DreamGrow Social Media

Simple Tools For Managing Social Media Content

Olivia — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Looking at the way the Internet has been shaping the world around us, there is no doubt that it has changed the marketing game. Becoming a staple in business, there has been a huge jump in using Facebook ads, Twitter links, fan pages, blogs and viral content to advertise. Not only has this had major implications for large corporations, but for small businesses that are predominantly online, and even local features in communities.

With this being the case, social media is one method of marketing you cannot afford not to utilize, especially given its low cost ability to be far reaching to potential customers all over the world. Not to mention how easy it becomes to gain new markets just through current fans sharing your content to their family and friends.

But you can make it even easier to accomplish, using these excellent social media tools to get the most out of your experience.

HootSuite

Arguably one of the most popular social media tools on the web, this offering from application powerhouse Invoke Media works by connecting all of your social media, including profiles and RSS feeds, into one convenient place on your desktop. It then provides an analysis tool that is applied to each in real time.

They have mobile applications, too, that give you the same benefits no matter where you are. They boast such clients as The Onion and Time Magazine, and even The White House uses their program to monitor social media activity.

There is a free basic account that allows you to link up to five social media profiles and two RSS feeds. But for only $5.99 per month you can get their unlimited service, which might be a benefit for larger businesses or social marketers.

Dlvr.it

This blog feeder from Pheebo is an excellent little tool that makes it easy to deliver customized content to each social media profile. For example, you can post a link with a long title to your Tumblr or Facebook account, and then provide the same content on a smaller scale for 140 character-based Twitter.

It also works as a post schedule system, which is convenient. It can get tiring having to use a separate website for creating scheduled posts, especially since most don’t allow you to do more than two or three at a time. With Dlvr.it, you can post not only multiple comments for different times, but for different websites.

But best of all, it is completely free. You can’t beat that.

Postling

Another well known and popular application by the same guys who brought you the handmade shop site Etsy, this is a social media dashboard that collect all of your accounts into one easy place. Not only can you post to sites such as Twitter and Facebook, but you can write and post blog content on your WordPress from the same place, then provide links anywhere you need them.

In addition to these benefits, you can get a daily social activity report on all accounts in your email, and it has a live update service that monitors reviews and comments about yourself or your business.

The downside is that the free version is very basic, without the analytics tool. You have two options for paid services: either the Plus at $9 per month, or the Premium at $49 per month.

Conclusion

Of course, these are only a few of many social media tools. But they are some of the most popular, and some of the best around. If you have been looking for a way to better monitor your social media and make it work for you, this is your chance.

What are some tools that you use? Let us know in the comments.

Olivia is a social media enthusiast and creative writer for PsPrint, an online printing company. Follow on Twitter and Facebook.

Image Credit: Gaurav Mishra.

Simple Tools For Managing Social Media Content is a post from: DreamGrow Social Media

Make an App for That: Mobile Strategies for Retailers

Priit Kallas — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:49:21 +0000

Make an App for That: Mobile Strategies for Retailers by Chris Silva. Developing a mobile strategy to address the smartphone- and tablet-toting shopper.

From SlideShare: Make an App for That: Mobile Strategies for Retailers

Make an App for That: Mobile Strategies for Retailers is a post from: DreamGrow Social Media

How to Pick the Best Social Networking Site for Your Business

Pam Velazquez — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

There can be no argument regarding the potential value of social networking sites for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Social networking sites are free to use and very effective. Those two facts help combine to make very useful tools. Of course, there is also the factor that if you are not using social networking, your competitor probably is doing so, and this puts you at a considerable strategic disadvantage.

Which social networking site will ultimately work best for your business has a great deal to do with issues including what you are attempting to accomplish, and what kind of clients or customers you are wanting to reach. The most important step is that you do have a social networking strategy.

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Social Networking Basket

There is something to be said for not “putting all your eggs in one basket” where social networking is concerned. If you are thinking that Facebook and Twitter, for example, will always be highly useful tools you could be setting yourself up for a virtual fall.

Remember MySpace? Yes, not all that long ago it seemed as though everyone was on MySpace, but that is not the case today, as this website’s traffic continues to drop and drop. In fact, while News Corp bought MySpace for $580 million in 2005, it was recently sold to Specific Media and Justin Timberlake for an undisclosed sum, which CNN reported was just $35 million.

As In All Things-Diversify

So which social networking site is right for you? Paradoxically, the answer to that question is that none of them and all of them. By diversifying your social networking presence, you safeguard your strategy against poor management decisions within social networking companies. For example, should MySpace have really self-destructed the way it did? How about Friendster? Of course not, but you had no control over this situation. Yet, if you’ve invested heavily in one social networking platform and essentially ignored other platforms, you could ultimately pay the price.

If you are using social media to generate revenue, you need to be very careful in how you approach your social networking decisions. In short, remember to diversify in case something bizarre or unexpected happens.

Currently, the social networking giants are Facebook, Twitter, and to a lesser extent LinkedIn and YouTube. There are, of course, other regional players, but those four are the most important social networking sites for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Find Different Ways to Communicate with Your Clients

The ways that you communicate with your customers and potential customers should be as diverse as possible. You should strive to find a variety of ways to reach your customers ranging from social media to building your newsletter database and creating high quality content so that people see your website, and you, as a resource. Do this and you will be a bit more insulated from the rise and fall of the social media giants and their accompanying egos.

Image credit: KEXINO

How to Pick the Best Social Networking Site for Your Business is a post from: DreamGrow Social Media

YouTube Killed TV [INFOGRAPHIC]

Priit Kallas — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:05:33 +0000

An excellent infographic from freemake.com about the rise ofe YouTube and decline of TV. YouTube Killed TV [INFOGRAPHIC].

YouTube Killed TV [INFOGRAPHIC] is a post from: DreamGrow Social Media

Facebook IPO is Coming [INFOGRAPHIC]

Priit Kallas — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:36:04 +0000

Facebook’s IPO is coming. After going through the 213 pages of Facebook S-1 PDF file I decided to create a visual representation of the most important numbers in the document. The first half of the Facebook infographic is about the users and the second part is about the company.

Feel free to share and re-post and please link back to the source (CC license).

Facebook IPO is Coming [INFOGRAPHIC] is a post from: DreamGrow Social Media

Making the Most Out of Your Newsletter Subscribers

Pam Velazquez — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Having many newsletter subscribers doesn’t mean much if you aren’t taking advantage of the opportunity to contact them and stay in touch. Oftentimes small businesses and entrepreneurs build up subscribers, but they don’t translate those subscribers into social media followers, repeat website visitors or, and most importantly, sales! In this article, we will look more at how you can make the most out of your newsletter subscriber base and increase awareness of your company’s goods and services.

Give, Give, Give!

The most important step you can take with your newsletter is to make sure that it offers something. Now the “something” in question does not need to necessarily cost you money to provide. If you are a small business or entrepreneur, you probably don’t have that kind of cash to throw around. So what can you do? The answer is, more than you might think.

It is vitally important to make sure that your newsletters are worthwhile and contain valuable information. You want people to feel as though your newsletters are worth the time. Additionally, the newsletters should do more than promote your business and tell everyone how completely and totally fantastic you are.

The best strategy that you can adopt for your newsletters is to give people informative and entertaining content. How best to do this will depend, of course, on your own business, what you sell and other related factors. Give people quality, and they will respond positively. Always strive to offer something that is legitimately of value.

Quality Has Many Facets

A big part of quality is presentation. A professional look and feel is very important when it comes to your newsletters. Many small business owners will put a considerable amount of attention, money, thought and effort into their website design and its functionality, only to give very little thought to their newsletter design and presentation. It is nearly a one hundred percent certainty that those who are receiving your newsletter will, in fact, judge you by its quality.

If your newsletter is sloppy and looks as though very little effort or thought was put into its design, this reflects upon you. The last thing you want is to have your newsletter create a negative impression. Sending out fluffy, worthless newsletters littered with misspelling and other errors is worse than not sending one out at all!

With all of this in mind, it is worth investing the time to find either a quality newsletter template that you can use or hire someone to develop a newsletter for you. Keep in mind that if used correctly, a newsletter can help generate revenue for your business no matter what your line of work may be. Give your customers and potential customers something of value, and they will notice you.

Image credit: E. Bartholomew

Making the Most Out of Your Newsletter Subscribers is a post from: DreamGrow Social Media

How Many Social Media Accounts Is Too Many?

Maya Szydlowski — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Every business knows the importance of social media. You can’t watch commercials without seeing a company’s Facebook page listed, others host photo and video competitions on Twitter on a regular basis, and LinkedIn is used more than most companies’ own human resources site. However, just because a social media site exists doesn’t mean your company necessarily needs to be using it.

Simply put, Facebook and Twitter are a must for anyone trying to entice customers or followers online. These are the go-to social media sites for most users, and many potential customers will research a company on Facebook before even going to the business’ primary website. However, all those other social media sites, especially the niche sites, aren’t a necessity for everyone. Depending on your business, there are social media sites that are more geared towards your niche and will provide you with more effective marketing that is actually worth your time.

For the Product Provider

For product providers, Pinterest is a great outlet for further spreading your brand. Not only can you post pictures of your products, but you can also post blog postings in which your product was used or any other positive press you may have received. It is a great way to create a visual buzz about your product, and makes it incredibly easy for your followers to share the word about your product.

A product provider should also have a YouTube account if they have commercials that regularly receive airtime, or if they plan on hosting video competitions highlighting specific products. Otherwise, having a regularly maintained YouTube account may be more trouble than it is worth – especially for smaller businesses.

For the Artisan

For those offering self-made works of art, furniture, clothing, jewelry, and other artisan goods, social media sites like Etsy, Pinterest, and YouTube are a must. Etsy is already the go-to site for those seeking handmade goods, and Pinterest is quickly becoming a go-to site for ideas. If you want to grab the attention of this niche, businesses specializing in homemade goods need to have active accounts on these sites and need to showcase the best of the best.

YouTube is also a great site to have an account on, because artisans can give brief tutorials that customers, once they purchase supplies, can be coached through a creation process – whether it be knitting a scarf or creating a decadent recipe.

For the Service Provider

For service providers, such as lawyers, online educators, and marketing professionals, there are two main sites you should consider aside from Facebook and Twitter: LinkedIn and YouTube. LinkedIn is a great place for professionals, especially those who tend to work alone or manage a single office, to attract other professionals seeking services, however, don’t rely on it as heavily as Facebook. YouTube is also a great idea if your service is offering tutorials or how-tos on anything whether it be math lessons or setting up a WordPress theme.

If you decide to run an account on each social media site, you may find yourself wasting precious time, not reaching those most interested in your business, while simultaneously putting in way too many work hours each day. In addition to Twitter and Facebook, companies that are looking to attract the attention of professionals, whether it be a partnership or just another employee, LinkedIn is also a must. Otherwise, grab an account on all social media sites only to avoid having the competition or malicious individuals create a faux, but only actively use those that will prove the most effective when trying to succeed in your niche market.

Maya Szydlowski is a community manager for Veterans United Home Loans, the nation’s leader in VA loans and providing news and resources for the military community.

Image credit: fredcavazza

How Many Social Media Accounts Is Too Many? is a post from: DreamGrow Social Media

How to Run A Facebook Sweepstakes Contest

Mart Prööm — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

A popular way to gain fans to your Facebook page is to host a sweepstake contest. In plain terms this means that you are giving out a prize (or several prizes for that matter) between everyone who participates in the contest. Here are some basic guidelines and imporant things to consider when you decide to run a Facebook sweepstakes.

Set rules and conditions!

Add a set of your campaign rules to your sweepstakes application, preferably in the footer section of your application. If you get into trouble, you can refer to your terms and conditions of your sweepstakes contest. These rules include who is allowed to participate, what are the prizes, legal disclaimers (such as the prize cannot be exchanged for cash), etc.

Make your sweepstakes application shareable!

Make it so that users can easily share your campaign message by clicking on a share button which is on your application. The share should go something like this:

Title: Win 1000$ worth of prizes!

Body copy: Company X is hosting a Facebook sweepstakes contest where we are giving out X, Y and Z prizes. Don’t miss your chance, enter now by clicking on this link!

Include an ‘invite friends’ button!

‘Invite friends’ will send an application request to the friends that you decided to invite. Simple as that. This feature is as important as the share button. Make it easy for others to spread the word.

Have a specific action for participation!

What do you want the users to do in order to participate? It could be as simple as clicking on a single button which will ask them for application rights. Another great but simple action might be to make entering your email address as an action of participation. So, in other words – enter your email address and you have a chance to win X (scroll below to see an example).

For example, in order to participate in Clinique’s Facebook sweepstakes competition, one must enter several fields such as their first and last name, email address, birthdate, etc. It’s a bit too much if you ask me as the more form fields you have, the higher is the drop-out rate. Unless you are giving out a multi million prize that is.

Take participant’s email address!

Getting the participant’s email address means you have another channel for communication to help your business spread your marketing message. It’s smart to integrate your marketing channels, so that you take the connections you establish through social media and add them to your mailing list. Also, as it’s a sweepstake, email address can be used to contact the winners.

Follow Facebook’s Terms of Service!

It’s mandatory to follow Facebook’s Terms of Service and Promotion Guidelines to make sure that you’re not doing anything that violates them. For example, sweepstakes must be organized on Facebook applications. You cannot use Facebook’s own features (such as liking a page) as a method of participation. Also, to quote the promotion guidelines: “You must not notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat, or posts on profiles (timelines) or Pages”.

Pick a desirable prize!

As with any sweepstakes, your prize will play a huge part and it might determine if your campaign is successful or not. Choose your own products/services or something very appealing to your target audience. By default, the prize should be directed towards those who actually are interested in what you have to offer. I’ve said it a couple of times already and I’ll say it again – don’t give out an iPad if you are a fishing supply store. Give out your own products or better yet, something exclusive that is not available for everyone to purchase.

Give out several small prizes!

In addition to having a main prize, you might want to consider issuing out several small prizes such as some gift cards few times per week. Even these small prizes should be appealing to your target audience. The participants will have a chance to win the big prize or some gift cards, either way – chances to win something are increased significantly!

Post regular updates on your wall!

Announce the winners on your Facebook wall, you can announce something like “We have drawn another lucky winner named Jane Doe. If you haven’t participated yet, do so by doing the following steps…” Usually these kinds of announcements will generate likes, comments and shares, all which have the potential to increase your sweepstakes viral effect.

Use like-gating features

While you cannot use “like” as a method of entering a Facebook sweepstakes competition (Facebook Promotion Guidelines), you can make it so that only users who have liked your page, can participate.

Don’t forget to use a call-to-action!

Whatever your sweepstakes message is, include several call-to-actions in your copy such as “Enter to win!”. Use these call-to-actions in your copy text, in your sweepstakes buttons, in your share texts, anywhere and everywhere.

Choose your campaign length!

Usually, an optimal sweepstakes campaign length is about 2-4 weeks. Don’t make your sweepstake last for more than that. If I want to win something, I want to know about it ASAP, not in 6 months time. By that time I’ve already forgotten about your brand and moved on.

Measure your results!

How many participants did you expect and how many participants there actually were? What did you learn that you could do to improve your future sweepstakes competitions? These are all important questions that need to be answered in specific numbers. Analyze, ask for feedback from your target audience and improve!

How to Run A Facebook Sweepstakes Contest is a post from: DreamGrow Social Media

10 Food and Beverage Related Facebook Landing Page Examples

Mart Prööm — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

For the last four months or so, I’ve become very fond of Facebook welcome pages and their design. I’ve already written a post about 26 great Facebook landing page examples – read it here if you haven’t yet! Now I want to take this obsession one step further and find some great landing pages in each of the most popular categories starting with the Food & Beverages- Let me know in the comments below, which category you’re interested in next (such as Beauty and Health Products, Appliances, Electronics, Services, etc). I hope you gain some inspiration from viewing these.

I browsed through hundreds of brand pages and these are the ones I want to share with the rest of you. In no particular order:

Nutella

Carl’s jr

Oreo

Pizza Hut

Nabisco Cookies

Miller Lite

TIC TAC USA

Kroger

Propel

Crisco

Let me know in the comments below which category of brands you want me to research next for some inspiring landing pages.

10 Food and Beverage Related Facebook Landing Page Examples is a post from: DreamGrow Social Media

41 Great Examples of Pinterest Brand Pages

Priit Kallas — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:46:23 +0000

Pinterest is growing really fast. Last week I wrote about What’s Pinterest and How to Use It for Marketing Your Brand? Now we took a look at who’s already using Pinterest for marketing their brand. As expected there are a lot of businesses who relay on visual appeal for their branding: fashion, furniture, food, etc. But there are also magazines, non-profits, and even tech brands.

If you find a way how to express your brand visually then go ahead and experiment with Pinterest brand pages. Here are a some examples from early adopters: