Tag Archive for: social media marketing

Why Your Social Media Presence Should Never Take a Vacation

The key to success in social media marketing is CONSISTENCY – particularly for any company that puts a lot of stock in its social media presence!  Strive for consistency in your company’s brand image, consistency in your messaging (which should always sound as though it is coming from the same centralized figure/being/collective group), consistency of response times and – most importantly – consistency in the number of posts you share with your audience each week. While the statistics may vary with regard to timing and frequency, once your company has found its sweet spot (which often varies by industry and region) – STICK TO IT! In other words, YOU may take a vacation, but your social media presence should NOT. You’ve fought long and hard to build up a following on social media, it would be a shame to lose touch with your core audience – even for a week – only to potentially face weeks of fighting to get in front of them again. That valuable time lost when your competition might have gotten the upper hand! Fortunately for all of us who yearn to put our toes in the sand or ski the slopes from time to time, there are some really great options that mean your social media presence will never have to skip a beat. To save you some time and research, Woodall Creative Group has compiled a number of those options for you here:

  1. Look to Your Creative Partner:  If you already collaborate with an agency on the design of your social media graphics and/or messaging, you may want to look to them to “housesit” your social media accounts while you’re away. You might be pleasantly surprised by the results and may even want to consider making that a permanent gig for them – allowing you the freedom to focus on other more pressing aspects of your job. If they’re really good at what they do (like the award-winning creative team at Woodall Creative Group), they’ll be able to study your posts from the past, discover what resonates most with your core audience, channel the brand image you’ve worked so hard to build and maybe even try a few new tricks to grow and engage your audience. Having a strong social media partner that can get results is worth its weight in gold.
  2. Tap a Social Media Savvy Member of Your Team:  Not that we’re ever ones to stereotype, but millennials are typically social media savvy and may prove a great resource for when you’re going to be out of the office on vacation. However, you don’t want to run the risk of a potential “house party” while you’re away – possibly alienating your core audience with some inconsistent messaging and/or graphics that doesn’t quite jive your brand image. Assign your most reliable team member who ALSO knows their way around your social media channels to pull together 5 to 7 days of messaging and accompanying images PRIOR to your departure for your approval. Once approved, they can stick to the agreed upon plan and post every day that you’re away, giving you the peace of mind you deserve to enjoy your vacation. If they do a good job, you know you can rely on them again during your NEXT vacation.
  3. Build a Social Media Calendar and Automate:  In the event that you manage more than one social media channel and you have yet to discover the joys of automation, be prepared to have your mind blown! In #2 of this list, we suggested you have your social media savvy team member pull together 5 to 7 days of messaging. In the event that you DON’T have a social media savvy and reliable team member to whom you can turn (or you just prefer to do things yourself), YOU can be the one to plan ahead, pull together a social media calendar of 5 to 7 days of messaging (or however long you plan to be gone) and upload/schedule those messages through an automation tool such as HootSuite, Sprout Social or Loomly. Not only will they allow you the freedom to pre-schedule your posts, but they will also allow you to post content to multiple social media platforms. While this may mean more work for you in the days leading up to your vacation, at least it assures you a stress-free, well-deserved break from the office once that glorious time arrives. Best of all, many of these automation tools offer free trial periods. You can try several to see which proves the best fit for you and your needs. You may find one that you love SO MUCH that you continue to use it after your vacation – cutting your posting time dramatically and providing you with valuable insights.

Now that you know the reasons WHY you can’t let your social media presence lapse – even for a week – AND three potential ways to cover your social media responsibilities while you’re away, Woodall Creative Group wishes you a peaceful and relaxing vacation! Bon Voyage!!!

Test

To learn more about Woodall Creative Group and the many ways we can help your company promote its unique brand – both in print and in the digital space – we invite you to visit us online at www.woodallc.wpengine.com.

Engage is All the Rage: Navigating Facebook’s Future News Feed Changes

On January 11, 2018, Facebook founder – Mark Zuckerberg – announced a “major change” on his social media site. He conveyed that this change is intended to ensure that time spent on Facebook is time well-spent. To that end, the Facebook Newsfeed – a go-to resource for more than 2 billion monthly active users for the latest news, gossip, pick-me-up memes, hilarious videos and pictures of what your best friend had for dinner – will soon feature LESS content from businesses and news sources and MORE updates from friends, family members and groups. But worry not, business owners, CEOs and marketing managers – this is certainly not Facebook’s first algorithm change, nor will it be their last. Still, you may be wondering… what do these changes mean for your company?

Simply put… it’s means we’re all going to have to be MORE CREATIVE
(something we LOVE to do)!

That’s why it’s more important now than ever before to align yourself with a creative partner that can not only help you navigate the uncertain waters of Facebook’s latest evolution, but also to conceptualize and design content that’s intended to engage a more elusive audience. Social media marketing should always be intentional and strategic, rather than a fly by the seat of your pants approach – as one might employ in their own personal daily life. At Woodall Creative Group, we believe the key to continued social media success on Facebook will lie in the following:

  • The development of a more premeditated social media marketing strategy that involves engaging and interactive content. Facebook suggests that content that sparks conversations and meaningful interactions – such as live videos and events – will receive priority in the News Feed.
  • The adoption of the 80/20 rule to make your company a valued member of the Facebook community. 80% of your posts should reflect shareable content, uplifting posts, interesting facts and positive news, while only 20% of your posts will be dedicated to truly marketing your company or its products.
  • Convince people to “love” your company. They already “like” you – there’s no harm in asking them to opt to add your page to the “See First in the News Feed” in their setting preferences. This will help ensure that you don’t see a drop off in impressions.
  • Strike a more inviting tone and adopt a “soft sell” to a “hard sell” approach overall. Stop selling products and start marketing a lifestyle. Instead of wowing them with facts, give them a user-friendly experience they’ll remember – and hopefully even share with others.
  • Set aside a portion of your marketing budget to Facebook ads to gain a larger share of the audience for important marketing moments such as a product roll-out, limited time offer, special discounts and more.

Woodall Creative Group is keeping a proverbial finger on the pulse of these latest changes to the social media landscape. Through it all, we continue to be an excellent resource for businesses seeking to maneuver these changes and successfully reach their target. One thing is for certain, social media will continue to evolve in the coming months and years, but we have complete faith that online marketing will remain a strategic and cost-effective method for growing your brand’s recognition and reach. To learn more about Woodall Creative Group and the many ways we can help your company promote its unique brand – both in print and in the digital space – we invite you to visit us online at www.woodallc.wpengine.com