Today, nearly every online marketer knows that content is king. Regardless of how pretty and well organized your website or blog is, none of it matters if you don’t have the content to back it up.
How does social media come into play with the need overall for content? Is content really that important in social media? Yes! The answer is yes, content is more important than ever on social media.
April was an absolute storm for updates and changes in the social media world and all of the new changes and rollouts are going to greatly impact who can see what and how content is viewed.
It is a dog-eat-dog world out in the social media world of content. Everyone can write and everyone can tell a story, the biggest thing you must ask yourself is if yours is better than everyone else’s—because that’s what it’s going to take to be heard, to be liked, to be followed. Couple the fact that everyone is clamoring to be heard with the new social media updates and you will see how it can be an uphill battle to get your voice out there.
The 3 Main Features of Facebook’s New Algorithm
What started as a fun place to stay up-to-date with your friends and like their cute baby’s pictures has turned into a mass media market and the perfect platform for promoting your business.
Unfortunately with changes last year to Facebook’s algorithm it hasn’t been as easy to get organic traffic to your brand’s Facebook page, but it is still possible to do. With the new algorithm update that rolled out on April 21, 2015, Facebook has taken it a step further, making it even harder to gain organic traffic and almost forcing brands to pay to promote their business. This new algorithm has some serious updates in store.
Facebook announced it is putting more emphasis on friends and like pages and less on brands. The new update includes the following features:
The content you care about is right on top: Your close friends’ statuses, pictures and anything else you look at consistently is shown at the beginning of your timeline so that you don’t miss anything in the lives of the people you care about most. This goes for pages as well. Pages you consistently interact with will be shown at the top of your news feed.
Less posts from those you don’t: For those without many interactions, friends or like pages, Facebook has relaxed the number of times you can see their posts. Therefore, you can now have back-to-back posts that were previously blocked from coming through on your news feed.
Less non-relevant notifications: Lastly, those annoying likes and comments friends make on other’s pages and posts that you could personally care less about and usually from people you have no clue who they are, will be buried at the bottom of your news feed, or quite possibly not visible to you at all.
So why is content on Facebook more important now than ever before? Because by placing the emphasis on friends and shoving the brands to the back burner, you are going to need every fan you have to help push your content without having to pay for it. Every time your content is shared, all of their close friends will be notified and have the opportunity to read it. Without good content, you are pretty close to dead in the water – or at least looking at a much larger Facebook marketing budget.
What’s New? Hello, Discover from Snapchat
Snapchat has always been a really fun way to see pictures of your niece or nephew or your friend’s crazy weekend out. With the addition of Snapchat’s Discover, storytelling takes on a whole new role with this media platform.
By offering a place to tell stories, users can open up different editions to see what is out there. Popular brands such as ESPN, the Food Network and National Geographic have their own channels where you can watch video. Simply open the channel to view the snap. If you like what you see, you can swipe up and view the whole video, and otherwise you can swipe left to see more.
Because what’s hot today is old news tomorrow, these channels are updated every 24 hours to keep content fresh and exactly what you’re looking for.
In today’s instant gratification world, millennials don’t waste time looking at things that don’t intrigue them. Discover starts with 10 second clips, letting you quickly decide if it is worth your time to check out, therefore not wasting your time watching a whole video of something you really don’t care about.
While this is a really great update and feature it lacks in a major way that other social media platforms don’t have problems with – there is no engagement. While storytelling and content are so important, consumers want engagement from brands. Discover is simply an in-your-face marketing tool where there is no way to interact beyond watching the video.
7 Ways To Get the Best Content Out There & Be Social On Your Platforms
It’s no secret that with everyone and their mother sharing stories and content on social media, a lot gets overlooked or not viewed. So how do you combat that? How do you get your voice heard and noticed in an over-saturated market?
Post pictures. In everything you do, post pictures. No, more than that, post intriguing pictures – pictures that make you want to open the story and read it because you just can’t imagine what that image has in store for you. On platforms like Twitter, that picture may be the only reason someone opens your story, since Twitter only gives you so many characters to explain what you are doing. Therefore, that picture has to speak 1000 words before your actual words are even read.
Share your content everywhere. Put it on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Google Plus and Pinterest. The more places your content is shared the more likely that people are going to read it, love it and ultimately share it. Don’t be afraid to share it more than once either. The more times your content is shared the better chance you have that people will read it and then share it with their friends. Choose different times of the day and days of the week to get the most views out of your content.
Write things that everyone can relate to, not only a small group of people. You don’t have to write about your product for every post, just make sure it is relevant to your product. For example if you are trying to promote new kitchen appliances, it is a good idea to post a few recipes. This way you can bring in people who aren’t looking for a new stove at the moment but just can’t pass up that delicious, home style chicken and dumplings recipe that looks like grandma handed it down through generations.
Use a consistent voice across all social media platforms. Pretty much be the same person on Facebook as you are on Twitter. Your goal is to make everything as genuine and as personal as possible. Having one voice on Facebook and a totally different persona on Twitter will discredit you and ultimately hurt your readership.
Engage your readers. It’s not enough just to have great content; you want your readers to interact. Use a conversational tone in your writing and ask questions that you truly want to be answered. When they are answered, respond! You don’t have to respond to every single person who answers if the responses are overwhelming, but at least respond to a few of them. Let them know there’s a person behind the computer that wants them to be a part of what you are doing.
Stay on top of social media updates and know what you’re up against. Being ahead of the game has never been a bad thing and surely isn’t in the case of the social media content wars.
Lastly, utilize the metrics available across all of the different social media platforms to find out what is working for you and what isn’t. This is a great time to look at posting times and days. A post may hit Facebook at 9 a.m. and perform at its best, but be a total flop on Twitter because most of your followers don’t check Twitter until lunchtime. You may need to schedule different posting times between the different platforms to get the absolute best outcomes.
More Than Anything – Interact & Be Social
Social media didn’t get its name from being a one-sided platform to share information. No, it is the ultimate in brand and consumer interaction and the easiest way to gain recognition is to be present and engaged in your social media postings.
Why is social media interaction so important? Simply put, because it puts a face and a voice to an otherwise unattainable brand. If someone were to leave a less than desirable comment about something you shared on Facebook, ask them why or take their constructive criticism and take the time to thank them for their input and look into it. Not only are you making it personal to that person, but it also shows the thousands of other people that you care about the content you are sharing, you are passionate about your product and you care what the people think about you.
There are thousands of people sharing recipes on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, what makes your stand out? What makes people want to keep checking your site versus others when they are looking for something new to make for their family? Yes, of course your recipes may be better and your writing style may draw a few people in, but engaging with your readers makes them think of you more as a friend and less as a business. Friends always go to friends first when they need advice, or in this case, dinner ideas. So naturally they are coming to your site first.
And then guess what they are going to do? Yep, they are going to share it with their friends and promote it that everyone needs to check you out because you are without a doubt the best choice out there. And you will ultimately gain more followers, likes and retweets all because you responded to a comment or a tweet. A simple thirty-second response can be king in growing your followers.
A Simple Tip: Offer a Lot of Quality Content
Someone who reads the content you share and likes it often wants more. You can never have too much content, but you can certainly have too little! So how often should you share on social media? Well, that depends on the social media platform you are sharing to.
You want to share much more to Pinterest and Twitter than you would to Facebook or Google Plus.
Along with how often you share, how much you write is a big factor as well. Smaller blog posts, while quick and easy to read, often result in a higher bounce rate because they do not engage the reader or keep them wanting more. Blog posts of at least 1000 words are more likely to keep the reader clicking through other posts on your page because they want to learn more and read more of what you have to offer. The more content you have to offer, the more likely a reader is to check back on your blog or website often to see what has been updated.
If you pair good writing and heavy content with these simple steps, your use of social media should be at its peak and you will inevitably gain readership.
Hashtags are an incredible part of social media. They are what connects people during incredible or tragic moments, bringing the entire world together on social media. They provide excellent opportunities for discussion and are excellent for businesses. However, you might be wondering just how to use them, and use them correctly, on Twitter and Instagram.
Let’s take a look at hashtags that will help you create an excellent Twitter or Instagram campaign.
Crash Course: How Does A Hashtag Work?
Hashtags are becoming vital to any social media campaign, but many people still might not know just what a hashtag is. Here is a quick rundown and reminder: a hashtag is a word or phrase used on social media that follows the pound or number sign (#). This helps to tie posts together with others and makes it easier for clients and readers to browse through the hashtag to find relevant information. This is a great way to index and categorize posts to make it easier for those with an interest in the specific keyword. For example, if you are selling artisanal coffee and want people who aren’t following to see your posts, you can use a hashtag such as #artisanalcoffee or a keyword that you use more often on your site. This will help connect you, and broaden your reach.
Why Should You Use Hashtags?
I briefly stated a benefit of hashtags in my example above. You need hashtags because they help direct people to your posts if they are not within your network. Let’s say you are a company that sells your product worldwide; you may have a few local customers, but how can you connect with someone in England, Australia, or America? Simple answer: hashtags. In addition to broadening your range and reaching out to more customers, you can also use hashtags as a way to engage with your clients, potential clients, and industry leaders. In fact, researchers find that tweets that utilize hashtags get two times the amount of engagement as a regular, non-hashtag tweet; interesting! The biggest thing about social media is being social, and you can do just that with hashtags directed at being social. I am going to take a more in depth look at this to show you just how you can correctly use your hashtags, especially when it comes to Twitter and Instagram.
Companies That Should Be Using Twitter or Instagram
Twitter is a great social channel for many businesses to use because it can connect you with a broader range of individuals. It can also provide you with the chance to host online chats, which I will discuss later. Twitter is a great social channel for small businesses and is also a great tool that B2Bs can use. Now, when it comes to Instagram, it is important to sit down and think about what your company does. If you don’t have much visually driven content and don’t focus on it too much, then Instagram is not for you. However, if you do have visually driven content or product, Instagram is perfect. If you are looking for some tips on how to use Instagram for your business, Social Media Examiner gives some excellent points to guide you in the right direction!
How To Correctly Hashtag Your Content on Instagram and Twitter
Now that I’ve taken you on a crash course reminder on hashtags, their importance, and if you should use Twitter and Instagram, I am going to help you learn how to use them. Remember, when it comes to social media and hashtags, you will need to tweak and grow to find the best ones for you. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can correctly, and awesomely use hashtags.
Use Weekly AMAs or Hashtag Chats. Many businesses use something known as an AMA or an Ask Me Anything. Ask Me Anything is a really popular concept for many celebrities and users on Reddit, but it is slowly catching on for many businesses on other social channels. Most of the time, a business will adapt it into a chat instead of using AMA, but the concept is the same and helps develop communication and dialogue. A great example of a business chat is that of SEMRush’s #semrushchat that they hold to talk about various concepts. They discuss various questions with their readers and followers and then post the discussions on their blog. This is a great way to answer some of the common and current buzzing questions clients have while also creating excellent blog material.
Create Unique Hashtags. This is a perfect way to get your posts to stand out while directing people to your accounts and site. You will need to use trendy hashtags that will get noticed, but throwing in a unique hashtag created by you will help put all of your posts in an easy to find spot. It can also help when people start discussing things with you, using that hashtag instead. This will direct more people to the discussion, and eventually direct people to your Twitter account, or website. In addition, a unique hashtag can also help you keep your business related photos in one spot on Instagram, giving people the chance to see all photos you’ve posted throughout your whole Instagram usage.
Follow Specific Hashtags to See More Discussion. When you are using Twitter, it is a good idea to make sure you follow specific hashtags to see discussions and anything your clients might be talking about. This is especially necessary if you create your own hashtag to get people involved in discussions. It won’t work if you don’t keep tabs on it to talk with clients. The best way to follow specific hashtags is to utilize social media tools such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or others that allow you to create columns for certain keywords and phrases.
Utilize Trending Hashtags for Easy Advertising. No matter if you are on Twitter or Instagram, using trending hashtags for advertising is a great method. Most of the time, popular hashtags are to promote something but are always asking for others to engage. For example, on April 12th, Game of Thrones was promoting the show’s 5th season starting up. The way last season ended showed one of the three dragons still flying around the countryside, causing trouble for the people and Dany. Game of Thrones’official Twitter used this as a great way to advertise with #CatchDrogon, encouraging people to share gifs, images, or come up with clever tweets to catch the dragon. This was a great idea, and many fans participated. What made it even funnier was when businesses such as Arby’s joined in. This was a great way to advertise Arby’s by using a very popular hashtag. You can do something similar whether it is for a TV show, movie or just a random trending hashtag.
Create a List of Hashtags to Use for Your Strategy. Before you start a hashtag campaign, you might find it helpful to sit down and brainstorm a few ideas. This will help you focus on the keywords you want to use for Twitter and Instagram while also helping you keep a list of all the hashtags you think can work for your business. Do some research into your top keywords and also take some time to look at Twitter and Instagram to see which hashtags are trending, not just in your industry, but overall. You never know when you’ll be met with an excellent opportunity to advertise your business in a clever way.
Top Trending Hashtags of 2015, So Far
Using trendy keywords is a great way to get your posts out there to a wider audience that might not look at your industry keywords. Let’s look at some of the trendiest hashtags so far! #StarWars. This is the year of Star Wars. There will be a new movie, new game, and tons of new merchandise everywhere. During April 2015, the franchise held a convention called Star Wars Celebration. The convention worked with Twitter and anytime someone used a specific hashtag for Star Wars, new, little Emojis would pop up. It was pretty fun! #Sports. Whether it be #baseball, #basketball, #football or the #StanelyCup, sports take over the trendy hashtags each year. These hashtags are great to get in on with your promotional material, especially if you make it sports related. #Coachella. Coachella, the music festival of the hipsters, was in full swing in April, making it a trendy hashtag for everyone to use. It was used to highlight the festival, create advertisements using the hashtag, or even for a great discussion on issues such as cultural appropriation. The #Coachella tag and all of its subsequent ones had some intriguing aspects and discussions.
Everybody, Do the Hashtag Shuffle
Now that you know a bit more about hashtags for Twitter and Instagram, you should start doing the little dance known as the hashtag shuffle. Get to using them, and creating some excellent individual hashtags for your business. If you need help with social media or need keyword research to know the top ones to use for your website and social campaigns, then look no further. Express Writers is here to help with Twitter and other social media platforms, as well as providing excellent keyword research services. Which of these tips do you think will work the best for you and your business? Photo credit: PrismaIllustration / iStock
Go anywhere these days, in fact don’t even leave your home, and what do you find? No, it’s not infomercials for the next great cooking gadget that solves a problem that never existed. It is references to social media. Every company, business, person, dog, cat, and mythological creature has a social media presence. A few years back parents were mad at their kids spending countless hours on a certain social “space”. Well it has expanded from that and now the parents and grandparents aren’t questioning kid’s social media usage, they’re sending the kids stupid jokes and photos.
Yeah that’s right, social media has spread to the masses. You have it, your grandma has it, your nephew has it, your employer has it, and your favorite store has it…notice a trend? A recent article by Fast Company about social media usage statistics provided some staggering figures. Some of the facts like “Social Media has overtaken porn as the No. 1 activity on the web” are just funny, while others like “93% of marketers use social media for business” show us the direction commerce is going.
Regardless of if you are using social media for personal usage, to promote yourself, or to promote your business, it is an interracial part of the way people relate and communicate and is here to stay. So how can you use one of the most powerful communications ever to your benefit? Read on and find out.
20 Tips For An Awesome Social Media Strategy
1. Integrate your web presence with your social media content
Let’s face it, you have your email address, perhaps you have ten email addresses. They are easy to get and free. You also have a web site. These days you can build it yourself for free, no knowledge necessary, or you hire an HTML expert to do lots of confusing stuff and build a site that dominates all. So how exactly do you get the customer or client from your email or web site, to your social media? Let’s face it; you and your business don’t look so stellar with only 12 followers. People judge this stuff, if a teenage girl has 300 followers, than your seemingly successful business should have tens of thousands.
Establish an email newsletter, or if you have one, great. Now be sure that each issue not only provides links to your social media content but also references it. Tell the readers that if they go to your page and complete some function there is an incentive. Say this “visit us on ____ (insert your page info) and comment on _____ (whatever creative thing you come up with) and receive a 30% coupon code.” Now you are enticing them to go to your page and rewarding that effort. Try it.
2. Open up your perspective
You’re not dictating to the board of directors here, you’re talking to the everyday average Joes and Janes that frequent your business. Sure they’re smart but social media is about being social, not suit and tie stiff in the board room.
3. Give them a path to follow
Add buttons and links to your site. Every social media provider has predesigned HTML buttons that you can customize and pop in your site in seconds. Don’t hide them on some random subpage. Put them right there on the main page of your web site. Go ahead and do it, I’ll wait.
All done? What you have just done is invited your customers and clients to join you. People love to feel like they belong. Getting them to join in on your social media content makes them part of your business and not just a client. And think of it this way, if one person likes your page their friends will see it and be lead to check you out as well. They are called followers for a reason.
4. Relate, don’t dictate to your followers
Nobody will ever doubt the power of advertising. However, social media is more of a relaxed media. Relate to your customers. Be one of them, not a dictator. In fact, Social Media Examiner talks about accessing and knowing your audience. Seeing as they are not just a number, make people feel welcome at your business and make them want to return.
Let’s say you own a restaurant, if you actually own one even better. Ads talking about your new dish or sandwich are great. However putting up a post about it and discussing it is better. Tell them the process behind it, where you came up with the idea. Show them a video of you making it. And post photos! People love photos, why else would Instagram exist? Get creative with some photo editing and include power words in your photo. Show them the sandwich with bold words talking about its attributes.
The point here is not to lay down a sales pitch; people know when they’re being baited. Relate to them, imagine you are your customers and share with them.
5. Involve your entire workforce
Are you a one man (woman) show or do you have an entire staff at your disposal? Your social media content should always be fresh and up to date. Who has gone to a page for their favorite restaurant or store only to see their last post was six weeks ago? If you are too busy to stay atop it then consider enlisting a social media content person. As a primary or additional job function they will make daily posts about sales, specials, and everything that’s breaking news for your business. People enjoy fresh content and they enjoy interaction.
6. Know what they know
There is a chance that people on your staff have special skills you didn’t even know. Is the guy in the mail room a part time filmmaker? Well enlist him to make some video content. Does your waitress dabble in graphic design? Ask and you may be surprised. These are assets you already have on hand and it can be vastly cheaper than hiring outside professionals.
7. Know when you need help
What if you are not a writer though? Yeah maybe you can cook a gourmet dinner with just water, salt, and a mint, yet you are far from a wordsmith. The internet has a solution to everything, even to your social media content writing problems. Before you think it sounds crazy, check it out. Having someone do the leg work for you is way better than a Facebook page that looks like a ghost town.
8. Give your customers/followers their 15 minutes of fame
Imagine this scenario; a woman patronizes your coffee shop every morning. She is a dedicated customer to you and your brand. Grab a picture of her and post it online. Not only will it make her day, but it tears down that wall. Social media content is all about tearing down the walls of society. It’s about letting others into your world.Customers will feel valued if you make them feel like they are part of the family and not just a client.
This is also a perfect opportunity to reward your social media followers. Hold contests and include them. Make them earn some great stuff but make it fun.
9. Stake your claim
About twenty years ago it was a popular trend to buy up popular names as domains. You could have scored WalMart.com for a few dollars. Wal-Mart would have to come in and pay you to get their name for their web site. Maybe you bought it for $10.00 and now can ask the moon for it. Unfortunately, those were the days when the internet was just emerging as a powerhouse. Nowadays domain and now social media names are getting snatched up. Go to Facebook or Twitter and try to find your friend Bob Smith. You’ll have to sift through Bob Smiths until next Thursday before you find him.
10. Get unique and stand out
People need to find your business as fast as possible and they can’t do that if they’re sifting through 500 similar names or some obscure name that has nothing to do with you. Consider this:
Grab up your company name as soon as possible. Don’t be stuck after the fact because someone else grabbed it up.
If your name is taken then get unique. Why do you think so many celebrities go on Twitter as @TheReal____ (insert your favorite singer/actor). If you’re restaurant is called Sanchez Mexican Grill it may be taken. So become EatSanchezMexicanGrill. Adding the simple word ‘EAT’ sets you apart.
11. Hear the voice of your followers
You decide the image and voice of your business, as well, you should, it’s yours! There is a flip side to that though; you have to give the people what they want. Ask opinions and ask for ideas. Let your customers have a voice and suggest things. Do they want more gifts always from your Facebook page? Do they want to see photos of your daily specials on Instagram?
Jay Baer a social media expert on Convince and Convert says it best when talking about an 8-step social media strategy: “Listen and compare.”
12. Stay up on what’s up
A few years back itseems like Myspace was poised to take over the world.Then along came a startup social network known as, anyone? Yes, Facebook. And, it literally blew Myspace out of the water. Coke and Pepsi have battled it out for years; the internet though is proving ruthless. What is popular this morning may as well be a ghost town by tomorrow night. Look at it this way, if people can become overnight millionaires using the internet, the empire can fall just as fast.
13. Get the jump on trends
Stay up on what the new developments in social media content are. This is a time when trends are worthy. Get on board with whatever the next big thing is because people want to find you. In fact, register accounts and reserve your name over all platforms just as a safety net. After all, it is free; if the site fizzles then all you lost was five minutes and a few key strokes.
14. Get interactive
One of our recent blogs on social media writing tips mentions using a call to action. Think about your own Facebook or Twitter usage? Do you read each individual post or do you scroll through and just browse. Success in business is all about being seen and exposure. You are losing exposure if you’re just a random post in a long scrolling line.
Reach out and grab your audience. Require them to click links to your site. Make them stop to watch a You Tube video. Post a crazy picture that begs attention. If your customers and fans need to complete tasks and be interactive, then you are a speed bump in the scroll.
15. Never be without
What, no sale going on? No new dish at your restaurant? Then what is there to talk about? As stated before, don’t let your social media content dry up and look like a ghost town. Make a list of alternative posting materials. How about a poll? One of my favorite nutritional supplement companies often goes on Facebook and asks their fan base what they are working out today. “Who has a leg day today?” As silly as it sounds it gets people talking and is better than nothing.
16. Acknowledge the die-hards
We are talking about that guy or gal who is on your company Facebook all the time liking your photos and participating in your polls. They retweet all your big news; they share your voice just because they love your brand. Well give them their due. Establish a Fan of the Week. Showcase their photo, give them an incentive, etc. Come on, show them the love back.
17. Coverage
Just as you shouldn’t let your social media content hit a standstill, you shouldn’t ignore the people who are trying to be social. If you get messages be sure to respond to them personally. Answering questions and addressing concerns mean a lot to people.
18. Censor yourself
Sure, freedom of speech is good – but to what extent? Keep commentary about politics, religion, and personal opinions out of your posts. If you wouldn’t say it to customers in your store, don’t post it online.
19. Weigh the cost
If web design and hosting isn’t in your budget then guess what? Social media is free. Within the last couple of years Facebook and Twitter pages are visited more frequently than actual web sites. It is perfectly fine to maintain your web presence through just social media.
20. Have fun
Social media is a powerful online tool for your business. Don’t get overwhelmed by it. Just have fun with it. The more fun you have putting into it, the more fun your followers get out of it.
Now go implement these things and see what it does for your business.
“It happens to the best of us.” You’ve heard this old saying, right? Unfortunately, it proved all too true for JCPenney during this year’s Superbowl. The well-known brand inadvertently let (more than one) drunken tweet slip out on their Twitter feed.
The problem? Most people and even other companies thought that their SMM was tweeting drunk behind the J.C. Penney Twitter handle, @jcpenney. After tore up tweets like “Who kkmew theis was ghoing tob e a baweball ghamle,” Kia Motors America wrote, “Hey @jcpenney need a designated driver?”
Who kkmew theis was ghiong tob e a baweball ghamle. #lowsscorinh 5_0
Since then, it’s rumored by BuzzFeed and several other news locations that the drunken tweets were planned. But, as CBS reported, it backfired for the brand—and we don’t think it’s such a great idea.
Let’s be honest: it hasn’t NOT happened before. After all, if you type “how to handle drunk tweets” into a search engine, you’ll see some interesting links topping the results page. No matter how big you or your brand is this can happen to you. What would your reaction be if it did? Would you ignore the mishap? Would you scramble to delete the evidence? It might seem like the best solution, but is it really?
Fixing a Bad Social Media Post: Resisting Your Initial Reaction
According to Hubspot, you can delete a drunk tweet or social media post and keep it quiet, if you catch it very quickly. And by “very quickly,” we mean practically immediately. If you catch the post within seconds of it going up, you’ll likely be able to delete it and pretend that it never happened. Deletion of a mistake ridden, unfavorable tweet or social media post is certainly the first reaction most of us would have, but is it really the best action? What if leaving the unfortunate post and tackling it head on could result in something positive, like building a more trusting relationship with your clientele or strengthening your reputation?
If there’s a chance your tweet or post has already hit the feeds of your followers or was quickly seen by a vast audience, deletion is not the best option! It’s like Hubspot says, “Once something is out there in cyberspace, it’s usually there forever. Someone, somewhere probably got a screenshot of it – especially when you’re a brand with a large audience and a lot of eyes on you.”
Keep in mind that anyone receiving direct e-mail or app notifications will likely have a copy of whatever you’re trying to get rid of. Deleting the post and pretending like it never happened could open you up to some hard-hitting and reputation-damaging attacks; attacks that could prove more destructive than a drunken tweet. After all, if a brand you trust, love and respect deleted a saucy tweet, social media post or blog comment with no comment, wouldn’t you wonder why?
However, it is possible to delete a drunken tweet and handle it with class—if you know how to do it! We turn to none other than the American Red Cross for a stunning example. In 2011, Geekosystem.com reported on a drunken tweet accidentally sent from the American Red Cross Twitter account. The questionable and embarrassing tweet came from an individual who had access to the organization’s account. The individual in question allegedly made a mistake while using HootSuite and their embarrassing tweet showed up on the Red Cross’s Twitter feed. The Red Cross deleted the embarrassing tweet and followed up by tweeting, “We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.”
The Red Cross did more than delete the unfavorable tweet and pretend it didn’t happen. They acknowledged the tweet and found a way to spin it into a positive. According to Geekosystem.com, “The best part about all of this, other than the calm (or cold, calculating and secretly terrifying?) poise of the Red Cross, is that the Red Cross managed to turn this digital faux pas into receiving donations (which further solidifies the calculating and terrifying theory), as Dogfish Head Brewery, whose beer was mentioned in the accidental tweet, encouraged donations.”
What Geekosystem called “cold, calculating and secretly terrifying” is what we call good business sense. This situation could easily have turned into a media nightmare, but the Red Cross handled it with class and turned it into a positive—all by tackling the problem head on!
How to Handle Unfavorable Tweets, Drunk or Otherwise
What is an unfavorable social media post, tweet or otherwise? It’s bad publicity. Marketers have been handling bad publicity for years. It’s no surprise then that their tactics work just as well in the land of social media. Let’s consider six ways to handle those embarrassing, unfavorable and even scary social media disasters:
Respond quickly, honestly and decisively. Customer complaints are a real possibility in the social media world. It’s easy and fast for a disgruntled customer, employee or third party to throw out an unfavorable, perhaps even evil, post. The best course of reaction is to respond quickly and be both honest and decisive in your reply.
Acknowledge errors and mistakes. Acknowledging the bad publicity and being honest about it is vital. If you, your brand or someone within your company made a mistake, own up to it and apologize. Current and potential customers will appreciate your openness.
Never say, “No comment.” When a negative post hits the cyber waves, it’s easy to feel blind sighted. When your public is calling for your comment, avoid retreating by saying, “No comment.” It will instantly cast question regarding your position and open you to the perfect storm of amplified attacks as your followers dig for dirt. If you’re unsure of how to respond and feel like you’re short on information, consider saying something like, “I’m aware of the situation and am currently looking into it.”
According to an NFIB.com article on how to handle negative publicity, “confront the source.” Mark Grimm, the president of Mark Grimm Communications, points out that you need to pinpoint “the source of the problem in order to deal with it.” If the unfavorable tweet came from within your brand, then you’ll need to decide how to deal with it. If it came from an unhappy customer or third party, you’ll need to respond quickly, honestly and decisively.
Enlist backup. Never underestimate the power of satisfied customers. When negative publicity hits your social media channels, a great way to respond is to hit your loyal supporters up for some quality support. Says Mark Grimm, “Train [your satisfied customers] on what to say, because you want them to be specific and positive.”
Look at it as an opportunity. According to the Technori.com rules on dealing with bad publicity, “you can build better customer relations by solving problems.” When your social media pops a negative comment or drunken display, look at it as an opportunity to solve a problem and spin a positive. The American Red Cross did just this, and look at their results! Not only did they handle the questionable publicity with class, but they raised donations in the process.
So, how did JCPenney handle their supposedly “drunk” tweet? They decided to do what HubSpot calls “pivot and deny.” You might call this the method of plausible deniability. JCPenney chose to deny that the tweets were drunk at all. Instead, they used Twitter to state that it was all part of a planned campaign designed to promote mittens by saying, “Oops…Sorry for the typos. We were #TweetingWithMittens. Wasn’t it supposed to be colder? Enjoy the game! #GoTeamUSA.”
Quick save or bold truth? That’s for you, and every other reader, to decide. Either way, they smoothed the “drunken” mishap over quickly and decisively. Not only did the big, well-known brand tackle the situation head on via a decisive response, but Sean Ryan—the man supposedly responsible for the brand’s social media strategies and accounts—tweeted, “For the record, I am stone-cold-sober.” The brand also chose to show internal unity, which made it apparent that everyone was on the same page. People like to see a company that “has it together.”
According to Hubspot, “Whether a purposeful strategy or a drunken mistake, it has honestly worked out pretty well for JC Penney.” The big oops livened up a rather uneventful Superbowl and spurred a flurry of media publicity, which all seems to have culminated in the successful exposure of JCPenney’s mittens.
The Lesson to Take Away
We live in a world driven by technology. News hits social platforms and spreads faster than we catch the nightly news report on our television set. It’s important to be ready for the mishaps that can crop up.
Is it advisable to downgrade your social media presence in an attempt to lessen the chances (or blow) of a drunk or unfavorable social media post? Not really. Establishing and maintaining your search engine rankings in 2014 demands the use of social media profiles. You need to continually post to and use your social media channels. Bad publicity, angry tweets and even drunken posts can (and probably will) pop up from time to time. How you decide to handle these situations will greatly affect your brand’s reputation.
If you haven’t already, hire a social media team. Keeping up with social media is a full time job. A trained team will be able to keep you quickly informed of what’s happening, ensuring you are not caught off guard. Train your social media team members on how to best react and respond to negative posts, and use them as a means of responding quickly, honestly and decisively.
We’ve already established that going social for your business in 2014 is not a matter of if, but why. Armed with that knowledge, we thought it was only fair to share the nuts and bolts of howto establish and manage your social media presence.
We have not 5, not 10, but 20 concrete steps to take you from “What social media platform is best for my industry?” to “What, you don’t have a social media manager?” in no time.
2014: It’s Social Media Party Time!
Let us invite you to our party. That’s right, with all our talk of cake lately; we’ve also gotten in the mood for parties. And with social media’s emphasis on engagement and, well, being social, we thought a party with all its intricacies — from venue to wardrobe and guest list — was the perfect illustration. So, for the duration of our time together, it’s party time. Who knew reading a blog could be so much fun?
Pick Your Parties: Platform Selection
Think of each social media platform as a swanky party. Each has its own vibe, venue, and party-goers who can’t get enough. It is your mission to find the parties your business should attend and get in the conversation. Which leads us to…
Step #1: Finding the Right Social Media Platforms for You
It’s tempting to setup a profile on every available platform to get the most exposure for your business. But as a small business owner, your time is precious and this one-size-fits-all strategy runs the risk of wearing your resources too thin.
Instead, you need to research and find out where your social media target demographic hangs out, and go to those parties. You wouldn’t see a bunch of guys at brunch, would you? So if you run an online Poker site you wouldn’t necessarily need to party on a Pinterest page (used predominantly by women at 84%, according to Business Insider).
The only exception to this rule? Google+. Although this platform is overwhelmingly used by men, all businesses could use the SEO pick-me-up this site provides.
Dress to Impress: Social Media Profile Set Up
You know which platforms to focus on. Now, how should you prepare your profiles for the best exposure possible? This next tips and tricks will get your business profiles dressed to impress in no time.
Step # 2: Choosing the Right Profile Picture
If your company has a logo, you are probably farther along on this step than you think. The perfect profile image is, you guessed it, your logo. Already a key part in your branding, your logo will make it easy for potential clients to identify your business, no matter where they bump into you.
Step #3: Using Quality Imagery
Banner. Cover. Header. Theme. Channel Art.
No matter what the platform calls it, most of them have space for a larger image on your profile. Think of it as your chance to accessorize your party-perfect profile picture (your logo, right?) with an engaging pop of color and personality.
To brand your profile further, we suggest using your website’s color scheme and images as the inspiration for your larger feature image. It is also crucial to adhere to the imagery guidelines for each platform. Fuzzy images or an overuse of text, like too much makeup or a clashing tie, will totally throw off your look.
Step #4: Choosing an Easily Identifiable and Keyword-Conscience Username
Your social media handles need to be easy for customers to connect with your company name, tagline or main service, according to Forbes. In other words, when people see your posts on their feed they shouldn’t be confused about who the post is from – that’s as silly as not introducing yourself. So, thoughtfully pick a social media name and stick with it across all platforms.
And remember to use keywords. Say you are a Wedding Planner. Instead of using your company name, you may want to consider including your location and main service, like “DallasWeddings.”
Step #5: Crafting Consistent Company Taglines and Descriptions
Before you complete your profile set up, take some time to distill your company’s goals into a succinct tagline, longer description, mission statement, and history blurb. As with the “big picture” in step #3, you can take key points from your website to craft this information. Once you (or the copywriter you hired) write a tagline, long description, and mission for your business, you can plug them into all of your profiles.
Consistency is the name of the game here, too. Not only do you want to coordinate with the formality and tone on your site, you also want all of your profiles to communicate the same message as well. And as with your username, remember to use industry keywords while maintaining a written-for-people vibe.
This party parallel is pretty obvious. If you met someone interesting at the party, they would need a way to get in touch with you. Your social media profile should tell customers exactly where and how to contact you.
Step #7: Claiming Custom URLs
Just like a manicure adds imperceptible polish to any party prep, your effort to claim vanity URLs will add a much-needed touch of professionalism to your profiles.
First, a pop quiz: Which URL looks more polished and inviting?
A. www.facebook.com/yourbusiness
or
B. www.facebook.com/yourbusiness/390691057733835
(The correct answer is A, of course.)
This step takes a bit more effort because some platforms have requirements to claim your URL — like these for Google+. The extra elbow grease is totally worth it to provide a more inviting persona for your customers to interact with.
Get the Party Started: Social Optimization
Help people find, connect, and share content from your pristine profiles with these next steps.
Step #8: Making It Easy for People to Connect with You
After all of your (readable, but SEO-friendly) profiles are created with their shiny, custom URLs, you need to spread the word. From the social side, simply add the links of your profiles to each of your other profiles for a seamless experience. Your super fans will be able to connect with you at every party you attend.
Step #9: Connecting Your Social Profiles to Your Site
Another crucial way to spread the word? As soon as your profiles are established, add social icons to your header or footer — or both. If you have room, add some encouraging copy like “Connect with Us!” Another fun touch: You can even get your site developers to add a live Twitter feed to your sidebar.
Step #10: Allowing People to Share Your Content
You also need to make it easy for people to post your blogs and pages to their social media profiles by adding share buttons wherever possible.
Party Personality: Consistent Messaging
These next tips will help you find your social media voice and the right content to share.
Step #11: Creating Consistent Personality
Before you post your first tweet, you need to decide what personality or voice you want to have. Totally professional? Friendly, conversational? Again, you want to represent yourself well, so your voice needs to be consistent with your industry and your social media engagement as it grows.
Step #12: Picking Consistent Content
Next decide what kind of links to share. Think of this as your acceptable list of conversation topics you have up your sleeve when approaching party-goers, ahem, potential clients.
Here are a few lists you can make to help you find quality content.
1. Competitors sites. Never link to pages that could give your top competition business over you!
2.Acceptable industry relevant sites. You know your industry and what people interested in your industry like. Take some time to find some sites that regularly generate great content on your industry. Check them daily for potential posts to share.
3. Fun sites. Does your industry lend itself to any type of playfulness? We’re big fans of puns and wordplay here. Going back to the poker site example, you may want to find movie clips of famous poker scenes to share for your social platforms. This little bit of entertainment will help establish the personality behind your brand. Don’t overshare this type of content, but a few entertaining posts will enhance your personality potential.
And don’t forget to generate your own quality content (like a blog) to share via social media.
Step #13: Linking to SEO-Friendly Sites
This year SEO is all about quality content, so you should make sure to link to trusted content that’s valuable or interesting to your potential clients. One tool that makes this super-easy is the MozBar. You can download it to your browser’s toolbar and access each link. You are looking for a site with a Root Domain DA of 40 or above.
Time to Chat it Up: Consistent Connection
You’re at the party, you’re dressed to kill, and you even have some conversation starters in your back pocket. Now it’s time to get in there and engage. Bonus points for making a plan.
Step #14: Finding the Right Friends and Clients
Now that you’ve entered the scene, the most important thing to share is information relevant to your industry. Remember you’re not going for a certain number of likes; you’re going for quality connections. Here are a few ways to find the right people to engage with.
Say you’re a local grocer. You can conduct a Twitter search for keywords that match your top products. You find someone who needs milk you carry. Take the opportunity to respond and share your pricing and deals. Odds are, you have gained a new follower, and more importantly, a new customer.
Timing — just like telling a great joke at the best moment — is crucial for clicks and engagement on social media. So study up! Find out the best days and time of day to post for the platforms you are going to focus on. From Huffington Post, this guide to optimal Facebook and Twitter timing is a great place to start right about…now.
Step #16: Responding Consistently
Social media can be a great place to deliver spectacular customer service. So set a time to check all of your platforms and address any customer complaints, requests or rave reviews as soon as possible. For any disgruntled customers, don’t hesitate to message them with an email to take the conversation out of the public sphere. That way, you can take the time to give them the personalized attention each customer deserves. This gesture, and each speedy response, will do wonders for building customer loyalty.
Step #17: Planning to be Consistent
Ready, set, PLAN! You look great, your tone, perfect. Now you need to set goals and plan your level of commitment to posting. And, going a step further, decide how many posts will be to your blogs, industry articles and fun topics. Here are 3 sample plans you could put into motion.
Plan 1 – Minimal Management:
Schedule requirements:
1 industry relevant or entertainment post to all platforms weekly
1 link to a blog, video, or picture from your site (we like to think of this as “fan bait,” this is rich, engaging content that should tell customers WHY to check you out and share your content with their friends)
Feeling overwhelmed? Think of this as social media light. With just 2 posts a week, you’ll have time to test the waters, practice your tone, and get the hang of finding content. This is a great place to start, but we’d encourage taking your involvement to at least the next level.
Plan 2 – Traffic Flow:
Schedule requirements:
2 industry relevant or entertainment posts to all platforms weekly
1 link to a blog, video, or picture from your site
Engage in conversations
Respond to any incoming messages or comments
With the addition of engagement and customer service, you’ve upgraded your presence from wallflower to party participant. Having trouble with the interaction piece? Try to compartmentalize – set aside 15 minutes each day to search for conversations to join and respond to any comments. Just a little bit of time can make a big difference.
Plan 3 – Life of the Party:
Schedule requirements
3 industry relevant or entertainment posts to all platforms weekly
3 links to a blog, video, or picture from your site
Share seasonally-relevant content
Run occasional polls, surveys, & games
Engage in conversations
Respond to any incoming messages or comments
You’ve finally arrived. Adding engaging touches like seasonal content and games gives your social media profile a vibrant, lively feel. Suddenly YOUR page is who everyone wants to talk to. This does take a lot more work, so you may need some help to achieve this “Life of the Party” status.
Step #18: Consistently Communicating
This step may seem silly, but even the most amazing plans can end up being worthless if not implemented. If you are overwhelmed by this multistep process, it may be time to call in reinforcements.
Short on Resources? Time to Call in Some Help
Feel like you’ll need 3 hands to get everything done? Try one (or both) of these tips to get the job done.
Step #19: Using the Best Tools to Help
There are a lot social media content management tools out there, but Hootsuite is our current fav. Why?
Wide Connection: You can add all of your social media profiles — from Facebook to Google+ — onto your company’s Hootsuite dashboard. This makes it a snap to post updates to all at a time or just one if you need to.
Clean Organization: Hootsuite allows you to organize information into different streams and different tabs. That way you can focus in and “listen” to a certain social media profile as closely as you need to.
Perfect Timing: If you’re still scratching your head over step #15 (timing your posts just right), Hootsuite offers an answer to that, too. According to the Hootsuite blog, their social media auto schedule feature “uses algorithms to determine the best time to post, per network, and schedules your post to take advantage of that timeframe.” Just use that feature to get your posts onto potential clients’ feeds at just the right moment.
Analyze That: Hootsuite includes analytical tools to help you understand what works and what doesn’t.
Step #20: Finding a Manager
And finally, it may be best to give your social media management over to a pro. Don’t feel bad, many companies have a full-time social media expert on staff. Why? It can become a full-time job.
So yes, you know the value of social media. And yes, you may even know what you should do. But you don’t have the time to generate content, find content to share, craft engaging posts, take time to engage, address any questions and more.
Parties are fun, but as a business owner, attending them all the time may not be an option. Finding a manager who can set up your profiles, develop a plan and represent you could be the best investment you make this year.
