Foursquare Benefits for Business

A week ago today was officially Foursquare day. Feel free to head over there and check out all the fun ways they celebrated!

In honor of its one week anniversary, we thought we'd go a little bit in depth on this social media tool that has generated a lot of hype. Why use Foursquare if your a business? What benefits does it hold for you? Here are 4 great answers to those questions.

Consumers Love the Competition: Not only can those on Foursquare share new places and find new hangouts through checking in, but they can also earn points while doing it. They earn badges for being the first to check in somewhere or checking in somewhere the most often. Who doesn't like to gloat about being the mayor of somewhere right?

New Customers at no Cost: All you have to do is add your business to Foursquare and you've opened the door for a whole new group of consumers. While searching for a product or service, your business will then come up in their search and they are now aware of your offerings. Once they are aware you are out their that can then turn into them doing business with you.

Reward Your Customers: Those who check in often and help in supporting your business should be rewarded in some way to show appreciation. Offer coupons, special promotions or give them a shout out. Loyal customers deserve it and they will pay it forward!

Real Time Data: While users of Foursquare are checked in to a certain location they gain access to polls, questionnaires  quizzes, etc. This is a great tool for businesses to gain feedback from their customers.

Social media is all about creating awareness and building a loyal following all while having fun doing it! Foursquare is a great way to create all of that.

What Facebook Changes Mean for Your Brand

Are you familiar with the latest changes to Facebook? If not, Evoke came across a great blog post from The Targeted Group explaining the in depth details and impact these changes will have. Take a look!


A Close Inspection of Facebook’s Updates and What They Mean for Your Brand
Thursday, 18 April 2013 11:42  
Virginia Arnold


Facebook has been busy making changes to its functionalities in the last few months- eight since January to be exact- but don’t be overwhelmed by these new updates. Instead, optimize your brand’s Facebook page by using the following tips and best practices: 


Partner Categories
Through Partner Categories brands will be able to focus their advertising dollars on Facebook users with purchasing histories that suggest they would be interested in specific products or services. 

Brands can leverage this new Facebook feature by advertising products or services that build on purchases users have already made. For instance, a computer company may choose to advertise computer-maintenance services instead of computer hardware since they have access to a group of users that are guaranteed to already own computers.

Facebook Home 
While the success of Facebook Home is yet to be determined, it does bring into focus an important social media trend: mobile marketing. Brands should remember to make their Facebook content mobile friendly. Keep it short, to the point, and include media-rich elements, such as infographics, to help users digest the information.

Ads in News Feed
This new advertising feature allows businesses to target specific audience members with posts that appear in their News Feed. Since these posts will be shared with Facebook users that have expressed interest in the types of products or services being advertised, the ads should be optimized for engagement through the use of language and images that relate specifically to the target audience. 

Reply Button
Brands can now reply to specific comments on their Facebook posts. This new function makes it easier for brands to manage comments and to host events that foster engagement, such as open forums or questions-and-answer sessions, directly on their Facebook page.

Cover Photo Freedom
Businesses on Facebook now have more freedom to add text that encourages interaction with the brand page to their cover photo. Some previous restrictions that are no longer in place include: Adding contact information, suggesting users “like” the page, and including call-to-action text such as “tell your friends”. 


These well-designed brand cover photos are great examples for companies hoping to refresh their Facebook presence: 












Brand Cover Photos from giniarnold




Hashtags
In mid-March The Wall Street Journal announced that Facebook is working to adapt hashtags into its standard functionalities. Facebook hashtags will help businesses be found more easily by allowing users a way to search for posts referencing topics they find interesting. To prepare for this new function, brands on Facebook should compile a list of strategic hashtags that can be used when the feature is launched. Look to current Twitter efforts for inspiration. 

The New News Feed
The updated News Feed layout, not yet available to all users, places a specific emphasis on brand cover photos and profile images. It is now more important than ever that brands are cognizant of their photo choices. This new, prominent position in users’ Timelines is a great opportunity for increasing network size, so use these images to attract and engage.

Facebook Graph Search
Some Facebook users are still waiting to receive access to Facebook Graph Search, but that doesn’t mean businesses should wait to optimize their page. Brands should pay special attention to the “About” section of their profile, making sure it includes a description with keywords that describe the company.

Has your brand found success with Facebook’s latest updates? Let us know your tips for Facebook optimization in the comments section. 

Hashtag Fun

We've all seen then and some of us even use them, but what exactly are hashtags and how can you use them to get the most out of your social media? We'll tell you!

• Hashtags are a great way to categorize your discussions to make it easier for those interested to find you and what you post
• They are a great way to keep track of live events such as promotions, conferences, webinars etc. Creating a hashtag to be used during these specific times helps with networking and keeping others up to date on what is going on.
• It makes it easier for your target market to find you. Hashtags not only categorize your topics, but it helps your customers to find you. When they are searching specific hashtags for things that interest them, if you use the correct hashtag they can search through and find you and your relevant and informative content. 
• Gain new followers. Although hashtagging isn't necessarily directly related to an increase in followers it can be a great success. Those who happen to fall upon one of your tweets while searching a specific hashtag may be interested in the content you are putting out and want to stay up to date with your happenings, so they'll choose to follow you. 

There are right and wrong ways to use hashtags. Using it the right way can be very beneficial for promoting your brand and gaining credibility. Using hashtags incorrectly can cause frustrating results. We will discuss this in our next blog post so stay tuned!

What Should You Be Posting on Social Media

With all that is available in the social media realm these days there are so many creative ways to create awareness for your business. It's important to remember not to flood your tweets and posts with constant sales messages. That is a big turn off for consumers. So just what should you be post on your social media sites? Here are some great ideas:

1. Give them a sneak peek of a product currently in development: Leave them wanting more! Let them know you're working hard to create something they're going to want to be on the lookout for.

2. Introduce them to your employees: Being able to relate to a business and its brand is important to consumers. It builds trust and loyalty. What better way to do that than to show them who is working hard behind the scenes.

3. Pictures: Whether you're a restaurant showing off your daily special, an amusement park bragging about your newest attraction or an auto dealer introducing your newest car to the lot, these are great ways to keep consumers up to date on happenings with your business.

4. Acknowledgements: If someone mentions you good or bad, it's important to let them know you hear them. Thank them for their support and their comments.

5. Everyday life: There's no better way for consumers to bond with a business than being able to see the people behind it are human themselves. You don't need to get too personal, but hey if you just ran your first half marathon, participated in a local event over the weekend or visited a new restaurant in town, don't be afraid to share it.

6. Current Promotions: Without flooding your social media sites with constant sales pitches, do let consumers know when you're running specific promotions so they can take advantage.

7. Relevant News: If you've found articles, blogs or any relevant news stories relating to your industry or your area, share it.

8. Answers to Frequently asked Questions: Inform consumers of your policies, business hours and any other information you think they should know. The easier it is to find the better.

9. Fun Facts: Engage fans with information they might not know about you, your business and your employees. Trivia, quizzes and fun facts are a great way to shed a positive light.

New Years Resolutions Businesses Should Make in Social Media

Losing weight and getting in shape is a popular resolution for most individuals each year. However ; individual resolutions aren't the only ones that should be made in 2013. Businesses should have them as well to help jump start their New Year and get off on the right foot. Here are 3 social media resolutions businesses should make for 2013:

1. Create more social media focused specials: One of the main reasons customers become a fan of a business on Facebook or follow them on Twitter is to take advantage of special offers. If you haven't taken advantage of this outlet yet, start in 2013.

2. Interact more with your customers: As stated in the Twitter Numbers Game blog posted last week, it's not always about the quantity of people, but the quality. Social media is all about the networking. Start talking to your customers. Offer up surveys about new products and questions about current ones. Encourage them to share their experience with a testimonial and answer any questions they might have. Start building relationships and trust and you'll have customers for life.

3. Post more pictures: Current social media studies show that customers respond more to visuals than words. Show them your products in use or your employees hard at work. Anything that can make your customers get a feel for your culture and what you stand for will help you become more relatable to them.

What resolutions have you made for your business in 2013? We'd love to hear them!

The 3 E's of an Effective Marketing Campaign

Here at Evoke Creative Group we are all about storytelling and getting your products and services in the minds of your customers by creating a memorable and engaging story people can relate to. But what makes a visual marketing campaign effective? It’s simple, the 3 E’s.

Enduring 

At the end of the commercial, you want people to remember you and what you are trying to sell. The campaign needs to be durable and able to hold a place in your customers mind long-term. Long after the commercial has ended. This can be done by using a tag line (15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance-Geico), a well known icon (Peyton and Eli Manning-Oreos), a humorous character or action that catches people attention (Talking Baby-eTrade).

Emotional

A story that engages a customer’s emotions is another way to create a lasting impact. Actions speak much louder than words, so let the visual do the talking and draw your customers in. Pulling at their heart strings or their funny bone is much more likely to resonate with them because they can feel it. A prime example of an emotional commercial is the SPCA.

Efficient 

An efficient commercial allows each customer to interpret the story for themselves. It allows them to answer the questions: how will this be valuable to me and how will I benefit from this. Any good story will convey a call to action to the viewer. This must be clearly stated in the story in order for the ad to be effective. Nike and their Just Do It campaigns have almost perfected this. Very little words, lots of action with no doubt what they are trying to convey and to whom.

I’d like to end this post with one of the newest commercials in 2012 that specifically touches on all of the above that I find quite ingenious and creative. It uses a celebrity to endorse the issue, the story line is humorous and by the end of the commercial you know exactly what message the commercial is trying to get across. Well done Play 60, well done.

 

Making Your Facebook Fan Page Effective

There is a sea of fan pages currently on Facebook today and most of them are set up just to follow the crowd. However, if used the right way, these pages can be very effective in increasing your business. Here are a few things you must make sure you do in order to achieve the optimal results from your fan page. With millions of people using Facebook each day, these simple little steps can make a big difference.

Choose Your Cover Photo Wisely

This is one of, if not the very first thing that fans see when they come across your page. Use it to show them what you are all about. Show off your products and services in a unique way. This picture should tell the story of why they should choose you above all others. Consider creating a collage to showcase multiple ideas within one photo. Make sure though to follow the Facebook Guidelines'.

Set your URL business name

Setting up your Facebook URL to include your business name is a quick and easy way to bring customer to it. If all your fans have to remember is your business name, it’ll be much more effective to direct traffic to your page.

Highlight Important Posts

 Facebook timeline offers you the opportunity to highlight certain posts. These posts stand out among the rest. This is a great way to catch people’s attention about something important going on with your business. It could be an event, a special offer, introducing a new product, anything that you want your fans to see. Take advantage of this option.

Give fans a reason to come back

Fans will return to your website if they feel that you have useful content. If you only post once a week or rarely post anything actually related to your business, the industry and any benefits to them, they won’t come back. So make sure you are staying up to date with feeding them information. Post pictures of new products, share your blog posts, let them know about a great customer review. These are just some suggestions, but can come in handy when it comes to customer retention. 

Add photos and videos

Visual marketing in today’s fast pace society is a great way to get your message across quickly and effectively. The eye naturally goes to photo and video posts before reading any texts.  

Fill out all information regarding your business

Right below your profile picture is a summary of all your business information for fans to see. For optimum return, make sure it is all filled out completely. Use the about me section to explain fully who you are and what you can do for them. Let them know when you are available and how to find you. The easier it is for them to find all this information the more likely they are to execute it. Having access to this information also shows fans that you are a legitimate business and that they can trust in you. 

5 Reasons All Businesses Should Be Using Twitter

Because Everyone Else is Doing it
I know, it seems cliche, but it’s the truth. If your competitors are on twitter, you should be too. This shows your customers that you are on top of the current trends and continue to stay innovative.

Quick Customer Feedback

This is a fast and easy way to see what your customers are saying about you. You can easily search your company name and read tweets that mention you. Customers can tweet your twitter name out with any comments they might have. Listening to your customers and taking into account what they are saying can help your business understand your market.

Interact with Your Customers

By responding to those who follow you, retweet you and mention you, you are building a rapport. This is an invaluable tool when it comes to growing your business. Customers can ask questions and this is a great chance for you to offer immediate correspondence.

Check Out the Competition

Not only does twitter help you see what customers are saying about you, but it also lets you see what they are saying about your competition. It lets you check out the latest updates from your competitors, how they are interacting with their followers and what type of marketing and promotions they are using on Twitter so you don’t fall behind.

Increase Your Customer Base

Picture this, someone tweets about you using your twitter name. One of their followers sees the tweet and clicks on your user name. They then read your description, become interested in your company and head over to your website. You just drove traffic through twitter and gained a potential customer without doing anything at all on your side!