If you haven't been hiding under a rock the past few weeks, you are aware that Facebook has become a part of the hashtag world. Now no matter what you're thinking, you can share it with others outside of your friend circle. Here's a few interactive questions this week we'd love to hear your answers to:
Have you used Facebook hashtags yet?
Do you plan on using them?
Do you think Facebook did the right thing jumping on the hashtag bandwagon?
Feel free to answer these questions by commenting on our Facebook page
Creative team of marketing mavens who are passionate about helping small businesses market themselves better
Showing posts with label hashtag. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hashtag. Show all posts
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
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.
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.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
How NOT to Use Hashtags
As promised, Evoke Creative Group is going to be giving some tips today on how NOT to use hashtags. Follow carefully as proper use of hashtags is important in promotion, brand building and social media.
1. Creating your own hashtag find, but dontstringtogetherabunchofwords like this, put a # in front of it and call it a hashtag. The reason we don't do this is because it's hard for people to make out exactly what it says. If they can't understand it, they won't click on it. So keep your hashtags short and sweet.
2. Don't always put yourself in the same category. By this we mean try to be a little creative. When posting quotes or pictures or articles, try to reach beyond your normal industry hashtags to find a new audience.
3. Don't distract from the message. A few hashtags within a tweet is fine, but don't get so caught up in how #pretty and #beautiful they are to #tweet that your entire #message is #built on them. See, is can be a bit distracting.
4. Don't be negative and controversial in your hashtags. We always applaud honesty, but twitter isn't the place for a business to post controversial or negative opinions.
Got other ideas for ways NOT to use hashtags? Let's here it!
1. Creating your own hashtag find, but dontstringtogetherabunchofwords like this, put a # in front of it and call it a hashtag. The reason we don't do this is because it's hard for people to make out exactly what it says. If they can't understand it, they won't click on it. So keep your hashtags short and sweet.
2. Don't always put yourself in the same category. By this we mean try to be a little creative. When posting quotes or pictures or articles, try to reach beyond your normal industry hashtags to find a new audience.
3. Don't distract from the message. A few hashtags within a tweet is fine, but don't get so caught up in how #pretty and #beautiful they are to #tweet that your entire #message is #built on them. See, is can be a bit distracting.
4. Don't be negative and controversial in your hashtags. We always applaud honesty, but twitter isn't the place for a business to post controversial or negative opinions.
Got other ideas for ways NOT to use hashtags? Let's here it!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
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!
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!
- 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!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The Twitter Numbers Game
As we spend our days tweeting, retweeting, uploading
pictures and interacting with our followers, we dream of the day we can be as
successful as the likes of Kim Kardashian. But is a substantial number of followers the real end game for a business? Not necessarily.
The goal of twitter for businesses is to interact with their customers. To gain their trust and show your commitment to a product or service you create. The more you create valued content, interact with customers, show useful photos and information about your business, the more followers you will receive because they will want to see what you have to say. Creating value and a reason for someone to want to follow you is more important that just trying to up your numbers.What you should be tweeting about?
- Special promotions available specifically via social media: This gives customers a continued reason to follow you as these promotions are exclusive.
- Information about your company: People need to get to know you and what you are all about. Introduce your employees, share the process of creating your product etc. Giving an inside look is a great way to gain trust and rapport. The more a customer can relate to you the more likely they are to stick around.
- Up and coming products customers would be interested in: Leave people always wanting more. Show them that you are hard at work, listening to their wants and needs. Keeping your name in the front of their mind is very important with the flood of information they receive these days via social media. Always keep them informed of your next steps.
- Sharing customer testimonials and pictures relating to your product and business: If a customer takes the time to validate you, show them your appreciation. Share their thoughts. A happy, valued customer is your best marketing tool.
- Share Your News: Share your success! Let your followers know about an award you one, an article you're featured in or a milestone you've reached. It's OK to boast every once in awhile. Shout it out loud and be proud!
Most businesses may never reach Lady Gaga status, but if you're interacting with the right audience and sharing the type of information your audience wants to hear, you will in the end, build the type of following you need. The type of following who will share tour tweets, buy your products, recommend you to others and interact with you on a daily basis.
This is the type of following we are tweeting for!
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