Social Engagement – Page 3

Leveraging the Holidays on Social Media

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Kate Smith

The holiday season is once again upon us, and with it comes another slew of elaborate holiday marketing campaigns from big name brands. From the commercials meant to tug at your heartstrings to the memorable holiday mascots, the fight for screen time is getting more expensive. As a business owner it’s easy to feel discouraged in the presence of such grandiose, high-budget spectacles that always accompany the season. Luckily, thanks to social media, leveraging the holidays doesn’t always require a massive advertising budget. Here are some ways you can create engaging and effective holiday campaigns on social media.

Showcase your product

The holiday season is a better time than most to show off your wares. Most people are already making wish lists and searching for the perfect gifts for loved ones. Make sure your product is at the forefront of their mind by using Instagram stories, Facebook videos, and dark ads focused on important product benefits and discounts. If you do a contest or giveaway, make sure it revolves around your product.

Play on Heightened Emotions

Whether it’s because of the childhood memories, religious overtones, or the spirit of giving that permeates this time of year, nearly everyone gets emotional around the holidays. Without being too cliché, find a way to use these emotions to your advantage. Heck, your audience may really dislike the holidays, but rancor is an emotion you can capture as well. You could make fun of the consumerism or family squabbles that people so often despise.

Tailor to Your Audience

Make sure your message is targeted to your particular audience. Too many people put out generic holiday posts. They’re usually lovely and sometimes shareable, but they tend to lack the personal touches that really make an impact on consumers. Show your customers you know them and your social media engagement will improve.

Research Relevant Hashtags

Though hashtags tend to have more importance on platforms like Instagram and Twitter, it’s always important to know what is trending. Because so many posts are tagged with generic hashtags like #MerryChristmas or #HappyHolidays, it’s easy for your posts to get lost. See what hashtags are trending at the time and tailor your holiday messaging to what people are already talking about.

Ask Customers to Share

Most people on social media are there because they like to share. They share selfies, political opinions, memories, and funny cat videos. Why not take advantage of their giving nature? Ask users to share photos of themselves in ugly sweaters, use Facebook reactions or a Twitter poll to vote for their favorite holiday films, or leave comments with their favorite Christmas memories.

Adjust for Platforms

Remember that all platforms are different. What may be successful on Facebook may not translate well to Twitter. Instagrammers may be more interested in seeing photos behind the scenes, while Twitter users may be more apt to engage on posts that ask their opinions. Familiarize yourself with each platform and adjust your media and messaging accordingly.

Call Them to Action

Once you’ve created the perfect holiday post for the perfect target audience on the perfect social platform, make sure you include a call to action. Don’t go through all the trouble to get your audience’s attention, only to leave them in the lurch. If they’ve engaged, they’ve already shown interest in your brand. Try linking to your online store or sharing a time-sensitive voucher code to seal the deal.

Local Social Media & Brand Integrity

Posted on November 20, 2017November 20, 2017 by Kate Smith

As a franchisor, one of your biggest concerns is brand integrity. If you’re a growing company with just a few locations, you may lack the resources needed to hire additional employees to monitor your online messaging and brand strategy. If you’re a larger company with hundreds of locations and multiple Facebook pages, you may find it difficult to make sure each franchisee is putting out content reflective of your brand voice. In either case, the answer can be found in understanding today’s on-demand economy and the importance of technology in your approach.

The Need

Advertising has always been about staying ahead of the game. While traditional advertising serves an important purpose, it is largely insufficient on its own. Over the past 25 years we’ve seen a transition in advertising from traditional to digital to social media. And recently we’ve seen yet another fundamental shift toward mobile and local content.

This is simply a consequence of the on-demand economy in which we now live. Consumers are less and less persuaded by the push/pull strategies of the past. They require quality, locally curated content and a relationship-centric approach.

A brand that posts local content is a brand that shows it cares about the communities in which it operates and a brand that people are more likely to engage with. Pages with truly local content can expect to see exponentially higher reach and engagement that will ultimately translate to increased brand loyalty.

The Challenge

Franchises present a unique challenge when it comes to local social management. How do you balance a local social campaign with an overall brand strategy?

Brand Strategy + Messaging + Consistency x Local Franchisees = Chaos

In approaching this challenge, it is important to note that franchisee concerns are very different from those of the franchisor. While corporate players may be focused on brand image, distribution, and PR, franchisees may be more concerned about staying connected to their community, getting enough people through the door, or simply having enough time to dedicate to online engagement.

All of these concerns are important to consider in determining your social media strategy. Here are three approaches to consider.

The Options

1. Top Down Approach

What it looks like: Corporate publishes the majority of posts uniformly across branded pages and reviews are managed from a centralized point. Some localized posts are allowed with approval from the corporate team. This is the most common approach among franchises because it tends to be the easiest to implement.

Advantages: Corporate control and consistency of messaging.

Disadvantages: Less online engagement and less community connection.

Tech Needs: Social tools that can mass-distribute posts, restrict permissions, and centralize social reviews and responses.

2. Bottom Up Approach

What it looks like: Corporate yields the majority of control to the franchisees to distribute localized content and respond to online reviews. Some corporate posts are distributed on the local level. This approach requires training franchisees to use different social media platforms and create engaging content.

Advantages: Truly local content and genuine community engagement.

Disadvantages: Less control of brand messaging, unreliable or inexperienced franchisees, and no guaranteed posting.

Tech Needs: None or a social platform that limits rights and requires content approvals.

3. Integrated Approach

What it looks like: Corporate controls messaging from the top through approvals and permissions. Reliable and competent franchisees can be given more flexibility, while others can receive corporate curated messaging. This approach requires a social management platform and training, but allows for corporate oversight and franchisee opt-out.

Advantages: Move at your own pace, retain corporate control of messaging, lower risk, and still get localized engagement.

Disadvantages: More planning and training.

Tech Needs: Franchise social media software that allows content approvals, roles and permissions, and localization capabilities.

The Solution

An integrated approach is the best solution. It helps retain brand integrity while also allowing local franchisees to be involved and engaged with their communities online. For this approach you will need to leverage a social media management platform that allows you to assign roles and permissions, grant content approvals, localize and post to multiple pages at once, and centralize reviews from all the top social media and review sites.

Lava Surf allows you to implement this integrated approach with ease. Though it will require some extra training, it will allow your brand to move at its own pace. If you’re nervous about diving into local social right away, you can take your time and implement your strategy in phases. We recommend a Crawl, Walk, Run strategy:

Crawl: corporate control
Walk: test the waters by allowing specific, trusted franchisees to have more freedom
Run: train and roll out brand-wide

To find out more about how you can implement this integrated strategy with your business, feel free to contact us here.

4 Tips to Increase Brand Engagement on Social Media

Posted on October 26, 2017October 30, 2017 by Kate Smith

Social media is changing. It is getting harder and harder for businesses to keep up with evolving trends and updated algorithms, leading many well-intentioned marketers baffled at what to do next. What’s changed?

According to Brandwatch, 96% of people who talk about brands on social networks don’t even follow them on social media. Due to the sheer amount of content available online, users are more careful about what they choose to follow. Even those who follow your page are not guaranteed to see your content once it’s passed through the almighty algorithm.

Here are some ways you can make your branded content more discoverable.

1. Use Humor

Some of the most successful brands on social media are those that use humor to their advantage. Just look at the Wendy’s Twitter account for example. Some of their snarky responses have been re-tweeted over a hundred-thousand times. And that’s just on Twitter! Their tweets also get passed along on Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit and other social networks as well.

2. Pull Back the Curtain

Social media is trending toward authenticity. Gone are the days of highly produced glamor shots and product pushing. Those types of posts have their use, but those brands that get the most engagement are those who are genuine. People want to see smiling faces behind their favorite brands. So be sure to include some shots of your company barbecue or a Facebook live video of the office.

3. Monitor Trends

Not all trends will fit your brand, but be taking note of what’s happening in the culture. Some trends are just too good to pass up. One such example is the ALS ice bucket challenge that swept the internet in 2014. Many brands jumped onboard and were able to both join the conversation and harvest the goodwill of the online community. One such brand was Old Spice. Always try to find a way to tailor your posts to reflect a current trend or popular hashtag.

4. Team Up With Influencers

Finally, team up with those who already know how to connect with audiences. If you’re a larger brand, chances are there are people online who have a large following and are already using your product. Reach out to them about working together on an endorsement or giveaway. If your brand is smaller, reach out to influencers who you think would fit your brand image. Partnering with influencers is one of the most effective ways to promote your brand because you can utilize the trust and influence they’ve already built with their followers.

How about a solid case study?