How to Win at Social Media Marketing
5 Takeaways from the 2016 FLBlogCon
One of the best things about attending conferences like this year’s FLBlogCon is the opportunity to get inspired by other like-minded people who enjoy creating content as much as we do. As one of the partners of Different Perspective, I am always looking to gain new perspectives (pun intended!) on our industry—not only to strengthen our own content marketing strategy but to help keep our clients at the forefront of theirs too. So when the opportunity to network with social media experts and local bloggers became available again this year, our copywriter Phuong and I grabbed our tickets and carefully selected the seminars we knew we wouldn’t want to miss.
Below are 5 important takeaways from the 2016 FLBlogCon conference that your business should know and can benefit from:
Publishing Content: 50% Writing and 50% Promoting
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is not promoting the content they take the time to write. Envy Labs, Code School, and the Starter Studio founder Greg Pollack shared in his presentation that publishing content is 50% writing and 50% self-promoting. He added that when it comes to creating and promoting content, it is important to be consistent, to build relationships with influencers, to find your niche, to distribute your content through multiple channels (more than once) and to fully utilize email marketing.
Facebook Ads: Big Bang for Small Budgets
Every business should have a clear understanding of who their ideal customers are. Jennine Miller of the Orlando Science Center explained in her presentation that defining your buyer personas can help you create more targeted and cost-effective Facebook ads. She shared the advantages of promoting (vs. boosting ads) and how you can stretch your budget by targeting current followers and their friends, upload your emails lists to your Facebook Ads Manager and utilize Facebook pixels to retarget people who have visited your website.
Pinterest: Optimize Your Profile and Your Website
It’s tempting to pin only your own products, blogs or pictures on your business’ boards, but Pinterest expert Kim Vij of The Educators Spin On It says the best ratio for pins should be 20% your own and 80% from other people. Kim explained that Pinterest has developed into a powerful search engine and that the best way to connect with the people you want is by optimizing your boards and website for Pinterest. She suggests making it easier for visitors on your website to pin your products and blogs by enabling a Pinterest pin button, using properly-sized images and adding descriptions to them.
Growing a Brand: Consistency is Key
A successful brand connects with their customers on a regular and consistent basis. Bryan Dickey (a former intern at Different Perspective) and Lincoln Devine of Things Floridians Like grew their monthly reach on Facebook to an average of 10-30 million and on Twitter to an average 6-8 million by staying present, posting daily, cross-promoting content, and most importantly, using lots of visuals and videos. They say it is important to consider your audience’s habits when posting content, such as adding captions to videos since 85% of people watch videos without sound on social media. They also shared that Facebook groups are an underutilized gem and that it is a great place to collaborate and grow your target audience.
StumbleUpon: Go Viral
It is important for businesses to understand the platforms they share their content through, take for example StumbleUpon. Christie Cronan of Raising Whasians explained in her presentation that unlike other social media platforms, StumbleUpon does not want you to “discover,” or post, your own content through their platform. To provide the best experience to their 30 million active monthly users, they encourage people to use their platform organically. In exchange for “following the rules,” StumbleUpon can help drive tons of traffic to your website and even help you go viral. Make sure to create a StumbleUpon account and be active there!
Phuong and I sincerely enjoyed this year’s FLBlogCon. We loved meeting local influencers, reconnecting with conference friends, and gaining useful tips from the talented speakers—and who knows? You might even see one us on stage next year (looking at you, Hugo)! Building an effective content marketing strategy or an engaging social media campaign is no easy task, but at Different Perspective, we can help you connect with customers to earn their advocacy, loyalty, and trust using the right channels.
Post Written By Priscilla Azzolini, Different Perspective’s Director of Communication