THE "WATCH-OUT" SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2014

IDEA-BASED ECOSYSTEMS

The primary reason people use social media is to showcase their own identities. It's essentially like a giant selfie. This is why a local cupcake shop will get more Facebook likes than a local construction company. It's a reflection of who we are. Any time you can tie your brand to the identity of the customer, you'll have a win on your hands.

THE AGE OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD

In recent years, people have gone from information hunger to information overload. People would almost rather give out their social security number than their email addresses. But if you can become the go-to source for relevant information on a specific topic, customers will seek you out like they reach out to Upworthy and Pinterest.

SELL IT IN THE VIDEO

Internet users are more likely to finish a 30-minute video than they are an article. If you're not using online video, you're missing a big part of your audience. Plus, customers are increasingly making purchases directly through videos. A few examples: a new service called Insay and Target's "Falling for You" video campaign.

THE 4-SCREEN REVOLUTION

Consumers frequently use multiple devices at once--TV, mobile phone, laptop, and tablet. It wouldn't be pretty surprising if in 10 years, all that might be one device, but in the next two to five years, we actually expect an increase in the number of devices we are using at once. For companies, the challenge is to find ways to interact with users on multiple screens and to cope with ever-shrinking attention spans.

DECODING DIGITAL SIGNALS

Analytics are very significant to understand customers and change ways on how best to reach them. If 50 percent of your traffic is from mobile and your website isn't optimized for mobile phones, you're going to lose half of your traffic right there.

BUILD THAT SOCIAL LITERACY

All of your employees need to be social media savvy, not just the social media team. Each individual should be a creator, curator, and connector, and organizations should focus on agility, aggregation, and adaptability. Above all, people should be posting content that is relevant to the customer. You don't want to be like the person on Facebook who only shares updates about their dog.

THE POWER OF REVERSE-ENGINEERING

Companies should look beyond their own niches and industries when it comes to marketing ideas. Sometimes a company in an entirely different industry will have a great marketing tactic that none of your competitors have ever considered. So, watch out and think outside your comfort zone! Here's a good example!

GEAR UP FOR TWITTER'S NEW PROFILE!

Announced early last month, the Twitter profile update will soon be required for everyone on the service. Beginning May 28, all Twitter users will have the new profile, which has already been rolled out to new users and some existing users in the past month.

It's unclear how many people currently have the new profile, which features larger profile and header images, new timeline views and the ability to pin a tweet to the top of a profile page. Twitter did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment, but based on Twitter reaction to the design change, it appears that a number of users are still using the old layout (and aren't happy about the impending switch).

5 ½ TWITTER PRACTICES

WERE YOU "THE FOOL"?

WHY FIT-IN WHEN YOU CAN STAND OUT?

Why be “just fine” when you can be awesome online? Try out at least one of our social media tricks and watch what happens to your posts online! Entrepreneurs and marketers are always looking for social media tricks to give them an edge on their competition and to attract more people to their social media sites.

#1  Give people a peek into your life outside of your work

Let’s just face it – we are all voyeurs and often wonder, “What does that person do when they are not talking business?” This is a good strategy because you will find people being attracted to you because of a shared interest or passion. 

#2  Use humor 

Being serious all the time is boring. Adding some laugh increases engagement levels. Again, a way for others to connect easily to you and a really simple social media trick to use. Try scanning Pinterest for some ideas – that’s a great place on the web to grab some interesting visuals.

#3  vCita pop-up box on your website.

Install a program like vCita on your website. Program it so it pops up when someone comes to your website. vCita, for instance, lets a visitor connect with you immediately and set up an appointment based on your calendar. Use it and do a free 30-minute call with anyone who wants to ask a question related to social media. Visitors simply choose a time that works for them, based on the availability that is put up on your calendar and who knows? Maybe they’ll turn out to be your client! Easy, engaging, and unobtrusive, right? 

TIP: If the visitor to your website chooses to close the tab, it won’t pop up for them again while they are on my website.


#4  Make your own quotes 

Quote all by yourself. You can use programs like Quozio. All you need to do is extract something brilliant from your blog posts and make a quote out of it. Quozio allows you to save all of your quotes and they have many different templates and fonts. You can share them on different social media sites. Something you wrote may go viral if you’re lucky!

#5  Ask for the like, or share, or subscription.

Don’t be shy. Especially if you make YouTube videos, you can put an annotation on your screen and say the words, “Please subscribe to my channel.” If you don’t ask, you probably won’t get the subscription, especially if you are new on social media.

That was simple right? You don't really need to do all of these at once. Like we said, just one at a time and that'll do the magic. Please don't hesitate to share any other tips with us!

OFFERS? WHO'S GAME FOR IT?

CUSTOMERS ARE JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU...

The content, tools and process of sales are ever changing! Today’s infographic will give you an idea as to what your customers expect of you. The focus on building relationships with clients have never been more pertinent. As communication is chiseled down to statues and tweets our society is more receptive to 140 characters of description with an image. Infographics, videos and polls capture the customers attention and provides them with instant information.

Customer relationship management has changed the landscape of online marketing. Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook help business engage with a customer on a personal side. Customer engagement is at the forefront of modern business to business sales. As we continue to interact with each other at new speeds, creating relationships will take new innovative ideas.

AMP UP YOUR BRANDING

Here's a question to all you Apple product owners-

Why did you really buy an Apple product and not a product from another brand like say, Samsung?

It’s cool to own an Apple product.

Apple products are fun and easy to use.

Apple products are beautifully designed.

Poll Maker

In fact, all three of these are valid reasons. But did you notice the common theme among the reasons above? None of them have anything to do with the technical aspects of the product!

Whether you realize it or not, all the above reasons converge at one simple fact – We buy Apple products mostly because of the EMOTIONS associated with them. Let’s face it – most of us are not tech geeks. We might know about some tech stuff here and there, but honestly, most of us didn’t buy Apple products because they have better functions.

In fact, if you look at reviews of smart phones by real tech experts, you’ll find many of them conclude that Samsung phones are actually better than iPhones in terms of specs (We know some passionate Apple fans will disagree, but for the sake of explaining our point in this blog post, let’s just assume that these tech experts are right).

So…why despite the fact that Samsung’s phones are technically better, does Apple still achieve massive sales figures EVERY single time they launch a new iPhone, or in fact any of their products, even though they are always more expensive? Why do we feel such strong emotions that compel us to buy Apple products over products from other brands?

That’s what’s called BRANDING. Apple got it right! You didn’t really care if Samsung was better value for money, or if Samsung has slightly better specs. You just wanted the iPhone because it’s “programmed” into your mind that the iPhone is cooler, better, and makes you more classy. That's why Apple’s wins as a brand.

That’s the power of a good brand, which Apple has spent a lot of money building over the years. So what if we told you that you too can build an irresistible brand, without even spending anywhere close to the amount that Apple spends? Don’t believe us? Building a brand on the internet with a minimal budget is totally possible, if you just know how.

Of course, we’re not suggesting that all businesses can reach the level of influence and impact that Apple has achieved. But… that doesn’t mean you can’t still build a strong brand nonetheless, and at a low cost too. All you have to do is translate some of Apple’s branding secrets to the online world.

Here are Apple’s 5 Branding secrets & how You Can Apply them online.

Secret #1: Create a unique business persona – Declare your beliefs, make enemies, and attract loyal friends

Apple created a “person” to represent their brand, and this “person” is portrayed by the young, cool guy who is savvy and smart. The PC on the other hand, is portrayed as someone who is nerdy and totally uncool. When you buy an Apple product, you buy into their identity.

You identify yourself as the savvy and cool guy. Creating a business persona for your brand helps you attract loyal prospects who share your beliefs & values.

How to apply it online: 3 words – "Personified Content Marketing." We’re pretty sure you would have never heard of this term before. ‘Coz we made it up!

What is Personified Content Marketing?

It's Content marketing that displays your beliefs and values, creates enemies, and attracts loyal fans. 

How do you do Personified Content Marketing?

If you want to show people what you brand is about through your content, you must first understand who your target market is, analyze your competitors, and then decide on the unique positioning you want to take.

Here’s why.

It does not matter what you think or feel about your business. It’s what you prospects think and feel that counts. That’s why if you want to build a good brand, you have to start from your prospects mind!

4 Simple rules:

--> Don’t be boring

--> Don’t be afraid to state your opinions and show your attitude about things going on in your market.

--> Don’t be afraid you show what your brand stands for.

--> Don’t fall into the trap of trying to appeal to everyone. Appeal to everyone and you will appeal to no one.

Secret #2: Sell experiences, not products

Apple doesn’t sell products. They sell experiences.

They constantly reinforce how easy and enjoyable it is to use their products, how their software is beautifully designed for the best user experience, how their hardware is beautifully designed so it feels cool to own a Mac. They don’t talk a lot about the technical aspects of the product.

They talk about experiences. And it’s not only about the product. Apple is also well known for outstanding customer service. They consistently rank top for customer service in the industry.

That’s what contributes to the Apple experience. When you buy an Apple product, you feel good about it. You have a great experience. As simple as that!

How to apply it online: Create superior user interfaces, user experiences, and infuse copy with emotions. Make your web interface easy for people to do what they came to do. If you’re running a blog, make the reading experience superb by having good typography and by making good use of white space. When you write copy for your products, infuse an emotional component in your web copy to portray the experience your prospect will get after he buys your product. Sell the experience.

THE DONT'S OF A FACEBOOK PAGE

Are you using your Facebook page as your website? Don’t! It screams amateur. Everybody has a website these days, even if it’s only on WordPress. That’s okay! Not just for bloggers anymore, WordPress sites can be made to look like topnotch professional websites through the use of fabulous and highly versatile themes that can be purchased quite reasonably. But there is a place for blogging… enter, Facebook!

SAVE THE BLOGGING FOR FACEBOOK

Your professional website site is where you will have all the slick ads, graphics and cool themes. Your Facebook page is where you want to do your blogging, post the news happenings and so forth. Make it your friendly page! It’s social networking after all.

That being said, do you actually blog on Facebook? If you don’t then start doing it! Imagine visiting a company’s Facebook page and noticing that it hasn’t been updated in months, or years even. Nothing is more of a turnoff than that. Some companies create a Facebook page with minimal information and then forget about it. Why even bother? We’re not exaggerating in here when we say they are losing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. 

Post a really good bargain on your Facebook page and encourage your customers to share it with their friends. You’ll get new customers without having to pay for any advertising. And since you’re not paying for the advertising, you can afford to make it a really enticing bargain. Sounds cool right?

DON'T SPAM YOUR CUSTOMERS

If you post too often on Facebook, friends and customers may not go so far as to unfriend you, but they will turn off your posts, which is like unfriending you without you knowing it. Uhh… that’s bad! We all have friends who seem to have nothing better to do than update their status on Facebook, and they’re just plain annoying. When a business does it, we have no compunction with turning them off.

How frequently should a business post updates to Facebook? Every other day is totally fine to keep your fans engaged. Posts should be interesting and of real value, as well as short and to the point. Some good topics for Facebook updates are significant discount offers, brand new products available, expanded business hours, addition of a new employees, as in a new hairdresser at a salon or masseuse at a spa, or anything else that might be of actual interest to the customers.

SOCIAL MEDIA: HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR A BUSINESS?

Most Businesses that use social media as a part of their Marketing strategy treat social media as a broadcasting medium. At first blush, social media feels like a cheap and powerful bullhorn. It is, but don’t be surprised when blasting messages in one direction–from you to them–only generates a trickle of traffic. The trick is to get people involved, and keep them involved.

The Action plan: Since the dawn of retail, sweepstakes and giveaways have been a great hook. For ideas, query contest or sweepstakes or giveaways on Google. Maybe you’ll read about how a computer store sold more laptops by holding a contest for free iPads that required people to make their entry on the store’s Facebook page. Formulate a similar marketing campaign that fits your niche. If you have a bakery, you could hold a contest for free customized birthday cakes by requiring participants to enter on your Facebook page. Voila! Not only have you scared up more customers, you also have an instant focus group to test your cakes and other goodies.

Click here to find out what social media really does for a Business!

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