The Found Gen

Marketing That Works.

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2018 Social Media and Content Trends to Know

SEO is so 2017. Today, our attention is being pulled in a million directions, and no amount of brilliant blog writing can fight for attention with video, micro influencers…and personalized content.

Want to stay ahead of the curve so your content gets the attention it deserves? Then we should really look at the trends coming fast at us in 2018.

  • Brand engagement. How many times do you see brands mentioned on social media in unsponsored posts? A lot, right? That’s because customers are craving relationships, authentic conversations, and ways to send their thanks. It’s more essential than ever to create a network where customers can reach you, and you can reach them.
  • Okay, maybe you’re not ready to incorporate chatbots into your marketing strategy. (If you are, we can help you get started. The amount of workload it decreases for your social media team is kind of staggering.) But understanding that instant engagement, 24-7 is an expectation should bolster your commitment to connectivity.
  • Use Instagram. The ephemeralness of Instagram stories has amped up direct messaging between consumer and brand, and it’s not going anywhere. It’s far more intimate – and visual – than Twitter, and more professional yet creative than Facebook.
  • Be accountable. Social media has increased accountability for businesses. In today’s instant gratification world, it’s difficult for even your most loyal followers to stay silent if your message sours. Some brands think it’s too risky to address major issues – politics, discrimination, and other social topics – but just a bit more than 10% of consumers turn on brands for being too political.

Content marketing still remains on top of all activities that will make the largest commercial impact for brands and their clients, ahead of Big Data and far surpassing SEO. It remains the engagement fuel that powers all communications from search to social to email marketing to creating websites experiences that convert.

Times are changing on the hour, and it’s crucial for your social media to keep up. If you sign on with us, you might find yourself far ahead of the pack. At The Found Gen, we like being ahead of the pack.

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Build a Following: How Content Leads to Loyal Customers

It’s more cost effective to hold on to existing customers

It’s easy to get caught up in the thrill of making new sales and adding new customers, but in the long run, long-lasting relationships are much more beneficial.

Hanging on to repeat customers is actually less costly for your business that constantly trying to acquire new ones. Believe it or not, loyal customers will end up bringing in those new customers for you. Word of mouth and good online reviews from customers that love your brand go a long way when it comes growing your business.

Valuable and intelligent content can really help drive this effort. But, how does it work?

Exclusive updates

Good content starts with making your customers feel like they’re getting something secretive and exclusive. Let your returning customers be the first ones to know about a product or service they loved that’s back on offer or a brand-new product or service you’re launching. Adding personal touches to these messages and emails is also a great way to make your customers really feel appreciated.

Build a strong sense of community around your brand

 Brands that create a sense of community are able to create long-lasting relationships with customers. This is a lot easier to pull off nowadays with Facebook and other social media platforms that can provide real-time data. Great content allows your customers to feel involved in your business and brand.

Personalize your customers’ messages by geo-targeting info 

Content that lacks personalization can be pointless. Customers don’t want to receive information that’s not specifically tailored to them. When you send customers irrelevant information, it can seem careless. Show your customers that you’re paying attention to where they’re located and what each time you send out content.

Pay attention to their purchases

By sending customers content that’s based on their recent purchases, you show them that you’re aware of the information they need. This kind of content comes across as more informational and less promotional. By helping customers use your products and services after they’ve already made the purchase, you can build loyalty and show off your expertise.

We know the importance of sharing valuable and intelligent content. If you need help creating content that builds a following around your brand, give us a call.

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3 Social Media Trends for 2018: Video is king

When it comes to reaching your audience, putting out great content, and keeping up with a steady brand image, social media is absolutely essential. Many businesses put all of their time and effort into search engine optimization and traditional advertising. While this may work for some, just don’t neglect social media.

Social media offers so many possibilities when it comes to connecting with your audiences and building a following around your brand. As you begin planning ways to strengthen the reach of your company in 2018, it’s important to keep social media in mind.

If you want to hit the ground running by ramping up your social media presence, keep in mind the current trends and changes. Here are a few social media trends for 2018 you’ll want to follow:

  1. Strong Social Media Analytics Equals Strong Content 

One thing that can turn people off to certain brands is generic content. If most of the space on your brand’s social media page is filled with generic content, audiences will see it as irrelevant.

Improving the personalization and uniqueness of the content shared will be heightened in the coming year. With the different kinds of data and analytical insight being pulled from social media, marketers now know what content to create to best reach the target audience.

Creating and posting content that engages their specific audience and offers something unique is truly made possibly by social media.

  1. Feature Overlap Increases Selectiveness

Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook all offer the “stories” feature. When different platforms begin offering similar features, marketers have to look at the audiences and reach of each platform to decide which to choose. Although the features are similar, not everything is equal. Snapchat has a much younger demographic than Facebook and Instagram, so it’s important to be selective about which platform you use.

More platforms will begin to offer overlapping features, so brands will need to take the time to research and invest in the one that will reach their demographic the best. Marketers need to take advantage of the analytics and data insights that each platform now offers. Consider which platform offers the best return for you, and go from there.

  1. Video is a Strong Strategy

Video content has become increasingly valuable and popular, making it impossible for brands to ignore. Video is the best type of content to generate engagement. Facebook videos usually receive more likes and shares than links, pictures, or any other type of content.

Having the ability to create video content, and strategizing to tie it into written content, will be one of the top trends of 2018.

Social media allows brands and marketers to connect with their audience, create and distribute strong content, and build a following around their brand. To reap all of the benefits that come with social media branding, you have to keep up with the current trends. Shifts in social media happen so frequently, so staying one step ahead of the trends is vital.

The Found Gen can help you develop a content and social media plan and create your posts for you, ensuring maximum engagement. Give us a shout.

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How to Reach B2B Customers with Content: You’re still targeting people

Most people see B2B marketing as substantially different than B2C marketing. And while the topics and structure of the content itself is different, the concept and strategy is often pretty similar.

B2B content, like all other content, must be impeccably written and strive to educate or entertain. And, ultimately, you’re still marketing to a person. These tips can help you reach B2B customers with content:

Get Expert Information

Credibility is highly important in B2B marketing, and using expert information is one of the best ways to establish credibility. Cite trade publications and include industry-specific data to back up your points. And, be sure to link back to any original sources.

B2B decision-makers appreciate authority. When you include industry-specific expert information, you’re providing them with the best knowledge that they need to make their important decisions. This also gives you an opportunity to share your ideas and broadens your content’s reach.

Target Customers at Different Stages

B2B customers go through various steps before deciding whether to do business with you, so it’s crucial to target them with content at each stage. This can also expand your content’s reach and helps to increase the return on investment for the content.

In the early stages, customers may not know exactly what they want. That’s the time to establish a need for your product or service by highlighting the problems it solves — the main avenue with which you can succeed with in B2B marketing. At later stages, customers may know that your product exists but may be sifting through all the competition. This is the time to establish the value of what you offer and highlight what makes you different from your competitors.

Use Storytelling

B2B customers like referrals and using real stories from real clients is one of the best ways to incorporate referrals into your content. Case studies and testimonials showcase your product or service in a practical sense. This reassures potential customers that they’re making the right decision. These stories should focus not only on you, but also how the B2B client was able to improve as a result of using your product or service.

If your B2B marketing isn’t working the way it should, drop us a line. We can design a marketing plan for you so that you meet your goals. Get in touch today.

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Take a Chance: Making Calculated Risks in Content Marketing

We’re lucky. Our clients seem to share an overwhelming trait that makes them the best clients in the business: they’re all drawn to a good creative risk.

“You want to change our branding? Including our tagline?”

“So…live streaming while we’re on-site?”

“A pop-up shop and a podcast?”

Yes. Yes. And yes.

Like we said, we’re very lucky. But not all of us are ok taking calculated risks in marketing, and even clients who claim to want edgy campaigns and content still drag their feet a little at pitch time. So how to overcome the idea that a new concept is a dangerous concept? Here are a few approaches we use:

When to Take Calculated Risks in Marketing

Marketing Analysis

Start by looking at the data rather than locking yourself in the conference room, ordering Chinese delivery and brainstorming wacky ideas all night. Look at the snags in the client journey (for example: if people are putting items in their shopping cart but not checking out, if you’re driving a lot of traffic to your site but they’re not sticking around, or if people are going to your contact page but then not calling) — those are the points that need some changing up.

Designing For Your Audience

Next: take a look at your audience. And not just the demographics, but the actual people.  Often, a risky campaign might not appeal to the owners and decision-makers of the company, but will be a surprising – to everyone but us! – hit with their clients. At The Found Gen, it is never a waste of time to perform the most research at the customer’s level and then design the marketing campaign to cater to them.

Calculate the Risk in Your Strategy

Don’t just acknowledge the risk, but look at the downside. If the campaign doesn’t succeed, will it just go unnoticed or will it generate negative attention?

Sometimes even the best content flops for no apparent, predicted reason. Especially now, when social media offers up instant responses, and one powerful voice can overturn even the best attempts at a successful campaign. Accept that fear of the unknown, and be reassured by the research and strategy you’ve put into the project.

Ongoing Development of Your Marketing Campaign

Taking calculated risks in marketing should always start slowly. We call it taking baby steps, but it’s basically slowing the pace of a project and pausing in between stages to make sure the actual execution of the campaign is going correctly and not just diving head first.

We’ve got a quote from George Lucas on a wall in our conference room: “We are all living in cages with the door wide open.” When you’re ready to walk out, that’s when the fun really begins. We’ll meet you there. Call us to set something up.

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Branding 101: Let Your Clients Know WHAT ELSE You Can Do

Have you ever found your business in a rut, stuck in the niche you created but wishing desperately to be something else — something more? Your clients know you as a trusted expert, your peers think of you as the go-to person with all the answers, and you’re bored beyond tears.

Be careful how you brand yourself.

Branding 101

At a recent writers’ workshop, I met a woman who specializes in creating commercial real estate content. All day, every day, she writes blog post after LinkedIn article after tweet about all things commercial real estate. Her work is shared and liked and retweeted. She’s kind of a big deal and has moved on from branding 101 when it comes to commercial real estate content.

We talked for a while about our careers, and while she was describing hers, she mentioned that she’d really love to delve into the pop-up shop industry. Specifically, she wants to utilize all those empty storefronts and offices as temporary retail spaces. Genius, right?

She’s done the research, she has the first-hand knowledge of the viability for such an endeavor, and she quite possibly has a long list of potential clients and investors. It’s just that no one knows about her brilliant idea, except for me. What a shame.

Bringing Up Your Suite of Services

If you’ve got a goal to expand your services, but keep finding yourself unable to successfully accomplish it, you might want to reconsider your branding strategy (and go back to branding 101). Here’s how:

  • Educate your clients on what else you can do. Show them that there are more reasons to hire you than the skills you originally brought to the table (for example: we’re more than a content marketing agency. We help our clients create the perfect marketing strategy, design the process to generate awareness, develop the content and distribute it, and then analyze the data and tweak the strategy to maximize results). Chances are, your vision may match their needs perfectly.
  • Start doing the work you actually want to be doing. It’s difficult to make room for unpaid or unproven work, but it’s necessary to fit it in any way possible. In the case of my pop-up pal, she could benefit greatly by embarking on a one-day-only retail spot benefitting a local charity of her choice. She’d dip her toe in the pop-up waters and do some good while she’s at it.
  • Blend your new skill set into your client offerings. Initially, you may have to show your clients fresh possibilities before they believe in you. Be flexible, and give yourself some space to be authentic and strategic.

Above all, when you’re adding a new profile to your services, don’t undersell your skills; they’re now part of your complete strategic package. Remember to talk less about what you bring to the table, and show more.

If you’d like some ideas to rebrand yourself, just ask us instead of going back to Branding 101. We’ve helped a lot of clients reinvent themselves.