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There is no shortage of reasons to love the holiday season. Presents, food, and family make this time of year particularly special. If you have a business, however, the holiday season is also the best time to get new customers and engage with old ones through incentives and deals. It is also the best time to take your social media marketing to the next level. With the right social media strategy during the holidays, you are given a unique time frame to increase brand awareness, improve brand perception, and ultimately increase your bottom line. While all of these are extremely valuable, it is also the time to tread very carefully. Because the holiday season is tied very closely to people's values and customs, a careless or insensitive post can hinder rather than help your business in this crucial time frame. To help with this, blogger Ashley Taylor Anderson released the 7 Dos and Don'ts for social media marketing during the holidays. Among these, perhaps the most important are DON'T misuse the holiday season to sell more and DO adjust your posting calendar. To read about these and the rest of the Do's and Don'ts for Holiday strategies, head over to Business2Community.com: http://blog.ceros.com/7-holiday-social-media-marketing-strategy-dos-and-don-ts

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10 Laws of Social Media Marketing

Entrepreneur.com has released what they consider to be the 10 most important rules for social media marketing. This list covers everything any social media marketing manager needs to take into consideration and offers tips on how to do so. This list shows readers how to build a foundation that will allow them to build a strong and efficient online presence that will help them expand their brand awareness and ultimately increase their bottom line. While all of these laws are fundamental, one of the most important ones suggested is the Law of Quality, which encourages marketers to concentrate on the quality of their post rather than just the quantity. Another extremely important one is the Law of Accessibility, which shows us how important it is for companies to engage and be available to their customers. Lastly, the Law of Compounding shows us how good content multiplies across platforms through consumer sharing, which takes word of mouth to greater levels.

To read more about these laws and the others head over to Entrepreneur.com:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218160

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Sprout Social has recently shared the five most effective tips on how to use hashtags in your social media posts to keep your company #winning. First and foremost, they cover everything from explaining what a hashtag is and how it's used, to choosing the right hashtag to fulfill whatever purpose you are trying to achieve. Then they go on to give insight into the best techniques for tracking your hashtags which cover everything from tracking realtime conversations and offline campaigns to tracking paid ads that use hashtags. This is a great article for anyone trying to use this great and effective tool to its highest potential. To read more about this, head over to Sprout Social: http://sproutsocial.com/insights/hashtag-tracking-methods/?utm_content=buffer83411&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

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Social media is an effective and affordable tool to use in order to generate awareness and gain customers for small businesses. However there is a great difference between the way large companies use these tools and how smaller businesses should uses them. Forbes gives a few tips on how small businesses can use these tools more effectively and how they can create and monitor their digital footprints in order to succeed. These tips include tracking metrics, increasing traffic to your website, and forming a community but the number one tip is to not try to compete with the big guys.

To read more about these tips, head over to Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2015/10/29/social-media-for-small-business-how-its-different-from-how-big-brands-do-it/

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4 Secrets to Better Interactive Social-Media Content

Have you thought of what it takes to have better interactive social media content?

-Great social content not only shapes how prospective customers perceive your business’s brand but it can also build loyalty among customers. Every minute, lots of content is being shared through all social media platforms, and marketers should be aware of this and find the best way to reach their target audience.

Facebook updates containing images generate 104% more comments, 54% more likes and 84% more click-through according to Kissmetrics. But pictures are not the only important aspect when sharing content in social media.

To make your content interactive to users and to boost brand engagement and create truly stand-out content, just follow these simple 4 steps!

1.    Reveal-based content- users like interactive content that asks for their physical approval to reveal. For example providing customers with digital coupons where customers has to scratch to uncover prize or discount.

  2.    Quizzes- Another way to interact with customers is to have interesting and attracting quizzes for them to take. The trick is to add unique titles that will make these quizzes stand out among users and that will call for their action. After users are done taking these quizzes rewards are redeemed for a particular brand product/service.

    3.    Branded web series- five-minute episodes in a web series is a popular topic in social media platforms especially among millennials. If you want to attract users do not just post long boring videos but instead post a variety of short videos that follow a series basis for customers to interact with your brand.

  4.    How to measure interactive content’s success- Finally you have to measure the success of your digital marketing campaign. That is, you have to measure the reach, the number of viewers or visitors. Measure if your title was attracting enough to drag users to click on your site, but the content may not be interesting enough for users to stay in the site.

  ·         Every digital marketing campaign should be unique and engaging. The most important aspect in social media content is to create interactive and engaging content that users can feel attracted to. Remember to create unique and interesting titles that will make your costumers to click on your add!

  http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/251802

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#MarketingFail Early this morning, Billboard demonstrated how one bad tweet can cause serious damage to the public perception of your company. They posted the picture above of North West and mom Kim Kardashian with the caption, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," making reference to the now infamous tape that brought Kim Kardashian into the public eye. It took Billboard's marketing team moments to realize that sexualizing a toddler is wrong (clearly) and quickly deleted and reposted the article with a different caption. Unfortunately for Billboard, however, nothing gets by the Twitterverse. Many users and outlets were quick to screenshot the degrading post and many Billboard followers were in outrage. The screenshot of the original post has been retweeted several times through various outlets and followers have gone on to call Billboard everything from "despicable" to "trashy" and many users have even gone on to suggest they delete their account all together. This is a prime example of how important strategic planning and ethical posting is in social media marketing. While Billboard tried to rectify their mistake in a matter of moments, the damage was already done. This is something all social media marketers must keep in mind at all times because on the Internet, nothing is ever truly deleted.

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Target Does It Again!

The new print ad campaign for Target has made its way to the digital world in the best way possible. The discount retailer is being praised for featuring a child with disabilities in the “Children’s Costumes” portion of their campaign not only by parents but by people everywhere. The key element here is that there is no actual mention of the child’s disability, which normalizes the situation and allows children with disabilities who see the ad feel included. For Target, this is the best type of earned media there could be and the positive feedback organically resulting from it could not have been replicated. Target has been demonstrating that they are true to their commitment to diversity since 1990 where they first featured a child with disabilities, but now with social media they are reaching further than they had before and with the help of their loyal customers.

To read more about this, head over to Huffington Post: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/562934d0e4b0ec0a3893b538

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Pinterest is Making it Easier to get Customers Through Your Doors Pinterest has modified their "Place Pins" to make it easier for potential customers to find you. Last week they made it possible for iPhone and iPad users to receive location data for places "Pinned." Through the use of the Foursquare API, they allow users to see store hours and contact information. Furthermore, a map preview will be shown as well as a link to Google or Apple maps. This new update will allow businesses to engage with their customers and provide a direct channel to get potentially new customers through the door. This is especially useful for smaller boutique and niche stores because it will allow consumers to locate places they would have otherwise not heard of catering to really specific needs. To learn more about this update, visit: http://marketingland.com/pinterest-place-pins-now-allow-customers-to-contact-find-local-retailers-146552?utm_source=marketo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=socialmedia&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonuq7MZKXonjHpfsX56e4tUKe2gYkz2EFye%2BLIHETpodcMTcphMrjYDBceEJhqyQJxPr3CLtcNwMR4RhHmDA%3D%3D

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Infographic: Emojis Are Becoming a Preferred Communication Tool Across Demographics It is safe to say that emojis have become a part of most of our daily lives. Whether it’s texting friends, tweeting, or posting on Facebook, emojis have given us a way to express ourselves in a way that was not possible before in 140 characters. In fact, emojis have become so popular, that they are revolutionizing the way businesses interact with their customers. According to Adweek, a majority of people now use emojis, even in age ranges that we wouldn’t necessarily think of. This changes business-consumer interactions because it allows more detailed feedback that businesses can then use to interpret trends. It allows customers to express their opinions on any given product or service without necessarily going through the trouble of writing a long review. This is especially helpful because many consumers only go through this trouble to leave negative impact. By simplifying the review process, consumers are more likely to give higher insight into what they do like as well.

To read more about these demographics and see where you land, head over to Adweek: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/infographic-emojis-are-becoming-preferred-communication-tool-across-demographics-167355

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Social media marketing is a great way to connect and engage with consumers. However it can also be detrimental to your business if your posts are not planned strategically. Forbes highlights the worst mistakes you can make for your brand on Social Media. These mistakes range anywhere from ill-timed or infrequent postings, to insensitive and offensive material. While many of the items listed seem to be common sense, they can just as easily be overlooked. These simple, yet all too common mistakes have great potential to hurt your social media presence. This article is not only great for those beginning to market themselves on social media, but it is also a great reminder for seasoned posters.

Head over to Forbes for a list of the 5 Fatal Mistakes That Will Kill Your Social Media Marketing Campaign : http://onforb.es/1JVoihG

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The new "Facebook Reactions" will have a great impact on how marketers receive customer feedback on Facebook. Seven marketing experts weighed in on what this can do for social media marketing to Adweek and six of them believed it to be a positive change. The Facebook reactions will provide more precise and detailed data on how users feel about the content they rate, as opposed to the simple "like" button. Marketing experts believe that this will have a great impact because it will give split second data and increase customer engagement. One main concern expressed was that it won't provide the same opportunity for discussion comments does, however this is still a great option for those who want to leave feedback but can't be bothered to write a full comment or review. The new reaction emojis are said to represent "love," "haha," "yay," "wow," "sad" and "angry" along with the basic "like" button. To read more about this change and the possibilities it represents, head over to Adweek: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/why-marketers-say-facebooks-new-emoji-reaction-buttons-are-long-overdue-167444

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This is a perfect example of what NOT to do on Social Media.

We’ve all heard the old “be careful what you post.” However Gerod Roth shows that you should also be careful what your FRIENDS post on Social Media. Roth, was fired from Polaris Marketing Group after he posted a selfie with a co-worker’s son that spurred racist comments from his friends. Instead of doing the smart thing and deleting the comments however, he joined in the mockery. When one of his friends asked "Dude where the hell did you get a black kid??" he replied, "He was feral."

While it is reported that his termination is unrelated, he completely deserved this. While we can’t control what our friend’s post, we can definitely monitor it and reply accordingly or simply delete inappropriate comments. We all know nothing is private anymore and everything we post remains forever.

You also have to think, was this guy friend’s with the child’s mother? If so, since when is it acceptable to poke fun of your friend’s kids in such a hurtful manner. Or was he randomly taking pictures with a kid he doesn’t know? If that is the case, not only is it creepy but it means he posted the picture purposely knowing the response he would receive.

Bottom line is he should have known better, especially given the fact that he works for a marketing group. Our social media profiles are how we market ourselves, and Roth is clearly not very good at that. 

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This is a great article for anyone who is looking into using social media marketing to generate their business. The tip that I find most valuable is #3 Find Your focus. When someone is looking to promote their business through social media, the number of platforms available can be overwhelming. Instead of jumping on every site that is popular this week, it is important to recognize your target audience and the best platform to reach them. For example, if you are trying to reach millennials, it would be recommended to try to reach them via Snapchat, as this is a rapidly growing platform for those who are under 25. However, if your target audience is in their thirties or later, Snapchat would be relatively useless. Instead of using many different platforms, it is important to concentrate on one or two that will give you the best response and actively engage through these. 

This is where tip #2, Don’t be a Zombie, comes in. The biggest advantage of social media marketing is that you can actively engage with your consumers on a more personal manner. It is important to find ways to connect with consumers and not just be a faceless business. One can engage with their customers through a variety of ways while maximizing the different features offered by different platforms. For example, many companies have taken to Twitter to engage in interactive customer service help. Customers can directly tweet comments and complaints to a variety of companies and have an answer just moments later, whereas in the past people had to go through a lengthy automated voice system that would many times leave customers frustrated or dissatisfied.

Tip #5, Make use of Video, is also a great, albeit slightly more challenging for some. Tis one might be a little harder to get into, especially if you are not the most tech savvy person, but the benefits could be tremendous. This is not necessarily the place to post something too “commercially” but maybe a short clip of a common problem your customers share that you could possibly have a solution for. This is also where you can use something that has currently garnered popularity and manipulate it serve as part of your business.

One key tip this article did fail to elaborate on is the importance of incentives through social media marketing designed to get people in your doors. Giveaways, contests, and discounts are all great ways to encourage people to not only engage electronically, but also physically go to the place of business. Incentives like these encourage more physical interaction, allowing the digital and physical company presence become as one and allows customers to feel a sense of friendship with the company as opposed to just another place of business. While it missed some important information, overall this article is a must read for anyone looking to dip their toes in the vast ocean that is social media marketing.