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Social Media Advice Not To Follow

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When it comes to social media marketing and putting together a social strategy, there is a lot of social media advice out there, which may cause your head to spin. While some advice out there is relevant and your company should follow in that direction, there is some social media advice you should not follow. Below is some advice you may come across, but beware and make sure the advice you follow takes your company down the right path.

Social Media Advice Not to Follow

Your company should be on every social media platform

While this piece of advice may seem smart to you, you will want to think about if having a presence on every social media platform will truly make an impact on your business. Being present on each platform will take lots of time and upkeep, and could potentially require additional staff as well. Instead take a look at the demographics and find which platform your audience is on most, so you can start to create your social media presence and begin interacting and engaging with your audience.

You need to post on a schedule

Most companies believe that they need to post on a certain schedule. While schedules are great for a lot of things when it comes to business, social media is somewhat different.  Do research on the time of day your audience is responding to your posts and interacting with them.  The whole point of social media is engaging with your customers and potential customers.  Also posting on a schedule may make you company seem rigid and uptight.

Followers are the only way to measure success

Your company may think a large amount of followers is the only way to measure success, but you may want to reassess how your company measures your social media success. The true ways to measure your success is by the engagement rate and with Google Analytics. By definition engagement rate is something you measure by looking at likes, shares, and comments. With Google Analytics, you can see what social media platforms, posts, or ads, are driving traffic to your website and measure success by what end goal your company sees fit.

You should delete negative comments

Instead of deleting any negative comments and trying to sweep them under the rug, people will look up to your company and even begin to trust your company when they see you responding to those comments in a mature way and owning up to them.

Everything needs to be about your brand

Your audience doesn’t always want to see everything your company has to offer or even every sale or promotion you have going on.  While social media is a great tool and you should put your sales and promotions on there, you will also want to give your followers and potential customer other valuable information relating to your industry and other information that they would find interesting.

For more information about Social Media Marketing and how we can help yours grow, contact us or leave us a comment below!

2015 Social Media Wish List

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In this video, Steve Groller and Jim Doherty discuss the biggest social media marketing gifts Santa forgot to leave under our trees in 2014.

Here’s to a New Year of social media success, useful integrations, customized business solutions, more efficient management, and killer reporting!

1. Desktop Notifications

Social media is a really fast-paced environment from a marketing standpoint, and I think it’s important that there’s a one-to-one connection with the intended audience. It can be a big disconnect from a brand standpoint if that communication is stalled or delayed by a certain degree of time.

A lot of social media platforms in 2015, we’re looking for that more instantaneous notification system. A lot of them have those notification systems, but they’re very mobile-based; they’re not so much desktop-based. And throughout the day, a social media marketer might not be on their mobile phone, on that mobile application as much as they might be on their desktop. And most social media marketers might have ten lists open with five or six tabs, and might not have the time or even the inclination at some points of the day, to scroll through and refresh each one of those feeds. But they would rather have that notification system, whether it’s a desktop pop-up or an email or something along those lines to let them know about the important things that are going on behind the scenes.

2. Realistic Upgrades

So the beauty of social media management solutions is their ability to integrate with other third-party solutions, whether it’s a CRM or whether it’s an app, different analytics platforms. That connection is great for businesses that have existing platforms but want to bring and tie all the pieces together.

A lot of these solutions say that all of these integrations are coming forward and they’re in the pipeline and they’re in the works, but none of these transitions actually translate into meaningful data that we can use.

So one thing that we wish for in 2015 and moving forward from these platforms is a more clear distinction between the expected roll-outs for updates and integrations and for better data, for better features, and what actually makes it to the platform at the end of the day.

3. More Robust Reporting

For any business that has made the foray into social media, one big challenge that we’re seeing is the ability to justify the expense and the investment, and show a return on investment for their activities on social. And for the most part from the marketer’s standpoint, that falls to reports. Reports of progress, reports based upon activities they’re doing on the networks and that sort of thing.

So from a reporting perspective, the visual interpretation that we’re able to provide to our clients and to upper management is key in our industry, especially when social media is becoming more visual in and of itself; that holds true for the reporting aspect as well.

So that’s why we hope for, on our wish list for 2015 for social media, that a solution comes around that can strike that balance between great looking visuals, customizable information, and quick exports into a presentable format.

4. Small Business Solutions

For a small to medium sized business to only be able to manage three of their accounts on a free version of a solution usually is problematic. Usually if they’re a local business, they have more than just a Facebook, a Twitter, and perhaps a Google+. There are other platforms that are very valuable to their business such as review platforms like FourSquare and Yelp. If they do videos on a regular basis, their YouTube is also probably a very important social asset.

There’s often a big disparity between the features any business needs and the features that really are catered to an individual person, so where you might want to run a campaign or a contest or something a little bit more elaborate for your small business, in most cases that costs an exorbitant amount of money in relation to how much you pay just to use the platform on a monthly basis.

In 2015, we’d like to see more middle-of-the-road options for small and medium sized businesses who don’t want to necessarily break the bank to run a contest or a promotion, to incentivize their customers to connect with them, to have a more meaningful relationship with their customer base, and eventually turn that social media traffic into foot traffic.

What items are on your social media wish list? Let us know in the comments!

How to Choose a Social Media Management Platform

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The scope of technology available to the average social media marketing pro is nothing short of phenomenally overwhelming. Solutions that publish, measure, schedule, amplify, and optimize are (slightly more than) a dime a dozen, so the big question becomes, “How do I see through the enticing sheen of snake oil and make the right decision for my business?”

Here are the steps you need to take to choose the best social media management platform.

Step 1: Know What You’re Getting (and What You Can’t Have)

Consumer privacy will always be a hot topic in the social sphere. As end users unknowingly submit information to social networking companies, only to erupt in utter backlash after the story is covered by a major news outlet, marketers will always have to understand two things. 1) Social media user data is dictated by the terms and conditions set out by the individual platforms, and 2) There’s no guarantee that the information you’re collecting will always be available.

As guidelines around content ownership and use of information/activity for advertising change, so too will the capabilities of the social media management platforms you seek. Armed with this understanding, you’ll be able to sort through the sales pitches and product demos that mislead and misinform. As difficult as it is to believe, solutions providers aren’t beyond promising that their tool will satisfy your every need (even if that’s not exactly true).

Speaking of product demos…

Step 2: Always Take a Test Drive

The details of a solution’s capabilities are often muddled behind the pricing plans and account levels that are available. For example, a social management platform that promises connections to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+ may neglect to inform you that their most popular plan only allows you to connect 5 accounts. Manage a Facebook Company Page, LinkedIn Company Page, and 4 personal profiles? These will count individually toward your network limit. And you guessed it, adding more functionality requires a more expensive plan.

In order to remedy this, always give products a test run. If you can get a representative to walk you through individual features (from both the sales and programming department), even better. Allow them to show you how the system works, and take notes as you go. When the demo winds down, discuss the possibility of getting a free trial. If it’s not spelled out on the company’s website, the salesperson will almost always grant one.

This way, you’ll be able to compare solutions based upon the criteria you care about (usability, reporting, integrations, etc.) without getting caught up in bells and whistles.

Social media management platform free trials.
Try one (or four) social platforms to find the best fit for your business.

Step 3: Get the Support You Need

At some point during your use of the solution, you’ll run into an issue. Whether it’s an issue with connectivity, an update, or a more technical problem, you’ll be engaging with the platform’s support team. To reduce your headache and get your issues resolved in as timely a manner as possible, it’s important to know the “chain of command” when it comes to different kinds of issues.

If you’re given an account representative, it’s likely that they’ll be your first line of defense for major issues related to the platform (adding accounts, billing, etc.). Oftentimes if you have a sudden issue, a virtual help desk or virtual live chat will be your best bet. And if all else fails and you’re more curious about a new feature or add-on software, community-driven support forums will provide the best solution. No matter the social media management platform, knowing where to go when a problem arises should be a top priority. This is especially true if you manage customer accounts or require Enterprise-level operations.

As the social media landscape becomes mission-critical for businesses, more and more solutions will be developed touting an effortless management experience. Your final decision will be based on countless factors specific to your business situation, but a keen sense of the platforms, the teams managing them, and an understanding of what you’re really paying for will go a long way.

What’s your go-to tip when choosing a social media management platform? Let us know in the comments!

Does My Business Need to Be on Instagram?

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Everywhere you look (including our own blog from time to time), agency insiders, marketing pros, and influencers post blogs and articles following this general formula:

“(x) Tips to Solve ”

Personally, I think this format is a little overdone, even hedging on passé. Sure, it’s approachable, skimmable, and a decent way to deliver lots of info in a structured way. The problem is a majority of marketing problems aren’t this cut and dry. So why don’t we try something different? As I cover the topic of whether businesses should use Instagram, I’m going to break the question down—literally. Let’s tackle this issue piece by piece, starting with…

”Does my business…”

For me, this first piece boils down to the matter of intent. Is your company prepped and ready to simply give Instagram the “ol’ college try,” or will you consider your options and proceed with tact? Will you evaluate your track record for pursuing new marketing channels or rushing in guns blazing, ostensibly throwing caution to the wind?
As you move forward, just know that something that starts as a poorly-planned whim will likely end up poorly executed, poorly measured, and more trouble in the long run. If, however, your answers all point toward the positive, we can move on.

”…need…”

Next, I’d think it best to determine exactly how you and your company define “need.” Do you need to achieve your business goals this year? Do you need to spur a more meaningful, influential social media presence? Do you need to humanize the brand identity you’ve helped to create? Do you need more likes, retweets, and “doubleplusgood”’s from everyone who takes a liking to a piece of content you’ve developed?

Yes, I do realize that these questions were rather simple at first glance. Now for a curve ball. To what end do your company’s goals, presence, and social media accolades lead you? What do such things mean in the context of helping or hurting your business?

In other words, do you really need them at all?

”…to be on…”

Now, are we talking “on” like the opposite of “off,” or “on” as in “on like Donkey Kong”? In any case, we’ve now made our way to the approach itself. How inclusive is your strategy to the digital channels in your arsenal? Have you consulted with an outside resource or someone with more strategic field experience than you?

Frankly, it’s not enough to just be “on” anywhere anymore. Your customers are smart, and you can’t rely on their falling for something that may potentially disillusion them. You’ve got to firmly plant your brand identity into every avenue through which you plan to reach your audience, especially if it’s somewhere you know a majority of them have been flocking. When (not if) they reach out, will you be there? How proactive vs. reactive will you be, or can you be, given your available resources?

”…Instagram?”

Investigating the issue of Instagram for businesses.
Is our brand identity more “willow,” “sutro,” or “hefe”?

If you think about it, we could easily be talking about Vine, Tumblr, Snapchat, or any number of networks seeing a burgeoning level of popularity. The thing is, this is the part of the question that matters the least. If your customers are there, and you know you can fulfill a need, offer insight, or somehow “contribute to the conversation,” this choice should be on the bottom of your priority list.

If anything, this point lends something to the evolving nature of social. Sure, some behemoths will be around for years to come, but as marketers, we all need to understand that whether our message goes out in print, a social media post, or a tiny filtered photo, we should first ask whether we have something to say. That, really, is the most important question of all.

What do you think; did this post ask more questions than it answered? Feel free to yell at us in the comments!

Post Smarter on Social: Leverage Social Reports in Google Analytics

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It’s no surprise that more organizations than ever are allocating additional time and resources to establishing a solid presence in social media. Strategies are cooked up by marketing and brand managers. Page designs, cover photos, and icons are designed with care. Facebook and Twitter badges are placed on marketing pieces and business cards. As a member of a team of digital marketers and analysts, this is a glorious thing to behold. But (there’s always a ‘but’), how effective are these strategies? Is there room for improvements? Are these organizations really connecting with the right customer segments, or are they just shouting in a room full of the wrong people? These are just a few of many questions that Google Analytics Social reporting can help answer.

These reports can be found under Traffic Sources and range from Referral data to landing pages, Trackbacks, Conversions, and more.

These social reports can shine light on a wide array of facets of your social media presence, including referrals, social plugins (Likes, +1’s, etc.), social conversions (online purchases, submissions, or requests performed by social visitors), as well as the flow and paths of social media traffic into your website. Let’s take a look at three of these reports and features a little closer and see how they can be leveraged to bolster the effectiveness of your social media assets.

So, Where Are You From? – Network Referrals

One of the more fundamental reports available in the Google Analytics social section, the Network Referral report, is very similar to the main Traffic Sources report we’ve all come to know and love in the past. Much of this referral data was available within Google Analytics for some time, however in the past we had to perform some manual slicing and dicing to get a clear picture of social media traffic. This report does much of that manual labor for us, shining light onto what social media assets are actually referring visitors to your web properties. Since this is essentially a modified derivative of the original Traffic Sources report, you also have access to advanced filters and regex functionality.

See what social platforms are sending the most traffic to your site – and see how relevant they find your content!

What Google Analytics report would be complete without some drill-down functionality? There are some juicy insights beyond just the names of the social media websites that referred traffic. Clicking on the various network names drills down to reveal what URLs on your website were shared and how many visitors landed on each. This is where you can really turn insights into tactics: Leverage the information here to determine what social posts and links are being deemed relevant to your target audience. If they’re clicking on the links and getting to the site but aren’t spending enough time on the page to do much of anything, there’s a good chance that there’s a disconnect between the post’s message and the content on the shared page.

Thanks For Sharing! – Trackbacks

A crucial element in establishing a solid foundation on any social media platform is to secure advocates of your brand or product. One very powerful way of leveraging this is getting these advocates to talk about you! In today’s world this can take the form of social posts or even blogs. With the Trackback report in Google Analytics, you can see exactly where some of these kinds of social referrals are coming from. Just last month we found a very interesting tidbit for one of our financial services clients using the Trackback report. A prominent travel blogger recently posted a very in-depth evaluation and review of their global credit card that detailed his experiences using the card abroad. Not only was this critique extremely useful for optimizing their product; but it also expanded their brand and product visibility to a significant and extremely targeted audience. Overall, this is not a report to be ignored! Trackbacks may come and go depending on the size and volume of your website, but every now and then there might be a hidden gem worth taking a look at.

Thank You, Come Again! – Conversions

It’s great to know how many visitors reached your site from Facebook versus Twitter, what pages they landed on, or who’s talking about you; but how do you know that your social marketing is really effective? By using the Social Conversions report, of course!

Whether we like it or not, marketing always comes down to Return on Investment. Since social media is one of those weird areas where the emphasis is more on customer relations than sales, it can be a bit tricky to directly tie social media success back to ROI. So whether you’re leveraging social media for sales, customer relations, or both, you can gain much greater visibility into the end result using the Social Conversions report in Google Analytics. This report provides a look at whether or not your social traffic is performing the conversions you’ve set up in Google Analytics. If you’re leaning more towards using social media as a customer relations tool but still want to see if all of that hard work is leading to increased long-term sales, you can employ the use of the utm_nooverride parameter on your shared URLs to ensure that the first touch-point with social media gets credit for the conversion over the long-term.

Measure, Rinse, Repeat!

It should be noted that these are only a few of the measurement capabilities that Google Analytics has with regards to social media. Some of the other reports and features within the tool can easily be sliced and diced with filters and advanced segments to uncover even deeper insights into your social media marketing effectiveness. The biggest thing to keep in mind: any marketing method (social media, traditional, pay per click, etc.) can only be improved if you have a measurement strategy in place. In the case of social media, leveraging Google Analytics brings your insights full-circle and provides actionable insights to keep your customers happy and your marketing budget even happier.

Have questions on how you can use the social reporting capabilities of Google Analytics? Leave a comment and our web analytics team will answer!

Why Your Social Media Marketing Isn’t Working

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When it comes to Social Media, many companies know enough to realize that nearly everyone is connected to at least one social network. And if they’ve done their homework, they’ll realize that a great deal of benefits can come from interacting and advertising in the Social space. Thinking they’re already behind the rest of the pack, they hurriedly create social media accounts and, after a fury of liking, friending, re-tweeting, pinning, and posting, not much happens. How is this possible? Isn’t Social Media one of the easiest ways to create visibility and improve customer service? It is, but only if it’s done right from the start.

Problem 1: Timing is Everything

If you gathered anything from the example above, it’s probably that that particular company rushed into marketing with Social Media without any sort of preparation or plan in place. As with anything related to a business, performing research, weighing the options, and planning accordingly are vital to success. Once your business decides that entering the Social Networking realm is viable, have a detailed plan of action. Define goals and objectives, determine which social networks would be most effective for your industry and audience, and implement with a Social Media Management tool (if applicable).

How does this help me?

Not only having a plan, but sticking to it, keeps your company’s Social Media activity consistent, fresh, and (for the most part) automated, saving you time and resources. Also, clearly outlined goals give you a better idea of what future direction your campaign should take to reach its desired outcome.

Problem 2: Finding the Time

Usually a direct result of the first problem above is failing to allocate the appropriate amount of time, resources, & personnel to a new Social Media Marketing plan. Many newcomers to the digital marketing frontier often misinterpret the amount of work that goes into a smoothly running, revenue-generating digital marketing machine. A Social Media strategy cannot be implemented, maintained, and managed by a small handful of people, especially for larger companies. During the initial planning stages, it is essential to take the amount of time and work into consideration and allocate the necessary resources to the project.

How does this help me?

Having the foresight to designate specific tasks to the right individuals eliminates the risk of unexpected budget concerns and scheduling problems that can arise with workers’ other projects.

Problem 3: Where's the Data?

When all is said and done, a marketing campaign of any kind is nothing without analytical proof of its effectiveness at achieving its goal (See Image Below). Without the necessary data to track a campaign’s impact on revenue, leads, or sales, all of the effort put into it will be wasted. Thus, adding social media into a standalone analytics tool (such as Google Analytics) or one that is integrated into a prior solution (such as Hootsuite Analytics) is the best way to make the best decisions regarding your Social campaign.

How does this help me?

Having analytics data at your fingertips allows your business’s Social Media Marketing plan to remain flexible, offers the advanced ability to evaluate whether your goals and objectives are being achieved, and acts as proof of what’s working, what isn’t, and which campaign areas need improvement.

Is your Social Media Marketing campaign guilty in any of the areas above? Is there something you’ve experienced that you’d like to add? Let us know in the comments section!