How to Create A Social Media Marketing Plan For Business in 6 Easy Steps (Updated 2016)

/

Do you have a social media marketing plan for your business, or would you like to create one? Many businesses struggle to pinpoint exactly what they want to get out of social media, and how to measure whether all of their hard work is paying dividends. In this blog post, I will show you how to create an easy-to-follow, robust social media marketing strategy in 6 easy steps.

Whether you're already active on social media or are starting from scratch, a plan will help guide your activity and provide you with solid reasoning behind everything that you do, from content creation to customer interaction, to advertising, and more. You'll be able to see how you are performing, experiment to improve results, and easily calculate your return on investment.

Read More

How to Add Paragraphs To Instagram Captions In 3 Easy Steps

/

I've recently started using Instagram more actively, and often find myself typing out quite a bit of text in the caption field to help explain the image I am posting. Once hashtags are added, the wall of text can begin to look unsightly, and unreadable. I'm sure plenty of you have experienced the same!

While Instagram does not recognise when you add in a new line for a paragraph, there is an easy enough way around the problem, and your captions will be looking neater in no time.

Read More

How to Use Festive Giveaways to Drive Sales on Social Media This Christmas (5 Real Examples)

/
How to Use Festive Giveaways to Drive Sales on Social Media This Christmas (5 Real Examples)

How to Use Festive Giveaways to Drive Sales on Social Media This Christmas (5 Real Examples)

The holiday season is a time where people's thoughts turn to giving, and a period where the instinct to be just that little bit more selfless is stronger than it might be at other times of the year. It's also a time where people's sharing activity increases. On Facebook for example, people share 28% more photos and videos on mobile during the festive season, so make sure that you stand apart from other seasonal messages by using visuals that not only encourage discovery and purchases, but also contain an emotional element.

In this post, I'll show you 5 real examples of brands who are tapping into the emotional side of their customers this Christmas, specifically with giveaways; maybe they will inspire you to try something similar, however big or small!

1. Tesco Mince Pies Giveaway

UK Supermarket Tesco is delivering 1,000 free boxes of its mince pies to random people across England, knocking on their doors and wishing them a merry Christmas.  It's a simple gesture that spreads the festive spirit (and helps to promote the brand). 

2. Carlsberg's beer-covered Christmas tree

Carlsberg decorated a giant Christmas tree on the banks of the river Thames in London with beer glass baubles, candle-lit beer bottles, digital festoon lighting and beer hops. The first 100 visitors to the tree were given one of the hand-blown glass beer baubles, or ‘beerbles’, from which to drink free Carlsberg lager.

Carlsberg also used the tree as an opportunity to host a social media giveaway:

3. Harley Davidson's Trike giveaway

#NiceToBeNaughty

Posted by Harley-Davidson Australia on Sunday, December 6, 2015

Harley-Davidson's Australian arm is looking for the “most deserving kid in Australia” to give away a unique custom-built tricycle as part of its holiday social media marketing push. A link from its Facebook Page reads:

SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE NAUGHTY

Milk-spillers, food-spitters and mud-trudgers rejoice - this year we're celebrating all those kids that are curious, rebelious and free-spirited! 

We're giving a custom built Harley-Davidson trike to one lucky little minion of mayhem.

To enter, tell us in 100 words or less why your 3 - 6 year old deserves the most badass 3-wheeler in the Southern Hemisphere.

At the time of writing, the campaign video had racked up nearly 500,000 views and ver 6,000 shares.

4. Shangri-La's #worldofwarmth


Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is spreading a #WorldOfWarmth among its Instagram community. Through an interactive advent calendar, it is offering its 32,000 followers a chance to win prizes for watching and interacting with brief Christmas videos. The continuity of the videos will encourage users to come back, which will in turn help the material go viral.

Each of the videos includes the Shangri-La Christmas star, which glows orange when it is held. Fans are encouraged to screenshot and regram the moment in which the star “glows with warmth” and tag #WorldOfWarmth and @ShangriLaHotels.

Participants have a chance to win 2,000 Golden Circle Award points - enough for a free night's stay at number of Shangri-La locations.

5. Three's Christmas Day Birthdays

The boy who was born on Christmas day

It sucks having a birthday in December right? Know anyone who does? Wish them a merry birthday.#makeitright

Posted by Three UK on Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Having a December birthday shouldn’t suck! Comment below with your name, December birth dateand #merrybirthday to win the BEST.BIRTHDAY.EVER!http://blog.three.co.uk/2015/12/09/merry-birthday/

Posted by Three UK on Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Mobile phone company, Three, has gone for a humorous slant with its marketing, tapping into the large group of people whose birthday's fall in December, or on Christmas Day - nothing worse than a combined birthday and Christmas gift!

Over to you 

How will you be making the most of the holiday season in your social media marketing? Let me know in the comments below

Andrew Macarthy is a social media consultant and the author of the #1 Amazon Web Marketing Bestseller, 500 Social Media Marketing Tips.

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

Follow Me:
http://www.facebook.com/500socialmediatips/
http://www.pinterest.com/andrewmacarthy
http://www.twitter.com/andrewmacarthy
http://www.youtube.com/500socialmediatips

9 Steps to A Successful Holiday Season Social Media Campaign

/
9 Steps to Have A Successful Holiday Season Social Media Campaign

9 Steps to Have A Successful Holiday Season Social Media Campaign

For many brands, the holiday season delivers an important boost in trade, so making the most of the busy few weeks in the run up to The Big Day is crucial. In this blog post, I'll share with you 9 steps to ensure that your Christmas marketing on social media is a success.

1. Establish a theme

Like all good marketing plans, you first need to define an over-arching theme. Whatever the content - text, images, GIFs, or videos, etc. - it should all point back to your chosen subject.

Currys PC World's holiday marketing theme is tied to its #sparetheact hashtag, encouraging people to spell out to their loved ones the gift they'd really to receive, thus avoiding the need to feign gratitude upon opening it Christmas Day.

 

Currys PC World's campaign clearly targets the many people who find it difficult to let loved ones know what they really want for Christmas, and gives them a fun and humorous outlet to deliver the message.

Real messages have been displayed in public places, like at bus stops, providing photo opportunities for sharing on social media. If you knew the person mentioned in the message (or even if you didn't), it would be tempting to share online in order to make sure the hint is well and truly received.

2. Choose your platforms and content types

Build cheer! Craft your own Christmas Tree with Rust-Oleum and PVC Pipe. Get the how-to on our blog! http://thd.co/1lsVHfr

Posted by The Home Depot on Tuesday, December 1, 2015

A brand like Currys PC World has the money and resources to target multiple social channels with full gusto, but if you can't match that kind of effort, don't worry. With the Christmas period being so busy on social media, decide upon which social network(s) your efforts will most resonate and concentrate on maximizing your impact there.

In addition, consider the type of holiday-themed content you want to produce. Do your fans respond best to images, or have you had more success with video? Will data-filled infographics draw attention, or are your fans engaged by quick video tips and tricks? Fitting with its "build it yourself" mantra, Home Depot has a big focus on sharing holiday-themed DIY tutorials.

3. Provide great customer service

For all kinds of reasons, the holiday season can be a stressful time for people, especially if they are researching and buying gifts online. You can help to ease the stress just a little and inject a bit of Christmas cheer by delivering stellar customer service. If there has to be one time of year where you do not want to disappoint over any other, this is it. So, keep a close eye on notifications and messages and be sure to handle issues as swiftly and efficiently as possible. 

4. Customise your branding

One of the easiest ways to get your audience into the spirit of the holidays is to give your social profiles a Christmassy makeover - after all, your cover photo and profile photos are two of the most visual and prominent online marketing beacons.  

Macy's Facebook cover photo has been decked out with a Christmas theme and the slog "Believe in the magic of Christmas." And people have responded to this simple, yet effective change:

With thousands of likes and hundreds of shares, Macy's Christmas cover photo has had the intended effect.

5. Run a Christmas Offer

Christmas is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for businesses - and a period when people are more open to spending - so make the most of it by inventing an offer and promoting it on social media.

6. Show your charitable side

As much as Christmas has become synonymous with rampant consumerism, it is important to show your fans and customers that you remember the season is about giving as well as receiving. The simplest gestures can go far to show your brand's human side, which will resonate positively with your audience.

Spread the warmth of the season. Purchase a pair of holiday socks and we’ll donate a pair to someone in need #SocksForAll #GapLove

Posted by Gap on Tuesday, November 24, 2015

This year, Gap is doing its bit to spread some Christmas joy by donating a pair of socks to someone in need for every pair a customer purchases.

Of course, it's something they are keen to tell their fans about, celebrating its success and making its fans a part of the campaign.

7. Host a giveaway

As well as showing your giving side through charitable ventures, a competition or sweepstakes is a great way to build buzz around your holiday campaign, and to take part in the giving side of Christmas.

N a clever way to host a giveaway and promote its website, and the products offered by its partners and affiliates.

8. Promote content with social media ads

Fighting for the attention of users on social media using only organic reach is difficult enough at the best of times, but on Black Friday and into the holiday season, competition will increase significantly. So, if you already run ads, don't forget to optimise them for users looking for Black Friday deals - use relevant keywords, hone in on your targeting, and run ads at the time of day when most of your fans will be online to see - and act - upon them.  In anticipation of the stronger competition that you will face, perhaps also consider upping your ad spend or bids for a short period of time. If you've never run social ads before, now is a better time than any to start.

12312198_10207967671490527_1119037942_n.jpg

Clarins UK has used Instagram Ads to promote its range of Christmas gifts this year, complete with a dedicated campaign hashtag and a "Shop Now" call-to-action button.

9, B2B company? 

If you're a company that doesn't deal directly with the public, there are other ways that you can take advantage of the holiday season buzz on social media. Ideas include a "wrap-up of the year" blog post to reflect on the last twelve months - your progress and success, lessons learned, plans for the year ahead.; a peek behind the scenes at how your workforce celebrates the holidays; a personal story about what Christmas means to you, et.

Over to you

Are you planning a Christmas campaign on social media, or has it already begun? What kind of strategies will you be using? Let me know in the comments below!

The Ultimate Guide to Boosting Posts on Facebook: Strategy, Targeting, and Budgeting

/
The Ultimate Guide to Boosting Posts on Facebook: Strategy, Targeting, and Budgeting

The Ultimate Guide to Boosting Posts on Facebook: Strategy, Targeting, and Budgeting

Do you use the Boost feature on Facebook? Would you like to optimise your strategy - to reach more fans, drive engagement, and get the most value for money? In this post I'll explain everything you need to make the most of boosted posts for your business.

What are Facebook boosted posts?

boost1.png

If you've been managing a Facebook Page for any length of time, I'm sure you've seen the prompts from Facebook to boost a post on your Page. You may have already done so and know what they're all about, but here's a very quick summary: 

Boosted posts are a quick and easy way to pay Facebook  to show your content to more people; a way to increase the likelihood that your target audience will see your posts in their News Feeds - all important in a world of ever-decreasing organic, non-paid reach. In essence, they're the simplest form of Facebook ads.

Why bother using boosted posts?

Tweet: Why use Facebook Boost: The quickest and easiest way to share your best content with more of your most engaged fans. #facebook #sociamedia

Boosting a post takes seconds to do, compared to potentially a lot longer through the main Facebook Ads tool or Power Editor. Though the aforementioned tools give you much more scope for ad customisation and targeting (and I would certainly advocate their use, too), boosting posts is the quickest and easiest way to share your best content with more of your most engaged fans. Most types of Page posts can be boosted, including status updates, photos, videos and offers. Posts you boost will appear higher in News Feed to help more people see them, and all boosted posts are labeled Sponsored.

Which posts should I boost?

Boost only your best content: Boosting a post should be used to compound the success any initial, organic engagement - to show it to more people who want to see it, will comment, like and share, and will not hide or mark it as spam - so it only makes sense to give a leg-up to the stuff that more people are likely to engage with. When deciding upon which specific posts to boost, make sure that, in spending money, that the effort aligns with your current marketing goals. 

Note: Never use the Boost option as a way to try and "save" a post that you thought would be received more favourably than it has been. In most cases, it's best to take the hit on the chin and try something else, rather than throwing money at it at the risk of waste.

Before you hit that Boost button, give your post at least a few hours to gain natural, organic reach. Not only will this time allow you to gauge whether a post is being received well by your audience (and, therefore, be a good candidate for promotion), but you'll also save money - why pay for reach and engagement that was coming to you for free in the first place?

Which Targeting Should I Use?

With boosted posts, you have three basic targeting options available: 

  • People who like your Page
  • People who like your Page and their friends or
  • People you choose through targeting (based on location, interests, age and gender).

Specific targeting is important for two reasons: it will ensure that your ad spend isn't wasted (by targeting people who aren't interested), and reduce the chances of your content being marked as spam by those same uninterested people..

Generally speaking, People who like your Page is the safest option, because you know that fans of your Page will most likely be interested in, and engage with your boosted offering. Of course, this assumes that your fan page audience base is high quality and genuinely interested, i.e. not made up of fake or low quality "likes" accrued from prior advertising campaigns.

A portion of your fans' friends (if you select this option) might be interested, but there's no telling if Facebook will show the ad to the friends you want it to; just too much ambiguity in this option for my liking.

As for targeting based on location, interests, age and gender, this works best when you have a good idea about who your audience is. There are several ways to do this, but the easiest is through Facebook Insights' "People" report, found via the Insights link at the top of your Page:

The People report shows you a breakdown of your audience, based on gender, age, and location. Notice the "Your Fans", "People Reached", and "People Engaged" tabs. Be sure to take look at each of these - especially "People Engaged" to determine which of your audience, through targeting, is most likely to act upon your boosted post.

How much should I spend on Boosted Posts?

When boosting a post, Facebook gives you a choice of preset budgets, or you can enter your own. Once you've chosen your budget, you can look at Est. People Reached to get an idea of how many people your boosted post can reach with the budget and targeting options you've chosen. In general, the higher your budget, the lower the cost per reached individual will be. In the example above, reaching a budget of £5.00 gives an Estimated Reach of 1,200 - 3,100 people (median of 3.8p per reached individual). Meanwhile, a budget of £20.00 provides an Estimated Reach of 2,900 - 7,800 people (median of 2.45p per reached individual) - over a penny less per individual reached.

As we'll discuss shortly, you can add to your budget at any time (you can't reduce it, only pause the promotion), so if you're not comfortable with starting with a higher budget but open to increasing it, start low at £5/$5.

When to stop a boosted post early or increase its budget

The above figures assume you will boost a post and leave it to run to its end unattended, therefore saving a little more if your initial stake is higher. However, there's no guarantee that your boosted post will reach the maximum estimate shown or that people will respond to it in the way that you hope, so always keep an eye on its performance to gauge whether you are getting value for money.

If a boosted post is not doing as well as you hoped, you should stop it, but if it is exceeding expectations, be prepared to increase the budget to reach more people. One way to decide which route to take is to compare a boosted post's engagement performance against the average for a post on your Page - ideally during the first handful of hours of the campaign starting. Here's how:

Take a look at the performance of a typical post on your Page. Take the total people reached, then work out the likes, comments, and shares as a percentage of this. For example, in  the post above my total people reached for this post was 628. The number of likes, comments and shares was 28. So, the percentage of likes, comments and shares is found by calculating 28 / 620 x 100, equalling 4.45%. 

Using this as a benchmark for my boosted posts, I could watch the performance of one within the first few hours and use the same tactic to calculate how it is doing. If total engagement is much less than 4.45%, then I would probably cut my losses and stop the promotion. If engagement was around the same as the benchmark figure, I would leave the post alone. If the engagement figure was higher, I would know people are really responding well and consider increasing my budget. 

How to maximise the engagement of boosted posts

Once a post has been boosted, its performance is at the mercy of Facebook's algorithm, but there are a few things you can do to maximise its impact. Let's assume that your boosted post features a Facebook-exclusive 10% off code for a purchase at your online store. You could:

  • Alert your email list: Your subscribers are some of the people most interested in your brand. Fire them off an email with a direct link to your boosted post, and encourage them to engage.
  • Blog about it: Publish a post centered around your promotion/boosted post and spotlight it in front of the people who visit your blog. Use the Embed feature (via the drop-down arrow on the post) to place it right within the article.
  •  Share on other social media: Direct link to your promotion on other social profiles, including Twitter and Pinterest.

Will Boosting posts damage my organic reach?

Facebook addressed this question during a Q&A session earlier on in 2015, and the answer is that yes, in a roundabout way, it can. Specifically, a drop in organic reach can be the result of poorly targeted boosted posts. If your ad reaches the wrong people they will be more likely to hide the content (or worse, choose to hide all future content from you), or to mark it as spam.

Writing about the topic on Quora, Zachary Chastain, Head of Community Engagement @ Thought Labs, explained:

"If you cause a spike in negative feedback, Facebook will feature your [organic] posts less often in the News Feed. This could lead to a vicious cycle of promoting for more reach, but targeting poorly and getting less organic reach over time."

The solution is - as limited as boosted posts targeting can be - to target carefully and correctly, so that your ad reaches only the people who are most likely to be interested, and to engage.

Over to you

How have your boosted posts performed? Will you be giving any of the above strategies a go for your business? Let me know in the comments below!