Successfully combining paid advertising and organic content on Facebook in 2014

Marketing professionals all around the world, whether online or offline will know that the marketing environment can change significantly at any given time. Social media is a notoriously flexible and changeable medium, as users and owners try to figure out how to best optimise the sites. Just recently we have seen Facebook introduce a new brand page layout. The latest change in the world of social media is one that was perhaps inevitable from the conception of social networking but has now set the bar for the future of social media marketing. In December 2013, Facebook released a document called 'Generating business results on Facebook.' In this document the company advise that they 'expect organic distribution of an individual page’s posts to gradually decline over time as we continually work to make sure people have a meaningful experience on…

Techniques to increase Facebook 'Likes'

Boosting engagement across different social media networks is a concern for many marketers today, even though the commercial objectives may vary for different types of brand. In Facebook the aim will be to increase 'Likes' or new Fans though ultimately leading to improved brand awareness or increasing sales from new or existing customers.

The success of a Facebook update to achieve these goals can depend on many factors, including time of postings, content. This infographic from KISSmetrics reminds us of this. Remember that, as for all marketing channels, 'testing' is key as the sector and audiences vary across businesses.

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Google+ best for Google, but best for your brand?

In its most recent update on the number of active Google+ users, Google now claims that on a monthly basis 540 million users are actively interacting with Google+ across Google. Perhaps more significantly, 300 million users are active interacting with the Google+ "in-stream" in some way, and not just logging into using the unified platform to check email or watch a video on YouTube. This data from on social media network platform active usage from Global Web Index also suggests Google+ is now more significant than Twitter or LinkedIn measured in this way. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="485"] Network growth Q4 2013[/caption] This best the questions for marketers, that with 540 million active users in total, can Google+ finally lose the 'ghost town' label? Overall it seems wrong to characterise it as a…

What can we learn from brands who were early social media adopters?

As many of the savvier global brands have found, being an early adopter of a new social media site can be an unprecedented opportunity for branding, visibility and platform building. In fact, doing so is a key strategy for staying relevant in an ever-changing business and marketing environment. In essence, being early means getting to be a real leader, determining just how companies will use that new space; it also means getting to connect directly with key influencers before the platform gets too crowded with competitors. But with that leap of faith comes real risk, and there's always the chance you could fail at a very public level. That, after all, is why many staid brands hesitate to join in, clinging to advertising models that are fast becoming irrelevant. The irony of being a successful early adopter is that you…

Examples of 3 Facebook Applications that every B2B organisation needs on its brand page

You will know that on every brand’s Facebook Page there are four app thumbnails, three of which are customizable and whose positions can be moved. I've marked them 1 through 3 below. Some companies choose to use this space only to feature their Page’s Like count or Facebook’s 'Notes' and 'Map' apps. These companies are not making the most of their precious Facebook real estate! In this article I'll show examples of 3 better alternatives.

Essential apps for your Facebook page

Much like the cover photo, apps are a feature of the Page that capture the attention of Page visitors first. For B2B companies that want to squeeze the most value out of their Facebook Page, there are three essential apps that should live on the Page at all times: Newsletter app Resources app Testimonials app.

1.…

Specific CTAs now available to increase response for advertisers using Power Editor

Facebook has rolled out a new feature recently that's useful for Facebook advertisers to be aware of since it's specifically to help with boosting direct response.

You can now create ads related to posts that feature a call to action button. In its announcement, Facebook suggests CTAs advertisers may use are:

Shop Now, Learn More, Sign Up, Book Now or Download.

The feature is only available in Power Editor (the free Chrome app for Page editors) and it's well worth checking out.  For those familiar with creating  what I described in a previous post as "dark" (or unpublished) posts using Power Editor this is simply a new option to click through as part of that process. I'd certainly suggest testing posts with this new button rather than simply including the call to action within…

My pick of the 6 of the world’s most creative demonstration videos

Today, demonstration videos are as essential as websites. Consumers searching for a product or service online expect a more interactive experience. They want to know how a product works and what its major benefits are for them. And they want to know quickly, and without wading through a whole heap of written explanations. Demonstration videos give you a chance to show off your new product or service, and reach a wider audience at the same time. After all, you may think your new product is brilliant, but not all products are as intuitive as the iPhone. And while your enthusiasm for it may be infectious when you’re talking to customers, you don’t have the time to talk to everybody, and anyway you don’t want to limit your reach. (more…)…

64 ways to use Google+ for marketing

Are you new to marketing on Google+? Or perhaps looking for new ideas on how it can support your branding strategies? This simple infographic from Socialmediaonlineclasses.com is a quick checklist to review suggesting 64 ways to use this growing social media platform. With 540 million users per month, Google+ should be considered as a core social media marketing platform for sharing content and engaging through different features including Google Hangouts or perhaps Google+ communities.

Additional resources for Google+ on Smart Insights

Smart Insights guide to Google+ Google+ hangouts post Google+ for outreach post Google+ vs Facebook post Google+ Features post Google+ Communities post …

4 quick tips for shorter, successful social updates

My dream is to open a clothing store for online marketers. So content marketers can wear t-shirts with the slogan "I repurposed this from a blog post". And copywriters will proudly declare "I kept it short".

Short is beautiful in the online world.

Though that's not quite correct. The right length for text depends on many factors. But if you can make your text shorter while communicating the same message, then that's a good thing.

Why?

Because you don't have a lot of time to capture attention and draw people into and through your text...whether it's a blog post or a product description, email copy or a sales page.

Cutting text down is a particular issue when you have a character limit or space is at a premium, such as with a Tweet or subject line. It's one of the many topics I cover in a new Smart Insights video…

Introducing The App Map - a useful tool to compare different social media marketing services

With the incorporation of social media in many parts of business, from sales to customer service to marketing and more, the social software market has also advanced to support various job functions. These systems provide a variety of capabilities, including social media monitoring, CRM, social advertising and collaboration.

As these applications are all called 'social business,' such a diverse product landscape can create a lot of confusion for buyers.

However, this situation also presents many benefits. First of all, social app vendors are working hard to deliver very advanced tools for understanding your audience and/or followers, helping you find opportunities you might not have been able to spot on your own or with more traditional methods.

Customers have already adapted to being serviced via social, and it’s the social software vendors who are enabling sales, customer…