Step Four: Create Engaging and Compelling Content Regularly

Today, we continue our discussion on social media strategy. We talked about setting SMART goals, defining target markets and then choosing the appropriate platforms based on your goals and the ACE criteria. Now we move on to content. The next step is to create engaging and compelling content regularly (and irregularly, too).

Engaging and Compelling Content Wendy Clark is Coca-Cola’s Senior Vice President of Integrated Communications and the person responsible for the social media strategy at one of the biggest brands online. She is brilliant and I often quote her because I think she understands social media. One of her regular pieces of advice to businesses is to make sure that all your content is “shareworthy.” A brand can climb to the top of the mountain and proclaim their message but only some will hear. But when you create content that your followers want to share, they will climb mountains too. Your messaging is instantly amplified and evangelized.

Content must be engaging. Engaging content is a discussion as opposed to a lecture. It inspires readers and visitors to get involved and respond as opposed to just read and move on. When posting on Facebook, consider asking a question instead of just barking a brand message. When tweeting, seek conversation instead of random shout-outs. When you involve your customer, you will see engagement metrics improve dramatically.

Content must also be compelling. Google defines “compelling” as “evoking interest, attention, or admiration in a powerfully irresistible way” and I think this definition is applicable to content. I think you have evoke interest to keep your readers reading and your followers coming back. I think anyone can create average content. But if you really dedicate yourself to your content and produce enough of it, you reap the rewards.

Content Must Be Regular Finally, you must create your content regularly (and irregularly). First, the more content you create, the more you will be seen on search engines. So that is important. Also, the more regularly you produce content, the more you will be seen on search. Finally if you create a schedule, or an editorial calendar, and stick to you it, you build up a routine with your followers and they will know when they can return for new content.

The posting of scheduled, regular content is important. But you cannot become a robot either. The answer is in a balanced mix of scheduled and responsive content. Responding to posts online is a critical aspect of a solid content marketing strategy. We will discuss this more deeply tomorrow in our discussions on posting, cross-posting and sharing.

This discussion has touched on some of the foundations of content marketing. If you want to know more about content marketing, I encourage you to check out some of my previous posts on the topic. For now, I think it is important for you to leave knowing that it is imperative to create engaging, compelling and “share-worthy” content often and regularly. The more work you put into this, the more results you will see from your social media efforts.

Step Three: Become an ACE!

Last week, we began talking about social media strategy. Today we continue. We have discussed setting of goals and evaluating them to ensure that they are SMART. Next we discussed how to identify your target audience. Today we proceed to the next step… pairing your target audience with social media platforms.

There are probably hundreds of social media platforms available. Realistically, there are about ten that are worth discussing. But each one of those platforms could take several hours for you to manage each day. Creating a solid social media plan requires that you choose the best platform(s) for your business and then creating a strategy for those platform(s).  Too often, small businesses try to be everywhere. It does work and you end up with undermanaged accounts and a strategy that fails.

For most small businesses, I would recommend that you pick one or two platforms, dedicate yourself to those platforms, and then “rock” them. This blog has explored many of the big platforms in the past and will explore some of the secondary level platforms in the weeks to come. I encourage you to check out some of our previous posts for great summaries of the different platforms.

How do you choose the platform that is right for your business? Become an ACE!

Audience: Where is your target audience? Before you commit to any platform, you have to make sure that where you are headed, there are potential customers. One of the best things about social media is that we have so much data available about the users and how they use the platforms. We know the number of users on every platform. We can see how often they use the sites. We can also see a lot about these people. Use that data to drive your decision.

Content: What type of content will you be sharing? Platforms have been created and optimized to share certain types of content. Think about the type of content that you plan on sharing. Look at which platforms are best for those content types and factor this into your decision.

Ease-Of-Implementation: SnapChat has some amazing potential for advertisers but it can be very complicated to implement. On the contrary, it is very easy for anyone to create a Facebook page and post content. While we all want to be the most ambitious people possible, we don’t want to bite off something we can’t chew. If you try a platform that is too much for your ability level, you will mostly likely neglect it or not do as well you can elsewhere. Stick to your comfort level because regular posting has to be easy. It has to be as fluid to you (or your social media manager) as making a phone call.

With these three factors in mind, explore the different social media platforms. Before you commit to one, jump aboard that platform and live it for a few weeks. Is it something that you love? Is it somewhere you see potential? Is it somewhere you see your customers? If so, commit and continue on the next step in social media planning.

Step Two: Identify Your Target Audience

This week, we are talking social media strategy. Step 1 is defining and documenting your goals (and ensuring that they are SMART goals). Step 2 is identifying your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? Who is that ideal customer? What are the characteristics of the customer with whom you have the best symbiotic relationship?

Any business relationship or partnership will not be successful if both parties do not benefit. In biology, they refer to those relationships as “symbiotic.” So in determining your target audience, it is important define the characteristics of that perfect customer. That is the customer with whom you will maintain a long-term, mutually-beneficial, symbiotic relationship. Here is what you have to look at…

Audience Demographics Be very specific about their demographics. Are they male or female? How old is the perfect customer? Where do they work? What kind of title do they have within their company?

Geographic Location Where is your ideal customer located? I was recently listening to a podcast with the social media manager for the Boston Celtics. What percentage of his advertising is targeted in Boston vs. California? I will give you a hint… it’s 100 to 0. Guess which way. It may be obvious but define it and don’t be afraid to be too specific. One of my companies is a DJ company. We only advertise to specific towns and zip codes online.

Social Media Habits This is harder to know. Are they on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or somewhere else? What are they searching for online? What kind of content are they looking for online? What kind of content will make their jobs/lives easier? Are they podcast listeners or blog followers? When they are online, where do they go? These can be difficult answers to find, but if you can get answers to a few of them, you are in great shape.

Interests What are your target audience members interested in? They may be the c-suite of Fortune 500 companies who are looking for information on competitors but they may be interested in certain charities or flying or boating or something else. Sometimes you can be very successful by reaching a certain business audience by aligning with an interest that has little to do with their job function.

Remember when defining your target audience to be as specific as possible. It doesn’t mean that these are the only people you will reach, but by getting the most detailed information, you can create plans that will reach the most lucrative prospective clients.

Step 1½ : Are Your Goals SMART?

This week we are talking about social media strategy. The first step we spoke about was defining and documenting the goals for your social media efforts. Before you can walk into any marketing or advertising effort, you have to know what you are hoping to get out of it, and you can’t do that without setting goals.

I would like to propose a half step. Many clients, when told to come up with goals, quickly shout out a few very general goals. Others set goals that are impossible to attain. Today, we are going to talk about how to evaluate those goals to make sure that they are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based) according to Paul J. Meyer (in Attitude is Everything).

Specific A goal must be specific. It must be clear and unambiguous. If your goal is build an online fan base, where will that fan base be? Is it on Facebook or Twitter or somewhere else? Should the fan base have qualifying factors? For example do you want that fan base to consist of a specific demographic?

Measurable Next, a goal must be measurable. Building an online fan base is an easily measurable goal. I want to build a Facebook following of more than 1,000 people from the United States.  This goal is now specific and measurable. We can see (and measure) our progress toward the goal during the campaign.

Achievable A goal must be achievable. We can set a goal to build a fan base of 35 million Facebook followers (like that of Oreo), but if we are a local pizzeria, that is highly improbable and most likely unachievable. When setting a goal, I always favor setting achievable and realistic goals, attaining them, and then setting new goals. It promotes a sense of accomplishment and allows you to adjust your goals more often. These adjustments will often lead to reaching a better outcome than a single lofty goal. For example, assuming our 1,000-follower goal is in a year, start with 250 followers in the first quarter. Then if it was easy to accomplish, maybe 300 in Q2. If that worked, try another 300 or maybe 350 in Q3. As you can see, by then end of Q4, you could have a lot more than 1,000 followers.

Relevant Next, a goal must be relevant. A relevant social media goal is one that advances the overall goals of the organization. It must drive the organization forward. Attaining the goal must mean there is a benefit. If there is no benefit from attaining the goal, it is not relevant.

Time-Bound Finally a goal must be time-bound. I alluded to this in the attainable discussion, but a goal must have concrete timelines associated with it. I would like to build a US fan base on Facebook of 1,000 followers in the next 12 months. I would like to drive $10,000 in revenue with a source of social media by the end of the second quarter. To create a goal is powerful. But when there is no timeframe associated with it, it is useless.

I dedicated two days of my blog to setting social media goals because I think it is something of critical importance. I think often it is neglected. Setting goals for your social media campaign or efforts is necessary to both judge your effort’s effectiveness and determine future investments.

Need social media advice? Join our brand new social Google+ Communities, Chicago Social Media Advice. We will offer free advice to all guests. Sign up for a chance to win prizes. http://community.boxlessmedia.com

Social Media Strategy: Identifying Your Social Goals

Have you thought why you have included social media in your marketing strategy? Too many companies decide to include social media because other companies are or because it is the popular thing to do. These are not reasons. This week, we are talking strategy. The first step to any marketing strategic discussion, including social media strategy, is to determine goals.

First, I must emphasize the importance of setting goals. Defining specific goals is critical. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German poet. He wrote, “It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise.” Even though he wrote these words of wisdom nearly 250 years ago, they are very meaningful today in the world of social media strategy.

You cannot walk into any marketing endeavor without setting goals. While goals must be specific to your organization, I would like to share some possible goals with you in order to help you set your strategy’s goals.

Increasing Brand Awareness – Whether you are a big company or small, you want your company to be known by potential customers. Building brand awareness means increasing the number of potential customers who know about your business or brand.

Drive Sales – In the end, most every marketing strategy has this goal. Businesses don’t succeed unless they sell their product or service. While this may be an obvious goal, stating it in your strategic plan is critical. By including it in your set of goals, you can ensure that you will later develop measures to calculate success. 

Drive Website Traffic - One of the main goals of social media is to bring online users to your website to learn more about your company and possibly purchase your product or service. Remember whatever you build on many of the social platforms is built on borrowed ground. It can change or disappear at any moment. This is why it is critical to always refer your visitors to somewhere you own, like your website.

Improve Customer Service – Most strategic goals are directly related to revenue generation. However, recently customers have forced companies to bring customers online and many companies have happily obliged. Bringing customer service online is a way to model an exemplary level customer service. But it could also easily backfire, so beware. 

Increase Customer Retention – For those companies who are fortunate enough to have plenty of customers or as a secondary goal, keeping customers is critical. Social Media can very effectively be used to increase brand loyalty and retain existing customers.

Recruit New Talent/Employees – Finally, many companies recruiting an elite staff for their organization is a top goal for their social media endeavors. This is becoming more and more popular.

So however big or small your organization is, whatever your goals are, it is critical that they are documented as part of your social media strategy. Once you have documented goals, you can proceed to creating a plan that will make them possible.

Need social media advice? Join our brand new social Google+ Communities, Chicago Social Media Advice. We will offer free advice to all guests. Sign up for a chance to win prizes. http://community.boxlessmedia.com

A Google+ Community Just For You...

Last week, we spoke a lot about Google+. We spoke about how important Google+ was important from the SEO perspective and how Google+ is most likely the most influential social media platform for 2014. Finally, we spoke about Google+ Communities.

It is the mission of Boxless Media to help businesses succeed online. In the spirit of this mission, we have decided to launch the “Chicago Social Media Advice” Google+ Community. It is a community built to offer the highest level of social media advice to local businesses to help them succeed.

If you are reading this blog, you know that Boxless Media operates a daily blog (www.denythebox.com) with strategic advice, platform information, social media trends and best practice/case study reviews. We have decided to expand our information sharing beyond our blog and create an interactive, online community. Taking our own advice, we believe that Google+ is the place where this should reside.

Our goal for this community is to spark interesting conversations about the local use of social media. We hope to offer advice when it is needed. We hope to feature local case studies about Chicago businesses who are doing social media well. We are hoping this is an interactive and engaging forum for discussion. We want to hear from you and we will respond personally and genuinely.

This is an open community. We invite you join our community. Share it with your business associates, friends and clients. It is together that we can achieve great things online.

Google+ Communities: Engage and Be Seen

This week we are talking about Google+. I truly believe that 2014 is going to be the year of Google+. Between great decisions by Google and poor decisions by Facebook, Google+ will become a leading social media platform.

One of the great features of Google+ is Communities. A Google+ Community is a place for users to meet and engage with others on topics that they are interested in. Google has struggled with their groups/communities function in the past but they have now built a great feature. Currently there are more than 100,000 communities on Google+ so there is something for everyone.

So why are Google+ Communities Great? We are going to concentrate on answering this question from the business/marketing perspective. Here are the reasons:

I think as we look forward in social media, Google+ will be a major player. Google+ Communities is one of the best features of Google+. Check them out. 

Google Authorship: How to be Seen on Google

If you publish content online, either through a blog, website or another content marketing strategy, you need to be aware of and intimately familiar with Google Authorship. 

Did you ever notice that when you google a topic, you see a bunch of entries with pictures beside their content descriptions? Those are people who have embraced the wonderful feature called Google Authorship.

In a nutshell, Google Authorship is a way to associate content with its creators and allow search engine users to find and read content by credible authors. Basically it furthers Google's mission to bring together great content with search users. 

For businesses, large and small, getting set up with Google Authorship should be a top priority. Websites that have done this get higher click-through rates due to the special treatment they get in search returns. As you can see in the picture above, on a page filled with search results, your eye is drawn to the head shots of the authors. Users tend to click on content with these photos over those without authors associated. 

How do you Set-up Google Authorship?

It is quite easy. With all things Google, it comes back to Google+. You must first setup a Google+ profile page with a photo, preferably a head shot, as your profile picture. If you have done this already, you are a wise social media person. EVERYONE TRYING TO BE FOUND ONLINE NEEDS A GOOGLE+ PROFILE. Sorry, I hate people who type in all caps but the emphasis here is necessary.

Second, you need to associate your profile to your content. It is relatively simple to do this. There are three ways. The simple way is to verify an email address from the website that you are posting to. For example, if I post my blog at denythebox.com, I have to verify an email address at the same domain, like jason@denythebox.com. A more complicated way, but one more desirable for webmasters, is to add the rel=author tag to the content. Finally, if you post your content using WordPress, there are some plug-ins, like Yoast's SEO plugin, that will do this for you.

Once you are set up and Google verifies your ownership of the content, a link to the website will be added to the "Contributor To" section of your Google+ profile.

Last week, we spoke in depth about Content Marketing and were so bold in saying that in order to succeed in social media during 2014, you have to have a content marketing strategy as part of your overall social media strategy. If you are involved with Content Marketing, you have to start with Google Authorship. You will see greater results from Google Search and a significant jump in traffic to your content.

2014 is the Year for Google+ - Sorry Facebook, You Did It to Yourself

I know it is a little late for 2014 trend predictions, but some things need to be said. As a social media strategist, I am telling you that 2014 is going to be the year of Google+. Between the new capabilities of Google+ and some bad decisions that Facebook has made, we are going to see businesses dedicate more of their social media efforts towards Google+ than Facebook.

Why Google+? To succeed online, you must be found. With billions of websites and even more social media pages available, being the one that people see is difficult.

To find things, most people turn to Google. There are other search engines, but we are just going to talk Google today. If you look at the factors that determine your fate on Google Search, the most influential is your number of "Google +1s." This is the most important reason why you have to learn to love Google+.

Let's take this one step further. If you just look at math, you could assume that the more pages that Google indexes for you, the better the chance you have at being seen. I am going to tell you that this assumption is basically correct. Google Search indexes all public Google+ pages so everything you post is now searchable content within Google. This is why businesses are going to love Google+. 

Google+ also has some other great features that help enhance a business' visibility in Google Search. These include Google Authorship and Google Communities. I will spend more time later this week on these topics. For now, know they exist only on Google+.

What's Up with Facebook? Facebook was the favorite social media network for nearly everybody. They were a free service for connecting people. Then they added amazing advertising opportunities. As someone who loves targeting and marketing, I have always been impressed with the unparalleled level of targeting Facebook offered. You could reach the smallest populations very easily and relatively inexpensively.

In 2013, Facebook introduced "Promoted Posts" and re-worked their Newsfeed algorithm. At first, promoted posts and stories were a new way for advertisers to get their word out. But then they re-worked their mystery newsfeed algorithm. This new algorithm intentionally made it more difficult for the posts on business pages to be seen by their fans. This was done in an effort to encourage advertising.

While it is their right to change this algorithm, it was done in very bad faith to companies that have done a lot for Facebook. Look at all the major brands. Everyone now includes "Follow us on Facebook" as part of their traditional advertising campaigns. Facebook has received billions of dollars of free advertisers from some of the most recognizable brands in the world. Changing this algorithm has aggravated marketers and will contribute greatly to a shift from Facebook to Google+.

I would also like to add that Google+ is currently an ad-free environment. Realistically, I can see that changing but as we have seen with the evolution of advertising on Google Search, Google has not compromised content for advertising. Facebook did and that's not cool.

Business marketers, I am telling you today that 2014 is the year for Google+. Take notice and more importantly, take action.

In lieu of a blog today, I would like to share a presentation by someone who is truly a leader in social media today. Dan Zarrella is a social media scientist and has a lot of great things to say here at the meshed#3 Social Media Conference. It’s a long presentation but worth the investment of time for social media professionals.

Content Marketing: That's a Wrap...

This week, we spent a lot of time on content marketing but we did so because it is that important. We defined it on Monday, analyzed the numbers that support its importance on Tuesday, talked about blogging (one key type of content marketing) on Thursday, and finally discussed promoting your content yesterday. Today, I thought we would wrap things up and look at some great examples.

The Wrap Up Success online in 2014 means that there needs to be some sort of content marketing in your social media strategy. We spoke about blogs but that is not the only type of content. Consider publishing tutorials, white papers, case studies or instructional videos. There are so many ways you can publish content. Start with producing and publishing great content. Then implement a plan for sharing that content effectively. That will bring you success.

Who is Doing it Well?

Charmin “Sit or Squat” - Content marketing is about providing internet users with valuable information. Charmin may have taken this to a new level with the “Sit or Squat” campaign. It is an app to help people find clean public restrooms. As someone who underwent abdominal surgery this year, I can personally attest to the importance of this information. Charmin took a basic need and gave access to millions of people with smart phones (and branded it). It was a brilliant campaign.

Kraftfoods.com - Kraft did a great thing in the world of content marketing by launching Kraftfoods.com. This special site features recipes, tips and ideas that all require Kraft products. It was about giving valuable content to the average internet user and associating their brand with that content. It sounds simple, but epitomizes what content marketing is about.

Lowes - Lowes did two great things. First they published a great deal of instructional videos online. It is content marketing in the most raw sense. But then they went a step further. They created a platform for users to store their purchases online so that they could match them in the future. It was a brilliant strategy that helped them differentiate Lowes from their competitors who don’t do too much online. It was also a way to promote brand loyalty to their customers. It practically required shoppers to commit solely to buying certain products from a single source.

Coca-Cola is the biggest brand on Facebook. They are truly leaders in social media and many people look to them for leadership in that space. They have validated the importance of content marketing in their Content 2020 Advertising Strategy Mission Statement. They say, "All advertisers need a lot more content so that they can keep the engagement with consumers fresh and relevant, because of the 24/7 connectivity. If you’re going to be successful around the world, you have to have fat and fertile ideas at the core."

When it comes to content, follow the leader and be “fat and fertile.” Create great content. Don’t stop creating it. Publish it all and promote to everyone. 

Content Marketing: It only starts with the Blog

This week, we are talking about content marketing. We started with defining it and exploring the numbers that demonstrate its success. Then we moved on to talk about blogging. Now, we proceed with the story.

Every day I write my blog. It takes a few a hours to come up with the topic, gather supporting data, write it, edit it and then publish it. But I spend twice that time promoting the blog across several social platforms. That's what we are going to talk about today.

Promoting your Content

Choose Your Blogging Platform - I don't think this often discussed. If your blog is part of a business website, please skip this section, but if not, pay attention. I think there is great value in choosing the right blogging platform. I chose Tumblr for my social media blog. I think the biggest reason why I did that was because it is a social network in addition to just a blogging platform. You can publish a blog anywhere, but when that platform helps your blog grow through its own users and followers, there is value. I have a collection of followers on Tumblr - not many but a few. I never did anything to attract those followers but I am very glad I have them. They engage with me often. This would not have been possible with another platform that is less social than Tumblr. I plan to work more towards building a greater Tumblr following, but for now I am think that my choice to use a social network for my social media blog was important. 

Google+ Your Posts - Google+ is one of the best platforms for having your blog found and read. Everyday, after I post my blog, I write a teaser and post it to Google+. As we all know (if you follow my blog), Google loves people who use Google+. By publishing these teasers, I have seen a great rise in my Google presence. It is some of the best advice I can offer clients with a content marketing strategy. Google+ also recognizes hashtags, so use them.

Facebook Your Posts - We all know that Facebook is the mother of all social networks. I take that same teaser and post it to my Facebook page. When you post the teaser, be sure to include a photo and link. That will optimize that post's EdgeRank so it has the best chance of being seen at the top of your fan's news feed. It will also provide a backlink to your blog which will increase your blog's SEO. Finally, Facebook uses hashtags. Be sure to use them in your teaser.

Tweet Your Posts with Hashtags - Twitter is a great place to expand your following. The secret with Twitter is that you have to use hashtags. So here is a quick Twitter lesson. When you tweet, you reach your followers which is great when you have a whole bunch of them. But when you want to reach new people you have to use hashtags. That will open your conversation to people who follow or search for different topics. The effective use of hashtags is how I have built my following. Don't be afraid to tweet often. I tweet something about my blog every half hour with different hashtags. I pull one fact out and then link to the rest of the article. It has proven to be a great tool for audience building and provides backlinks.

Get Involved in other Conversations - Finally, read other blogs. Comment and link back to your blog. When you contribute to others, their audience will take notice to you and, if you say the right things, come back and follow to you.

The lesson here is that you can't just publish and then expect people to find you. You really have to be active in promoting your blog and each individual entry. This is where you build an audience and how people start to recognize you online.

Content Marketing: Understanding the Blog

When we talk about content marketing, blogs must be at the center of our conversation. Blogs are the easiest way to add content to a social media presence and as we have seen in the last two days, content is the key to success online.

I thought I would first explain what a blog is and then go over my favorite blogging platforms. First a blog is nothing more than a discussion-based, informational website. Blogs used to be personal but they have now found themselves to be a very valuable part of the business social media landscape. They are an organized collection of posts (or stories). These posts are usually organized into categories and can inspire great conversation. I like to think of a blog as an interactive newspaper. There are sections (based on broad topics), stories, and an opportunity to comment on the stories.

The cool thing about blogs is that it is very easy to add stories and post to a blog. It is relatively easy to set up a blog up but if you want a highly professional image, it takes a little more work and is often better done by someone who has a little knowledge of web design.

I thought I would briefly introduce you to two of the biggest (and my favorite) blogging platforms.

Chances are you were on a blog today - whether you know it or not. If you are reading this, you definitely have been on a blog. Online newspapers are blogs on steroids. If you visited a big company website, you may crossed through one. Blogs are everywhere. Tumblr is not the biggest blogging site by any means but boasts 166.2 million blogs with 73.3 billion posts. WordPress boasts 74.3 million blogs. They are everywhere because they bring great value. If you remember this, you have learned a great lesson.

Content Marketing: By the Numbers

Today we continue in our discussion about Content Marketing. Yesterday, we learned what content marketing is. Today, we talk about the numbers that support its importance.

Blogs on Company Sites Result in 55% More Visitors We have learned the importance of content. By adding a blog to your company website, you can expect to see 55% more visitors than websites without blogs. Adding a blog is relatively simple, but the hard part is keeping up your blog and dedicating the time to keeping it current. I recently heard a stat that I can't support but was interesting if true. During a social media podcast, a very well respected marketer made the statement that 85% of blogs have less than 5 posts. It would be very scary if this is true. It basically means that too many blogs are created and unattended.

Companies with Blogs get 97% More Inbound Links than Others What does this mean? According to SearchMetrics, the number of inbound links is the 3rd most influential factor in search engine ranking. Simply put, the more inbound links, or links from other places to your website, the higher you will place in search results.

Interesting Content is a Top 3 Reason Why People Follow Brands on Social Media People follow brands online because they produce interesting content. Furthermore, 6 out of 10 Twitter or Facebook users will recommend a brand they follow. This is the bridge between social media followers and customers. 

In fact,

Blogs give websites 434% more Indexed Pages and 97% more Indexed Links. The more indexed pages and links you have, the more often you will be seen in online search. By increasing these numbers with a blog, your site will be found more often by more people.

Social Media Content Boosts Sales 63% of companies with leading social media sites surveyed said that posting content on social networks has increased their marketing effectiveness. 

In fact,

The numbers are pretty astonishing but do not lie. When trying to equate sales to online marketing efforts, the best results come from sites that produce effective, engaging content.  

The source for the aforementioned number is the the following infographic and reference list.

Content Marketing means Success Online

If you want to be successful online, the key is an effective content marketing strategy. In fact, content marketing is the biggest buzzword in marketing today. This week, we cover all different aspects of content marketing in this blog. Today, we begin by defining it and explaining why it is important.

Right now, the companies that do best on the web and in search engine results are the ones that produce the most content. Search engines are in the business of connecting users with content. Websites that provide them with the most information are indexed the most aggressively and show up most often in their results. So the key to success in online search is the regular posting of great content. Companies that help businesses succeed online have recognized this and have devised a concept called Content Marketing.

Content Marketing Defined I think one of the best definitions of content marketing comes from the Huffington Post. They define content marketing as “a targeted marketing strategy that involves creating insightful, engaging and interesting written content with the aim of creating customer loyalty and increasing opportunities for future business.” There are three parts to this definition that are really important. The three parts will be explained below.

Insightful, Engaging and Interesting Content People go online seeking information. They do not go online seeking sales pitches. Search engines look for information. So the best thing to do is provide that information. Whatever your industry is, provide the best information about it and you will be noticed. Do not be afraid to give away information either. I work with attorney and they are very hesitant to offer too much information online. The same is the case with the medical field. Within the scope of the law, offer as much information as possible. When specific information is needed, they will see you as an information leader and seek your counsel.

If you post information about immigration and about immigration law changes and requirements for citizenship, your site will be valued. When the person is ready for an attorney, you will the one they call. An important thing is to make sure you provide content and not links to content. The difference seems small in this post but is very significant. If you provide a link to a government’s website, why would search engines include you in their results. They are much smarter than they were years ago.   

A Targeted Marketing Strategy The next critically important aspect of this definition is that it is a “targeted marketing strategy.” First of all, you must be a marketer. The amount of information you can provide is immense and trying to provide all of that would be too overwhelming. So the secret is to use what you learn in Marketing 101. Identify your target market and create engaging content for that audience. The best thing to do is to spend an hour in your client’s shoes, think about what they are looking for and then write with that in mind.

Create Customer Loyalty and Increasing Opportunities for Future Business Finally, this is a great definition because it touches on both customer acquisition and retention. While we are looking to expanding our business, it is important for us to remember that existing customers represent a large portion of your internet users. You cannot forget to use your website and social media presence to ensure that your existing clients remain your clients.

If there is a lesson to learn this week. Remember that content is king and if you deliver quality, targeted content, you will do well online.

Twitter: The Epidemic of Talking to Yourself

I don't think many people truly understand Twitter and that is a shame. I am going to try to explain Twitter today in the hopes that it will help my readers and clients succeed with social media.

Let's start with what it is. Many people call Twitter a microblogging platform. But I think Twitter does a great job of summarizing their service when they say it is "for friends, family and coworkers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages." I like to think of Twitter as the marriage between some of the best features of Facebook and text messaging.

Tweets, or Twitter posts, are short messages (140 characters or less) that are posted to a user's wall and sent to their followers. A user can also include someone else in the conversation by adding their Twitter handle to the message (@BoxlessMedia is mine).

One of the coolest parts of Twitter is that tweets are searchable. So someone can look up tweets regarding a particular keyword. Now include a "#" in front of that keyword and it becomes a hashtag. People can now follow and read all of the messages containing a specific hashtag. In fact, you can even monitor conversations on specific hashtags. 

To see Twitter at work on a massive scale, follow a contestant on American Idol or the Voice during the show. People from around the world will chime in a conversation about that contestant. It is truly the beauty of social media - people from around the world all sharing thoughts and viewpoints as if they were in the same room. Now imagine they were all talking about you, your company or one of your products. The possibilities are endless.

Twitter also allows you to include photos, links and other content with your tweets. So really Twitter has changed how people have conversations. I think it is truly one of the most underappreciated and misunderstood social media platforms.

So now, here is the answer to the big question... why only 140 characters? Twitter was specifically built for mobile devices (originally only cell phones). The limit on SMS (text) messaging is 128 bytes or an optimized 160 7-bit characters. Twenty of those of characters were reserved for the Twitter handle and the remaining for the message. There have been conversations about changing the tweet length due to the many changes and evolutions in mobile devices. Twitter is sticking to their original format and believes that you can say anything in those 140 characters. I agree and respect them for staying true to their original concept.

So, is Twitter a viable platform for businesses? Absolutely. Twitter is about conversations and community. It is the base of what social media was built for. My iPhone is on the T-Mobile cell network. I was having problems and got no response from normal customer service channels. I jumped on Twitter, included T-Mobile's handle in the conversation, and got a response almost immediately. From talking about products to providing exceptional customer service, there an important and valuable place for Twitter in business.

One of the biggest problems I see is novice Twitter users talking to themselves or only to their own choir. People tweet company information over and over to the same people in hopes that something magical will happen. You have to remember that 645 million people are on Twitter. They search all the time. For you to succeed on Twitter, you have to learn how to use hashtags and open your conversations. If you do that, the possibilities are endless. In 4 months of community building on Twitter, we at Boxless Media have amassed a following of more than 20,000 followers. It is because we are saying some valuable and sharing it productively.

There is great power in Twitter but unfortunately too many people don't know how to embrace it. My advice... learn it, love it and get involved. I promise it is worth it.

Buying Facebook Fans: Good or Bad...

Welcome, 2014. I can hardly believe that it is already January 2014. This year promises to be an amazing year for social media. At Boxless Media, we are busy making sure all our clients' social initiatives are strategic and well-executed. 

To start the new year, I thought I would address a question that everyone asks me, should I buy Facebook fans. It is a difficult questions because there are positive and negative aspects to this.

Let's start with the negatives... 

Ok, so maybe a positive (or two)...

I meet new social media clients every day and I am constantly asked about this. Here is what I would say... I would use a two-tiered approach for small businesses. After you create your page, buy a base of 1k to 5k depending upon how big you plan on getting. Then launch an aggressive fan campaign to get real fans. These real fans are going to be the one that create sales.

I would recommend the following site to purchase those fans... www.morefacebookfans.com.