Why Social Media Marketing is Still King in 2016

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via SEO In 2016: What It Means For Your Content Strategy.

I love precise, easy-to-understand  articles that help me stategize my marketing efforts for my small business. To be honest, I do not often find them in the vast sea of “content articles” on the web. However, this morning I read an article written by Jessy Smulski, contributing author for Business2Community that I feel is share worthy. Click on the link at the top of the page to read the full article.

So, research shows us that these four factors are important aspects for SEO in 2016.

  1. Mobile Browsing is Boss.  Stop procrastinating on this. Get your website on par.
  2. Social is Increasingly Important. Yep. Stop thinking Facebook is a waste of your marketing time.
  3. Voice Search is a Game-Changer. People talk to their phones to find you.
  4. “Rich Answers” Are Stealing Thunder. Write your content intelligently.                                                                                                                                                                                                       SEO infographic from LeapFroggr                                   SEOInfographic

5 Ways to Optimize Your Business Listings

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Twitter Tips, Social Media Marketing

Achieving effective local search engine optimization for your business is like striking gold. In my last blogpost,  I suggested that we begin with properly optimiizing information that appears on your business website. Read article  Today, we will discuss an issue often overlooked by small business owners-How your business appears on websites and business listings.

One of the most effective ways to boost local SEO is to be consistent with your business listing information. Google and other search engines LOVE consistency. When your business is not listed, or worse yet, the information listed is incomplete or inaccurate, this can negatively effect your placements in search results. Here are 5 tips to help optimize your business listings:

  1. Search local listings websites like Facebook, Yelp, GooglePlus, YP, Yellowbook and TripAdvisor to be sure your business is actually listed. If not, be sure to claim those listings, and be consistent and acurate with your business name, phone number and address. If your business is listed as located on 6th St., use 6th St consistently, NOT Sixth Street. Make changes as neccessary and delete duplicate pages.
  2. Include videos, photos, your website URL and any other key information to make your listings attractive, interactive and informative. I get reaaly annoyed seeing the unprofessional looking “blue silhoette” in place of a photo or logo. Really. COMPLETE the listing.
  3.  Categorize your business properly. This greatly aids in properly optimizing your business website. If you happen to have relevant key words in your business name that helps. For example my company sells promo products. I choose the company name Fina Promos for that reason, and the domain name of finapromos.net
  4. Work with a “listings provider” such as Moz.com to automate the process for all local sites. Usually the price for this service is reasonable and worth your small investment in dollars compared to your large investment in time to care for this manually.
  5. Does your business have more than one location? Create a seperate listing for each location on your website to boost visibility of your brand and each of your stores or offices.

Here’s to your success!

Audrey Gotto

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4 Ways to Optimize Your Website

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Do you own or manage a local small business? If so, you’re no doubt painfully aware of the need for strong  local SEO (search engine optimization) success.  Just like your computer is the new typewriter; Local search engine optimization is the new Yellow Pages.  If you want to be found online, you must be seen online. Your website is your most important and valuable online assest, so ensure that it is properly optimized to appear high within search results. Let’s assume you do not have thousands of dollars to spend on  SEO AdWords. Here are 4 action items to boost your local SEO.

  1. Choose a domain name that reflects your business location and business type. For example, Joe’s Lawncare located in Pittsburgh, PA  could use the domain “joeslawncarepittsburgh.com” which says it all.                   
  2. Add key words on page titles that identify with your business, its products and services and its location.            
  3. Be sure to add your business name, phone number, address and social media links on EACH INDIVIDUAL PAGE of your website, not just your homepage.                    
  4. In your website copy, be sure to mention not only your products and services, but include as much as possible about your local area. This associates your business with the nearby vicinity. Remember, we are after LOCAL optimization here. Include if possible, what sports teams plays in your city, what section of town you’re in, what special place of interest is just around the corner. Not only will this added information improve your website copy for customers, it will also boost your search visibility as a local business. 

My next post will discuss how to utilize local business listings to boost SEO success.

Here’s to your success!

Audrey Gotto

Fina Promos Website

                                                                                               

The Impact of The ” Joe-Cool Factor” On Your Brand Image

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As a kid, I loved the Peanuts characters created by Charles M. Schulz. In particular, my favorite cartoon character was Snoopy. He was the original cool and trendy dude. Joe Cool was my hero. His trademark round sunglasses and “Joe Cool” turtleneck sweater (imprinted with his name, no less!) continues to be a timeless fashion statement. With his little buddy Woodstock following in tow, he projected the silent (Literally, silent. He was a character that did not speak) message that if you were to be seen with him, you must project your own trendy coolness.

What does Snoopy teach us about building our brand image? – That it’s hard to overstate the power of cool! When a product has that cool factor, you appreciate it, tell your friends about it and want to associate yourself with it. Whether that comes from a killer feature, a unique design, or a striking aesthetic, branded products that wow the recipient will give your business a trendy brand image.

So, How can your business and brand be more like Joe Cool? How do you wow your audience? One easy way is to incorporate the latest retail product trends into your marketing programs and company events. When choosing premium customer or employee gifts, promotional items, or even apparel branded with your logo, pick (appropriate) branded products that say “trendy’ like a Bluetooth Activity Band. Doing so will allow you to take advantage of an already hot trend.. 

Fina Promos Bluetooth Activity Band

Wearable technology is huge right now in the consumer market. I was meeting with a client last week who was wearing one of these and I have to admit that I felt a bit left out of the cool factor. After all, I am in the branding business. I SHOULD have the latest trendy tech products items, right?! My point is to put the latest consumer trends to work for you and your marketing brand.  Whatever promotional item you decide to align your brand with, be sure it is associated with quality, popularity, and a positive emotion.

Visit our promotional products catalog pages for the latest trends in branded products or tap on image for more products that project the “Joe Cool” factor!

See 12 More Trending Promotional Product Ideas!

13 product ideas of what’s cool and trending right now.

2 Ways For Your Brand To Score Big On Game Day

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Align your brand with game day to create community awareness.

Align your brand with game day to create community awareness. Click on image for ideas.

Can you smell autumn in the air? The evenings are becoming just a bit cooler. The trees are slowly changing color. Time to pull out the fuzzy winter sweaters, plan your fall day hike with the fam, and brew some fresh apple cider with cinnamon. And then there is the fall sports! As a self proclaimed sports diva, I must admit to getting a rush just hearing the words “fantasy football” and the Monday Night Football jingle, “Are you ready for some football?” (I know you’re singing the jingle in your head right now.)

How can your company brand participate in the spirit of the fall sports scene? Primarily in two ways:

Associate your brand with having an amazing time. Start thinking of creative ways to get in on the team spirit in the air. Whether you focus on your city’s professional sports teams (We love our Steelers and Pirates in Pittsburgh), local colleges, or even high school sports, be sure to be an active participant in either the event planning, promoting, or volunteering associated with sporting events in your hometown region. Could you create a Game Day Photo Contest on your business Facebook account? Have “Steeler Day” at the office? Sponsor a team or fund raiser? If you are able, actually attend the event and network with other business leaders in the community. Associating your  marketing brand with  local influencers goes a long way to scoring points for your small business.

Create “Game Day” branded promotional products to get fans on their feet.  Ask yourself this       question: What is my ideal customer’s marketing persona? In other words, define your demographic     and choose sports related branded promotional items that would appeal to them. Could you give           away a game day chair as a prize or sweepstakes? Hand out those fun foam #1 hands, or foam         hats co-branded with the team logo and your company logo. Set up a booth so that potential clients     can sign up for your company newsletter in exchange for a free promotional football or baseball.

Watch our video for 13 product ideas. Click on the megaphone for mega-great ideas and give your brand the shout-out it deserves.

Regards,

Audrey Gotto

CLICK ON THE MEGAPHONE FOR MEGA-GREAT MARKETING IDEAS

CLICK ON THE MEGAPHONE FOR MEGA-GREAT MARKETING IDEAS VIDEO

3 Ways To Market Your Brand to Teens and College Students

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According to the American Psychological Association, teens influence over $600 billion (with a “B”‘)  worth of spending annually. That’s a ton of crayons, folks! What is your small business doing to market to this growing group of purchasing giants? Back-To-School marketing for colleges, high schools, and even elementary grades can add significantly to your bottom line while showing goodwill as a local business.

Whether you want to reach students, teachers, professors, parents, or the community try these three tips to get your brand image out there before the bell rings in September.

  1. Follow Their Eyeballs.

Have a legit account on the social media sites that they visit. No, it’s not a waste of time. Instagram is now the most popular photo-sharing site among teens age 12-17. One million of them visited the site last July alone.

Add to that the 93% of social media–using teens who have a Facebook account (according to Pew Internet research), and the 16% who use Twitter (a figure that has doubled in recent years), and you’ve got a lot of teenage eyeballs.

But to connect with a teen target market, you must do more than simply have a presence on the sites they use. You must also pay attention to what motivates and inspires them. Pay attention to what they post and WHY they post.  Most teens (and adults) love to be associated with the latest cool gadget, piece of technology or brand fashion item that everyone else seems to be enjoying. (Remember carrying ginormous boom boxes to school?) They want to be recognized and validated for their unique contribution to the world around them. How can you help them do so? Think outside the box. Could you offer a social media contest that appeals to these needs?

2. Know where the parents hang out. 

Always, always, always try to associate your brand and logo with having a good time, being helpful, or educating the community (value). One of my favorite clients, Clearview Credit Union decided to give away a “college student laundry bag” to every parent who opened a college savings account or college loan with them. On one side of the bag, we printed the bank logo along with laundry instructions. The opposite side had the logo of the participating college. Talk about helpful, fun, and educational!! They were a huge hit.

Click for 13 Back To School Promo Items

Click for 13 Back To School Promo Items

3. Give them sweet promo items as a gift. 

Who doesn’t love cool FREE gifts? I still get excited when I see a great logo or graphic on a promotional product and I’ve been in the business for 25 years. (think…your favorite t-shirt, logo’d sports bag, athletic shoes, purse or pen) I continue to love my Pittsburgh Pirates logo’d baseball I received as a gift for signing up outside PNC Park for another credit card I didn’t need. I still have that Pirates baseball and yes, I still use the Mastercard.

Word of caution: Be sure your promotion has a purpose. In other words, what is it that you want the promotion to do, exactly? Perhaps you can capture email addresses to build up your newsletter readership by gifting an item in exchange for an email address. Do you want to drive more traffic to your website or add more followers to your social media sites? Use the promotional products to ensure your marketing goals are reached.

Feel free to contact me any time if you need specific suggestions for your next project. Any more ideas? Comment below in the reply section.

All my best,

Audrey Gotto

13 Ways For Your Biz To Think Pink in October

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Social Responsibility is a big priority for many companies.  How about yours? Does your team participate in a local “Walk For The Cure” or other fundraiser to show your support for a special cause? Branded products are an important component of any awareness initiative. Why? because pairing your brand’s logo with the cause shows goodwill to your staff and the community. Not to mention the warm and fuzzy feeling we all experience when putting ourselves out there to help others. In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Fina Promos have put together 13 of our favorite product ideas for showing support. Just click on the PINK SNEAKERS PHOTO to get great ideas.

Branded products help show your company's support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Branded products help show your company’s support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Please leave a comment below and share how your business has shown social responsibility for the causes that matter to you.

All My Best,

Audrey Gotto-Owner and lover of pink sneakers.

Click to see our Breast cancer Awareness Products Video

WATCH OUR VIDEO

7 Signs You Need a Social Media Manager

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Social Media Help

  Social Media Help

There’s nothing wrong with doing it all yourself. Some people thrive on that concept. You type A’s out there hear me. But hey! Let’s be realistic here. Social media management can eat up a huge chunk of your time. Here are 7 signs that you should hire or outsource this part of your company marketing.

1. You are posting to your social sites in batches because you forgot when you last scheduled a status update. When I was a newbie in navigating social media, I was guilty as charged. As a rule of thumb, your business should post approximately 3 times per week to Facebook, and certainly no more than once per day. Twitter 4-6 times per day.  Your readers will tend to “unlike” your page if they experience overkill with your content, no matter how nifty and awesome it is. Patience and optimization are key components here. Social site managers can analyze and tweak your posts (or create them from scratch) and then post at times and days that your audience is actually online, and in media forms that they enjoy interacting with (ie; videos, contests, surveys, funny pics, memes.) I personally love this part of my job; experimenting with analytical tools and trying to implement new strategies. I have fun with it.

2. You don’t have a blog and have no clue where to begin even though you keep hearing you should have one. Why all the hype about blogging? Two words. Inbound Marketing. What is inbound marketing, exactly? Inbound Marketing is the art and science of educating and attracting your potential customers with content that is so interesting your prospects will want to consume it. Inbound Marketing marries technology (through your website, social media channels and email marketing) with content. Your social media manager can help your business create high quality content in the form of blog posts, website FAQ’s, videos, podcasts or eBooks and then offer it online everywhere your prospects are searching for you. Google loves relevant content! A really good social media manager will help you create high quality content (or point your current content in the right direction) so that potential customers can find you when they are ready to purchase your products or services.

3. “What is an editorial calender,” you ask? Creating and publishing great content can be a lot of work, Editorial calenders help get your business organized! and. It takes in all your channels and resources and organizes them in a way that makes it easy to access information you need when you need it. A social media content calendar should organize the way you curate and create content, and help develop your editorial strategy. A social media calendar cuts extra time out of your content marketing strategy and helps you allocate your resources wisely, to help ensure your brand consistently publishes high-quality, well-written, high-performing content pieces.   

4. You have no consistent branding across all of your social media sites. Each site has a completely different look, color scheme or graphics. You wouldn’t purchase a billboard that has a completely different look, feel and message then the television spot you’re currently running. Then why would you want your company sending mixed messages on different social channels? You wouldn’t. It’s important that your company’s tone, message and image are consistent throughout not just your traditional media outlets, but throughout your entire media ecosystem. A social media manager should help you create graphics that are consistent with your brand image across all of your social sites.

5. You are posting pictures of your pets on your business sights. (Ok, so Charlie is very cute and fluffy, but please try and resist.)  Keep it professional. Period.

6. You’re not sure which social media platforms you should focus your time on. Pinterest? Facebook? Instagram? LinkedIn? Google Plus? The right social media manager will ask the right questions, find out where your potential and current clients spend their time online, and find out what is important to them. Most businesses need to focus on only a few social channels, not every social channel available to mankind.

7. You spend hours and hours each day posting.You got more followers. Now what? You have no clue what to do with these followers. Always, always, always ask yourself this question: What is the goal for this social media channel? Yeah, we all want sales. But where in the sales cycle does a particular post or site put my potential and/or current customer? Do you want to drive websites visits? Gather newsletter sign ups? Offer a special or coupon? Get more visitors to our brick and mortar store or sight? Drive awareness to a special event or charity? Social Media folks will craft your posts with these goals in mind and tweak as need be.

Hiring a social media manager full time may be out of the question. Maybe you can’t afford a full-time assistant. Maybe you only need work done occasionally, seasonally or hourly. Outsourcing is a great way to upgrade your social presence from mediocre to professional and effective.

Clink on the link below for my FREE 14 point Twitter Checklist.

http://bit.ly/1GEMXHY

Feel free to contact me if you need any help or advice with vamping up your online marketing. I’m always happy to help or point you in the right direction.

Regards,

Audrey Gotto

http://finapromos.net

3 Ways to Get More Twitter Shout-Outs ( Retweets)

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Twitter Tips, Social Media Marketing

The goal for any marketing effort is to be create awareness of your product or service and attain new business. How can you increase your company’s exposure on social media channels such as Twitter? When a follower retweets your post, his or her followers are now exposed to your business or organization. This kind of shout out is immeasurable! Here are the top three tips I share most often when asked how to get tweets, well, retweeted. If you’re new to Twitter, just pick out one and start there. Retweets are sure to follow.

1. Add facts, figures, stats, and images to your tweets Most people like to see facts, figures and stats in tweets. I know I do. And, I’m pretty sure it’s not a coincidence that the tweets at Fina Promos that get re-tweeted almost ALWAYS contain a relevant statistic or fact, figure, and/or image. Tweets with images are 94% more likely to be retweeted. Twitter rewards people who get their dimensions just right by displaying images in the feed, so keep your images 440 by 220 pixels. Below is an example of an image I shared on twitter that quickly and clearly incorporates this idea.

Embedded image permalink

Share one interesting and relevant stat or sentence from your blog post with a link to read more. Remember to attach a photo if possible, as tweets with photos are twice as likely to be retweeted.

2. Use hashtags properly

Less is more. One or two relevant hashtags is more than enough for any tweet. Any more and you risk becoming known as a hashtag spammer, and nobody wants to talk to that person. In a study of 1.2 million tweets, it was found that a sprinkle of relevant hashtags can increase your retweets by 55%. Twitter offers guidance on how to use hashtags, as incorrect use can lead to a violation of their T&Cs, so give that a read before embarking on your hashtag journey. I’m a big fan of placing my “hashtagged word” at the end of my post. It might look like this; “Life only demands from you the strength you possess. Only one feat is possible-not to have run away.” #quoteoftheday #inspiration Whatever your personal style, be uncluttered and professional with your use of hashtags.

3. Have a PURPOSE for your tweet Always think about the purpose of your tweets. Are you sharing awesome information with your followers? Promoting your latest blog post? Talking about a current event? Keeping your tweets focused, interesting and relevant will dramatically increase of your tweets being retweeted by your community. Maybe you’re trying to do all three. Choose your reason for that ONE tweet, and have at it! Vague or generalized tweets will not be share worthy most (if any) of the time.

I have provided a link below to my  FREE Ultimate Twitter Checklist. Feel free to download and use it to audit your own site.

http://finapromos.net/images/twitter-checklist1.pdf

Regards, Audrey Gotto

Got any other tips or stats for creating tweets that will get retweeted? Let us know how you succeed in the comments.

“Promote Your Selfie” – The Top Promotional Product Trend in 2015

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Breakout product of 2015: the selfie stick.

If you haven’t heard of selfie sticks, they’re those telescoping wands with phone holders at the end of them that allow you to take selfies that don’t look like selfies. They come in Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth models. Why so popular this year? Consider a few statistics:

54% of internet users have posted original photos online.

There are nearly 62 million tagged selfie photos on Instagram alone!

Everyone is familiar with Ellen Degeneres snapping a selfie at the Oscars. The Oscar selfie was thought to be worth over $1 billion to Samsung. Several major celebrities were featured prominently in the selfie, along with the Samsung product logo on the back of the phone. The selfie was snapped with the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone, and it became the most retweeted file in Twitter’s history – getting many more viewers in that way than at the event itself.
Many brands have since jumped on the selfie revolution building successful media campaigns around selfies, and some have done so very successfully.   Event professionals, PR firms, and some major brands are looking at ways to turn event selfies into marketing gold.
 A selfie Stick would make a great promotional swag gift at a fundraiser or VIP reception. By utilizing social media and print media prior to the event, a social buzz is created even before the first drinks are served. And can you imagine how many posts, shares and retweets such an event might garnish? Imprinted selfie sticks sell for approx. $8-$15 and believe me, it’s well worth your swag budget!
  At Fina Promotions, we run a #PromoteYourSelfie contest on Instagram. (Happily, our company sells logo’d selfie sticks AND imprinted T-shirts!) We ask  Instagrammers to like our image and follow @finapromotions on Instagram for a chance at a free “BUT FIRST LET ME TAKE A SELFIE” T-shirt. A random new follower is chosen every Thursday (Selfie Thursday) and they are notified by a direct message in their IG inbox and are tagged in our photo for the week. They can then post a selfie, and tag us in their photo wearing our shirt after they have received it.  We have so far in three weeks increased our Instagram following by 30% as a result.
So, what are you waiting for? Get with the trendy, beautiful people and #PromoteYourSelfie! I’m always happy to assist you with finding the perfect promo item for your next event.
All My Best,
Audrey Gotto
selfietshirt