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. 

Using Pinterest Wisely

There are times that Pinterest can seem intimidating to even the most veteran social media advocates, but once you take a minute to delve through its categories and format, you will find it’s not really as scary as it looks. In fact, it is quite beneficial for the individual and the business owner.

Pinterest is becoming a fast growing social media outlet for businesses to expand their reach. Pinterest users on average spend at least an hour each time they visit the site. Those using Pinterest follow 3% more retailers on Pinterest than on Facebook and 1% more than on Twitter. It has over 14 million users!

There is so much a business can do with Pinterest to be noticed by their target market and to gain followers.

·         Like and comment on other pinners pins. This will get you noticed and send traffic to your boards.
·         Make sure all of your boards description sections are filled out with relevant details
·         When re-pinning, don’t just leave whatever comment happens to be on their, make it unique to yourself, your customers and your brand.
·         Create boards relevant to your product and make sure the website the pin comes from works. Pinners get frustrated when they would like to see where the original post came from and find it doesn’t exist.
·         Pin beyond your product. 

• Here are a few companies who have mastered the use of Pinterest for their business. Study it and learn from them.

·         Contests. I bet you didn’t know you could do contests on Pinterest did you? This is a great way to get your name out there, but it is also a fun way for users to engage. If your customers are enjoying something, they are much more likely to not only join in, but stay involved even once the contest ends.

• Homes, a real estate company, created a very interactive and unique contest on Pinterest we wanted to share with out readers. Here is a description of it.

We hope all of these new ideas will get you motivated and your mind stirring with new ideas!

Creating a Brand Image That Deserves to be Heard

Creating a successful brand is much more than just a logo or a great advertising pitch. It's cohesively bonding all aspects of design, marketing and campaigning together to create some beautiful music. Developing a successful brand has many different components that need to be focused upon. Doing each of these components well will not only help show consistency and increase your brand image, but it will make your story come to life by creating a vision within your customers minds. 

• Create a logo that is visually appealing and easily recognizable to customers
• Establish a memorable tag line. Tag lines that are easily remembered are short and to the point, humorous or emotional and resonate with the product or service you offer.
• Build a marketing campaign that is parallel to your company's value and mission. Make sure that it is organized as well as carefully planned and executed. A good marketing campaign should be thought out 3, 6 or even 12 months in advance. 
• Employees that represent the company are a very big part of your brand image. They must be customer friendly, helpful and presentable.
• Your website should be up to date at all times so customers are aware of all that is being offered. It should be easy to navigate, useful and eye-catching.
• All social media sites must be active and contain content that is valuable for your customer base

By carrying out all of the above and making sure you are representing all aspects of your brand in a positive way, you are showing your customers that you care about them and your business.Going that extra mile, makes all the difference when it comes to your company being first in your customers mind. You don't want to be just like your competition. Who wants to blend in when they were born to stand out?

Visual Marketing: Your Story Deserves To Be Heard

Life is all about experience. It’s about enjoying the ride and discovering something new every day. When we open our eyes, we see amazing things. That is what visual marketing is all about. And with social media consistently on the rise, it’s important to make sure you are telling your story the way it needs to be told.

Just take a look at the latest social media statistics:

·         Every minute 3,600 photos are shared on Instagram

·         300 million pictures are uploaded to Facebook a day (via Instagram)

·         Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month

·         Over 4 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube

·         500 years of YouTube video are watched every day on Facebook, and over 700 YouTube   

          videos are shared on Twitter each minute

Lives these days are so fast paced that the moments we have to sit down and really enjoy something are few and far between. Think about it. Would you rather sit down and read an article and try to picture what it is someone is talking about or just click a button and be able to see and hear all about it? 

Visual marketing is the newest trend of the 21st century and it is only going to grow in 2013. Jump on the bandwagon. Tell your story and show your customers what you are all about. You only have a small window of opportunity so make the most of it. 

Want to see what we’re talking about? Check out the promotional video we created for Split Second Sound. Put yourself customer right in the middle of the action. Answer the who,what, why and where in an enjoyable, engaging video. Your story deserves to be heard.