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3 Ways To Improve Your Social Media Strategy

Social media has grown into a necessity and having a strong social media strategy in place is important for all modern businesses. All of your customers, and potential customers, likely use social media, so it only makes sense that you take the time to ensure your messages are as effective as possible. Keep these 3 tips in mind when crafting your social media strategy to ensure you are consistently reaching your audiences.

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Marketing

Build Social Media Engagement With Video

It’s safe to say that video has solidified itself as one of the dominant mediums on social media in recent years. In fact, nearly 5 billion videos are viewed daily on YouTube while 100 million hours of video are viewed on Facebook alone each day. This rise in popularity has left many marketers, and the businesses they serve, wondering how they can get their share of the viewership to build their social media engagement and increase conversions. Video is a much more digestible medium than text because it can be absorbed with little effort while complex ideas can be displayed in detail. This makes it perfect for a wide range of uses including entertainment videos, promotional videos, informational videos, how-to videos and much more. However, there are some considerations that should be taken into account when filming your video.

What is a Good Video Length for Social Media?

The length of the vide you share may have a direct impact on how well it is perceived by your audiences. In most cases, the best way to build social media engagement with video is to keep your video no longer than 1 minute and 30 seconds. This provides a quick experience that can stir conversation and detract from the continuing, infinite wall provided by Facebook that will encourage users to keep scrolling.

Videos Should Provide Value or Entertainment.

There are many different strategies that can be used to make your video successful on social media. However, it is recommended that you make your videos “episodic” to keep bringing your audience back for more. For even greater exposure, your video should be shared across multiple social media platforms and video platforms that link back to your website for added conversion support.

You Don’t Need Expensive Equipment for Video!

Some of the most shared videos on the internet were filmed with a smartphone. While you could invest tons of money into getting professional equipment, most businesses and individuals have found success using nothing more than their cell phone camera. If it’s not a spur of the moment video or live video, editing will often provide a higher-quality video.

Still Need Help Building Social Media Engagement?

If you are struggling with your social media content and outreach strategies, Skynet Solutions can help you succeed in this growing medium. Take control of your social media engagement to easily solidify your place in the social media realm! You can fill out our contact form to get started today. You can also connect with us on FacebookTwitterGoogle+ and LinkedIn!

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Does Social Media Impact SEO?

More and more, social media is solidifying its place as the most prominent activity in terms of time spent online. This has, in turn, led the generation and creation of overwhelming amounts of content that can be consumed by those willing to seek it out. It’s not uncommon for many small business owners to wonder if social media really has an impact on their search engine optimization or the value it can give them.

Direct search engine optimization currently is not part of social media posting. Social media posts are indexed but this doesn’t mean that every social media post is being indexed by Google or other search engines. With the wide amount of content being created, it would quickly engulf search results, making traditional search results buried in social media posts. In most cases, bots are unable to judge the credibility of the content or author of social media posts, making them less likely to be indexed. Social media does have a more indirect impact on SEO than you may have realized.

Social media platforms are an excellent source for both links and link sharing. This can benefit traditional websites by providing a conduit to their existing website for many individuals at any given time. Branding content can also be shared, making search result rankings higher in the long term. Search has become a prominent focus on social media channels in recent years.

For example, with Twitter users can add hashtags to their post which are then easily searched. Other content that is indexed includes keywords, images and other similar content. Even though social media platforms don’t have a direct impact on SEO for business owners, it is important to realize the positive benefits that can be achieved by remaining active on social media. By providing interesting and relevant content that can easily be shared, websites owners can expect more traffic than they would receive without social media platforms. Optimizing your pages can further benefit your business.

You can always call the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your social media management or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2017 your business’ best year yet. You can fill out our contact form to get started today. You can also connect with us on FacebookTwitterGoogle+ and LinkedIn!

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Marketing

How Can You Drive Social Media Sales?

Small business owners have a wide variety of outlets to get the word out about their products. However, social media can often be the most impactful FREE outlet for promoting your products or services.  Most small business owners will mistakenly invest little time in their social media accounts. It can be hard to determine the return on investment that small business owners receive from social media.  For this reason, many factors must be considered to ensure your customers are receiving proper incentive to purchase your products or services.  Growing your social media audience is the target goal to help drive individuals ready to purchase to your websites.

Seek Out Intent

Social media outlets are hotbeds of potential customers seeking product recommendations to suit a particular need they may have.  With the help of a social media manager or agency, small business owners can seek out customers on an individual basis that may require their products of services. One report found that social selling generates 40% more qualified leads than cold calling.

Competitive Monitoring

By utilizing an agency, small business owners can gain insights into how their competitors are growing and making mistakes. This can be pivotal in determining how to proceed with the goals of your small business. Monitoring your competitors can also provide a deep understanding of your customer base and customers you potentially are missing.

Focus on Customer Service

In the modern digital world, reviews and customer recommendations are key. By promoting superior customer service, small business owners can benefit not only from word of mouth referrals but digital referrals through positive reviews. Modern social media communication makes it possible for customers, or potential customers, to voice their concerns in real-time, regardless of the time.

Proactive Lead Research

A great social media manager understands the value of empathy and the power of insights. By having a dedicated social media manager, you are more prepared to identify your customer base on social media and effectively sell to them. Monitoring industry trends and the habits of your customer base can help build a stronger case for bolstering sales in the long term.

Utilize Content Marketing

It is important to have a strong content strategy that aligns with your businesses desired outcome to ensure your end goals are achieved.  Many studies have shown that consumers are 90% of the way through their research before ultimately settling on their chosen product or service, making it difficult to influence their decision. Utilizing influencers can help turn a company push into an individual push.

You can always call the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your social media management or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2017 your business’ best year yet. You can fill out our contact form to get started today. You can also connect with us on FacebookTwitterGoogle+ and LinkedIn!

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Marketing

What Are the Best Practices for Social Media in Business?

It is important to define how you want to leverage social media for your business before utilizing the services of an outsourced social media manager. Establishing objectives that are trackable and measurable are pivotal in creating winning strategies. These goals should be flexible to allow for pivoting when strategies need to be changed. It is also important to ensure your social media goals focus on a specific strategic goal. This can be as simple as collecting user engagement metrics or pushing potential customers to your website to drive sales. Depending on your personal business goals, these best practices should be considered:

Leverage the Right Social Media Networks

Social media is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Many businesses will attempt to utilize multiple social media accounts and only see success on individual social media platforms. Use your target customer base and their online behavior to determine the social media platforms that best work for your products or services.

Brand Your Profiles

One of the most important steps in creating a social media profile is branding each account to ensure a consistent user experience. With the help of an agency, you can ensure each of your social media profiles exemplifies your brand while sharing common, yet effective, posts. This can help build stronger brand awareness and, in turn, brand loyalty.

Focus on Quality, not Quantity

Quality posts will always be more beneficial than excessive posts that may turn off your customers in the long term. A good social media mix will include promotional posts, thoughtful posts and posts that drive engagement. By utilizing social media management through an agency, your posts will be tracked monthly to determine which posts were most effective and then tailor your social media efforts to that data.

Monitor Metrics

By utilizing social media management through a firm, you can rest easy knowing your metrics are consistently being tracked.  By analyzing your social media analytics on a weekly basis, an agency can determine the best methods of driving engagement for your profiles. With tools like HootSuite and Google Analytics, you can be sure your best interests are in mind.

Patience is a Virtue

Building a loyal following on social media platforms doesn’t happen overnight. It can take time to effectively analyze your customer base and accurately target their needs. With consistency and patience, you will be more likely to achieve social media goals.

You can always call the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your social media management or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2017 your business’ best year yet. You can fill out our contact form to get started today. You can also connect with us on FacebookTwitterGoogle+ and LinkedIn!

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Marketing

Why Should Small Businesses Outsource Social Media?

There are many reasons why small businesses owners may wish to outsource the management of their social media accounts. As the list of social media platforms continues to grow, it is unlikely small business owners will be able to consistently account for all of their accounts. It can often take several hours monthly to efficiently handle a single small business social media platform according to this report. To accurately leverage the power of social media for your business there are several key factors that must be considered. Often, small business owners will utilize these factors to ensure their social media profiles are in good hands. The factors included in this process include:

Accountability

As a small business owner, you may not have a passion for social media. Outsourced social media managers will have an inherent passion for social media and genuine understanding of how each platform works. A great social media manager will have knowledge of the digital landscape as well as a drive to keep up with current trends to push your business forward.

Prior Experience

With outsourced social media management, small business owners will have a knowledgeable team that can help determine what works and what doesn’t, based on past experience. Whether you are interested in social media advertising or standard posting to drive engagement, it is important to have a team that can pull from previous experience. With an agency, small business owners can be sure they have all facets covered from conception to completion.

Reliability

Reliability is one of the key factors that must be considered when hiring a social media manager. Because consistency is key, it is important to utilize the services of an agency that plans ahead. For example, if your social media manager becomes ill, who will continue the content? With an agency, you will likely have several individuals capable of continuing the job if disaster strikes.

Conflict Resolution Experience

There are many “social media managers” available to small business owners. However, it is important to ensure that you are employing the services of an individual, or group of individuals with a degree or years of experience. In the best-case scenario, you will desire a person with a public relations or business administration background that can ensure conflicts are managed appropriately.

Cost

Nationally, a decent social media manager will likely cost around $50k to $70k annually. Gathering content and copy for campaigns or posts can take several hours to effectively express the views of your business.

When utilizing Skynet Solutions social media management services, you can be sure the ins and outs of social media are covered for less money. You can always call the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your social media management or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2017 your business’ best year yet. You can fill out our contact form to get started today. You can also connect with us on FacebookTwitterGoogle+ and LinkedIn!