Social Media Archives - Hashtag Creative™

February 18, 2016

When Peer Pressure Results in Bad Marketing.

But everyone else is doing it THIS way!

You’ve heard me talk about the use of hashtags and links on Facebook before, however why is it when we have hard stats and facts on results do we still see people, and paid professionals (and they are NOT cheap), continue to use tactics that we know hurt our marketing efforts?

My only conclusion is good ol’ fashioned peer pressure. When we see competitors or big agencies using bad tactics, we think “oh, well they must know what they are doing.” Not so. They are just following the crowd. Following them chasing popularity over profitability.

Let’s review again the facts.

Facebook is not Instagram.

Use all the made up, crazy hashtags you want on Instagram. They don’t hurt you. Use a ton if you feel the need. Now whether they help you or not is another question. Are people going to like what they see when they click on them? Is anyone following them? Are they used in your local area? #shoplocal #craftbeer #cityname #popularnetworkinggroup #bizneighborhoodgroup #yourpersonalhashtag are good.

Other things like #thisbeerissoawewsome or #doingitdoingit might be fun. But that’s all it is.

Facebook and Hashtags do not get along.

Do not repost your Instagram to Facebook. They are unique and need posts written for them. (Twitter too) Hashtags HURT your post. We know this as fact.

The below results from a study by Social Bakers, which examined how Facebook engagement correlates hashtag use.

Posts with 1 or 2 hashtags averaged 593 interactions
Posts with 3 to 5 hashtags averaged 416 interactions
Posts with 6 to 10 hashtags averaged 307 interactions
Posts with more than 10 hashtags averaged 188 interactions

SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING? YOU ARE LOSING PEOPLE.

Link it – or Don’t Cry About Wanting More Customers.

If you don’t have a LINK back to your website at the bottom of your Facebook post, you are simply entertaining your Facebook followers and doing nothing to turn them into paying customers or attracting new paying customers. Your goal is to guide people down a sales funnel. This is business, not personal. Repeat – this is business, not personal.

You Probably Don’t Know What You Don’t Know!

The Education Curve is steep in social media and inbound marketing. It went from something we did for fun to the big boy in profitable marketing in a very short time. Most business owners do not know how it all works or what “great results” are. Unfortunately, a lot of agencies don’t know either and are selling a whole lot of nothing for a very high price!

Sadly, I see people continue to do this for their business even with this knowledge. Posting a pretty photo and 14 hashtags will not get you customers. So what do you want? Popularity or Profitability?

December 7, 2015

7 FACEBOOK MARKETING TIPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

The holidays, the old saying goes, are the most wonderful time of year. And for many businesses, they’re also the busiest and most important.

1. Have a clear goal and decide what you want to achieve.

Before you do anything, you need to outline your goals and what it is you want to achieve with your campaign. This goes for any sort of advertising, and not just what you do at the holidays; otherwise, you just have a bunch of tactics that are trying to get attention but aren’t really tied to an overall strategy or goal. And without that goal in mind, you can’t have real success.

2. Create a content calendar and work backward from major dates.

Proper planning is going to make or break your campaign, so mark out key dates in advance and work backwards in order to figure out time lines and deadlines. Create a spreadsheet with a column for each day and then a row for each marketing channel. Even if it doesn’t have a lot of detail, it’ll give the team an overview at a glance. Then you can have specific dates highlighted in order make sure you hit all your deadlines.

3. Decide what to measure.

You should judge the success of your marketing efforts based on what you were trying to achieve. If your aim was to get more sales at a physical location, then the cash register will tell the tale. But if you were trying to increase general brand awareness, then you’re going to be measuring things like email sign-ups and traffic to your website.

4. Have fun with images.

A great way to get your Facebook Page noticed during the holidays is to do something fun with your cover image. For example, change it each day and make it like an advent calendar. Posts with images also get more attention so add a photo to your post! Don’t we all love seeing a photo of a delicious lunch special or gorgeous unique gift idea?

Another thing is to try a bit of humor. When people are in a good mood, they’re more likely to spend. So make your marketing messages entertaining, lighthearted and humorous.

5. Think like a person, not a marketer.

Regardless of what kind of business you’re in, the key is to realize that people are on Facebook for personal reasons. Nobody wakes up in the morning, looks at their phone and says, “Gee, I wonder what some big brand is doing today on Facebook.” They’re checking to see what’s happening in their friends’ lives. So when writing posts or creating ads, make sure you’re contributing positively to their day and their experience on Facebook.

6. Have a call to action!

Be sure to direct the viewer of your post with a call to action or “something to do”. It’s great to include a link back to your website where users can see your location, your hours, your menu, your schedule and much more to continue them down the road toward becoming a customer.

7. Find shoppers when they’re near you.

There’s a lot that businesses can do on Facebook to get more sales during the holidays. The easiest thing for brick-and-mortar businesses is to target audiences by using the Local Awareness feature. This allows you to target ads to people only when they’re physically near your business. You can even give people directions to your location right on their phones. Another way is to use Custom Audiences to find your best customers on Facebook, and then use Lookalike Audiences to find similar people.

Want to know more? Contact Hashtag Creative at 727-667-8188.

September 27, 2015

Above All, Have A Call to Action

When you post on Facebook or Twitter, are your giving your audience a call to action? A call to action (CTA) is simply, “something to do” and it should be the goal of your post. [vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

Your goal is not to entertain your fans and get likes.

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]Using social media as a business is completely different than as an individual. Your goal is not to entertain existing clients nor is it promote other people’s businesses. I mean that’s nice, but you are just getting THEM customers, not you. Your goals are simple. 1. Turn fans into customers. 2. Attract new fans. [vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

Make It Easy.

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]Remember people are viewing your post in their news feeds. They are probably not viewing your entire channel page. So when they see your post, there is no link nearby for your website, your hours, your bio, just a lone post. And if this post says “sign up for our free class” or “come to our store” or “call us” with no way to DO any of those things, I quickly move on. Read your post and ask yourself HOW to do the things I’m asking for? Sign up = link to do so. Come by = link to address and hours. Call us = link to touch and call.[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

No one has an attention span anymore.

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]It’s sad but true. In a world of reading on our smartphones, scrolling with a fingertip, making a call to action too hard or too hidden is the same as not offering one at all.[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

Repeat after me, “drive people to your website”.

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

This is important and the most common mistake. To turn that Facebook fan into a customer, it’s crucial to land them on your website to finish their read, their look, their call to action.[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]Through the use of blogging, landing pages and great content, you want your audience on your website. From there, they can take the next step you want them to take in the sales funnel.[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

Capture their email address.
See other events they may want to attend.
See photos of products to buy.
See links to quickly signup for a class.
Maps to find you.
Make a donation.
Keep getting to know you.

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]If your message begins and ends on a social channel, like Facebook. Odds are you are having a hard time converting new fans into paying customers. Don’t get discouraged if customers aren’t lining up out the door right away. A proper social media driving cycle, takes at least 6 months to get the wheels turning. After that, we see some exciting results![vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

Reality Check:

Below is a post I found on Facebook and without naming names, let me show you why this isn’t reaching the goal.

No where in the post is a link to their website. So I can not tell by viewing this – where this restaurant is located, a map to find them, a number to call them, a complete menu to view or more delicious photos to entice me. What a shame.
Hashtags like this only belong in Instagram. No where else. Use two on twitter and none to one on Facebook. They only hurt you. This one drives me nuts.
Eye catching image is nice. Images always increase your traffic. Be sure it’s branded to you.

Next time, we’ll discuss what makes a good Call to Action on your website![vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

September 20, 2015

5 Ways Breweries Should Be Using Social Media.

Tampa Bay has become one of the leading areas in the country for Craft Breweries. We at Hashtag Creative love our town and our beer! However, we hate seeing breweries using social media and inbound marketing in a way that makes us scream “omg stop doing that, you are hurting yourself!” So below are a few tips we put together for free, it’s ok, just buy us a pint next time we pop in. [vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

1) STOP IT: Linking to Facebook from Twitter

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]All social media channels are different and must have unique messages written for them. Why are you linking people to Facebook from Twitter? Length restrictions, hashtags and graphics have different rules for best results on both. And don’t forget the main goal – driving people to your website, not another social media channel.

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’1′ up=” down=”]

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]2) STOP IT: Don’t just push your Instagram to Twitter or Facebook.

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]This is the most annoying and the most common mistake I see.[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

Hashtags are used very differently on Instagram. You really can’t go wrong in using LOTS of them. Go crazy, it’s instagram and it’s fun. Some help, some do not at all, but they don’t hurt. #beer #craftbeer #omgIloveBeerSoMuch #SundayFundayWithAllMyFriends #ipasRuleForever [vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]Well that fun can KILL you on Facebook and Twitter if not edited before publishing. First, you shouldn’t use more than two or three hashtags on Twitter.#craftbeer #howlmoonbrew. On Facebook, leave them out all together. [vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

3) DO IT: Get on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and use them

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]Don’t just use the one you like best, use them all. All are free services. Even if you don’t post to them often it allows your fans to tag you. If you post on them often it drives engagement and gets people talking about you and coming into your tap-room. [vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]4) DO IT: Post tap lists!

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]We live in a robust craft brewery town, knowing what’s on tap will influence greatly where people are going tonight! If I can’t see your tap list, I may skip that stop on my agenda. Free advertising and excitement for your beers is worth a couple minutes of time. [vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

5) DO IT: Hire the Pros.

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]Yeah, your friend’s kid can do stuff on his computer for free. And that usually looks it. Branding is as important as what’s in the bottle. If you’re focused on making the best quality beer you can, spend some money to get the best looking graphics and campaigns from those who know how. Remember business pages are different animals from personal pages, let the pros help. [vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]

1) STOP IT: Linking to Facebook from Twitter

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]2) STOP IT: Don’t just push your Instagram to Twitter or Facebook.

3) DO IT: Get on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and use them

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]4) DO IT: Post tap lists!

5) DO IT: Hire the Pros.

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Business in the Digital Age – All Marketing is Now Content Marketing

But everyone else is doing it THIS way!

Facebook is not Instagram.

Facebook and Hashtags do not get along.

Link it – or Don’t Cry About Wanting More Customers.

You Probably Don’t Know What You Don’t Know!

Your goal is not to entertain your fans and get likes.

Make It Easy.

No one has an attention span anymore.

Repeat after me, “drive people to your website”.

Reality Check:

1) STOP IT: Linking to Facebook from Twitter

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]2) STOP IT: Don’t just push your Instagram to Twitter or Facebook.

3) DO IT: Get on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and use them

[vc_separator type=’transparent’ position=’center’ color=” thickness=’3′ up=” down=”]4) DO IT: Post tap lists!

5) DO IT: Hire the Pros.

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