Promo Tadka » Social Media for business

July 18, 2012

Writing Content that Reflects Your Brand

When starting to develop their brand, many companies spend a lot of time choosing colors and hiring graphic designers but overlook their written content. No matter where you’re sharing content – on your blog, social media, or other websites – you want to develop a voice that helps you maintain your relationship with current clients and generate new business.

But how do you do that? Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started.

Get guidance from your visual branding. Start by looking to other materials you’ve developed – logos, business cards, company photographs, and even your office or store décor. Write down words you would use to describe them. Are they bright, colorful, and fun? Or are they more straightforward and professional? Do you tend to share humor, or does your brand seem more sentimental and flowery? The tone of your written content should similarly share these qualities.

Establish your message. What’s the overall goal of your brand – and thus, your written copy? It can be helpful to develop a one sentence statement which you can choose to share with the public or not. For example, Google’s informal company motto is “Don’t be evil.” When developing this message, you also want to keep in mind who your target audience is. You would write different copy for soccer moms than you would for recent retirees.

Develop your web copy. Once you’ve defined the tone that you want to hit, you should start by writing the content for your website to further hone in on your company’s unique voice. Since this copy is incredibly important, many businesses choose to hire a professional writer for this phase. You can work with him or her to establish a tone that you can use elsewhere, or you can go it alone. Either way, take the time to get it right now, so you can use it as a template for other areas of your web presence.

Find the face behind your blog. Blogs are all about making a personal connection with your clients, and one of the best ways to do that is to literally put a face to your company. This can be the CEO, an employee with an interesting position, or even multiple employees. It doesn’t necessarily mean that this individual has to write each blog; you can choose to hire a ghostwriter to handle that task if necessary. Either way, you want to stay consistent with the tone you’ve established in the web copy – but since it’s a blog, you can be a more informal and have a little fun with it.

Create a social networking plan. Figure out where your target audience is spending the most time, and focus your efforts there. Facebook is one of the most popular sites on the web and reaches a wide audience, but you also want to consider other smaller social networks. For instance, a LinkedIn presence might be important if you are targeting business owners, and Dogster is great for targeting dog owners. Again, you want to take into account the tone of your brand. If you have a fun, more playful brand, you may want to take advantage of apps to take polls and create quizzes. For a more serious brand, you could share links to articles relevant in your area of expertise.

Be consistent. No matter where your writing will appear, it should reflect your brand in the same way. This is true even if you’re writing for a different audience, such as in a guest post for another site. Certainly, you can make adjustments to better target those readers, but you want to maintain the same tone and stick to your branding message. Some companies find it beneficial to maintain a style guide of sorts for their written branding style in order to help everyone stay on the same page.

Author Bio

Denise Wilson is a freelance writer who specializes in writing for <a href=”http://www.cloverleafinnovation.com”>innovation companies</a> and <a href=”http://www.cloverleafinnovation.com”>brand consultancies</a>. When she’s not busy working or writing, she’s busy building the foundation for her soon-to-be-launched content creation service for brands.

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May 12, 2012

Posted by : Strategist

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How to Use Social Media to Build a Strong Personal Brand

Let’s face it – social media is everywhere. Successful companies are using social media to attract new customers, sell more products and create a business persona that shows what their business is all about. Savvy individuals are doing the same thing by using social media to create a personal brand.

Personal branding is not new, but the advent of the Internet age and advent of dozens (soon to be hundreds) of social media platforms has made it easy and attractive for nearly anyone with a computer and something to say to start creating an on-line image. But developing a strong personal brand takes more than a couple of Tweets and the occasional blog post. If you don’t think about what you want your personal brand to say and how you want to be known, you risk being overlooked, misunderstood or forgotten.

Consider How You Want to be Known

A personal brand represents you to the public in a particular way. It may be for business purposes, personal reasons or a mixture of both, but in all cases, your personal brand should send a specific message or create an image in people’s minds about how you want them to see you and react to you.

The first thing you should do is take some time to think about what you want your brand to look like. Ask yourself these questions to start creating a brand that communicates the message you want to send:

What do I stand for?
What special knowledge do I have?
What is my area(s) of expertise?
What are my interests?
Who do I want to reach with my message?
Do I want to persuade, educate, inform?
Do I want to use my brand to make money?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you can start thinking about the best ways to use social media to communicate your message and start building your personal brand.

Find the Best Platforms for Your Message

It can be overwhelming to try to navigate through all of the different social media options available today. A good rule of thumb if you are just starting out is to begin with the three most popular: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Take some time to join each site, learn how it works, and then create a profile for each one that communicates your message.

You may already have a personal Facebook page, but if you are trying to create a personal brand related to your business, consider starting a second page dedicated to that purpose. Join LinkedIn groups and Facebook networks related to your interests and start following people on Twitter who talk about things connected to you. In short, start creating a network of people you follow and whom you want to follow you.

Finally, if you have the time and are comfortable with the concept, consider starting a blog where you talk about yourself, your ideas and your message.

Spend the Time Contributing to Your Social Media Platforms

Once you are a member of various social media networks, you must regularly contribute to them. You don’t need to devote hours every day to building your personal brand, but regular interaction is definitely necessary. Try to devote at least an hour or two per week on the following activities at the start:

Comment on what other people post and Tweet on the platforms and networks you follow. Give advice that can help establish you as an expert in your chosen field.
Create periodic (at least once per week) posts to your networks that advance your message. Tweet more often.
Look for opportunities to write about your branding message, such as through guest blogging. If you write something that gets posted on-line, be sure to share it with all your networks and social media platforms.

About the Author: Matt Jones is a branding and marketing enthusiast. By day, he is working diligently on improving business signage for his clientele. By night, he is engulfed in the blogosphere writing on all custom sign, branding, and marketing related subjects!

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March 21, 2012

Posted by : Strategist

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5 Clever Social Media Campaigns To Learn From

The following social media campaigns from marketers big and small are designed to be idea generators. This isn’t a ranking of the most effective social media campaigns of the year, but rather the ones that have the most to offer an entrepreneur with big ideas and a not-so-big marketing budget.

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese’s Jinx

Last March, the venerable Kraft brand launched an interesting campaign on Twitter: Whenever two people individually used the phrase “mac & cheese” in a tweet, Kraft sent both a link pointing out the “Mac & Jinx” (as in the childhood game Jinx.) The first one to reply back got five free boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese plus a t-shirt.

What you can learn from this: This is a low-cost way to track down potential fans on Twitter. All you have to do is search a given term and identify two people who tweet the same phrase at (roughly) the same time. In return, you’ll gain goodwill, a likely follower and probably some good word-of-mouth buzz on the social network.

Ingo’s Face Logo

When Swedish ad agencies Grey Stockholm and Ogilvy Stockholm merged last year, they wanted to get social media fans involved. The two agencies asked fans to participate by signing into Facebook to see the new name. Every time new people logged on to the dedicated site, the logo added their profile picture. With every picture, the logo got a little bigger, until 2,890 fan photos comprised the full name, Ingo, over a four-hour period.

What you can learn from this: This was another inexpensive way to get fans literally enmeshed with the brand. Another alternative is to create a real-life mosaic based on pictures of your Facebook fans, a project that Mashable recently completed.

BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota’s Human Doing

What better way to illustrate the plight of the common man than an actual common man? That was the thinking behind a BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota program last year that put Scott Jorgenson, a St. Paul resident, in a glass apartment in the Mall of America for a month. To demonstrate the recuperative effects of exercise, Jorgenson was put on a workout routine for the month that compelled him to exercise three to five times a day, in 10-minute spurts. In a social media twist, Twitter and Facebook followers dictated the type of exercise for each session.

What you can learn from this: Creating an event, especially one that involves social media fans, is an alternative to launching an ad campaign. Humanizing a problem for which your company provides a solution is also a good idea.

GranataPet’s Foursquare-Enabled Billboard

Pet food brand GranataPet earned worldwide attention last year for its billboard in Agenta, Germany. This wasn’t just any billboard, though. It was rigged so that if a consumer checked in on Foursquare, the billboard would dispense some of the company’s dog food. Someone from Granata’s ad agency filmed the billboard in action, and the video now has more than 50,000 views on YouTube (in various iterations.)

What you can learn from this: In the social media age, a single ad or a single billboard can generate images, press and videos, but only if it’s clever enough

Reinert Sausages’s Wurst-Face App

Another German brand, Reinert Sausages, transcended its roots with a clever Facebook app that let users upload their photo and receive a “Wurst Face,” a graven image of themselves in cold cuts. The name “Wurst Face” comes from the extra piece of sausage that kids get for free at the butcher.

What you can learn from this: If you can create an app that’s social, fun and brand-appropriate, it will function more effectively than even a high-budget ad campaign.

Via: Mashable.com

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February 20, 2012

Posted by : Strategist

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10 Social Media Tips for Bloggers

When it comes to building an audience and driving traffic, bloggers are turning to social media with record results. Instead of relying on organic search or (gasp) IRL friends, successful bloggers know they have to develop a following on key social networks as a way to promote their brands and ultimately get more clicks.

Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon and now Pinterest provide the savvy blogger with plenty of opportunities to attract new readers and engage with regulars, but it can be overwhelming if you’re new to social media or if you only use it for fun.

Here are 10 tips to help bloggers navigate the increasingly complex world of social media — while still making time to write content.

1. Display your social media icons prominently toward the top of your website-Make it as simple as possible for your blog readers to connect with you on various social media platforms. They shouldn’t have to hunt around to find your Twitter handle, but should be able to click on a button and be taken right to your profile. Bonus points if your social media icons reflect the overall design or feel of your blog.

2. Every blog should have its own Facebook Page-Even with Facebook’s new subscription feature, there’s still merit to giving your blog its own space on Facebook. It’s nice to be able to post a link every time you publish something new, and not have to worry about annoying your friends. Plus, readers who don’t your name but know the name of your blog can search for it on Facebook. Show your fans some love on your blog by using the Facebook social plugin, which makes it easy to convert readers to fans.

3. Generate traffic with StumbleUpon-This “recommendation engine” serves as an alternate browser where users click through pages that their SU friends and SU itself have recommended. You can submit your own blog posts into the system, but it works best if you also share them with your SU friends and accept their shares back. Like most social platforms, you need to have a strong following to get good results. While people are still trying to figure out what makes SU content go viral, many bloggers have seen terrific, albeit fleeting, traffic spikes through the service.

4. Import your RSS feed onto your LinkedIn profile using its Blog Link application-As long as your blog somewhat pertains to your professional goals, you should be showcasing it on LinkedIn. List it as one of your three websites in your profile, where it will be labeled “Blog.” However, by using the Blog Link application, your most recent posts will display right on your profile.

5. Pinterest is the hot new frontier for bloggers-Pinterest is the cool new kid, and all of the bloggers are scrambling to establish a presence there. Pin your best photos onto themed boards with links to a relevant blog post. Blogs with strong visual content, like fashion, food, design, crafts and travel, are a natural fit. Infographics will also do quite well. Don’t forget to add a Pinterest plugin (like the Pinterest “Pin It” Button for WordPress users) to make it easy for your readers to share your content on their Pinterest boards.

6. Use link shorteners even when you don’t have to-Twitter will now shorten your link for you, and the length of your link doesn’t matter on Facebook and Google+. But by using a link shortener like bit.ly, you will gain access to metrics, so you’ll know how many people clicked and at what time. With this essential data, you can experiment with different ways to tease your content and different times to post it.

7. Use your blog name as your username whenever possible-Promote your personal brand by consistently using your blog’s name for your Twitter handle, StumbleUpon name, Pinterest name and so on. Then, people don’t have to wonder about your blog’s name — it’s right there. Also, people will remember you easily across platforms, which is key as you develop up your online community.

8. Join blogger groups on Facebook-There are some very active groups on Facebook that are terrific resources for any blogging issues you encounter. Look for groups like “Travel Bloggers” or “Global Bloggers Network.” WordPress geeks have “Advanced WordPress” and Central Florida residents have “Central Florida Bloggers.” Not only are blogger groups good for problem-solving, but it’s well-known that bloggers like to read other blogs. Do some searching and find a bloggers group that’s suited to you, or start your own!

9. Be generous with other bloggers-Promote other bloggers’ content, and hopefully they’ll return the favor. You can’t simply blast your own content anyway — you need some variety in every social media stream. So why not check out what your fellow bloggers are posting and give them a retweet, a share or a repin whenever you can. And don’t forget to reciprocate and share content from bloggers who share yours.

10. Be on social media — even when it’s not driving traffic-It can be frustrating when you feel that you’re doing everything right (posting good content on the appropriate platforms in the best way possible) and you’re still not getting many clicks. But console yourself by thinking about all of the links that you see throughout the day that you don’t click on. Just spending time on social media platforms is great way to forge relationships, keep up on industry news and find inspiration for that next blog post.

Source: mashable.com

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February 17, 2012

Posted by : Strategist

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The Social Media Lifecycle [Infographic]

The purpose of any piece of data you use in your business is to help you make better decisions. These decisions can be very simple, such as replying to someone’s tweet about your brand or to a comment a customer posts on your Facebook page. Or they can be very complex, such as launching a new product. Whatever the case, data is supposed to help you make those decisions faster while getting better results.

When implemented correctly, social media campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks enable brands of all sizes to track sentiment, spot trends, filter and analyze data, collaborate with fans, and improve ROI. These tools empower companies to start and maintain conversations, deliver first-class customer service, and drive sales — immediately, at the click of a button.

If you really want to get results from social media, it begins with creating a process. The process is based on setting a goal, and then aligning the resources and activities that you think will help you accomplish that goal. It’s very important to have a specific business goal in mind – not just increasing your number of Twitter followers or Facebook fans – and determine how to achieve that goal by integrating social media.

uberVU has an interesting guide for marketers called 4 Pillars of Social Media Success. Monitoring, analytics, engagement, reporting, and collaboration are part of a feedback loop uberVU calls the Social Media Lifecycle. To accomplish your business objectives by using social media, you need to go through this loop over and over again. Included in the white paper is an examination of how some brands use this social media feedback loop to reach their goals and how they measure progress. It explores why more companies aren’t reporting great results from their initiatives, and the reasons that contribute to lack of success.

uberVU created the infographic below from the data they collected for the white paper, which is a must-read for CMOs, marketers, social media specialists, and anyone who wants to learn how to use social media to achieve business goals and track key performance indicators.

Key takeaways:

How to use the Social Media Lifecycle: The key steps that get you from monitoring to decision, action, and results
Best practices for monitoring, analytics, engagement, reporting, and collaboration, modeled after the most successful brands in social media
What Social Media ROI is, how to think about it, and ways to measure it

Via:http://socialmediatoday.com

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January 24, 2012

Posted by : Strategist

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How to sell through social media

One of my predictions for 2012 is that more people will come to understand that you can indeed do business using social networks and, frankly, I’m already seeing it.

First off, people are getting more comfortable with social media and social behavior. The idea is fading that social media is a pure engagement temple mentality.

More importantly, however, is that smart marketers are testing, tweaking and trying lots of things and figuring out how to build know, like and trust – the path to selling anything, anywhere – on social networks.

In my own experimenting I can tell you that generating and converting leads using social media takes a more patient approach, but once you find the right path, it’s actually a better way to sell in any environment.

The reason I see many people’s social media marketing efforts fail is that they are still simply broadcasting sales messages. This approach still works to some degree in an advertising setting because people often stumble upon your ads with a buying intent. It still works to some degree in email marketing efforts because people have asked to get your messages and you can easily earn the right to sell in that relationship.

However, most people don’t participate in social networks to shop so any sales message can feel sort of harsh and in the snack sized, feverish world of tweets, shares and likes any and all messages are very easy to ignore.

If you want to sell using social media, here’s one path:

Test your message|Using 140 characters or less to basically write an ad that makes people want to retweet and click isn’t something most people can muster in real time – and yet, that’s what most try to do.

I’ve had tremendous success using Google AdWords to test very compact messages. Once I find a message that draws clicks there, I know I’ve got a winner that will get action in the form of a tweet or share.

This somewhat scientific approach is one of the most overlooked aspects of marketing in social media and it’s the primary reason people that contend you can’t sell there say so.

Target your message|Here’s another proven technique that seems lost on many marketers. Just because there are 800 million people on Facebook doesn’t mean you need to appeal to all of them.

The quickest way to get the right kind of attention is to announce “hey you 437 people that need to get better at X” I’m talking to you.

Prove your worth|It’s nearly impossible to prepare someone to buy simply by crafting a mouth-watering tweet. There’s just not enough information to develop trust.

You must make your initial relationship-building all about valuable content. Give something away that you know your targeted prospect wants and needs. Move the free line to the point where your free stuff is better than most other people’s paid stuff and watch how enamored people get.

Engage|Now, here’s a step that just might be unique to social media and online marketing in general and it’s a very powerful one.

In the process of giving away all that great information, ask your prospects to tell you things, share things, rate things and help you make the world a better place for all who inhabit it.

Seriously, create feedback forms and make that part of the deal for why you are giving away such great stuff. Socialize your content and make it easy to email, tweet and like. Send a series of emails during your content sharing phase that reinforces the important takeaways from the content and offers more engagement like email support or live Q and A sessions.

Ask for the order|Once you’ve done all this work and logically and authentically led a prospect to the place where they do indeed have some level of trust; it’s time to tell them where this journey is ultimately headed.

Paint the picture you know exists in their “current reality”, remind them of the incredible glimpse you’ve shared and then illustrate what the picture could look like.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming they will connect the dots – show them how to get the value you know you have to offer and be extremely clear about it. One of the benefits of this approach is that, if you do it right and they still don’t buy, you’ll earn the right to ask why and they’ll gladly help you understand how to get it right.

There’s nothing that magical about this approach really. Marketers have been using some form of these elements for years, but it’s the total package, including patience and hard work, that makes it pay off in the world of social media.

(This article by John Jantsch first appeared on Duct Tape Marketing. Any opinions expressed are his own.)

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