Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+ have been getting all the buzz lately. Why? Visual content is now as equally, if not more, important as written content for
inbound marketing and creating leads. Turns out, “a picture is worth a thousand words” could not be more true in the age of the internet and
social media.
As a business owner, what do you need to know and what should you do to optimize your marketing and make sure your images ARE worth a thousand words and more?
1. What if you don’t have any visual content or have too little? If you don’t have any images, it’s never too late to start. If you have a blog, add images to each post. If you attend any events or see something related to your business, take a picture and share it. The more you share, the better. However, although more is better, make sure that your images are either appealing to a target audience or helping to humanize your brand in some way. Don’t just post a lot of random pictures. Use images that will attract attention and commentaries, and help you build your online community.
2. Maximize your visual content. Depending on your business, images and visual content can help you promote many aspects of your business and can be used as a
social media marketing campaign. Instagram, Facebook, Pin and Tweet good content WITH fitting descriptions. If you have events, take and share pictures. If you have merchandise, share it through images. If your website has visual content, Pin it! With each image, add a description that contains keywords for
SEO purposes and to make it easier for potential leads to find you, ie to make your inbound marketing better.
3. Tag/Label Your Images. When you upload an image, make sure you name it using words that will help you with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Having a good “alt” tag on your image will guarantee that even if your written content isn’t found, the image will show up with the corresponding search and could help boost your
SEO.
4. Respect the rules. Don’t bombard your followers, fans, etc with images because you think it’s the key to helping your business. Don’t copy images without giving credit where it’s due. Most importantly, remember that everyone out there is also trying to get their business noticed so to help build your community, help build others as well. Comment and interact with others, making the word ‘networks’ really have meaning.
Soul NYC Principal & Creative Director
Tommy Spero says: “This, like many other trends that arise within the social media world, should be looked at to determine if they’ll be effective for YOUR business. We encourage you to be creative, and find ways to make it work. The more opportunity you have to spread your messages out online, the more paths that will potentially lead your prospects to you.”
As always, we’re here to help with your design and visual content needs! If you feel your business could benefit from visual and
inbound marketing, but don’t know where to start,
contact us!
Check out what we’re
Facebooking,
Pinning, and
Tweeting!
On Monday social media networks and media sources were replete with the news that Facebook had purchased the mobile-only, photo-sharing application, Instagram, for a billion dollars!
Some people may be thinking: “ugh, Facebook is going to ruin Instagram!” or “Why on earth would Instagram be worth a billion dollars!” or if you’re a blackberry or not even a smartphone owner “Who cares?”
Nonetheless, the Facebook-Instagram deal is HUGE and important news for several reasons.
1) VISUAL CONTENT: Pinterest has received a lot of attention in the last few months, especially for its ability to virally spread visual content. At the moment it’s the third largest traffic driver because of how quickly visual content spreads through its site. Instagram IS visual content. Facebook realized that Instagram is an application that captures the increasing importance of visual content and photo sharing, which is one of Facebook’s own most valued feature.
2) MOBILE APPS/MARKETING: Almost 50% of people spend a large part of their day on their smartphones: emailing, sharing, tweeting, Facebooking, shopping, etc. The fact that Instagram is a mobile-only app with over 30 million users demonstrates that mobile use for daily activities is increasingly becoming the norm and therefore mobile apps and marketing are essential. In addition, there is no desktop or browser version of Instagram and yet so many people love the app, which to Facebook provides more insight into how they can improve their own mobile application and drive people to spend more time their app.
3) A GOOD IDEA WITH ORGANIC GROWTH: With only 9 people working at Instagram and no advertising yet, it is clear that Instagram was a great idea. In a few years Instagram has been able to get more than 30 million users worldwide who love its product and share thousands of photos every day. No one can deny that organic growth is much better than paid growth and Facebook certainly saw potential and maybe even a competitor in the photo-sharing arena.
While Instagram may not be turning in any revenue yet, it’s clear that Facebook’s investment in buying the photo-sharing application had a few good reasons (and some we may never know). With technology and trends changing every day, Facebook took what it could see as a competitor and made it a friend. Hopefully Facebook doesn’t change that friend too much or many of Instagram’s loyal admirers will be walking away.
Tell us, do you share your pictures online? Is it a part of your inbound marketing and social media strategy? How do you use the value of images for your business marketing?
On Friday, March 30th all Facebook pages switched to the new Timeline format. Although some pages had adopted the new look, some may have been caught off-guard. Here are some tips to help you get your social media marketing up to speed!
1. Pictures: You need 2 pictures now - the standard profile picture (180x180 pixels) AND a cover image. The cover image size is 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels in height. Make the cover image so that it encapsulates the meaning of your business and engages your visitors. Here's an example of our timeline, so you can see how the new graphics look using our logo as the profile picture and tagline as our cover image.
2. Pins: At the top right of every post, there is a drop down menu that allows you to “pin this item to top” making it the featured post of your page and allowing you to control what item your page’s visitors see first and/or most. For example, you may want to pin your most recent blog post or a moving image you just posted, that way it will be at the top of your timeline. Due to Soul’s recent relaunch, we have pinned a blog post from our founder, Tommy Spero, to the top for all our visitors to see right away.
3. Highlights: Also at the top right of every post you can click on the star and make it a “highlight,” which makes the post span across the entire page, as opposed to just one side of the timeline. If you have an important post, that you want to be more visible than the rest, highlighting is a good option. It will keep scrolling down with time, but because it spans across the entire page, it will be more noticeable than the rest.
4. Milestones: At the top left, where you can enter posts, links, and questions, you can also now enter “Milestones.” The ability to have milestones allows you to tell the entire story of your business through the timeline. For example, you can enter 1995 as the founding year of your business, add a description, and a even a picture. Through these milestones your fans can better understand and relate with your brand, even before its social media days.
5. No more landing pages/tabs: With the change to the timeline, the landing pages/tabs that used to be under the profile picture are now “apps” featured under the cover image. You can have up to 12, but feature only 4. This means you’ll have to get creative about Calls-To-Action because you can’t have a landing tab or separate tabs for them. Go here for some options on how to create apps for your new timeline.
Hope these help with the transition if you’re not quite there yet and remember: Brand, Build, and Engage! The foundation for your success on Facebook is to create good looking images, set up the page properly with great content, and to get involved with your audience.
Check out and like the Soul NYC timeline here!
PS: Need help designing the look of your New Facebook Timeline and figuring out how it works? Click on the banner below for a special offer for our blog readers...
When I started Soul NYC in 2005, it was out of necessity. I had not planned to own a company, though deep down I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I was forced into the world of the self employed when I lost my job at a broadcast design and post facility in New York City. It was a humble beginning, but I have never looked back.
I took whatever work came my way, reaching out to the contacts I had, many of which were in the entertainment and music industry. When it came to naming the company, I knew the word soul would be a part of it. I had used it previously on my personal portfolio, Soultooth, and in an unofficial freelance biz, Soulshot, that I had with my friend Keith Corcoran. I incorporated the name Soul Associates, Inc. though I have never really referred to the company by that name, simply as Soul. Eventually, that morphed into Soul NYC, due to our domain name.
At the time, Soul to me was representative of my love for music, its culture and essence. A lifelong fan of James Brown, I even dabbled with a stylized version of him on a business card! Though I do love the Godfather, that was even a bit too much for me. I eventually settled on the raised fist as an icon. To me, it represented Soul both musically, and in the slightly militant respect of my belief that design could revolutionize a business. Through my relationships, work came relatively easy to us, and though I did not want to own up to it, I knew it wouldn’t always be that way.
The Ah-Ha Moments
Enter 2008. Though I made it a point not to buy into the hype the media lays out, there was no denying the economic downturn affected us. Like many other small businesses, we struggled, but managed to weather the storm. A shift in focus was needed, and though the sexy clients are nice to have, I began to realize small and medium sized businesses needed our services more than ever. This was the first Ah-Ha moment for me. I joined a local networking group in 2009, and though initially I felt it wasn't the best direction for the company, I stuck it out and now am in my third year. It has inspired me to do more public speaking and proven to be an amazing catalyst for us. The relationships made have led to landing some great clients.
While doing some research for a social media presentation I was giving, I stumbled upon a company called Hubspot. They provide a software platform to facilitate inbound marketing, with robust content management tools and outstanding analytics. All of this helps to draw an audience to a website fine tuned to generate leads. Their information was amazing and I was hooked. I attended a webinar series they gave called "agency retraining" which discussed how to move from project based work, and provide more valuable services to clients on an ongoing basis. This was the second Ah-Ha moment. I signed on as an Agency Partner. I knew in my gut I wanted to do something else with Soul, but up until then, I wasn't sure exactly what. Now I knew.
“Soul” Searching
With the company going in a new direction, we needed to reflect that in our own branding. Our original logo, business cards and website, just did not feel right anymore. After 7 years, I knew the time had come to retire “the fist.” Our culture, services and business were changing, and a fresh approach was needed to usher us into the future. Soul means a lot more now than it did to me initially. It’s more about the brand at the core, the “soul” of a business and what drives it to success.
With our new logo and website, we are presenting a more focused version of Soul NYC. One that is better suited to serve clients in many areas, and bring value to their businesses. With that we’ve developed a tagline: Brand. Build. Engage. which encompasses everything that we do. It is an exciting time for us. I’ve got some amazing people onboard and we’re working with some great clients. I’m more energized than ever to take this agency to the next level.
Meet the new Soul NYC.
Who hasn’t at some point or another had a board of sorts with ripped out magazine pages, post-its, photographs, sketches, and any other assortment of images that might trigger “light-bulb moments” while you’re working? Most of us have, right? As the age of internet and social media would have it, there is, of course, now a virtual way of doing this. You can pin ANYTHING with the latest social network
Pinterest that allows you to create as many virtual inspiration boards as you want, about anything and everything!
So you may wonder what does that mean? How does it work? Pretty simple: make some boards like home, clothes, foods, books, social media, and anything else you like. Then, see an image, article, or anything with a visual you like: Pin It. Already on the site: Repin, Like, or Comment on It. The great part is that when you “Pin” anything, the link is automatically put into the image so no matter what caption gets paired with an image you can (almost) always find the source of origin. Pinterest has become the latest buzz network, growing over 4000% in the last 6 months and statistics say that it attracts 11% of site traffic, which is more than Facebook at the moment. Who would have thought? Very appropriately named, Pinterest lets anyone pin what he/she pines for and anything else that inspires.
What does all this mean for your business' social media marketing?
1. Visual content of your website: know that if you have a website you have choices, too. You can add a “Pin It” button to help visitors pin your images or you can set your website to prevent “pinning” of your visual content.
2. Pinning Can Help Your SEO: From an SEO standpoint Pinterest has the capability of creating a lot of traffic. Let’s say you own a clothing boutique and someone pins a dress you’re selling. Then that image gets re-pinned 100 times and in just a few short days or weeks your dress, website, and products have circulated all around the world. Before you know it, you could be getting international shipping orders because your one dress ended up on Pinterest.
3. Pinterest Is Not For Everyone: From an inbound marketing standpoint, Pinterest can be most useful for visual industries. I would recommend it for businesses in fashion, food, and medicine, among many others where there is a lot of visual content. On the other hand, I wouldn’t recommend it to a lawyer, a newspaper, or a a business that has little to no visual content to promote.
4. Know Your Rights: Pinterest makes it very clear that they do not assume any kind of copyright responsibility so when you pin, please do so responsibly and always give credit where credit is due.
5. Be social: Pinterest is a social media tool, so remember to interact and communicate, in addition to sharing your own pins and content.
If you have questions or concerns about if and how it could apply to your business, let us know!
Happy New Year to you all!
As we dive headfirst into 2012, all of us are evaluating our personal lives as well as our business efforts. We look back over last year, assessing what we wanted to do, what we accomplished or what we could have done better.
In thinking about this, I thought it would be interesting to spin the typical personal New Year Resolutions that we always see to a marketing perspective for business.
Here's what I've come up with...
1. Go on an information diet
Cut down on the things you do everyday that you don't benefit from. That might be unnecessary surfing or Facebooking, chatting with friends during work hours, etc. Minimize your content intake to just what's pertinent and beneficial (see #2). If you can't cut out the fun and games entirely, reserve it for off hours.
2. Take your Vitamins
Though we are looking to minimize the intake of useless info and/or squandering our time on worthless activity, we do want to add things that will give us a boost. Subscribe to powerful blogs & newsletters from those that are leaders in your industry. Like them on Facebook, circle them on Google+ and follow them on Twitter. They're the ones who are creating content and sharing info that can help inspire you in your own efforts.
3. Work Out
Marketing is like a gym membership. You have to show up and work at it to see the benefits. Get those marketing muscles in top shape! Keep a regular schedule of blogging, posting, networking & content creation.
4. Spend time with those that matter
I'm not talking about family here, though that's important too, off hours! Those that matter are the people that already know you, your clients. They are already familiar with you and what you can do. It's easier to keep them and get business from them if you stay in touch. Communicate, shoot off an email to say hello, send them a regular newsletter.
5. Get Organized
Create a daily todo list. Use a calendar to plan your marketing. Set alerts to remind you of when you should be posting to your blog. Schedule some tweets and social media marketing postings with any of the tools available.
6. Help others
Share information, hold a free webinar, be giving of yourself and your expertise. You will not only draw attention and praise, but that good karma will come back to you. I'll be talking more about this philosophy I call "The Rubber Brand" alot this year.
I'd love to know what you think of this list and if you have any more tips that might help others in their marketing in 2012, please share them in the comments below.
For more info on using Social Media to market your business, check out our presentation below.
Call it a fad, a craze or a trend. Group Buying sites are popping up like weeds everywhere you turn. Another goldrush-style internet boom or a viable tool for marketers?
A quick google search yields hundreds of these type of sites already. There will likely be some fallout and a few of the major players will remain. The bigger question is, are they effective? Are businesses feeling that there's value here, or are they desperately searching for another avenue to (ineffectively) market themselves in a tough economy?
Though consumers are feeling the love and benefitting from the sharply discounted products and services, many businesses say these type of promotions are not encouraging repeat business. In fact, 82% are dissatisfied with repeat business after running a Groupon. However 45% would run another deal. I guess the sentiment is that it's better to do somehting rather than nothing.
Perhaps, the deals aren't backed up with any plan to engage those clients after they used their deal. Wouldn't it be better to build an audience that wants to do business with you, after you've built some credibility with them and gained their trust?
The numbers in this infographic just published by BuySellAds.com tell an interesting tale.
For some alternate ideas on how to market your small business using Social Media, Content Marketing, and an website fine tuned to generate leads, contact us for a free consultation below.
As we head right into the holidays, it's a good time to reflect on your marketing efforts this past year.
We're they successful?
Did you do anything different?
Did you try to sell, sell, sell at every turn?
How did that work out for you?
If you're feeling like you haven't seen much success with your marketing, it might be time for a different approach. Change things up, or pivot, as they say.
Whether you're a small business or a multi-bajillion dollar organization with tons of cash to burn, it's likely that you've realized the traditional marketing efforts are not getting the results they used to. The shift in the way consumers shop and search for products and services has been evolving over the last decade. If you're marketing the way you did 10 years ago, you're losing out on opportunities every day. Give the people what they want. Information is flowing freely, and you have a unique opportunity to give something to those who can ultimately be giving you their business in return.
Say hello to Content Marketing...
"Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer action." - Joe Pulizzi, Junta42
In my discussions with business owners, I stress the point that we are all experts in our own ways. The vast knowledge we have that enables us to do our work, is also the primary foundation that can be used for content marketing. Creating content that is of value to the audience that needs your products and services can attract customers, generate leads and create loyalty to your brand.
It's the approach of having conversations and communicating with your prospects in a way that makes them comfortable and builds trust in what you do or sell, without you selling to them.
Technology has given us all the tools to become publishers. The power is no longer in the hands of the large media outlet. Every one now has multiple platforms in which to broadcast their own shows, publish articles or even magazines on a regular basis. Social Media provides a direct line to prospects where you can engage with them in realtime.
The question really comes down to whether or not you are ready to make the leap?
To find out how your business can benefit from content marketing, request a free consultation below.
This article will debunk 5 common myths about social media marketing that almost every business owner I talk to believes to be true. In essence, it's that fear of the unknown that really causes people to shy away from engaging and embracing what is essentially one of the most cost effective and viable ways to market their business. I'm amazed that there is still a perception or fear of it as we head into 2012.
Well, I'm going to debunk those myths and help you to embrace those fears, while setting yourself up for success in the coming year.
Social Media Myth #1
I don't want people to know my personal business.
Or... "I don't want to use Facebook and have strangers know all about me and my family". This is the number one thing I hear. My answer: Then don't tell them, and keep things separate. Though you need a personal profile on Facebook to have a business page, you CAN use them independently. No one needs to be your personal friend to be a FAN of your business. They are indeed separate.
However, there is a catch. If you ARE the business, using your business profile as a way for prospects to get to know you and how you work is extemely valuable in building trust and credibility. You don't need to be posting pictures of your kids or wild nights out with friends, but shedding some light on what kind of person you are can't hurt.
Social Media Myth #2
I just don't have the time to keep up.
You're right, you probably don't. If you aren't active in it, it just doesn't work. Make the time, find someone to help you, or hire a professional to do it. Have a plan. To see any type of traction or growth, you need to build an audience and engage with them. To get a sense of what people are interested in and what is resonating with them, you need to monitor conversations, add value and bring your own perspective to the table. You can't do this once a month, and you can't only use one channel. There are tools available that make it much easier to engage on all the frontlines of Social Media. You need to show up often.
Social Media Myth #3
It's not for me or my type of business.
I hear this one alot too. No matter what you do, there is no reason you can't use Social Media to market yourself. Sure, some business are better suited than others, but I can guarantee you that someone in your line of work is successfully using Social Media. It's all in how you position yourself and the things you talk about. We all have the opportunity to be authority in our space and to share that knoweledge with others.
Social Media Myth #4
Build it and they will come.
"We have a Facebook page but no fans." Oh really? Then I go look and they haven't posted since they set it up 6 months ago. It's not enough to just be there. Ever see a new house get built and then the builder can't sell it. So it sits vacant, weeds start growing, it looks rundown. No one is keeping it up. It winds up sitting there and becomes almost impossible to sell. Your vacant Social Media profile is no different. Even if people are looking at it, but there's no sign of life, why would they bother to be a fan?
Social Media Myth #5
It's too late to catch up.
I say, it will be even later tomorrow. Everyone can play here, there's plenty of room. If you are a cookie cutter business with nothing to say, then maybe it is too late. But if you consistently bring value to your clients and do good work, work that's worth recommending to others, then I say there's no better time to get started then right now.
I hope this has helped to shed some light on these common misbeliefs. If there's any other questions or myths you'd like us to weigh in on, leave a comment below.
For more information, check our our Social Media Jumpstart presentation...
All aboard!
As of Monday, Google opened the floodgates for businesses and brands to create profiles on their social network, Google+. This has been a highly anticipated feature and the web was buzzing with the news as the rollout spread.
Google SVP of Social Vic Gundotra said in a blog post:
"For you and me, this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop, or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line, or follow a band on tour. Google+ pages give life to everything we find in the real world. And by adding them to circles, we can create lasting bonds with the pages (and people) that matter most.
For businesses and brands, Google+ pages help you connect with the customers and fans who love you. Not only can they recommend you with a +1, or add you to a circle to listen long-term. They can actually spend time with your team, face-to-face-to-face. All you need to do is start sharing, and you'll soon find the super fans and loyal customers that want to say hello."
Many brand pages were in place at launch, including:
Google+ pages for brands will benefit from better search opportunites and analytics simply because it's a Google product.
For now not much customization is available, but that will likely change. We'll be here to help you navigate how to setup and make this another worthwhile tool in marketing your business online.
Stay Tuned!