Welcome to the Fathom Blog
News & analysis on digital marketing & analytics
The Power of Social Media for Social Good
I am an Online Community Specialist here at Webbed Marketing and am an advocate for pancreatic cancer awareness and spend a lot of my free time volunteering for the cause. Anyone who knows me, knows I insert pancreatic cancer into conversations way more than I should. I saw that Carson Kressley had tweeted a picture of a purple Empire State Building. I responded and let him know that the building was purple to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer. Later that night, Carson retweeted my tweet.
Now, I am not one to get overly excited about celebs, but if anyone saw Carson Kressley on Dancing with the Stars, you couldn’t help but love him and be inspired by his positivity and individuality. I love Carson Kressley, and I love that he raised awareness for a cause so important to me. But, this also serves as a testament to the power of social media.
My tweet to Carson Kressley resulted in him retweeting to over 48,000 followers. This led to 24 more retweets from his followers and conversation about the disease.
Social media not only gives you access to your favorite celebrities, but it also gives you the opportunity to spread your message. This particular example shows that relevant conversation is key. Because I responded to a picture Carson had posted in a relevant way, he was much more likely to retweet my tweet. Paying attention to what others are saying and engaging in the conversation can really pay off!
Category: Social Media
2011 Midwest Social Media Summit: The Ultimate Summary
Content. Yesterday’s Midwest Social Media Summit in Landerhaven can be summed up in a single word: content. The concept was most boldly illustrated in content marketing evangelist Joe Pulizzi‘s proclamation that “Mediocre content does nothing for your business.”
Make no mistake about it, content was the word of the day. For all the talk of social media, nearly every single speaker or panelist preached the virtues of having quality content that resonates with your audience. Consider: if you want to actually achieve anything meaningful with social media for your business (besides simple connections), you need to have valuable content that lends itself to sharing.
“Well, of course,” you’re saying, “tell me something else I don’t know.” And where are the social media secrets? How do you rule Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn et al.?” Don’t worry, the experts had a few things to say about that, too. If you couldn’t make the event (or spent all your time there checking email, Twitter and LinkedIn on two devices), below are my CliffsNotes.
The Ultimate Highlights of Midwest Social Media Summit
Category: Conferences and Events, Content Creation, Mobile, Online Marketing, Social Media
Focusing Your Website’s Content on the Customer
You proudly tout your customer service. You use it as a selling point, emphasizing that your company stands head and shoulders above the competition in terms of personal attention and customer satisfaction.
And, while this may be what you are telling your customers in person, your website may be whistling a different tune. The problem that many customer-focused businesses run into is that their websites are no more than a dumping ground for sales pitches and product information. Instead of addressing concerns that affect the customer, these sites are shamelessly company-focused, almost ignoring the customer altogether.
Of course you value your customer, but it is important to make sure your website conveys this message. As you take a hard look at the focus of the content on your website, consider these following points:
- Just the Facts: Unless you are selling yourself as a copywriter, no one really cares how many adverbs you can shove into a sentence. So avoid the temptation of overwhelming your audience with descriptive phrases that tout your innovative differentiators. Instead, stick to the facts. Explain to your audience what you do and how you can help them.
- Leave the Technical to the Technicians: The content on many websites, especially those in the manufacturing and technical verticals, is chock-full of jargon. Unfortunately, unless your target audience is composed entirely of industry experts, you run the risk of turning away customers. Remember, the goal is to focus on your customers, so use language they are familiar with.
- Address Your Customer: Avoid the temptation of trying to sell to everyone. You know who your target audience is, so speak to them directly. For instance, do you offer a product or service that addresses the needs of the retail industry? Then call this out with your content.
The best online marketing campaigns are centrally focused on the customer. So make sure that your website’s content conveys this. By addressing your customer directly and avoiding the fluff, you’ll prove to your audience that you really do value their experience.
Are You Tumbling?
If you haven’t heard it yet, you will: The buzz about Tumblr is getting louder.
New to Tumblr? This is a good place to start for a quick, business-tailored intro.
But essentially, Tumblr is a site that lets you host an easy-to-start-up blog in a social network. You can “follow” other blogs, “reblog” and “like” other people’s posts, and tag your own posts. The tagging becomes important because Tumblrs generally search for tags (or topics) rather than specific people or businesses like they would on Facebook.
This infographic gives you more quick facts on the growing social media platform. The most important one to pay attention to, though, is this:
Between June 2010 and June 2011, Tumblr experienced a 218 percent growth rate in the U.S., while Twitter and Facebook only showed a respective 31 and 14 percent growth.
This is huge for businesses who are considering adopting Tumblr as a new marketing tool. Even though the general consensus seems to be that “Tumblr isn’t for everyone” because of its slightly edgier crowd, it might not always be the case as it keeps growing. Remember that Facebook wasn’t for everyone at first, either.
Companies that will be able to most quickly adapt to Tumblr will be the ones that are highly visual or have access to lots of quality images (Tumblr is mostly image-focused). But as long as there are creative people on your online PR team, you can take advantage of Tumblr no matter your business.
If you think you want to jump in, take the rest of this quarter to sign in and scope the place out. Don’t worry about blogging just yet. In fact, it’s probably a good idea to avoid creating your own Tumblr presence until you get the hang of how people and businesses operate.
Once you feel more comfortable using Tumblr, start brainstorming possible topics and directions you’d like to take your own blog in. What will it focus on? How will it supplement your company’s website? How will it both attract and communicate with a new audience? See how seven companies have used Tumblr effectively for ideas on how to get started.
Come Q1 of 2012, you’ll be tumblin’ with the best of them on tomorrow’s next big social media giant.
Are you already Tumbling? How has it helped or presented challenges to your business?
Advertising on Facebook
You know that you and your friends spend a lot of time on Facebook, but have you ever considered advertising your business there? Facebook is fun, but do people actually pay attention to the ads and are they willing to learn more about your business? Facebook ads come in many varieties, and it’s very likely that your future customers are there right now. The trick is to create the right ad, and target the right people, who would benefit from your business.
Why Use Facebook Ads? Unlike AdWords, on Facebook, you can target people by their interests or choose demographics who would likely be interested in your product or service. You can reach people who aren’t actively searching for you, and find them where they are – on Facebook.
In addition to interests and demographics, when selecting your target audience, you can choose people based on their location, connections, education or work.
Types of Facebook Ads
Once you choose your target audience, you need to decide what kind of ad to show them. Would you rather send visitors to your website instead of your Facebook page? With these Facebook ads, you can specify your URL, write a headline, ad copy, and choose an image for your ad.
If you would like to send them to your Facebook page, you have plenty of options there as well. Select the tab on your page where you would like to send them. It could be an event page, your wall, or a customized tab. Write ad copy and choose an image that stands out, and you’re all set. These ads even include a “like” button so your visitors will know what to do!
Do you have amazing wall posts that you would like to show people who aren’t already fans? Create a page post ad to show your most recent or a favorite wall post in the ad copy.
Sponsored stories are like recommendations from a friend. Friends of your current fans will see that their friend likes your page and they will be encouraged to like it too. Using page post like stories, when a fan likes one of your posts their friends will see it.
Helpful Hints about Facebook Ads
When you write your ads, try several versions to test different ad copy, images, target audiences, or types of ads to see which best meets your goals. Once one ad starts performing better, apply the things that worked to your other ads to continually improve them.
With Facebook ads, you have complete control of your ad budget. You decide your maximum daily or lifetime budget, and the maximum you are willing to pay per click. Facebook will show your ads as much as possible until you meet your budget, so keep the size of your target audience in mind. If you are targeting 1,000,000 Facebook users, a budget of $5 per day won’t go far.
The purpose of any marketing campaign is to get visitors to meet your business goals, whether it is to make a purchase, learn more about your service, or something else. How do you know if your campaign is helping your business, or if it is wasting your limited budget? It is important to have clear goals in mind. Do you want to send visitors to your website to make a purchase or to get more people to like your Facebook page? Continually try different ads to see which best meets your goals.
For more information about Facebook ads, sign up for Webbed Marketing’s free webinar, The Ins and Ous of Facebook Advertising on November 30th at 2:00PM EST.
