What’s the One Social Media Growth Hack Not to Do? Yes, there is one that you should avoid like the plague. If you want to grow your social media success but value your audience, and their time, there is one social media growth hack that you should not do. It might sound over dramatic but you really should avoid linking your social media accounts like that plague. Growth hacking is on the rise. And why not? Who doesn’t want to save time, streamline processes and do less work? With the focus on this efficiency with a quotient for growth, there are more and more ways to save time while doing more. Social media has become a hot topic within this new area of study. Not all are evil Some tactics are great, especially when used in moderation. For example, scheduling your social media posts. Drafting and…
Writing a Great Blog Post is Like Mixing A Potion The Magic of Writing a Great Blog Post You’ll have to forgive me: Pumpkin Spice has blown up, the weather is starting to get cooler (at least in the mornings) and I’m re-reading Harry Potter, so I’m on a bit of Fall/magic kick right now. But, if you’ve watched any magical movie or read any fantasy book I’m sure you’ll stick right with me on this one. In this blog post, I am breaking down, how to write a great blog post. Ironic right? Maybe not. With the advent of platforms like WordPress, Weebly, Wix and Blogger, it’s easier than ever to have a blog. But with this ease, comes competition. Now that it easier than ever to have a blog, everyone is doing…
5 Email Marketing Tips So you don’t make mistakes, and for when you do! Email Marketing is tricky. You have to select the right option so that you don’t overpay for a service provider yet get exactly what you need. The MailChimps, ConstantContacts and Emma’s of the world are great at helping you send the emails, but crafting them is another story. Emma helps here too, but for a service fee. Don’t worry – there are plenty of marketing bloggers, like myself, that have your back. What Makes a Great Email? Ask yourself? What kind of emails do you like to read? I’m partial to those that provide information, make me laugh, and provide me with value – like sales and discount codes or little freebies. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you probably…
How can you Cash in on trending hashtags? Hashtags are here to stay, learning to embrace them can have a positive impact on your social media strategy. You know that hashtags are here to stay when they are being written into almost every comedic show and movie being made – even kids shows have characters dropping hashtags in conversations. Whether you love them, or loath them, using them in your social media posts can be a great way to help you reach your target audience and increase your brand awareness. But how do you know which hasthags to use? How many of them should you use in a post? These, along with many others are great questions to ask when considering using hashtags as part of your social media strategy. While there might not be a wrong way to use hashtags, not using them well can make you look silly…
Positive Politics Getting Social about Politics The closer we get to the election, the more political messages we are bombarded with. We get them in commercials, billboards, phone calls, text messages, emails, people going door to door, and now we’re even getting them from our favorite brands. I’m telling you right now – that I don’t care what side of the isle you’re on, I hate when the brands I like get political. Why? Because it’s divisive, it singles people out and makes them feel like they are not a part of what that brand stands for. Recently I watched a popular website’s instagram get very political. Now this shouldn’t have come as a surprise, because this particular website had voiced messages that very clearly let their followers know which way they leaned when it came…
If you do anything in life You risk making a mistake – so let them happen We’ve already discussed how to craft your emails, going through the planning, the writing and the proofing, but what about the sending? Clicking send can be daunting What if you’ve made a mistake and failed to catch it? What if you’re too close to your own righting that your eyes correct what your reading? (See what I did there?) You have two options. You can allow your fear to paralyze you and never send your email. Or, you can send a test email or two, accept that mistakes are a part of life, and then let your email fly. Mistakes Happen We spend so much time working on this one email that we forget what it actually is. We forget that it’s just one of many…
It may sound like a simple task… But more people struggle with properly building a professional email. In my last post I talked a lot about an email that I sent out when asking for products to review. That email was very carefully crafted and everything in it served a purpose. Being in marketing and working with different companies, I both receive a lot of emails and see a lot of people craft emails that make me cringe. Why? Because they crafted in haste, overly casual and aren’t given the respect they deserve. Here’s the thing – And I’m not the only one that feels this way, there are a ton who do: If you are going to ask me to give you time out of my day, which is what you are doing when you send an email, then at least take…
How Is Writing, Like Brewing Coffee? This question elicits visions of the Mad Hatter asking the question about ravens and writing desks in my head. Sadly its much less philosophical and much more metaphorical. Writing, in my mind, is very much like brewing coffee. This might sound silly or absurd, but give me just a few moments of your time and I’ll elaborate. How is writing like brewing a cup of coffee? Taking Your Time is So Much Better Than Instant. Having a Refined Process Delivers a Better Result. The Best Things Are Done By Hand. It Should Be Savored. *Friendly Write-In: 5. Know who drinks your coffee and keep them in mind! Brewed is Better Than Instant Have you ever had instant coffee? We take it with us when we go camping or backpacking because there is so much less involved, that it saves precious room…
Why Is It Important to Take the Time to Empower: Your Employees? Your Customers? Your Ambassadors? People are smart, and can generally figure things out for themselves right? When you work for a company, or use it’s products you generally have a good idea of why you do these things and what it means for your life. No one is disputing or arguing that consumers are intelligent, or that your employees understand why their job is important. No one can argue that ambassadors have an affiliation for the brand that they are promoting. So why am I writing this post? Dilution Every person that engages with your brand, whether they are an employee, a customer or an ambassador, brings with them different experiences, different frames of references, even different vocabularies. So it is natural that they would all describe their understanding of your brand, the reasons they like…
Seriously, though, Auto Direct Messages on Twitter need to die. It might sound like I’m being a bit harsh, or going on a Twitter rant about the number of auto DMs or Direct Messages that I receive…but when you are on Twitter as much as a marketing professional and community growth manager is on Twitter, and connecting with new people every day, they get really freaking annoying. Really professional adjectives there, I know. But it is that frustrating. Emotions of a twenty something startup marketer aside, there are legitimate reasons for not liking this once innovative tool. When the automatic direct message, or Auto DM first appeared on Twitter, it was cool! It was an innovative growth hacking tool that made it easier for marketers and brands on Twitter to reach out and engage their brand new followers, so that they did not have to worry…