Help Wanted!
Recently, we offered the opportunity for our “Insider’s Only” email subscribers to join us in a very limited group of “testers.” The folks were asked to sign up to participate in an Instagram contest that begins next week and includes a prize and potential fame! Behind the scenes we are testing a few tools and applications for Instagram, and we’ll tell you about those later. But, we limited the group to only 12 first responders in order to keep a very close eye on the tools we want to test. Now, we need the help of our blog readers. Beginning Monday, June 24th and running through...
read moreSocial Actions – What Do They Mean For Your Brand?
By Camille Rodriquez When a business takes to social media, the goal is always to build revenue and brand awareness. You will always be building brand awareness and your business reputation, good or bad, depending on your use of social media, but it’s understood that the goal is to increase profits. Even businesses that aren’t on social networks are in the business to increase profits. But as we’ve discussed before, there should always be goals involved. To further those goals, most business marketers begin their social media posting hoping for attention, hoping for Fans and...
read moreRisk Management in Social Media
By Frankie Rodriquez If your business has a presence on social media it is essential to practice risk management. Traditionally when one thinks of risk management in business one thinks of policies and procedures in place to reduce the risk of accidents in the workplace, safety during natural disasters, protection from fraud and theft, protection from sexual harassment litigation, credit risks and confidentiality/privacy compliance. Those areas of risk management apply in social media as well. But social media also presents an unusual area to be vigilant about risk management. The nature of...
read more7 Tips for Improving Your Social Media
No one is perfect. That’s true in every area of life, even social media marketing. The rapid-fire changes to social networks, and how we use them, make it very difficult to be a perfect user of all of the tools or to even know what all of them are. However, everyone has to begin using social media somewhere. We’ve watched the “big” names and the little unknown folks hit home runs at various times with strategies, tips, and helpful information for the social media marketer. But no one does it every time – not even the “big” guys. Largely, that’s because the first “rule”...
read morePassword Security
In case you missed it today, the official Burger King Twitter account (@burgerking) was hijacked by someone who renamed the account McDonalds. Pretty funny, right? Well, not if you’re Burger King and you’ve worked hard to get those 86K+ Followers! (That number fluctuated wildly during this time, too!) Details are still coming out, and the account was suspended in less than two hours, but what can the rest of us learn from this about password security? Whether the hack is from a password breach or not is still to be discovered, but let’s take a moment to review some basics. Social media...
read moreRules for Twitter Following
Recently, a new Twitter user sent us a Facebook message to ask about “rules” for Twitter. (Don’t you just love modern communication across social platforms?) Specifically, his question was, “I am curious about Twitter etiquette. It seems like the nice thing to do in general is to follow those who follow you…Are there some unwritten rules?” This is a common question, especially by folks who are new to Twitter and trying to figure it out. What it boils down to is a question of best practices for representing yourself or your brand in an engaging way. While this article addresses...
read moreWhat Does Facebook Graph Search Mean to Your Facebook Business Page?
Social media marketing is an ever-changing field. In part, that’s because social networks are constantly updating features, and so business owners and marketers must stay in a constant learning mode. Facebook’s Graph Search is an excellent case in point. The service hasn’t even been rolled out to all Facebook users yet, and there is much wide-spread speculation about how powerful it’s going to be. Facebook has said, in fact, that they expect Graph Search to be something that they will update many times over the next few years, so what is a business owner to do? Pay attention. That is...
read moreEffective Media Buying in 2013
By Frankie Rodriquez Business owners will need to pay closer attention to how they handle media in 2013. Today’s business methods require owners to spend with the best return possible. Social media marketing (SMM) is becoming a more prominent player in brand marketing of most businesses by engaging the customer. If you want your business to keep up with industry trends, you are compelled to reach more people through the use of ever-increasing social media channels as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. The goal of successful media marketing is, of course, a return-on-investment...
read moreSocial Media – Seasonal Impact
Anyone who has been involved with social media marketing for any length of time will tell you, there are seasons to social media. That doesn’t necessarily mean Christmas and Fourth of July specials, although it might. More likely though, it may mean trends or times of the year that your audience undergoes a significant shift in their attention span. That shift can be upward or downward, but social media marketing needs to take into account seasonal impact and be able to distinguish that type of shift from larger trends or patterns in your audience. As your audience grows, you will...
read moreSocial Media – Adapting to Growth
No matter how vibrant your social media presence is today, you will at some point experience a slump. Your outrageous and “gone viral” post today is only good for today, because social media users have the memory of a butterfly…unless you really mess things up! In cases like that, you’ll likely be in the news for a while, but that’s not the kind of attention most businesses want. With social media, generally speaking, you’re only as good as your last post. That is especially true as your social media presence is growing. Think of it like a party where you’re the...
read moreSocial Media – Split Testing
There are many things to which you could compare social media marketing, but one common element has to be present. Social media marketing is a fluid, evolving, dynamic process that never rests. To undertake this kind of marketing you must understand that what worked yesterday may not work today, and what “so and so” did, might work for them, but it may not work for you. Enter the concept of split testing. Split testing can take a lot of forms in marketing, but it serves to test your strategies so that you can adjust for getting the best results. Split testing, or A/B testing,...
read moreSocial Media Diversification – 3 Things to Consider
Social media marketing is not a passive activity. It’s true that it doesn’t have to take all of your time, but it’s also true that you will get out of it what you put into it. A little social media for your business is better than none, but more is better than less – assuming that you’re contributing valuable content that serves your customer and fan base, not just yourself! Having said that, most business leaders are either overwhelmed by the choices of social media networks, or they’re over committed on too many networks and marketing poorly. So how do you effectively diversify...
read moreConverting Goals Into Value
Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable, has said, “Attention is the new currency.” That is certainly true for marketers. When folks pay attention to what you’re saying – via any method of marketing – they are giving up time to listen to you. Time is a valuable commodity, and therefore if you’re using social media for marketing, make sure it’s worthwhile for others. Are you offering value? Are you “being” social or just “doing” social? There is a difference, and it will show in everything you’re doing online. It’s important to have specific goals with your marketing, and...
read moreFacebook Tagging Etiquette
One of the wonderful things about Facebook is that it’s meant to be social. Often, that shows up in the form of Facebook “tags.” A tag is when you link your post or image to another person’s Facebook account. The post you’ve made shows up on both your wall and their wall, and so more folks will see the post. Or, at a minimum, the person you’ve tagged will definitely see the post and get a notification about it as well. Both status updates and pictures can be tagged. But what is the etiquette around this tool. Just because you can do something with Facebook, does that mean it’s...
read moreSocial Good – A Case Study
Most of the topics that we address here at Polka Dot Impressions have to do with business marketing and using social media to that end. But you can’t be a “user” of social media and not realize that the impact of it is far wider than business growth. Stories abound of reunions by long-separated families and friends, all finding each other through social media. We’ve also heard the stories of how social media has been the primary source of communication in cases of natural disaster. And now, one of the growing trends in social media is social good. Social good has been defined in a...
read moreDo You Measure Social Media?
There are lots of tools out there for measuring social media’s effectiveness, but many business owners fail to use them. There’s much debate over the best method to determine ROI, but many small business owners don’t use any methods at all. So, the real question is, do you measure social media for your business, and are you tracking growth that matters to you? If you’re a small business owner, then here are several things to consider for your own social media marketing measurements. They may not all apply to you, depending on which social media networks you’re using, but read...
read moreTop 3 Things I Love About LinkedIn
Recent reports have indicated that LinkedIn is not the most widely used social media network, but it spite of that, it has consistently been a part of the professional branding experience. Let me explain what I mean. In a recent study, it was found that the average time spent on LinkedIn per month is 21 minutes. That’s not a lot of time over the course of the month, but when you consider some of the loveable things about LinkedIn, it’s easy to see why less time doesn’t mean less quality, and it’s widely touted as the most “elite” of the social media platforms… (If you’re...
read moreTop 3 Things I Love About Email Marketing
First, we must define the term “email marketing” as I’m using it. It is not a reference to sending out 10 different Outlook Distribution List emails because you’re afraid your message will bounce back if you send it to too many people at once. Many business owners create multiple lists and send out messages in exactly that way. When you do that, you are not using email for marketing. You are using email for sending a “personal message” in an impersonal way. Email marketing, by definition, is the process of using a third party program for sending out professional business-related...
read moreDoes Social Media Work?
Does social media work? That’s a common question, and to answer it, I’m going to “the Fab Four” for an analogy. In the same way that social media has transformed the way the world communicates, The Beatles transformed the industry of music. You cannot deny that because of social media communication happens differently than it used to. And likewise, you cannot deny the popularity or impact of The Beatle’s music, even if you weren’t a fan. So let’s look at the parallels, and see what we can learn about how social media works when it works well. The Beatles had four very dynamic...
read more4 Ways to Get Better Fans
When you think over your life, you probably have some great memories of specific events and times. You may have lived a lot of days, but the great ones stand out, right? Social media has a similar principle in effect. You may desire a lot of fans or followers because that appears to make a statement about your worth as a business, but a few great fans are better than a thousand inactive ones. The great ones stand out, don’t they? So how do you get better fans? This isn’t a question of more fans, but better fans. With better fans, you’ll likely see a growth in your reputation, customer...
read more“Would You Rather?”
Have you ever played that game, “Would You Rather?” Two choices are presented to you, usually of a similarly difficult nature, and you are supposed to decide which you would prefer. For example, “Would you rather die in a tornado or a hurricane?” Social media presents this challenge to the business owner every day – two difficult choices. How you respond to them in action, not just in your published motto, can make or break your social media marketing. “Would you rather build a business on authenticity or gimmicks?” Through social media, the business leader has the opportunity...
read moreWarning: This Is a Social Media Rant!
Yes, I do actually read the tweets of those that I follow on Twitter. Yes, I do actually care about the Fans on my Facebook page and whether or not my topics are interesting for them to engage with. Yes, I realize that this means I may or may not have huge numbers of Followers or Fans, but those with whom I engage have offered something of value to me, and I am trying to return the favor. That is in fact, one of the core values of Polka Dot Impressions. Thus, when I saw the tweet below, I was shocked. I get it. Numbers sell. It’s like sex in movies and scandal in the music industry. Many...
read moreHave You Swallowed the Social Media Happy Pill?
There are no quick fixes with social media marketing. There are no secret formulas or magic pills that will make it so. Ignore the rumors or the scams, and know this…Social media marketing takes time and energy. So, before you launch a social media campaign, or create a lot of pretty pages and profiles, ask yourself the following questions: Am I certain of my goals for social media? Are my goals possible with social media? Do I have the staff to implement the daily attention to these goals? Do I have a process for interactions across social media channels? How will I maintain a single...
read moreEdgerank and Facebook Relevance
Based on a webinar held today, hosted by EdgeRank Checker and Wildfire App, I want to pass on some facts and figures for you to consider when including Facebook into your marketing efforts. Facebook uses a system, much like Google, to determine your “ranking” as a business page, which in turn leads to the prominence of whether or not you show up in the news feeds of your Fans. Simply put, if Fans don’t engage with you, Facebook “decides” you must not be very important to them, and you begin to disappear from their feed. The higher your Edgerank, the more likely that your posts are...
read moreSEO vs SEM vs SMM?
Marketing is full of buzz words and jargon, some of which are harder to understand than others. Take for example, SMM, SEM, and SEO. Are they just a jumble of confusing letters, or are they important? They’ll be defined differently by different people, but in broad terms, what do these acronyms actually mean, and why does that matter to the business owner? SMM is short for “social media marketing” and is has to do with the promotion and engagement with fans on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc. SEO, “search engine optimization,” directs...
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