Preparing for 2016: Reviewing Your Campaign

Do you want to give your campaign a makeover? Is it time to access your current strategies to determine if it is working? If your fiscal budget begins in the New Year than it is high-time to review your current marketing and advertising campaign. Today on the blog, I am giving you a guideline for reviewing your campaign to help answer the above questions and place your company on the right path toward success for 2016. 

1 | Define Your Goal

Surprisingly, many companies dive into a marketing and advertising campaign blind. By defining your goal for 2016 you should know the following: where your want your company to be present in the media, who you want to reach, where you want to focus and why. This will enable you to define your goal and create a start line for your campaign. 

2 | Determine Your Budget

Determining your budget is one of the most important things to consider in reviewing your campaign! Did your company suffer losses in 2015 and cutting back is necessary? Did your revenue increase to allow you to market in new areas? Whatever your situation maybe, your company's funds will weigh heavily in your marketing and advertising decisions for 2016.

3 | Audience

Consider who you want to sell your services and/or products to and how you will grab their attention. By deciding strategies that reach your intended audience you will have a successful campaign. The flip side of this is pushing marketing and advertising through random channels without a strategic action plan - a strategy I strongly discourage! Lastly, audiences are constantly changing the media they use and it is important to stay on top of marketing trends to keep afloat. 

4 | Communication Media 

Communication media refers to channels you send your message: billboards, radio, magazines, etc. The means by which you send your message to your target audience will make or break your campaign. If you do not chose the correct media to relay your message than it will be lost in translation. By reviewing your budget and audience, you are able to determine which media you can effectively reach your consumers and stay within your finical means. 

If you believe that your current campaign strategy needs to be revamped, contact me via the form below to decide the best ways to reach your key audience. 

 

5 Tips For Hosting an Instagram Takeover!

Instagram takeovers have become globally popular for increasing brand awareness and customer engagement. Normally, this digital event is hosted by an online opinion leader on an Instagram account that is not their own. Depending on the intended goal of the takeover, choosing a host and "poster" (i.e. the person or business creating the posts) comes in all shapes and sizes! 

Today on the blog, I am thrilled to present five tips when it comes to being the hosting account for the Instagram takeover to help make your digital event a success! 

1 | Find the Right Poster.

Yes, as a host account for the Instagram takeover and a digital influencer, you will need to make sure the company, ambassador or individual is compatible for your line of business. Prior to agreeing to an Instagram takeover, research the poster's website, products/services, business practices, etc. to ensure they will connect with your audience. While the standard intent of a takeover is for the poster to gain followers, you don't want to lose followers because their brand does not fit with yours! 

2 | Set the Guidelines. 

There is no shame in setting strict guidelines for an Instagram takeover. Once you and the poster decide on the overall goal of the takeover, set the guidelines based on those goals. Be clear and you will be the less likely to run into issues/problems during the event. Examples of guidelines include the following: using specific hashtags on each post, number of posts, content guidelines, duration of the takeover and even requiring the poster to interact with other users.

3 | Create a Hashtag!

Creating a unique hashtag with promote the Instagram takeover by allowing all of the posts to fall in one local area. In addition, an event hashtag will help other Instagram users follow along! Hashtags will also make the takeover easier for you too monitor should multiple contributors get in on the game.

4 | Promote!

There is no better way to create excitement about the Instagram takeover than promoting in through other outlets. Weeks leading up to the Instagram takeover, share the event on your blog and other social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). Not only could this lead to others interested in participating in your Instagram takeover, but also will allow your followers to pose any questions prior to the event. 

5 | Monitor. 

Sure, you've set the guidelines for your Instagram takeover, but there is always a chance the poster could go rogue. However long your Instagram takeover lasts, make sure to monitor the event and do not feel hesitant to make edits as necessary! (Just make sure to let the poster know of the edits you made and why!) Remember, at the end of the day, this is your account and your followers.

If you'd like to learn more about Social Media Marketing and how Magnolia Media Public Relations can help you, use the below form to contact us today!

3 Tips for Planning for the Unplanned

If there is one thing that is guaranteed it is that things are constantly changing, even when you least expect it. I have never broken a bone in my body, and this week I clumsily fell and broke a bone in my hand. As the proud new owner of a hot pink cast, coincidentally on the hand I write with, my schedule was thrown out the window and I came to a harsh realization.

For starters, I had to accept a few things: I didn't plan far enough of advance to relish in "relaxation" of recovery, business doesn't stop even when you want to and you can never plan too far in advance. With that being said, I have survived the first few days of my new accessory by doing three things to keep my business running, even when I wanted to take a hiatus. Today, I am sharing those three tips that will help you plan for the unplanned and stick to running your business when life happens!

1 | Get Organized.

Make a list for weekly blog topics in advance, confirm appointments with your clients, schedule Facebook posts, set business hours...do whatever you need to feel in control and confident. As someone who lives by lists, checking off things I have accomplished (large and small!) is big progress when you are balancing everyday life and hectic surprises. Getting organized will keep you in focus of the day-to-day operations of your business by figuring out what's next and preparing for the unknown.

2 | Set Priorities.

Accepting that you are not Superman or woman is hard to do, but something we have to admit to ourselves when we cannot do everything. Create a daily list of priorities for what comes first. This will help you move forward to getting the most important things to completed first! By setting priorities, you are allowing yourself to check off the "must-do's" with the understanding that somethings on your checklist can wait until tomorrow.

3 | Know Your Limits.

If that unplanned moment in life pulls you away from your business for a few days or delays that important email for a couple hours, that is the best you can do!  If you jump back into business too soon your work will suffer and your clients/customers will be the first to notice. Allow yourself time to relax, recuperate, and refuel your energy.

What Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Pinterest

I think many of you would be surprised by how many businesses do not take advantage of Pinterest. Maybe it's because social media marketing is a constant challenge for small business owners who hardly have time to take a coffee break, let alone post a pin! Pinterest is very important to growing your online presence, building your customer base and driving traffic to your website and blog. However, if you are pinning images without just cause then you are wasting your precious time. 

Today, we're going to break down five steps that every entrepreneur should know when it comes to Pinterest for your business. Then, we'll review three big companies and how they have made Pinterest work for their brand and business. 

1 | WHAT TO PIN

Organic images of products, employees, workplace culture, event follow-ups, blog photos, infographics and videos are perfect for your account. Re-pin images that are relevant to your business and industry. Remember to keep your personal pins separate for your company pins, or at least create secret boards for personal use.  

2 | WHEN TO PIN 

3 | CONVERT TO PINTERST FOR BUSINESS 

In case you didn't hear, Pinterest now has a "Pinterest for Business" feature. Convert your account to a business account to get discovered by more people interested in your products and/or services. Pinterest has made an ultra-user friendly blog and website just for those of you new to this feature. Click here for more details and FAQ. 

4 | FOR YOUR WEBSITE + SOCIAL MEDIA

Be Pin Friendly! Add the "Pin It" or "Follow Me on Pinterest" buttons to each blog post and webpage to make it easier for your audience to find your Pinterest account. Also, when you add organic pins to Pinterest, build in relevant links to your website and/or blog post to increase your clickthrough rate. 

5 | BE ORGANIZED 

The richer and more organized your Pinterest account content is, the greater opportunity you will have to get noticed and get re-pinned. Separate you Pinterest boards by category and include a short, sweet board description for each board. This will help spread your ideas and is more appealing to your audience's eye. 

TIP: Include your company's unique hashtags and other like hashtags on the pin description to increase your pin visibility. Note that hashtags are only clickable in the pin description (not in your profile description)! 

BUZZFEED

Uses Pinterest for finding story ideas + trending topics to make their content go viral. Now, Pinterest is BuzzFeed's 2nd largest social media referrer. Read the full success story here. 

ETSY

Learned to showcase items for sale in its' marketplace + learned what their customers wanted by monitoring user engagement of pins, re-pins + likes on products. See the case study here. 

PETPLAN INSURANCE

Created a Pinterest account to visually showcase its' expertise and convey their brand personality. By pinning the best content for their company, they increased website views to 69% and 97% of those visitors spent more time on their site compared to those from Twitter and Facebook. Read the success story here. 

Source: https://business.pinterest.com/en/success-...