NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR PAID SOCIAL MEDIA

With only two weeks left in 2015, it’s safe to say that this has been a huge year for social media. Facebook announced earlier this year that it hit one billion users in a single day, over 2.2 billion people are now active on social media platforms and marketers are estimated to have spent $23.5 billion on paid social media marketing experts advertising. With the growing reach and capabilities of social media, any marketer who does not explore social as part of a larger digital strategy is severely limiting the success of future campaigns. If 2015 was the year of growth for paid social media, 2016 will be the year of growth for us as marketers in understanding and mastering this channel. These five resolutions are a good start for anyone just getting acquainted with social media or wanting to ramp up and improve existing efforts moving into the New Year.There is a common misunderstanding that display banners can simply be recycled into social media, but I strongly urge marketers to stop taking this easy way out. Images on social media should not be overly text-heavy or dependent on an enlarged company logo. The image you choose for your sponsored ad is undoubtedly the first aspect that will stand out to a user as they scroll through their Newsfeed. Think about it this way, your post is not only competing with other sponsored ads but also against organic content, Time Hop memories, vacation photo albums, page long status updates, recommended posts, etc. So your image should be striking if you want to grab user attention amongst the competition and clutter.This seems like a no brainer but far too often marketers use dry ad copy within sponsored posts. Social media has inspired a new wave social media marketing firm of creative communication and interaction that marketers can benefit from. Before letting the creative juices flow free, remember that as a part of a paid campaign, there are certain objectives to keep in mind with every ad being served. Be sure to give a preview of what you are offering and a solid value proposition so that a user understands the benefit of clicking through and engaging with your ad. Write ad copy that complements the image used, clearly builds your brand and directly speaks to your target audience.

SOCIAL MEDIA NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

It’s almost January, which means it’s time to take a trip down memory lane down the year that was. Did your social media marketing firms get results for your brand in 2015? If not, and you’re struggling with how to take your social media to the next level, your brand might benefit from a little shake up in 2016.Spruce up your look In spite of your best intentions, looking a little disheveled on the first day of the year isn’t totally out of the ordinary. To begin the year afresh, start by looking at your social media profiles. Are they looking a little worse for wear, too? The visual aspects of your profiles are an important factor when it comes to putting your best branding foot forward. The New Year is a fantastic time to change up your appearance on social media, but just remember to keep branding consistent across platforms.Revisit unfinished business Do you have a dormant social media account sitting in the shadows, waiting to be used? Maybe you’ve signed up for Twitter or Instagram and haven’t laid down the groundwork to get it up and running? If you’re guilty of this, you know what you have to do. Make 2016 the year you clean up your little secret and put the effort in to getting that profile going.Become a social analytics mastermind When you’ve got social media, it’s important to not just write content, but track the success of that content, too. Take the time to look at the backend of your social media profiles and get to know how social analytics works. That way, you are more informed about what your audience is up to and which posts they like. This will increase your post productivity and allow you to schedule more content that your audience is interested in. Stay social The end game of social media is all in the name: If you aren’t being social, then what’s the point? In 2016, make sure you’re responding to messages and comments from fans – they’re potential customers, after all. And when you’re crafting your posts, it helps to social media marketing books broadcast content that is going to encourage conversations. Get people talking with questions and interactive content. Give social ads a go Ever wondered why your Facebook content isn’t reaching more of your audience? It’s because Facebook is a platform that likes to make it harder and harder for brands to reach their audience with organic content only. If you’re serious about growing your reach, it might be time to look at targeting through social ads. And don’t just think about Facebook either: Instagram is another platform that has amazing potential advertising power.

Connect With An Influential Person Every Week And Make Them Aware Of Your Brand

Imagine the strength of your brand at the moment, now imagine how much social media in marketing it could benefit if 52 influential people from your industry were recommending you to their followers, and peers. Get started with this simple guide on how to influence the social media influencers. Ditch The Stock Photography Ok, not everyone has a designer at hand all the time, so we completely understand why stock photography is so popular. But it’s worth investing in a good image library and unique custom images for your brand. Why? A recent study by Neil Patel, co-founder of KISSmetrics, Crazy Egg and Hello Bar, highlighted that custom images significantly outperform stock photos. In some cases by up to 10 times! Some brands are guilty of oversharing self-promotional content on social media. The problem is that social media users don’t want to share that type of content with their followers and friends. Why would they want to share what looks like ads when they can share something more thought-provoking which says something about themselves? To cut through the noise, make a resolution to produce quality content for your social media channels which is less promotional and more thought provoking and helpful. Here at SocialBro we aim to produce three types of content:If you aren’t already doing this, 2015 is a great time to start! How many shares did your blogs get, what posts generated the most visits to small business social media marketing your landing pages, which hashtag had the furthest reach, what is the average open rate of your mailing list? Keeping track of this information helps understand what is working, where you’re improving, and gives you an idea on what to work on in the future.