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Social Media – Quality vs. Quantity

Leave a Comment / Entrepreneur, Marketing, Must Read Blogs, Sales, Small Business, Tips / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Does even thinking about posting to social media stress you out? How many times to post, what to post, when to post, etc.? Are you putting content out just for the sake of putting content out on social media? Are your followers just not engaging and your audience isn’t growing? When it comes to social media posts, quality beats quantity every time.

The norm has always been that consumers expect companies to have content readily available to consume – blogs, social media, enewsletters, downloadable ebooks, white papers, etc. They still look for this type of content, however just having a large library of stuff isn’t enough – consumers want quality of resources from companies they do business with – not just fluff.

First, we need to back up and define what quality means to consumers – it’s targeted, more personalized, highly creative messaging. Content that is focused on better understanding and interacting with your clients. Even small brands can easily produce content that looks just as good as the big dogs.

When a prospect is looking to learn more about your company, yes, they will Google you and visit your website, but they will also look to see what social media channels you are on, the type of content that you post, and how long ago you posted. Just throwing posts up that your customers and prospects don’t care about is not going to help you engage with them. However, one good quality post on Facebook can do way better than five poor quality posts.

Some tips to posting high quality content are:

  • Photos – they don’t need to be done professionally, but make sure they are well lit, not blurred or grainy.
  • Videos – also need good lighting and good sound.
  • Sharing Blogs – need to be interesting and relevant topics but also have good spelling, punctuation and grammar. It should be around 500 words or more to keep readers on your website for longer which is a good SEO signal to Google.
  • Sharing 3rd Party Content – share content from reputable sources that don’t require signing up for memberships. Articles from newspapers, magazines, etc. are usually good sources
  • Your content – only 20% of your content should be around your business – if you are constantly pushing a sale people will unfollow you

I get asked a lot about the best times to post on social media. There is no concrete answer to this. You need to post when and where your audience is going to see your posts. Why post on Twitter if your audience is on Facebook? If your audience primarily engages in the mornings, don’t wait to post until the afternoon.

Don’t get hung up on the numbers. Many people will engage in campaigns to buy likes or followers. This might seem great in the short term, but these people are most likely not your ideal clients and will never engage with you. At the end of the day, your goal is to be seen as an expert, a trusted advisor, and of course to get traffic to your website as that is where the sale is. If your engagement is low, then ask yourself if it is the quality of the post or is that the content isn’t resonating with your audience.

When it comes to social media posts quality will always beat quantity. You aren’t Gary V or Jenna Kutcher – you don’t need to keep up with the quantity of posts that they put out daily – they have teams of people who do this for them. For the DIYers – just focus on the quality. That’s all you need to do.

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Social Media – How to Manage the Different Platforms

Leave a Comment / Entrepreneur, Featured, Must Read Blogs, Operations, Small Business, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We work with a lot of small business owners – some have been in business for decades and others we’ve helped recently launch – and one of the questions we ALWAYS get asked is, “Do I really need to be on social media and what platforms should I use?” We get it, Social Media is a monster to try to understand. From figuring out the different platforms, to creating profiles, to figuring out what to post and when, it can be so overwhelming and confusing for those just starting to dabble in it or who haven’t expanded much beyond either Facebook or LinkedIn.

To answer the question above – YES, you absolutely should be on social media. BUT you don’t have to be on every platform. The key is to be on the platform that your potential buyers and current clients are on. If you market to teens and younger generations, they aren’t going to go looking for your company on LinkedIn, but they will look for you on Instagram or Snap Chat. Just like someone looking for a Realtor or CPA wouldn’t try to find someone on Twitter or Snap Chat – they would look for you on Facebook or LinkedIn. To help you out, here’s a list of the most popular social media channels and who is using them. Demographics sourced from Spredfast.

Facebook: It’s still the most popular social media network in use with over 2 Billion users and regardless of your industry, your business should have a Facebook page. You can use it to share photos, Facebook Live video, company updates, and content that your followers would find useful. You can also list what your company does, the hours you are open, your phone number, website, etc. Facebook also has some of the best analytics and advertising tools. Users range from 18 to 65+, are equally men and women, and cover all income ranges. There are 179 million users on mobile and 90 million users on desktop per month.

Instagram: Now owned by Facebook, Instagram is becoming more popular with over 800 million users. Instagram is a visual platform that’s based entirely on photo and video posts. You can’t share articles or other content easily, and no URL’s are allowed in posts. Depending on your industry, this may not be a great fit. Brands that do well are often photographers, health and fitness, real estate, clothing, shoes, beauty products, etc. The person running your account have a good eye for detail and at least basic photography skills, so the photos and videos posted to your account are high-quality. Users are primarily 18- 49 years old, more women than men, and include all income levels. This is primarily a mobile based platform.  At Red Barn we’ve recently decided to re-engage our Insta Life!  Check us out @redbarnct.  W

Twitter: This seems to be the platform that many people either love or hate – with over 317 million users. It’s great for posting quick updates, videos, photos, and links to blogs or other articles, but it certainly isn’t for everyone. You are limited to 240 characters per tweet. It’s a great tool to easily interact with other users and many companies use it to handle customer service. This may not be the best platform if you prefer more visual posts or don’t have a lot of your own content to share. If you have interesting content, Twitter is a great tool for quickly spreading the word and if a user with a lot of followers retweets you, your content could go viral. Twitter is very quid pro quo – in order to be successful, you need a mix of your own content and sharing and retweeting other interesting content. Users range in age but are skewed more to the 18-29 audience, with slightly more males using the platform than females. Users range across all incomes and surprisingly more people use Twitter on desktop vs. mobile.

Pinterest: This is another very visual platform that allows users, over 200 million, to save and share content by “pinning” them to digital bulletin boards. You can organize your content and boards by different categories. From the business perspective, the platform has special pins called Rich Pins which brands can use to add specific information to their pins, like product details and even location maps. Every pin includes an image or video. This is another platform that isn’t for everyone. Brands that work in DIY projects, fashion, exercise, beauty, photography and food usually do very well here. There are 20% more women on the platform than men, users range from 18 – 64 years old, and cover a range of income levels. There are over 70 million mobile user’s vs only 27 million desktop users per month. Like Insta – we are playing around with building up our Pinterest game – it’s a work in progress.  The goal is to drive more people back to our website.  We will keep you posted!

Snapchat: This is another mobile only platform with over 300 million users. It’s a visual platform that is known for its disappearing content. Users can send video or photos to other users or post to their public Stories (which disappear after 24 hours). Content can be saved and uploaded to other platforms, and users can now chat, message, create events, and share media content within the platform – something that previously wasn’t available. Snapchat has a ton of filter options for photos, and since the content isn’t forever, many people find less pressure to post more polished content. Only followers can see your stories, so building an audience is key to getting engagement on your content. 70% of the users are women, and users range from 13 – 34 years old. This is a mobile only app with no desktop option.

YouTube: Now owned by Google, YouTube is a video-sharing platform with over 1 Billion users where people can view, upload, rate, share and comment on content. Business often use YouTube to host their creative, visual or educational component. Your videos should be polished, although they don’t have to be professionally produced, but they shouldn’t be done with a shaky cell phone camera. You don’t even need to have your own channel to take advantage of advertising. Many businesses partner with popular YouTubers  for product placement, because these users already have engaged audiences. Users are primarily between the ages of 25 and 44. There are slightly more males using the platform than females, and traffic is evenly split between mobile and desktop.

LinkedIn: This is a much more business centric platform with over 106 million monthly users. It is hands down the best platform for professional networking. It’s a great place to promote your business, find top talent, and showcase yourself as an industry expert in your field. Posts should be much more conservative than you would share on other platforms. Many people create personal profiles to act as a digital resume since businesses will post jobs and research candidates using the platform. LinkedIn also has very specific industry groups that users can join – this is a great place for you to be since you can answer questions, share content, and be an expert and draw people to your company\’s page and website. Most users range from 18 to 64 years old, are in the $50k a year and up income range and are split almost even between men and women. People prefer to use this platform on desktop vs mobile.

If you aren’t sure if you should be on a platform, spend some time exploring it. See what other businesses are on there, if your competition is on there, and if your target clients are on there. It’s far better to be good at 2 platforms than to be mediocre or poor at 4. It’s important to stay consistent and post content that is going to bring your followers value. Wanna follow Red Barn on social media? You can find us here:

Facebook: @RedBarnConsulting

Twitter: @RedBarnCT

LinkedIn: Red Barn Consulting LLC

Instagram: @redbarnct

Pinterest: Red Barn Consulting LLC

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Social Media – How to Manage the Different Platforms

Leave a Comment / Entrepreneur, Featured, Must Read Blogs, Operations, Small Business, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We work with a lot of small business owners – some have been in business for decades and others we’ve helped recently launch – and one of the questions we ALWAYS get asked is, “Do I really need to be on social media and what platforms should I use?” We get it, Social Media is a monster to try to understand. From figuring out the different platforms, to creating profiles, to figuring out what to post and when, it can be so overwhelming and confusing for those just starting to dabble in it or who haven’t expanded much beyond either Facebook or LinkedIn.

To answer the question above – YES, you absolutely should be on social media. BUT you don’t have to be on every platform. The key is to be on the platform that your potential buyers and current clients are on. If you market to teens and younger generations, they aren’t going to go looking for your company on LinkedIn, but they will look for you on Instagram or Snap Chat. Just like someone looking for a Realtor or CPA wouldn’t try to find someone on Twitter or Snap Chat – they would look for you on Facebook or LinkedIn. To help you out, here’s a list of the most popular social media channels and who is using them. Demographics sourced from Spredfast.

Facebook: It’s still the most popular social media network in use with over 2 Billion users and regardless of your industry, your business should have a Facebook page. You can use it to share photos, Facebook Live video, company updates, and content that your followers would find useful. You can also list what your company does, the hours you are open, your phone number, website, etc. Facebook also has some of the best analytics and advertising tools. Users range from 18 to 65+, are equally men and women, and cover all income ranges. There are 179 million users on mobile and 90 million users on desktop per month.

Instagram: Now owned by Facebook, Instagram is becoming more popular with over 800 million users. Instagram is a visual platform that’s based entirely on photo and video posts. You can’t share articles or other content easily, and no URL’s are allowed in posts. Depending on your industry, this may not be a great fit. Brands that do well are often photographers, health and fitness, real estate, clothing, shoes, beauty products, etc. The person running your account have a good eye for detail and at least basic photography skills, so the photos and videos posted to your account are high-quality. Users are primarily 18- 49 years old, more women than men, and include all income levels. This is primarily a mobile based platform.  At Red Barn we’ve recently decided to re-engage our Insta Life!  Check us out @redbarnct.  W

Twitter: This seems to be the platform that many people either love or hate – with over 317 million users. It’s great for posting quick updates, videos, photos, and links to blogs or other articles, but it certainly isn’t for everyone. You are limited to 240 characters per tweet. It’s a great tool to easily interact with other users and many companies use it to handle customer service. This may not be the best platform if you prefer more visual posts or don’t have a lot of your own content to share. If you have interesting content, Twitter is a great tool for quickly spreading the word and if a user with a lot of followers retweets you, your content could go viral. Twitter is very quid pro quo – in order to be successful, you need a mix of your own content and sharing and retweeting other interesting content. Users range in age but are skewed more to the 18-29 audience, with slightly more males using the platform than females. Users range across all incomes and surprisingly more people use Twitter on desktop vs. mobile.

Pinterest: This is another very visual platform that allows users, over 200 million, to save and share content by “pinning” them to digital bulletin boards. You can organize your content and boards by different categories. From the business perspective, the platform has special pins called Rich Pins which brands can use to add specific information to their pins, like product details and even location maps. Every pin includes an image or video. This is another platform that isn’t for everyone. Brands that work in DIY projects, fashion, exercise, beauty, photography and food usually do very well here. There are 20% more women on the platform than men, users range from 18 – 64 years old, and cover a range of income levels. There are over 70 million mobile user’s vs only 27 million desktop users per month. Like Insta – we are playing around with building up our Pinterest game – it’s a work in progress.  The goal is to drive more people back to our website.  We will keep you posted!

Snapchat: This is another mobile only platform with over 300 million users. It’s a visual platform that is known for its disappearing content. Users can send video or photos to other users or post to their public Stories (which disappear after 24 hours). Content can be saved and uploaded to other platforms, and users can now chat, message, create events, and share media content within the platform – something that previously wasn’t available. Snapchat has a ton of filter options for photos, and since the content isn’t forever, many people find less pressure to post more polished content. Only followers can see your stories, so building an audience is key to getting engagement on your content. 70% of the users are women, and users range from 13 – 34 years old. This is a mobile only app with no desktop option.

YouTube: Now owned by Google, YouTube is a video-sharing platform with over 1 Billion users where people can view, upload, rate, share and comment on content. Business often use YouTube to host their creative, visual or educational component. Your videos should be polished, although they don’t have to be professionally produced, but they shouldn’t be done with a shaky cell phone camera. You don’t even need to have your own channel to take advantage of advertising. Many businesses partner with popular YouTubers  for product placement, because these users already have engaged audiences. Users are primarily between the ages of 25 and 44. There are slightly more males using the platform than females, and traffic is evenly split between mobile and desktop.

LinkedIn: This is a much more business centric platform with over 106 million monthly users. It is hands down the best platform for professional networking. It’s a great place to promote your business, find top talent, and showcase yourself as an industry expert in your field. Posts should be much more conservative than you would share on other platforms. Many people create personal profiles to act as a digital resume since businesses will post jobs and research candidates using the platform. LinkedIn also has very specific industry groups that users can join – this is a great place for you to be since you can answer questions, share content, and be an expert and draw people to your company\’s page and website. Most users range from 18 to 64 years old, are in the $50k a year and up income range and are split almost even between men and women. People prefer to use this platform on desktop vs mobile.

If you aren’t sure if you should be on a platform, spend some time exploring it. See what other businesses are on there, if your competition is on there, and if your target clients are on there. It’s far better to be good at 2 platforms than to be mediocre or poor at 4. It’s important to stay consistent and post content that is going to bring your followers value. Wanna follow Red Barn on social media? You can find us here:

Facebook: @RedBarnConsulting

Twitter: @RedBarnCT

LinkedIn: Red Barn Consulting LLC

Instagram: @redbarnct

Pinterest: Red Barn Consulting LLC

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4 Ways to Use Social Media to Build Brand Awareness

Leave a Comment / Culture, Marketing, Sales, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , ,

You’ve heard that social media is a powerful tool for your brand. You’re ready to make content people love to share, but without those first fans, how do spread your message?

Choose the right social media networks

There are hundreds of social networks, but they aren’t all useful to you. Don’t spend your time putting yourself out there on a dozen networks. Find the ones that provide the best results and focus.

Facebook is the most common, but some brands fine it hard to get their content in front of fans if it’s not “sexy.” Instagram is designed for striking visual content and interaction, but there’s no real way to send traffic to another website. LinkedIn is designed for professionals who want to further their careers or find a job. Pinterest is best for visually pleasing subjects that need to be linked elsewhere, like crafts, recipes, and tutorials. Tumblr is for… Well, Tumblr is Tumblr.

Find influencers and exploit their fan base

When you don’t have much of a brand, you need to get your content front of eyeballs. The best way to do that is to leverage the fan base of someone who has already done the hard work.

First, find popular accounts with similar fan bases. Then, collaborate with those accounts so they share your content. You won’t have much to offer in return, so your content has to be stellar (something their fans would love to see) or pay for the privilege.

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Don’t sell too hard

People aren’t using social media to buy products. As much as the social networks would like that to be an avenue for sales, they just aren’t effective. If you’re looking for a clear ROI from your social media marketing efforts, you’re gonna have a bad time.

Social media is about putting yourself in front of your fans with value. At least 80% of your content should be about the customer, not about you. What are their problems? How can you offer information, links, or images that solve those problems? You don’t have to get fancy here. Sometimes the user just wants to be entertained.

Use paid campaigns

Technically, you can build an audience on any social network without investing anything other than time. But who has time? Each social network has their own ad platform. You’ll have to decide which is right for you. In the case of Facebook, for instance, you can pay to have Facebook push your page on other people. On Twitter, you can buy a promoted tweet that forces your content into people’s feeds.

No matter which platform you use, always use their targeting options. Drill down as deep as you can to stretch your money as far as possible. You only want to show your content to people who care.

Post often

At first, it may seem like you’re publishing for no one. Once a few start trickling in, maintain a consistent publishing schedule. Many would-be fans check out your content before committing to make sure you’re worth their interest. If they see you post infrequently or irregularly, they won’t both.

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Be engaging and responsive

Social networks are just that: social. People expect to talk to brands. They want to interact with you because they love your content or product. If you don’t respond, they’ll stop engaging or unfollow from your page/account.

However, if you delight your fans by replying to their comments, liking their content, and making yourself a part of their lives, they’ll reward you by spreading your message to their fans.

Always remember: social media is a tool. And like all tools, it’s only as effective if you use it. Don’t sit around and wait for results. Be active. Be social.

Need some additional guidelines and tips – give us a call!

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