The Top 5 Ways to Include Social Media on your Website

When creating a website, you want to have ways for visitors to share your website with their community. So whether you use social media or not,you need to have your website set-up so visitors can spread the word for you.

Why do this?
It’s called Viral and Word of Mouth Marketing. When a visitor clicks the like button on your services page or does a tweet about your latest blog post, your information gets posted online and shared with all of THEIR friends and followers…not yours.
So if someone has 200 friends on Facebook, the potential for these people to see that activity occurs and this comes with a link back to your website. That is why, no matter what your stance on social media is, get that website ready for anyone to share.
The Top 5 Social Media Tools I like to make sure are included on websites we create for clients are:

1. A Facebook Page Like Box on the website – preferably the sidebar. This allows for people to “Like” your page direct from your website. Visit Facebook’s Plug-in site to set this up.
2. Visible Social Media Share buttons. Ensure that people can share content where it makes sense (i.e., tweet your blog posts or like them on Facebook or share it on LinkedIn).
3. Social Media Links to connect with you. Make it easy for people to connect with you online – it could be the start of a great relationship. Use unique buttons to make them stand out. Google “free social media icons” and download something different.
4. Add Facebook or Google+ Comments to your site. If you can do this, the opportunity to have comments posted that share on other social sites will help boost your visibility as opposed to plain comments that stay on the site.
5. Integrate Google+ Authorship on your site. This allows for a picture of you to show in online search results that lead back to your website. This is eye-catching and makes you stand out in the search results page. You can learn more about this here.

Is There A Secret Sauce For Social Media Success?

There are an unlimited number of ways to use social media for your business. Networking, awareness, lead generation, and customer service are all possible through social media. It’s still new to many businesses, and it’s always changing. Unfortunately for new and old marketers alike, that means it’s almost impossible to establish a science behind it, or a set of best practices to follow.
Successful online marketers and entrepreneurs know the value of social media. And while it’s tempting to look to them for the secret sauce in it all, what you may find instead is just Thousand Island dressing.

 

How Does Social Media Fit Into Your Business?

I honestly believe that any company can be successful on social media, but not all businesses should use social media the same way. As much as we want there to be a shortcut to success, a specific blueprint for everyone’s own unique business goals simply does not exist.
Looking to successful social media marketers is a good way to get started. They can offer a lot of advice and insight into some best practices and new ideas for your own strategy. Even if you’re not a beginner, there is always something new to learn by collaborating with other marketers.
Just keep in mind that they are advising others based on their own experience with their specific social strategy. It may not translate well into what works for your business.
So? Stop searching for the recipe for their secret sauce. Instead, plan to dedicate some time experimenting with different tactics. See which ones work best for your own goals and start figuring out a specific strategy for yourself.

 

 Your Two Main Ingredients: Planning and Tracking

Many people learn best by doing; I’m certainly one of them. But social media marketing works best if there’s a solid strategy behind it.
Here are a few specific ways you can think about your strategy:

• Set your goals: Start by defining what it is you want to get out of social media. Do you want to provide an efficient customer service channel? Do you want to promote certain aspects of your business, like your company culture, or your community service? Do you want to build awareness and generate leads? Is it all of the above?
• Pick your networks: You want to be where your customers and prospects spend time, so take some time and learn about the demographics of the different social networks. If you’re trying to reach millennials on Facebook, for example, your efforts may be wasted.
• Keep your story in context: While planning, designing, and executing your content strategy, keep the customer experience in mind. Each social network can communicate to your audience in a unique and compelling way. This is often called native marketing, with native content.
• Track your results: Analytics are essential to your overall execution. Find out what metrics you want to track based on your goals, and look at them on a consistent basis. Do more of what works, and less of what doesn’t, and if a specific kind of content isn’t working, try something new.

Designing and executing a successful social strategy takes a lot of time, effort, and some trial and error. It’s OK to feel impatient with your results, but don’t give up on the daily work it takes to achieve your long term goals. You may not find the secret sauce, but over time you’ll be able to write a recipe that helps your business find its own social media success.

Snapchat for Business: How Your Marketing Can Benefit From Photo Messaging

Are you looking for new ways to add mobile to your marketing mix?
Do you want to deliver time-sensitive offers to your customers?
Wondering how SnapChat could help your business?
It’s no secret that mobile is the new black: most people rely on their phone or tablet to access information.
In this article, you’ll discover 5 ways brands can add Snapchat to their mobile marketing strategy.

How Snapchat Works

If your target audience is age 13-25, Snapchat may be the answer you’re looking for.
It’s a popular mobile app—it logs over 400 million messages every day—that shares photos and videos that disappear after a short time.
First, let me explain how Snapchat works. A Snapchat picture, or snap, is only available for a set time limit, from 1 to 10 seconds, once the user opens it. However, the new Snapchat Stories feature allows items to be available for up to 24 hours.
The limited lifespan makes Snapchat the perfect tool to deliver a call to action that creates excitement and a sense of urgency.

Open the app, then to take a snap, tap the center button once. For video, press and hold the center button for as long as you want the video to record.

Ready to get down to business?
Here are five creative ways you can leverage Snapchat to promote your own business. I’m including a few brand examples to get your creative juices flowing.

#1: Reward Current Customers With Mobile Coupons

Because Snapchat is ubiquitous with its young target market, it allows brands to deliver offers and coupons in a matter of seconds. Coupon snaps not only reward customers, they provide incentive to bring them back for more.
16 Handles, a frozen yogurt chain, uses Snapchat to send discount coupon codes to customers who send them snaps of themselves or friends eating 16 Handles frozen yogurt. The discounts range from 5% to 100% and recipients redeem the coupon by showing the cashier the code.
Within a few days of beginning their Snapchat campaign, 16 Handles had exchanged more than 1,400 images with users, and built a user list to which they could send future promotional material.

16 Handles uses Snapchat to send mobile discount coupons.

#2: Gain New Followers With a Giveaway

In the same way coupons can retain customers, giveaways put you in touch with new ones and generate leads. The giveaway incentive helps you build a follower base that receives future giveaway offers and coupon codes.
You can use a giveaway to encourage fans from other social platforms, including your website, to add your brand on Snapchat and get their friends to add you as well. You can track your new subscribers with a simple hashtag that reinforces your brand.
In June, sports ticket provider Chat Sports used Snapchat to offer their community a chance to win tickets to a game.
To enter, users had to have five friends add Chat Sports on Snapchat. Then those friends had to send a unique image to Chat Sports with the username of the fan who wanted to win the tickets and the hashtag #gimmietickets.
The result was 150 responses in 48 hours.

One fan’s submission to Chat Sports to win free tickets.

#3: Take People Behind the Scenes

Snapchat recently added a Stories feature that lets brands send out a combination of images and 5-second videos to tell a story.
If you have a lot of fun behind-the-scenes footage, offer your followers a taste with a story. At the end of the story, include a teaser and send fans to your website or YouTube channel.
The New Orleans Saints use this feature to its full potential by regularly sending out stories that include behind-the-scenes footage, a look at kits for the game and images of new Saints products.

The New Orleans Saints keep their fans involved in what they do.

#4: Preview a New Product

Sneak peeks on Snapchat are one way to build customer loyalty and buzz around a new product before it even hits the shelves. Your brand’s snaps could include a string of teasers leading up to the product launch.
When you send out an image of your new product, treat your community like personal friends rather than customers.
Taco Bell wanted a friendly and convenient way to reach their customers with information about the new Beefy Crunch Burrito. Snapchat fit their needs perfectly because it’s popular with their target market.

Taco Bell uses Snapchat to let current fans know about new products first.

#5: Tell Customers About Holiday Sales and Events

Snaps of a holiday greeting or invitation are great ways to keep your brand top of mind with customers during any holiday season. Use snaps to promote your brand or products to customers long before they decide to shop.
But you don’t have to wait for the major holidays. Every month comes with lesser-known celebrations like International Talk Like a Pirate Day or Chocolate Milkshake Day—prime opportunities to engage your fans in a new and interesting way.
Karmaloop, an online streetwear retailer, sent snaps to customers after Thanksgiving and included coupon codes for their online store. Using Snapchat let them reach their target customers without spending a lot of money on advertising.

Customers love holiday greetings with an online coupon.

Consider using Snapchat to reach a young customer base.
It can be hard to engage a younger audience like the age 13-25 demographic. Snapchat gives you inexpensive access to them, and done right, Snapchat can fit seamlessly into your mobile strategy and have a high ROI.
What do you think? How are you using Snapchat? Let us know your experience and thoughts in the comments below.