Abstrakt Marketing Group

Do I or Don’t I? Balancing Your Life and Social Media

Melanie — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:14:36 +0000

Since we are in the social media industry it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we expect our entire team to have a place in the social media realm. With Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and now Pinterest, we have to be experts at them all. A common concern we’ve heard from employees is what to — and not to put — on their social media platforms since they are using them for both personal and professional purposes.

We suggest following some general do’s and don’ts for using social media to balance both areas of your life.

Do’s

Share interesting information about yourself. Examples could include your favorite sports team, hobbies, places you’ve visited etc.
Be friendly. The same golden rule of everyday life applies to social sites, too.
Only share information that you are comfortable sharing. There’s no need to share information that you don’t feel comfortable telling everyone, such as details about your family. Some people are comfortable sharing information about their family, friends, children and so on, but if you are not comfortable doing so, don’t.

Don’ts

Be negative. Staying away from topics that usually bring with them a “negative” view is often a good idea. Most of us have very strong beliefs or stances on issues we’ve deemed important. Choosing to share controversial posts with friends and followers exposes you to the risk of jeopardizing personal and professional relationships.
Give TMI. Too much information can always backfire. It’s not vital to share every piece of information about your life with your friends, followers, colleagues on your social sites.

How are you using social media? Is it a part of your personal life, professional life or both? We’d love to hear how you keep the balance.

Share/Bookmark

Getting to the Point: Engagement Points Key to Website Call to Action

Melanie — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:34:47 +0000

You know those really distracting calls to action that many websites have, either on the side, top or bottom of the page? Well, those are called engagement points and if your website doesn’t have any, that might be an issue. Engagement points should be a key part of your website’s strategy and placed tactically throughout different areas of your site. The goal of your website is likely to gain leads and ultimately increase your bottom line; powerful engagement points can assist your website in connecting with potential customers.

With every marketing strategy comes targeted market research. Once you’ve understood your target market, you can begin customizing your marketing and website engagement points to attract responses. What are others in your industry commonly searching for? In marketing you may use “subscribe now to gain access to our most recent lead generation tips” as a call to action on your touch point. Using interactive buttons that will keep customers on your site are the best options for engagement points.

A prominent engagement point or two should always be on your homepage (above the fold in case visitors don’t scroll down). Be sure to also utilize the space on the sides of your homepage, as this is a very popular place for engagement points. Once you’ve created your engagement point and added it to your website, it’s important to have the ability to track all leads that come from that call to action. You can best do this by attaching the call to action to an automated email campaign that will place the lead into the appropriate category associated with the visitor’s needs.

Strategy is everything when it comes to website design and lead generation. If your website isn’t driving leads and increasing business, it may be time to rethink that strategy.

Share/Bookmark

Branding: What’s Your Game?

Melanie — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:10:05 +0000

Ask anyone who has a strong brand if they have a great strategy and I’m willing to bet their answer is “yes.” Trying to grow your brand without one is like finding your way through a crowd; you’re just hoping you make the right move. To differentiate your brand from your competitors and attract loyal customers, you must first develop a brand strategy.

Ideally, a brand strategy would map out a plan of executional development to increase revenue. This is anything but a new idea; however. the expectations customers have for brands they purchase is higher than ever. It’s time to improve your “brand experience,” which includes everything from the way customers interact with you to the way you present your products and services insides and outside of your company. Creating a brand promise, which will be evident throughout the brand experience, will keep customers loyal and committed.

To create a brand promise that creates such emotional connections, it should be:

1. Grounded in the brand’s core values
2. Clearly relevant and appealing to your target market
3. Able to create some sort of positive emotional attachment with your customers
4. Consistent across advertising and marketing mediums
5. Known and showcased by business partners

If your company has a strong brand, you should take your brand promises seriously. Use these promises as a framework for decision making and a foundation to continually build a strong brand and strong brand value.

Want to know more about establishing an effective brand strategy for your business? Contact Abstrakt today and let us help you develop your brand strategy.

Share/Bookmark

Read All About It: Newsletters Are Alive and Well

Melanie — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:26:25 +0000

Does your company produce an internal or external newsletter? If so, are you getting any type of feedback from either audience? Some people consider newsletters to be an outdated method of marketing and sharing communication, but I say they’re wrong. Producing your own newsletter for the local community—online or otherwise—is important. By spreading information about your company and services, you can promote a positive image that’s important for your company’s exposure.

Newsletters don’t have to be produced every month; to be honest, you may not have that much interesting news every month. As a rule, I aim for a newsletter once every three months. It’s better to under promise and over deliver than miss deadlines and hurt your reputation for follow-through. You may want to start off with just a single page and increase the length of your newsletter over time as the process of producing the newsletter irons out any kinks it may have. The same basic rules of advertising apply to newsletters: make sure the piece is simple, easy to read and not too loud or distracting.

Most importantly, remember who your audience is produce relevant content. Consider relating news to your customers and community; major workplace changes, such as expansion, are interesting content pieces that will engage readers. From its design to its content, your newsletter is a place to showcase the personality of your company. Using this “old” form of marketing may be just the “spice” your company has been looking for.

Share/Bookmark