Five Reasons to Hire a Social Media Agency

Many businesses don’t understand why social media isn’t working for them when it works so well for other companies. It usually comes down to one thing – who’s managing the social media profiles. Would you trust an inexperienced intern to represent the face of your business? No. So why trust just anyone to represent you on social media?

It’s Not For Personal Use

All those interns or “discount” social media managers may not understand social media outside of personal use. Many don’t understand all the rules and policies for each network concerning interacting with others, running contests and promotions, uploading images and ensuring followers and fans actually get your updates.

You don’t want someone who will just post pretty pictures (or worse steal images and re-share without consent) – you want someone who understands digital marketing strategy.

Boost Followers

A social media pro doesn’t just try to copy what every other business is doing. They take time to understand your target audience and what they want most. They learn what type of tone to use, which images work best and how to work in a call to action that encourages more sharing and following.

Interact With Customers

What happens when you get a negative comment? What if a customer has a question? What if a celebrity or big-time influencer engages with the brand? Can an amateur handle these situations? Odds are, they’ll ignore any feedback and just keep posting. A pro will interact professionally with customers and boost any celebrity or press hits. They work to resolve issues and maintain a positive company image and online (and offline) reputation. They boost customer service and make your social media profiles a trusted place for customers to get the help they need.

Save Money

Spending less on someone might sound like a benefit, but it’s not. While an intern or low cost consultant tries to figure things out, you’re losing followers instead of gaining them. Your competition is becoming more popular. The ads they’re posting are costing more than you’re gaining. You’re not saving. You’re wasting money. A pro costs more upfront, but actually delivers results that increase your business for the long term.

They’re A Partner

A social media pro isn’t just someone who posts updates to Facebook and Instagram. They’re a business partner. When they take on a project, their goal is to work alongside you to grow your business. They understand your company as well as you and handle the social media marketing side so you can focus on the rest.

Tired of wasting time and money on someone who doesn’t understand social media or your business? Top Tier Media provides a full range of social media services. Contact us today to find out more.

Tips for Optimizing Pinterest Photos

We know that you want to receive as much traffic as possible when you write a blog post. Unfortunately, you may be missing some of that traffic and interested visitors if you aren’t paying attention to the important factors of correctly placing images on your website. Fortunately, we are here to help you and can offer some tips on optimizing blog photos for visually-oriented social sites like Pinterest.

Use Text on Your Images

Sites like Pinterest can be helpful when a person is searching for home interior ideas, crafts or recipes. Let’s say that you are a food blogger, and you have a delicious chicken Marsala recipe that you want to share with other people. It does take extra time, but you should be sure to add text onto your images. If you have a picture of chicken Marsala, pull up a fun font on your image editor and watermark your picture with the words, “Tasty Chicken Marsala.” This will catch someone’s eye when they’re browsing images and increase the chances of them visiting your website. You may also want to include your logo or website URL so people can find your site easily. You may also want to use longer, portrait-style photos rather than horizontal images. Putting your text toward the top of the image can also help get clicks and saves.

Use Keywords In the URL

The next tip is to use the main keywords of your post in the URL. On most content management systems such as WordPress or at blog creating websites, this can automatically be done when you have the settings take your post title and use it in the URL. Your URL should look something like this,”http://www.yourfoodblog.com/recipes/tasty-chicken-marsala-recipe/.

Title Your Image With Keywords

We’re pretty sure that taking these next two tips and incorporating them into your arsenal will help boost your traffic and increase visitors. We would also bet that many bloggers fail to use these techniques, and this may help put you above your competition. Be sure to use descriptive keywords when you title your image files. If you use something like, “tasty chicken marsala.jpg” and not,” image356.jpg,” it will help boost your images in search engine results.

Don’t Forget to Use Alt Text Correctly

Here’s a golden tip on why you should make sure that your alt text for each image is descriptive. Did you know that Pinterest takes the words from an image’s alt text description and places them automatically into their pin description? By using “tasty chicken Marsala” in the alt text area of your image, you are automatically giving a Pinterest user the description for their pin. This top tip will definitely help pop your images to a highly visible area when someone is searching for specific keywords.

What tips do you have to share? What has worked for you?

How customer service can increase word of mouth marketing

Today’s business management focuses greatly on the customer experience to enhance revenue. You can be on every social platform, have a great marketing campaign and garner plenty of positive product placement in print and broadcast, but if your customer service is severely lacking, then all of that effort could be mute.

In terms of cost and efficacy, word of mouth (WOM) marketing yields the most profound results for companies across a bevy of sectors. At the same time, a negative customer experience expressed through WOM can affect the organization greatly as well. Nevertheless, positive word of mouth can be fostered by great customer service, as it reduces the marketing expenses of a brand. Many marketing executives have elected to nurture this approach given its impactful outcomes.

Marketing executives ask a range of questions to determine the WOM approach that best serves the needs of their organization. Questions such as what is the percentage of customers attracted to your service through personal referrals and is the customer service experience being translated via social media? Is great customer service translating into positive WOM messaging online and off?

Survey results have found that 20 to 75 percent of new customers to a business come through personal referrals due to a positive shopping experience.

In 2012, according to the president of the Cheesecake Factory restaurant chain, WOM enabled the company to spend 25 percent less than the competition in its industry because of the impact of WOM marketing.

Moreover, in evaluating the efficacy of WOM, brands weigh questions such as, what is the nature of word of mouth generated (whether it is negative or positive)? How predictive is word of mouth in terms of driving sales?

If brands are able to convert twenty percent of their dissatisfied customers to ten percent, they can transform the impact of WOM on their organizations. For instance, a customer service center that provides routine service for a company has the capacity to generate three hundred new customers per week if only one out of every 30 of the 10,000 positive referrals in a new customer sampling are leveraged correctly.

Ironically, many brand executives, when asked whether customer service is considered part of the overall brand marketing initiative, are perplexed as they still devote much of their resources to more traditional advertising.

At Top Tier Media, we live and breathe social media and know that exemplary customer service shown in the social media space is vitally important to the bottom line.

Where does customer service rank for you in your social media strategy?

3 Ways Social Media Is Changing Advertising

Today’s advertising landscape is an eclectic array of both online and real-world marketing strategies, from a post on Instagram to a billboard on a main drag. Social media, in particular, has created an entirely new platform for businesses to attract customers. Because social media is interactive, advertising is now more about relationships than ever before.

Take a look at some of the tops ways social media is changing advertising:

Constant Contact

When it came to old-fashioned advertising, your flyer or billboard had to be located in a busy area to be seen by hundreds or thousands of people. Advertising through social media allows your business to be in constant contact with key customers. Every time potential customers access their social media accounts, which is often up to a dozen times a day, there is another chance for them to see your posts, pictures and updates. There is no need to wait for customers to walk past your billboard because you can reach them on a daily basis through social media. They may even share or comment on your content, making your business even more visible in the marketplace.

Familiarity

With so many products and brands in the marketplace, consumers are often bombarded by images and logos throughout the day. Basic psychology reveals that people look for mental shortcuts as they make daily decisions. You cannot, for instance, research EVERY type of cosmetic, fashion or health product  to verify which are the best. People look for well-known brands and logos or testimonials from friends, family and influencers to learn about new products. Your business can use social media ads to reach your demographic and stay top of mind.

Targeted Audience

One of the major ways that social media has enhanced advertising is easier targeting. If your business sells cell phone accessories, for example, you may want to pinpoint teens and young adults in your advertising strategy. Post quirky or funny videos surrounding device use or start a conversation about tablets versus smartphones. The more you engage with your targeted audience, they’ll be more inclined to buy your product repeatedly because of the strong social media relationship. You have given them interesting news and conversation-starters which pique their interest, and make them want to learn more.

Take your social media to the next level by creating targeted ads for your demographic. Contact Top Tier Social Media for help with social media management and ad creation.

How to Pitch Beauty, Health and Style Influencers and Bloggers

Got a great beauty, fashion, health or lifestyle product to share with the world? Beauty, health and style bloggers can be a great way to reach your target audience. Influencers can get the word out! But how do you reach them? What are the unspoken rules? Not sure how to craft your pitch? Read on!

Here are some tips:

• Send relevant press kits. Of course you wouldn’t send pitches for auto parts to a food blogger. But, go one stop further and read the “About” section and a few blog posts before contacting – don’t make the mistake of sending a cheese product to a vegan blogger!
• Perfect your pitch. Address the blogger by name – make it seem personal and not like a mass email (even if it is – but we don’t recommend mass pitches in general). Don’t forget to include information about your product, small photos or pdfs (don’t clog up in-boxes without asking; “Photos available upon request” works beautifully), a link to your product’s website (you won’t believe how many people forget the link), your contact information, when the product will be released, prices, etc.
• Use the magic words. Include the phrase “press samples available” instead of asking to send products for review. This is a subtle way to encourage bloggers to ask YOU for the product. While there is no obligation for bloggers to review your product (unless you have a written agreement to pay for an “advertorial”), they will be more likely to do so if they have requested the product samples.
• Be professional and courteous at all times. You should cultivate relationships with bloggers the same way you would with traditional editors and press staff. Remember, when you submit a product for review, you are not paying a copywriter to write glowing words about your product – you are asking for an unbiased review. Many bloggers have a wide sphere of influence on the web through blog readership and social media channels. It’s best to keep relationships friendly and mutually beneficial!
• Follow Up. If you have sent a product, but not received a review or an ETA, follow up. You are much more likely to get a review if you maintain communication with the editor. Be careful not to be pushy or demanding, or you may sever future relationships.
• Don’t call. Phone calls are a thing of the past in the online world. Many bloggers see phone calls as negative and intrusive. Send your pitch via email and feel free to follow up, but don’t call unless you have permission.
• Never demand a write-up in exchange for a promotional event invitation. It is implied that bloggers will do their best to write about events they attend, event sponsors, etc. It is considered poor form to demand a blog post, just as it would be considered tacky to invite a TV or newspaper editor to an event on conditional terms. Relax. Even if you don’t get a write-up, you’ve made a connection. Never discount the power of networking!

Need help finding and pitching influencers in your niche? Top Tier Media can help!

How to Credit Bloggers for Their Images

In this day and age it is so easy to do a quick Google search to find the perfect image for a blog post or advertorial. This is, in fact, what many people do to find compelling content. But they’re missing the critical step – crediting the original source for the image.

Contrary to popular belief, Google images, Flickr, Tumblr and Pinterest are not original sources for images. Many times, those sites lose the information on the original content creator, which is sad, especially when it’s a compelling image. So you must take another step to find the original author if you find images by those means. You want to follow the image back to the blog or site it originated from to credit that blogger or photographer. To find the original image source, upload the image to http://images.google.com. The original source will usually be the first or second link listed.

When you are a blogger and you spend hours on your blog creating images, you don’t want someone taking those images and using them without proper credit. To give proper credit, it’s as simple as the following:

Image: Sugarpill Minty Blues eyeshadow via Phyrra

If the text can be hyperlinked (if you’re posting on a website), you want to hyperlink the blog name with the URL for the creator to give them proper credit.

If it’s for Facebook, Instagram or Twitter be sure to tag the influencer or blogger:

Source: @Phyrra

All images are copyright to the photographer that took the images, unless that photographer signs away those rights. So typically, you need to have permission to use that image, unless they have licensed their work for Creative Commons. Most bloggers are happy to have their images used with proper credit. If you’re ever in doubt, just ask! And if a blogger asks you to take down an image, you should do so immediately to avoid a lawsuit.

5 Ways to Tell if Social Media is Working for Your Brand

In the competitive world of the beauty business, beauty brands want to make sure that their social media campaigns are working for them. While some brands expect a direct increase in sales, this increase is sometimes one of the last ways to tell if a social media campaign is working. So until your beauty brand does start to see an increase in sales, how can you measure that your social media campaign is even doing its job?

Here’s how:

New fans – Keep in mind that the primary purpose of having a fan page on Facebook or Twitter is to build an online community for your beauty brand. Think of your brand’s Facebook page as an online hub for customer service, brand awareness and direct fan engagement. Tracking an increase in new fans over a period of time is a great indicator that people want to be involved in your online community. If you are posting relevant and useful content, responding to fan questions/concerns and actively engaging fans with contest, trivia and more – you should always be seeing a steady increase in fans.

More visitors – Similarly to seeing an increase in new fans over time, an increase in visitor traffic to a beauty brand’s website and/or blog is a great indicator that existing customers or even potential customers are interested in your brand. What to do if you start seeing a lull in web traffic instead of growth? Make sure that you are still driving traffic from all of your social media platforms on a consistent basis. While you should always focus of posting relevant content to build your community, you always want to be linking social media posts back to your websites.

Comments and shares – A simple ratio suggests that an increase in fan engagement usually begins after an increase in fans. While fan engagement may naturally increase due to an increase in page fans, you want to also make sure that you are posting content that is engagement-worthy! Are you hosting contests and giveaways? Are you increasing buzz about your beauty brand by offering free samples? Are you asking questions and are you genuinely interested in your community feedback? Continue experimenting with different types of engagement until you get a feel for what your community wants and is looking for from your brand.

Building new relationships – Whether you are building relationships with the beauty bloggers reviewing your brand or other beauty brands in a similar niche as yours, you’ll know your are building your online community right if you are getting to know more people than you did before. Online communities should always be open to RTs, positive commenting and engaging with other beauty brands because it does less harm than good. It doesn’t mean you are promoting another brand, it simply means that you are establishing your own part in an even bigger online beauty community!

Sales – Ah yes, an increase in sales. While it’s hard to measure a direct increase in sales from social media unless there’s a specific campaign (specifying to mention Facebook, Twitter etc.), you will also want to know if social media, on its own, can be responsible for an increase in sales. If you remain consistent in efforts to build a lively and knowledgeable online community, you’ll increase the probability that a potential customer will select your beauty brand by simply being involved and being aware of your brand by being in the online community you’ve worked so hard to build. Remember, it often takes 7 points of contact before a customer is ready to buy. So increase the frequency by staying active on all social media channels.

Naturally, this has caught the attention of marketers worldwide and has once again shifted the mindset of social media marketing. Intermingling with personal boards of mothers keeping crafting or dinner ideas organized are businesses and brands maximizing their marketing opportunities on Pinterest. Since Pinterest is based on the forwarding of visual images, keywords begin to play a different part in order for a product, blog or business to successfully stand out.

According to 2012 statistics, around 68% of all Pinterest users are women. Knowing that women are a majority of Pinterest users, should say something to marketers on how to better attract users to their pins. For example, even men’s products can be pinned by a high number of Pinterest users if the wording attached to a pin is enticing to a female user as well.

80% of all pins are also re-pins, which speaks volumes of the amount of content that is originally pinned versus content that is being forwarded by users. Images inking back to your website is what makes Pinterest so useful for marketers. To make sure your business, blog or product is getting the most out of Pinterest, always make sure to label your pictures with company names, names of products or websites so that pictures (pins) will always link back to your brand.

Hashtags are equally important when it comes to helping users find your pins. Hashtags (#fashion or #beauty for example) can maximize the opportunity for your pin to be found by hundreds of users who may not be following your boards

While Facebook gains new fans with content shares and friend endorsements (every like is seen by an average of 130 Facebook fans), Pinterest allows users to bring in new followers that might not have found your website otherwise. For example, if you were a small hardware store owner, pinning and linking back pictures of new lawnmowers in the summertime might only bring your website partial traffic. Whereas if the store owner got creative and started pinning pictures of inspirational quotes about hard work, articles about home repair or BBQ recipe ideas, the store owner is them maximizing his opportunities to get a wide range of potential new customers. On Pinterest, diversity of boards is always better.

Just like Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest has peak times when users are researched to be more active. Pinterest users are generally more active during the “coffee hours” between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., the lunch hour between noon and 1 p.m. and the hours before and during dinner, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

With a little creativity, using relevant keywords and hashtags and finding a way to always link back to your brand, Pinterest can become a great asset for web traffic and a powerful social media marketing tool for any brand or organization.

How to Get More Followers on Pinterest

Pinterest is a popular social media site where anyone can share favorite clippings such as photos and videos with their followers. Pinterest can be used as a fun tool to post favorite recipes or as a business tool to grow an audience for a product or service. You can create your own Pinterest page or hire a social media consultant to design it for you.

On Pinterest, you create boards and name them. Under each board you post images, web pages or anything else that you can pin. It’s a good idea to keep a theme for each board. One board can be favorite photos from around the web and another board can be books you’ve read recently. The options are endless, and with a little creativity you can gain a large following on Pinterest.

There are many ways to get more followers. The first thing you should do is add a “Pin It” button to your website or blog. When people visit pages on your site with this button, they can click on it to pin an image or the entire page their boards. Their followers can click on your name, view your boards, and follow you.

Also consider adding the “Follow me on Pinterest” button to your website. There is also the “Pinterest” button that’s useful for people who visit your site but don’t have a Pinterest account. This allows them to see your boards and then choose to sign up for their own accounts.

When posting to your boards, make sure you only add good content that others would re-pin. A blurry image of a birthday cake won’t go far, but a funny picture of the birthday boy with cake on his face will catch a lot of attention. If you post high-quality images, you’ll gain more followers who will check your site regularly to see what’s new.

Organize your boards the same way you would organize file folders. Place boards close together that resemble the same theme. For example, if you have one board for Hawaii, one for London and the other one for Mexico, then place them all together with other travel-related boards. Then add those boards to the travel category; anyone looking for photos under that category will come across your boards. If they see you share the same interests, they will follow you.

These infographics were made with Visual.ly – an AMAZING new way to create your own infographics at the click of a button. Highly recommended – do check them out.

That’s it Facebook stats:

LaserAway Facebook stats:

Do I Have to Show my Face on Social Media?

If you’re a brand owner, in a word – yes. Sharing your face, your personality and glimpses behind the scenes are what make consumers trust you. You started your company with a passion. Now you have to let others see that passion. Don’t be afraid to share a little slice of life with your customers. They will stop seeing you as a faceless corporation and start seeing the person (or people) behind the brand. If this is too much sharing for you, hire a community manager to be the face of your company.

The first time I heard the term, “community manager” when referred to social media management I pictured that warm, friendly landlord that always waves at you when you leave your apartment. After all, an online community manager seems so much more approachable in sharp contrast to the terms, “expert in social media” or “social media specialist.” If you have a consumer complaint or question, would you rather ask an expert or a specialist or a community manager?

While it’s rare that any major brand is not on Facebook or Twitter these days, brands are still seemingly represented by faceless voices. While a brand may respond to one of my tweets, isn’t it odd that there is still a disconnect between the consumer and the person that represents the brand? Isn’t the point of social media marketing to make things more targeted, more direct and more personal? Let’s examine the potential pros and cons of a social media specialist versus an online community manager. Is there even a difference?

Call any customer service line and you are greeted with, “Thank you for calling ___, My name is so and so…” or you enter a department store and every employee has on a name tag (sometimes with an additional tagline, I’m here to help!) My store receipt usually identifies the name of the cashier that just checked out my groceries. Even a particular cosmetics company I love stamps their products with a sticker identifying the person who packaged MY particular shower gel with their picture and their name! (It’s actually one of my favorite things about the company.) So why, in an age when we are using the most personal of online platforms to connect, market, advertise and eventually sell, are we not identifying who we are?

The few companies that I have seen utilizing this personalization of social media really caught my eye and I haven’t forgotten about them. For example, I know that I can go to Social Media Examiner’s Facebook page and ask Andrea a question and she will quickly respond to me. (I love that!) There’s something to be said for a consistent tone and “online voice” when it’s connected to one specific person – granted it’s the right tone. There’s also a promise of accountability with giving your name in a customer service oriented world. This makes accountability an essential key to superior customer service, both in person, on the phone or through social media platforms.

With this accountability is there also an equal danger of making ONE social media specialist’s face an online representative of a brand? After all, what if a consumer doesn’t like the social media specialist merely based on superficial factors? Most likely, the net gain of happy consumers will outweigh any negatives. Either way, if social media has become a front runner in the world of making customer service more personalized, it just doesn’t make sense that online brand representatives are not identifying themselves. If Facebook and Twitter are becoming a tool for more personable, targeted marketing – why is social media hiding behind the anonymity of the internet?

What to Expect from Social Media Marketing

While social media marketing has been proven to have an overall positive impact on sales, it is not going to work overnight. Do not get discouraged if it takes a long time to build a decent following, and do not expect an instant upswing in sales. In my experience, it can take 5-8 months to build a decent following with good customer interaction and engagement.

Remember that your social media presence is like your own personal real estate. Your fans and followers grow and become more and more valuable over time. However, it is very important to keep it going. Constant interaction with your fans keeps you and your brand on their radar.

Building a following on social networking sites will take a lot of effort, but once you get the ball rolling you’ll gradually begin to see results. In order to start things off on the right foot you should include the URL to all of your social networking pages on your business cards, in your email signatures and on all print advertising. It is also a good idea to have all of your employees follow each of the company’s pages.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in a nutshell means optimizing your website and social media channels for specific keywords and content to help customers find you when searching via Google or other search engines. SEO can help drive qualified­ potential customers to your social networking pages, so be sure to put a lot of thought into the content that you post. Although it is very important to build an online community made up of your current customers, it is even more vital to reach out to new potential clients. SEO will help you achieve this goal, as individuals who use a search engine may be driven to your social networking page based on one of your posts.

Once you’ve put all of the pieces in place, you will begin to see the several benefits that are associated with social media marketing.

Your community of followers will grow on a regular basis, and many of them will become actively involved with your page. Reaching out to these followers regularly will encourage them to become brand ambassadors. These are your biggest fans and will often tell others about both your business and your page, which will result in higher follower numbers and increased sales activity. You can encourage the growth of sales by running special promotions, but pay close attention to the results. If no one takes you up on the offer then you need to tweak your message going forward.

Another perk of social media marketing is that when it’s done correctly, it really helps your business stand out from your competitors. The majority of your customers are likely to be online, and if your social media presence is more welcoming than that of your competitors’, then their customers may soon become your customers instead.

If you set realistic social media marketing goals and ensure that your pages and ads are updated regularly, then you will see a long-term positive impact. Stick with your social networking pages while they’re in their infancy and make sure to listen to the input of your followers. In time you’ll have a strong base of followers, and they will help introduce new potential customers to your page.

Maintaining a strong social media presence will take not only time, but also a firm commitment. It is very important to respond to followers who ask questions or make comments, be they positive or negative. Posting regular content, which is applicable to what your business is all about, combined with being responsive will help you build a strong base of followers. Building this base will take time, but in the long run it can have a very positive impact on both your overall brand image and sales.

How to Promote Your Brand on LinkedIn

Social media marketing has proven to be extremely successful, and it is increasing in efficiency with each passing year. While most people are familiar with marketing their brand on Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn often gets overlooked. However, LinkedIn marketing can be just as useful. With over 135 million users (as of Nov. ’11), your brand is sure to reach a few new potential customers, but here are some tips to reach as many as possible.

Begin by updating your own personal profile. It should be a given that your brand profile will be fully filled out, but it is also a given that serious customers will do some snooping. This will probably include looking at the owner’s profile. If the customer can find out a little background about the owner, they will be assured that this person is honest and trustworthy. In turn, the company will appear honest and trustworthy.

LinkedIn can add credibility to your business in other ways as well. Ask some satisfied customers or colleagues, either former or current, to write recommendations. These recommendations will appear on the profile page of other members causing your brand and name to gain some exposure. However, try to ask people who will not be too over the top with their writing. This can often come across as staged or insincere causing the reader to lose faith in the brand.

One interesting feature of LinkedIn is that you can poll your network to ask any question you want. As long as you make certain that the question pertains to your industry, you can receive some great feedback. You can learn about what potential customers want or expect, and it drives a great deal of buzz because it allows people to interact.

Do not underestimate the power of groups.

Find groups that are relevant to your brand and be an active participant in them. Each time you post a comment or answer a question, your name and picture will be displayed. This increases the chances of other members seeing and clicking to your profile. You can even add a signature at the end of your comments that promote your account.

After you have gotten the hang of participating in other groups, try creating your own. This is an important step after you have a fan base. It is a place for questions to be addressed, links to be shared, and discussions to be had. Communication is a great tool, and this is where the conversations can start.

LinkedIn can do wonders in spreading your brand’s name. If you do not feel as though you have the necessary skills to make it work for you, contact a social media agency. Social media consultants like Top Tier Media can either get the ball rolling for you or can be hired as part of the business to handle all the social media outlets you choose to utilize.