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Today we are savvy about online reputation management. Aren’t we?

Today we are savvy about online reputation management. Aren’t we?

By Paula Maggio

I taught at the college level for five years. One warning I gave all my students was this: Be careful of what you post online because whatever you post will exist in cyberspace forever, even if you delete it.

When they heard that, my students simply stared at me. They looked stunned. They looked scared. They looked frantic. Then they looked as if they couldn’t wait to get out of class so they could start deleting drinking photos and other incriminating items from their social media accounts.

I was happy to see that these mostly first-year public university students took my warning seriously when I issued them years ago. They realized it could affect future education and employment opportunities.

Reputation management savvy

I like to think that today we are savvier. We know the impact social media has on reputation, ours and our company’s. We know that what we post on social media can help or hurt our individual or corporate reputation. And we take care to manage our reputation, to influence and shape how others see our company, our brand, and us.

Having a well-developed social media presence is critical in today’s hyper-connected world. Your customers, clients, and stakeholders live on social media, and so should you. Your presence on social media will help you actively engage in reputation management, broadcast (and narrowcast) your public relations messages, reinforce and build your brand, identify and attract new customers, and retain existing customers and clients.

What to do online

Here are some ways to make sure you are doing what you must to effectively manage your reputation online:

  • Have an online presence. Nature abhors a vacuum. Make sure you have a website and social media accounts that projects the image you want.
  • Have good content. A bare-bones business website is better than no website at all, of course. But a dynamic business website full of robust, informative, and authoritative content is even better. Creating good content that can help you rank highly in the search engine results will push bad content down lower on the SERPs.
  • Have positive customer reviews. Reviews are one way customers learn about your business. More than 95% of shoppers check them before committing to a purchase.
  • Have good sense. Respond to online comments promptly. Address and resolve any issue publicly on the channel your customer is using. Use common sense and kindness. Be proactive and polite. Always.

What to avoid online

  • Negative posts about customers or clients
  • Irrelevant viral content
  • Political or religious posts
  • Content that isn’t properly proofread or edited
  • Too much overtly promotional content
  • Content inconsistent with branding
  • Misleading posts
  • Unattributed content

Reach out for help

Social media is a key element for marketing success. If you’re not sure how to do it, reach out to us. We here at Triple Canopy Media would be glad to show you how it’s done. Or do it for you.

Twitter studies billions of Tweets to ID cultural trends

Twitter studies billions of Tweets to ID cultural trends

By Paula Maggio

Twitter has identified the six fastest-growing topics its users are tweeting about, claiming they reflect fundamental shifts in U.S. culture. It’s worth thinking about these trends when we consider the way we use social media as part of a branding campaign.

The insights, Twitter says, will help businesses better understand the fundamental shifts within broader culture, which can assist with creative development, product development, marketing, and consumer engagement. It can also help them stay on the cutting edge of culture.

“Understanding what’s happening matters more than ever, because consumers care about a brand’s cultural relevance,” according to Twitter.

Social Media Today recommends tapping into the right hashtags and monitoring shifts over time to stay one step ahead of the competition.

What Twitter did

Twitter used machine learning to remove commonplace topics and fads, such as politics and sports, then analyzed billions of Tweets over a period of three years – from Jan. 1, 2016, to June 30, 2019 – to come up with the most-used hashtags.

Twitter then identified 18 conversational trends and created a dedicated “Trend Pack” for each of the 18 trends that uncovers conversation growth, key drivers, related hashtags, emoji sentiment, and Tweets. The 18 trends were then divided among six main topics: Well Being, Everyday Wonder, One Planet, Creator Culture, Tech Life, and My Identity.

As Twitter explains it: “These reflect fundamental shifts in U.S. culture and provide a window into what’s starting to matter more and more to consumers as we enter a new decade.”

The conversational trends

Here is a summary of the six main topics and the 18 conversational trends that Twitter identified:

  1. Well Being: focus shifts from the outside in. The conversation centers around “well being” and “self-care.”
    1. Data-driven bodies
    2. Holistic health
    3. Being well together
  1. Everyday Wonder: fascination with the cosmos. The conversation centers around “meaning” and “wonder” in relation to the universe.
    1. DIY spirituality
    2. In awe of nature
    3. Cosmic fascination
  1. One Planet: focuses on taking action and finding innovative solutions to create a more sustainable culture. The conversation centers around “action” and “innovation.”
    1. Ethical self
    2. Sustainable steps
    3. Clean corporations
  1. Creator Culture: includes makers, builders, and entrepreneurs and pushes creativity into mainstream culture. The conversation centers around “creator culture.”
    1. Creative currency
    2. Hustle life
    3. Connecting through video
  1. Tech Life: imagines the possibilities of a more connected, more efficient, more expansive future. The conversation centers around “the future of technology.”
    1. Blended realities
    2. Future tech
    3. Tech angst
  1. My Identity: empowered individuals living out loud, sharing passions, breaking stereotypes, and demanding more on issues of gender and diversity. The conversation centers around “identity.”
    1. Fandom
    2. Gender redefined
    3. Represent me

What comes next

Twitter says it will refresh its insights into the conversations shaping culture on an annual basis. It says it will also expand to additional markets in 2020.

Such refreshes will help businesses improve their own Twitter outreach and performance, according to the platform.

Make the most of website content: Share it on social media

Make the most of website content: Share it on social media

By Paula Maggio

In an earlier post, we talked about how to create the kind of engaging, high-quality content for your website that will attract readers, produce customers, and generate better Google rankings. But once you create that content and post it on your website or blog, what else should you do with it? Why, share it on social media, of course!

Hopefully, you are creating content that answers the questions asked by searchers looking for the products or services that your company provides, particularly as they use voice search. Providing that kind of high-quality content will help you get found online. And getting found online will help you move up in Google’s search rankings.

Now here’s how you can use that content on your social media platforms.

From featured snippet to FAQ

There is a wide range of website content that we recommend sharing on social media. Here are a few that we consider key:

  • If you are lucky enough to have your content show up as a featured snippet on Google, share the link to that.
  • If your website has an FAQ page – and it should – share a popular question and answer. Or share two. Or three. Or more. One at a time. What’s more, if your FAQ page is thorough enough or helpful enough, it could be your company’s ticket to the legendary featured snippet box.
  • If you have a blog post that does a great job of addressing an industry question, turn it into an infographic and share it. People love visuals that provide information without a lot of text.
  • If you have produced a creative video, share it. Social media content consisting of videos receives more engagement and produces more fruitful returns.

Tell me more

There are other ways to repurpose your blog posts. Here are just a few:

  • Share a teaser. Create interest in an upcoming blog post by posting an image, an excerpt, or a quote.
  • Share a fact or stat. Your blog post is likely to be full of them. Pick the most intriguing and share them on social.
  • Pull a quote. Make sure your blog post includes a few lines that are quote-worthy and they can provide fodder for social.
  • Think quizzes and polls. Figure out an angle that connects with your blog post and post it on social, possibly as a story.
  • Got a good photo in your blog post? Post it on social. By itself.
  • Try a meme that picks up a point from your blog post. Make it entertaining.
  • Summarize your blog post in a list. Post it on social. Include a hashtag.

Reap the social media rewards

Doing all this – and more — will help you reap the rewards of social media. You’ll engage your customers by delivering interactive and professional content that will help improve your online visibility and expand your customer reach.

TCM can do it for you

If you’re not sure how to do your own social media, reach out to Triple Canopy Media. At Triple Canopy Media we would be glad to show you how it’s done. Or do it for you.

Here’s what we do:

  1. We assess your needs, determine which social media platforms will best serve them, and set up a regular process for sharing carefully crafted content about your business via selected platforms.
  2. We create a cohesive strategy and measurement plan.
  3. We integrate the plan across the organization.
  4. Finally, we use metrics to monitor content marketing performance and ROI.
As Aretha advised: “Think” before you post

As Aretha advised: “Think” before you post

By Paula Maggio

I may be dating myself, but when I think about the importance of thinking first and posting on social media second, an Aretha Franklin song pops into my head.

It’s the chart-busting tune “Think,” released as a single in 1968. The 1980 rerecording for the soundtrack of the iconic movie The Blues Brothers may bring Aretha’s hit more easily to mind, as might its 1989 redo on her Through the Storm album. Its wisdom, however, is timeless.

The song, with its first line, “You better think (think),” is good advice when it comes to social media.

As Aretha sings it, “Think” before you post. Think twice, in fact. Because whatever you post will be in cyberspace forever. You can’t take it back.

Think first, think twice, and never post these

Earlier this year, we published a blog post covering What to Post — and What Not to Post — on Social Media. Suggestions of what NOT to post included:

  1. Negative posts about customers or clients
  2. Irrelevant viral content
  3. Political or religious posts
  4. Content that isn’t properly proofread or edited
  5. Too much overtly promotional content
  6. Content inconsistent with branding
  7. Misleading posts
  8. Unattributed content

Think first and mind your manners

Social Media Today has some additional pointers for minding your manners on social media, whether you are creating a post or responding to a negative review or comment.

  1. Avoid sarcasm. After all, it is the lowest form of humor. Try wit instead. But only if you are very, very good at it.
  2. Whatever you say, say it with a smile. A smile promotes professionalism, good will, and good manners.
  3. Be kind. Refrain from sharing negative comments on public posts.
  4. Pause a beat before you post. Or as Aretha says, “Think” first.

Think first and “get” the etiquette

Hootsuite has these additional etiquette tips:

  1. Know your audience and post appropriate content.
  2. Forget about using automatic responses. Speak to people individually.
  3. Be nice to your competitors.
  4. Use hashtags sparingly.
  5. Follow judiciously.
  6. Give credit where it’s due. Tag those whose content you are sharing in your posts.
  7. Watch your tone.

Why thinking and social media are good for business

Social media, if done right, is good for your business. According to the 2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 87% of respondents experienced increased exposure from using social media, 78% reported increased website traffic, and 63% saw an increase in customer loyalty.

There are approximately 3.04 billion social media users worldwide, with global internet users spending 135 minutes daily on social media sites. About the same number — more than 3 billion — actively access social media on their mobile devices.

In the U.S., 79% of people have at least one social media profile, making the U.S. the largest social media advertising market in the world. Ninety percent of these folks reach out to brands or retailers.

That same percentage of consumers say they are more likely to buy from a brand they follow on social media over one they do not.

Put all of this together, and you can’t afford to ignore social media.

Think like Aretha

Aretha’s “Think” was a lucky hit. It made the number seven slot on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 15, 1968, and was her seventh top 10 hit in the U.S. It also reached the top slot on Billboard’s Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles.

So think first and make it to the top. Just like Aretha.

Why tech vendors should pay attention to LinkedIn

Why tech vendors should pay attention to LinkedIn

By Paula Maggio

LinkedIn. It’s the most popular social networking site for business-to-business professionals. But if you’re in the tech field, LinkedIn plays an even more important role, according to a recent report.

The new information results from a survey in which LinkedIn queried 5,241 global professionals who recently “participated in or influenced the purchase of various hardware or software solutions,” reports Social Media Today.

According to the report, titled “Technology Plays an Essential Role in Driving Smart Business for Today’s Dynamic World of Work,” buyers of technology make enlightened decisions based on input from online communities, as well as internal peers.

Characteristics of tech purchasers

Tech vendors should take note of the characteristics shared by tech purchasers, according to the LinkedIn report:

  • Tech purchasers are collaborative, seeking advice from online sources as well as colleagues.
  • Tech purchasers use that advice to identify, vet, research, purchase, implement, and renew business technology solutions.

The buying habits of tech purchasers makes the decision-making process for buyers quite complex. It also creates a competitive landscape for vendors.

Key takeaways from the LinkedIn survey

Tech vendors should make sure they have a well-developed presence on LinkedIn, which in April reported it is seeing “record levels of engagement” among its 610 million users. Remember: LinkedIn makes up more than 50% of all social traffic to B2B websites and blogs.

More advice includes:

  1. Know your audience. Within the next few years, millenials, those born between 1981 and 1996 and comprising 25 percent of the population, will be making more than 50% of the tech purchasing decisions. What’s more, there are 87 million millennials on LinkedIn, with 11 million in decision-making positions.
  2. Know your users. 4/5 of employees impact tech purchase decisions.
  3. Make your content informative and worthwhile. Why? Ninety percent of tech buyers look to the outside for useful information. And most Fortune 500 decision-makers and executives like to spend their spare time on LinkedIn, reports Foundation. They are looking for valuable content. So make sure you provide it.
  4. Make your brand stand out. It should convey trust, dependability, quality, support, and service.
  5. Make sure your marketing and sales messages align. Both should align.

More LinkedIn stats

  • 630 million members; 303 million users, according to figures out this month
  • 90 million LinkedIn users are senior level influencers and 63 million are in decision-making positions
  • 27% of adults use the platform
  • 29% male
  • 24% female
  • 28% white
  • 24% black
  • 16% Hispanic
  • 44% of 25- to 29-year-olds use it
  • 49% have incomes of $75K+
  • 51% have college+
  • 70% of users are outside the U.S.

We can help with your LinkedIn presence

Social media, including LinkedIn, is a key element for marketing success. If you’re not sure how to do your own social media, reach out to Triple Canopy Media. At Triple Canopy Media we would be glad to show you how it’s done. Or do it for you.

Here’s what we do:

  1. We assess your needs, determine which social media platforms will best serve them, and set up a regular process for sharing carefully crafted content about your business via selected platforms.
  2. We create a cohesive strategy and measurement plan.
  3. We integrate the plan across the organization.
  4. Finally, we use metrics to monitor content marketing performance and ROI.

How to get dozens of social posts from one blog post

How to get dozens of social posts from one blog post

By Paula Maggio

You’re writing a blog post. And you plan to share it on your social media accounts by posting the link with a photo and hoping your followers will click and follow you there. But there’s another way, one that will allow you to generate a month’s worth of social posts from just one blog post.

Below are some ways to do just that, as shared by Josh Barney on Einstein Marketer and Kylie Fennell on MavSocial.

Get a month of social posts from one blog post

  • Share a teaser. Create interest in an upcoming blog post by posting an image, an excerpt, or a quote.
  • Share a fact or stat. Your blog post is likely to be full of them. Pick the most intriguing and share them on social.
  • Pull a quote. Make sure your blog post includes a few lines that are quote-worthy and they can provide fodder for social.
  • Ask a question. Make it thought-provoking.
  • Make a bold statement that connects with your blog post.
  • Mention – and tag – your sources.
  • Create a visual slideshow. Choose the most valuable sub-headings from your blog post, place them into a slideshow that provides a post summary.
  • Turn your blog post into an infographic.
  • Think quizzes and polls. Figure out an angle that connects with your blog post and post it on social, possibly as a story.
  • Got a good photo in your blog post? Post it on social. By itself.
  • Try a meme that picks up a point from your blog post. Make it entertaining.
  • Add a GIF to a short piece of copy from your blog post.
  • Create a video post from your blog post.
  • Summarize your blog post in a list. Post it on social. Include a hashtag.

More social media post ideas

Still in need of ideas for things to post on social media? Check out this list:

  1. Workplace photo: behind the scenes
  2. An answer from your FAQ
  3. Introduction to new employee
  4. Share product/service popular with your customers
  5. Interview or case study with a customer
  6. Customer review
  7. Community event
  8. Something funny
  9. Your company’s story: share one piece at a time
  10. Podcast
  11. #TBT
  12. Seasonal item
  13. Inspiring quote
  14. Highlight customer of the month
  15. An event you attended
  16. Attention-grabbing statistic
  17. Poll
  18. Fill-in-the-blank post
  19. Video featuring products or people from your business
  20. Repeat top-performing posts
  21. Email newsletter
  22. Infographic link
  23. Survey link
  24. Image
  25. Correct a misperception
  26. Favorite book or playlist
  27. Shout-out to other local business
  28. Industry research
  29. Helpful tip(s) related to your products or services
  30. Celebration of company milestone
  31. Promote your other social networks
  32. Ask people to join your mailing list

Reap the rewards

Doing all this – and more — will help you reap the rewards of social media. You’ll engage your customers by delivering interactive and professional content that will help improve your online visibility and expand your customer reach.

TCM can do it for you

If you’re not sure how to do your own social media, reach out to Triple Canopy Media. At Triple Canopy Media we would be glad to show you how it’s done. Or do it for you.

Here’s what we do:

    1. We assess your needs, determine which social media platforms will best serve them, and set up a regular process for sharing carefully crafted content about your business via selected platforms.
    2. We create a cohesive strategy and measurement plan.
    3. We integrate the plan across the organization.
    4. Finally, we use metrics to monitor content marketing performance and ROI.
Out of the mouths of babes: a lesson about TikTok

Out of the mouths of babes: a lesson about TikTok

By Paula Maggio

The scenario was familiar, as it was one I had repeated dozens of times during the past two years. I was driving my twin 13-year-old grandchildren to the orthodontist. And both were staring at their iPhones.

This time, though, something was different. When I glanced at my granddaughter’s phone, I didn’t recognize the app she was using. Same thing with my grandson.

I was surprised. And chagrined. After all, social media is part of my job.

So I asked about it. “TikTok,” responded the granddaughter.

“Do you use that a lot?” I enquired. “Sure,” she said.

“And what about your friends?” I continued. “Is it popular with them?” “Yeah, everyone uses it.”

“What about Instagram? Snapchat? Do you and your friends still use those apps?” “Sometimes,” she replied, eyes glued to her phone and the TikTok video on its screen. As I watched, her lips curved into a mischievous smile.

At that moment I decided I had to find out more about this social media site.

Bringing the fun back to social media

So I checked out the numbers. As a video creation site, TikTok has attracted more than 500 million users. It was the fourth most downloaded app worldwide last year. And it ranked #3 in the first quarter of this year, topping the chart for Apple non-game apps.

A glowing 2018 New York Times article about TikTok claimed it had brought the fun back to social media. TikTok, wrote Kevin Roose, “doesn’t sound like much. But, somehow, it adds up to what might well be the only truly pleasant social network in existence.”

He said TikTok made him happy. “It’s a safe haven for people that are seeing the world on fire and being like, ‘I need silliness,’” he explained.

A social media network that spreads happiness? A social media network that provides a safe haven for a world on fire?

More about TikTok

Now I needed to know even more. And magically, links to a number of stories about the “refreshing outlier in the social media universe” began appearing in my inbox, each contributing a bit more information about this popular network.

First, I learned that it was no wonder it was my 13-year-old grandchildren who turned me on to TikTok. It is young people who make up the bulk of its audience. The median TikTok user hovers in the mid-teens, according to a March 2019 story in the New York Times. Which may be why “there’s a lot of bad language and racist language in the videos,” each of my grandchildren confided to me privately.

Second, I learned a bit of TikTok history – namely that Musical.ly rebranded as TikTok one year ago, after being acquired the before by Chinese company ByteDance, which describes itself as an artificial intelligence company.

Third, I read that “TikTok has stirred up a revival of short video clips—only now, it’s even more interactive, collaborative, and downright addictive.”

The company website explains it this way: “TikTok is the world’s leading destination for short-form mobile videos. Our mission is to capture and present the world’s creativity, knowledge, and moments that matter in everyday life. TikTok empowers everyone to be a creator directly from their smartphones, and is committed to building a community by encouraging users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos . . . To help users make the videos they’ve envisioned, TikTok developed a native text editing feature that creators can use inside the app.”

According to the New York Times, TikTok operates on a “simple premise” where “Users create short videos set to music, often lip-syncing along, dancing or acting out short skits. The app includes:

  • templates and visual effects to spice up the videos
  • a live-streaming feature that allows users to send virtual ‘gifts’ to their favorite creators, which can be bought with real money
  • followers, hashtags, likes and comments,
  • filters, as on Snapchat, etc.,
  • the ability to search for sounds to score videos,
  • encouragement to engage with other users through “response” videos or by means of “duets” where users can duplicate videos and add themselves alongside.

Who uses TikTok?

Here are some statistics and demographics regarding the platform:

  • TikTok has 500 million monthly active users.
  • TikTok boasts 26.5 million monthly active users in the U.S. alone, with nearly 40 million downloads since November.
  • The majority of TikTok’s users are young; 66% of those worldwide are under age 30. In the U.S., 60% of the app’s monthly active users are 16- to 24 year-olds, and 52% use iPhones.
  • Users spend an average of 52 minutes a day on the app.
  • TikTok’s engagement rate is 29%.
  • Download figures for July 2019 show TikTok in second place, just behind Facebook.
  • TikTok has offices in Beijing, Berlin, Jakarta, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo.

TikTok and your business

The lessons here are clear. If a target audience for your business is a younger demographic, TikTok may work for you. So think about checking out the platform’s current ad products and find out how to post on TikTok via the HubSpot blog.

Although few brands use TikTok, Google used it successfully to promote its voice assistant, with its #HeyGoogleHelp campaign garnering 150 million views.

Macy’s used it for its “All Brand New Challenge.” The challenge urged mobile users to record videos and inspire others to share their style for the school year. TikTok’s hashtagged video challenges are hugely popular and have the potential to go viral, as users record themselves doing something odd and urge others to respond by adding their own videocreations

However, because TikTok has a high volume of both users and content, videos must be eye catching and super entertaining to stand out. Creativity and authenticity are also key.

Here’s a look at what you could see on TikTok, according to this video from the platform’s YouTube page.

Want Your Blog to Work for You? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions

Want Your Blog to Work for You? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions

By Dale Kiefer

Yes, of course we understand. You want more clicks, more traffic on your site, more eyes on your blog posts. Perhaps you want to sell more of your company’s products or services, or maybe you dream of cornering a niche in your industry and leveraging that to become a major online influencer.

Whatever your motivation, or your most favored outcome, a good solid blog can help you get there.

But building a blog that works for you or your business doesn’t just happen because you want it to. (Obviously, right?) It happens through planning, persistence, and a bit of strategy.

How can you get more eyes on your blog posts and reap the benefits? Ask yourself the questions below!

Am I Focused?

You should always focus your sights squarely on your subject matter. Pick a niche and stick with it.

If you run a business, then this choice has been made for you to some extent. Blogging about your industry is not just a logical thing to do; it also draws on the considerable experience and expertise you have to offer in your field.

On the other hand, if you’re an individual hoping to raise your profile or make a living through blogging, picking your niche could be a bit more challenging.

Above all, your blog should be focused.

If you want to just chronicle your random thoughts from time to time and call that a blog, then you certainly have the full freedom to do so. But the result of doing that will be more of a fun diversion for you and your friends than it will be evidence of why you should be a major influencer.

Focus! Yes, you should pick a well-defined subject area that you know fairly well. In addition, you should have enthusiasm for your chosen topic. That way, you’ll be more motivated to stay in touch with the hottest trends in the field. Plus, your excitement will shine through and your readers will feel that and want to read more.

Speaking of readers…

Do I Know My Audience?

Your blog should hold your interest, certainly, because you’re going to be the one writing it. But it’s actually much more essential that it covers what readers want to learn about if you’d like for it to be a part of your business strategy.

You’re welcome to occupy online space by writing about your cats or your favorite 1980s TV shows—feel free! But if you believe that this will bring you a lucrative payout or result in you getting calls to give TED Talks, you’re likely to be disappointed.

If you really aren’t sure what you should be blogging about, but you hope to make a living with your writing, think about the marketplace first. Prioritize your audience. Consider the needs of your readers and cater to their interests. Think about their pain points and drill down on that.

Cornering your niche in the blogosphere involves writing about something that can be monetized. It may also center around subject matter that is highly-technical. If your chosen topic is one that very few people can write about, and you’re one of those people, then there’s a possibility that there’s a lucrative future in it for you.

Can I Post Like Clockwork?

Dependability is a great quality not just in real life, but also online.

If you want people to read your blog posts, work on posting them regularly.

Perhaps you have enough material to post every other day? Schedule a time to go live and stick to that. If you feel like you will only post something once a week, try to have your post up on the same day every week, and at the same time of day if you can.

Again, post regularly. People will then come to expect to see your posts at that given time. And, if your posts are enthralling, informative, or entertaining enough, readers will make seeking them out a regular part of their weekly routine.

You can write posts ahead of time, too, of course, and schedule them to go live in advance.

Can I Make Social Media My Blog’s Friend?

While we’re on the subject of getting your blog posts on a regular schedule, we should talk about using social media to promote your posts.

Short version: you should do it. After all, in the United States, 77% of people have at least one social media profile.

You can set your post to go live at a particular time and day, and then, for example, schedule a tweet to go out at the same time which summarizes the post and provides a link that your followers can click on to visit your blog and read your post.

If you don’t have your social media posts scheduled to run at regular intervals already, you should strongly consider doing so. You can manage multiple social media accounts using tools like Hootsuite. You can then dedicate a portion of your workweek to composing all of your social media posts but still have them see the light of day gradually.

Will I Be Able to Change with the Seasons?

Naturally, users search for content relevant to their needs. And those needs, of course, are not static.

For business owners, their needs may change as their businesses grow. For users of all types, their searches are likely to vary with the calendar.

This concept is easier to understand in relation to some business sectors more than others. For instance, if your business involves selling apparel, you’re probably going to be getting more interest in boots in the wintertime than you are in the summertime.

Similarly, the holiday season is going to witness spikes in all sorts of retail sectors, and you’re going to want to stay on top of those trends.

But every business, even those that aren’t seasonal (or don’t seem seasonal at first glance) will have to respond to the pages flying off the calendar. Spoiler alert: In December, or thereabouts, you can look forward to a TCM blog post highlighting “SEO trends for 2020.” Feel free to set up an alert for it.

In Conclusion

Choose your blog post subjects wisely. Make them about things that your potential readers will find useful, informative, and valuable.

Post as frequently as you can, and always according to a regular, predictable timeline.

Stay up to date with the latest trends in your industry and be mindful of the date on the calendar when thinking about what’s “hot” right now for companies of your type.

Use social media to drive more traffic to your blog and, by association, your website and your company.

And, as always, write the very best content you can!

Here’s why you should outsource your social media

Here’s why you should outsource your social media

By Paula Maggio

Effective use of social media is essential for your business. Nearly 97% of all Fortune 500 companies use at least one social media network to communicate with stakeholders and advocates.

According to the 2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 87% of respondents experienced increased exposure from using social media, 78% reported increased website traffic, and 63% saw an increase in customer loyalty.

In the U.S., 79% of people have at least one social media profile. And that same percentage of consumers say they are more likely to buy from a brand they follow on social media.

But social media is about more than sales. It is about building a strong communication and feedback system that will lead to sales, if done correctly. Outsourcing your social media efforts can help you do it right.

Ten good reasons to outsource your social media

  1. Outsourcing will give you consistent brand messaging, along with consistent tone and voice.
  2. Outsourcing is more cost effective. You save the full-time salary and benefits of a social media manager.
  3. Outsourcing gives you an experienced specialist trained in best practices, without training expenses or a learning curve.
  4. Outsourcing saves you time, time you can use to build and grow your business.
  5. Outsourcing can allow you to provide 24/7 posting and engagement, without hiring staff.
  6. Outsourcing allows you to experiment with different platforms. The experienced social media professional keeps up with them all and can test campaigns on different platforms to see which works best for you.
  7. Outsourcing allows you to give better customer service. Social media is where most people turn when they want answers to a question about an order or a product. The experienced social media professional monitors and alerts you to customer queries that come in via your social media platforms and makes sure they are answered.
  8. Outsourcing links you up with social media professionals who know how to identify your target market – and which platforms will reach them.
  9. Outsourcing gives you access to professionals who know what to post and when.
  10. Outsourcing gives you the ability to collect, record, and store data about your social media accounts, without expending your time and energy.

Six questions to ask yourself about outsourcing

  1. Do I have enough time to manage my social media accounts?
  2. Do I know how to manage my social media accounts and successfully engage with my followers?
  3. Have I established a voice for my brand, one that is unique?
  4. Do I know what kind of content to share and how often to share it?
  5. Can I afford to outsource?
  6. Can I afford not to?

TRIPLE CANOPY MEDIA CAN DO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOU

Trust us. Social media is a key element for marketing success. If you’re not sure how to do your own social media, reach out to Triple Canopy Media. At Triple Canopy Media we would be glad to show you how it’s done. Or do it for you.

Here’s what we do:

    1. We assess your needs, determine which social media platforms will best serve them, and set up a regular process for sharing carefully crafted content about your business via selected platforms.
    2. We create a cohesive strategy and measurement plan.
    3. We integrate the plan across the organization.
    4. Finally, we use metrics to monitor content marketing performance and ROI.
Social media: What’s hot and what’s not?

Social media: What’s hot and what’s not?

By Paula Maggio

Facebook is flat. Instagram is down. Snapchat is on its way back. LinkedIn is seeing more traffic. Tik Tok is a rising star. It can be difficult to know which platform to use to meet our content marketing needs. So let’s take a look at the findings of a few studies that show the rise and fall of social media platforms.

Instagram: up or down?

Engagement rates on Instagram are dropping because of the prevalence of sponsored posts, according to a study that analytics firm InfluencerDB shared with Mobile Marketer.

However, sponsored posts tend to generate higher engagement than those that are not sponsored. InfluencerDB gives two reasons for that. One is that influencers tend to create better quality posts. The other is that Instagram’s algorithms give higher precedence to sponsored posts.

On the other hand, engagement rates for influencer content are declining as Instagram feeds get cluttered with sponsored posts, according to InfluencerDB.

On the upside, since Facebook-owned Instagram launched Instagram Stories in 2016, that function has overtaken Snapchat in overall usage.

Facebook: flat or losing?

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted early this year, Facebook use – as well as that of other platforms — is flat among adults. However, Facebook still has around 2.4 billion users, and that number includes 69% of adults.

“The shares of adults who say they use Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Twitter are each largely the same as in 2016, with only Instagram showing an uptick in use during this time period,” according to the survey.

But just last week, Facebook boasted that it is now up to 2.4 billion monthly actives and its daily active users figures continue to trend upward as well. Its most significant audience growth once again comes in the Asia Pacific region.

Other reports take a different view of Facebook’s numbers. Here are a few:

  • The latest Edison Research ‘Infinite Dial’ report indicated that the platform has lost around 15 million active users in the U.S. since 2017.
  • eMarketer estimates that Facebook lost around 2.1 million users under the age of 25 in 2018.
  • Older studies show that found that 42% of Facebook users had reduced their daily activity and engagement and that Facebook has continued to lose popularity with teens.

What about other platforms?

  • LinkedIn reported in April that it is seeing “record levels of engagement” among its 610 million users.
  • Snapchat may be making a comeback. It is now serving more users than ever, some 203 million people every day.
  • TikTok was the 4th most downloaded app in 2018. It was #3 position in the first quarter of this year, topping the chart for Apple non-game apps.
  • Twitter is the top platform for government leaders, but user growth is predicted at just 1%. However, the number of daily users has increased consistently since 2016, with 9% more people using it each day.

Growth may be slowing

The previously steady growth in the use of social platforms in the United States during the past decade appears to be slowing, says the Pew report cited above.

While Facebook and YouTube have the broadest reach among adults, Instagram and Snapchat have a strong following among young adults. These findings illustrate the age-, gender-, and race-related differences in platform use that the survey documented, information we shared earlier this year.

For more, check out this infographic, “The Demographics of Social Media in 2019.” It comes from Jones PR and highlights some key social platform usage stats and how things currently stand.

We can help move the needle

If you’re wondering which platforms to choose to meet your company’s goals and reach your intended target audience, Triple Canopy Media can help. We can assist you in setting your social media goals and metrics so you can actually move the needle forward for your business.