When given a chance to choose a type of content, most people would choose video. After all, they’re more engaging and easy to grasp. This is why more and more businesses are investing in video content.
But let’s face it. Creating videos can be time-consuming. From research to prep to production and distribution, you’ll need to dedicate a lot of time and resources to the process. Worse, some videos don’t get the attention they deserve.
But why let all those videos gather dust when you can get more mileage from them? This is where repurposing comes in.
Repurposing content not only helps you save time but also captures the attention of a wider audience than if you were to present the information in a single format.
Here are five clever ways to repurpose your video content.
Share the video on different social media platforms
From Instagram to Tiktok and Youtube, there are a variety of platforms where you can upload bite-sized video content.
The maximum length for IG Reels is 15 to 30 seconds, while Youtube shorts can be 60 seconds. Now, Tiktok allows users to upload videos that are 3 minutes long. That means you can add more of that valuable content to your video.
This gives you plenty of opportunities to repurpose your videos, use them to fill up your content calendar, and reach a wider audience.
Create short video snippets
Creating short, bite-sized videos can be used as a teaser. Think of them as video trailers for your content. They can capture your audience’s attention and pique their interest before you even publish the whole video.
For best results, focus on the most exciting parts of the video. Don’t forget to include a link to let people know where they can find the rest of the video.
Write a blog post
Of course, you can always publish an embedded video on your blog. But if you do, you won’t be able to maximize your video’s SEO potential. To do that, we highly recommend that you transcribe the video into text.
Believe it or not, one solid blog article can drive traffic to your site for years. Don’t worry. You don’t need to transcribe it manually. There are lots of software out there that provides you with a transcription of the video.
Turn video into a podcast episode
If you’ve thought of starting a podcast but can’t find the time to start, this would be the perfect opportunity to do so. In fact, you can easily convert your videos into an audio file. Now, all you have to do is to add an intro and outro, and your podcast is ready to go.
Turning your video into a podcast is one of the best ways to get your content in front of a wider audience without much extra work.
Turn it into a lead magnet
Are you looking to generate more leads for your business? Then why not turn your video into a lead magnet?
If you’ve just conducted a webinar, then you shouldn’t let it go to waste. It’s valuable, informative, and something most people can’t say no to. Plus, it can help you capture leads, and who knows… it may even help you convert visitors into paying clients.
Create a pop-up on your website and let visitors know they’ll get access to the webinar in exchange for their email address. Well, if you ask me, that would be a no-brainer. I’d hand in my email address, no questions asked.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/5-Clever-Ways-to-Repurpose-Your-Video-Content.png12602240Kathlyn Angeleshttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngKathlyn Angeles2022-07-20 10:58:242022-07-15 12:26:335 Clever Ways to Repurpose Your Video Content
As a business owner, it is important to provide your audience with a steady supply of interesting and engaging content. But let’s face it. There will come a time when you’ll run out of ideas and don’t know what to write about. If you find yourself in this situation, then a content calendar may be just what you need.
Creating a content calendar allows you to plan your content in advance and schedule them across multiple channels at once. This allows business owners to come up with well-researched and valuable pieces of content and then schedule them on multiple platforms in one go. Plus, it will spare you the trouble of having to come up with a topic just before the deadline.
You may not realize it, but creating posts and content on the fly is more prone to mistakes and typos. With a content calendar, you’ll have enough time to write your content and proofread them before publishing.
Ready to create your own content calendar? Here are 4 tips to help you get started.
1. What content does your tribe want?
It is important to know what your audience is looking for before you just start posting. What do they like? What are they engaging on, sharing, talking about? Look at your past social media posts if you have them or your competitor’s posts and see what is working. One way to do this is looking at your social media analytics to get a good idea of what posts people have engaged in. What if you are just starting out and you don’t know what your audience is looking for yet? This is where your competition comes in, take a look at a good competitor and see what are they talking about, what type of posts are getting the most engagement?
Be sure to mix up your content, have posts with just text, articles, blogs, images, videos, gifs, to make sure you are grabbing their attention. Once you have a good idea of what type of content your tribe/audience likes then you can start creating!
2. How often should you be posting to each platform?
This is a question we get asked all the time! Each platform is different. As a business owner, you will have Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and maybe even more than that. It is important to keep your audience in mind when posting. Meaning, how often should you post and what times should you post. When you were doing your research in step one, also check out the times that people were engaging.
You do not want to bombard your audience by posting too much and you don’t want to post too little so they forget about you. It’s kinda like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, you don’t want your porridge to be too hot, too cold, but just perfect!
Here is the common rule of thumb for posting to the social media platforms:
Facebook: 1 time per day and 3 on the high-end
Twitter: 3 times a day on the low-end and 30 on the high-end
LinkedIn: 2-5 times per week
Google+: 3-5 times per week
Pinterest: 5-10 times per day
Instagram: at least once per day
Each platform is going to be different for you, some you will have more engagement so you can post more and some you will have less engagement so you may need to only post a few times per week.
Remember to use the analytics to look at the numbers and see what they are reflecting so you can stay top of mind to your tribe/audience!
3. Time to Create Your Content
Once you know what your tribe/audience is looking for and how often you should be posting, it is then time to create!
Remember to keep it fresh and mix it up. Here are a few different content ideas for you:
Create a custom image through Canva, WordSwag, Typorama, Prisma, etc.
Create a video through Ripl, iMovie, Videorama, Animoto
Post your blog post from your website to social media
Find outside sources, articles, other blogs and videos you like, that align with your brand to share
Gifs to increase engagement
Here are a few tools we use to help keep our outside sources organized:
The content you need to accelerate your research, marketing, and sales. Stay ahead of the curve. The content you need to accelerate your research, marketing, and sales.
Discover the best of the web, one click at a time.
4. Time to fill in your calendar
Now that you have put your plan together and figured out the type of content you are going to write, where you are posting it and how often, you can fill out your calendar.
We have found that there are a few tools to help you with that content calendar. Everyone is different, some people like more of a visual calendar and others like more of an excel type of calendar. We love creating the content calendar in Google Sheets then using Trello to write the content and copy from there to our platforms. Others like to use Google Calendar for their topics and then put the posts directly into Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule them at one time to the correct social media networks.
You have to explore each option to see which one resonates with you the best! So we wanted to give you some to choose from:
Trello is a project management tool that’s very popular with bloggers, marketers and social media managers. It’s a good way to keep track of your content ideas and even has an additional calendar add-on you can use to get a monthly view of your planned content.
If you want to keep it simple, you could always just create a new Google calendar for the process and invite everyone on the team to view it. Those teammates could also add all of their own posts and ideas to the same calendar.
Buffer is a new and smarter way to share what you want to share on Social Media. People have called it great names before, like your Social Media Assistant or the Siri of Social Media.
What it does is simple. Posts in your queue will be sent out automatically by Buffer, according to the posting schedule that you put in place.
Select the social account you’d like to customize the posting schedule for, select the Settings tab at the top, and then select Posting Schedule. From here, you can choose which timezone is best for this account and customize the days and times your posts should go out. Select the days you’d like to include and add the individual times you’d like your content to be shared.
Manage all your social media in one place. From finding prospects to serving customers, Hootsuite helps you do more with your social media. Save time by scheduling your social posts. Keep your social presence active 24/7 by automatically scheduling hundreds of social media posts at once, across your social accounts.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/How-to-Create-an-Effective-Content-Calendar-for-Your-Business-1.png12602240Amber Irwinhttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngAmber Irwin2022-07-06 10:45:522022-07-01 16:41:20How to Create an Effective Content Calendar for Your Business
Social media is an excellent platform for promoting your business and reaching your audience.
With billions of users logging in on their accounts almost every day, there is no doubt that social media can help you grow and scale your brand over time.
But the truth is that having an audience isn’t enough. If you want to grow a fanbase, you need to interact with your audience and keep them engaged. One of the best ways to get the conversation started is by asking questions.
Asking questions will not only help you genuinely connect with your audience, but it can also help you improve your organic reach.
But before we give you a list of social media questions, here are some tips to further pump up your engagement when asking questions.
Ask questions that are easy to answer
This is supposed to be a fun activity, so don’t let your audience think too hard. The easier it is for your audience to answer the questions, the more likely will they participate.
While some may not always engage, but fun and easy questions may encourage people to stop and be interested enough to read the comments.
Make use of visuals
Studies suggest that social media posts with images get 2.3 times more engagement than those without. So if you want to grab people’s attention, we highly suggest that you include a visually appealing image with it. But make sure that it is relevant to your content.
Post when your audience are most active
Just like any other social media content, you want to post the questions when your audience are actively engaging on the platform. Keep in mind, though, that the best time varies from platform to platform. So be sure to do some research.
Choose relevant and on-trend topics
If you’re struggling to find questions to ask your audience, just hop on to Google and do some research. There are also lots of tools available that can help you find trending topics in your industry.
Questions to ask on social media
Just for fun questions
Social media is a great place to ask just for fun question. The answers people give you aren’t really important. What matter most is that you’re
If you were planning a dream vacation where would you be going?
What movie would be the most fun to live in?
If you got offered a reset button for your life would you push it?
What movie have you watched more than five times?
If you could only have one snack for the rest of your life what would you pick?
If you were stuck on a deserted island, what three items would you bring?
What job would your pet have it was human?
What would the title of your autobiography be?.
What weird talent do you possess?
What shows are you binging on Netflix right now?
Business-specific questions
Asking business-related questions is not only a great way to engage your customers, but also helps you get insights from your customers.
If we gave you $100 to spend in our shop, which products or services would you stock up on?
Which do you prefer, [product A] or [product B]?
What kind of [industry] content would you like to learn about?
Do you prefer podcasts, videos, or blog posts?
What’s the #1 thing you struggle with when it comes to [industry]?
What’s one product/service you’d like us to start offering?
What deal would you prefer to get? 15% off or free shipping?
What’s the #1 thing you look for in a [your product or service]?
Would you be sad if we discontinued [product]?
What questions do you have about [product-related topic]?
Food-related questions
People love food. In fact, most people enjoy taking a snap of their food and posting them on social media. Asking food-related question will surely get them talking.
What’s your favorite food?
What’s your specialty dish?
If you could only eat at one fast-food restaurant for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
If you could cook with any celebrity chef, who would it be?
What’s your favorite healthy snack/food?
What’s the most adventurous meal you’ve ever eaten?
What’s the best meal you’ve ever eaten?
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
If you could buy any type of food right now, what would you buy?
What was your favorite food as a kid?
Gratitude-related or motivation questions
More and more people are being drawn to the idea on reflecting on their lives. As such, people are more open to talking about what motivates them, what they’re grateful for, and other positive thoughts. Asking these types of questions are sure to boost your social media engagement.
What’s one thoughtful thing someone did for you recently?
What are you grateful for today?
What’s a difficult lesson that you were grateful to learn?
What’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you? (Tag that person)
Who is someone that really listens when you talk? (Tag them below)
What was the last thing you got really excited about?
What’s one thing you hope to accomplish this week?
What’s your #1 goal for this year?
What kinds of things motivate you in life?
When was the last time you felt truly motivated
Would you rather questions
Would you rather questions are fun. They’re great for long road trips and are equally as good on social media. You can post them as regular content or post them as stories to drive engagement.
Would you rather be unable to use search engines or unable to use social media?
Would you rather live alone in a beautiful countryside or work hard and live in the city around the people you love?
Would you rather receive a free world tour opportunity or never have to pay for food at restaurants?
Would you rather know all of someone’s darkest secrets or have the ability to read minds
Would you rather travel to the past or travel to the future
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/45-Social-Media-Questions-That-Will-Get-Your-Audience-Talking.png12602240Kathlyn Angeleshttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngKathlyn Angeles2022-06-22 10:48:502022-06-17 06:28:2245 Social Media Questions That Will Get Your Audience Talking
When Instagram stories were first introduced in 2016, a lot of people thought that it was nothing but a copycat of Snapchat. But with constant innovations and the addition of new features, people started to embrace it. Instagram is always adding new things to them to help make them, even more, user-friendly.
Years later, it seems to have taken momentum against Snapchat and has changed the way people share and consume content on social media.
In this blog, we will be discussing 6 reasons WHY you should be using Instagram Stories to market your business.
Instagram is owned by Facebook, which means their algorithm is going to be similar, the more you use their bells and whistle they offer the higher they rank you. Along with the more people engage in your posts they will see your posts more if you have common interests etc. Before the stories and posts would show up in chronological order, NOT anymore. Most social media platforms are following a similar algorithm to Facebook. They like to think they know who you are, based on interests, likes and engagement so they want to show you the stories and posts they think you will most like. Sometimes, it is crazy how spot-on they can be!
So let’s dive in . . .
#1 – Top of Mind – That is KEY!
We feel like one of the biggest reasons to use Instagram Stories is to be top of mind. It is the first thing people see when they open up their app. Once they see you once up there they are going to be looking for you even more. With Instagram Stories you can give value and keep your tribe coming back for more! The stories only stay up for 24 hours so it is a great way to increase engagement and get your message across. You want to keep your stories relevant and catchy!
Why is it important to stay top of mind? In today’s digital world people are being bombarded with thousands of different things daily, think of all the things you see on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, not to mention emails, texts, and good old fashion phone calls! If you are not consistent with your online marketing and sticking to a strict schedule you will get lost in the shuffle.
Each time you are posting a story you are giving your brand exposure, you are climbing the favorite list for your target market, and that’s what it is all about . . . being someones favorite, right?!?! Well, it kind of is with social media. People will start to notice that you are posting a story more regularly and that each story you are posting they are liking, they are engaging. They are excited to see what you have in store for them next!
#2 – Create a Strategy and Theme
People love when you are using all the components of Instagram. It’s important to keep your content fresh, get creative with it. Have a story that is a series of quick videos, images, a special offer, funny images. Get creative! One exciting way to use Instagram stories is to start creating a theme with them. Write down 10-15 different ideas for stories, be strategic about them. Maybe they are 10 tips and each story has 2-3 different components to it, like a static image with title, then short video and then call-to-action. you do this for 10 different stories each have your brand color, logo, and a video of you to build your brand.
Stories are real-time, so this is a great tool for your strategy. Stories tend to build engagement and help reach your target audience.
Think of using stories when you are at:
* Live Events
* Networking Groups
* Speaking Engagements
* Behind the Scenes
* Live Sale
Here is an example of what an AMAZING story would be, Forbes had an AARP event and they put together such a good story. They had branded images for each section of the event, such as Learn, Connect, and Health. They tied in still photos, branded photos, and videos of the event. They also branded the hashtags #DisruptAging. You can see in the first photo there are 15 little white lines, that means there are 15 slides to that story. You can have A LOT of images and videos to one story!
#3 – Let Your Creative Side Show
Instagram Stories are easy, quick and fun! It only takes a couple steps to get up your masterpiece. You can also share those stories on your Facebook page! I want to share a video with you that will show you how to create branded Instagram Templates. I know that everyone loves a pretty Instagram account when their images are all color coded, they have the same look and feel to them. It attracts people more to your feed. Well, why wouldn’t you do the same thing with Instagram Stories? We use Canva to create our brand templates:
Even though Instagram stories are made to be quick and easy you still want them to look good. By working ahead and creating your templates with Canva you are getting ahead of the game like we have said in previous posts, it is so important to be always working ahead. Create a “Story” list, what topics do you want to cover? Create the images ahead of time and save them on your phone, then you have them and can pop them right into Instagram.
#4 – Set Your Standards High
When people come to your Instagram account you want them to think . . . “Wow, they do an amazing job!” Your photos are all branded and you are giving amazing value, your engagement is high, and your stories are great! The only problem with doing stories is they ONLY stay up for 24 hours. Your photos and videos you post to your feed stay forever. That is where step #2 came in with the strategy and theme, once you have these stories and they are offering the value you can highlight them in your profile.
If your story is promoting a special offer like a one-time deal, or talking about an upcoming event that doesn’t repeat on a weekly or monthly basis, those stories are a good story to just leave in “story-land” and let them disappear in 24 hours. They stories like the 10 tips, stories about your products or services, the stories that give that value, those are the ones we want to highlight.
In this video below we will show you how to highlight a story and keep your brand consistent:
#5 – Adding Value to Your Business Profile
Think of your Instagram account as a mini website, people are going to Instagram all the time to research new products, services, and places before they buy. You want to make sure your business profile stands out. When people come to your profile they see who you are as a brand. What you do, who you are, why you do what you do. When you just put static posts up to your feed they may get lost with the new algorithm, they may not be seen as much as they should, especially if you have lower engagement. By using stories it allows you to keep bumping up in that algorithm, it’s like Instagram is giving you kudos for doing a job well done. You can’t just put a story up once, you have to be consistent. Some brands are putting stories up every day with multiple images and videos. Since you can ONLY have 1 story per 24 hours, each time you add an image or video to your story within those 24-hours it will go to the same story but then you can highlight the images you want from that story to certain highlighted storyboards.
Here are a few examples of brands that have gone above and beyond with Instagram:
#6- Connect with Your Tribe
If you build it they will come… Feild of dreams. You are building your brand to give value to your tribe, you want to give them just enough to keep bringing them back. With over 800 million people engaging in stories each and every day it is so important to use stories to engage with your audience. Get creative and maybe do a live story, have people ask questions and you can answer them with a live story.
There are two ways you can think of your stories:
1) Oh they only last 24 hours so it doesn’t matter on quality, they are quick and fast stories just to get something up every day
OR . . . .
2) Think of your stories as an opportunity to connect. Your stories can be providing value to your audience then you highlight that story. You will have a mix of stories the themed ones with your templates you created and then the live stories, behind the scenes and event stories, which are still important to have, remember it is your brand you are dealing it.
You want a brand that is raw, authentic and transparent! People want to do business with people they know, like and trust! Go to a deeper level with your Instagram account, get to know your audience.
Bonus . . . Topics you can do Instagram Stories On:
Your Goals
Showcase your products and/or services
FAQ – answer those questions your audience has asked
Exclusive Offers and Deals
Ask for people to sign-up for a Newsletter
Behind the scenes
Family Life
Repurpose Blogs
Testimonials and Interviews
Recipes
Podcasts
Events
Trends
Spruce up Your Stories
Like I said, in the beginning, use the bells and whistles that Instagram offers the #hashtag stickers, location, dates, emojis, filters etc. Try out the different options they offer the Type, Live, Normal, Boomerang, Focus, Superzoom, Rewind, Hands-Free, and Stop-Motion. These are all cool ways to be creative with your brand. The markup capabilities they have to allow you to create eye-catching images that stick out!
Take advantage of tagging people in your stories as well. Once you reach 10,000 followers you can also add a link to your stories! I think by using Instagram stories it gives your brand more freedom. Instagram is always adding new features, remember to check them out. Here is what they are offering now:
Weather
The current time
Holidays
Days of the week
Location tags
Funny hats and sunglasses
Emojis
What do all the Features Mean in Instagram Stories:
Text – Text is an option where you can tap to type, Instagram has4 different templates you can choose from as far as Modern, Neon, Typewriter, Stong. You can then tap the small circle color icon on the bottom lefthand corner to choose a different color.
Live – The live option is pretty obvious you are about to go LIVE on Instagram! You can have it in selfie mode or turn it around. Pretty plain Vanilla here.
Normal – You can upload a picture or video, also add filters to the pictures you take.
Boomerang – You can now access the “Boomerang” app through Instagram Stories, this is in a way making your own gif. If you take a picture of a high-five or walking your dog, yoga pose, etc it will have that quick segment play over and over.
Focus – This is the NEWEST Instagram story feature. This option allows you to focuses on a subject’s face while blurring the rest of the photo’s background, this helps create that professional look. Great for selfies or products, yup, you can use this feature for front and rear facing camera modes.
Superzoom – This allows you to ZOOM super close up to an object and then is shows that process of moving closer.
Rewind – This plays your story from back to front
Hands-Free – This is great if you are doing a quick video and you don’t want your phone moving because your hand is shaking. You are still holding your phone, but you don’t have to keep holding the button, you can just tap it. It is also fun to try out the filters!
Stop-Motion – Stop Motion allows you to take a series of photos, but you cannot edit them. Once you’re done snapping photos, you tap “done” to see your story-editing tools like stickers and text. From there, you can post the stop-motion GIF to your story.
Wrap-Up
As you can see there are many options and features to try out with Instagram Stories, you can get lost in the creativity alone with these stories. Have fun with it and take your brand to the next level! We would love to hear what stories have worked best for you and which stories you have highlighted! We invite you to follow us on our Instagram account, we ALWAYS follow everyone back that follows us!
We also invite you to check out our FREE Resource page, we offer a ton of checklists to make sure your social media profiles are always at 100%. There is also an Instagram Caption Checklist that can help you craft together those eye-catchy captions to attract your target audience.
Cheers to your Instagram success!
Interested in learning more? Take a look at these articles:
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/6-Reasons-You-Need-to-be-Using-Instagram-Stories-for-Business.png12602240Amber Irwinhttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngAmber Irwin2022-06-08 10:14:342022-06-06 09:19:426 Reasons You NEED to be Using Instagram Stories for Business
Social media remains to be one of the best ways to reach out and engage with your audience. You already know who your target market is and social media platform they’re using. Now, you just have to come up with interesting posts that can get their attention and join on the conversation.
Here are 6 social media content ideas for boosting engagement on your social media pages.
Video content
People love video content. In fact, videos get more shares than photos or plain text contents. It’s no surprise why Tiktok rose to popularity over the last few year.
Go ahead and try to be as creative as you can with your videos. You can share behind the scenes videos, do a product demo, create how-to videos, or host an AMA. The possibilities are endless.
Ask questions
Questions are a fun way to get to know your followers. Plus, it gives you a better understanding of what they want.
You can ask random questions about your industry just to get the conversation started. Or you can ask for your audience’s opinions about your products or services.
While asking questions is a powerful strategy, be sure to use it sparingly.
Fill-in-the-blanks
Fill-in-the-blanks posts is another fun way to get comments and responses from your audience.
Get creative with it, and see what you can come up with. Make sure, thought, that it’s something easy to answer. You can ask about random stuff or get people talking about your brand.
Here’s an example:
Fill in the blank: My favorite thing about [BRAND] is ________.
Trending topics
One of the easiest ways to boost your engagement rate is to post about trending topics. People are already talking about it, so try to join in on the conversation. While this can be a great strategy, be sure to only post about topics that are relevant to your niche.
Tease a new product
Everyone loves being the first to see new products. If you’re planning to launch a new product, try to consistently give your audience sneak peek of the product. Not only can it help generate buzz around the launch, but it also helps boost engagement.
Challenges
People love a challenge, especially when everyone else is doing it. Today, more and more brands are using challenges to engage with their audience and further grow their community.
Challenge your audience to do things, but make sure it runs for a short period only. 5 to 7-day challenges are ideal. Also, make sure that the challenge is easy enough for participants to complete. After all, the goal is to help them gain quick wins.
Final thoughts
Social media marketing can be challenging. It takes time. It requires a lot of effort. But once you find what works best for your audience, you’ll be able to grow your fanbase and build a relationship with them.
If you need help writing social media posts that will capture the attention of your target audience and boost your engagement rate, we’re here to help. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us and we’ll help you fill your social media content calendar with quality posts.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/6-Social-Media-Content-Ideas-to-Increase-Engagement.png12602240Kathlyn Angeleshttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngKathlyn Angeles2022-05-25 10:37:562022-05-19 12:38:256 Social Media Content Ideas to Increase Engagement
With the digital space getting saturated by different brands trying to capture the attention of their target audience, social media contests provide an excellent way to generate buzz around their brand and re-engage their audience. When done properly and effectively, social media contests can bring a number of benefits to your brand. In fact, businesses, both big and small, are using this tactic to generate more leads, promote their products and services, and increase brand awareness?
While your brand might not garner the same level of enthusiasm that game shows get, you can certainly benefit from hosting a contest or a giveaway on social media.
Here are 5 reasons why contests should be a part of your
marketing strategy.
Give people a reason to follow your brand
Most brands would share interesting and informative content in the hopes of capturing the attention of their audience. But despite their efforts, many of them are having a hard time standing out from the competition. If you want to have more followers and expand your reach, consider hosting a contest on social media.
When running a contest, most brands would ask people to like their social media accounts and share their content. Knowing that they’ll get an opportunity to win something, most people would gladly do as they are asked. This is a win-win for both the brand and consumers. You get the opportunity to reach more people while they get the chance to win something – a gift, a discount voucher, a gift certificate or a free period of service.
If you’re looking to grow your fan base, contests and giveaways are a great way to do it. We’ve seen brands grow their following from 100 to 1,ooo or 10,000 to 25,000 in a matter of days or weeks. While some may argue that follower count is just a vanity metric, having more followers will certainly be beneficial for you if you can keep your engagement rate high. So don’t just stop at running a contest. Make sure that you keep your audience engaged and you’ll reap all the benefits soon enough.
Improve brand awareness
Most people aren’t aware that your business exists until they hear it from their family and friends. Social media contests allows you to get the word out about your business without directly promoting it.
Regardless of how well established your brand is, contests can be a simple yet effective way to improve brand awareness. If your contest includes a voting component, people would tag their family and friends for support. This strategy helps generate buzz around your brand. People are already talking about your brand and promoting your business on your behalf. People get to join in on the fun. Some even walks away with a prize, and you get to reach a wider audience. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Collect data
Often, people are hesitant to share their information for the fear of identity theft. Social media contests provide an easy way to grow your email list and collect data. People will be more willing to provide you with their personal information, knowing that they get something in return.
You can ask people to leave their name, contact number, and email address to enter the contest. Also, think of the type of information you need for your future marketing campaigns. Want to know how many of them went to the local university? How many of them have kids? Now is your chance to find out.
Increase engagement
Contests are one of the best ways to boost your engagement. When you host a social media contest, your post is likely to get a lot of likes, shares, and comments. It’s a fun and interactive way to get people to interact with your brand.
More than the number of fans and followers, engagement is the most important element in social media. The engagement rate represents the number of people who are talking about your brand. The higher the engagement rate is, the higher the reach rate. That means, your content will be viewed by a wider audience. In addition to that, hosting a contest gives you more opportunity to interact with your audience and deepen the connection as well.
Collect user-generated content
Let’s face it. Most customers won’t leave a review unless you ask them to. And if you’re looking for a way get tons of reviews and user-generated content fast, contests are the way to do it. Simply ask your audience to provide their photos to enter, and you’ll be flooded with user-generated content in no time.
Not only will you have lots of photos to use for your future marketing campaigns, but it will also give your target audience the perception that people love your brand. After all, those who submitted their photos are already invested in your brand.
Why social media contests are a good idea
Holding contests and campaigns
on social media is more popular than ever, and we don’t see that changing anytime soon. Any company can give out free gift cards or electronics, so that really is not enough to hold the attention of social media users anymore. What is taking your contest to the next level? If you are running a contest, you must make sure your contest stands out from the rest.
As we know, consumers are constantly interacting with social media on their mobile phones. This means it is vital to take advantage of location. Urge users to check-in on social media when they are interacting with your company’s physical location. Offer some sort of incentive such as a discount, a charitable donation, a few points in a contest, etc. Getting social media users to check in not only allows you to generate more traffic but also creates a deeper user interaction (physical and digital).
Do your users have a reason to keep coming back to your page? Include your fans and contest participants in every possible step of the contest. Brands often do this by allowing the fans to vote on a winner, respond to a question, or answer a poll. Get creative here and choose what seems most relevant to your brand and product.
Although your contest is Facebook based, ask yourself if other social media platforms would enhance your contest. For example, say you are the marketer for a line of gluten-free butter and your Facebook contest asked users to post pictures and recipes of things they made with your butter. In this case, it would make sense to start a Pinterest board, displaying the recipes. Using more than one social media platform can allow you to reach a larger audience. The key here is to make sure your second social media platform is relevant to your contest.
The general goal of Facebook contests is to allow users to interact with your brand. Anybody can make a Facebook contest, but your goal is to expand that user interaction as far as possible. Think of ways to take your contests to other social media platforms, physical locations, and beyond.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/5-Reasons-Why-Social-Media-Contests-Should-be-a-Part-of-Your-Marketing-Strategy.png12602240Caitlin McDonaldhttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngCaitlin McDonald2022-05-11 10:46:352022-05-06 09:10:145 Reasons Why Social Media Contests Should be a Part of Your Marketing Strategy
If you think of Tiktok as a platform for teens and Gen Zs sharing their dance routines, funny lip-syncing videos or cute animal videos, think again. The truth is, there is a wide variety of content niches and communities within the platform, which allows you to reach a diverse audience.
No matter what type of business you have, there’s a space for your brand to make its mark on the platform. In fact, it is now seen as one of the biggest marketing machines for businesses of all sizes.
Tiktok has over 1 billion monthly active users, and the numbers seem to be rising day by day. It looks like Tiktok is here and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere
Looking to start using Tiktok to promote your brand? Here are 5 tips to help you get started.
Have fun!
Tiktok’s nature is fun, playful, and casual. So if there’s one thing you shouldn’t do on the platform, it’s being boring.
Most people are on the app to discover new and exciting content. So show off your brand personality and have fun with your content. If people see that you’re enjoying creating your content, chances are they’ll enjoy watching your videos too.
Tiktok is a great platform to test out new ideas and a different side of you. Feel free to explore different content formats until you find one that resonates with your audience. Once you do, keep replicating it to build on your success.
Post often
Let’s face it. Growing your brand on Tiktok can be exhausting, especially when you’re just starting out. Sure, it only takes one video to go viral to make a mark on this billion-dollar platform. But most of the time, success doesn’t happen overnight.
There are millions of videos that are being published on a platform everyday, and it can be quite difficult the capture the attention of your audience. If there’s one thing successful Tiktokers have in common, it’s consistency. They post content every single day; sometimes more.
So if you find yourself getting frustrated and you’re still not seeing the results you want, be patient. Post often and consistently.
Watch out for trends
One of the best ways to get more views is to create videos on trending topics. Keep in mind, though, that trends come and go. So if you want to capture the attention of your audience, you’ll have to keep up with the trends and keep your content new and refreshing.
Most users are actually searching and watching content about trending topics, so your videos will be shown to a wider audience.
With Tiktok, you’ll never run out of ideas for your content. Just do a quick search of the most trending hashtags, watch some videos on the platform and you’ll have a long list of ideas for your content.
Social media challenges
Social media challenges are a big hit on the platform. Some videos even go viral. So if you’re looking to increase brand awareness and grow your following on Tiktok, you might want to consider joining in trending challenges.
But if you’d like to take it a step further, you can also create your own challenges and encourage people to join in on the fun. It has to be fun and easy for your target audience to complete. Otherwise, people may not be interested to participate.
It’s also a good idea to create a branded hashtag for the challenge. Be sure to do some research before creating a hashtag to make sure that it’s hasn’t been taken yet.
Run Tiktok ads
For your ads to work, your target audience must be fully engaged within the platform. And that’s one of the biggest benefits of Tiktok. Users can’t get enough of it.
In fact, the usage of Tiktok is on an upward trend, with the average users spending at least an hour a day watching, sharing, and creating videos on the platform.
The more time users spend on the platform, the higher the chance that they’ll see your ads. The more engaged they are, the better your ads will perform. This makes advertising on Tiktok more worthwhile.
Final thoughts
A lot of businesses have found success on Tiktok. It’s not just because of the fun, entertainment, and creativity it offers. But because the exposure is truly next level. In fact, it opens a whole new connection with your target audience.
If you find Tiktok intimidating or you think it’s already too late to get in, it’s not. Tiktok is new enough for you to get in, yet huge enough to ensure that you’ll be able to reach a wide audience.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/5-Ways-to-Use-Tiktok-to-Promote-Your-Business.png12602240Kathlyn Angeleshttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngKathlyn Angeles2022-04-27 10:58:192022-04-25 11:45:305 Ways to Use Tiktok to Promote Your Business
Blogging provides several benefits to businesses. Many businesses owners have turned to blogging to reach a wider audience, drive traffic to their site, promote their products and services, and increase conversions. Blogging can help you achieve your business goals, provided that you avoid certain pitfalls.
Here are 4 blogging mistakes you need to avoid, along with some tips to get the results you want.
Inconsistent blogging
Let’s face it. Creating content can be time-consuming. We understand that most of you have a crazy schedule and you’re struggling to find time to write your next blog post. But in order to achieve your goals, you need to stick to a consistent posting schedule. It’s not enough to post content when you have something to say. You should publish new content at least once a week.
Inconsistent blogging is bad enough for your SEO growth; it can also make you look like an amateur. This can sink your blog and can cost your business sales. To make your business blog work, we suggest that you develop a content calendar. Plan your blog topics ahead of time and try to schedule posts in advance.
Your writing is too stiff and technical
A well-written blog is one that strikes a conversation with their readers. Get rid of the jargon and loosen up your writing. It’s okay to be more conversational in your writing. In fact, we encourage you to write like you talk. People want to feel like they’re dealing with people, not robot. The more conversational your writing is, the more people will enjoy reading it.
When you write in a conversational tone, you can convey your message more easily. It also helps you engage with your audience and build a stronger relationship with them. They’ll see you as genuine and human, not as a faceless brand who’s trying to sell to them.
In 2020, Neil Patel ran A/B test on two versions of the same blog post. One was written conversationally, while the other one was written in a formal tone. Here, he discovered that the majority of the readers only spent less than two minutes on the blog post that was written in a formal tone. Whereas, readers spent an average of 4.5 minutes reading the conversational version. Also, 247% more readers consumed the full article when written in a conversational tone.
Being self-centered
A blog is a great platform for giving your audience updates about your business and promoting your products and services. However, not every post in your blog should be about you. Rather, you should focus on who you are writing for.
Create content your audience will find interesting. Be helpful. Answer all the questions you’ve been asked by customers. Share your expertise. You may also share your opinion on certain topics. Write blog posts that are creative, informative and interesting.
So what’s the key to selecting the best topics for your blog? It’s knowing your target audience. Once you know who you’re writing for, it will easier for you to create a list of blog topics.
One of the best ways to find out what your audience likes is to check your analytics and identify your top performing posts. You can also reach out to your audience and have a conversation with them. Or you can also do an online survey. Remember that most of a blog’s traffic is driven organically, so choose topics your audience will want to read, not something that will only interest you.
Giving up too soon
If you’ve been writing for several months now and you still haven’t seen a significant increase on your leads and traffic, you’re probably getting frustrated. I understand that it can get frustrating, but you also have to keep in mind that building a successful blog takes time. It requires a lot of hard work, patience, and perseverance.
You’ve spent countless of hours in front of your computer, trying to make boring stuff interesting. Unfortunately, after a few months of blogging, you’re still not seeing the results you want. At this point, you may feel like giving up. That’s understandable. However, please keep in mind that it may take quite a while before you generate positive results. Depending on the online competition and your industry, it may take about 3 to 6 months. Giving up too soon is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.
Keep writing. Focus on creating high-quality posts. Be patient. Soon enough, you’ll get the results you want.
Final thoughts
Anyone can start a blog, but not everyone will be able to build a successful blog. Why? Because most business owners don’t give it the time, effort, and attention it needs.
If you’re struggling to get the results you want from your blog, then we’re here to help. Schedule a free consultation call and we’ll help you get more leads and traffic for your business.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/4-Common-Blogging-Mistakes-to-Avoid.png12602240Caitlin McDonaldhttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngCaitlin McDonald2022-04-13 10:04:502022-04-08 12:57:544 Common Blogging Mistakes to Avoid (And What to Do Instead)
The content marketing world is more competitive now than it has ever been before. Big brands, small businesses, influencers, and even healthcare professionals create their own content to reach more people online.
But with so many blog posts, videos, infographics, and other types of content online, it can be challenging to stand out. That’s what we’re going to talk about next.
When developing a content strategy for your healthcare practice, there are five things you need to keep in mind. Let’s dive into those now.
Know your audience
It is estimated that Google processes approximately 5.6 billion search queries every day. According to Google, 5% of those searches are health-related.
There is no shortage of content on the internet. But if you want to get in front of your target audience, you need to create content that is relevant and useful to them. To do that, you must get to know your audience on a deeper level.
Dig deep into what types of content they’re consuming and what topics they’re interested in. This way, you can align your content with your target audience’s specific needs and interests.
Establish your content marketing goals
Let’s face it. It’s easy to get caught up in the who, what, how, and where of content marketing that people tend to forget about the most important question: why?
Every strategy should start with a specific goal in mind. So ask yourself. What do you want to achieve with your content? Are you hoping to capture more leads? Or maybe you’re looking to grow your brand awareness and social media presence.
By defining your goals, you can ensure that each piece of content works towards meeting those goals. Even better, you can keep track of your data and use them to improve your content marketing strategy in the long run.
Create a content messaging roadmap
Now that you have already created a buyer persona, established your goals, and set criteria for success, it’s time to start building a content messaging roadmap that can help move each persona through the sales funnel.
Patients who are visiting your site for the first time may be looking for a healthcare provider but aren’t ready to book an appointment with you yet. During this stage, getting their trust is of key importance. This is where educational content can help. Articles, podcasts, videos, and case studies can help position yourself as an expert and get potential patients’ trust.
Warmer prospects may have considered booking an appointment already but may still be looking around. At this stage, adding testimonials from other patients, answering frequently asked questions, and offering free consultations may be just what you need to seal the deal.
Make the most of your content
You spent hours creating those content, so why not make the most out of them? You can repurpose your content to introduce them to new audiences who might prefer a different format.
For instance, you can turn your blog post into an infographic to make it easier to digest and understand. You can turn it into video content, which is perfect for those who prefer watching videos. Another option is to segment your blog post and publish it as a series on social media.
Identify the most relevant platforms
So you spent so much time and effort researching and writing your content. You wanted to make sure that your audience would find it helpful and informative. But it won’t matter if no one has seen it.
The key is to identify which platforms your audience spends most of their time in. This can help give your content the best possible chance of being seen.
If most of your audience is on Instagram, start by creating an appealing image that would make users stop their scroll. But don’t just stop there. You should also write compelling captions that create more engagement.
Final thoughts
There is no denying that content marketing strategy works. It can help you reach more patients online, retain current patients, and even improve patient journeys. But for it to work, you need to have a well-defined and carefully thought out strategy. Otherwise, you’d be wasting a lot of time and effort creating content that won’t benefit your practice.
If you need help devising a content marketing strategy and plan or need some fresh ideas to include in your plan, we can help. Schedule a free consultation with us, and we’ll help you generate more traffic and leads for your healthcare practice with content marketing.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5-Tips-for-Building-a-Content-Marketing-Strategy-for-Your-Healthcare-Practice.png12602240Kathlyn Angeleshttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngKathlyn Angeles2022-03-30 10:46:482022-03-25 11:55:185 Tips for Building a Content Marketing Strategy for Your Healthcare Practice
Love it or hate it, email remains to be one of the primary means of communication. Despite its age, ubiquity, and versatility, most business owners assume that it is one of those things that doesn’t work. Maybe that’s even you and your practice.
Email is actually a great option for marketing and promoting your practice. Here are 6 reasons why healthcare businesses and providers should do email marketing.
Create a stronger relationship with patients
According to a study that was conducted by researchers from Pew Internet, 80% of internet users have searched for a health-related topic online.
You know that there is a demand for healthcare content. People have already given you permission to email them. Now, they expect you to give them something in return.
Email is a great place to share relevant and timely health information. You can share some tips on how to avoid flu at work or how to keep kids safe while playing in the snow.
Your subscribers are already looking for these types of information online. By sending relevant and well-crafted healthcare content regularly, they’ll see that you care about their health and well-being. The more value you provide to your subscribers, the more they’ll look forward to hearing from you. When that happens, you’ll have a better chance of earning their trust and loyalty.
Personalized communication
People love it when businesses and treats them as an individual. Email marketing is one of the easiest and most effective ways to show your patients and subscribers that you value and care about them. It allows you to keep in touch with your audience on a regular basis. It can be as simple as “Thank you for subscribing”, a sincere “Happy Birthday” or some healthcare tips.
Personalized emails are more likely to be opened and read. Make sure that you address the recipient by their name. It is also a good idea to use a person’s name in the “from” field. People are more likely to trust and relate to an email that comes from a person as opposed to a business.
Cost-effective
There are a number of channels you can use to market your practice online. But email remains among the simplest, most cost-effective ways for you to market yourself and your practice. In fact, sending a monthly newsletter to your email list could cost you nothing more than your time. The best part? It lets you send your message around the world in seconds.
With the rise of social media, many businesses have abandoned email marketing, and we’re not surprised.
There are 4.3 billion internet users across the globe. Approximately 80% of them have social media accounts. That’s huge! But here’s the thing. The average click-through rate for a Facebook post is between 0.5 and 2%. If you have 1,000 followers, that means only 5-20 of them will see your posts.
Contrary to popular misconception, email marketing has great delivery and conversion rate. Almost everyone has an email, and they check it every now and then – while eating, while working or while waiting for the bus to arrive.
If you want to reach your target audience, you can do so through email. While not everyone will click and read the email, they are 80% more likely to do so than a Facebook post they might not even see.
Preferred method of communication
Email is far less obtrusive than a phone call or in-person visit. Plus, it is perceived as a more private outlet than social media. For this reason, many people prefer to communicate via email when it comes to their healthcare and medical needs.
A decade ago, people would use email to communicate with their family and friends. But a lot of that has shifted to social media, video chat, and texting. Email, on the other hand, is often reserved for work or business transactions, especially when dealing with very sensitive information.
Target select audience
We all know that the content is what makes an email great. But there is no point in sending out well-crafted, high-quality content if they are directed to the wrong audience.
Email marketing gives you the freedom to organize your contacts into segments. That means you can communicate with them based on their age, location, interest, etc. This way, you can easily customize your message for the different audiences you communicate with.
If you’re an emergency clinic, age would be an important demographic. For instance, you can send content that is centered on slips and falls to older adults on your list. For young adults, it could be about sports-related injuries.
By segmenting your list by age group, you can tailor the content of your email to suit the specific health interest and current situation of the recipient. When relevant content reaches the right audience, you’ll stay on top of mind with patients, establish a strong relationship, and build lifelong trust.
