Why having only one social media platform presence is soooo last season

I suppose the title of this article should be something like “why NOT having every social media platform for your brand is so last season”, because in this day and age that is the reality. It’s rare to find brands, especially ones that are mostly centered around physical goods, like the fashion and beauty industry, that are not utilizing all available forms of social media that are available.

Psssst *spoiler alert* below

Social media in general can be an intimidating thing, especially for marketers that did not grow up with exposure to it since their birth, like many millennials have. In general, however, once you get the hang of how these platforms function, they are very user friendly. But keep in mind these three tips when you begin creating your social media accounts.

1. Know your brand:

– Understand your brand voice and what language, tone, persona, and purpose you are portraying

– Learn your products or services and their details and features

– Interpret your company’s mission and incorporate that throughout

2. Know your audience:

– Recognize what demographic your target market represents and make posts appropriate and catered towards them

3. Know your platform:

– Realize when the best time to post is

– Utilizing platform specific features

– Distinguish what posts belong on which platform

Time to break down the top five platforms

In the rest of this article we will break down some key components of the top five social media platforms, give you insight on what they can provide for you, and of course some examples to follow.

1. Facebook

– Everyone is on this platform, no matter what the age group or demographic

– Creates an easy targets for many markets through advertising

– Provides a platform for customer service and consumer engagement

Lush does a good job on Facebook in terms of providing insight about their products through valuable descriptions and pictures. They even attach hyperlinks out to their websites straight to the shopping cart. Posts like these administer a place for consumers to comment and interact with the items they are featuring, as well as comment questions or opinions they may have.

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Flushcosmetics%2Fposts%2F10153143394094058&width=500

2. Twitter

– Provides constant updates with news/sales/promotions

– Can allow brand voice to be heard

– Customer service, but unique in that consumers can @ you (aka directly speak to you)

Vogue Mag is able to have their brand voice shine through in collage pictures like the following on Twitter. It’s somewhat of a witty and creative tweet for a well respective and established magazine in the industry. They may not be able to post elsewhere on their social media presences visuals like this, however Twitter allows them to do so.

What Shakespeare’s leading ladies would wear from Fashion Week: https://t.co/SPDxjyIqOb pic.twitter.com/x2H0mddonK

— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) April 26, 2016

3. Instagram

– Photos are worth 1000 words

– High visual content videos/images/series of three images (new feature called Carousel Ads)

– Sponsored ads to reach audiences

– Creative platform/ brand expression

Kiko Milano is an Italian brand of cosmetics, make up and skin care products that has created a very visually appealing presence on their Instagram account. Many images like the one below, give the viewer a chance to see promotions and advertisements in such a light that has lots of information, but also is creative and memorable.

View this post on Instagram

Show us your works of art with #Kikotrendsetters and #BeTheArtist and inspire the community! 🎨 #KikoMilano #beautylook #instabeauty #makeup #beauty

A post shared by KIKO Milano Official (@kikomilano) on Mar 28, 2016 at 7:01am PDT

4. Pinterest

– Many Fashion and Beauty brands offer seasonal or event specific boards

– Feature many products in different lights

– How to’s and DYI with products and services

Antropologie uses their Pinterest account to create boards that are relevant to certain looks and lines that they currently have in stores and online. Their most current blog focuses around the Spring seasonal items and is more of an inspirational and “Lookbook” type idea other than a print or online catalog.

Source: Pinterest/antropologie.com

5. YouTube

– Tutorials and how to’s for products or services

– Place to post advertisements

– Increase SEO (search engine optimization) because its owned my Google

Neutogena uses their Youtube account to interact with their consumers and create a better brand awareness. In the following video, they have used a big influencer, actor Kerry Washington, to explain the launch of their new liquid makeup shades for all skin colors. These are ads that are most likely not aired on typical television networks but allow the company to take their advertising a step further with longer video announcements.

Wrap up

If you do not have much experience with social media then you are probably feeling like an overload of information was just thrown at you. However, even the most experienced social media marketers can hopefully learn something new in regards to the Fashion and Beauty Industry. All in all, social media platforms are suppose to be a way for brands to express themselves creatively aside from the traditional ways they used to in the past. It will certainly be interesting to see what the future holds in terms of the online world of advertising and the impact that will have on print media.

As always, feel free to comment or leave feedback below with your thoughts on “the big five” platforms!

3 SEO Podcasts for Your Listening Pleasure

In addition to using blogs to learn more about SEO, podcasts are full of useful information. Podcasts provide news, tips and pointers on different topics and can help make a commute or other downtime more productive. Listening to an SEO podcast could make your SEO more successful, without cutting into your already busy schedule. Here are three great SEO podcast recommendations from the Searchable to get you started.

 

SEO 101

SEO 101 is, as the intro goes, your introductory course on search engine optimization. This podcast eases listeners into the basics of Search Engine Optimization without a lot of the more technical jargon. With over 200 podcasts, SEO 101 has covered a lot of different topics and their backlog probably contains some sort of information on the question you have.

Their recent episode on how to improve local search results gives a good feel for the podcast’s style and feel. Ross Dunn and John Carcutt, the hosts  of the show, discuss Google’s method for determining quality content by taking information from all around the web, finding the best answer, and then breaking it down for listeners.

SEO Rockstars

If you feel you have graduated from 101, you can also check out their sister podcast SEO Rockstars. SEO Rockstars covers topics in a bit more detail and bring in a variety of experts to participate in the conversation. Although this podcast is a bit newer, their backlog still covers quite the variety of topics, including covering many topics more in-depth than SEO 101.

A recommended podcast to listen to, especially for small business owners, is the Small Business SEO value. Here, hosts  Chris Boggs and Frank Watson discuss the importance of owning websites and how to avoid “#SEO lies” in order to get the most value from your SEO efforts..

Edge of the Web

Both Edge of the Web’s podcast and the website in general are an absolute treasure trove of great SEO content. The podcast, a product of Indianapolis based Site Strategics, breaks down different SEO topics with interviews of industry professionals and an open, funny personality.

Site Strategies CEO Erin Sparks, leads a rotating cast of other Site Strategies employees and other experts in a discussion of SEO tactics and other digital content. In a recent podcast, they brought Barry Schwartz onto the show to talk about his experience as an expert in the search engine field.

If you don’t have time to listen to the whole episode, Edge of the Web will post highlights of the podcast on their YouTube page. Another major tool from the website is their Score Your Site tool where the people at Site Strategics will take a look at your website and give you feedback for free!

 

Podcasts can be a valuable tool not only for improving your SEO, but also for all aspects of your business. With over 60,000 podcasts out there, one is bound to help answer some of your questions.

For a quick glossary of terms you may hear on these podcasts, check out our Go-To Glossary for SEO. For current trends in SEO check out our Evaluation of 3 SEO Trends of 2016.

Instagram Algorithm Apocalypse: What it means for your SEO

A couple weeks ago, the internet went crazy with fear over the rumored Instagram update. The new algorithm was rendered apocalyptic. Many brands and celebrities were posting pictures with an arrow recommending to follow their accounts for updates. Hopefully you know by now that this is not the best way to optimize your accounts, but it proves the misconceptions of algorithms shape the way customers perceive brands.

Algorithms don’t exist just for fun. Over time, as the internet and social media platforms become more heavily populated, there are more users and many more posts. Feeds are becoming more expansive, and most people are unable to stay fully updated with their feeds. As a result, social media platforms have begun to adopt algorithms to improve the user experience. Facebook has already integrated this, and while some businesses may claim it has raised the cost of promotion, I think this is an expected trait of any mobile marketing. As the market becomes more saturated, costs will increase.

Twitter has begun to implement a similar algorithm, but Instagram admits there will not be an update for several more months. When there is an update, users, especially businesses, will need to rely heavily upon an engaged audience. If this worries businesses, then it proves that their content might not be engaging users as much as they think.

The Instagram algorithm update will simply curate content so that if a user likes a particularly account often, they will see more of those posts as to not miss any of their favorite posts. Likes are becoming dollar votes, which is why businesses should focus on engaging their customers as opposed to throwing content at them. If their followers like their posts regularly, they shouldn’t lose any of their influence. If followers aren’t liking any of their posts, then they will not show up on their feeds as often. Furthermore, if followers aren’t liking any of their posts, then they may not have the right followers. Quality is far more important than quantity regarding followers and engagement. This means businesses should focus on providing quality content that will keep users engaged.

This seems relatively obvious to someone who knows anything about SEO, but most consumers are unaware of these practices. They dislike the idea of something controlling their perspective. Consumers don’t want any higher authorities distorting their social media experience and don’t like the idea that social media platforms understand their habits, even if it is liking and commenting. Clearly, Google and Instagram are not trying to violate the privacy of any users, but are simply trying to improve the user experience in order to retain users and prevent information overload.

This fear proves that authenticity rules when utilizing SEO. While there may be temporary ways to game the system, whether it’s in search engines or social media, it is not in best practice to do so. The best practice is to create quality relationships with visitors that keep them engaged with your business. Customers enjoy genuine feelings toward brands, and it is easy for them to detect anything forced or artificial. Consumers are becoming more informed, and this makes brand transparency far more important than ever before.

If you were a new customer, would you want to visit your website? Would you want to like your Instagram post? If not, then there is a larger issue at hand. Quality content and posts will maintain and generate an audience, and there is no need to worry about algorithms regarding social media outreach.

Additionally, this proves the growing importance of mobile marketing. Your website needs to be available on a mobile platform that is easily accessible. More customers are viewing websites from a mobile device, such as from a link in an Instagram bio. By making your website easier to use, you’re improving your overall brand engagement.

As always, focus on improving your website for the simple reason of making the most out of visitors’ experiences. This is the most sustainable approach to embrace any and all algorithms, in the present and the future.

How Youtube can Help your SEO

[Image Source]

According to MOZ Bar’s post on Influencer marketing, the concept is defined as, “…the process of developing relationships with influential people that can lead to their assisting you in creating visibility for your product or service.” Influencer marketing is incredibly popular on Youtube, a social media platform that also has the ability to take your SEO to the next level. As humans, our brains respond favorably to visuals even more so than text. Youtube is a great platform to engage your fans with great visual content. This blog post will help you use the world’s 2nd largest search engine to your advantage.

Step #1: Creating your Youtube page

A Youtube account is fairly easy and self-explanatory to set up, but I’m here to give you a few thoughtful tips on optimizing the process. First, you need to know (if you don’t already) that Google owns Youtube. This means great things for the small business owner and SEO.

As with any other social media page you’re garnered, make sure your profile picture and header are engaging and reflect your brand accurately. This is one of the first things customers will see when visiting your Youtube page. Also make sure that you link your other social media in your “About” section. Let’s use Jimmy Fallon’s Youtube page as an example.

[Image: Screenshot of Jimmy Fallon’s Youtube page]

The first thing you’ll likely notice is the header, which is eye-catching and accurately depicts what Jimmy’s brand is (i.e. the Tonight Show). Also notice the text that describes when and where to watch the show. Below that to the right you’ll see some social media icons where you can find Jimmy on more popular social media platforms. Below that you’ll find the channel’s description, which is full of keywords that encompass what the channel is all about. This is incredibly important when making your own channel. Include keywords that make you easy to find and that are relevant to your brand. Below the channel’s description you’ll see the “Links” section where you’ll find Jimmy on pretty much every relevant social media platform on the internet today. Follow suit and include all your relevant links (i.e. blog, website, and social media platforms) when creating your own Youtube page.

 

Step #2: Creating engaging visual content

This step may be the most difficult one. It’s not always easy to create quality content that’s engaging and encompasses your brand completely. Bear with us! In Mark Schaefer’s The Content Code, a book we highly recommend you get your hands on, Mark talks about a client of his who blew up on Youtube thanks to a handy 59 second video on “How to open a bottle of wine- without a corkscrew”. More specifically, how to open a wine bottle using a shoe. Seriously, check it out. The video, as you can see, has been viewed almost 11 million times! What can a small business owner learn from this? You don’t always need big bucks and loads of time to create a good Youtube video. Informative videos or tutorials are often the best way to go. As long as you stay true to your brand and get a little creative, you may very well be on your way to a successful Youtube channel.

 

Step #3: Posting and optimizing content

This step is incredibly important and it starts with your video description. In the video’s description, make sure to include keywords about the video as well as your company (Source: Marketing 399-01, Loyola University Chicago, Professor Schwab, [23 March 2016]). For example, if Searchable were to upload our 1 minute tutorial on Alt tags to Youtube, we would use keywords like “SEO”, “Searchable”, “Alt Tags”, and “Optimize” to the video’s description.

The second thing you need to add to ALL your video’s descriptions are your relevant social media and website links (Source: Marketing 399-01, Loyola University Chicago, Professor Schwab, [23 March 2016]). Just like you would in a blog post, link anything significant that you mention in the video. I’ll use one of my favorite Youtube channels as an example. The SACCONEJOLYs are a family that post daily vlogs to Youtube. In each video’s description, you’ll find a plethora of links associated with their “brand”.  

[Image: Screenshot of description on SACCONEJOLYs Vlog]

First, notice the call to action. Every video description should start with an ask for comments or a shout out to your other social media. Notice they then link to the two individual’s channels that they were interacting with in the video for that day. Following that they link to their other social media and Youtube channels as well as a helpful link for subscribing to their channel. Keep in mind, this is all amazing for SEO. What really impresses me about this channel is what’s next: links to 5 different videos corresponding to the same day 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years before. This is a great way to upcycle old content and gain more traffic on previous videos!

[Image: Screenshot of description on SACCONEJOLYs Vlog]

The end of their video description gives a brief background on who they are and why they started Youtube. Notice how many times “Saccone” or “Joly” is mentioned. This, obviously, ties into the name of their Youtube Channel. The same should be done with the name of your business!

Something else you can do to optimize your content on Youtube is add annotations to your videos (Source: Marketing 399-01, Loyola University Chicago, Professor Schwab, [23 March 2016]). Let’s go back to our Jimmy Fallon example.

[Image: Screenshot of Jimmy Fallon Youtube Video]

On one of his more recent posts, “Thank You Notes: April Fools, Lunar Eclipses” you’ll see that the last 8 seconds of the video, like with all of his videos, there is an ending page with annotations. The ones above link to everything from subscribing to the channel, playlists, and previous videos. Again, all of this is great for SEO and driving traffic to your other content. Use these annotations for social media links, website links, and always include a subscribe button! Put them at the beginning of the video, the end or somewhere in between, but remember, do not overwhelm the screen with a million annotations. Keep the number to around 3 or 4 to avoid driving the audience away.

Step #4: Going the extra mile

The tips we’ve shared so far will have you well on your way to optimizing your content on Youtube and using the platform to your advantage. However, if you’re like us, you’ll want to go the extra mile when it comes to SEO. The first way to do this is by creating playlists with both your own content and curated content that is relevant to your brand. Playlists appear in Youtube’s search and they drive up views by keeping viewers engaged with videos.

Step #5: Don’t forget to make friends

This is super important on a community platform like Youtube! Remember to favorite videos, leave comments and share your videos on social media! This will bring valuable traffic to your content. Plus, as we know, sharing content across social media channels is great for SEO and brand awareness. By favoriting and commenting on videos of those you admire on Youtube, you may greatly increase your chances of an inbound link to your own Youtube page from an influencer in your field, thereby exposing you to a completely new audience! Making friends will only benefit you!

That concludes our post on SEO and Youtube. I hope you found some valuable tips for starting a Youtube page for your small business. If you already have a Youtube page, I hope there were some helpful tips on using the platform to ramp up your SEO. As always, we’re here for your questions, remarks, concerns, or anything else you’d like to leave in the comments!

Are Sponsored Instagram Ads Ready For Their Close Up?

Recently, I opened the Instagram App on my daily commute and the first picture that appeared was from a brand called Bombfell. I knew I didn’t follow this account, so why was it there?

My eyes quickly found the word “sponsored” located on the upper right hand corner of the photo and suddenly it all made sense; Instagram had started selling sponsored posts to appear on my homepage. If you have never seen one of these lovely advertisements, here’s my prime example.

Soure: instagram.com/bombfell

How does Instagram do this?

Basically they use your personal info from Instagram and Facebook, like many social media sites do, to gather information and present the most relevant posts, catered specially to you.

Hide this?

It’s easy to eliminate these posts from your homepage by simply clicking on the sponsored tag and selecting “hide this”, however, speaking marketer to marketer, I find it quiet amusing to see the ads that other brands are putting out there.

As an average consumer though, I can understand how these images could be somewhat annoying and why one might want to hide them. I think it’s interesting to note that anyone can create an Instagram Ad now, with a running Facebook page (their parent company) and some simple editing skills, any company can have an Instagram Ad up and running shortly.

Why should you consider advertising on Instagram?

There are a plethora of reasons why one should utilize these “interruptive type” ads and you can read the whole list that Instagram provides on their business website here. Regardless of what industry you are representing, a lot of positive results are currently being generated for this marketing strategy.

Specially speaking within of the Fashion and Beauty markets, this is definitely something that all brands, no matter how big or small, should begin doing ASAP. Why? Well, we’ll tell you:

1. Take a look at these figures that are provided on Instagram’s website. These numbers are crazy, this social media site has skyrocketed in terms of users and content that have been circulated since it’s debut in 2010. Basically we are saying, it would be crazy to NOT be on this platform.

Source: business.instagram.com

2. Because the F&B market is a goods market, it’s crucial to have links available to your website so consumers can view your products within your advertising. Instagram allows you to hyperlink any URL to the photo or video for easy access.

3. Post engagement is key, F&B brands rely heavily on consumer reviews and testimonies for sales. People trust the opinions of others and by having a comment section available under the advertisements allow others to engage right then and there. As opposed to traditional print or online ads that do not share the same functions as a normal Instagram post.

4. Awareness and views are essential for reaching as many users as possible. Because the sponsored ads are targeted towards people based on their previous likes or accounts they follow, this allows you to reach consumers that you might not have been able to before. For example, if someone follows L’Oreal and Rimmel, then they might recieve Clinque ads based on relevance.

L’Oreal Case Study

The carousel format “lets you show 2-5 images and/or videos, headlines and links or calls to action in a single ad unit” as defined by Facebook. Like many companies L’Oreal took advantage of this new innovation and ran with it.

Source: blog.business.instagram.com

Levi’s Case Study

Levi’s is one of the brand that experienced high benefits from advertising on Instagram. Read the following for all the facts:

Source: business.instagram.com

Interested in advertising on Instagram?

The Instagram brand actually has their own blog, where they provide helpful tips and tricks for businesses that are currently adverting on their site, or ones that are investigating if they should start. Their posts walk users through new updates that are available, as well as case studies, or more of “brand shoutouts”, to companies they believe are doing a great job advertising with them.

Conclusion

We believe that investing in Instagram advertising is a win-win situation, because if you aren’t doing it then you are missing out. This is a great platform to be creative on and illustrate your brand in it’s best light. So why not give it a try?

Social Media Marketing Campaigns: What to Watch for

Source: NY Daily News

Anywhere you go, no matter what social media platform you use, no matter what street corner you walk across, there are all sorts of different advertising campaigns that are vying to grab your attention. Social media in particular is always a great outlet to reach out to prospective customers, but to do that you and your business need to have something that is eye-catching, quirky, and something that stick in your brain.

 

And luckily we are here to help you think of something that will be just those qualities. Here are some great tips and tricks to use when creating your VM campaign on social media platforms.

1. Timing is EVERYTHING

In the world of social media, timing means the world. There are few brands that understand this as well as Oreo. During the Super Bowl of 2013, there was a totally unforeseeable power outage. The quick and savvy minds over at Oreo’s social media team within MINUTES posted this legendary tweet:

Power out? No problem. pic.twitter.com/dnQ7pOgC

— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) February 4, 2013

This tweet then spread around the internet and various social media platforms like wildfire. It officially cemented Oreo as the team to watch in the world of visual marketing. What makes this an even more legendary case is that neither Oreo, nor Nabisco, Oreo’s parent company, were paid advertisers of the Super Bowl. So what this means is that even though Oreo didn’t even have a paid TV commercial to be aired during one of the most watched television programs of the year, they have the only ad that anyone remembers from that year and it wasn’t even from TV!

 

2. Think. Different.

Another great company to learn from would be Apple. Now Apple holds a strange area in the realm of social media. While they do create various visual marketing campaigns (which we’ll get to in a second), they do not really participate in social media directly. For instance, to this day there is still no official Apple Twitter profile, no official Instagram page, and even more interesting, no official Facebook page! However, this has not stopped Apple from absolutely dominating the social media spheres as anything that put out in terms of marketing of any kind completely consumes the zeitgeist. The first example of this would be the stunning “1984” commercial that was aired only one time, during the 1983 Super Bowl.

This commercial is so iconic that even people who weren’t alive during that time to see it either know about it, or have seen its influence across other mediums. There have been spoofs of this, imitations, but nothing comes close to the real thing or the impact it had on people.

 

Another instance of Apple’s genius was when they released the ever popular “Silhouette” campaign program. These first came to be in 2004 when Apple first released the iPod.

You would be hard pressed to find a single person who does not know these ads. Not only were they fun, they were enjoyable, catchy. They made you want to get up and dance and sing along with the commercial. They sold such a good feeling to you that you couldn’t help but want to be part of it. Now it’s very obvious that not everyone will have Apple’s resources, but as the saying goes, “Good artists borrow, great artists steal.”

 

3. Creativity Unlimited

 

Another company that is really on top of their game in the social media world is Starbucks. An Instagram page that is always flawless and seemingly can do no wrong is theirs. They post pictures for holidays, nice weather, anything. Not only that but every picture seemingly drips with comfort and good feelings.

A wondrous winterland, a frosty glow. Surrounding the siren, a garden of snow. #RedCupArt #Regram: @ArtyCraftyLove from Scotland.

A photo posted by Starbucks Coffee ☕ (@starbucks) on Dec 24, 2015 at 8:16am PST

Another thing that really helps Starbucks capture their fans and customers is that they actively promote people to submit things not just to them but also to express their own creativity. The coffee chain’s own products also expand upon this as many of the mugs and accessories that you can purchase from Starbucks allows for this expressions which they then capitalize on by regramming, retweeting and sharing on Facebook.

 

Spread Joy

In conclusion, the most effective and memorable campaigns are ones that really connect not just with the prospective customer but the zeitgeist as a whole. It really nails those moments that people connect with and this in turn allows people to grow a bond with not just those products but the holy grail of business: brand loyalty. It is through VM campaigns and being personable that your company too can reach these heights.

Two words for your social media marketing team: Consumer Engagement

So you’ve got all these followers across your social media sites but now what?

Finding a way to interact with your followers on social media is a difficult task that many brands have trouble with, especially if they are a larger company. One of the easiest solutions is to simply respond to comments they leave or to answer questions they have posed. However, how do you get them to fully engage and go beyond a surface level conversation about your product or service? Promotions and Giveaways!

It’s a known fact that consumers love “free” stuff. Or even better,”free” stuff from the brands they already love

There are typically two types of promotions and giveaways that are posted, each with a different motive.

1. The first is aimed at a potential future customer, where you offer them some sort of discount or coupon code in return for a following or just by simply entering their email (side note: this is a great way for you, as the marketer, to get someone’s email address with little to no effort or cost)

Tobi, an online clothing site, does a great job of this. As soon as you enter their website, you are prompted with an interruptive type of advertising pop-up that offers you a discount if you enter your email. A similar pitch is also displayed on their various social media accounts. This tactic works well within the online fashion industry because new customers are sometimes hesitant to try brands they have not shopped at before, so offering some sort of markdown on the price entices buyers to purchase items.

 

2. The second is geared towards people that have been customers in the past. The idea here is to further engage with them and promote the products or services that they are currently using. Some companies do this by running picture contests or video submissions, with the winner receiving some sort of prize.

ipsy offers personalized monthly make-up samples for $10 a month. Their Instagram account features monthly giveaways with the submission of a photo of a customer with certain criteria. By doing this, they are promoting engagement with the consumer that is already using their service. Customers are inclined to submit photos due to the extra make-up they could win, in addition to the products they are already receiving that month through their subscription.

GIVEAWAY: Woohoo! It’s time for March Giveaways! We have SO MUCH SWAG for you to win, including this haul from @NYXCosmetics! Click the link in our bio now and start entering. PS: Only enter each Giveaway once. You can use one photo to enter multiple Giveaways as long as the photo follows all entry guidelines. Good luck!

A photo posted by ipsy (@ipsy) on Mar 10, 2016 at 1:02pm PST

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js

The Big Five

It can often be hard to figure out where to begin when it comes to brainstorming and executing such promotions and giveaways, especially with the amount of social media content that is currently floating around. We believe it’s easiest to start with the Five W’s:

Pexels.com

Who – Who is your target audience

What – What do they have to do for said prize and what are they winning

Where – Where is this contest taking place, as in on what social platform

When – When are entries being accepted, accurate timeframe stated

Why – Why should someone participate, get inside the consumer’s mind (also why are you, as a company, doing this? What’s your motive?)

We all know what they say about people that assume things…

Jim Belosic, who happens to be the Co-Founder and CEO of a company called ShortStack, creates online marketing campaigns for a wide range of platforms. After reading several of his blog posts on INC.com and on his own site, we concluded that he knows what he is talking about.

In relation to today’s topic, he provides us with five common assumptions you don’t want to make when it comes to creating a successful contest on social media. Take a look at the post here, it definitely provides some helpful hints! In sum: don’t assume anything.

What does this mean for the Fashion and Beauty Industry?

With a highly competitive market such as F&B, “Sunday Best” is required 27/4/365. This means your social media accounts as well. Due to a rapidly turnover rate, something you posted on twitter three hours ago is already irrelevant. You can read more data on this subject here, thanks to Pamela Vaughan’s blog.

The giveaway items should to be products that the typical consumer cannot buy at their local retail or drug store. That would kind of defeat the point. You want these giveaways to be hot commodities or things that have not even been released yet!

Also, you want the consumer to be creative and have to put effort into their submissions. Amazing work has been reposted/retweeted/re-whatever the newest lingo is by brands and has launched the success of the promotion/giveaway to new heights.

Some of our favorite examples:

* J-Crew – Free shoes every month for an entire year

* Birchbox – $1,000 in Birchbox Points, personal product consultation with a Birchbox editor, and a lifetime subscription to Birchbox

* Fossil – Weekly delights and a $1500 shopping spree

Our question to you (to leave in the comments of course)

What are some of your favorite prizes that you’ve won via social media promotions and/or giveaways?

Do you want to standout from your competitors?

The fashion and beauty industry is one of the most competitive industry’s in the market. It is important to understand who your audience is and the correct way to engage with them in a positive and long-lasting form. Different platforms require different approaches however; companies should always stay true to their brand voice in order to create a strong relationship with their audiences. The more familiar you become to your audience the better and this is how you do it:

A great image speaks louder than words:

Having an image that incorporates all aspects of your company including personality is key to getting audiences across the board to relate and engage with you in social media. Instagram is by far one of the best social media platforms for fashion and beauty brands and finding the right picture to fit your company is vital to who follows your page and how often your audience engages with you.

Aside from having a captivating image on a social media post, it is important to identify your brand’s voice. Brand voice defines how a company thinks and interacts with its followers. Finding your brand voice can be simple, just think about your brand and what it can offer to consumers. Stephanie Schwab, CEO of Crackerjack Marketing has created a 4 piece method to find your brand’s voice.

When you have decided what your character/persona, tone, language and purpose will be, is time to start posting!

How to accommodate my brand’s voice through the different social media platforms?

Your brand’s voice needs to be consistent throughout all social media platforms. The language changes to accommodate content on the different platforms but your overall tone and purpose should stay the same. It is extremely important to understand who your audience is and how are you going to engage with them. The better you understand your audience the more customer engagement you will get.

 Fashion designer, Rebecca Minkoff is a perfect example of defining your brand voice while using a social media platform. Rebecca Minkoff brand’s voice on social media is consistent with an overarching theme. The brand targets women on the go, with a hectic lifestyle and Rebecca Minkoff’s products fits this lifestyle.

Their social media posts are simple and captivating, the posts empathizing the product and a glamorous lifestyle.

Facebook

Facebook is known for being the biggest social media platform in terms of followers.Facebook allows a company to interact with followers and showcase social media campaigns. Facebook has the widest range of content which allows a company to announce different product and services.

As if you needed another reason to visit #RMNYC #girlsnightout

Posted by Rebecca Minkoff on Friday, March 25, 2016

 

Twitter

Twitter is a cultural zeitgeist. Twitter allows your company to interact with followers in a quick and fast paced environment. Drafting a tweet can be a challenge if you have not established your brand’s voice.

So necessary: @packed_party's festival kit. Get yours free with $150 purchase. In stores only. pic.twitter.com/ov1oVJJwVu

— Rebecca Minkoff (@RebeccaMinkoff) March 26, 2016

Instagram

A picture is worth a thousand words.

As mentioned before Instagram is by far one of the best social media platforms for fashion and beauty brands. Instagram allows your company to showcase your brand’s personality while engaging with your followers.

View this post on Instagram

Urban necessity: the Julian Backpack with Fringe

A post shared by Rebecca Minkoff (@rebeccaminkoff) on Mar 29, 2016 at 9:03am PDT

Always remember to stay true to your brand and try to showcase your brand’s personality as best as you can. This will allow your company to reach a wider audience and will keep your existent followers engage.

The Top Seven Do’s For Spring Break 2016 Visual Related Content

Spring Break: to some this means digging out last season’s ripped jean shorts and spending some time on the beach. To others, this week means finally getting to strut your stuff down the boardwalk wearing that new floral sundress and wooden wedges you snagged a month prior.

Either way, marketers view this week as a crucial turning point for the visual content they post and this sets the tone for the next season.

So with the Spring Break season finally coming to an end, we thought we would take a moment to recap on some of the best visual content that was recently published throughout the fashion and beauty industry. These however are in no particular order:

#1 Urban Outfitters Beauty – Instagram

We’d say this is the definition of “no caption necessary”, @urbanoutfittersbeauty does a great job of showing and not telling their followers what essentials they need this spring.

A photo posted by @urbanoutfittersbeauty on Mar 3, 2016 at 6:58am PST

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#2 L’Oreal USA Corporate – Facebook

Although your eyes may not notice the product that L’Oreal has positioned in this image, it is still present, and in fact you cannot even read the labels that are on the little bottles. However, you are still drawn in by the floral arrangements and pastel colors throughout. Once again proving that sometimes the visual content is not supposed to be focused on the product.

#3 Free People – Pinterest

Spring Break is often when musical festivals across the country start to kick off. Within recent years, these events have created a brand knew segment and culture within the fashion industry, some companies even have clothing lines dedicated towards these massive concerts. The company Free People has launched a whole Pinterest Board called Festival Flower to inspire concert goers to dress in their attire.

 

#4 Covergirl – Twitter

Sometimes visual content however is straight and to the point. Covergirl places their vibrant lip colors front and center among a bed of flowers and creates a simple picture displaying their spring hues.

When it’s finally time to rock your springtime lip color. 🙌💄 pic.twitter.com/5P0vjTlnI5

— COVERGIRL (@COVERGIRL) March 8, 2016

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#5 Zara – Instagram

Zara released the photo below as the cover for their new spring collection. However, you would not know what they were advertising without the text in the bottom right hand corner. This is a perfect example of how to balance images and text, in visual content.

 

New Campaign coming soon. Woman Spring Summer 2016 by Mario Sorrenti. Thank you Vanessa Moody, Frederikke Sofie, Lineisy Montero and Julia Bergshoef @mario_sorrenti @vanessa_moody @frederikkesofie @lineisymontero @juliabergshoeff #zaracampaign #comingsoon

A photo posted by ZARA Official (@zara) on Feb 4, 2016 at 6:40am PST

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#6 Tommy Hilfiger – Facebook

Tommy decided to create a spring break video this season staring famous model Behati Prinsloo, showing her twirling around in the tropical jungle wearing a bright sun dress. Unique usage of spelling out the brand’s name “Tommy Hilfiger” letter-by-letter not only forces the viewer to have to pay close attention to figure out who the company is, but also leaves a simple message stating “wish you were here”, which seems to be Tommy’s spring slogan.

Watch the actual video here: Tommy Hilfiger Facebook

#7 Estee Lauder – Pinterest

Estee Lauder uses a similar technique to what Free People did as mentioned above. They have created a Spring Beauty board on their Pinterest as a collection of their spring favorites. Their effortless images provide a context for what products they are focusing on this season, along with a spring setting that give the pictures the perfect amount of visual appeal.

So now what?

In sum, the above seven examples capture, to us, what makes great visual content. So to recap, here are some helpful hints:

1. Show, don’t tell because it’s easier for people to understand pictures and images than it is text.
2. If you have text, make sure it is limited. It’s called VISUAL content for a reason. Sometimes the use of a caption is the best way to incorporate text, rather than on the image itself.
3. The focus does not always have to be on the product, sometimes it can just be an interesting and creative image that includes the product in some shape or form.

Our friends at The Content Marketing Institute have written their view on The 27+ Handy Tools for Better Visual Content Marketing in one of their blog posts by Jodi Harris which you can read here. They have a more in-depth look at how to specifically enhance your marketing work and we think it’s definitely worth the read!

How Should My Business Look and Sound on Snapchat?

Did you know that there are over 8 BILLION video views on Snapchat per day? (Source)

Setting up a Snapchat account gets the ball rolling, but it doesn’t guarantee instant engagement. There are some key points to consider with the account itself, and making sure each post in consistent in the brand voice, message, tone and purpose. This includes pictures, filters, owners, videos, doodles and text. A lingering question could be How can I make my business stand out on Snapchat? This post is designed to provide advice for personalizing Snapchat catered towards your business.

Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/snapchat-ceo-hates-microsoft-no-official-app-coming-to-windows-phone-dev-says-498610.shtml

Who’s Running the Account?

An intern, a social media coordinator, a Public Relations account manager, or the CEO, depending on the size of your business and number of employees, make sure to pick someone who is familiar with Snapchat and can add an entertaining personality to the brand. Like owners of other social media accounts, they have to stay up-to-date with events happening in the world and can try to connect it to your business. Also, they should develop some sort of Marketing Plan to increase engagement and making sure the Snapchat effort is creating some type of positive result.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram are visual in the sense that account managers can post pictures and/or video, but the immediacy of the 24-hour interaction with customers creates a direct, and present connection with your brand. Keep an eye out for a future post on optimizing the time limit standards on Snapchat!

Reposting Content

Believe it or not, there actually is a way to repost content on Snapchat. This is through an outside app called Upload’n’Roll, which allows users to upload pictures and videos directly from their photo album onto social media platform. There are multiple ways to utilize this opportunity, which is described in the list below.

• Doodle Contests – Frequently brands or celebrities will host doodle contests with their fans to repost onto their own accounts. The basic requirements of the contests are pick a theme, have fans draw graphics on their own accounts, send them to your account, and you pick the best to be reposted. This increases engagement with the fans and can be strategically built around promoting your brand. For example, you can have a contest to send the best doodle of your logo, best doodle of yourself, or funniest doodles on your product in their hands. The last example would require them to go out and purchase your product.
• Product Information – Providing intimate product information that might be harder to describe or reveal on another social media platform is a benefit for Snapchat. If there is a specific document, article in an email newsletter, or graphic from an outside source that you think would be better to be uploaded to Snapchat rather than taken a picture of and posted, reposting is an option. Because the content is derived from something that it already on your phone, there is a lower probability of capturing something of poorer quality through the iPhone or Android camera. This way, a further step can be taken in uploading better quality content, to give that little difference between your Story and everyone else’s.
• Missed a Snapchat Opportunity – It used to be “Man, I wish I got that on video!” Now, the common phrase is, “Man, I wish I got that on Snapchat!” In this digital age, many moments are being captured through tiny screens and providing content for people to consistently share. Snapchat is fun in the sense it can share exactly what someone is doing at that very moment, without it haunting a news feed for years. So, if there is a potential Snapchat opportunity that an account owner may have missed, as long as it was captured on the phone, there should not be much to worry! Just make sure the content is posted fairly close to the actual time it happened.
• Curated Content – sharing content related to your business creates an ideal image in categorizing your business and connecting it with similar brands. Or, if your business provides a product or service, post a picture of a customer. This topic will be discussed more in next week.

Create a Geofilter

TechInsider wrote a how-to article in creating and submitting a geofilter. As long as you have Adobe Illustrator or InDesign, and an explanation “why this is meaningful to you,” it should work!

An example could be seen during the recent Student Government elections at Loyola University Chicago. Four pairs were running for President and Vice President, but candidates Mariana Chavez and Adam Roberts provided a strategic edge against their competition by creating a branded Geofilter on Snapchat. Below is the Geofilter they created portraying cartoons of their heads, what it is for and when voting begins. This Geofilter was then geographically placed to only show up on Snapchat accounts in the Loyola community in a four block radius.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1004788456224241&set=a.144128958956866.15962.100000792871907&type=3&theater

Remember, these is only starting ideas for developing a brand voice on Snapchat. Keep in mind the tone of the voice, the colors used in doodles, the filters, and what will be seen. Snapchat is very creative in the sense that users can test different ideas to see what really works for your business, and it only lasts for a day.

Does your business have a certain look you are having trouble creating on Snapchat? Or, did your business create something that looks awesome?! Share your stories in the comments below!

As always, snap you later.