The Found Gen

Marketing That Works.

Kristin Abele

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10 Common Myths About Social Media

It seems like everyone today has got an opinion about how you should use social media to find success online. And like most topics where opinions are shared readily, most of these points will lead you astray.

The fact of the matter is social media is a lively, vivacious entity where you are allowed to connect, build relationships and engage with your audience while simultaneously establishing your brand’s overall tone, personality and message.

The key is, don’t get weighed down by the onslaught of ridiculous advice that many charlatans are trying to spew in attempts to label themselves as “social media experts.” No one is an expert in social media—we’re all learning, playing, engaging. Social media, like most marketing and tech-based tools and tactics today, is ever-changing—and the one guaranteed true piece of advice for any brand is to stay true to yourself.

In the meantime, I’ve broken down the top 10 most ludicrous myths about social media. These are stories we’ve heard and things that you should be weary of when launching your own social strategy:

10 Big Social Media Myths:

  1. The More Followers, The Merrier: This is probably the most common thing we hear day-in, day-out. Businesses are constantly in search of garnering thousands of new followers, instantly. Brands typically go to the point of buying followers from fake accounts to give the impression that they’re popular on a given social platform. This is absurd. While we’re all big fans of the “fake it til you make it” mantra—this takes it just a step too far. One hundred loyal fans, who interact with your brand regularly and who buy your product, are 100x more valuable than a list of a thousand subscribers who either don’t know you exist or worse, don’t exist themselves.
  2. Social Media Is Your Own Personal Broadcast Channel: As much as any given person may be the biggest fan of your brand—they do not want to hear all about you, all the time. Just like in any relationship—social media is a give and take. It’s something we say to all our clients—with social media you have to earn the right to bring the conversation back to you. You cannot start off just talking about you, your product, your service. People tune it out. Rather, start a dialogue with your audience about them. Get to know them, their interests and then find a way, once you’ve established a connection, to bring it back to your goals.
  3. Social Media Can Replace Your Website: While Facebook, Twitter, and even Google+ are great platforms to showcase your brand and your services—these are just platforms. They’re compliments to your overall online identity. A website is your first and last line of defense online. When a potential customer searches for you—they immediately check for your site. After that, they go to your Facebook or Twitter profiles—which should inevitably send them back to your site. Social media provides a fun foray into the mind of your brand—but your site will always serve as the main place for converting a lead to a client.
  4. You Can’t Track Success or ROI: Fiddlesticks. There are plenty of cool assessment and analysis tools out there today. Good content marketing experts will provide you with monthly, bimonthly or quarterly assessments—where you can track where users are coming from, demographics, psychographics, and even identify actions taken on your site (purchases, article devouring, listening to a podcast or watching a slide-show). From there you should be able to leverage all your known data and apply it to create a more streamlined and targeted approach to your marketing.
  5. Blogging Is a Waste of Time: No matter what anyone tells you—blogging is never a waste of time. It’s the most essential part to any social & online strategy. We’ve talked about it before—keeping a regular blog schedule helps raise your rankings on Google, establishes you as a thought leader, and generates a loyal following of readers. If time is really an issue, you can hire a content marketing team (ahem, cough, cough—like us), to handle all the writing, management and strategizing behind your blog.
  6. You Have to Be Everywhere! The only person who has to be everywhere at once is Santa Claus. And even that’s only one night a year. Beyond that, no one has to be everywhere and certainly not at once. Certain platforms are better suited for certain businesses. Some platforms shouldn’t even be considered for certain brands, as it’s a drain of energy and resources. It’s best to create a social strategy that focuses on your brand’s strengths and target audience. It’s better to be strongly situated and active on 2 platforms, than spread out across 6 or more where you rarely, if ever, post or interact.
  7. There’s No Point to Google+: Oh, silly you. Did you fall for that line? It’s okay, that’s a pretty common occurrence. Google+ (now Google My Business) is either being heralded or slammed—it seems like it just depends on the day. In fact, Google+ is a great platform for multiple reasons, the main being it’s relationship to SEO rankings. Posts from Google+ are being indexed in the SERPs, and authors’ profile pages show up next to results, improving click-through rates on any given search. But again, like I mentioned in #6 above, this isn’t a site to just set-up and leave. Make sure that if you pursue G+, that you understand your audience, community and how to leverage the SEO benefits.
  8. Respond Immediately, Or Else: Despite popular belief, social media will survive—and people will be able to handle it—if you don’t respond to a tweet or Facebook post instantaneously. Like email, the invention of smart phones has destroyed us a bit on what we deem an acceptable lead-time with response rates. But social media, in essence, is managed by real people. We all have a myriad of things going on at any given moment. The world will continue to revolve, and your brand will survive, if you wait an hour or ten. Promise.
  9. The More Hashtags, The Merrier: Oh dear lord. When was the last time you searched for something solely by looking up the hashtag? #justinbiebergotarrested. Well, this may come as a shock, but social platforms are getting better at search. You can find a subject matter without the cute little pound sign. And hashtagging up a tweet just distracts people from your message. Granted, who doesn’t love a good hashtag? Just, use them wisely. #no #sense #going #overboard.
  10. Social Media Gives People a Space to Bash My Brand: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if someone wants to say something negative about your brand, they already have a venue. And it’s a big one: the internet. Not having an active Facebook, Twitter, or Yelp page doesn’t protect you from angst-ridden wrath. In fact, social profiles have proven to be more beneficial in helping brands get through a negative moment. Skype grew their following by being aware of issues, talking directly with customers during a service blackout and more. Surprisingly enough, you can build more credibility for your brand by using social media than by avoiding it all together.

So there you have it. Ten myths that you can now set free as you embark on your social strategy for the year. The bigger message is: jump on in, the water’s great!

 

 

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Driving Website Performance Through Content

You’ve heard it. Those whispers going around the internet, your networking group, random conversations you’ve overheard while in line at Starbucks. You know, the ones where people are consistently talking about driving their website—forward, upward, in motion, stop-motion—you name it.

You may not know what people are actually talking about (hint: they might not either), but it seems everyone is just abuzz with the idea of improving their website performance.

So, the question remains: how do you do it? How can you get your website to impress the pants off Google and be a lead-converting machine? Well, the answer may be simpler than you thought possible: through quality content. Sounds so simple, it must be crazy, right? Hear me out.

Engage Your Visitors

The first thing any potential lead is going to do when visiting your site is size you up. And yes, images are worth a thousand words each but if you don’t immediately catch their attention with your brand’s message—they’re going to go in search of the next guy.

Despite the fact that as a society, we read less than ever before—we still read. We’re entranced with a good story, a strong message and engaging content. It’s important, nay imperative, to hook your visitors instantly with a witty, dedicated and strong-worded homepage. Having one will inevitably keep visitors around for longer and encourage them to surf around your site—raising your conversion rate all the more.

Be Obvious About It

If it takes more than 8 seconds to figure out what you offer, you’ve already lost your sale. 8 seconds. That’s it. The human mind can scan for information even faster than that—I’m being lenient.

If your homepage and subsequent about and services pages are not explicit in what you’re offering, people are going to surf away faster than you can blink. Your website is only as good of a sales tool as you make it. If you can’t sell your business in just a few short paragraphs, or even words—you’re going to be left behind. While, if people can quickly get the gist of what you do—they’re going to be interested in learning more. The more they want to know, the longer they stick around and the longer they stick around…well, you get the point.

Blog Already, Will You?

Oh, so you’re still not blogging? You don’t have time? You don’t get the point? Stop making excuses for why you’re not doing something that is incredibly vital to your business’s success online and start doing it instead. Blogging is the one thing that is guaranteed to drive traffic to your site, increase your mailing list size, and establish you as a tour-de-force within your industry (if done correctly, of course).

Did you know that each post you write creates a new page on your site? Did you also know that each blog page on your site that boasts new, unique and quality content is gobbled up by Google? And did you know that the more food you feed the Google monster—the higher you’ll be ranked by their nifty new algorithms? Tis true.

By developing a strong readership through a tailored blogging strategy, you will be able to drive your website traffic and overall performance through the roof. It’s that whole, ‘If you build it they will come’ thing. But this time, it’s about your business—not Kevin Costner or James Earl Jones.

If time and effort really is an issue, consider outsourcing to a qualified, reputable content company—like ours—to help get you started. And then, before you know it, you’ll be chatting people up in line at Starbucks at how you bested the system and have one of the more potent sites online today!

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Why Blogging Can Make Or Break Your Business

When the blogging first came into our everyday jargon, it was hard to believe that the concept would become something substantial.

Now, while most of us have accepted that blogging is here to stay (at least for a little while longer), it seems almost impossible for businesses to accept that the simple act of blogging may be the factor that generates the most traction for their business.

The reason behind the reluctancy isn’t rocket science. To most businesses, blogging seems more like a waste of time than a money-generator. It takes the focus of your business away from your business. Right? Well, sure. If you spend more time blogging than researching in the lab, or prepping for court, or reviewing patient histories–that might not be the best alley for your business.

But then, why are you spending more than 20 minutes to an hour doing that? Or better yet, why haven’t you hired out?

ALLOW ME TO MAKE MY CASE

Just to throw in the three letters that most people dread these days when it comes to their websites, social media and more–let’s talk about SEO. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is what most people will tell you that your website and blog posts need to adhere to in order for you to see results with blogging. Those people are…relatively right.

Sure, when you blog you want Google and Bing to register your post and list it first. That way, when people google “Realtor, South Florida,” your beautiful three-page website pops up first on the list. But see, with a sea as big as the real estate industry in South Florida–what’s a three page website chock-full of SEO keywords going to do for you?

Now, when you blog, each post gains a new page. Each new page expands your site. With each content-rich post (notice the key word there), you can exponentially increase your reach.

With over 434% more indexed pages on a site with a regular business blog versus a site of a business who neglects to blog, the 80% of consumers who find businesses via the internet will find you first. And to top that off, they will have a wealth of information that solidifies your role as a source of information and expertise in the field.

CROWDED SOAPBOX

Many people and clients have come up to me asking why they should blog given the fact that there is already so much noise in the internet realm. What’s one more useless blog, right?

Wrong.

Yes, there is a great deal of useless chatter and by joining the fray you will be competing for consumer attention, but when did a little competition stop you before? Whether it is running your own business, providing your own service or selling your own product–all of which, I guarantee you, come with a competitor trying to offer the same service and usually at a lower price.

The deciding factor is content. You remember the age-old saying, “Content is King.” Clichéd, perhaps. But the phrase didn’t stick around this long because it was inaccurate.

Regularly creating and delivering content-rich posts will not only set your business apart from competitors and raise you a foot above the slough, it will generate more leads and drive more follow-through business to your company.

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Generating Leads With Marketing

After launching our Marketing Agency in Miami, we noticed the importance that language has on generating leads with marketing. It should be pretty obvious that the right verbiage can define the difference between a simple page hit and a serious lead; the opportunity that well-written copy can present for your business is not something that should be taken lightly.

But what we’ve seen is that business owners often gloss over their content and just see it as filler.

Despite what people may think in regards to new digital tools and their ability to generate leads with marketing, words and language are even more prominent than ever. We present ourselves first and foremost not on how we dress but on how we dress our websites. Is your page aesthetically pleasing? Engaging? Yes, but is it well-written?

It’s almost shocking how many professionals and businesses today have not taken the time even to simply proofread the materials they put forth that represent who they are as a business.

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS

As businesses, we all go through the motions of creating documents and presentations that will help set us apart from our competition. We value our product and/or services and usually we can rely on that as a strong marketing platform. Good product begets more clientele.

That being said, we all know competitors with inferior products but are still able to generate leads with marketing. So we try and showcase the difference — creating content that sets us apart — and portray how our product is top-of-the-line.

But blandly stating that you offer quality services and products will get you nowhere. The average consumer, or audience member, reads hundreds of marketing pitches (be it websites, social media pitches, advertisements, marketing presentations, etc) a day, that makes thousands a week and millions a year. If you want to generate leads with your marketing, you have some stiff competition.

A simple restructuring of your word choice, putting forth more of your business’s personality, can garner more returns and generate more leads for your business than a full email-blast campaign of a 100,000 subscribers. Changing a simple sentence from, “We are the best IT service provider in town,” to “Here in town, we offer a unique blend of quality service with unparalleled IT and computer repair offerings,” can make a world of difference.

DEAL-BREAKERS

Now, to quote the great Liz Lemon–some things are just deal-breakers. If on a professional level, you don’t take the time to proofread your work and a potential customer reads a sentence that says, “When it comes to photography, their is no better studio in town to handle the special moments of your life,” what do you think is going to happen? Well, that potential client is now someone else’s actual client. Writing like that produces a stop-gap. It’s hard on the eyes and it’s even harder.

Let’s channel some more of Ms. Lemon:

  • Professionals, if you misuse “their, there and they’re”–that’s a deal-breaker.
  • Professionals, if you tweet that you are the best new “higher” for a company–that’s a deal-breaker. (ahem, it’s “hire”).
  • Professionals, if you switch “it’s and its” and “where and wear” throughout a document–that’s a deal-breaker.
  • Professionals, if you are trying to announce that you’re the best in your field and you misspell or misuse industry key terms–that’s a deal-breaker.
  • Professionals, if you dumb down your copy to appeal to your potential clients–that’s a deal-breaker.

I could go on, but you get the gist.

GENERATING LEADS WITH MARKETING

A recession is what you make of it. So is your business. Why sit in a mire blaming the economy for your business’s slow year or lack of growth? There is still money to be made out there. Look at the Kardashians–they’re doing just fine.

If you could guarantee more leads, more follow-through business and a higher overall interest in your brand–would you consider the avenue that would get you there?

Yeah, we thought so too.

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Marketing To The Masses

Great marketing promotions stick with you. No matter the product, or its quality, a great promotion or advertisement is what catches our attention. So why is it that when it comes to marketing strategy and promoting books–we’re still in the dark ages?

Some publishers have hitched their trailers (literally) onto the Hollywood bandwagon–creating 60 second filmed previews to lock in an audience. Some publishers push social media onto their authors as if it is the end-all-be-all of obtaining market sales. Some stick to radio interviews, book tours and author readings.

None of this is wrong, bad or ineffectual. It’s just all mundane.

STUCK IN THE MUD

Marketing has always been an innovative industry. If it weren’t, how would our attentions continuously be caught for the same products over and over again?

The fact is publishers, authors, and readers alike are all adhering to the incorrect thought process that books are now a difficult sell. Reading is a daunting task. Reading takes effort and brain power and is just more trying on a person than simply watching an episode of Bones.

Instead of building a marketing strategy around the many worlds into which readers will be transported with simply one page of writing, we’re trying to sell the new HBO series inspired by a book. It’s gotten to be rather pathetic.

I went to Barnes and Noble the other day, killing time before a meeting, and just perusing the fiction section I saw more books with “Now a Major Motion Picture” seal or revamped with a new cover with Orlando Bloom, Robert DeNiro or Sean Bean staring back out at me than ever before.

Is this the best we can do? Is this actually the marketing strategy businesses are paying for?

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

There’s only been one marketing push for a book that has caught my attention in recent years. That was for Jay-Z’s autobiography, “Decoded.” Granted, there were a ton of marketing dollars behind the project–but its innovation was key. The publishers placed a page of the book in cities around the world where something pivotal in Jay-Z’s life took place. Readers were encouraged to seek out the pages (you could do so online as well as in person), and they could start reading the book and “decoding” messages in order to read the book prior to release, win a trip to see Jay-Z live, etc. My one word summary? Genius.

Money did play a large role in that marketing push, certainly, but even bigger was the thought process behind it. Why aren’t more publishers and self-published authors for that matter, looking to more unique forms of getting the word out there about their book? This can be done in smaller scales and even with unknown authors. The point is to break out of the mold, to not simply follow the leader. Doing so will get your book nowhere but perhaps on the shelves with thousands of other books and no way to differentiate itself from the masses.

Build a Better Marketing Strategy

It’s high time writers and publishers invest some thought and creativity into their marketing. Why not? They’ve already put so much time into the book already, why not make it worth it?