Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Even though we and our contemporaries are comfortable running all over social media channels, we encounter a lot of questions about some of the basics, some of the every-day stuff that new users are trying to get comfortable with. We’ve started a YouTube channel just for this purpose: to help business owners get a handle on their social media spaces and web apps so they can enjoy success instead of frustration.

Cautionary statement: As our name implies, we’re usually drinking java when we produce these videos, but just like Netflix, you can pause and replay at your leisure. We try to make the most of the short time you have, so each clip will be less than 5 minutes.

Read more / No Comments

facebook insights Sometimes we run into cases where we see personal pages being used to represent a business, and we’ve covered this in a previous post, but wanted to elaborate today. This seems to be a very common issue: Either the owner of a small business is using a profile under their own name or a business has created a personal profile. If either of these things sound like you, listen up! By using a personal page you are only hurting yourself.

Facebook has designed Fan Pages to be loaded with tools and analytics. These allow you to see how popular your page is, how much feedback you’re receiving, and so much more. Like with anything else in business, social media has measurable aspects that help you determine if your efforts are paying off. When you use a personal page you may deprive yourself of some pretty useful information, including customization.

Read more / No Comments

As a small business owner, the question you should be asking yourself isn’t if you should be using social media, but rather how you should be using social media. Admittedly, if you’re trying to keep a handle on things, it’s better to set up what you can logistically maintain. There are a lot of options out there– Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more. Each channel has its own unique advantages and disadvantages as well as devoted audiences that use them. When we first take a look at our client’s channels, one of two things appear: Either a company is completely under utilizing channels or over-advertising and missing out on valuable connections with customers, OR in a good-hearted attempt to use social media have decided that any and all channels will work — and they don’t maintain any of them properly, if at all. Below we will differentiate between five of the most popular social platforms to help you decide which channels are right for your company.

FB Logo

Read more / 2 Comments

{205} Blogging again A blog can be a great way to delve into social media or it can be a the centerpiece to an established social media campaign. It is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with customers, showcase your expertise, increase visits to your site, and create a friendly persona for your company.  You can add photos, how-to videos, whatever! The opportunities are endless. Plus blogs are easy to update, as it’s not abnormal for blogs to have multiple contributors posting throughout the week. More so than anything, blogs are interactive, allowing you to solicit feedback from customers and engage them in conversation. Great, right?! But now you’re probably wondering where to start.

First thing’s first. You need to select hosting, a domain name, and a blogging software platform. Our platform of choice is  WordPress, but there are many options out there that might suit your needs. What you use to create your blog isn’t necessarily the important part. Rather, you should make always make sure you self-host your blog. What does this mean? It means paying an annual fee to a service for hosting your blog. By doing this, you control your domain and the content, plus get the benefit of the traffic to your site.

Read more / No Comments

Westfield Mall advert for their twitter + facebook pages Would you provide just a street name if you were advertising your business? Probably not. You want people to be able to easily find your place of business, so you would most likely provide an address that would tell them exactly where you’re located. Well, believe it or not, the same thing applies when you’re trying to get customers to become a fan/followers on Facebook and Twitter and any other social spaces you’re on. When advertising on the internet you have the luxury of linked icons that customers can click to go to your page. Unfortunately, this doesn’t translate over into other types of media, such as print advertising. Telling someone to simply find you on Facebook without providing a URL or handle is like suggesting a customer find you on Main St. It doesn’t actually tell them where they can find you, plus leaves it to chance — quite possibly they might find your competitor first!

There is a very easy solution to guarantee that customers don’t get lost. Display your URL(s) prominently— problem solved! Wear your Facebook and Twitter URL loud and proud, as they are as much a part of your company’s brand as anything else. If the Facebook.com/MarketingJava URL is too long for you to fit in your advertisement, FB.com/MarketingJava is also an option. Similarly, if you Twitter.Com/MarketingJava is taking up too much space, a simple @MarketingJava should be enough to let your customers find you. (Bear in mind you need to actually “claim” these names to use them!)

Read more / No Comments

Check-in here @agenciadot =D Okay, we all know it; geolocation is now just making its way to the market like Twitter was a few years back. We also know, just like with Twitter, that businesses that choose to become early adopters will be at a major advantage when the masses decide to join in. If you’re just starting out and don’t know anything about geolocation services, then there is one primary thing you need to understand: They are applications that run on smartphones that mesh your city, your social life, and deals!

Foursquare, one of the household names is geosocial applications, allows businesses to give discounts/free items based on a user’s activity within its application. For example, the person who checks in the most at a location is dubbed “the Mayor” of that spot. This person might be rewarded with a coupon for a free side or drink, which they can redeem at the store (thus encouraging repeat visits).

Read more / 1 Comment

Google PlusJust when you thought you were getting the hang of Facebook and Twitter, Google+ has to come along and shake everything up. Now in addition to Tweets and Likes, the internet has been flooded with +1s. If you’re wondering what a +1 is, you’ve come to the right place. If you’ve already gone through and given a +1 to every cute picture of a baby animal that you’ve stumbled upon then congratulations! You’re ahead of the curve.

Though Google+ is in its invite-only stage, in the next couple weeks it should be open to the public. Google’s jump into the social media arena is already turning the heads of avid Facebook and Twitter users, so what does this mean for businesses? Google has promised business pages are coming soon, so until that happens, Google asks that companies wait until business profiles are released. Luckily this gives you plenty of time to learn the ropes so that you’ll be ready to hit the ground running when the time comes for your company to reach out to customers on Google+. To help you get started, we’ve compiled the best bits of information you need to make things easy.

Read more / No Comments