This week on Cars and Coffee, we head to Road America to drive a Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4 on track day.  What an amazing time test driving this car with a professional instructor. The pro driver in the car did an amazing job of  instructing the capabilities of this 610 hp green beast of a Lamborghini Huracán.  There is nothing like unleashing the power of the Huracán out on the Racetrack. Enjoy!

Xtreme Xperience

The race track experience was provided by the amazing team at Xtreme Xperience at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. The problem with exotic cars is that they’re ridiculously expensive, so for most of us, the idea of enjoying a Lamborghini or Ferrari will always be a dream. Until now.

The group of race car enthusiasts set out with one mission in mind: make exotic cars accessible to EVERYONE who has ever dreamed of driving one.

Car Overview

The post Michael J Fox Racing Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4 appeared first on Real Michael J Fox.

Getting high quality leads in a competitive marketplace is one of the biggest challenges facing digital marketers these days.  Publishing engaging, relevant content for potential customers remains a powerful tool. Learn how marketers can build localized SEO into a successful content marketing strategy. By doing so, the conversion ratio of traffic to customers will steadily increase. 

The first step to localized SEO is to understand that a user is specifically looking to the find information relating to the keyword(s) they have used.  This is known as user intent. Then you need to match your content to the intent of the user visiting your website.  A generalization is that search intent can be divided into the following goals:

• Research – learning more about a particular topic, service or product
• Action – carrying out any task online, such as paying a bill
• Shop – buying everyday or special occasion items online
• Check – looking up a specific website
• Visit – locating a venue to visit.

Once you understand the user’s search intent, you can optimize your landing page content to meet the needs of your customer.

2. Use long tail keywords

Users no longer search by typing in one or two words, understanding that using multiple search terms will bring them a more specific result. Search queries can encompass whole phrases and questions. Imitate user searches by adding long tail keywords and remember to include locations for localized SEO. 

Related Article: How To Get To The Top of Google Search Results

3. Add locations to your title and meta descriptions

Review your titles and meta descriptions to ensure they are displaying well on search engines like Google, and add locations where they are missing.  This will help your localized SEO campaign. 
Put long tail keywords with locations at the start of the meta description to ensure they are visible in search results. This boosts your page rankings while showing the relevancy of the page to the user’s search, making it more likely they will click through to your site.  Remember the average length of description displayed on mobile devices is shorter at 130 characters, versus around 160 characters on desktop. 

Related Article: What is SEO / Search Engine Optimization?

4. List your business online for Localized SEO

Optimize your company information for Google My Business, and list it in localized SEO directories such as Yelp. Be sure to use the same format and wording for each directory listing, to strengthen its appearance in search results.

5. Optimize fully for mobile

Be sure to SEO your landing pages for all devices to target visitors who are ready to spend. Searches and purchases are increasingly made ‘on-the-go‘ so it’s vital to ensure your pages and payment platforms display properly and function seamlessly on mobile devices to allow users to complete purchases on the spot.

The post 5 Ways to Use Localized SEO for Leads appeared first on Real Michael J Fox.

DIY Website Builder vs Hiring a WordPress Pro

Ads for numerous website builders like Bluehost, Squarespace and Wix are everywhere. The attraction of a DIY option for $5 per month is strong. However, can these instant site creators really deliver?  Is Wix going to really have actors like Will Ferrell, Jason Statham and Brett Farve building you a website in 5 minutes.

WordPress is the most popular website building and blogging content management system (CMS) in the world – with close to 75 million websites by 2017. Last year, nearly a third of all websites were WordPress sites. It’s easy to see why, as this website creation tool is very user-friendly and adaptable to your needs and preferences. Plus, it’s flexible and adjustable, offering numerous pre-designed themes, and it’s optimized for mobile. With their built-in blogs, WordPress sites are excellent options for bloggers looking to attract an audience for their work.

Building your WordPress Site

As an entrepreneur, you’re smart, innovative and motivated. Installing and setting up a basic WordPress website is likely well within your capabilities.

Related Article: How To Build a Blog And Make Money Online

Choosing a WordPress Pro over an Instant Site Builder

If you want to make money as a blogger, you need to set yourself up as an authority in your chosen field or niche. You want people to turn to you for help, tips, guidance, advice or entertainment. A key part of this process is making the right impression – one that spells value, quality, authenticity and dependability.

Here are some top benefits of going with a WP pro to design and create your website instead of relying on an out-of-the box site builder solution:

Better Use of Time

You have blogging to do. Creating quality content requires a dedicated time investment. You also need to work on lead generation and building your sales funnel. This is where your time is best spent – not learning how to use a website builder and troubleshooting website issues.

Related Article: 4 Reasons Your Business Needs To Be Blogging

Quality

Are you a skilled writer? Typos, bad content, hard to read text and other off-putting features quickly sends your visitors on their way, boosting your bounce rate to unwelcome levels. An experienced professional with an established reputation delivers a quality product that avoids these issues.

Variety

There are more than 50,000 available WP plugins. So, if you’re not a seasoned WP user, you’re going to miss a lot of the options and features available to you. Alternatively, you may use too many or the wrong ones. Outsource that job to someone who knows what they’re doing and enjoy just enough variety and flexibility for your site.

Related Article: 5 Top WordPress Plugins for SEO

SEO

When your prospects and ideal audience are online searching for the very services, products and content you offer – they should find you. SEO gets that done. But, do you have time to figure out the often-evolving SEO field, like how page speed impacts search results? Likely, not. If you’re unfamiliar with current SEO strategies, methods and trends, your efforts in this area sure to be lacking. A skilled WP developer knows SEO and stays up-to-date on changes. They’ll incorporate smart SEO tactics into your web build.

DIY site builder services offer startups and sole proprietors an affordable, workable web creation option. But, when you can afford it, a professionally designed WP site delivers helpful advantages. Weigh your requirements and your budget and choose the option that best meets those criteria.

Related Article: Small Business SEO Backlinks Like Big Players

The post DIY Website Builder vs Hiring a WordPress Pro appeared first on Real Michael J Fox.

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Modern SEO Practices

There’s nothing new about the term Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Nevertheless, there are modern SEO practices that are critical to your success in today’s market. Using keywords in the body of your text alone isn’t going to cut it in today’s day and age. Read on for five modern SEO practices you probably didn’t know you needed to start using.

1. LSI Keywords

Everyone knows SEO focuses on keywords. As the digital era continues to advance, keywords related to your topic alone are not enough. There are modern SEO practices that are even more useful. Using LSI – Latent Semantic Indexing – keywords are becoming important, too. These are the words or phrases that are similar to your main topic. Users with an interest in your subject have an interest in related topics.

Using LSI keywords proves to Google that your topic is what the reader is searching for. With enough LSI keywords, Google bots can confirm this topic will engage the user. You can use free online LSI Keyword generators to get a complete list of keywords. Including modern SEO practices like this can boost your SEO ranking.

Related Article: SEO For Small Businesses: Why Local Search Matters

2. Local SEO Marketing

Modern SEO practices can connect you with users who have an interest in your subject area. And local SEO can connect you with local users. That means connecting with customers who can actually engage with your business. This is particularly useful if you depend on in-person sales. Local SEO can help you target users who have an interest in your brand and are able to shop.

Local SEO uses geo-targeting and location services tracking. This is great for developing ads. It will help you target only the people with the potential to be a future client. You will increase your conversion and ROI by not wasting money on clicks from users well outside your local area.

Related Article: Small Business SEO Backlinks Like Big Players

3. A Mobile-Friendly Experience

The majority of website and social media visits come from mobile users. Having a mobile-friendly site isn’t something you can afford to skip out on anymore. More and more users depend on their smartphones as their primary web-browsing device. Mobile-friendly websites make navigation much easier. Modern SEO practices aren’t related to content only. They extend to website management, as well.

Users can miss out what your website has to offer if you are not optimized for mobile devices. This can turn the user off completely. If you are paying to drive clicks to your website, you want users to engage. Your content or products need to be accessible once the user lands on your site.

4. Social Media SEO

Link-building through social media is another modern SEO practice. Links from your website to your social channels, and vice versa, are crucial. Back-links tell Google your website is established and credible. This plays a huge role in your Google rank. Your social posts appear in Google searches. More back-links to your website are being created with each post. Each post adds to your credibility and your rank.

Plus, social channels have their own search engines embedded within them. Using hashtags can help introduce your content to more users through search.

Related Article: Top 6 Social Media Myths To Avoid

5. Meaningful Content

If you want to increase your brand awareness online, you can’t cut corners or find an easy way to do it. You have to put in the work to generate real, quality content for your users. The user experience is important. It’s great to generate clicks with catchy titles and effective ads. Of course, that alone won’t lead to success. You have to keep those users interested by offering then what they came for: quality information.

Some websites focus on long-form content while others opt for short, easy to read articles. The bottom line is that whatever you do publish has to be relevant, informative, and engaging.

Related Article: Why SEO is Content Marketing

The post 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Modern SEO Practices appeared first on Real Michael J Fox.

How to Build a Social Media Strategy This Weekend

Social media: it’s rapidly become one of the most essential marketing tools for professionals around the world. Do you have a social media strategy?

With about 80% of the U.S. population using social media, it’s clear that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest can be a major boon for your company. The question, then, is how you go about using them as effectively as possible.

The answer is simple: you develop a social media strategy.

If you’re new to this concept or your current social media strategy needs some work, here’s a straightforward breakdown about how you can create an award-winning social strategy this weekend.

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Social Media Strategy

Take your social media interaction to the next level with these social media strategy creation steps:

1. Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Before you can gain any traction with your social media strategy, you need to set some actionable objectives and goals. Without the help of goals, there’s no way to set your sights on certain outcomes or measure the success (or lack thereof) of your efforts.

Keep in mind, though, that it’s not enough to just set goals. Instead, you’ve got to set SMART goals. SMART goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-Bound

SMART goals are unique in that they’re well-formed enough to lead to true business outcomes. They serve as the framework you need to take your company’s social media strategy and interaction to the next level.

Related Article: What is Social Media Marketing? Your Step-by-Step Guide

2. Track Your Metrics

When it comes to social media, there are two different categories of metrics: vanity metrics and meaningful metrics. Vanity metrics are the ones that stroke your company’s ego: likes, tweets, retweets, etc.

Meaningful metrics, on the other hand, are the metrics that support your company’s SMART social goals. Depending on what you’re focused on achieving, meaningful metrics can include customer acquisition, engagement, and more.

If you want to know how well your SMART goals are working, it’s essential to track these metrics throughout the lifespan of your social campaigns. When you pay close attention to these metrics, you’ll know where your social media strategy is succeeding, and where you may need to improve. it.

While you can’t “Track your metrics” conclusively in a single weekend, you can decide which metrics you’ll focus on, and put a plan in place for tracking them.

3. Build an Audience Persona

Who are you trying to reach on social media? If you don’t know the answer to this question, it’s time to figure it out – STAT. The reason for this is simple: understanding who your audience is and what they want is essential if you want to create content your customers like. After all, how can you expect to communicate effectively with customers if you don’t even know who they are?

Fortunately, there’s a simple way around this: creating an audience persona. These personas are semi-fictional characters that lay out the demographics, wants, needs, and concerns of your most valuable customers. They make it possible to think more clearly about your customers and ensure you’re avoiding assumptions.

If you’ve never created an audience persona before, the linked guide from Buffer can walk you through the process in just a few minutes.

4. Back Yourself up With Facts

If you’ve got some assumptions kicking around about social media, it’s a great idea to collect some real-world facts to ensure you’re not operating on faulty information.

For example, is Facebook really the best platform to reach the customers you think you’re reaching? Where do your customers come from? What languages do they speak? And how do they like interacting with brands on social?

Related Article: Top 6 Social Media Myths to Avoid

5. Analyze Your Competition

Do you know who your competition is? If so, do you know what they do well and what they could afford to do a bit better? If the answer to either of these questions is “no,” now is the time to conduct a competitive analysis. Don’t worry – this process is quite a bit simpler than it may sound.

A competitive analysis allows you to take a closer look at your competition and use their social media presences to spot opportunities of your own. For example, maybe one of your competitors has a great Instagram presence but has neglected Facebook entirely If so, this may be your chance to blow them out of the water on that platform.

Here’s a template to help you conduct your competitive analysis.

6. Audit Your Social Presence

Close out your weekend of social media strategy planning by taking an honest look at your current social media presence, and making a plan about what’s working and what’s not. To this end, ask yourself these questions:

• Who is connecting with your brand on social media?
• Which social media sites do you currently use and which create the most interaction?
• How does your brand stack up against your competition on social media?

Related Article:  10 Apps To Boost Your Social Media Presence

Better Social Interaction Starts Here

Social media is everything for modern businesses, and you can’t afford to take a shot in the dark. Instead, you’ve got to develop a social media strategy that allows you to take an active and intentional approach. With these six steps, you can develop a social media strategy in a weekend, and keep adjusting it as your brand grows, changes, and improves.

Related Article: What is Marketing Automation? A Step by Step Guide

The post How To Build A Social Media Strategy This Weekend appeared first on Real Michael J Fox.

SEO for Small Businesses: Why Local Search Matters

Local search engine optimization is vitally important for all small businesses. Lets touch on why local search matters. Optimizing your website can help to bring in more visitors, which can result in more sales for your business. Over the last few years, Google has focused on providing local search results for search users. This gives small businesses a great opportunity to attract local prospects and customers to their websites. To make the most of local search, use these top tips.

1. Local Keywords Attract Local Customers

Keywords are the core of any good SEO strategy. Local keywords are ones that include the name of your city, neighborhood, or region in addition to a word relevant to your business. For example, “florist Brookline” is a local keyword.

Local keywords attract local people, who are most likely to engage with your business. They also face less competition than general keywords. Use the Google Keyword Tool to discover keywords attract high search volumes in your niche. Add the name or your neighborhood or city to create a strong local keyword.

Related Article: How To Use Yoast SEO & Content Analysis Tool

2. Improve Your Website and On-page SEO

In order to rank high in search results your overall website gets a score known as domain authority.  This score is the ranking of 8 overall ranking factors.  If your next door competitor has a rank of 55 and your new website is ranked at a 20, then you have to work to do on your website and its content.  On page signals will include (NAP) Name, Address, Phone Number, keywords and domain authority.

According to MOZ, Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). A Domain Authority score ranges from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank. Below is a comparison of the eFaucets site I founded compared to our competitors. We are 67 out of 100 ahead of our competitors and one the major factors that we dominate natural search.

3. Make Sure Your Website is Mobile Friendly.

More and more local websites are being accessed on mobile these days.  In fact, 69% of all local searches are performed on smartphones as of 2019.  The easiest way to provide a mobile friendly website is to ensure your website theme is known as a responsive theme. If you haven’t made your website mobile-friendly, you should. The majority of users coming to your site are likely to be using a mobile device.  If you don’t know if your website is mobile-friendly, take the Google Mobile Friendly Test now!

(Image Credit: Statistica)

4. Listing Sites Boost Local SEO

Adding your business to listing sites, such as Yelp and Google My Business, can help to attract more local traffic to your website. Be sure to include appropriate categories, relevant keywords, accurate opening hours and an up-to-date link to your website.

Search engines such as Google analyze the proximity of the search location to the address within the Google My Business listing. The closer your business is to the person searching, the more relevance your business will have and the propensity to rank higher in search results. Keywords in your listing title and categories selected should match what customers in your vicinity are searching for.

5. Create Local Content

All local websites should be adding blog style article content to the website in order to engage potential customers.  These content articles should be posted on your social media accounts to keep a news feed of content streaming for your followers.

For example, if you are a local digital marketing company in Milwaukee, WI like Corberry Digital Marketing, create a specific page titled Digital Marketing Milwaukee.  Focus content on the importance of hiring a local digital marketing that knows the Milwaukee community.

Related Article: Why SEO is Content Marketing

6. Online Reviews and Reputation Management

Encourage customers to review your business on listing sites and review sites to make you more visible. Don’t worry about negative reviews on listing sites. Every business attracts some negative reviews. If you respond politely to these bad reviews and offer a solution to the dissatisfied customer, you could help create an impression of your business as caring and open to feedback. Search engine crawling factors take review quality, review velocity and review diversity.  So, try and get as many quality reviews as you can on multiple review sites. It not good enough to simply get a 5 star review. You need your customers to write some content to go with it supporting your service.

7. Be Active on Social Media

Backlinks from social media do not directly improve the search ranking of your site. However, having an active presence on sites like Facebook and Twitter can help to make your brand more visible to local consumers. Social signals are a strong ranking factor for search engines such as Google.  The search engines crawl your social profiles analyzing your engagement with your followers.  Post regularly, encourage users to leave comments, and respond quickly to posts that customers post on your page. These actions could help you to build a strong local following on social media, which could translate into higher levels of sales.

Related Article: What is Social Media Marketing? Your Step-by-Step Guide

8. Obtain External Inbound Links with Domain Authority

External Inbound links are one of the top ranking factors above that drives your overall domain authority score. this is an important way to boost your local SEO over your competitors. Each inbound link from another website provides Google an endorsement about your legitimacy.  The more inbound links you obtain, the greater your domain authority. The next question you have is how does one get links. Here are some top examples.

• Partners such as vendors and suppliers
• Sponsored links
• Guest Blog Posting

Start with the people and companies you do business with or that support you.  This may include your local Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Corp, Better Business Bureau, business improvement districts, trade associations, vendors, and/or manufacturers and other affiliates. Look for local directories. In my community there are several sites that rank the top 10 Milwaukee Marketing Agencies.  Network with high profile influencers in your community or network.  Guest post on their blog or get them to write and article about you with an anchor text link to your website.  If you sell someones product then look to get on the where to buy directory on the manufacturer/supplier directory page. Sponsor a community event like a 5-K run and get a link as a sponsor.

The post SEO for Small Businesses Why Local Search Matters appeared first on Real Michael J Fox.

Does Your Content Marketing Strategy Fail to Deliver?

People make quick decisions about the value of websites. In fact, Chartbeat reports that 55 percent of visitors spend less than 15 seconds on sites which indicated that half of all content marketing fails to deliver. If your content doesn’t immediately attract their attention, they’ll move on to the next site. Fortunately, you can persuade visitors to stay by following these guidelines to make your content marketing strategy more effective.

Related Article: What is Content marketing?

Make Your Content Unique

If you’ve seen the same type of post on countless other websites, it doesn’t belong on your site. An effective content marketing strategy includes content that…

• Offers a new point of view: Select topics that offer a new spin on topics. If you’re trying to get leads for your financial planning business, content on saving money may not be original enough. Posts that offer unusual tactics for saving or financial planning advice geared specifically to women may convince visitors that your site offers valuable information.
• Makes it personal: Have you ever had a conversation with someone who made an interesting subject incredibly boring? In an attempt to establish their authority, website authors often make the same mistake. A recitation of dry, dull facts won’t persuade readers to finish the post or explore the rest of your site. Posts that reflect your personality and feature a little humor make visitors look forward to reading your content.

Related Article: 5 Simple Content Marketing Hacks to Supercharge Your Lead Generation

Avoid Keyword Stuffing

Peppering too many keywords might seem like an effective content marketing strategy, but it won’t increase your search engine ranking and may even hurt it.

Today’s search engine crawlers are much more sophisticated than earlier versions. Just like humans, they’re capable of reading and categorizing subject matter based on its content, not just keywords. Although you’ll certainly want to incorporate a few keywords, adding too many makes your content sound stilted and may drive away visitors.

Related Article: Blog SEO: How to Search Engine Optimize Your Blog Content

Don’t Forget the Basics

Any good content marketing strategy needs to be mindful of the basics of good content production. For example, Spelling and grammar matter whether you’re printing a brochure or posting content online. Don’t simply rely on spelling and grammar programs when preparing your copy. Ask a friend or family member to check your content for typos, missing words and grammatical errors before you post, or read your post aloud to yourself.

Keep length in mind when you write. Make your point in the first few sentences and avoid lengthy, rambling posts or content that contains paragraphs of unnecessary information. In most cases, you should be able to cover the subject in 300 to 1,000 words, depending on the complexity.

Be sure to include a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of posts. A CTA is designed to encourage visitors to do something after reading your content, whether that’s signing up for a newsletter, following you on social media or contacting you about your services.

Related Article: 10 Content Marketing Mistakes All Marketers Make

Conclusion:

Interesting, relevant content is the key to a content marketing strategy that helps you turn leads in prospects. If your site isn’t bringing in clients, then your content marketing fails to deliver. Making a few simple tweaks to your content offers a simple solution. 

The post Why Your Content Marketing Fails to Deliver appeared first on Real Michael J Fox.

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Modern SEO Practices

1. LSI Keywords

2. Local SEO Marketing

3. A Mobile-Friendly Experience

4. Social Media SEO

5. Meaningful Content

The post 5 Modern SEO Practices for Success in 2019 appeared first on Real Michael J Fox.

Technology is rapidly transforming your company in changing times. Your outdated marketing techniques need to be updated accordingly.

In today’s world, millennial’s will be astonished to learn that SEARS was the King of Retailing ranked as number 1 retailer back in 1991. SEARS failure was due to paralysis and the inability to change its techniques. The moral of the story is to not be like SEARS.

Most common marketing techniques are outdated, although some should still be implemented in today’s climate. New campaign tools have arisen over the past few years that make some of the outdated marketing practices seem archaic. Some companies cling on to the “old ways” of doing things, and attempt to implement outdated SEO practices, with the intent of improving their brand’s organic search presence and performance. Some of the tactics worked years ago, now though they aren’t effective as they previously were. So within this article, we’re going to cover 10 outdated marketing practices that should be altered. After completion of reading this, you should also have an updated mindset to implement into your marketing efforts as well.

Blasts Email

• Blast emails are the epitome of trying to contact someone from un-personalized means. Personalization is essential when it pertains to email marketing. A suggestive tactic would be to personalize the email prospect with a specific message. The more personalized an email is, the more likely it will even be opened and the prospect will engage and correspond with the email.

Blogs That Lack Content

• I don’t know about you, but when reading a blog, I want to feel that I’m getting something informative from it. A lot of times, companies try to enhance their digital presence with an array of blogs that are general and lack pertinent content. Quality over quantity is the key here. Create a high-quality blog pertaining to your company is essential.

Related Article: 5 Ways to Improve your Content Marketing Strategy in 2018

Saturated eBooks

• People have a short attention span when acquiring information. Your content should be concise, direct and informative. If you decide to create an eBook, make it short and simplistic, as well as filled with targeted keywords that direct prospects to your product or service.

Marketing Automation Bombardment

• People like a personalized touch when doing business. Some of this automated marketing tactics have gotten outta hand. For example, the automated sales call that tells you to hold as soon as you answer the phone. Why would I immediately hold for someone who called me? Real people are always more effective when conveying your message.

Purchasing Fake Reviews

• With the enhancement of the technologies implemented within search engines, they’re able to detect fake or paid reviews with their algorithm. U are better off generating personalized organic reviews. Why risk your brand’s reputation and your ranking in search engines?

Related Article: What is Digital Marketing? Your Complete Roadmap

Everything is transient, and digital marketing campaigns aren’t the exception. Staying up-to-date on effective trends can save you a lot of unnecessary spending and more importantly, optimize your bottom line. Outdated marketing practices need upgrading just like computer software programs do. Keeping up-to-date with the ever-changing marketing climate will empower marketers for success. Staying vigilant is the key to your digital marketing success.

The post 5 Signs You’re Using Outdated Marketing Techniques appeared first on Real Michael J Fox.

The Top 6 Social Media Myths to Avoid

Social media is one of the most valuable and misunderstood platforms in the world. While it offers immeasurable benefits for people who use it, social media is also ripe with myths, misunderstandings, and misinformation.

Unfortunately, falling victim to these myths makes it impossible to interact correctly on social media and could cost your business thousands.

Today, we’re here to bust the top six social media myths and tell you the truth about these common misconceptions, instead.

Let’s dive in.

The Top 10 Social Media Myths (and What to Know, Instead)

Whether you’re new to social media, or you’ve been interacting for years, believing these ideas will only damage your interactions.

1. Social Media is Primarily a Sales Tool

While it’s true that social media can be a very effective sales tool, that’s not its primary purpose. In fact, treating your social presence like one big pitch will only drive people away.

According to a survey by Sprout Social, social media users responded that they are most likely to unfollow a brand on social media when it starts over-promoting.

With this in mind, stop treating social media like one huge sales platform. Instead, create a mixture of content by using the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of your posts should be non-promotional, and 20 percent can be posts with calls to action that drive consumers toward your products.

Related Article:  What is Social Media Marketing?

2. If You Have a Facebook Profile, Nothing Else Matters

The fastest way to waste your time and blow your marketing budget is to get on social media without a plan or strategy. In that case, your social media interaction is essentially just noise, and it’s not doing your company or your customers any good.

While it’s true that everyone else is on Facebook, and you should be, too, it’s also true that you need a strategy if you’re going to interact effectively on the platform. Instead of just posting a few random updates over the next several months, take some time to define your top social media goals.

Ensure they’re SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based), and then take steps to develop an intelligent social strategy that supports these things.

3. You Only Need one Profile

Social media encompasses a wide variety of platforms. It’s Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and more. Because of this, it’s not enough to focus on a single platform. Instead, you’ve got to create a social presence on a selection of platforms that work for your brand.

Remember that not all social media is created equal. If you have a limited marketing budget, niche group of customers, or specific social media goal, it’s essential to ensure that you’re finding the social platforms that work for you.

Do your research before you decide on a platform. Are the audience demographics in line with your audience? Do your customers use the platform? These simple questions will prevent you from wasting your time on inappropriate platforms and make it easier to enjoy the ROI you deserve.

Related Article:  The Importance of Social Media in SEO Marketing

4. It’s Fine to Re-Use the Same Content

You worked hard to create that content, right? And now you can post it in multiple places. Wrong. In fact – very wrong!

This is one of the seven deadly sins of social media interaction. Because every platform is different, every platform requires a different social strategy. If you’re just re-posting the same content, again and again, you’re selling yourself and your customers short.

Instead of copying and pasting the same post into each of your platforms, take the time to make content truly unique. Even if you’re sharing the same piece of content, like an ebook, for example, the posts you use to promote them should be unique and tailored to each platform.

Related Article: Lessons in Content Writing: Consider The Source

5. It Doesn’t Matter When you Post

Some people treat social media like a solution that’s always there and always the same. The fact is, though, that social media is like a river – it’s always changing, always shifting, and always different.

In light of this, you can’t treat it like a stationary thing. Because, simply…it’s not. If you want to be successful on social media, it’s essential to develop a plan for when, how, and where you’ll post.

It’s not enough to post something whenever you want, because there are optimum times to post updates on social media. Understanding these is one of the simplest ways to ensure you’re getting as much traction as possible from your social updates.

6. You can Share Photos You Find Online

Just because something is on the internet, it’s not necessarily public domain. With this in mind, be careful what you share on social media.

If you just grab a photo from the search engines, and it’s covered by copyright laws, you could be putting yourself at risk of a lawsuit. Nobody wants this, so be sure you’re taking steps to protect yourself and your company.

Instead of using the search engines to find photos for your social media interactions, look for creative commons images or use a free stock photo site, like Pexels, to obtain images for your social posts. This keeps you safe, in the clear, and able to focus on your social interactions, instead.

Related Article: 10 Apps To Boost Your Social Media Presence

Social Media, Made Easier

Dominating social media is a much easier ask when you’re not overly subscribed to social media myths. By understanding which social media myths you can kick to the curb, and what you should be believing, instead, it’s easy to ensure you’re making the most of your social presence and engaging the customers you want to reach.

The post Top 6 Social Media Myths To Avoid appeared first on Real Michael J Fox.