Genuinely Be Yourself, & Be Present All these social media tactics have one thing in common… They’re fun. If you’re not having fun chatting, sharing, … Read more

Pinterest SEO: How to Optimize Your Content For Pinterest

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Pinterest SEO: How to Optimize Your Content For Pinterest

Today, Pinterest is one of the hottest social platforms out there. Valued at more than $11 billion, Pinterest is home to more than 75 billion ideas and more than 5% of total referral traffic to websites. As if that weren’t enough, Pinterest’s recent addition of the “rich pin” feature has made it a powerful purchasing platform, as well. As it stands now, upwards of 2 million people purchase “rich pin” products daily. As you can imagine, these things make Pinterest a POWERFUL weapon for e-commerce companies. While there’s no doubt that Pinterest is a valuable platform on its own, brands that want to use it effectively still need to learn to optimize their content for best results. Here’s your complete guide. Pinterest SEO: Why Optimization on the Pinning Platform Matters While Pinterest offers huge potential for e-commerce companies, it also features the same challenges as any other social media platform: it’s easy to get lost in the fray. According to some estimates, Pinterest users create roughly 5 million pins per day. That’s a massive amount of content, and it’s more than enough to drown out anything that’s not high-quality or relevant. Even content that is high-quality needs optimization to feature as prominently as possible on the platform. Better Pinterest SEO optimization means more views, more interaction and engagement, and, potentially, more sales. Pinterest is an intensely visual platform, and it stands out as one of the top social channels for visual material. (Stat below from Shareaholic) [clickToTweet tweet=”Pinterest is the #2 website referral traffic driver #social platform, coming in only behind Facebook. #stats” quote=”Pinterest is the #2 website referral traffic driver #social platform, coming in only behind Facebook. #stats”] As such, brands that know how to optimize their content for Pinterest are in a better position to take advantage of the perks the platform offers, and grow their presence as a result. How to Optimize Your Blog and Content for Pinterest Recently, Kissmetrics published a post called “How I Got 1.7 Million Pin Views To My E-Commerce Pinterest Account In 2015.” The article breaks down how Brian Lang, founder of the Small Business Ideas blog and prominent e-commerce developer, managed to build more than 1 million views and 10,000 followers for his Pinterest account, not to mention ranking in the top two results places for competitive terms. Intrigued? You should be! If you want to drive the same results, follow these tips: 1. First, Pin Consistently Pinning consistently is the basis for all your optimization practices. If you’re not creating consistent content, it’s impossible to optimize it accordingly. And even the best optimization doesn’t count for much if you’re only posting a single pin every three months. With this in mind, make your first commitment pinning frequently. Not only does this keep your followers engaged, but it provides an optimization boost by upping your long-tail SEO value and views. While the ideal pinning frequency will depend on your brand and focus, CoSchedule recommends pinning at least 11 times each day, between 2:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. For a healthy mix of original and curated content, 80% of these pins should come directly from your own blog, while 20% should be outside content from third-party sources. 2. Do Your (Keyword) Research Keyword research is essential in blogging and digital marketing as a whole, so why not Pinterest? Because people search Pinterest using search terms, optimizing your pins with your target head terms and keyword phrases can help ensure your pins pop up where they’re supposed to. If you’ve already done some keyword research using a tool like Google Keyword Planner, you have a head start. If not, now is the time to begin. To get an idea of which keywords you should be targeting, type your target keywords into the Pinterest search bar. The head (broad) term “recipes,” for example, renders several suggested long-tail keywords, such as “recipes for dinner” and “recipes with ground beef.” Each of these terms is one you could target for increased Pinterest visibility. You can take your keyword research one step further by visiting the pins that show up for these long-tail phrases. Do the boards they’re associated with have lots of followers? Are the keywords popular enough that you could benefit from making an entire board devoted to them? Remember that on Pinterest, just as in blogging, it’s smart to cluster your content around “topics rather than terms.” In other words, find a keyword phrase you want to target, and cluster content around topics surrounding it. For example, “recipes with ground beef” becomes “Slow-cooker taco meat,” “How to drain ground beef the right way,” and “Ground beef meatloaf with balsamic glaze.” 3. Create Separate Images for Each Blog If you’re writing blog content, you can optimize it for Pinterest quickly and easily by creating separate images for each post. We do this here at Express Writers. Each blog we upload to our Pinterest profile features a unique image that meets the requirements of the social platform. Because Pinterest is a highly visual tool, this is non-negotiable. Original and unique images catch more attention and help Pinterest users make a visual distinction between your content and everyone else’s. If you’re going to create custom images, though, you’ll want to be sure they adhere to size and formatting standards. According to Canva, the ideal size for a Pinterest graphic is 735PX wide and 1102PX high: Stick to this size for best presentation. Remember that any custom image you create is just another opportunity for branding. With this in mind, incorporate your company’s color scheme, typeface, and voice to ensure your graphics have your brand written all over them. 4. Target Seasonal Trends Pinterest is a go-to for seasonal events, costumes, and ideas, and brands in virtually all industries can take advantage of this. Instead of overlooking holidays like Halloween and Christmas, use them to your advantage. Around these big days, create some seasonal content on your blog and prepare it for Pinterest. Include a fun, seasonal … Read more

10 Key Ways to Craft Engaging, Fun Social Media Posts for Your Brand (With Examples)

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10 Key Ways to Craft Engaging, Fun Social Media Posts for Your Brand (With Examples)

When it comes to social media posts, from writing to visuals and publishing, every brand wants to create the content that fans want to follow. This is far easier said than done, though. To be a truly “likable” brand, a company needs to master the art of social media content creation. Think, for a moment, about why you would follow a brand on social media. Maybe it’s because you are interested in the industry that they post within, know and personally like them, or you just found them and simply fell in love with the fun, unique content they were posting on social media. Either way, social media follows are typically about a desire for content – and that follow means you have an active fan or reader that will come back for more, so consistency is key. How to Write Engaging, Fun Social Media Posts for Your Brand (Consistently): 10 Key Ways & Examples Fans don’t want to follow brands that post dry, boring content and, in light of that, it’s wise for brands to put in the work that it takes to learn to create fun and engaging social media posts. Here are a few key tips I’ve put together to get you inspired, thinking, and started out on the right foot. 1. Be real about your industry, add tasteful humor One of the best ways to create engaging social media content is to be real. The fact of the matter is that most brands, regardless of which industry they work in, deal with something that is taboo, awkward, confusing, or just plain funny on a daily basis. What better way to make a great social media post than to capitalize upon those things? For example: Charmin, a toilet paper company, wins on social media – especially Twitter. They’re simply real about who they are, what they do, and bring in a lot of humor consistently about it. They have a consistent Twitter column #CharminAsks that sparks humor: #CharminAsks: The person who rolls under, is.. — Charmin (@Charmin) September 30, 2016 And, one thing I love is that they even engage back with their punny fans: And you get points for wit, albeit cheesy 😉 https://t.co/xH5xqnbJSJ — Charmin (@Charmin) October 11, 2016 By posting lighthearted content that makes their fans laugh, Charmin earns many more follows, re-tweets, and favorites than you might imagine a toilet tissue company would. And you get points for wit, albeit cheesy 😉 https://t.co/xH5xqnbJSJ — Charmin (@Charmin) October 11, 2016 2. Use color to stay consistent with your brand Take a moment to consider brands that have tied color into their branding schemes: Coca-Cola, red Evernote, green The Honest Company, bright blue Content Marketing Institute, orange …To name a few. These brands have figured something out that the rest of us can do well to learn from. Namely, that using a trademark color scheme across social media can be a fantastic way to draw more attention to your posts and earn more readers. Because social media is a very fast-paced world, people using on social media platforms are often scanning through their newsfeeds quickly. This means that anything that isn’t immediately different, eye-catching, or unique is likely to get skimmed past. To save your content from meeting this fate, brand your company with a trademark color scheme and use it in your social media posts. In addition to making your brand’s content more immediately recognizable, this will also go a long way toward making readers slow down and interact with your social media posts. 3. You can be promotional if you’re also being helpful, generous, and authentic In order to create the best possible social media content, brands can enhance their reader ship by being generous with information. And here’s the secret: you CAN blend that with a mention of you and your products, provided you don’t oversell and stay helpful during the mention. Fans come to your page hoping to find something to engage with and when you hit the nail on the head and address a problem they can relate to or a struggle that everyone has, you’re likely to earn a spot on their social media short list. Think of it this way: each time you interact on social media, you’re provoking some reaction from your readers – be it interest, laughter, or curiosity. This means that all of your social media posts should be aimed at creating a helpful, generous, and funny presence as often as possible. Look at how Poopourri blends a mention of their product with a fun Halloween costume idea: Not wanting to go as something too punny or #KenBone for #Halloween? ??Go as our best-selling men’s scent, Royal Flush! ? ?? pic.twitter.com/5CQ6xU5uei — Poo~Pourri (@PooPourri) October 19, 2016 While you don’t have to solve all of your readers’ problems, a few social media quips that show them you relate to their lives will go a long way toward making them want to engage with the rest of your content. 4. Spark curiosity in your social audience Any good marketer knows that the headline of an article is the most important part. While 80% of people read headlines, only 20% read body copy, which means that a great headline can go a long way toward earning you more traffic, and more engagement. To make your social media posts more fun, consider toying with your headlines a bit. Instead of writing a dry, information-only few words, consider playing with headlines that will provoke your readers’ curiosity or make them laugh. For a great example, consider Innocent Drinks, a smoothie brand whose social media is decidedly not focused on smoothies. Reasons to drink innocent smoothies: – made with fruit & nothing else – 10% profits go to charity – a completely unbiased tweet told you to pic.twitter.com/nZqPBEcOdW — innocent drinks (@innocent) November 3, 2016 While nobody is advocating making your headlines and short tweet body all about laugh-grabs, it’s clear that incorporating funny, attention-commanding headlines and photos into your social media strategy is … Read more

Your Guide to Social Advertising Basics: How to Get Traction, Succeed & Gain Attention on Social Media

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Your Guide to Social Advertising Basics: How to Get Traction, Succeed & Gain Attention on Social Media

Krystal is a Social Media Expert at Express Writers. REALITY CHECK! It’s 2016. If you have a pulse, you’ll know that door-to-door salesmen aren’t around anymore. We’ve all become proverbial Biff Lomans, haven’t we? And yet, once we follow our dreams and get our businesses up and running… we realize that the old way of doing things is dead. Whenever I see company reps standing on street corners trying to pitch their newest subscription-based products, I wonder what the turnaround is for that. Don’t they know? This is the age of social media! It’s faster and more effective to get your message out with RTs and shares than leaving some poor young man dressed in an apron on the street, hawking down college students. (If I sound bitter, it’s because I am. But I digress.) I’m online. You’re online. Our dads and cousins and people we knew in elementary school are online, consuming products and services and letting their social circles know about awesome experiences they’ve had with company X, Y, and Z. It’s the age of social advertising, where your customers are your greatest marketing tool. If you have great, shareable content, and know an effective way of pushing it out, the rest of the work is pretty much done for you. Of course, if it were as simple as that, I wouldn’t need to write this blog post guide for you. Social media is more than just the sum of its parts — you need to know how to manipulate those parts to your advantage. That means understanding how each social media platform comes into play when you’re trying to reach a specific audience, whether it means changing your tone for that platform or adding/omitting a platform, depending on who you’re trying to reach. Think about who uses social media in your life. If you’re a social media professional, chances are you use social media in your personal life. What do people always say? Oh yeah, some complaint about their mom seeing a post they made on Facebook. And do you know why? Moms are on Facebook! (and dads, too.) From personal experience, my mom got as far as setting up a Twitter account and stopped there. I’m all about using intuition when it comes to social media advertising, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a frame of understanding about each of the top three social media platforms. Social Advertising Basics 101: How to Get Business Traction, Succeed & Win on Social Media Let’s start by looking at how to use my three favorite (and the top hottest) platforms to work with as a social media manager: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Organic, real-people-friendly tips here only! 1. How To Succeed On Twitter It’s true: Twitter is the cool kids’ table  In my private social media presence, Twitter definitely feels like the cool kids’ playground table. Indeed, the majority of Twitter users are from urban areas. It’s where I hang out with celebs, complain to airlines about my 4 hour delay, and lose my geek mind over social media presences like Arby’s as they make nerdy video game references that touch my very heart and soul. @penguinrandom this reminds me of RPing in AOL chatrooms in the old days. — ざわ‥ (@pseudomachine) August 25, 2016 @pseudomachine we find ourselves Rhy’din those waves of nostalgia too sometimes. — Penguin Random House (@penguinrandom) August 25, 2016 @penguinrandom (that totally made my day, thank you) — ざわ‥ (@pseudomachine) August 25, 2016 Awesome to see the humans behind the big businesses. (They’re nerds just like me) Twitter is instant gratification, and instant reach With the instantaneous nature of gratification and reach in mind, as a marketer, you want to keep some of these same perks in mind when you’re trying to use Twitter to your advantage. Use Twitter to connect to your industry in a fast and productive way; it’s also an easy way to learn who follows who in what ever niche community you and your business belongs to. Or, you could be playful and engage over businesses and customers in friendly banter. I see it all the time from very well known businesses (especially in the book industry — I’m looking at you and your book banter, Penguin Random House!) Twitter facilitates fast-paced conversations But doesn’t Facebook provide the same sort of interaction, you ask? On the contrary! Twitter is like having a conversation, whereas Facebook can sometimes seem more like forum posting. People refer back to Facebook statuses for information and conversation, whereas Twitter is much more fast-paced. Want to be hot on Twitter? Build your own chat With Twitter, you can even start your own hashtag chats easily amongst those in the industry, whether it is other companies or customers/fans (or future customers!). Chances are, the followers of the people engaging in your chat are going to take note of those hashtag remarks and may poke their heads into the conversation to see what’s going on. Bam! A new follower of your brand is born. Join a few chats (we have a list of 25 on Social Media Examiner, and our own #ContentWritingChat hosted by @ExpWriters)—and then consider being a cool brand that starts their own! Want some inspiration? Check out Applebee’s or Corner Bakery Café and see what they’re doing on Twitter—it’s genius. 2. How to Succeed on Facebook Be about them, not you Facebook is a different audience and a different culture of communication than Twitter. While Facebook’s user base is largely adults, the volume of user total as a whole is staggering. You want to make use of all of those users out there and be a responsible Facebook poster. That means posting conversationally. Remember — you want to get your information out there, but you don’t want to sound like a commercial spam bot. You want to have a conversation with your audience in a singular space, and that’s your status for the day. Engagement isn’t as high as other platforms For the most part, … Read more

A Guide to Twitter Chats: Why They’re a Huge Opportunity, How to Join, & 5 of Our Favorites

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A Guide to Twitter Chats: Why They're a Huge Opportunity, How to Join, & 8 of Our Favorites

Have you joined any Twitter chats before? If not, it’s safe to say you’re missing out on an incredible opportunity. And I’m not saying that just because Express Writers has our own monthly chat, #ContentWritingChat. Twitter chats bring likeminded people together from all over the world. They provide a place for everyone to share their thoughts, offer advice, and ask questions. Not only that, but the right chats could lead to new friendships and even potential clients for your brand. That’s why it’s time you take advantage of them. To help you see the true value in Twitter chats, this guide shares their benefits, tips for joining in on the fun, and five chats to add to your calendar ASAP. Why Twitter Chats Are a Huge Opportunity for Your Brand Twitter chats are a live conversation in which a host asks questions and encourages participants to share their thoughts and opinions. These chats are an hour long and typically happen on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. And there’s usually a specific topic for each new chat. It’s essentially one big hangout where people with similar interests can come together and talk. It sounds great, right? But why do these chats present such a huge opportunity for those who are using Twitter to build their online presence? Here are three reasons participating in Twitter chats is great for your brand: They Help You Make Connections: With so many likeminded people together for a lively hour of Twitter chatting, it’s a great way to make friends or discover potential customers who may be interested in purchasing your brand’s offerings. You Get to Share Your Expertise: Positioning yourself as an authority in your field is essential to establishing your brand and also building trust with your target audience. Through Twitter chats, you can share your knowledge, showing people that you really know your stuff. They’re a Great Place to Learn: Not only do you get to share what you know, but you’ll be able to learn from others who are participating in these chats. You never know when someone might share a game-changing tip or trick that will help you take your online presence to the next level. How to Join a Twitter Chat: 4 Tips for Being a Great Participant To get started, you’ll want to identify different Twitter chats in your niche that you may be interested in. If you’re using chats as a way to grow your brand, you’ll want to be strategic about the ones you join. Meaning, it’ll be smart to participate in chats where you can showcase your expertise and connect with your target audience. Once you’ve selected a few, you just need to schedule time to join them. Once that time comes, there are a few rules you’ll want to keep in mind. 1. Label your answers with A1, A2, etc. This is a pretty standard rule for all Twitter chats. The reason you want to do this is because it helps other participants match your answers with the correct question. If someone wanted to read all the responses to the first question, yours will be easy to identify. 2. Engage with others. Once you’re in the chat, don’t just share your answers to the questions and ignore the others who are also responding. Make an effort to interact with those who are joining in by replying to their answers and adding your own thoughts. You can even ask questions to further the conversation. 3. No self-promotion. Sharing a link to a blog post you know would be helpful is one thing, but you definitely don’t want to spend the hour promoting your content and offerings. Doing so may come off a little sleazy and kind of intrudes on the host of the chat. 4. Follow any other rules the chat may have. Some hosts make it a point to share set “house rules” for their chat. If you find yourself in a chat with rules like this, please be respectful of them. For example, our chat has a few simple rules that you can see in the graphic above. 5 Twitter Chats to Add to Your Calendar Now that you’re prepared to be an amazing participant in Twitter chats, you’ll need to find a few to join. Luckily, I’ve rounded up a list of some great options for content creators and marketers. 1. #CMWorld, Hosted by @CMIContent If you’re a content marketing expert or wanting to learn more about being a content creation pro, mark your calendars for every Tuesday at 12 PM Eastern. That’s when #CMWorld from Content Marketing Institute takes place. This chat always features knowledgeable guests and educational topics, so you’re sure to learn something that you can implement for your brand. 2. #semrushchat, Hosted by @Semrush If you love SEO, digital marketing, and everything in between, #semrushchat is the place to be. Hosted by our friends at Semrush, you’ll learn all sorts of amazing tips that will help you get your content ranking on the first page of those Google search results. If you want to join, this chat happens every Wednesday at 11 AM Eastern Time. 3. #TwitterSmarter, Hosted by @MadalynSklar Don’t let the name fool you! While Madalyn Sklar’s #TwitterSmarter chat is often focused on Twitter-related conversations, she still covers general social media topics that appeal to all marketers. It’s a must for anyone wanting to stand out on social media. This chat is held every Thursday at 1 PM Eastern Time. 4. #ContentChat, Hosted by @SFErika Here at Express Writers, we love Twitter chats that teach the value of creating great content. That’s exactly what Erika Heald does every Monday at 3 PM Eastern during #ContentChat. This chat covers topics like content marketing, social media, email marketing, and more. 5. #Digital360Chat, Hosted by @B2the7 Bernie Fussenegger leads the #Digital360Chat every Friday at 12 PM Eastern. The way he’s set up this chat is rather unique. One chat per month is dedicated to sharing tips focused on … Read more

The Best Social Media Management Apps (Bonus: Apps that Manage Instagram)

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The Best Social Media Management Apps (Bonus: Apps that Manage Instagram)

Let’s face it. With all the platforms available today, social media can sometimes feel a little overwhelming. After all, you have to create content for Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn – and don’t forget Pinterest and Instagram. Managing all of your social media accounts can be a lot of work. The good news is, social media management doesn’t have to be hard. With so many tools available at our fingertips, it’s never been easier to create and schedule amazing social media content. You just have to choose the right apps for you! And to make it a little easier, we’ve put together a break down of some of the best social media management apps. Grab your free copy of our easy-reference sheet for the best social media tools! The Benefits of Scheduling Out Your Social Media Using Tools In case you needed a little convincing to get on-board with the social media management apps, here are a few benefits of scheduling in advance: It creates consistency. One of the most important things when it comes to social media is consistency. You don’t want to pull a disappearing act by forgetting to post. You want to make sure you stay top-of-mind for your followers by posting on a regular basis. By scheduling your social media posts in advance, you’re able to do this. You create better content. When you plan your updates in advance, you’re more likely to put thought into the updates you’re creating as opposed to the ones you craft on the fly. Your audiences expects to see the best and they deserve it, too. Make time to schedule so you can plan posts that your audience will enjoy and that your brand will benefit from. Your Best Social Media Management Apps To help you decide which app is right for you, we’ve rounded-up some of the best social media management apps to help you take control of your Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram profiles. 1. Buffer Here at Express Writers, our go-to tool is Buffer. We use it to manage our many Twitter accounts, plus Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn. That’s not all it does! It also handles scheduling for Pinterest and Instagram. The great thing about Buffer is that it’s incredibly easy to use. There’s really nothing complex about it! Both their website and mobile app (for Android and iOS) make it a breeze to schedule updates for any platform. Check out our scheduled social media feed on Buffer (we have a lot of posts and profiles): While you can use Buffer absolutely free of charge, you’d be missing out on some of the main features this social media scheduler has to offer. The free plan limits you to scheduling only 10 updates at a time per account and you’re unable to add multiple accounts for each type of platform. (This means that two Twitter profiles or two Facebook pages would be out of the question.) The good news is, Buffer’s “Awesome” plan is pretty affordable at only $10/month. Buffer provides built-in analytics that give you insight into how well your posts are performing. You’re able to see which posts are actually resonating with your audience and which ones aren’t. This is essential so you can adapt your social media strategy for maximum results. To make scheduling even easier, Buffer also offers an extension for your web browser. If you see a blog post you’d love to share with your followers, all you have to do is use the extension to quickly and easily add it to your Buffer queue without ever opening their website. And finally, another great option on Buffer is their Optimal Timing Tool. What will this do for you? Well, you’ve probably seen all kinds of studies that show the best times to post on Twitter, Facebook, etc. While those studies are helpful, those times aren’t unique to your social media profiles. Buffer’s Optimal Timing Tool calculates the best times for you to post based on your own audience. From its features and affordability to how easy it is to use, it should come as no surprise that Buffer made our list of the best social media management apps. It’s definitely one to check out if you haven’t already tried it. Note: Buffer also provides plans for Teams & Agencies ranging from $99/month to $399/month, depending on your needs. 2. Hootsuite When it comes to scheduling tools, Hootsuite is comparable to Buffer when it comes to price. Hootsuite offers a free plan that allows you to add three social media profiles. If you need a little more, you can upgrade to their Pro account for just $9.99/month, which allows you to add up to 50 social media profiles. It’s another great option if you want something that will get the job done without breaking the bank. Here’s what a dashboard in Hootsuite would look like: Hootsuite provides scheduling for a variety of platforms, including: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Instagram. However, one thing they do differently is that they offer support for YouTube scheduling. By linking your Hootsuite account with YouTube, you’re able to schedule and share your YouTube videos right from Hootsuite. This is definitely convenient for video creators. One of the great features about Hootsuite is that it’s more than just a social media scheduler. You’re actually able to monitor and engage in conversations with your followers directly from the Hootsuite website. Their engagement tools ensure you’ll never miss an important reply from someone. Like Buffer, you also receive access to analytics on Hootsuite. You can use this information to see which posts are performing well on each of your platforms. With a Pro account, you’re able to go even more in-depth to improve ROI and analyze campaign performance through your analytics. Note: Hootsuite also provides plans for small businesses and agencies. You can sign-up on their website to learn more about pricing. 3. Edgar You can’t talk about the best social media management apps without mentioning the powerhouse that is Edgar. While … Read more

How to Become a Social Media Manager: A Day in the Life of One, from Krystal

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How to Become a Social Media Manager: A Day in the Life of One, from Krystal

Ever wanted to learn how to become a social media manager, or what it’s like being one? Krystal, one of our talented client social media managers, is guest blogging today with her thoughts on the subject. Plus, she’s sharing a look at her day, writing and creating social posts for our client base. Enjoy! I grew up on the Internet. No, seriously. If you knew me up until college, you knew me as the shy, quiet, artsy anime/video games nerd that had some good ideas, but wasn’t very effective in communicating them. That is, unless we were friends online. Text role play, fanfic writing, and managing online communities was how I got out of my shell and found my writer’s voice. It was a way to communicate that didn’t always flow as freely in person. I learned how to manage folks on MMOs and do customer service via email. These types of things were done for leisure, naturally. I was always a reader and a lover of fiction, but when I started working for an indie bookstore, I was reading ten books a month and bridging the gap between having an online personality and communicating with bookstore patrons in person. Now how, might you ask, did this culminate in becoming a social media manager? How to Become a Social Media Manager: Krystal’s Starting Roots Reading and writing have always been my pillars. I used to do more Fine Arts (I even had a brief stint in art school), but I found that I couldn’t communicate with my paintings and photos as deeply as I could with words. This became apparent to me as I started becoming engaged in online communities such as LiveJournal and managing big raids in World of Warcraft and really excelled at connecting with users and empathizing with them. You learn how to communicate with people in a whole new way, using persuasive and subtle language to create a sense of a virtual community. No matter what online platform I’m on, that’s what I strive to do – create a community, whether it’s with fellow nerds or customers I’m trying to reach out to. It’s like calling a hotline and having to speak to a computer. That’s bad social media. Good social media is connecting with the user on the other end. Great social media is getting them to laugh at the screen and look forward to your tweets or status updates. You want to feel like the person on the other side of the screen is your confidante, ready to answer your questions and guide you in the right direction, whether it’s helping you figure out why your flight was delayed or which ice cream is the hot flavor of the month. Being a Good Social Media Manager is All About Great Research and Writing Of course, there’s more to social media than just being a solid communicator. You have to love research. Having a degree in Applied Psychology, I’m used to spending hours, days, even weeks doing research on one topic. My biggest hurdle when I first started writing copy for social media professionally was getting used to writing copy for topics that I knew nothing about, or –let’s face it—topics I couldn’t care less about. A Day in the Life: Writing for Typical Subjects Can be Fun! But the beauty of loving research and writing is that, in general, you most likely love to learn. This was an unexpected perk when I joined up with the great folks at Express Writers. I was getting clients that were connected to products like luxury vehicles, RVs, beds, and real estate litigation. I happen to own a bed, but otherwise I don’t know anything about any of those. I was pleasantly surprised by how fun it was to research the kind of content that their customers wanted to see, Googling all sorts of articles and such to get people excited about RV safety. Who knew! As long as you check your sources and make sure they’re legit, you can find some awesome content out there. I keep a word document of all the websites I’ve found to be useful depending on the subject, just so I can revisit the ones I know will give me great content if I need to. Tip: Be Conversational in Your Writing Style Then, I get the information out there as if I’m having a conversation with someone. Even if a client wants the tone of the copy to be professional, I try to give it my own personal spin so that every tweet feels like a greeting, a first impression between strangers. I can talk a lot about keywords and SEO, which are all essential in the most fundamental ways, but once you’ve drawn in your customers with the right algorithm, you need to keep them hooked with your personality. This is of course true with actual face-to-face interactions, but when information is flying at users on their Timelines or Dashboards. This is what I love about being a social media manager. It’s the ultimate social experiment of the human condition, only way more fun and interactive than anything you’d read in a textbook! 4 Tips to Share on How to Become a Social Media Manager That’s Worth Their Salt TL;DR, right? Well, I’ve zeroed in on some tips that I think you’ll find useful if you’re thinking of getting involved in the professional social media world: 1. Keep Reading Seriously. Whether its articles online, novels, or even episodic video games – keep yourself immersed in some form of literature, whether it’s Dostoevsky, Murakami , or That-Indie-Graphic-Novel-That-You-Wish-Other-People-Read,-Too. It makes you a better, savvier writer overall and keeps your noodle engaged with language. Draw on the voices in literature to help you cultivate your own. It’s important to do, even if you only have 140 characters to show it. The same goes for writing. If you get an itch to write a little story, poem, or blog, scratch it. 2. Stay Connected to Social Media This is related … Read more

How to Use Snapchat: A Guide for Businesses on Snapchat

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How to Use Snapchat: A Guide for Businesses on Snapchat

With Snapchat continuing to grow in popularity, it should come as no surprise that many brands are joining and creating “stories” of their own. However, the social media app has left many people confused about how to use it and the ways it could benefit their businesses. A Guide to Snapchat For Businesses & Marketers To help you out, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on how to use Snapchat, five key points on how to make the platform work for you, plus some amazing Snapchatters you need to follow! How to Use Snapchat: Adding Filters & Stickers Once you’ve taken a photo or video for your Snapchat story, you have a choice to post it as is or you can do a little editing first. To add a filter to your content, all you have to do is swipe left or right to see the available filters. Snapchat offers a timestamps, temperature, speed, and color filters for both photos and videos. You can even speed up videos, slow them down, or have them play in reverse. You can really get creative here! One thing that many people don’t realize with these filter is that some of them have other options that aren’t readily seen. For example, if you tap on the timestamp filter, it actually changes to the date. (There are currently two versions of the date you can use.) You can also toggle the temperature between Fahrenheit and Celsius and switch between miles per hour and kilometers per hour for the speed. Previously, Snapchat only provided users with standard emojis for adding to their photos and videos. Now, theres a wide selection of stickers for you to choose from. All you have to do is tap the sticker icon (the square icon in the top right-hand corner) and move through each category of stickers to find the one that’s just right for your snap. You can even design your own Bitmoji through the Bimoji app and link it for use in Snapchat. One way you can really get creative with stickers is to create a full-color background for your snaps. How do you do this? All you have to do is choose a sticker with the color you’d like, place it on your snap, and expand it until it covers the entire screen. How to Use Snapchat: Face Filters 101 The great thing about Snapchat is that it’s one social media platform where you can really have fun with your content. You can draw on your photos and videos, add stickers, and even apply face filters to yourself and others. If you’ve been wondering how to try this out for yourself, the good news is that it’s actually pretty simple. To apply a face filter on Snapchat, all you need to do is long-press on your face (or the face of the person you want to apply the filter to), then a selection of available filters will pop-up on the lower half of the screen. Swipe through them and choose the one you like the best. Once you’ve picked your filter of choice, you can take a photo or video with it applied to your face. These filters update on a regular basis, so you’ll want to check them often. (You don’t want to miss out on the coolest new filter, do you?) Occasionally, you’ll even see sponsored face filters (also known as Sponsored Lenses) from companies. If you’re a business owner, this is something you may want to take advantage of. You can even create standard filters for users to add to their snaps. Standard filters can be made available only to people within a certain geographical location so you can be sure to target the right customers. Snapchat Memories One of the newer features on Snapchat allows you to post straight from your camera roll or share previous snaps. If you think you may want to share a snap again one day, you can save it before submitting it to your story or save it after it’s been posted. All you have to do is tap the icon as shown in the screenshot. The photo or video you just took will automatically be saved for you to use again and again. Five Key Ways to Make Snapchat Work for You If you’re ready to start using Snapchat as part of your online strategy, these tips will help you out: 1. Tell a great story As with any social media platform, you should make sure you’re sharing valuable content your audience would be interested in. What would they like to see from you? How can you solve a problem they’re facing, through your Snapchat story? You should also make sure everything is cohesive when played in full. Your story should make sense to your viewers. 2. Give them a behind-the-scenes look Allow your followers to get a look into what a day in your life is like. You can show them your work process and allow viewers to meet the members of your team. People want to get to know you and the others behind your business. You can even get your audience excited about an upcoming product with a little Snapchat teaser 3. Team up with influencers If you want to expand your reach on Snapchat, consider teaming up with influencers in your niche. You can have someone take over your Snapchat for a day as a way to attract new followers and provide great content for your story 4. Provide incentives for followers You can choose to host giveaways through Snapchat, offer exclusive discounts, and more. Get your audience involved by having them screenshot your snaps or ask them to send you a snap in response. 5. Don’t worry about being perfect Snapchat is meant to be a fun, genuine platform. Your snaps don’t have to be polished and picture-perfect. Instead, you should enjoy yourself and be real with your audience. 10 Snapchat Accounts to Follow 1. Gary Vaynerchuk: If you aren’t familiar with Gary … Read more

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