using-social-media-stories-to-your-business-advantage

Using Social Media Stories to Your Business’ Advantage

Even if they are only on your page for 24 hours, using social media stories to your business’ advantage can be very useful. If you are looking for a way to incorporate Instagram Stories and Twitter Fleets into your marketing, contact our experts at The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm LLC. today! 

  • Around half of Instagram’s total base uses the Stories feature.
  • Keeping on top of trends and new features is appealing to new customers.
  • You can track how engaging your followers find your content. 

In November, Twitter launched its new feature called Fleets. Following in a similar vein to Instagram’s Stories feature, users are able to share short-form content for a limited amount of time. You can customize this content with text, GIFs, or even links that will take whoever clicks on it to a web page. 

Not only that, but Stories is not the only interesting tool that Instagram has to offer. They also recently launched Reels in August, which are fifteen-second videos that are featured on a special part of the Instagram app. Since these are separated from the general post and Stories feeds, you are able to reach people that may not follow you yet. 

If you and your business have a social media presence, you can utilize these features to drive up business. If you are unsure of where to start, let the social media experts at The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm LLC. guide you towards a strategy that works for you.

Give Your Customers an Inside Look into Your Business

Customers are always looking for the human aspect of small businesses like yours. That is why it is a great idea to pull back your curtains sometimes to show the daily operations of you or your employees. Using Fleets and Stories are a great way to do this. As they are only on your page for twenty-four hours, you do not have to worry about bothering your social feeds with individual posts about your company. 

Offer Exclusive Discounts and Offers

As a business owner, you understand that urgency is one of the best feelings you can instill in a customer. You want to convince your audience that they should not miss a sale or opportunity as much as possible. By posting these offers on a platform that erases posts after twenty-four hours, this sense of urgency is effectively conveyed.

Interact with Your Customers

One of the major differences between Instagram Stories and Twitter Fleets is the fact that Stories is more user-friendly. This is because the platform offers “stickers” that allow your audience to vote in polls or ask questions. An idea that you can do with these stickers is to ask your customers to vote for their favorite product or service they’ve invested in this year. Although this is a feature currently not available in Fleets, chances are that something similar will be available in the near future. Using social media stories to your business’ advantage is also a great way to interact with your customers.

Customize Your Social Media Strategy Today

If you are interested in learning more about how Stories and Fleets can be used to market your business, contact The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm LLC. today! We can work with you side-by-side to determine the best course of action for your social media strategy. To schedule a free consultation, call us today at 321-255-0900.

Advertising To Your Audience on Facebook

Social media is the most relevant advertising channel for Generation Z, Gen X, and millennials. These younger audiences are open, responsive, and primed to receive advertising messages as they browse their feed. If you want to target this younger demographic, paid social media advertising will help.
 
Social media is the most effective channel to inspire potential buyers to purchase from brands. Especially if you’re ready to invest in video ads. Marketers disclosed that they are increasing their digital video budgets by 25% year-over-year since video is widely preferred by consumers. Depending on your budget, you can get super specific with ad targeting to reach qualified customers and patients.
 
The problem with a lot of typical advertising that isn’t on social media is that they have no specific audience to target to and initial campaigns waste a good chunk of money fishing in an empty pond. While eventually, a target audience may be organically discovered this way, it’s highly unlikely that it will happen overnight.
 
With social media, you’re not necessarily fishing in an empty pond. It’s more like your fishing in a pond with a massive amount of very small fish that will very quickly turn into full-grown fish that you will eventually find yourself reeling in. With over 2.7 billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2020, Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide.
 
Instead of marketing to the masses and getting nowhere, your audience is already on social media and primed to buy. Strategic social media advertisements pop up in front of people at the right time, educating them about your product or service and motivating them to make a purchasing decision.
 
Social media has changed how advertisers find their true target audience. With specific ways to target demographics, location and even a potential consumer’s interests, targeting your audience is now common knowledge when it comes to digital marketing on social networks.
 
The largest demographic on Facebook is men ages 18-34, making up 35% of active users. Simple things like targeting a specific gender can change your ad campaign completely. Additionally, when setting up a new campaign almost all social media advertising platforms will ask you for an objective; be it video views, website clicks, post engagements or sales. Once this has been defined, the platform will use previous user behaviour data to put your ads in front of the people that are most likely to perform your desired action.
 
Many businesses end up boosting posts on Facebook as prompted by the platform. Boosting is an easy and cost effective way to get more exposure of a post and can be very successful for competitions, photos, blog posts and other posts that are not sales orientated.
 
However, when boosting, note that you are only able to use basic targeting functionalities and Facebook will target users more likely to engage (likes, comments, shares) rather than link clicks by default. Therefore, if you are running a campaign that’s designed to generate conversions, consider exploring the Facebook ads manager platform instead.
 
With social media advertising, there is less intent, you are simply targeting someone because they meet the profile of your target audience, they may have no interest in actually using your services or buying your product. The exception to this is when you use the Facebook pixel as when retargeting previous visitors of your website, you can assume higher intent.
 
The effectiveness of a social media platform will depend largely on your target audience, product or service and budget. However, Facebook could be considered to have the most advanced advertising features of all social media platforms and also has the largest user base. A person’s social media account tells you a lot about them, and social media advertising platforms allow you to utilize this data to put your ads in front of the right people. The more interested in a topic a person is, the more likely to click an ad with that interest in mind.

Digital Vs Traditional Marketing: Who Will Win?

Digital Media: 

Since the rise of social media in the early 2000s, marketers, and companies saw a new avenue to market their products and services to a much larger audience. An audience much larger and easier to reach than traditional marketing channels. Social media gave marketers a fabulous way to measure the success of paid media campaigns: analytics. Analytics has given marketers a unique tool to see tangible evidence that their efforts are having an impact.

According to the 2019 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. Marketers have identified two key benefits to social media over the last 5 years. 

86%  of marketers found their social media efforts have generated far more visibility

78% of marketers found their social media efforts have led to more traffic to their brand’s social media.

Digital marketing has been on the rise as technology becomes more apparent in our daily lives. Digital marketing will only become the dominant form of marketing in the years to come as technology advances. As it is only 24% of Gen-Z watches cable tv and Millennials only 41%. 

Gen – Z is becoming known as the “cord-nevers” since they are the first generation to grow up in a purely digital age. They don’t watch cable because they grave content and are more likely to grave videos over other forms of content. Which puts traditional media outlets in a precarious position. 

Traditional media:

While traditional marketing is still effective (for now) it is however nothing new. We have seen it in one form or another whether it’s from a tv commercial, print material in big box stores, a billboard while driving, or a magazine in the doctor’s office when our cell service won’t connect. 

All though traditional media has evolved over the last 20 years the fundamental aspects remain the same and it still remains limited in the digital age and with an evolving consumer base. Some forms of traditional marketing will outperform others, radio segments and podcast advertisements will outlive tv commercials as more people move to podcasts to get updates on current events in the world instead of the mainstream media. As it is, over 63 million Americans listen to podcasts each week. This presented a greater opportunity for podcast advertising. Currently, Podcasts are projected to generate 1 billion in revenue by 2021; according to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB). 

Who Will Win?

Both traditional marketing and digital marketing use the 4 P’s of marketing: Product, Price, Promotion, Place. 

Traditional media uses this as an integral part of creating a sales funnel and planning marketing campaigns. While traditional media can do well with price, product, and place it lacks in the fourth P: promotion. It’s too easy to ignore it and it doesn’t connect with people, it’s just there. Digital marketing, on the other hand, is very different and it uses the 4 P’s of the marketing mix effectively and in a unique way and at most times better than traditional marketing. 

The drawbacks of traditional marketing are that it does not reach about 50% of its audience, it’s more costly, you can’t measure your ROI, and can’t measure consumer feedback. As it is more marketing across all industries are shifting their efforts online, most consumers now do their product research online before making a purchase.

No matter what industry your business is in you will need to establish a digital presence and actively work to build your digital marketing strategy. We have already seen big box stores such as Sports Authority, Toys R Us, and Sears file for bankruptcy because they could not understand the importance of Digital Vs Traditional Marketing.

Social Media in Business: The Search Beyond Leads

In the marketing industry, one of the most common concerns with business owners is leads. They want to ensure, matter of factly, that hiring an agency or firm to manage their social media content will result in viable leads. 

Will consistently posting content on social media platforms result in leads? Likely, yes. However, this is not fully the point of upkeeping social media platforms, and it may take time for this result to occur. Your social media is almost entirely about creating awareness and trust with your audience. Consider applying these topics to your current perspective on the purpose of social media:

  • Brand Awareness

One of the most paramount aspects of why your company should have social media is brand discovery. 60% of Instagram users say that they’ve discovered new products while using the platform. If a potential customer doesn’t know of your company’s existence, they’ll never become a customer. Being discovered on social media means that you are now on their radar. 

An example of this would be a user scrolling through hashtags and stumbling on your plumbing company. Currently, they don’t need any plumbing services, so they may not follow or message your company, but now, they have seen it. Next time they have a plumbing problem, they may think back to that time they found your social account and search for your company again, potentially leading to a phone call or website click to inquire about your services.

  • Make Your Company Relatable

Human beings are constantly seeking connection. When people see your company standing for something, sharing something, they start to form trust. This may happen consciously or unconsciously. 90% of people use social media to communicate directly with brands. This is largely due to this humanization of your company through these platforms. Many people are uncomfortable with calling a company and speaking to a stranger, so social media becomes that missing link between human connection and gaining information about a product or service. 

Sharing photos of your product or service in action on an authentic level is something your potential customers typically would not get elsewhere. Seeing your staff and company culture forms the start of a basic human connection with your company. Testimonials from other people immediately increase that level of trust as well, which is something often found on your social media. Now, people know a real, living human being has interacted with your product, and that has more meaning than the number of followers or likes on your page. 

  • Growth

74% of consumers use social media to make a buying decision. One of the best ways to create actual, tangible numbers that you can notably say is making a difference for your company is advertising on social media. Advertisements are highly targeted, meaning that the algorithm on the social network is showing your product or service to a very specific group of people that are likely to be interested in it. However, showing this advertisement to a user isn’t usually enough. Depending on the price of your product, most people prefer to do research on the company before spending a large sum of money. Here’s where your social media page comes back into the narrative. 

A common type of advertisement is a traffic ad, meaning that once an interested user clicks on your ad, they’ll be redirected to your website. Your website should have a lot of information on your product, who you are, your mission, etc. If they like what they see, they’ll continue their research. This will lead them down the road of searching for reviews and real photos of your product and service at work. They’ll search to see if they feel that they can trust you and will generally make this decision based on your social media, if that is where they first found you. 

This is one of the reasons that your social media is essential. It cannot be simply regurgitating photos from your website. You need to be distinguished as a thought leader, as empathetic, as an expert. This is portrayed over a period of time, and will be seen in a matter of minutes as a user scrolls through the past several months or years of your company’s social media.

  • Top of Mind Awareness

We’ve talked about brand awareness, but now we should consider a subsection of this, top of mind awareness or TOMA. TOMA brings all of these points together. If you’re the plumber that was discovered by a social media user, you want to be the absolute number one plumbing service that comes to their mind when they need these services. For example, if you get injured, you may say you need a Band-Aid. This is a brand that holds the spot in the top of your mind for the bandage industry.

Once your brand has been discovered by a social media user, this is where the process starts. Slowly, they’ll begin to recognize your brand and gain the trust that we’ve talked about before. Company growth is a large step on the path to top of mind awareness as well. The more your brand becomes recognized and tested by potential customers, the more they will consider you a leader in your industry, and this is where you will procure viable leads and successful sales.

The Ad Leaf Marketing Firm LLC has been in the industry for almost a decade and kept up with every trend on Social Media in Business with careful detail. We would love to have you as a client and start taking your brand’s presence on social media to the next level.

 

 

The History of Social Media

3 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the History of Social Media

People seem to have a love/hate relationship with social media. On the one hand, humans are social beings. We crave interactions with others, and relationships play big roles in our everyday lives. Social media allows us to easily connect with friends, family, acquaintances, and even strangers. This can be construed in a positive or negative light depending on who you ask and when you ask them. Whatever your thoughts on social media are, it’s pretty clear it’s here to stay in one form or another. So, how did social media even start? Was it when the first cave painting emerged? When the first telegraph was sent? Did it start with the invention of the internet? The answer to this question isn’t clear cut, but there are plenty of interesting facts about the evolution of social media along the way! Here are 5 things you probably didn’t know about the history of social media on the internet.

 

1. CompuServe was an early online service provider that used a method similar to time-sharing.

CompuServe Information Service, a.k.a. CIS, was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1969 as a subsidiary of Golden United Life Insurance. Initially, CompuServe had two objectives. The first was to provide computer processing support to the company, and the second was to sell excess computer capacity to other corporations through a kind of time-share system. In 1979, it began providing dial-up online information services to the owners of personal computers. CompuServe is known as the original online portal, offering message forums, online chat services, software libraries, and even online games! It grew in popularity in the 80s and 90s and was sold to AOL in 1997 with WorldCom acting as a broker for $1.2 billion in stock.

 

2. One of the first social media services was SixDegrees.com.

This social network site was named after the six degrees of separation concept, which is the idea that people have an average of six degrees of separation from each other. SixDegrees was founded in 1996 by Andrew Weinreich, and the website launched in 1997, making it one of the earliest social media sites on the internet. SixDegrees allowed users to create profiles, list their friends and acquaintances, and interact with other users. At its peak, SixDegrees had about 3.5 million registered users. Just two years after its launch, it was sold to YouthStream Media Networks for $125 million. SixDegrees was short-lived, though, in part because of the limitations of internet connectivity in the late 90s and early 2000s. It shut down in 2001. 

 

3. Users could rate the attractiveness of strangers on AmIHotOrNot.com.

James Hong and Jim Young, both engineers based in Silicon Valley, disagreed one day over whether or not a woman they passed on the street was attractive. Their solution? To create a website, of course! In October 2000, the two friends launched AmIHotOrNot.com. The site allowed users to voluntarily submit photos of themselves to be rated on a scale of 1 to 10 by others based on their attractiveness. It went viral. Within one week of launching, the site had reached nearly 2 million daily page views. The site incorporated dating and matchmaking elements.

Aspects of Hot Or Not impacted later dating apps like Tinder and OkCupid. The site was even said to have influenced Mark Zuckerburg to create FaceMash.com, where Harvard students could rate the looks of fellow students based on their student ID photos. Unlike Hot Or Not, FaceMash did not allow users to submit photos voluntarily. FaceMash received major backlash, both because students felt it violated their privacy and because it was seen as a copycat of Hot Or Not. After being called before the school’s administrative board, Zuckerburg took the site down. Hot Or Not was sold for a rumored $20 million to Avid Life Media in 2008. 

 

There are plenty of interesting stories when it comes to the history of social media. From computer time-sharing processes to rating the looks of strangers, there is a lot to learn about how social media has evolved. If you own a business, you probably know how important it is to be able to connect with your customers, whether it’s through an interactive website or your social media channels. If you’re looking for a marketing company with a stellar reputation to assist with any aspect of your digital marketing, look no further than The AD Leaf. We offer web design, search engine optimization, email marketing, social media management, digital advertising, and more! Give us a call today at (321) 255-0900 to learn how we could help you grow your business.

How Your Brand Can Capitalize On TikTok’s Popularity While Saving Costs and Ensuring Stability

The social media scene had remained relatively the same for the past several years. One of the only significant interruptions since the rise of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram is the quick and overwhelming popularity of the app TikTok. TikTok has a unique algorithm that allows creators to rise to popularity at more rapid rates than ever before! Since the app’s creation in 2016, it has gained over 800 million users worldwide. If your brand does not participate on TikTok, don’t worry. The app can still be used to promote your brand without even having an account.

 

TikTok’s algorithm allows users to see the posts of creators, even when the users do not follow them. This stands true to other apps, but for TikTok, it happens at an unprecedented level. Most users mainly view content made by creators they don’t follow. This is due to the “for you page” which is the most commonly used feature of the app. It shows content to the user that the algorithm predicts they will be interested in based on their previous interactions. This is a huge win for brand promotion! For example, if you pay a creator to promote your product, more people than just their followers will see it. However, it can be expensive.

 

For creators with large followings, a good portion of these followers will also follow them on other apps such as Instagram and Twitter. 

 

Why is this important for your brand?

 

  • If someone takes the time to follow a TikToker on another social app, they are a more dedicated fan who wants to keep up with the influencer.
  • They often purchase the merchandise of these influencers and are more likely to trust their opinion.
  • Since only a portion of their fans will follow the influencer on these other social media platforms, their follower count is typically lower.
  • Due to a lower amount of followers, securing a brand deal on their Instagram account will be less costly.

 

One example of this is the TikTok creator @nmillz1. He has amassed more than 2.2 million followers on TikTok in a short amount of time, but currently has only 270 thousand Instagram followers. Charli Damelio is arguably the most well-known TikTok creator securing high-profile sponsorships frequently. She has 90 million followers on the app, while having 30 million followers on Instagram, or one-third of her TikTok fan base. This case is interesting because many people who do not even have TikTok know of Charli, and she is considered to be one of the only creators from the app to rise to actual celebrity status. Her case especially identifies that people who follow a creator on TikTok often do not hold enough interest in them to follow their other social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. 

 

This gap allows you to capitalize on TikTok’s extreme popularity in a less costly way to a TikToker’s most dedicated fans. You can do this by proposing a brand sponsorship through Instagram. A brand sponsorship is much more costly than just posting an advertisement for your product, but seeing the brand talked about by someone the fans look up to will likely result in more sales and engagement for your brand.

 

What Does It Typically Cost to Hire an Instagram Influencer?

 

  • 2,000 to 10,000 followers – $75 to $250
  • 10,000 to 50,000 followers – $250 to $500
  • 100,000 to 500,000 followers – $1000 to $3000
  • Over 500,000 – $3000 +

 

Large TikTok influencers will either charge a high flat fee, or they will charge per view to promote your brand. According to TalentX Entertainment, a management company for 32 influencers, they charge $0.01 to $0.02 per view on TikTok. The problem lies within the fact that as a brand, you can not control how many views a TikTok post will get. Someone with only 10 followers can post an extremely viral video and get millions of views, while someone with 100,000 followers may only get a few thousand views. The algorithm is very unpredictable and is not publicly released, resulting in a risky investment for marketing. Instagram, on the contrary, is very predictable. An influencer will maintain roughly the same amount of engagement on their account, so you know what you are investing in.  

 

Going back to the TikTok creator @nmillz1, his TikTok videos frequently receive several hundred thousand views, which would result in costs roughly at $5,000 to $10,000 or more, while a sponsored Instagram post would be less than $3,000 and seen by more dedicated fans who trust the influencer. 

 

In summary, your brand can capitalize on TikTok’s rise to the top without even interacting with the app. If you are considering a brand promotion with an influencer, a TikTok creator’s Instagram page can be a great resource for you.

 

Sources:

https://www.digitalmarketing.org/blog/how-much-does-influencer-marketing-cost

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/heres-how-much-brands-are-paying-for-sponsored-content-on-tiktok-youtube/346290/#close

 

Social Media Trends For 2020

Staying Current: Six New Social Media Trends of 2020

Social media is all about living in the moment. What might have worked a few years ago or even months ago, may not work today. Your customers will notice your efforts to stay relevant and appreciate that. And that will reflect in your brand image and customer loyalty.  Let’s review some social media trends, new tactics, and content ideas for 2020 to try and implement to ensure you finish off Q4 strong:

1.Ephemeral Posts: Nothing Gold Can Stay. 

The first trend is the growing popularity of “ephemeral” posts or temporary posts. Many social avenues have rolled out content features designed to be appreciated for a small amount of time before they disappear forever. Examples of this include Facebook and Instagram’s story features, as well as reels and TikTok. Although reels and TikToks may have a more lasting nature, they are meant to be more “disposable” than permanent and higher-quality feed content. One way to add to the story features without creating new content is to simply repost older posts onto the story. When you do create new stories, you can extend their lifetime by adding them to a highlight at the top of your Instagram. 

2. E-shops: The Convenience Customers Expect

The second trend is the implementation of social commerce. Many social media platforms are integrating online stores as another feature of a profile. Facebook rolled out its “shops” feature and Instagram allows you to buy right off a post. Pinterest has shoppable pins where purchases can be made right on their site or linked to an external site. Note that this will only be useful for brands that offer physical items as digital downloads are not yet available for sale on these services. Brands with established Shopify’s can more easily transfer their products to these social commerce features. 

3. Video Content: Now Playing

The third trend is the rise of video content. Multiple studies including one by the Cisco report that over 80% of all online content will be video by 2022. Now is the time to feature videos on social media. Integrating video within content that was typically only text in the past is a great way to stay relevant and impress your audience. 

4. Legal Media Ownership: The Ghosts of Limewire’s Past

The fourth trend is more legal and regulatory monitoring. When posting to social media it is crucial that the agency who creates your content is using legal sources and avenues for media. Using an image or song that belongs to someone else without permissions or is copyrighted can land you in court paying hefty fines for a simple mistake. Of course, the best option is using your own photos but this doesn’t work for all business models or clients. Most important is having an agency with access to copyright-free images. Don’t let your company sign with a low-tier agency that doesn’t understand this and makes a rookie mistake that sinks profits. 

5. Local Geotagging: Coming To A Small Business Near You

The fifth trend is the rise of location-based targeting for local brands. Of course, if your company is e-commerce or is looking to reach a demographic of people across multiple states/countries, this won’t apply to you. But if you have a local business particularly in-person service (i.e. vehicle rental, house cleaning, lawn service) this aspect of audience targeting is crucial. Your agency and coordinator must understand that reaching a person 3 states over doesn’t make any sense and is a waste of time and space on captions/hashtags. Hashtags should be like #losangeles rather than #lawnservice for example. The targeting goals for companies that fit into this category should be quite regional and should know the mile-range of their farthest customer to make sure they aren’t missing an opportunity for a sale. 

6. Public Insights: Social Media As A Focus Group

The sixth trend is using insights from social media to shape business strategy and models. If you think about social media as a one-way street, you’ve got in all wrong. You can benefit from the interactions on social media just as much as your audience. Have you ever wondered what your customers really think about your business? By searching publically available search terms and keywords, you have the ability to be a fly on the wall. This strategy also works for general industry terms and adjacent/parallel industries. If you provide an organic peanut butter product, maybe you’re wondering what customer’s jelly habits are as it relates to peanut butter. By simply searching those words, you get to see what people are saying. This tool is incredibly valuable as you are getting a ton of primary research data for FREE. Primary customer interviews and focus groups traditionally cost thousands of dollars, so take advantage of this secret tool. 

By riding the waves of these new social media trends you can achieve everlasting cultural relevancy and clout within your target groups. More important than the actual execution of these trends, is showing your customers that you’re aware of them and are trying to participate. This gains trust and respect, especially with younger and savvier audiences who expect brands to be on top of this. We are a digital marketing agency that understands these 6 social media trends and their importance in 2020 and beyond.  Call us or fill out a contact form today to set your business up for success Q4 to end this year strong in sales.

social media management services

Setting Your Social Media Up For Success In Quarter 4

While you may not be quite ready to buy your Halloween costume or deck the halls with boughs of holly, now is the time to start planning your holiday and quarter 4 strategy for your business. Quarter 4 lasts from October to December and finishes out the year. This means that you will be covering 3 major holidays with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. If you are a product or inventory based company you will be counting on this quarter to implement up-to-date social media management services to be your most profitable and make up for some of the profits that may have been lost due to the coronavirus. It is also always good to end the year on a high note to start off the new year on a good foot.

We all know 2020 has not only been physically and emotionally tough due to the coronavirus but it has also been financially tough due to job layoffs, unemployment, and shutdowns. While many businesses are trying to figure out how to bring back sales, many people are losing hope and are looking ahead to better times. There is a lot of uncertainty as we approach the 4th quarter. There is still hope that the 4th quarter can be your strongest quarter if you take action now. There are many ways to use social media marketing to plan and execute your quarter 4 strategy as well as increase your brand awareness and sales.

Social Media Marketing Benefits And Features To Promote Your Business For The Holiday Season

One of the most beneficial ways for product and merchandise providers to capitalize on the upcoming holiday season is by utilizing Facebook Shop. Facebook Shop allows users to directly shop and browse your inventory directly on Facebook. This is a great way to shop online as people do not have to risk going into the stores and can conveniently do it safely at home through their Facebook account. Facebook shops are relatively easy to set up as well and oftentimes are easier than selling products on a website page or online shopping company such as Amazon. All you need as a seller to create a Facebook Shops site is a Facebook account and a Facebook business page as well as a valid bank account and tax identification number. Facebook shops allow anyone who likes your page or is visiting your page to quickly browse your product inventory available directly through Facebook instead of having to click through another website to access your inventory. For users looking to buy gifts for the upcoming holiday season, this is perfect to quickly access and purchase gifts for their loved ones and receive them before the holiday rush begins.

Another very beneficial social media feature that can be very beneficial for product and merchandising clients is Shoppable Pinterest Pins. Similar to Facebook Shop, Shoppable Pinterest Pins allow you to showcase your product and inventory that is available for purchase much quicker than going to a separate website. This is convenient for users who are searching for gift ideas on Pinterest. Having a Shoppable Pinterest Pin set up will allow the users to directly click on the pin and order the product with just a simple click. An added bonus to steering up and using Shoppable Pinterest Pins right now is that many users are already starting to look for holiday ideas and gifts on Pinterest. In fact, some of the largest trending items on Pinterest this summer were holiday and gift ideas for 2020. Even though we are still months away from Christmas, the coronavirus has helped build up the hype for the holiday season. Showcasing your inventory and making your products available now with Pinterest Shoppable Pins and Facebook Shop will allow you to capitalize and sell to the audience who is already searching for gifts and put you ahead of the competition that waits to make their holiday products and inventory available.

You may also find that increasing your ad spend for the holiday season is a wise move. Oftentimes many companies utilize paid advertisements and increase their spending in the 4th quarter. This can make ad space more competitive. However, by increasing your ad spend you will stay above the competition and gain that ad space that is so vital during this time. The 4th quarter is when consumers spend the most money. Increasing your ad spend will allow you to take advantage of this additional spend. Many people are also paying more attention to ads as they are looking for gifts and ideas for the holiday season. 

Contact Us About Our Social Media Management Services To Market Your Business Today

Using these two social media features and increasing your ad spend will allow you to showcase your inventory and products as well as increase your profits and sales for the holiday season and the 4th quarter. While coronavirus has been very financially devastating to many companies, there is still hope for those who take action now and plan ahead. Let’s get ready to spread that holiday cheer for this upcoming holiday season! When it comes to our social media management services, if you would like to take advantage of Facebook Shop or Shoppable Pinterest Pins we can help you! At The AD Leaf ®, we have a team of Social Media Specialists who thrive off of cultivating premium content and paid ads for a variety of businesses. Give us a call at (321) 255-0900 or, set up a consultation by emailing us at info@theadleaf.com. We look forward to making your 4th quarter and holiday season a success!

Do You Hear the People e-Sing?

If you’re like me, you entered 2020 with a pretty full concert calendar. Excited for the artists both young and old I’d be seeing, I had even been planning weekend getaways to correspond with some of the shows. Obviously, those plans came to a bit of a halt with the onset of coronavirus. Music fans around the world were left sad and lost at the prospect of at least a year without a show to let loose at. Enter a new music industry line: the social e-concert thanks to Social Media Marketing for TikTok and other platforms. 

The concept of live-streaming an event is certainly nothing new but up until this point, it had been an add on to the actual live-experience. Between social distancing and different regulations in place all over tour routes, the industry had to get a bit creative. A growing number of artists are putting together live concerts for their fans that even feature their own “admission” charges. While thankfully nowhere near the same price of a standard show, this price gives you access to the concert and usually a live-chat feature with other fans– sometimes even with the artists themselves. 

Social Media Marketing for TikTokOne example of artists doing this is the band The Maine. Based out of Arizona, the band is selling $10 tickets to their concert. They’re even offering merch bundles with “tour” shirts to further make the experience feel like the real thing. Fans of the band all over social media are joining together in groups to chat and “attend” the show together. The Maine has traditionally been a band that makes great use of Social Media Marketing for TikTok and unique marketing opportunities and pandemic concerts are no exception. 

Another artist making the most of a difficult situation is The Weeknd. Real name Abel Tesfaye, The Weeknd teamed up with TikTok for the first live virtual reality concert on the app. While Abel and his avatar brought down the e-house, fans were able to chat amongst themselves and express their love for him in the comments. Social Media Marketing for TikTokTo make the experience more special, he even teased a new song and was joined for a surprise performance of a song with Doja Cat. The show was free for fans but part of the collab with the app included the release of a special collection of merch, the proceeds of which went to the Equal Justice Initiative.

Other notable artists taking part in this new era of concerts are Norah Jones, Jason Isbell, Aventura, and Post Malone, the last of which performed a tribute to Nirvana with drumming legend Travis Barker. Many are even taking the opportunity to use this time to raise money for charities or shed light on important issues. 

While the sweat and standing around at a traditional concert may not be the best part of a night out at a show, there is absolutely something to be said for the social experience it provides. Whether going with a group of friends or meeting new people there on your own, the bonding experience of a concert is an unparalleled experience. Particularly with younger people, social media provides a wonderful way to stay in touch, chat, and get excited over their favorite artists, all without having to leave the safety of their homes. 

When you think about it, while they’re certainly no replacement for the experience of a live show right in front of you, keeping the e-concert in a post-COVID world could be a great idea. These shows provide the opportunity to see a show to many who wouldn’t be able to otherwise, whether because of cost, illness, or other interference, all while still staying social, thanks to Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and other awesome social media apps. 

If you’re intrigued by the power of Social Media Marketing for TikTok and how it’s affecting the human experience during COVID, reach out to us here at The AD Leaf! We’d love to show you all social media can do for you and your company during this unprecedented time. 

Are We Listening?

It’s no surprise to anyone: There are a lot of conversations going on out in the world today about many important topics and world events. There are countless important matters to discuss, and matters within matters it seems. The growing amount of high-touch topics and the availability of social media as a marketing strategy is both an exciting and somewhat sobering thing. To have so much at your fingertips is a tightrope not only for social media coordinators and marketing teams, but also for clients, businesses, and actually, anyone using social media. 

If I was to be blunt, more and more it can feel like everyone has something to say. Some opinions to give. And while this isn’t entirely bad, it isn’t entirely good, either. Taking a moment to not ignore the important issues around your brand, but to step out of the endless debates, chats, opinions, and keyboard activist to focus on a skill that needs (in my opinion) revisited: listening.

What does listening have to do with your brand? Your company? Your personal page? Your relationships? Your personal life? 

 

We believe a lot. 

 

Merriam-Webster defines listening as: “To hear something with thoughtful attention.”

To listen is to give preference to another. It is not waiting to talk. How busy are we as a brand, company, friend, or significant other with talking instead of listening? And how can listening not only help your social campaign (not to mention your life)? In the context of social media as a marketing strategy, practicing social listening can improve your brand, create community, help avoid PR nightmares, and so much more. All by listening. 

Looking at metrics and date is an invaluable practice we utilize here at The AD Leaf to see what is performing well, what could use work, to spot trends, and to develop a strategy. Some would say this is listening, but it is in fact social monitoring. Think of social monitoring as the step before you listen, or the information you are already aware of as you embark on your journey of practicing social listening. Social listening, however, is the practice of listening to what your audience is saying now. It grabs the words as it leaves your client’s mouth and takes hold of them. Look at them. Analyze them. And then use them as valuable pieces of information for them. Let me illustrate.

Apple for the longest time has been known as a brand who is well…stubborn. They have a long-standing habit of being very exclusive, private, and just do their own thing because it works (and this is coming from a die-hard Apple fan). Recently I was watching the Apple Developers Conference, the WWDC, and was shocked at what I was seeing. Apple was having interviews with famous tech Youtubers, they made several changes to their OS that have been longtime requests from their customer base, and so much more. What was even more intriguing was the comment section of this event. There was a massive amount of engagement happening, and most of it was positive. Why? I believe because Apple did something that was new(er) for them: They listened to their customers. Now, we still don’t have the headphone jack, but I think you get my point.

When we listen, something takes place. Your brand sentiment is affected. What is brand sentiment? Let’s call it the overall “mood” of your brand. It’s how people feel about you and what you provide. When you are actively listening to what your audience is saying about you, your brand, your product, your services, and your competition, you can learn valuable nuggets of information that can help improve brand sentiment. 

Listening is something that can be done and should be done, everywhere for your brand. If you overhear someone saying in your checkout line that it’s too noisy, then guess what? That is a valuable clue that maybe others are feeling the same way and that is an area that can be developed to improve customer experience! Listening helps you get in front of PR nightmares as well. Do you remember the Nike shoe incident with the Duke basketball player who’s shoe exploded while he played? Yeah, we do too. Nike didn’t hide from it. They actually saw the storm that was brewing on Twitter and they got in front of it by publicly apologizing and reaching out to the player, offering him a great deal. This couldn’t have been done unless their team was listening. In listening, you can catch small wildfires before they become forest fires. 

Listening and responding helps create positive momentum within your brand. But don’t just listen for you. Listen to your competitors, too. If you have a competing business that is doing well, listen, and see why they are. Maybe there is something you can learn to improve your own! Listening spots trends, too. If you consistently hear people talking about sustainable purchasing, then maybe it’s something you should look into for a new product line. Listening helps you spot both good and bad trends and provides you with valuable information to take your brand in the right direction. 

So, the question remains, “What do I listen for?”

Listen Everywhere

This extends beyond your social media marketing strategy. Listen when you walk into the office. When you walk to the lunchroom. When you login to your accounts. When you take calls. Don’t just listen to the team, but listen to their conversations, and the interactions they are having with clients. All of these are valuable in developing a listening ear. 

Learn From Others

If a brand is crushing it, find out why. This may require a bit of humility, but it’s good for us to become a more developed people and brand. Listen to what others are doing. Learn about their success. What mistakes did they make? What challenges did they have? When you do this, you discover why they “walk” the way they do. Listening learns. 

Be Aware, but not Reactionary

Listening can be tricky when it comes to reacting. Especially if you come across a rough comment. Take a moment, step back, and assess the situation. Listening is meant to help your brand gather quantifiable information to develop a plan around to better everyone. Be careful not to react but to be aware of what others are saying.

Develop a Plan

Did you know that studies show that top-rated leaders have a desire to do more listening than talking? They prefer it. Listening helps you take in information to then develop a course of action. After all, we aren’t only listening to just listen. We are listening to make more well-informed choices down the road. Listening helps you make a game plan. 

Speaking of listening, we at The AD Leaf would love to hear about you and your brand and would love to help you reach your marketing and creative goals. At The AD Leaf ®, we’re here to help you build your brand’s reputation and develop relationships with your customers. Feel free to give us a call at 321-255-0900 or you can email us to info@theadleaf.com. Let’s make great things happen together.