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Social Media

How we consume products and buy services has greatly changed due to social media marketing. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a host of other social platforms have enabled consumers to interact more with brands before making their purchasing decisions. This phenomenon has brought many marketing and growth opportunities for both established and small business entities. 

There is one challenge with social media marketing, though, that businesses often struggle to cope with. That challenge is the constant evolution of social trends. A social media marketing strategy that worked perfectly a year ago could already be obsolete today. Let Profitworks help!

Besides localization, there are several other strategies that companies will need if they are to dominate social media marketing in 2020. Read on to find out how you can dominate in 2020!

 

 

5 Ways To Dominate Social Media Marketing In 2020

Millions of new internet users join different social platforms every single day. These new users bring with them new demographics, new trends, and new expectations. That necessitates constant reinvention of social media marketing strategies for all companies looking to dominate the social marketing sphere.  

Increased internet, social, and mobile adoption in China, for example, has forced multinational companies to reconsider their localization strategies over the last decade. It is now almost impossible for a company to penetrate the Chinese market without the help of a reputable Chinese translation company.

Because only top-drawer translation services will help companies appeal to the growing number of Chinese social media users, entrepreneurs will have to come up with foolproof localization content for their websites, services, and products going into 2020.

Here are 5 more killer tips for nailing social media marketing in 2020!

 

Instagram has become one of the leading platforms in social media marketing.

 

1. Embrace multi-platform social marketing 

In 2018 and before, marketers believed in targeting specific audiences on the specific platforms that they subscribed to. Social analytics pointed to the possibility of people subscribing to different social channels depending on their gender, geographic location, and age.

If a company’s niche audience was women above 50 years, the company could invest more on Facebook than on Instagram because it was believed that such an audience wouldn’t be on Instagram.

That kind of rigid thinking and approach will not work in 2020 because people of all genders, ages, and regions are joining all platforms at their disposal. Every platform has a sizeable population of your niche audience. You have to market on all platforms so as not to close your doors to some potential customers.

 

2. Invest in visual 

Visual content will account for over 85% of all internet traffic in 2020, social media included.

Static text has already been phased out on Facebook and images aren’t catching the eye on Instagram the way they used to. Data bundles in the Third World are now affordable and Wi-Fi connectivity in the developed world is better now than it has ever been, so social users do not hesitate to watch videos when they find one.

You, therefore, should invest in a good camera and quality video editing tools in order to make your social media video ads as good as they can be.  

 

 

You need a team of talented digital marketers to package your visual content in the right way for the right audience. 

 

3. Investing in TikTok will be great

 

Studies show that TikTok users spend at least 45 minutes on the platform every day. Considering that a day has only 24 hours, 45 minutes is too long to be ignored.

This app is relatively new so we can only predict that its better days are ahead. 

 

TikTok is becoming increasingly popular and isn't slowing down.

4. Sponsoring social media contests will be vital for followership growth

Your brand is as big as your social media followership. You must do everything possible to attract new audiences in 2020.

One proven way of engaging and connecting with new followers is sponsoring social media contests.

In this regard, you will need to budget for a powerful contest that will not only excite your target audience but that will also make sense for your brand. 

It's pretty simple to set up a giveaway. You only need a few things to get started:

1. a goal,
2. a prize,
3. some rules, and
4. a way to choose a winner!

 

5. Use social analytics

Many marketers lose their way in the confusion of whether or not social media marketing is effective for their brands. Don’t be like them.

Going into 2020, you will need to invest in social media analytic tools that not only tell you whether your efforts are bearing fruit, but that also tell you what to say to your audience and when to say it. 

Examples include:

• Keyhole
• AgoraPulse
• BrandWatch

 

Use analytics tools to track your social media marketing efforts.

 

In conclusion, there are endless opportunities when it comes to social media marketing.

The 5 points we’ve discussed will help you find direction for your social media strategy so you don't feel overwhelmed, confused, or lost. They will get you started informing your social media marketing strategy and aligning it with your business' ambitions and reputation.

 

About the author:

Ethan Rome is an experienced marketing expert. He has almost 10 years of experience in the realm of digital marketing and is very up to date on the latest trends. When he is not working, you can find him socializing in person.

 

Trust Profitworks With Your Social Media Marketing Needs

 

"Instead of paying per click, they have rebuilt our content to
organically rise to the top of the search page"

Tim - Business Owner & Customer
Read More Testimonials!

 

Profitworks Small Business Services provides website traffic and website conversion optimization services which increase the number of sales generated from a website.

The focus of our services is increasing sales and providing a positive return on investment. 

To learn more about Profitworks, click here. 

 

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Social Media

 

So you've mastered building houses--now, how do you build an online community around your business? While navigating the ins and outs of social media for home builders may seem like a daunting task, it doesn't need to be. Your company can create a thriving social presence in no time through a little bit of strategy and consistency.

From user-generated content to giveaways, we're sharing 8 of the most foolproof types of social media posts for home builders to start gaining traction on social media today. To learn more about our tips, keep on reading!

Not sure where to start in marketing your home building company? Our team at Profitworks can help--we've supported countless home builders in growing their brand awareness online and we can help you, too! Contact us to put social media to work for your home building business.

 

 

Social Media for Home Builders: 8 Post Ideas

Ready to transform your home building business' social media strategy? Look no further than the following 8 post ideas to help you build your digital community. 

1. Showcase Your Work

One of the most valuable things your home building company can share on social media is photos of your work. From the planning stages to laying the foundation to building and finalizing the home for clients, executing a home building project takes a lot of work. Why not showcase your masterpiece by taking images after every project completion to share on social media? Not only will the commitment to showcasing your work create a steady stream of content for your brand, but it will also inspire your followers to consider hiring you for their project after seeing your skill and expertise. 

Home builder Zeina Homes provides an excellent example of the showcasing strategy. By capturing an image of one of their finalized builds, they are able to post on social media to give followers a glimpse into their work, while also boasting their award-winning achievement.

2. Encourage Engagement

For any brand, encouraging social media engagement is an important piece in developing an online community. Although it may seem difficult, it doesn't need to be. Instead of posting a typical image, video or text-based post, include some sort of response from your followers through a request to engage or a call-to-action. This may look like asking a simple question to your followers, encouraging them to like, share or comment on your post, or capitalizing on Facebook or Twitter's interactive tools like polls.

Activa Homes provides an example of this interactive technique by using a poll to encourage follower interaction. Using images of two different spaces, the post encourages followers to respond with their preferred style simply by voting on the poll. This is a quick, easy, and anonymous way for your followers to engage with your content.

3. Share a Testimonial

They say that word of mouth is the most powerful tool for brands. If your business has successfully delighted customers enough to receive positive reviews, why not share them on social media? Sharing notes from happy customers is an easy way to create content that is relevant for your brand while also showing prospective customers that you're great at what you do. 

To share a customer review on their Facebook page, Grayling Builders created a well-branded post that serves two purposes: giving a nod to their experience and happy customer base while also showcasing their build. By avoiding sharing the review in a text-based format, Grayling was able to create a post that seamlessly fit into the rest of their social media content while achieving multiple goals.

 

4. Share Your Expertise

As a home builder, your clients want to know that they can trust you to build not only their investment but also the place that their family will call "home". To gain their trust, one of the most effective things you can do with your social media platforms is to share your expertise. Whether you remind your customers of your hard-earned certifications, awards, or endorsements, taking time to remind them that you are an industry expert can go a long way for your brand.

Zeina homes provides a phenomenal example of this strategy through their partnership with industry influencer Mike Holmes. Not only is Mike Holmes a well-recognized figure, but he is also associated with all things home building and carries a sense of influence and expertise that thousands of people look to. Zeina's choice to partner with Mike means that their brand is now associated with the same luxury and expertise he offers, solidifying their claims of being the number one choice in their area. 

 

5. Run a Giveaway or Contest

Your customers have given a lot to your business, and a fantastic way to encourage engagement online is to find opportunities to give back. A simple way to do this is through social media giveaways or contests. While contests or sweepstakes typically involve a more thorough entry process from customers, social media giveaways are often smaller-scale offerings used to boost social engagement by requesting users like, comment, or share a post in exchange for entry. Depending on your budget for the contest, a social media giveaway is often an easy route to reward your followers at a low cost while also growing your following online.

During the holiday season, Activa chose to gift their followers by creating a "gift-away" contest with over $6000 in gift cards available to win. To enter, users simply click through to the website, fill out the form and offer their contact information in exchange for a contest entry. The result? A few happy people who will actually win the prizes at hand, and for Activa, a brand new contact list full of emails that the brand can reach out to in the new year with sales promotions and business updates!

 

6. Share User-Generated Content

Coming up with enough posts to consistently share content to your social media platforms can be a time-consuming task. The solution? User-generated content! User-generated content is any type of content (such as photos, videos, blog posts, testimonials, etc.) that has been created for free from your customer base or fans. Put simply, it is the free promotion you receive for your brand rather than promoting your brand yourself. As a home builder, you have a significant opportunity to encourage user-generated content from your clients. Homes are an extremely visual product, and your customers are going to be just as excited to move into them as you are to build them. Why not request that they share an image of their new space after moving in?

After moving in to their new home, a client of Mattamy Homes chose to share an image of their child in front of the brand logo, quite clearly happy to promote the business after receiving their dream home. By creating a company culture that encourages clients to share similar photos, you can create a steady stream of content for your business so that you never have to worry about not having an image to post again!

7. Get Personal

Your business is made up of real people, and sharing their experience working with your brand is a fantastic source of content for your social media platforms. More and more, customers want to know that they are purchasing products and services from brands with corporate cultures that they can get behind. By sharing frequent posts to showcase how satisfied your employees are with their jobs, or ways that your business is giving back to your community, you can share some of your brand personality in a way that captivates users online.

During the holiday season, Zeina took time to give back to their community by partnering with a local organization in order to provide food and clothing for the less fortunate in their region. Snapping a quick photo of the experience is a great way to not only remember the experience internally but also to remind followers that the brand is committed to their community and stands for more than profits. 

8. Celebrate Holidays

While the world is celebrating, your brand can, too! During holidays like Christmas, New Years, and Easter, your followers often aren't thinking about much else other than their families and celebrations. During these seasons, it's often best to keep things simple and show your followers that you're celebrating as well instead of trying to sell them additional products, services, or promotions. 

Sundial Homes shared an effective celebration post on January 1st to kick off the New Year with a simple but encouraging message to their followers. Another unique spin on the post, though, was the inclusion of their years in operation at the bottom of the post. With the transition into the new year, it also means another year in business, meaning that the brand can showcase their lengthy "30 years in business" on the graphic to subtly promote their brand without seeming too "salesy."

 

Building Your Social Presence 

Now that you've been equipped with 8 effective variations of social media posts, we hope that you feel as though you have the toolkit you need to start building your brand online. As a home builder, having a social community that can rally behind your work and experience will be instrumental in growing your brand awareness online. Another incredible way to get your content in front of a larger audience is to use Facebook Advertising. Facebook Advertising allows you to hyper-target your audience based on where your target market lives, how they behave and what they're interested in, with the right content at the right time. Companies like Relevantly specialize in Facebook Advertising so that your marketing dollars are as effective as possible.

Looking for more marketing tips and techniques to grow your home building company? At Profitworks, we are a team of marketing experts with experience helping countless home builders rise to the top of search engines and grow their brands online. Contact our team today for support today!

 

 

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Social Media

 7 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs a Social Media Strategy

Social media isn’t disappearing anytime soon - in fact, there are now 3.196 billion users on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and LinkedIn worldwide, a number that is growing 13% year over year. Not only does a social media strategy provide your brand with another avenue to reach your customers, but it’s a powerful tool for building lasting relationships with them as well. If you have yet to reach your target market on social media, it’s likely that your competitors already have--more than 50 million small businesses have a presence on social media.

Wondering if it’s still necessary to invest in that social media strategy? We’ve compiled the top 7 reasons why it’s the best decision your small business can make. 

If you are looking for a company to manage your social media marketing or search engine optimization, contact Profitworks today. 

 

 

1. A Social Media Strategy is the Most Efficient Way to Provide Strong Customer Service

Social media is an extremely efficient way to respond to and rectify your customer complaints in a timely manner. According to Social Media Today, 67% of customers now use platforms like Facebook and Twitter to seek resolution from brands when they’ve had a negative experience. Not only does having a presence on social media provide a cost-effective way to handle these complaints, but it also allows you to do it in real-time, reducing the chances of negative information about your brand spreading online. A well-recovered customer may be even more loyal to your brand moving forward than one who has never submitted a complaint!

 

2. A Social Media Strategy Helps You Build Brand Awareness and Reputation

In today’s world, one of the first things a prospective customer does before making a purchase is online research. If your business does not have a social media strategy, you are severely limiting your chances of building brand awareness at this stage of the consumer decision-making process. Having an active social media presence can play a huge role in signalling that your brand is one that’s worth buying from. A social media strategy can help build trust with customers and it offers another opportunity for them to learn about your brand and what it stands for.

 

3. A Social Media Strategy Will Improve Your Website Traffic and Brand Authority on the Web

Having an online community surrounding your brand tells Google that your business is offering something of value, driving up your visibility in search engine results. In addition to the potential for higher ranking on Google, having profiles on websites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ presents multiple opportunities for you to rank, not only for your brand name but also for the keywords you’re associated with. Incorporating social media into your overall SEO strategy can be extremely effective in generating new business for your brand - in fact, a strong SEO strategy generates an average of $2.75 in profit for every dollar spent.

 

4. A Social Media Strategy is a Cost-Effective and Efficient Way to Advertise for Your Business

Complicated, cost-intensive advertising campaigns are no longer required to spread the word about your brand. In fact, the cost per 1000 impressions on sites like Facebook or Twitter can be as low as $1, meaning your business can reach large amounts of people with minimal marketing dollars. Although it sounds easy, simply throwing up an ad will not typically result in the conversions or leads you’re looking for - it takes a cleverly crafted strategy developed by professionals to make your ad effective.

 

5. A Social Media Strategy Will Increase Your Conversions

Every social media interaction represents a new touchpoint with current and new customers, providing countless opportunities to meet their needs with your product or service. For example, if you share a link to a newly-released product on your brand’s Facebook page, every click represents a new opportunity for a follower to click on your content and decide to buy. With multiple posts to social media a week, you are increasing your sales initiatives dramatically with minimal heavy lifting. In addition to the content you share, the engagement you get from followers can mean more conversions for your brand as well. Using social media as a way to communicate with people who are interested in buying from your brand is a simple way to answer their questions and incentivize them to buy.

 

6. A Social Media Strategy Generates Digital Word of Mouth

Few things are better for your brand than word of mouth, and with social media, spreading the word has never been easier for customers. With every positive review shared online, your customers are introducing your brand to their own networks, vastly increasing the number of people that your brand could reach on its own. Social media broadens your target market far beyond your current geographic constraints, allowing you to tap into a larger community with every follow, like, or share. Positive digital word of mouth is one of the most efficient ways to get strong customer referrals!

 

7. A Social Media Strategy Helps You Improve Customer Retention

One of the most notable benefits of a social media strategy is its ability to help your brand retain and delight customers. Once customers have purchased one of your products or services, social media makes it easy for your customers to stay engaged. Every post your business makes on social media keeps your brand top-of-mind for customers, reminding them of the positive experience they had following their last purchase. This increases the likelihood of further purchases in the future, building loyalty towards your brand.

 

 

Starting From Scratch? Grow a Following in Days With This Easy Tip:

Now that you recognize the benefit of establishing a social media strategy, you may be wondering where to begin. Growing a loyal following on social can take time, but there are tactics you can use to jumpstart organic growth right away!

When launching your social media strategy, trying developing your follower base by running a social media giveaway. Whether it’s a gift card to your online shop or a coupon for a free service, offering a giveaway is a simple way to encourage customers to follow your brand and have them spread the word by tagging friends.

Beauty giant Benefit Cosmetics provides an excellent example of this at work. In order to encourage the growth of their Canadian Instagram account, Benefit ran a giveaway allowing followers to enter to win a year’s supply of products by tagging their friends or commenting on the original post. Not only does this encourage new people to follow the account, but it also increases the post's popularity in Instagram’s search feed, boosting Benefit’s visibility on the platform overall.

 

Social Media Strategy: the Future of Small Business Marketing

Finally convinced that it’s time to invest in a social media strategy? Profitworks can help! Let us develop your custom social media strategy while you focus on growing your small business. Not only will we help you reach, engage, and retain your current customers, but we’ll craft a strategy that will help you tap into markets you’ve never reached before. Contact us today!

"Our overall sales to new customers has improved as a result of detailed analysis, proposed solutions and successful execution." -Tom (Business Owner & Customer)

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Social Media

Social Media Marketing - What is all the Buzz About?

 

Social media marketing is a trend in businesses today. But what is all the buzz about? Does social media marketing help increase conversions? Does it help you meet your marketing goals? How many people are on social media networks? Is it better to invest in social media marketing or search engine optimization (SEO)? This guide will answer all of those questions and more. If you are looking for a company to manage your social media marketing or search engine optimization, contact Profitworks today.

 

 

Social Media Marketing 101: What Is It?

Social media marketing is a form of internet marketing that involves creating and sharing content on social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, in order to achieve your marketing and branding goals. Social media marketing includes activities like posting text and image updates, videos, and other content that drives audience engagement. 

 

How Social Media Marketing Can Help You Meet Your Marketing Goals

Social media marketing can help with a number of goals, such as:

• Increasing website traffic
• Building conversions
• Raising brand awareness
• Creating a brand identity 
• Improving communication and interaction with audiences

How Does SEO Differ From Social Media Marketing?

Profitworks has worked with a wide range of clients from many different industries over the years. We have found that the ROI (return on investment) of SEO will typically be between +200% to +275%. The social media services for those same clients typically generate at -90% ROI, meaning that the customer does not make back what they spent on social media marketing, let alone make a profit. For some businesses, it makes sense to combine social media marketing with SEO. Still, if you only have enough to spend on one, we would recommend SEO because it always pays out better. 

Note: Profitworks typically works with Business to Business clients. Business to Consumer models may have slightly higher social media ROI.

Why Is It Effective?

1. Your customers are on social media - your customers are using these channels daily. 

 

 

2. Consumers will be more receptive to your messages when marketing through social media - because social media is fun and easy, people trust them without feeling marketed to.

3. Marketing through social media can help increase brand recognition - your business social media profiles present new opportunities to share your content and really present your brand’s voice and personality through compelling content. 

4. Marketing through social media increases your inbound traffic - your social media profiles provide another way to get more inbound traffic to your website. 

 

5. Different social media channels help you reach specific audiences - another benefit of social media marketing is that you are able to strategically target different audiences based on the channels that your brand is active on. 

 

 

 

6. Social media advertising allows you to target and retarget ideal consumers - with sophisticated targeting capabilities, social media platforms like Facebook help you target your ideal buyers, which allows you to drive more relevant traffic to your site. 

7. Marketing through social media is cost-effective - one of the greatest benefits of marketing through social media is that it helps you cut marketing costs without sacrificing results.

8. Search engines pay attention to your social media behaviour, especially links to social content and social signals like likes and shares - not only could your social media presence impact your search engine rankings, but it’s important to note that your social media profiles will most likely show up on the first page of Google when consumers are looking for your brand. 

 

 

9. Your competition is on social media - no matter what industry you are in or who your target market is, there is a good chance that your competitors are already present and involved on social media channels.

10. Marketing on social media leads to higher conversion rates - according to HubSpot, social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing tactics. 

11. Social media marketing helps improve brand loyalty - while larger companies can afford to build big and expensive customer loyalty programs, small businesses are able to rely on other, more affordable methods for building brand loyalty, like social media.

12. Consumers are looking for recommendations on social media - word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most powerful tools that any company has in their marketing toolbox. 

 

 

 

13. Social media helps connect your brand with customers you didn’t know existed - marketing through social media can be an excellent outlet for bringing in new consumers. 

14. Marketing through social media can help you improve brand authority - marketing through social media helps you build authority for your brand. 

 

 

 

15. Social media marketing gives you the opportunity to gain new customer insights - by interacting with leads and current customers on social media, you are able to see what your customers are interested in and what drives them.

 

Social Media Statistics 

1. The average internet user has 7.6 social media accounts.
2. Between Q2 and Q3 of 2017, the number of social media users skyrocketed by 121 million.
3. Mature users aged 55-64 are more than twice as likely to interact with branded content than their younger social media-consuming counterparts.
4. 96 percent of social media users that talk about a brand online don’t even follow the brand’s profile.
5. Today, more than 3.2 billion images will be shared on social media posts.
6. 49 percent of social media users share product information with the hopes of improving the lives of others.
7. We spend a lifetime average of 5 years and 3 months on social media.

 

How To Be Effective In Social Media Management 

Before you begin creating social media marketing campaigns, consider your business’ goals. Starting a social media marketing campaign without a strategy is pointless. 

Here are some questions to ask when defining your social media marketing goals:

• What are you hoping to achieve through social media marketing?
• Who is your target audience?
• Where would your target audience hang out and how would they use social media?
• What message do you want to send to your audience with social media marketing?

 

Best Social Media Marketing Tips

Ready to get started with marketing on social media? Here are a few social media marketing tips.

• Social Media Content Planning — As discussed previously, building a social media marketing plan is essential. Consider keyword research and competition research to help brainstorm content ideas that will interest your target audience. What are other businesses in your industry doing to drive engagement on social media?
• Great Social Content — Consistent with other areas of online marketing, content is most important when it comes to social media marketing. Make sure you post regularly and offer truly valuable information that your ideal customers will find helpful and interesting.

 

 

Trust Profitworks With Your Social Media Marketing Needs

 

"Instead of paying per click, they have rebuilt our content to
organically rise to the top of the search page"

Tim - Business Owner & Customer
Read More Testimonials!

 

Profitworks Small Business Services provides website traffic and website conversion optimization services which increase the number of sales generated from a website. The focus of our services is increasing sales and providing a positive return on investment. To learn more about Profitworks, click here. Feel free to connect with us on Google+, or if you are just interested in getting new customers for your businesses, feel free to click the "Let's Discuss" button below.