Blog Archives
3 Steps to Creating a Social Content Strategy
Social content strategy is a pretty common place marketing term. It’s important to think about this because you can really drive business results and audience value with a well constructed compelling content strategy. Easy said right? I know a lot of small businesses that may look a deer in headlights right about now, but when it comes to creating a social content strategy it doesn’t have to be rocket science. Below are 3 steps to getting started.
1. Think like an Author content, content, content 
Sure content is king, but not all content is created equal. Think about what your objective is in your strategy, how are you going to inspire engagement, are you raising awareness, are you trying to convert leads. Also consider your brands goals whether it is to gain awareness on your products or services, or to maybe learn something about your target market or existing customers. Once you have answers to these questions you can start digging into your existing content library. Use things such as testimonials, launches, customer pics, blog posts etc. Be sure to have social measurements in place as well because you want to be able to see how your audience is reacting to your content.
2. Be an advocate of sharing 
Don’t have blinders on by only caring about your content. Part of having a social presence is being able to share great content with your fans and that means anything meaningful to your brand. This could be industry specific press releases, conversation in your industry, or news from business partners or vendors.
3. Be Engaging
So often it seems like people forget that social media is about being social! Social media has given brands the opportunity to be real people instead of that cold brick and mortar location. Interact with your audience. If your small business follow a hashtag and create conversation around it. Follow threads and discussion from industry thought leaders or partners.
Happy Creating!
By, Tanesha White
Content Beyond the Search Engine, Infographic of the Week
The internet has forever changed the way we communicate. We are all being surrounded by tons of content that originally we would have to tune in to find out, or perform searches on our own. Now with social media content comes to us in a matter of seconds everyday without lifting a finger. Content is forever changing and it can be overwhelming for marketers to stay on top of the new trends that seem to change everyday. This is a great infographic that displays content beyond search engines and social.
Enjoy!
source: Inboundwriter.com
School is in Ready For A Hectic Life? Quick Tips to Stay in Control
So the beginning of the week is here not only meaning a new week of work but also the start of another school year. If you’re like me and every other hard working woman professional then I’m sure you can relate to feeling overwhelmed with the demands and responsibility of career, and family life. As usual I’m always on the look out for apps that simplify my chaotic life. 
ReQall- was a free app that I use to like very well because you could use voice commands to record any tasks, reminders, and whatever else you needed to remember throughout the week. But since SIRI, i honestly love just using my iphone calendar and reminders because SIRI has made it possible to do all of those things seamlessly.
Got Tweens? Then you know household chores are team effort. Check out Homeroutines, it’s not free but for $3.99 and synching on multiple devices it’s pretty cool. Easily create the chore list and details then every person in the family can complete with a star. The great thing is that the checklists can automatically restart.
Have you ever tried Food on the Table? One of my biggest challenges is figuring out what in the world to cook. This cool site is free online meal planner that helps organize your weekly meals andeven better, tells you where to get the best deals on groceries in your area. Sweet!
So now your totally in the know with everything in your calendar, the house is in order, and the fam is fed. Now you can do work!
Hopefully some of these tips help out. If you find anything useful please share!
Ciao~
Want Save Yourself a Pay Per Click Management Fee? 5 Tips PPC To Get You Started
So you’re not a big business, or global corporation that has a multi- million dollar ad budget. But, being a small business doesn’t mean you can’t be competitive in market. Because the wonderful internet allows you to do just that without requiring you to break the bank. One of the easiest and quickest ways to get your business name, products, and services out there has always been the oldie but goody Pay Per Click (PPC) Aka Search Engine Marketing (SEM). But for a small business to cough up $100 + for management fees, or 20% or more margin off the top of your total ad spend, just isn’t feasible nor does it make sense.
So if you’re in daring and you want to save yourself money, and become a digital marketing student at the same time here are the top 5 concepts to get you started on your first ppc campaign.
Numero Uno. LOCATION LOCATION
First of all where the heck are you? Don’t worry about encrouching on your competitors territory. Concentrate on dominating your local market first . Many PPC platforms will leave their defaults to more countries than your product or service applies to so make sure hone in our your specific area, because you don’t want to burn through your budget marketing to the wrong audience.
2. Content Ads or Search Only
First off Content Ads display ads on the websites where people are participating in Adsense, which basically allows them to make money on ads that are displayed on their website. So you can imagine that many people opt in to Adsense. Just FYI Google has AdSense, while Yahoo has Yahoo Publisher Network, and Microsoft Adcenter Display Network. But, let’s not get to lost in this one because then you need to decide on what kinds of sites to display on, can I use image ads or text only ads, etc… The easiest and most popular route among marketers is to start with search only. You can hone in on your ad copy (descriptions) writing skills and really figure out keywords are bringing the ROI. Google is notorious for mysteriously opting you into their content networks while you might be thinking your only running PPC, so be thorough in your setup.
3$$$ Budgeting
The easiest way to proper ad budgeting is to figure out how much you can afford on search marketing for the month and then it divide it by 30 to get your daily spend. To enusre you’re starting off at comfortable pace properly setting your budget settings is a crucial step. A majority of ad platforms allow you to set daily budgets and sometimes budget setting on a monthly basis.
4. Scheduling/Timing
This may sound elementary but this has been a common mistake overlooked. For a small ecommerce business running your ads when your customer service can’t take orders is a definite fail. Or for a business such as an automotive dealership why would you run all of your ads at night? The most repeated overused stat is that most people are doing their searching during lunch at work or during the evening when kids are out of their hair, so let’s make sure you’re ads are at the height of showtime during this time of day. But, I’m sure this true for all retailers in the like.
5. Tracking Your GOALs
No matter if you’re using Microsoft Adcenter, Yahoo Search ads, or Google Adwords you need keep track of what’s making sales, or whatever you’re defined goal is and what’s not. All these platforms give you tracking code ready to install on your site that feed back to their systems every lead count (hit) or successful sales via (contact form confirm) so you can easily see down to the keyword level of what’s working and what’s not. I know it may sound a little a technical but, just locate “conversion tracking” in any of those platforms and it will walk you through. The only technical thing is that if you didn’t build the site you may just have to pass the tracking onto your webmaster and have them place the code for you.
So get out there be adventorous you might actually find that you like this stuff. A marketer in the making. Remember you don’t have to start out big, test out a campaign and let it run for a couple days and then dive into the analytics to get familiar with what you’re looking for. Most platforms allow you to create a dashboard, which is customized to just what you want to see so take the time to see what information is valuable to you and create your shortcuts so that monthly or weekly reporting isn’t a tedious chore.
Have Fun!
Ciao~
The Digital Diva 