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Top 7 Social Media Marketing Trends @ thebuzzasheville.com
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Blog
"Blogging is a great way to show your talents and interests to prospective employers, while adding an edge to your resume. If you blog consistently it shows your dedication, passions and creativity - all of which are key attributes employers look for in job candidates." -Lauren Conrad-
This semester I learned about a lot of different aspects of promoting my company. One of the most useful tools that I found was the blog I created for my company. Every week we were given a topic to use for our company, whether it was promoting an event or writing about a new project I was excited about. Then we wrote a couple paragraphs, added a link, a picture, and a title or heading. We posted our blog on www.blogspot.com every Wednesday by midnight. The reason the posts were done every week at the same time was because it shows consistency. Also, according Abby Porterfield from Social Media Examiner “In 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 78% of marketers saw increased traffic with just six hours a week invested in social media.” This shows that consistent blog postings are important for company promotion, and that they increase recognition.
“Twitter lets me hear from a lot of people in a very short period of time.” - Robert Scoble-
Twitter is a whole new ballpark. Have you ever used Twitter and thought to yourself “That was a really easy way to get a thought out there”? I thought that when I was using Twitter for my business. Twitter is an awesome way to promote for your company. You can favorite a tweet from somebody you follow and make it a favorite on your page. You can customize your page to follow the theme of your business. You can follow tons of other people, businesses and organization to stay connected. According to Mequoda Daily Blog @ http://www.mequoda.com/articles/audience-development/times-to-tweet-should-you-start-tweeting-during-the-day-on-saturdays/ “Buddy Media defines the usage of the word only by re tweets and replies, saying ”78% of user engagement with a brand’s Tweets is in the form of Re-tweets, while replies, which form the basis for ‘conversation,’ make up only 22% of engagement”. This shows the importance of taking time to engage your followers with your tweets and to inform them on what your company is developing. When I read my social media buddy report I discovered that my best times to send my tweets was: 11:00 am, 4:00 p.m., and 8 p.m. These times are the best chance for engagement with my followers. These times gave people the best chance to respond to them if they had questions for me. They also gave me the best opportunity respond back. in the future I don't think I will use twitter for my business. I prefer somewhere I can write more. Tweets are just to short for me to convey the message that I want.
Facebook is a great way to keep people updated on your business. You can easily promote discounts for your company. You can show new products you have. You can let your followers participate in contests and give always. That is how I used my Facebook page to stay connected with other people, business, and organizations. Here is the link to Painting Wood Work & Designs Page: https://www.facebook.com/PaintingWood?ref=hl I used the social media buddy site to figure out when to post my post's on Facebook. I found that 11:30am -noon, 4:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m. were the best times. I always posted tweets at similar times. I would usually send them on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday because that is when it is recommended. I also wanted people to know about my projects heading into the weekend. I would use Facebook for my business in a real life scenario because I liked that I could connect easily with others with just click. Also, I could promote fun craft ideas easily and put the steps to my projects as statuses. A lot of people use Facebook, and that makes it a very good way for your business to get their name out there. I found that Facebook could help my company become more successful.
Hootesuite
I really appreciate time management skills. Do you? This semester when I learned what Hootesuite was, it helped me manage time so much. Hootesuite allowed me to set up when my Facebook posts would post, and when my tweets where sent out. I was thankful for this web site this semester. I learned it benefited my business because it kept my tweets and posts at consistent time. On Mondays I would set up my tweets and posts. I would send 3 out a day for Twitter, and 3-5 for Facebook weekly. The times to send these out were about 11am – noon, 4:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m.. For Facebook I knew it was important not to overflow on daily posts, but for twitter it is ok to send that many out daily. Over all I saved a lot of time, and I would defiantly use Hootesuite in the future if I ever work as a social media coordinator. For a company it is very beneficial.
Pinterest was awesome for my company. I used Pinterest for a lot of things this semester. One of the reasons I loved Pinterest was that every artist likes to see other’s work. You can do that by searching through the pins on Pinterest. There were so many options I was able to look at for different crafting ideas, and projects. I had something new to talk about every week. I used Pinterest for highlights for my blog, Facebook, and Twitter. I think that Pinterest is a great way for companies to get inspiration. You can get ideas to work with and put your own custom twist on them. Here is a link to my Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/painting54/ I think that some day if I am ever in a company, and I am trying to come up with a new idea's for a product I would use Pinterest to inspire different ideas. I think a lot of companies would benefit a ton if they used this site. I pinned about 7 pins a week to Painting Wood Work & Design’s business Pinterest. I used a lot of pins on my Facebook wall too, I think people responded in a very positive way to both my tweets and posts.
Niche
What niche web site interests you? I enjoyed exploring niche wine sites like: http://mustlovewine.com/ I thought niche web sites was a good way to tell your viewers what your company is interested in. my company likes wine crafts. Some of the most interesting things about these sites is that they have so much information about one specific thing (their niche) The business(s) they have pictures, videos, events, and polls. You can even become a member on niche sites.
Podcast
A podcast is a great way to get vocal about your company. This semester I created a podcast introducing my company. I explained what my company was about. My podcast was 1:52 minutes long. Here is the link to the podcast: https://soundcloud.com/user611457724/bennis-podcast I used a recording program called Audacity to record my script vocally and to post my podcast. I thought it was beneficial for my business because it was kind of like creating radio commercial. Getting across a message with just my voice was a learning experience. I think it would be more fun to do a podcast with more action. It would be fun to include sound effects and make it more interesting and exciting. It was difficult to make my podcast topic sound interesting when I was talking about Painting Wood Work & Design. I think arts and crafts projects are something that you want to see. I think podcast was beneficial for me to learn this semester. I learned about rate and tone of voice, editing, and trying to make my business sound interesting. I think that I depend on writing a lot, so this was a different approach. It took me out of my comfort zone.
Vines and Videos
Using a video is a great way to get the word out about company. You can use video for promotions or to show clips from events or whatever you do. This semester I created 2 vines. Vines are short clips of a video that only last about 30 seconds. Here is a link to the vines I created: https://t.co/mwyrOhswaT https://t.co/0IpeAbmT6i I thought it was a good way for me to promote my logo. I think any promotion of your business logo is good promotion. You want people to recognize who you are. I also made a YouTube video commercial on my phone. I recorded all 3 of the videos on my phone. It was pretty easy once I wrote down what I wanted to say and practiced a couple times. Here is a link to my YouTube video. long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TFp72fYT-s&feature=youtu.be My commercial was 53 seconds. I think it was a benefit to learn how to make these videos. I think they have a prominent future in today's social media for businesses. To me, videos have a huge reflection on who you are as a company. Promote with creativity and you can’t go wrong.
Summary
When I look back on all the different material and sites, I realize I have learned so much this semester. I learned what ones were my favorite and what ones were not. The ones I feel helped me to be the most successful with my company were: Facebook, Blog, and Hootesuite. These sites were the best for my company. I would pair Facebook with Hootesuite. I loved that I could write all my posts on Monday and not worry about not missing the day and time they should post. I didn’t miss the best opportunities for promotion because I could rely on Hootesuite with my posts being out at the right times even if I was having a really busy week. The most beneficial aspects of my blog was that it was the most like having a real web site without actually having to buy and design a real web site. Also, every week my topics were challenging but fun for me to come up with new projects to promote. I could write as much as I wanted. I could use pictures and steps so my followers could easily create the projects I was promoting.
Thanks.
