by Marelise da Silva | Aug 13, 2015 | Content Marketing, Social Media Optimization
Social media marketing is no longer just about text updates. Visuals and graphics have become a big part of marketing products, services and ideas on social media platforms. You might have noticed that visuals grab your attention faster than a body of text will. 60 000 times faster in fact! You might be struggling to come up with the best media and images for your campaign and if you aren’t a designer, you might struggle. The good news is that you don’t need to be an artistic guru to create highly effective social media graphics that are enticing and shareable. Below are five hacks that can help you on your way:
- Don’t overload your image with text. Text can become overwhelming on its own – add too much of it to an image and it has the same, if not worse effect.
- Ensure that the images you use are of the highest possible quality. Only use images from reputable stock photograph suppliers and make sure that it will look good when it is posted.
- Vary your visual content so that your audience isn’t presented with the same thing over and over. Vary your content to include quote graphics, infographics, screen shots and photography.
- Research visual trends and don’t be afraid to use them. Pinterest is a great place to see what sort of visual trends are popular and working at the moment.
- Make sure that you brand all of your graphics so that the audience knows how to reach you. A water mark on the photo or a link to your website is the best option.
Social Media Marketing Services Offered by WSI
At WSI we offer professional social media marketing services where we can strategise and implement an online marketing campaign that gets your business noticed by your target audience.
To learn more about our social media marketing services and how to understand the benefits of online and digital marketing, contact us at WSI today.
by Francois Muscat | Aug 3, 2015 | E-mail Marketing, Social Media Optimization
For many people, email is their preferred channel to interact with businesses. Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to engage with existing and potential clients.
One thing many people struggle with, however, is integrating their email marketing campaigns with their other marketing campaigns. While email marketing can be very effective, it doesn’t work well as a stand-alone medium. A few ways to do this are as follows:
- Integrate your social media marketing with your email campaigns
Your readership probably uses different platforms to network and engage online. Make sure you’re making the most out of your email marketing campaign by including social follow buttons. This way, people can simply click on an image to start following you on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
You could also target certain groups of people by using social media insights. For example, if there are a group of people who have engaged with you on Twitter, send an email campaign directly to these people. This way, you’re integrating different methods of communication.
- Encourage blog subscriptions
You can’t email everyone whenever you post a new blog, but to make sure your blog posts are read by more people, encourage blog subscriptions in your email campaigns.
Make sure you check your website analytics and email campaign analytics to ensure you know exactly how many people are viewing your site and reading your emails on their mobile phones. You can target mobile users by sending both plain test and HTML versions of your email, ensuring more people are able to read your emails.
Need help with your integrated email campaign strategy or management? Contact WSI OMS today.
by Marelise da Silva | Jul 16, 2015 | E-mail Marketing, Social Media Optimization
When using multiple platforms for marketing you must dedicate one medium to drawing attention and the other for closing the deal. Email marketing is an effective way of grabbing the attention of your target audience, but providing them with a link to your social media pages is simply not enough to truly earn conversions. There is a great deal you can actually do to truly merge your email marketing and social media marketing efforts and if you aren’t entirely sure what your options are, consult with a specialist in the online marketing field.
Below are our two top ideas to consider:
- Use social media to trigger conversations – create custom graphics to be posted on your social media platforms which links directly to your email campaign. When you write content for that post, make sure the interests of the target audience are considered. Asking questions which cause curiosity and including a link that needs to be clicked is also a great way to get consumers clicking through to your email or other platforms.
- Upload subscribers to social media accounts – linking your email lists to various social accounts is an effective way of merging social and email. You will find many social platforms, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and similar, offer the option of uploading email contacts. This can help with running adverts to a specified audience.
Email marketing and social media marketing services at WSI
At WSI we can professionally advise you on how to merge your social media marketing and email marketing campaigns for the best online marketing results. With our digital media marketing services, you can expect to boost your company’s presence in the online world and can truly harness the potential of both email and social marketing.
To learn more about our email marketing strategies and services, contact us at WSI via email or telephone today.
by Francois Muscat | Jul 8, 2015 | Facebook, Social Media Optimization
What can you do to boost your social media marketing campaign when your Facebook engagement and reach starts to slow down? While Facebook algorithms play a role in your reach, there are things you can do to extend your reach and ensure your Facebook page is always working for your business.
Facebook will post content to newsfeeds and who sees it will depend on the user’s previous engagement with you and their known interests and online activity patterns. Below are a few things you can do to improve your organic reach on Facebook:
- Use strategies which Fortune 500 companies use on Facebook – this includes creating a persona of openness and transparency, show availability to customers, be positive.
- Don’t only post content at peak times. Post content at non peak times as your content will stand out more. You can use Facebook Insights to see when your peak and non peak times are.
- Post original photos and content relating to your company’s team. This will have a more personal reach and encourage customers to get to know your company better.
- Engage with your consumers by asking questions and requesting their opinions. Listening to what your customers have to say is a great way to ensure you can effectively service their needs.
- Self explanatory photos, such as picture-graphics or info-graphics, which look attractive and offer easily digestible information are a great way to earn the attention of your customers.
Social media marketing tips, advice and services from WSI
At WSI, we are specialists in the field of social media marketing. While we provide essential tips for marketing your business online, we also provide professional digital marketing services which will boost your business and ensure it gains a firm foothold in the market place.
If you want your social media presence to be beneficial to your business and its customers, take the time to learn more our digital marketing services. Contact us at WSI via email or telephone to discuss your needs and requirements and to learn more about the online marketing options available to you.
by Francois Muscat | Jun 24, 2015 | Social Media Optimization, Twitter
Recently, the Twitter team has upped their game once again by introducing the Twitter video option. This app is one of the most prominent ways to promote and connect with your customers online. The video offering is just one more way in which you will now be able to connect with your target audience via social media. Here are a few ways in which you can use Twitter video to your advantage.
How to use Twitter video
Using Twitter video is a fairly straight forward procedure. You will be able to record a new video straight from your smartphone, or for the iPhone users, you can upload already existing footage. As you would when posting a Tweet with a photo, touch the picture icon when posting and select camera. Once you have done this, change camera to video and you now have thirty seconds to record your desired video.
Try responding through video
If you are aiming to connect with your followers on a more personal level, why not start a conversation in which you respond to the Tweets via video? Be sure to make a memorable hashtag so people can find the conversation easily and get involved. This will give your followers the ability to see what you are actually like and will give them the feeling that you care.
Share what is happening right now
Be sure to share events in real time with your followers. This will keep them updated with regards to an event you may be at, fashion show you are attending or the like. This will give them the sense of involvement and keep them updated if they were unable to attend themselves.
As you can see, Twitter is a wide and useful platform for you to better your business through. If you need some guidance however, Wsioms can step in to help you through our training courses. Be sure to get in touch with us today and become a part of the Twitterverse now.
by Francois Muscat | Jun 22, 2015 | Social Media Marketing, Social Media Optimization
As people post compliments, complaints and queries on social media, smart businesses have ensured that someone is monitoring the company’s social media accounts and responding to clients and potential clients on these networks. There are, however, a few critical customer service mistakes you could be making:
Not responding when somebody mentions your brand online
Whether you’re using Twitter, Facebook, GooglePlus or any other social media networking site, you need to incorporate listening tools and analytics so that you are aware of the number of brand mentions your brand or business gets online. Respond to both negative and positive brand mentions within a 24 hour period.
Ignoring negative brand mentions
It might be easier to retweet a positive brand mention on Twitter, but don’t underestimate the power of a negative tweet that goes unnoticed. Respond to criticism and complaints on the public forum in order to show that your clients matter.
Using template responses
Social media is personal and people want to know that there is a real person behind the social media account. Don’t use template responses to reply to people and make sure the brand voice is personal and that responses are customised for individual interaction.
Not providing a quick solution
If your social media managers don’t have direct access to client accounts, product developers, technicians and service people within the company, then this is something which needs to change. It happens all too often that a brand’s social media account gives people the runaround by diverting them to different call centre lines. Empower your social media manager to solve problems quickly.
Need help with your social media marketing strategy? Contact WSI OMS today.
