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March 13, 2018January 13, 2019 by Mandy Edwards

Adapt Your Social Media Marketing or Fail

Social media marketing is changing.

The way you post, what you post, who you target – the who, what, when, wheres – it’s all changing. If you’re not adapting how you use social media to market your business, you’re going to fail. And fail bad.

In the past year, here’s what we’ve seen:

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg folks.

In the beginning – way back in the early 2000’s – you could just post whatever you wanted on social media and people would see. Much like the movie Field of Dreams, where the main character was told, “if you build it, he will come.” And he built it, and he came. Now that was dealing with a baseball diamond, the Black Sox, and a dad, but the theory is the same. You could post on social media and people would see it, and theoretically, come to your page/store/website. There was no algorithm dictating who saw what.

Fast forward to 2018 and the landscape is vastly different. Everything is methodical. Everything is done purposefully. There is a science and a psychology behind social media marketing – and it’s changing.

People do not want to see sales pitches. They want to see content that matters and relates to them.

People do not want to see fluff (think of all of those stupid videos and gag-tastic memes/quotes/graphics in your feed). They want to see meat – content with substance.

People do not want to have their time wasted by a business posting meaningless “Share this to win a $25 gift card!” posts and their feed cluttered by 25 friends sharing it – which, by the way, is AGAINST FACEBOOK RULES TO DO. People want to see authentic content.

What are you posting online? What’s on your Facebook page right now? Instagram? Twitter? LinkedIn?

Put yourself in your follower’s shoes. Are you posting something that would make you stop and read it, or just scroll on by. Think about that for awhile and think about that when you post next.

Social media marketing is going through an evolution right now. It came on the scene, people exploited it, everyone became an “expert” on using it as a marketing tool (when very few are legitimately versed in it), and now as the tide is changing, everything is being sifted out. The fluff content is getting penalized on Facebook. The fake experts are being called out. Social media marketing is changing.

But how?

It’s all coming back to the nuts and bolts of what I call marketing 101. Relationship-building. And it’s not a one-way street. You have to be active and respond to everyone. Let me type that again – you have to be active and respond to everyone.

People have said they want meaningful, accurate, authentic, and informative content. Adapt your content as such. Stop the fluff. Post the content that will draw them in, make them act. Reach out like the human being you are and build a relationship through social media with your community. Use social media as the communication tool, like the telephone.

People want more personalized experiences, especially in retail (read more about it here). Use social media to tailor the experience they have with you to them. Feature customers. Congratulate customers.

AT&T way back in the day had an advertising phrase – “Reach out and touch someone.” Apply that to your social media marketing. Reach out to your followers and touch them. Create an emotional connection that will turn them into life-long customers. It’s all about the relationship.

Social media marketing is going to be like Darwin’s theory of evolution – the strongest will survive and those who adapt with outlive the rest.

So how are you going to adapt?

Mandy Edwards is the founder of ME Marketing Services, a marketing company specializing in digital & social media marketing located in Statesboro, Georgia. A proud graduate of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia she has a thorough marketing background of 17+ years. In the fall you can find her along with her family at Sanford Stadium cheering on their beloved Georgia Bulldogs. Mandy has been mentioned in Forbes, named to the Statesboro Herald’s Top 20 under 40, has been ranked as a Top 100 Social Media Power Influencer by StatSocial and is a Sprout Social All-Star Elite. In 2016 she was recognized as a member of the University of Georgia’s top 40 Under 40 Alumni.

February 27, 2018January 13, 2019 by Mandy Edwards

How to Determine Success in Your Social Media Marketing Efforts

I’m going start with a statement you may not agreement with – your success when using social media for your business is not always going to translate into dollars and cents.

Yes, your return on your social media marketing will not always be money.

Let that sink in. If you think you are going to make thousands of dollars for your business by using social media to market it, you are wrong. The chances are very high that you won’t make anything – in terms of dollars and cents.

What you determine your return for using social media to market your business is is determined by what you define your ultimate end goal as being when you write your social media strategy. Your social media strategy should include WHY you are using social media for your business and WHAT YOUR END GOAL IS of those efforts.

Your end goal in using social media could be any of the following:

Increased brand awareness (this is the most popular reason businesses are using social media, BTW)
Building an online community
Generate Leads
Sales

Your success on social media will be determined on what that end goal is, compared to the results of your social media marketing efforts.

However, businesses are sorely lacking in actually measuring their social media marketing efforts. Many will post and never look back to analyze what worked and what didn’t, and what they can do better or different.

Measuring your social media efforts is different than measuring ROI on something tangible, say an expo event or a speaking engagement. When you look at ROI, you are looking at a return on your investment, and that almost always relates to money. Measuring success in social media marketing takes looking at many different factors and bringing them together like pieces of a puzzle. Some are easy to track, some are a bit harder.

Mark Schaefer wrote the book Social Media Explained a few years ago and in Chapter 6 he goes into explaining why you have to measure your social marketing efforts and activities. There were 4 points he made:

There is an implied value to everything.

If we are expending human effort, it should be justified.

If you’re not measuring, how do you know you are making progress?

There is no excuse not to measure.

I’d like to call your attention to numbers 3 & 4. First of all, I want to say AMEN to number 3. Seriously, if you’re not measuring what you are doing, how do you know if it is working at all? As for number 4, if you are given an excuse as to why you can’t measure what you are doing, well, that’s just a cop out.

Mark also points out in the book that not all ROI (success) is quantitative – some is qualitative. There are some elements you can measure but you can’t put a dollar value on it.

Let me share with you what I consider to be measures of success in social media marketing (and these are in no particular order).

Social Media Marketing Effort Benchmarks

Community Growth
- Did you see an increase in the number of people in your community? Was there a decline? Why?
Engagement Levels
- Did you provide quality content that inspired likes, comments, shares, retweets, pins, etc.? If so, you would measure that a positive, if not, figure out what didn’t work and try again.
Offer Redemptions
- Did you post an offer for our community? How many people redeemed it? Did you receive any leads from it?
Contest Entries
- Did your contest entries provide you with any leads or sales? Did it attribute to any community growth?
Clicks
- How many people clicked through your content? It could have been a picture, link, ad, contest, etc. Did you see an increase in your click-thru rate over last month? NOTE: Make sure to check your Google Analytics as well on this one!
Overall Sales
- How did you overall sales look compared to the amount of time you spent on social media marketing? Can you attribute any sales increases or decreases to your efforts?
Conversions (tracking pixels for ads)
- Did you track any website conversions from LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook ads? If so, was there an increase or decrease over the past month. NOTE: Check your Google Analytics too.
Subscribers
- Did you see an increase or decrease in your email or app subscriber base? Was any of that a result of your social media marketing efforts?

As you can see, more than just how much money you made can go into figuring out if your social media efforts were successful. What you want to look for are positive increases each month, no matter how small those increases are.

Using social media to market your business is ultimately about relationship-building, building that trust and loyalty with your fanbase. The sales will come from that, sometimes sooner rather than later. But remember, you have to have a purpose in every action you take on social media – and remember your end goal at the same time.

So please share with me, how do you measure success in your or your clients’ social media marketing efforts?

in Entrepreneurship / Featured / Social Media 0 comments

February 20, 2018January 13, 2019 by Mandy Edwards

7 Social Media Questions I Always Get Asked, Answered

I get bombarded with questions about social media all the time. In Walmart. The school pick-up line. Church. Social media is what I’m known for.

Last month, a good friend of mine in the business did a round-up of the top social media questions she gets asked and posted them on her blog, so in the spirit of share, and share alike, I thought I would do the same. The timing is quite fitting. I recently led a workshop with my good friend Louise Pritchard of Pritchard Volk Consulting on Branding and Social Media Strategy for The Southern C Summit and many of these same questions came up again. They are common questions, which means that business owners are still learning how to effectively use social media in marketing their business.

Before I dig into these questions and give you my answers, let me preface it all with this. This is simply the advice I give based off of over 16 years of overall marketing (and advertising) experience, including almost 7 years of that working solely in social media and digital marketing. There is good advice and there is bad advice. I mean, really, really, really bad advice. There are social media consultants out there that prey on inexperienced business owners like ambulance-chasing attorneys prey on victims. They take advantage of that business owner’s inexperience in this arena and lead them to practices that are just wrong, and sometimes against the rules. My company, and myself, pride ourselves on being one of those who follow the rules to the very end, so know the advice we give comes from experience and research 🙂

So let’s take a look at the most popular social media questions asked, and the advice we give {for free!}:

What social media platforms should I be posting on?

Before you decide what platforms you are going to use, you have to answer three questions –

WHY am I using social media in the first place?

WHO am I targeting?

WHAT is my end goal?

Let me explain. You have to know why you are using social media to market your business online – everything you do has to come back to that. After you know why, you have to know who you are targeting. This is very, very important. You will only use the platform(s) that your target audience is using. Let me repeat that. You will only use the platform(s) your target audience is using. You will rarely, if ever, use every single one. Once you know your target audience, you will essentially answer the question, BUT, you have to know what your ultimate end goal is for using social media. That will also play a role in what platform(s) you are using.

Example: You are women’s retail boutique that wants to target women ages 30-45 who like trendy clothing. After looking into the demographics of the platforms, you’ll see that the majority of that audience are using Instagram first, then Facebook, followed by Pinterest. So you choose to start with Instagram and Facebook.

Here is what Buffer found in their State of Social 2018 that most businesses were using (and keep in mind, this is an overall average – you need to do what is best for your business and your target audience):

Source: Buffer

How much should I post on social media?

Posting on social media requires a careful balance. You do not want to post too much, but you don’t want to hardly post at all. There is research to support both. The amount you post is ultimately up to you. Based on my years of experience, this is my recommendation:

Facebook & LinkedIn Company Pages: Minimum 5 times/week

Instagram: Minimum Daily

Twitter: Minimum 3-5 tweets/day

Pinterest: Minimum 3 pins/day

Your posting frequency will be determined by your goal and “why” statement in your social media strategy. You want to make sure you are posting enough to satisfy your goal in why you are using social media.

People have said Facebook is dead and not worth posting on anymore, is that true?

Honestly, I so badly want to eye roll when people ask me this. With all of the fake news and viral Facebook doomsday posts that go around several times per year, no wonder people think this. Facebook is not dead. People of ALL AGES are still using this (including teenages and college kids!) and the daily active users count is growing (see chart below). There are over 3 BILLION people on Facebook. If you want to reach your target audience, you are going to have to do something on Facebook – and more than likely it’s in the form of a Facebook ad. As seen below, Facebook is still the leading platform of choice for social media marketing.

How much should I expect to spend on Facebook ads since that is the only way to be seen?

Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way – if you are going to use social media (and Facebook) to market your business, you are going to have to run Facebook ads. To make this point, when Buffer presented their State of Social 2018, they found that businesses that have invested in social media ads are more than twice as likely to report that social media marketing is “very effective”.

Source: Buffer

Back to the question on hand. Facebook ads can be run for a minimum of $1-$20 per day depending on what your objective is. You can get more detailed information in my Facebook ads primer here, but what I would suggest for most small businesses is to expect to spend $2-$3 per day minimum for brand awareness ads and $5 per day minimum for traffic ads. At those amounts, you will see quantifiable results.

How can I get more Instagram followers?

I feel like this is the $50 million question. Of course, there are (illegal) shortcuts such as buying followers and gaming the system, i.e. following people then immediately unfollowing them as soon as they follow back, however, I do NOT suggest either of those.

Growing your Instagram following is hard. And that is the 100% honest truth. You will fight tooth and nail for every single one of your followers, but they will be authentic, engaged followers. So how do you get them?

Follow those accounts (both business and personal) of people you know and people that are relevant to your business and that interest you. Not everyone will follow back – and that is okay.
Use hashtags in your posts and follow hashtags that are applicable to your business. A lot of posts and accounts are found from hashtags (and you can see in the insights on each post if people came to that post from a hashtag).
Engage with people and hashtags! The more you engage with people and hashtags you follow (and don’t follow), the more exposure your account will get and over time, your account will grow.

Do not get tied up in the vanity number of how many are following you. In the age of people buying followers, it’s hard to know of the millions of Kim Kardashian’s how many are actual human beings. Focus on quality posts and engaging and things will be fine. You can start off by following and engaging with us on Instagram (shameless plug, I know!).

How do I manage my time doing my own social media and still run my business?

Time management is always a sticky subject. You could literally spend all day doing nothing but social media for your business. But that’s not why you have your business. Using social media to market it is just one teeny tiny part. This was a question that came up in my workshop and here are three tips I gave that will help:

Set aside a specific time to bulk create your content. This could be one day each month or a few hours at the start of the week. Use this time to create as much content as possible to spread out and use for as long as you can.
Schedule Posts as often as far out as you can. Set aside time each week to schedule your posts for that week or one day each month to schedule out standard posts for the month so you have something out there. Just keep in mind your ‘WHY’ statement from your strategy. You have to have purpose in everything you post. At ME Marketing, we work a month in advance for all of our clients.
If doing this yourself, set aside time each day to dedicate to nothing but your social media. Be diligent about this time. Use it to respond, post, engage. Be focused and purposeful. This could the first 45 minutes of the day or an hour mid-day.

What tools are out there to help me manage my social media?

There are many tools out there to help you manage your social media. The programs range from free to paid, based on the number of platforms you use and features you need. We are partners with Sprout Social, so that’s our go-to and first choice (and they offer a FREE 30-day trial!). These programs allow you to schedule posts, respond to posts, view analytics, monitor your reputation – and more. Other choices out there include Buffer, Hootsuite, and CoSchedule. Like I preface anything, you have to choose what works best for you and your business.

Of course, I get asked all sorts of questions, but these seven are the ones that have come up the most over the past year.

Social media is fluid. It changes all the time. What works today, may not work tomorrow. And isn’t working today, may work next week. If you are managing your business’ social media yourself, please make sure to educate yourself from reliable sources so you know that you are doing things right (see list below). If you need help, you are always welcome to contact us and let’s talk!

Here are some reliable, vetted sources that we suggest to follow for good advice, other than this blog of course 😉 :

We’re curious… what social media questions do you have?

in Entrepreneurship / Featured / Social Media 0 comments

January 30, 2018January 13, 2019 by Mandy Edwards

4 Elements of Connecting with Others

We are all in relationships with each other – we’ve all connected one way or another. It could be someone in your field you’ve met via LinkedIn or someone you admire you’ve been tweeting with.

In this age of texting, smartphones, social media, etc., I feel like we’ve lost the art of connecting. We become so easily engrossed in our devices that we forget how to really connect with people. Connecting with others is a big topic. You can find article after article about making friends, starting relationships and how to connect on a professional level. Connecting can happen online or in-person. No matter how you go about it, there are four elements of connecting we all need to keep in mind and not forget –

Be observant.

Watch the world around you. How are people interacting? Who is interacting with who? Sometimes it’s worth it to just sit and people watch. You can learn a lot about people when you just sit back and watch. Also, be observant of what YOU are doing. Are you spending so much time on your devices (smartphone, tablet, laptop) that you have no clue what is going on around you? People are watching you too.

Be intentional.

Everything you do should have a purpose and connecting with others is no different. Why are you connecting with that person? Is for professional gain? Maybe you find them interesting. Take a vested interest in the person – don’t connect just to name drop. Ask the other person about them, don’t tell them all about you.

When you are intentionally connecting, you need to avoid the bubble and break stereotypes. I know you’re thinking – whaaat? Let me explain.

We tend to surround ourselves with people like us – Republicans hang with other Republicans. Democrats hang with Democrats. Hot guys hang with gorgeous girls. When you intentionally connect with someone, you need to get away from those like you. Leave the comfort zone. It’s like in high school, leave the cheerleader table and hang out with the band nerds (we’re cool, by the way!).

Be authentic.

Authenticity is something that has almost completely gone away thanks to social media. So many people pose online as someone they aren’t. We’ve seen them – supermoms, single guys partying it up, those who display all the pricey things they own to appear as having more money than they do… you know someone like that. Lack of authenticity turns people away. I know social media pros preach about this and it’s true – the fakers can and will be found out thanks to sites like Google.

Be wise.

People online can be very misleading. It’s hard to mislead in person so this happens more online. Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true. When you connect with someone you need to do your own background check on them. Google them. Look them up on LinkedIn. You get the picture.

Another element of being wise is to not compromise who you are just to fit in or connect with someone or even when you do opposite of what you say. Be mature about it – if you have any ounce of self-respect you won’t cave.

So there you have it – be observant. intentional. authentic. wise.

What are some important elements you see or do when connecting?

in Social Influence / Social Media 1 comments

January 23, 2018February 8, 2018 by Mandy Edwards

An Updated {Short} Beginner’s Guide to Instagram Strategy

About two years ago I wrote a short primer on beginning your Instagram strategy and since then Instagram has taken the world by storm. Today, I present to you and updated version of that post. If you want to read the original, for fun, you can here.

Before we get started, let’s look at the stats now:

800 million monthly users
More than 800 million daily active users
8 million business Instagram accounts
72% of Instagram users have bought a product they saw on the platform
Over 50% over businesses are posting Instagram Stories

Source: http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/important-instagram-stats/

Sprout Social mentioned in one of their Instagram marketing guides, “As people join Instagram in droves, brands have a unique opportunity for engagement with their fans: Instagram posts generate a per-follower engagement rate of 4.21%, which is 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more than Twitter.”

Before you jump headfirst into using this platform (or if you are already there but needing a bit of guidance), there are some basic elements to consider when crafting your plan for your business. Let’s take a look…

Why are You Using it?

Like anything you do for your business, you have to know why you are using it. Are you trying Instagram because you are tired of Facebook? Maybe you want to be your competition to the punch? Before taking on more than you can chew, make sure you have the time, energy and resources to dedicate to doing this right. Once you have, start crafting your Instagram strategy. To save time and not reinvent the wheel, I’m going to recommend you bookmark Sprout Social’s Instagram Strategy Guide (it’s linked at the end of the article).

Which Photos Will You Use?

Photos are the backbone of this platform – without them, Instagram simply wouldn’t exist. Choosing what graphic to post is very important. Here are some simple things to keep in mind:

Optimal photo size is 1080px x 1080px; for Stories, 1080px x 1920px
Will your photo be landscape or portrait?
Filter or no filter?
Does it match the message you are wanting to convey?
Is it appropriate?
If I’m sharing someone else’s content, do I have permission?
Photos with faces get 38% more likes.

Unfortunately still at this time, there is not a direct way to upload a photo via your computer. I’m sure one day we may have this option, but right now, there’s not. Here are the most common ways to post your photo to Instagram:

Take a photo on your smartphone or tablet and direct upload from the device.
Create a DropBox folder or a folder in Google Drive and upload the photos you’d like to use and sync it with your smartphone or tablet. You’d then download the image from the cloud onto your device and post from there.
Repost App. This is an app that allows you to share other people’s Instagram photos. When you open it, it brings up the feed of who you follow and you just tap the photo you want to share and it allows you to open it up in your Instagram account to post.

What About Hashtags?

Hashtags are very important when using this platform for your business. 70% of hashtags on Instagram are branded. Instagram posts with at least one hashtag have 12.6% more engagement than those without. Like Twitter, these allow you to be found when someone searches. Instagram’s guidelines on hashtags can be found here. Jenn Herman of Jenn’s Trends is one of the top Instagram strategy people I know. She wrote an article about using hashtags on Instagram and here’s what she says (and I suggest as well) –

Use relevant keyword hashtags
Don’t use too many hashtags
Use industry related hashtags
Keep your audience in mind
Don’t hijack hashtags (basically using a popular hashtag to butt in on a trend or conversation)

One of her best suggestions on using hashtags was to create a list of hashtags and save them on your mobile device, “On your mobile device, I recommend you create a notepad note (on whichever app you prefer) with your favorite/preferred hashtags. You can even create multiple lists if you have multiple types of content you share on Instagram. Set the list with your core hashtags and simply copy and paste it into your Instagram post caption to save you having to type them in each time. It’ll also make sure you don’t leave any out!”

How About Following People and Having Them Follow Me?

On Instagram, in your feed you will only see the posts from those you follow. If you click on eyeglass at the bottom, it pulls up the search where you see photos from people based on the people you follow. You can also search people and hashtags as well. To be found and get followers, it’s important for you to use hashtags (see above). Most people you follow will follow you back, however here are some tips when you follow people and getting people to follow you back:

Have your bio completely filled out and include a link to your website. Also, make sure you have a legit and professional-looking profile photo (read: no bikini pictures or topless (if you are a guy), no vulgar expressions, etc.).
Post relevant content. Your stream should not be a collection of selfies.
When you do follow someone and they follow you back, do not immediately unfollow them. This is my biggest pet peeve. I’ll have people follow me and I’ll follow them back if I like their content and 2 days later, I’m scrolling through my followers and see they are not following me anymore. Talk about rude. Beware of those who follow you who are following A LOT less than follow them.
Check out who is following your competitor and follow those people. Keep in mind to only follow quality people.
Comment on other people’s posts. If someone comments on mine and I’m not following them, more often than not, I’ll follow them. Of course, look at their bio and what they’ve posted first.
Use relevant hashtags.

Promoting Across the Web?

Of course you’ll want everyone to know you are on Instagram now. When you launch your account, make sure you have your Instagram link on your website. Also, post a status update with your link on your other social accounts. I have several I follow on different social media platforms and their Instagram posts are much different (for the better) than their Facebook updates. Here are some ideas to promote your Instagram account across the web:

Status update on your social platforms.
Link on your website.
Write a blog post about why you’re using it.
Share your Instagram photos to Twitter and Facebook.

How Often Do I Need to Post?

Like any other social media platform, you have to use it regularly to benefit from it. Posting once per week is not going to do it. Plan on posting 2-3 times per day. The more active you are, the more your account with grow. As of January 2018, you can now schedule and post directly to Instagram through the major social management programs, such as Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer, etc. Another option is Schedugram. Of course, Instagram allows you to share your photos to other platforms, but if you do choose to go that route, I would only recommend sharing the photo to Facebook. Twitter only show the link and caption, not the image.

Tracking Analytics?

Last but not least, you need to be able to track and measure your Instagram efforts. Fortunately there are two options – Iconosquare and Sprout Social – to help! Both programs let you manage comments on your Instagram photos and gives you analytics on your accounts. Sprout’s Instagram services are included in their social management software while Iconosquare is a stand-alone program.

All of this can be applied to Stories as well. And videos.

Using Instagram can be A LOT of fun. It’s a great way to get a behind-the-scenes peek into the daily lives of business and individuals. If you use it the right way, you’ll see your presence grow.

What are you doing with your Instagram strategy?

Follow me on Instagram –

Personal Account – @mandyedwards0821

Business Account – @memarketingservices

Instagram Resources I Recommend:

18 Instagram Stats Every Marketer Should Know

Hashtags on Instagram

Sprout Social’s Instagram Strategy Guide

Schedugram

Jenn’s Trends (take a look at her Jenn’s Friends Program too!)

Sprout Social (Link takes you to a free 30-day trial and is my referral link).

in Entrepreneurship / Social Media 0 comments

January 16, 2018January 4, 2018 by Jennifer Hanford

Why You Need a Website That Delights Your Audience

Without a doubt, your most powerful marketing tool, hands down, is your business website.

And, as you are probably well aware, some websites are designed better than others.

Have you ever visited a website and been disappointed? Or worse, tried to visit a website that failed to load within a few seconds?

Of course you have. We all have. And, more likely than not, you have probably moved on.

Their loss…or maybe it’s your loss.

The simple truth is that every business needs a website that wows its visitors.

In a nutshell, your business website can either:

Help you stand out from your competitors or
Drive people directly to your competitors.

These days, savvy business owners must consider the fact that their audience seeks more than just a place to go online to purchase products and/or services. Instead, they crave a unique and highly visual online experience that entices and delights them.

And this is where good website design comes in.

Here are 3 good reasons why you need a business website that “wows” your visitors

1. You only have one chance to make a first impression – so make it count!

Website visitors often decide whether they want to do business with you within a fraction of a second, based on how they perceive your site. They may not even be aware they are judging you.

In her article for Design Shack, Carrie Cousins says the following about the importance of visually pleasing website design schemes:

The visuals that will grab the most attention the quickest include a strong image or illustration, sharp contrast or something unusual on the screen, and a phrase or wording that is memorable.

The better “first impression” you give, the more likely your visitors are to stay and/or return to your website. Good website design definitely makes a difference when it comes to attracting and retaining potential clients.

2. Your business website is a direct reflection of YOU

Along with that all-important first impression a website gives to its visitors, your website design also gives them an idea (perceived or realistic) of how you conduct business. For example, shoddy web design may inadvertently give your visitors the impression that your products and/or services are also inferior or low quality.

On the other hand, a well-designed business website can go a long way towards building trust. And trust is a big factor in sales. An organized website with a strong visual component creates a sense of legitimacy for you and your business.

As I mentioned above, your business’ website is also your most powerful marketing tool. Consider a good design as yet another way you can successfully stand out from your competition.

3. Your website is an essential component of your business branding

As well as being a valuable marketing tool, your business website also serves to promote your brand. Brand exposure is valuable for all businesses, of course. However, it’s especially important for new business owners and/or startups that need to establish a positive reputation from the get-go.

What are my options for building the best business website?

Now that you understand why you need a well-designed business website, you are ready for the next step: building one.

You’re going to find that there are dozens of website builder platforms and sites currently available.

Perhaps you’re strapped for time, or design isn’t your strong suit? Many startups and new entrepreneurs find that it’s easier to hire someone else who has the time and the talent.

Unless you personally know or have received a trusted referral for a web designer, consider us to help you with all of your web design needs without breaking the bank.

On the other hand, if you are more of a “do-it-yourself” type, you’ll find many affordable options as well.

There are some do-it-yourself options for building websites are:

Regardless of who designs your business website, these are some of the primary design aspects you should consider when designing your business website:

Logo and branding
Simple typography that is easy to read
Defined color palette
Easy user interface tools and elements that work in intuitive ways
Navigation that moves users through the site
Strong images that showcase your brand
Concise and targeted copy
Easy to understand calls-to-action
Your brand story told in a way that connects with users
Modern design techniques and interface

Source: Design Shack

Along with a strong design, websites today must be mobile-friendly, aka responsive. Google is now penalizing sites that are not mobile-friendly, which means if you are not and your competitor is, they will rank ahead of you. Site speed is important too. Please be sure to ask anyone working on your website about responsiveness and site speed – any designer worth their money will answer those with no issue.

Are you in the process of designing or redesigning your business website? Do you agree that a well-designed website is critical for successful online marketing? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

If you are looking to have a new website rebuilt or are just starting and need one, visit our website design page and contact us to get started!

in Entrepreneurship / Featured / Misc. / Web Design 0 comments

January 9, 2018January 4, 2018 by Mandy Edwards

9 Ideas You Haven’t Thought of for Your 2018 Marketing Strategy

It’s a new year and by now you should have completed your 2018 marketing strategy. If you’re ducking down in your chair because you haven’t, it’s okay, it’s not too late. If you have, great!

The marketing world is ever-evolving. Ten years ago, social was not a major component of the marketing plan and Facebook ads were not even an option. As the world changes, so does how we reach our customers. We are more mobile, more wired, in the technology-sense. When was the last time you went 24 hours without your smartphone? I honestly cannot remember myself.

Last year, social advertising took over, as did video. This year, those two will continue to dominate, but there are other creative ways to reach your customers – and stay in touch in with them as well. I’ve read article after article about the predictions and trends for 2018 and guys, what it comes down to is that businesses are going to have to get more creative – and more out of the box – as our digital world evolves. Before you throw your papers in the air and scream “it’s too much!”, it’s not. It’s not that hard. Really. I’ve put together nine ideas you probably have not thought of to incorporate into your strategy this year.

Install a chatbot to help with your Facebook page.

Facebook Messenger Chatbots are relatively easy to program and can help you respond to your messages while you are away or helping a customer. Facebook reported late last year they now see 100,000 monthly active bots on Messenger! These can help provide instant connections with customers, solving problems and helping with orders. It also alleviates the problem of the customer having to wait for a response when most expect a response within an hour.

Give LinkedIn another chance.

This is one I saw everywhere. The networking platform has undergone many changes since being bought by Microsoft. Included is an updated newsfeed and user interface. There’s not a lot of competition on the platform right now, and a weak algorithm, so it’s a perfect storm of opportunity. Plus there is a mindset change across professionals. They are tired of the nonsense in their other social feeds, so many are going back to LinkedIn.

Personalize the experience.

Personalization is something you will not stop hearing about. From emails to VIP exclusives, give your customers and clients a unique experience when shopping or working with you. 56% would rather buy from someone that recognizes them by name, and 58% from someone who offers recommendations based on past purchases. In the retail world, this is the big push as a lot of brick-and-mortar business is being lost to online stores. However, if you do this, make sure your personalization is genuine. Read more on that here.

Tell your story.

Customers and clients come to you for a reason – it could be for your work, a price-point, or something they saw. Let them get to know you by telling your story through your branding and marketing strategies. It’s what makes up the core of who your business is. Use your story throughout your marketing – social posts, blog posts, ads.

Have a plan for dark social.

If you haven’t heard of dark social, here’s what you need to know – it’s the conversations happening in private (think Facebook Messenger, SnapChat, Instagram DMs, WhatsApp, etc.). There is another world out there that you can’t reach entirely. Facebook is slowly rolling out Messenger Ads which will help, but make sure you know how to be a part of those conversations. My friend and mentor Mark Schaefer touched on this in his digital trends for 2018 post. The graph below that he shared showed how more people are going ‘dark’ –

Go with the group – Facebook Groups.

I’m not going to sugar-coat it. Facebook organic reach is down and it’s not going to come back up. You are going to have to run ads. You are going to have to get creative. You do still need your page though! Fortunately, Facebook now allows you to create groups through your Page – and here is where the potential starts. You can create a group for insider perks or for just general discussion. The engagement in these are much higher – but they do require more moderation and attention so make sure you have someone reliable manning them!

Use text messages in your marketing.

One of the key reasons why SMS (text) marketing is so popular is the fact it is such an accessible and widespread way of contacting people. 98% of text messages are read within two minutes and more than 1 in 10 text exchanges in the U.S. are with businesses. This is an avenue that not a lot of businesses are using – and something you may want to consider! Here are two examples from businesses that I receive texts from below:

text marketing strategy

Survey your customers.

Always check in with your customers to see if there are areas you can improve, enhance, or even add! Your customers will (hopefully) give you honest feedback. Entice them for this information with a reward for a higher chance of engagement. Just be careful of Facebook’s updated Engagement Rules if you use a post on Facebook to do this.

Go LIVE!

Take advantage of the growth of video and go LIVE! Host a Q&A, broadcast from events, give a sneak peek of an upcoming product, or just take people behind the scenes of the business. Businesses are jumping on this – and 2017 saw a huge growth in this area so there are a lot of ideas out there! This is something that can be done on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

See? Any of these nine can be done no matter your level of marketing expertise 😉

No matter what you decide to do this year, challenge yourself to be creative and go outside the box. Forget about the competition and just do you. Focus on your customers and provide the absolute best you can! And if you need help, we’re here anytime!

Which of these nine are you going to try?

in Entrepreneurship / Featured / Social Media 0 comments

January 2, 2018January 4, 2018 by Mandy Edwards

The Problem with Oversharing on Social Media

We all know ‘those’ people. They may be in our family. They may be in our circle of friends. They may even be some of your employees.

I’m talking about the ones who overshare on social media. You know, give you the minute-by-minute detail of their lives and those who post endless selfies.

Social media is a place to engage with each other and have fun – share memories, share good times and bad, share experiences. NOT share everything short of when you use the restroom.

Oversharing on social media has become a problem. People are using platforms as their online diaries, broadcasting their personal grievances and details of their children’s lives for the entire world to see. I am going to drop some truth on you right now. The world does not care what your Elf on the Shelf did every night. The world does not care what your kids got for Christmas or their birthday (aside from maybe your family). The world honestly does not care about every detail of your life. Harsh? Yes, but those most vested in your life and that do care will do so offline.

What happened to personal space and privacy?

Psychology Today addressed six reasons people overshare on social media a few years ago, however the reasons still remain the same today –

Anonymity – Some people can hide behind usernames and not use their real names.
Invisibility – “It can be easier to say things from behind a keyboard when the other person (or people) aren’t looking at the poster.”
Delayed Communication – You don’t have to deal with comments and messages immediately.
Filling in the other person – There’s no body language to read.
It’s not real – Much like the first two, people drop their inhibitions and become someone else.
Lack of authority – People may disassociate someone’s offline identity with their online identity, causing them to blurt out something they would never in real life, say, in front of an authority figure.

In another article, the Huffington Post looked at three other reasons people overshare, and these seem to be more in-line with what we actually see –

Boredom – People are bored so they feel the need to post to fill up their time.
Egocentricity – People think they are the center of the universe and the universe cares about what they are doing.
Low Self-Esteem – People are seeking attention and validation.

Facebook has provided a solution to those of us who are tired of these types of posts taking up space in our newsfeed. You can now snooze people for 30 days or unfollow them – all while keeping the Facebook friendship in place. The offending party will have no idea you are no longer seeing their posts.

People unfollow businesses for posting too much, so what happens if the oversharer is a business owner? This is where the territory gets tricky.

I have often written on this blog about you being an extension of your brand/company, no matter if you are the owner or an employee, and everything you do online reflects back on that brand/company. If you are oversharing every sordid detail of your life, and you own a business, how do you think that may affect your business?

Very rarely does oversharing positively affect your business. More often than not, it will harm it.

So there has to be a balance, right? It’s called common sense.

You cannot be too careful in this day and age, especially when it comes to children. Being married to a prosecuting attorney I could write an entire post on why you should not post about your children online (and yes, he does get mad when I post anything that just might give details away about our daughters).

Post personal highlights, not the details.

It’s okay if you do not post every day. People are not going to forget about you.

If you have something sensitive going on in your family, don’t post about it. Not everyone in your family wants it out there online – trust me on this one.

If you are only posting for attention and validation – DO NOT POST IT. This is the root of the majority of social media posts – people wanting attention and people seeking validation because they are missing something in their lives. What’s missing? I can’t say – only they know.

We all know oversharers – you may even be one and not know it (most do not realize it). Everyone needs to think before they post, whether they post once a month or once a day.

What advice would you give to someone who is constantly oversharing?

in Entrepreneurship / Featured / Social Media 1 comments

December 26, 2017December 19, 2017 by Mandy Edwards

The ME Marketing Content You Loved in 2017

It’s that time of year again – time to look back at the content published on this site that you kept coming back to!

I personally appreciate everyone who takes time to read the content we publish and share it across social media. We are here to help you, the business owner, and make your marketing a bit easier.

That being said, let’s take a look at the 10 top posts published in 2017…

#10 – Using Your Millennial Target Audience as the Face for Your Company

Using Your Millennial Target Audience as the Face for Your Company

In this post by one of our former interns Drennen Saunders, she shares with us some tips when using millennials as the face of your company or brand.

Read it here: https://memarketingservices.com/millennial-target-audience/

#9: Facebook Marketing 101: Where Do You Begin?

Facebook Marketing can be daunting regardless if you are a pro at it or if you’ve never done it before. In this quick and easier primer, we will get your strategy off on the right path.

Read it here: https://memarketingservices.com/facebook-marketing-101/

#8: THIS is the Facebook Content Your Fans Want You to Post

In this post we shared research from Facebook and Sprout Social that showed what types of Facebook content fans want businesses to post. And you need to be ready to engage.

Read it here: https://memarketingservices.com/facebook-content-fans-want/

#7: Bringing Creatives Together with Influencer Marketing

Bringing Creatives Together with Influencer Marketing

This post gives 15 items to consider when either participating in or managing an influencer marketing campaign. A recap of James Ford’s talk from the Southern C Summit.

Read it here: https://memarketingservices.com/bringing-creatives-together-influencer-marketing/

#6: If Work/Life Balance is a Myth, How Do We Manage?

work life balance

This one took LinkedIn by storm! Work/Life Balance is a myth. Not everyone can balance it all to perfection, so how do we manage? Here are tips to manage your professional & personal lives.

Read it here: https://memarketingservices.com/worklife-balance-myth-manage/

#5: Making Facebook Advertising Work for Your Business

Last year, I was honored to lead a Facebook Advertising Workshop at The Southern C Summit (this year myself and Louise Pritchard of Pritchard Volk Consulting are leading a joint branding and social media strategy one!). This is the summary primer of that session.

Read it here: https://memarketingservices.com/making-facebook-advertising-work/

#4: Your Business Needs a Social Media Marketing Strategy Right Now

Your business needs a social media marketing strategy before you start actively using social media for you business. Here’s why – & the data to back it up.

Read it here: https://memarketingservices.com/social-media-marketing-strategy-now/

#3: 26 Social Media Statistics to Back Up Your Strategy

This was originally a guest post for My Social Game Plan that I was able to post on my site as well. Given are 26 social media statistics to help support any aspect of your social media marketing strategy.

Read it here: https://memarketingservices.com/26-social-media-statistics/

#2: 8 Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes & What to Do About Them

In this post we take a look at eight common social media marketing mistakes businesses make and our suggestions about what to do to help overcome them to get your business on track.

Read it here: https://memarketingservices.com/8-common-social-media-marketing-mistakes/

#1: 20 Facebook Statistics for 2017

Go figure a post about Facebook would be #1! When Facebook hit 2 billion monthly users in the summer of 2017, we took a look at 20 Facebook statistics that shape the world’s largest social media platform, connecting the world and businesses.

Read it here: https://memarketingservices.com/20-facebook-statistics/

In 2018, we hope to bring you more content related to your marketing and social media strategies. Some may be long, some may be short, but our goal is to help YOU.

What was your favorite post on the ME Marketing blog this year? Share with us below! We’d love to know!

in Blogging / Entrepreneurship / Featured / Social Media 0 comments

October 31, 2017October 8, 2017 by Mandy Edwards

5 Ingredients For A Successful Holiday Social Advertising Campaign

Whether or not we want to believe it, the holiday season is upon us. We see turkeys and pumpkin pie everywhere we go. The pre-Black Friday sales are going on. Christmas music is starting to filter through our radio stations.

Is your business ready?

The holiday season is one time of year that it seems advertising dollars are unlimited based on the traditional ads we see. Social advertising, however, has been slow to warm up to those levels. I believe that social advertising is more effective in reaching your audience – and this is coming from a former print advertising sales girl.

If you are using social advertising this holiday season, you want to make sure you are getting your biggest bang for your buck. In this article, I am going to share with you 5 tips for a successful holiday social advertising campaign.

You’ll find out –

Why having a budget is important.
Why you need to get creative.
Why you need to know your audience.
How targeting works for you.
Why tracking is a requirement.

Know your advertising budget.

In a perfect world, businesses would have advertising budgets as big as Santa Claus’ toy bag. With an unlimited amount of money to spend, just imagine what businesses could do. Unfortunately, that is not the case in our world. Company budgets are run tight, often cutting sales and marketing first. When you advertise online and do not set specific start and end dates, it’s very easy to run up a high advertising bill. That’s the last thing company needs in the 4th quarter.

Having a budget is important because:

It controls cost. You can keep track of where the money is being spent accurately.
It’s easier to calculate ROI when it’s over. When you track the response of your ad against how much you spent, it’s easier to figure out that elusive number as compared to traditional print or broadcast ads.
It shows you just how much you can accomplish with social advertising when putting it up to a traditional form of advertising.

Think outside the box.

Since so many companies are vying for your customers’ dollars, the gloves really come off where creativity is concerned. This is a time of year when you need to start thinking outside the box and leave your comfort zone. You need to be seen and heard among the Targets, Macy’s and Wal-Marts of the world. This is where creativity comes in. Think of the successful holiday advertising campaigns you’ve seen. The ones that come to mind to me are:

Coca-Cola. The Polar Bears are so endearing that it makes an emotional connection with the audience.
Hershey’s Kisses. The Kisses as bells playing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” is my favorite holiday TV commercial. They have aired the same commercial every year for as long as I can remember. Continuity definitely says something.
Elf Yourself from Office Max. 9 years later, people are still getting elfed each year.

Now take a look at what made these successful – it wasn’t your normal run-of-the-mill advertising – they set out to really connect with people. Whether it was from an animated character, musical chocolates or making an elf in your image – they all started as something outside the box.

Know who your audience actually is.

Ask any business who their audience is and you’ll see a lot of similarities – people who like to spend money and have money are just two. Knowing who your audience is and being able to relate to them is key. You’ll know exactly what to say – and how to say it. The way you’d phrase an ad you want moms to see would be much different from ads geared towards teens.

For example, you are a clothing store targeting teenage girls. For an ad targeting their moms, you would say something like “We help 14 year olds look like 14 year olds.” (Disclaimer: I’m a mom of a tween – trust me, clothes these days do anything but make them look their age – moms are looking for ones that do) For the tweens, it would be, “Look totes adorbs & wow your friends.” Just knowing how tween girls talk helps you relate to them and get in front of them easier.

Knowing your audience is much different than just knowing the demographic stats. Know what they like, how they talk, who they interact with. That will help you put together a more successful campaign.

Targeting is your friend.

Once you really know who your audience is, you know who and how to target them. Facebook and Twitter have hands-down, the best targeting options out there in the realm of social advertising. With these two platforms, you can get in front of your competitor’s followers (Twitter), target people based on their net worth (Facebook), get in front of people talking about or watching certain TV shows (Twitter) or target trendy moms specifically (Facebook), just to name a few.

Targeting will help you:

Use your advertising budget more effectively.
Get you in front the exact person you want to reach.
Stay within the goals of your campaign. Your ad won’t be the needle in the haystack.
Separate yourself from your competitor.

Track your ad’s performance again and again and… again.

Any social advertising platform includes analytics on how your ad is performing. Knowing what these metrics mean and how they are performing will determine the success of your campaign.

Tracking can show you:

What wording and/or graphics work best. Use A/B testing to see what resonates with your audience the most.
Your ROI. With social advertising analytics, you can see the number of impressions for your ad, the clicks and if you have a conversion tracking pixel installed on your website, the number of conversions. Take your number and compare it with what you spend and bada-bing – you have your ROI. Ask a print or broadcast ad rep if they can get that specific.
How wise you are using your advertising dollars. This does relate some to ROI, but you can watch your ad and add or subtract money from your budget at any time. Is your ad off the charts? Add some more money to it! Is it totally bombing out? Then lower it.

Not only can these 5 tips be applied to your holiday social advertising campaign, but also to your everyday ads you run online.

Social advertising is going to become the dominant form of advertising. Just watch over the next 5 years or so. With people using their mobile devices more for internet searches and social networking or just doing pretty much everything online, it’s just a matter of time before we see more social ads than we do on TV or radio. Fortunately, social advertising is affordable for every business from your mom and pop store on the corner to the behemoths like Wal-Mart or Target.

Question is – how are you going to make it work for you? I hope these 5 tips help you out this holiday season. Have a tip you want to share? Comment below and let me know!

photo credit: roitberg via photopin cc

in Advertising / Ask Mandy Q&A / Social Media 1 comments