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5 Reasons Your Brand Needs A Video Content Marketing Agency

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In today’s digital-everything landscape, your brand doesn’t just need video content. Your business needs a video content marketing agency partner. And we’re not just saying that because that’s what we do. You take every other aspect of your business seriously and know when it’s time to outsource to the professionals for the best results. And video content might seem like an easy prospect, especially considering the capabilities of today’s beginner-friendly devices and editing software. But video marketing is so much more complex than just hitting record. And no one understands those layers of intricacies better than a video content marketing agency.

Because Your Brand Needs Consistency

It might seem feasible to take on video creation and marketing. But one of the primary pillars of video content marketing success is consistency. It’s not uncommon for brand managers and business owners to have really great initial ideas about video content. But soon, the schedule gets hectic, and the ideas run short. Next thing you know, you’ve missed a few weeks of posting, and your audience has since moved on to more engaging content. Instead of falling into this cycle of wasted time, you could hire a video content marketing agency to design a consistent schedule of production. Your videos will be relevant ongoing and will maintain a level of consistency that video campaigns need for success.

Because Your Business Needs Sales & Conversions

You need a video content marketing agency because you’re not in the business of shooting videos. You need sales, and your marketing needs to translate to conversions. Shooting your own short video messages isn’t going to bring in more business if you don’t understand the dynamics behind what makes video work. An agency is specialized in creating videos that engage and inspire. And the professionals know precisely how to use video messaging to move an audience through the sales funnel.

Because Your Videos Need to Build Trust

Video content marketing isn’t just about discussing your product or service. It goes beyond showcasing your business’s unique offerings. Those who watch videos certainly need to be educated, entertained, or enlightened in some way. But how you go about creating content that genuinely engages can determine whether or not your video-viewing audience trusts you. Hiring a video content marketing agency for your brand can ensure your brand voice and tone are trustworthy. And marketing agency professionals can help you cater your message to improve the customer’s journey in an authentic and reliable way.

Because A Video Campaign Should Have Real Results

The best part about working with professionals to manage your video content is being able to have someone to put real numbers to the results. Track views, conversions, and engagement to ensure your marketing budget is tracking real-time ROI. And if one strategy isn’t working, you’ll know almost immediately. Making adjustments to improve your brand campaign as you go can translate to ongoing success and results.

Because You Don’t Have to Do It Yourself

You’re busy running your company, calling clients, and managing teams. Making a few videos with your smartphone might not seem like a major undertaking. But in the end, your expertise more than likely lies within your business offering and not video content marketing. And you probably don’t have the extra time to dedicate to developing, scheduling, and tracking a proper video content campaign. Knowing you can partner with a video content marketing agency means you don’t have to go it alone.

When you’re ready to create a video content campaign for your brand and company, you’ll want a professional partner to help guide your efforts. Consider partnering with a video content marketing agency like ours. Our expert content strategists can help you launch and manage a video content strategy that works for your brand and, ultimately, your bottom line.

SEO Services In Allen, TX That Boost Organic Traffic

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There is certainly no shortage of tips and tricks out there, with advice on boosting your organic traffic. And SEO services in Allen, TX, will offer a host of benefits that help optimize your digital marketing efforts for results. But it can be confusing sometimes to keep up with the latest trends and suggestions. Today, we’ll highlight the key benefits you should be leveraging to see real improvements in your organic traffic.

Search Engines Matter, But So Do Your Buyers

Develop your key buyer personas to better target your customers. As you carve out an SEO plan, you might assume it’s all about keywords and optimizing for the search engine requirements. And in some respects, it is. But don’t forget to optimize your content for your online audience of potential buyers. Make sure your content is relevant and engaging to site visitors. You can meet all of the algorithm criteria and miss your target altogether because your content doesn’t offer any value to the reader.

Don’t Be a Stranger to Other Content Out There

Boosting organic traffic with SEO services in Allen, TX, isn’t just all about your site, content, and online presence. It’s also about how you browse, share, and contribute elsewhere. Jump into other community or industry blogs to comment and participate. Using your individual and company profiles to help spread the word, share your links, and promote others can significantly benefit your organic traffic. You can hop on channels like Reddit or Quora, as well as other industry-related sites to help boost your SEO efforts.

Get Your Blog-On

What you reap from the cyberworld is directly connected to what you put out there in terms of content. Boost your organic SEO with routine and relevant blogging efforts. Keep your topics in line with your buyer personas and within categories that offer value about your site and Allen, TX business. Use online writing resources to help, like Grammarly, if you’re not confident in your grammar skills. Some experts suggest thoughtful and regular blogging can be the most effective way to infuse your organic traffic.

Meta Makes a Huge Difference

Creating content is one thing, but if you’re not getting the meta title right, you could be missing out on more organic traffic. There are three essential ingredients for the website recipe of success. The meta title, description, and URL need to be precise since these pieces communicate directly with Google. And if you want Google to know what you’re talking about, meta data is the way to communicate that. There are several digital tools out there to help guide your meta creation efforts, as well.

Internal Links Boost Organic Traffic

As you build a robust arsenal of blogs and content, you can significantly increase your organic traffic by using internal links with each new post. SEO services in Allen, TX often include strategies that develop new content that also incorporates older, successful content. Keep page visitors on your page longer and funnel them down the rabbit hole of continued reading. Guide new visitors to new-to-them content you have already posted. Be smart about how you promote internal links, though, since too many of them in one piece of content can signal spam to the bots.

It’s OK to Get Personal with Your Link Sharing

Toot your own horn and share your company content across your personal pages, as well. Sharing blogs on social media, LinkedIn, or in chat groups will drive more visitors to your site and inspire more sharing of your Allen, TX company content. The more, the merrier, and increased sharing only improves your presence with Google.

Tweak Until Its Perfect with Data & Analytics

Don’t just create content and throw it out there without measuring results. Use the data, including Google Analytics, to help track the performance of your blog and website. And schedule time to review the results regularly. You can see where visitors are coming from the most and make improvements to tweak keywords or your SEO strategy altogether. Analytics will help ensure you keep up with the changing preferences of your readers or potential customers, too.

If you need SEO services in Allen, TX that work in boosting organic traffic for your online presence, contact us! We know all the best tips and recommendations to make the most of your content production time and budget. Make SEO work for you, and organically, with the right partner and strategy.

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Increase Email Conversions With Digital Media Marketing In Allen TX

Increase Email Conversions With Digital Media Marketing In Allen TX

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Email marketing is far from dead and is still one of the best ways to reach your consumers. Getting people to actually open and engage with your emails isn’t always easy, which is where digital media marketing in Allen, TX comes into play.

Email marketing isn’t useful if no one opens the messages. Increasing conversions makes your strategy far more cost effective.

Plus, you’ll become a trusted brand for your consumers as you stay in contact with them using messages they’ll actually want to read.

Email Marketing Statistics

You’ve likely heard that email is outdated and you should focus on social media and other channels instead. However, email still offers a 38 to 1 ROI. That’s a major return on your investment. You just have to make sure the emails are effective. While 65% of small businesses have open rates between 11% to 50%, 77% of small businesses don’t do nearly as well with their click-through rate. While some range on the higher side at 10%, some still have a 0% CTR.

But, email has still been proven to be 40 times more effective than both Facebook and Twitter. While you shouldn’t stop using other channels, it’s important to focus on your email conversion rates as people who subscribe to your emails actually want to read them.

Develop A Relationship

People subscribe to your emails, meaning they’re interested in hearing from you. This gives you a chance to develop a relationship with your customers and potential customers. They’re not interested in generic content that says buy our stuff. They want personalization. General email campaigns aren’t nearly as effective. Email personalization boosts click-through rates and improves conversions.

It also shows subscribers that you care about them. Create emails like you were sending something to a close friend. Let them get to know you and your brand. Digital media marketing in Allen, TX utilizes a personal approach through segmentation, using personal details and content subscribers are most interested in.

Deliver Value To Inboxes

While it’s called email marketing, many businesses make the tragic mistake of only delivering marketing content. Marketing emails are useful, but that shouldn’t be your complete campaign. Otherwise, consumers tend to automatically ignore or delete messages when they’re not interested in shopping at the moment.

On the other hand, delivering more than an ad in email form goes a long way. Increase email conversions and build stronger relationships with your subscribers by sending them valuable content too. Send them your latest blog post with important tips and tricks or even share someone else’s content if it’s relevant to your subscribers. Using content from your own site is a great way to drive more traffic to your website too.

This proves that you care about your consumers and want to make their lives better. Plus, if there’s always something interesting to read in your messages, more people will open them every time, leading to higher conversions.

Check In With News And Offers

Of course, news and offers are always important. Remember how we said subscribers want to know more about your brand? Send them updates on what your business is doing, whether it’s a new product line you’re launching or community involvement, let them know. And, naturally, let them know about any special sales and deals so they know the best times to shop.

Often, this is why people sign up – to get deals. Offering a mix of useful content with your deals gives subscribers more.

Discover What Actually Works

Of course, the best way to increase email conversions is to discover what actually works. Working with a team that specializes in digital media marketing in Allen, TX is important to learning what your subscribers want and like best. For instance, a simple wording change to your subject line can drastically increase open rates. Through A/B testing, you learn what does and doesn’t work for more effective email campaigns. You might be surprised at how much of a difference this type of testing makes.

Find out the difference that comes from a local company specializing in digital media marketing in Allen, TX by contacting our team today.

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Instagram Marketing in 2019: Social Media Experts Share Top Tips

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The word Instagram with the brands colors in McKinney

Instagram is the “it” social media platform for 2019 in McKinney

With plenty of creative possibilities, targeting opportunities, and personalization potential, the youth-friendly platform offers the power to connect with influential tastemakers, break through the competitive noise, and build active, engaged communities of customers.

And it might just offer brands the biggest bang for their content marketing buck. Though slightly in the shadow of big sister Facebook, Instagram boasts over 1 billion active monthly users globally. It’s eclipsed elder social statesmen like Twitter (335 million monthly users), LinkedIn (260 million monthly users), and Pinterest (250 million monthly users). Here are more Instagram Stats you may find interesting,

Given these advantages, the hunger for information and marketing on Instagram should be no surprise.

We’ve rounded up the best insights and advice we offer on the topic, making it easier for the Insta-uninitiated to find their footing, while giving expert tips and tricks for power users to level up their initiatives.

Determine your Instagram strategy

Instagram puts a visual spin on the micro conversations that turned “tweet” into a marketing verb years ago. With its unique photography filters, streaming video storytelling features, meme-friendly editing tools, and ease of use on mobile, it’s the perfect platform for capturing those authentic little moments that bring out the human side of your business.

But before building your brand’s profile and posting pretty pictures, give serious thought to how to position your Instagram activities so they contribute to your strategic marketing goals. (If you need some help, send us an email at information@lucemedia.net.

For example, if lead generation is a top marketing priority, be aware that Instagram doesn’t allow clickable links in post descriptions/captions or comments the way other social networks do. You’re allowed one hyperlink – in the bio on your profile page. You’ll need to optimize your bio content for lead-gen purposes and choose your link wisely.

Even though your linking options are limited, you can drive a flood of leads by including a relevant and enticing call to action on your bio page. There’s a prime example from Foundr Magazine:

Set up a verified business account

While anyone on your content team can set up a personal profile for your business on Instagram, it is easier to manage content activities with a verified business account. Once activated, these accounts can be managed by multiple authorized users and provide deeper insights on followers, performance analytics for posts, advertising tools, and additional post promotion options within the Instagram app.

One critical feature that business accounts don’t have is the native ability to schedule posts. Thankfully, third-party tools can let you keep your fans’ feeds full of conversations and activity day and night – even if one social media manager does all the posting.

Of course, no matter who (or what) publishes your content, there are guidelines to follow. For example, due to the limitations with Instagram’s API, scheduling tools can only publish images and videos formatted in an acceptable aspect ratio.

Check out Olga Rabo’s guide to the best Instagram scheduling tools, which includes a handy chart (below) on acceptable image specs.

Craft your creative with care

Looks count on Insta. Show off your most appealing brand imagery and supply descriptions that draw viewers more deeply into your brand experience. I mean, c’mon, who could possibly look at this post from NatGeo and not want to dive right into an undersea adventure?

Add a human touch

But your posts don’t need to be picture perfect all the time. In fact, Monina Wagner and Clare McDermott have outlined a few formats that don’t require professional photography skills. For example:

  • Livestreaming with Instagram stories: Film and share spontaneous, relatable moments as they unfold, which is perfect for capturing the excitement at a live event or an afternoon outing with your team. Archive your Stories so the posts can be reshared later, using Instagram’s Stories Highlights
  • Polling: Add a two-answer poll to your Instagram Stories. After tapping an answer, users see the results, which puts the focus on your audience’s thoughts and views. (Get more info on using this sticker feature below.)

Put your brand value on display

Even if your content team is photo-phobic, you have lots of creative options. For example, slick glamour shots may be hard to come by for B2B businesses, but SAAS company Salesforcefinds compelling ways to convey its message of value – as it does in this sponsored spot, which promotes a tip-driven e-book using its illustrated cover art:

And in this Instagram Stories campaign, Cheerios  eschewed imagery, choosing to share a series of personalized, text-based posts set against a simple, brand-appropriate colored background. The campaign is designed to trigger positive emotions that the brand’s fans can associate with its “good goes around” tagline.

Place the focus on your followers

No matter what content formats and design techniques you choose, Instagram works best when you understand and appeal to the interests of your target audience members– it’s their community sandbox, after all. Give them personal reasons to invite your brand in to play with them. Here are some ideas to accomplish this:

Fuel their creativity. Encourage your viewers to create user-generated content featuring your product or message.

Create a contest. Product giveaways are a natural fit for this platform. Don’t forget to use a hashtag that encapsulates your message or captures the viewers’ attention enough to make them want to participate and promote your offering.

  • Demonstrate how your products fit their lifestyle. Consumers like to get ideas and see what other products fit with yours, so keep your content as actionable as possible.

Make your messages stickier with interactivity

Another way to bring your followers into your storytelling is with Instagram’s interactive stickers through the app’s tool set. By adding these features to your updates, you can:

  • Create a live countdown for an upcoming brand event.
  • Add a poll or an emoji slider to gauge fan response to a relevant issue.
  • Enable viewers to select a song to play in the background of your post.
  • Give people a chance to ask something they’re dying to know about your business.

Distribute and conquer

Even if only a small percentage of Instagram’s billion monthly users regularly posts updates and stories, your brand’s efforts still need to cut through a lot of content clutter. Promoting your posts on Instagram is as important as it is anywhere else in your marketing mix.

Get discovered via hashtags

In his post on Instagram marketing, Robert Katai outlines the two types of hashtags you can use in your Instagram campaigns:

  • Branded hashtags feature your company name, making it easier for people aware of your company to discover your content and learn more about you.
  • Community hashtags are more organic to the conversations happening. They help users follow broader topics, specific areas of interest, or other unifying themes.

Put budget toward boosting performance

Paid promotions are another way to increase your brand’s reach and engagement on the platform. You can purchase promoted posts and display ads within Instagram’s regular content feed. In addition, you can promote your content by placing ads within Instagram Stories, which display your campaigns between image- and video-centric Stories that users click to view.

Enlist power players

Where would content marketing on Instagram be without recommendations from its legions of influencers – i.e., leading voices who have the trust and attention of your target audience?

Why does a takeover work better than a standard influencer collaboration? As Olga Rabo explains, the incentive for the influencer’s followers is different. They’re not urged to follow the brand but are encouraged by the influencer to see what he or she is doing on your brand’s account. The subtle promotion is more effective to increase reach and drive traffic from Instagram Stories to your site or special offer.

Stay out of social hot water

One final thought: While sharing is caring when it comes to re’gramming admired content and images, posting someone else’s creative property without securing permission is never cool – and in some cases it could put your business in legal jeopardy. If you want to mitigate your brand’s risk, you need an understanding of copyrights and the terms for fair use

This Article was Originally Posted at: https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2019/03/instagram-marketing-experts/?sm_x_cmir_edt_tsprtsnr_cmi_x_sclttw-blogtraffic

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24+ Instagram Statistics That Matter to Marketers in 2019

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Instagram MarketingAre you using Instagram to connect with your audience?

And if not, should you?

Okay, that’s a loaded question.

Statistically speaking though, it makes business dollars and sense.

Scan these Instagram stats that show its breadth and depth worldwide. Then use them to shape your Instagram marketing strategy.

Instagram user statistics

Who’s using Instagram? So nice of you to ask.

Well, over an eighth of the 7.6 billion people on the planet (and counting). A look at some Instagram user statistics to keep close to your marketing cuff.

1. 1 billion people use Instagram

Of the social networks, only Facebook and YouTube have more people logging in. With 500 million of them using Instagram—every day. Want some of them to like your business? Click here to for some tips on how.

2. 80% of users are outside the U.S.

That’s a whole lot of global ad revenue for your products and services. With estimates of almost $7 billion in mobile ad revenue in 2018. Interested in doing business in India, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, Russia and Japan? Go for it. Tens of millions of active users for your global products.

3. 39% women, 30% men, for U.S. Instagrammers

Women more than men are using this photo sharing app. But the gap has decreased slightly the past couple years.

4. 59% of U.S. users are under 30

…between 18 and 29 years old. Conversely, 33 percent of Instagram users are between 30- and 49-years-old. Another thing, 70 percent of U.S. users have a post secondary education. Now go slice and dice your marketing campaign accordingly.

5. 72% of teens use Instagram, every day

Only second to Snapchat. Yet, 63 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds use Instagram daily, compared to 54 percent for Snapchat. Less users, more engagement on Instagram. All there for you to influence these young-uns with your t-shirts, bracelets, songs, videos, or whatever they like these days.

6. 95% of U.S. Instagrammers use Youtube

…followed by Facebook at 91 percent, and Snapchat at 60 percent. So what, you say? Tell a coherent story for your brand across these platforms. A nice bundle waiting to hear from you.

7. 35% of online adults use Instagram

…with 28 percent of them in the U.S. And they have money to buy your stuff. The right products for the right income earners. For those adult Instagram users:

  • 30% earn up to $30K/year
  • 42% earn $30K – $50K
  • 32% earn $50K – $75K
  • 42% earn $75K+

8. Quick view stats

Quite a few user stats so far, eh? Some more, consolidated. To keep things simple.

  • 34% of Instagram users are millennials
  • 22% of all Instagram users log in at least once a day
  • 38% of users check Instagram multiple times a day
  • 25% of smartphone owners use Instagram

Speaking of statistics… want to see what your business’ Online Visibility looks like? Click here to do Luce Media’s free online visibility test.

That’s some of the who’s, now on to some of the how’s…

Instagram usage statistics

How are people using Instagram? Another great question.

Let’s learn some of the hows with these Instagram user statistics.

9. Under-25-year-olds use Instagram 32 minutes a day

Compared to 24 minutes per day for 25 and older. This is more than before. Why? Instagram stories. They make it easy to add a creative flair to any photo or video. You can do the same for your business.

10. Users ‘like’ 4.2 billion posts per day

…making Instagram the happiest place on the internet. And that was in 2016 when there were only 500 million Instagrammers. Is your brand feeling lonely? Get on the ‘like’ band-wagon to make new business friends.

11. 95 million posts per day

And that was in 2016. Surely, a (large) portion of that action is open to your products. What are you waiting for?

12. 400 million Stories a day

Up from 300 million in October 2017. Most brands (2 million of them) are telling their stories with Stories. Over 50 percent one month in 2017. With a third of the most viewed Stories created by businesses. It’s pretty obvious Stories work for brands unless you’re not telling any.

13. 80% increase, year-by-year, for videos

…while the number of videos created each day quadrupled from 2017. Yup, users love their video posts, right from the start. When they launched in 2013, 5 million videos were uploaded in the first 24 hours. Create and run a campaign to feed these video-carnivores.

15. Quick view stats

More quick mentions for how people are using Instagram:

  • 72% of users have bought a product they saw on Instagram
  • Facebook bought Instagram for $715 million
  • Users spend on average 53 minutes a day on the Android Instagram app

Instagram for business statistics

Why use Instagram for business? Because it’s already proven to be business-worthy. As noted by these Instagram business statistics. Whether for the global enterprise, or for your mom-and-pop business.

16. 71% of U.S. businesses use Instagram

…edging out Twitter, which has plateaued. But not Instagram. Things are still and will continue to heat up for this personal and business platform.

17. 25 million business profiles

And over 200 million users visiting at least one business profile every day. From clothing to concerts, lingerie to linguine. Including fashion brands, 96 percent of them are on Instagram. Got something to sell? Instagram has people to target.

18. 2 million monthly advertisers on Instagram

This is a great opportunity for businesses to connect with their audiences, whether on-the-go or in the moment.

19. 80% of users follow at least one business

They ain’t shy about following brands. Yet another stat proving Instagram means business.

20. 60% of users discover products on Instagram

More reason for B2C companies to get on the platform.

21. 75% of users take action

…like visiting a website after looking at a brand’s post. Got good looking products? Instagram is the place to show them off.

22. 70% more likely to buy via mobile

Over a third of Instagram users have used their mobile to purchase a product online– making them 70 percent more likely to do so than non-users.

23. Instagram has 2.2% interaction rate

…dwarfing the other networks, including Facebook with its 0.22 percent rate. Instagram is the engagement king.

24. 90% of the top 100 brands are on Instagram

How many more reasons do you need to hear, to engage on Instagram? Don’t answer that. Rhetorical question.

Other Instagram statistics

  • 50% of businesses on Instagram have produced a Story
  • 50% of Instagrammers follow brands, making them the social networkers who are most likely to do so.

If your business needs help with social media marketing in McKinney, TX. and Frisco, TX., please call us at (469) 907-1057.  Luce Media has deep expertise in Digital Marketing, B2B Marketing, Internet Marketing and is a well-established Digital Media Consultant in McKinney, TX.

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to continue learning.

This information was originally posted here.

social media holiday checklist

Social Media Marketing Tips for the Holidays

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Social media is the perfect place to promote your business during the holidays. People are looking on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter for gift ideas and great deals. With the right social media marketing strategy, you can boost holiday sales, engage with potential customers and spread holiday cheer.

The holiday season is generally considered to run from late November through the New Year. Unlike birthdays and anniversaries, this gift-buying frenzy is spread across the whole of society at the same time. That means a lot of consumer spending

Here are five tips on how your business can use social media to boost sales this holiday season.

 

1. Use Facebook Live, create events and run giveaways.

Hosting Facebook Live videos is a great way to give your followers the scoop on your deals for the holidays, what new products you have or what services you’re offering. One big benefit of using Facebook Live is that you are guaranteed to get more reach than with any other type of Facebook post.  Facebook tells us you get as much as a 12 times the number of people as a normal post will get you.  Check out our other blog on 10 Things You Need to Know Before Going Live on Facebook by clicking here.

Along with Facebook Live, you should also use Facebook’s events feature.  You can create Facebook Events for any in-store events you might be hosting during the season. Once you’ve hosted a live video or created an event, be sure to continue to post all your promotions on your social accounts.

Another great way to engage and connect with your followers is with a giveaway contest. People can use a little help this time of year and the chance to win a big gift that someone on their wish list may appreciate is a very attractive prospect and grabs quite a lot of attention.

2. Use Twitter polls to identify customer pain points.

Social media platforms are constantly updating and adding helpful features. From Instagram questions to Twitter polls, there are a range of ways to easily engage and connect with your followers online.

You can use those features to identify pain points and then provide a solution. If you can identify a problem your customers are facing and solve it for them, you will create customers for life.

3. Use Instagram stories.

Introduced in 2016, Instagram Stories quickly became a popular social media tools and marketers need to take advantage of this feature this time of year. Today, Instagram Stories are the most engaged platform of all social media platforms.

Stories have nearly taken over the Instagram platform with their temporary availability and features that allow for product-feed integration and swipe-up to shop, simplifying the purchase experience for users. And don’t forget about Highlights. Your temporary content can be saved to Highlights on your profile for the duration of the holiday season and removed come January.

While focusing on Instagram stories doesn’t mean you should forget about posting a regular picture, it does allow you to supplement your content and post more frequently. Not convinced that you need Instagram stories for your business? Check out our blog post on why Instagram stories are crucial for small businesses, here.

4. Engage with followers and get creative.

While you use social media to market your business, your followers use it to have fun and engage with their favorite brands. Being creative on social media such as running a contest, creating a holiday playlist for your business on Spotify or offer holiday tips is a great way to boost your business.

Tips for the seasonal holidays or winter season in general make excellent social media posts. Whether you are discussing holiday safety or decorating tips, the holidays are a great time to give your business a personal appearance and voice.

When you’re creating your company’s social media strategy, it’s important to keep in mind why customers are on the platform. Try to avoid being too salesy. Be the type of business customers ‘know, like and trust’ and have fun with it. After all, if you’re not enjoying the process others likely won’t either.

5. Get Festive.

Many of us like to decorate our home or office to get in the holiday spirit. It’s a good idea to give your online presence a similar type of makeover by applying holiday themes to your website and social profiles.

Adding small touches to your website with holiday-themed graphics and colors helps signal to your customers that the season of giving is upon us. Bright, engaging colors and animated GIFs tend to work well.

Though the holiday season is in full swing, there is still time to boost your social media marketing efforts and earn customer loyalty by improving the way you interact with them on the various social media platforms. Leveraging the power of social media marketing is vital for increased sales, satisfied customers and a whole lot of holiday joy.

Even when it’s not the holidays, your company’s social media presence is extremely important to the success of your business. At Luce Media we have all the tools and more to make sure your social media success lasts year round. Check out our social media services and then schedule a time to talk about how we can boost your business. From everyone here at Luce Media, we wish you a safe and Happy Holidays!

This information was originally posted here and here.

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10 Things You Need to Know Before Going Live on Facebook

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SinceWhat Small Businesses Need to Learn From Facebook Insights its launch in April 2016, Facebook Live video has swept the world.

As a platform, Facebook Live has unparalleled reach when it comes to reaching fans organically. Facebook’s News Feed algorithm highly prioritizes Live video, meaning your followers are way more likely to see one of your Live videos than any other content you post.

That’s why it’s not a half-bad idea to consider making Facebook Live a part of your social media marketing strategy.

You might be wondering where to start and what to do. That’s why we’ve put together this list of 10 Things You Need to Know Before You Go Live on Facebook!

Let’s get started.

10 Things You Need to Know Before Going Live on Facebook

1. Set a Goal

While celebrities, influencers, and more prominent brands have the gravitas and fanbase to use Facebook Live for more casual purposes, like broadcasting their surroundings or going Live for a few minutes at a time to interact with fans, chances are you don’t have the same resources.

Because of this, you need to focus the time you spend on Live.

Ask yourself what goal you’re trying to achieve with the video, as well as if and how the broadcast will help you make it.

If you can, try to choose an objective that’s more specific and results-driven than “social engagement” or “brand awareness.” Though these things are great, they should be secondary to other goals like lead generation or sales.

Once you and your team have settled on an objective, plan your video with that objective in mind. It should reflect in the topic you choose, as well as the way you present it.

For example, if we were putting together a Live video for a fitness center that wanted to highlight the benefits of personal training, we might choose to do a Live Q&A with one of our trainers, showing off his knowledge and encouraging viewers to sign up for a training session.

2. Have an Outline or Direction

Even though Facebook Live is relatively spontaneous as far as content mediums go, it’s still a good idea to craft at least some sort of outline, depending on the intent of your video.

This goes hand-in-hand with having an objective in mind, like the way you organize your speaking points should point Live viewers towards your goal – don’t go Live for the sake of going Live!

Before you go Live, outline your talking points and go over them with your co-host (assuming you have one). Get at least a rough idea of what you want to say, as well as any specific points or examples you’re sure you want to include.

My colleagues did a Live video a few months back about using content upgrades to generate leads for our sales team. Though it wasn’t without its hiccups, one “victory” of the broadcast was the way we organized it. It was clear and structured, highlighting the different steps of the process and the tools (within our product) viewers could use to generate leads for their own team.

Having an organized outline based on the goal of communicating the value of Wishpond and driving signups helped immensely with the quality of our broadcast.

That being said, don’t be afraid to go off-script – it is Live, after all! Be loose and have fun with it!

3. Prepare a Pre-Show

Even after you’ve announced your live video, many of your would-be viewers won’t show up right at the start of your broadcast.

Because of this, you’ll want to put together some sort of pre-show to fill time in your Live broadcast leading up to the start of your presentation (whatever that may be).

Don’t jump right into the meat of your content the moment you go Live. Either go Live 15-20 seconds before your scheduled start time to let people come in as they get notified, or start on time but don’t get into your content until a decent amount of people join your show.

You can do a couple of different things for this “pre-show” portion. If you’re not up to entertaining, feel free to pop in a countdown timer to get people ready and waiting. If you do feel like interacting (and we recommend you do), talk to your viewers. Welcome them to the broadcast, answer their comments, and get them excited for the show to start.

This is also a prime time to get your viewers to share your video – remember, Live videos get a massive boost on News Feed placement, so getting your fans to share your Live broadcast can significantly increase its organic reach.

4. Interact with Your Viewers

One of the principal benefits of Facebook Live is the fact that it allows you to interact with your fans in real-time, meaning you’re about as close to face-to-face as you can get without actually meeting them.

Though it’s not necessary, we’d recommend you put at least some effort into responding to fan comments and answering questions! It’s an easy way to make your Live broadcast super engaging, and it makes fans feel appreciated, meaning they’re more likely to stick around and watch.

At the start of your broadcast, greet people by name as they join. You don’t have to get to every single person, but acknowledging your viewers gets them pumped up for the upcoming broadcast.

As far as questions go, we’d recommend you set aside breaks in your broadcast or save for them the end, as opposed to answering them on the fly, which could put a serious wrench in your broadcasting flow and make your broadcast feel disorganized.

5. Promote Your Live Video

A Live video is a special occasion, and as far as promotion goes, you’d be well off treating it like a webinar.

By this, we mean you should put as much effort as you can into getting as many people as possible to show up for the Live broadcast as people, even though they’ll be able to watch it back later once the replay has gone live.

Here are a few ways you can make sure your Live video reaches as many people as possible:

  • Send an email: One benefit of having a mailing list is that you can reach out to them in cases like this! Send a simple newsletter a week or so before your Live video to your subscribers, linking them to your Facebook profile and letting them know when they’ll be able to catch you going Live.
  • Post on social: If you’re doing a Live video on Facebook, it makes perfect sense to promote it there, as well. Create a set of posts that count down the days to your Live broadcast to remind fans to tune in.
  • Advertise!: Though you can’t boost a live post, you can boost an announcement in the days leading up to it. Though it’s not a sure-fire way to get people to watch as you go Live, it opens the door for new potential fans to check out your broadcast.
  • Go Live beforehand: Do a short Live broadcast informing viewers that you’ll be going Live in the next few days. Though this might seem silly, Facebook’s News Feed algorithm heavily boosts Live video, meaning more people will see it. On top of that, you can prompt viewers to turn on Live notifications for your Page so they are reminded when you go Live next (and in the future).

6. Recap As You Go

Live Videos are unique in that people can join anytime during the broadcast.

It’s great in the sense that people don’t need to be ready beforehand – they can jump in as soon as they see it on their News Feed.

On the other hand, it can be tough as a content creator because people who join your video late might not be able to follow what you’re saying.

Because of this, it’s important that you periodically recap what you’ve been talking about as you go. Every so often, you can say something like “if you’re just joining us now, we’ve been talking about [recap].” This will help retain viewers who may otherwise leave because they have no idea what you’re talking about.

7. Check Your Hardware

There’s no worse feeling in a Live broadcast than having your audio or video randomly cut out, or watching your broadcast back and realizing everything is blurry, or you can’t hear anything.

Luckily, these are all issues you can easily avoid!

Before you double-check your setup, put some effort into making it as good as possible. Aim for high quality and reliability – an iPhone 7+ camera might be better than your 2012 MacBook’s webcam, but it also has a higher chance of dying while you’re broadcasting.

Pick a reliable setting as well – bright, solid-color backgrounds work great (see below). If you can, do a practice run-through with all of your hardware to make sure it’s all working.

Here are some quicker audio-visual rules of thumb:

  • Adequate lighting: Making sure your subjects are well-lit means you’re not left with two silhouettes on an overexposed background. Use some additional lights if you need them.
  • The sound is everything: Seriously. People can deal with 360p video (remember 2008?), but if they can’t hear you, they’re going to leave. I guarantee it. If you can, use an external mic (like a USB condenser mic) for your audio – it’s dozens of times better than your laptop’s built-in mic.
  • Use a tripod: Unless you’re live-streaming an event, you want your video to be as steady as possible. Thankfully, a tripod takes care of this easily.

8. Use Third-Party Broadcasting Software

Though we don’t condone or recommend it, there is a way to stream a Facebook Live video without actually being Live.

Without going too far into detail, Facebook allows you to broadcast Live to your page using an external program, such as Open Broadcasting Software (OBS). Because OBS can stream video and audio from a number of sources, you could technically stream a pre-recorded video to Facebook Live using the software, just as Tesla did in the example below.

Third-party broadcasting programs like OBS can also be helpful if you’d like to edit your videos slightly before they go Live. These cases might include adding overlays (like logos or graphics, as you can see below) or if you’re just not sure you’ll get it right on the first take.

That being said, don’t chop up your video or stream a professionally edited video as if it’s Live – your fans will know, and they probably won’t like it.

9. Get Viewers to Subscribe to Live Notifications

If you’re considering making Live video a big part of your social media marketing strategy, it’s essential to maximize the number who show up to your broadcasts.

One way to increase the chances your fans will tune in is to get them to turn on Live notifications. We touched on this earlier in the article, but it’s important enough to merit its own point.

We’d create a post or graphic with the following information, and maybe append it to your Facebook Live announcement mailout, too.

Here’s what your viewers need to do:

  • Visit your Page on desktop or mobile
  • Click the “Notifications” button under your cover photo
  • Pressing the “edit options” pencil icon in the drop-down menu
  • Turning on notifications under “Live videos” for “All Live Posts.”

Facebook Live Image 9.png

And that’s it! It’s super simple, and you now have the benefit of having your fans be notified every single time you go live.

This increases the effectiveness of future Live broadcasts, too, and your viewers only need to do it once (though we’d add this information to every Live announcement for new fans or people who haven’t already done it).

10. Add an Ask or CTA

Finally, add some sort of CTA to your Live broadcast. This is a tactic that will give you the best chance at generating some kind of immediate return on Facebook Live.

Either add an “ask” to the end of your video (or sporadically throughout it) to direct viewers towards your ultimate goal, whether that’s your e-commerce store to get them to buy the product you’re highlighting in your video, or to a sales page to get them to book a call.

One great way to add this without needing to bring it up during your video continually is to use OBS (or another software) to add it to your broadcast as an overlay. Make it unobtrusive, so your video is still the primary focus of the broadcast, but visible and enticing enough that people will act upon it.

Either way, make sure you give viewers an avenue to convert in some way – trust me, driving a sale or demo from a social media marketing strategy is a good feeling.

Wrapping it up

There you have it – 10 awesome tips and strategies to think about when you’re planning your next Facebook Live video. Hopefully, you’ve learned something new about this rapidly growing video format!

If you have any questions about Facebook Live (or just Facebook in general), we’d be more than happy to answer them in the comments below.

If your business needs help with social media marketing in McKinney, TX., please call us at (469) 907-1057.  Luce Media has deep expertise in Digital Marketing, B2B Marketing, Internet Marketing and is a well-established Digital Media Consultant in McKinney, TX.

Picture of mobile device showing Instagram and Instagram on Desktop

Things Your Competitors Do to Increase Instagram Engagement

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Have you checked out your competitor on Instagram recently and noticed how well their posts are performing? Almost every post is flooded with engagement. They’re getting hundreds of likes and comments, while you struggle to get even a handful of people to leave a comment. And when you do get comments, they rarely go beyond generic “This looks great” or a random smiley face emoji.

What magical formula are they using to get Instagram engagement? Is there a secret code you’re missing out on? Are they really that much better at Instagram marketing than you? You want to crack their Instagram strategy and make it work for you, but you’re not sure where to start.

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are 12 things your competitors do to increase Instagram engagement, that you might be overlooking.

1. Actually Engage

We’re starting this list off easy. To drive more engagement from your followers, you need to interact with them. Social media isn’t a one-way street. If you want to build an engaged audience, you need to acknowledge your followers. Remember, every comment you get means someone took the time to stop, look at your post and share their thoughts. After all that, why wouldn’t you respond?

If you want to build up engagement, know that it takes time and you need to start conversations on posts other than your own. Asking questions, responding to comments and replying to Stories are some of the few ways you can engage more with your audience.

As your account starts to grow and you get more comments, you might not be able to respond to everyone. But that doesn’t mean you should give up entirely.

You can still Like comments or try to reply to as many as you can. Ted Chin creates captivating edited images and videos. Despite having hundreds of comments on each post, he still takes the time to engage with his followers as much as possible through quick replies and plenty of emojis.

instagram engagement example

The takeaway is whether you get three comments per post or 300, take the time to reply, and you’ll have a much easier time getting Instagram engagement.

2. Duplicate Your Best-Performing Posts

What works for you might not work for someone else. Take a look at your past months’ best-performing posts. Is there a common theme among your top performers? Perhaps the photos are bright and have blue tones. Or maybe the camera angle is from the side instead of above.

Here’s an example of a brand that found what works with their audience and integrated it into their strategy.Picture of ocean blue water

Camber Coffee is a coffee roaster. But every few posts, they share something unrelated to coffee such as landscape shots or nature-related photos. This might seem like an odd strategy for a food and drink company, but they’ve consistently posted like this long enough that it’s become part of their brand.

3. Post Instagram Stories With Call-to-Action

With verified Instagram accounts, you might have the opportunity to add links in your Instagram Stories. If you don’t have the option yet, you can always refer to the link in your bio or a different CTA.

Creating CTAs in your Stories prompts your fans to take notice of the product and gives them the opportunity to learn more. It increases engagement on your Stories and potentially increases clicks to your website.

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Anthropologie uploaded images designed explicitly for the Stories format and themed it around pants. Each product had a See More link at the bottom that people could instantly go to for purchase.

More laid back in their approach, Framebridge used Stories to promote a blog post. It was linked for each part of the Story.

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Furthermore, the Stories were timed with an Instagram post that also featured Pepper.

4. Promote Across Networks

It goes without saying that the audience for your Facebook Page might not be the same as the audience on your Instagram account. Chances are that some of your Facebook audience is on Instagram, but they don’t know that you exist there yet. Don’t be afraid to sprinkle some cross-network promotional posts to encourage more followers.

Dwell used a Facebook post to not just promote a home tour, but also to mention that more details could be found in their Instagram Stories. Instead of the usual “Follow our Instagram account!”, they offered something more enticing for their audience. For their existing Instagram fans, the live tour was still exciting content.

5. Be Strategic With Instagram Ads

When Facebook added Instagram to their Ads Manager, new targeting possibilities opened up. Sure, you can boost a post or promote your account, but you could also be more nuanced and strategic about it.

Take advantage of the customization by using retargeting. For instance, if you visit a shoe company like Toms and begin to interact with their posts, it’s possible that you’ll start to see other shoe companies being advertised to you.

After clicking on a few shoe ads, we found the above being advertised to us without ever engaging directly with the company.

Custom audiences can come from many sources. But to start, you can use:

  • Your newsletter lists
  • People who have visited your store
  • Those who purchased from your website
  • People who’ve engaged with your Facebook or Instagram accounts
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From there, utilizing the lookalike audience feature, you can find even more people similar to any of the above audiences.

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Getting familiar with all the Instagram advertising options can put you ahead of your competitors. And with retargeting, you can improve conversions and lower your ad costs.

6. Incorporate Videos

Grab someone’s attention with auto-playing videos and boost the post with ad dollars. Mediakix found that sponsored videos received three times more engagement than photos. So if you’re not using Instagram videos yet, it’s time to get started.

Instead of using a photo of someone texting, SFMOMA used a fun video to show off a new project. The video prompted over 24k views and 98 comments, most of which were people tagging friends.

Salt & Straw used a video to give a behind-the-scenes look at a new ice cream flavor. With over 262k views and 88 comments, it was a successful way to promote a new product and build engagement.

7. Partner with Creatives

Much like an influencer marketing program, partnering with creatives for your product or services lineup can give both parties a larger audience. It can be something as small as swag or as large as a mural in your cafe.

Away partnered with photographer Gray Malin for a limited-edition set of luggage colors. The luggage lining used is one of his photographs. Naturally, the product promotion involved Instagram posts, dedicated hashtags, and in-store signage.

When you partner up with a person or brand that has an active audience, some of their Instagram engagement tends to rub off on your own company. Their audience will visit your page to comment and like the posts that feature the influencer.

8. Give Sneak Peeks & Hints

Followers love being let in on a secret. Even if they’re public posts, giving sneak peeks and hints of new releases makes the audience think they’re part of a special group. It entices them to guess at what’s going on and encourages them to revisit the profile to see if something has been announced.

Elle-May gave her followers a preview of a new women’s section in the 1924us store. The previews resulted in dozens of comments from her followers and less than a week later, multiple items were already sold out.

9. Write Witty Captions

Along with an eye-catching photo, creating a witty or uniquely branded voice on Instagram can help you stand out from everyone else. Create a company voice that people want to hear from and you’ll find that they can’t help but strike up conversations with you.

Here’s an example of how Max Milla used the caption to play on the location name. It’s fun, short and engaging.

10. Time Your Posts

Find out when the best time to post is for you. You want to post when most of your followers are online and engaging on the app. Even with the best photo and wittiest caption, you could still miss out on engagement if you’re posting at the wrong hour.

We did some research into the best times to post on social media, and here’s what we found for Instagram.

best times to post on instagram

Instagram business accounts offer analytics that tells you when your followers are most active.

instagram follower active time

Use this information to schedule out your posts so you can spend your time engaging.

11. Encourage Customer & Employee Posts

Utilize branded hashtags to help you organize user-generated content. If you engage on these hashtags and incorporate a UGC strategy, more people will take notice and begin using the hashtags, too.

Your employees can also be your strongest advocates. Their accounts give a more personal, unfiltered perspective of the company. Remember, people like feeling as if they’re in a secret club. If you reshare from your employees, you’re offering perspectives that your brand normally wouldn’t offer.

Bon Appetit frequently reposts from their readers and their staffers. Each has their own hashtags: #BAstaff and #bareaders. The hashtags give their audience a quick guide on who originally posted the content and encourages a community vibe in their page.

12. Analyze Your Competitors

Here’s something you might not have thought about. But there’s a good chance your competitors are analyzing your brand and others in your industry. So why not do the same? Don’t feel like manually gathering up a bunch of data about your competitors one by one?

If they’re doing something interesting on their page, perhaps you could try it out on yours if it fits within your brand.

Should You Buy Instagram Engagement?

When you’re at a point of desperation and just can’t seem to get anything going, you might get tempted to buy Instagram engagement to give the appearance that you have an active following. You probably already know our response to this, but you should never buy Instagram likes or engagement of any kind.

On the surface, they probably seem like helpful engagement tools, but the reality is they do more harm than good. For one, you’re deceiving your real audience which is never a good idea. On top of that, Instagram has been cracking down on accounts that rely on bots and automation. For instance, your posts might not show up for the hashtags you use or worse case scenario, you could get banned altogether.

Leave the fake engagement alone and focus on building a real audience if you want long-term success.

Which Instagram Engagement Metrics Should You Measure?

By liking posts and leaving thoughtful comments—not self-promotional, but substantive—brands can use Instagram to cultivate a stronger community and drive brand awareness. Users can quantify and qualify their engagement efforts using Instagram’s data.

Give Your Instagram Engagement a Boost

Getting Instagram engagement is more important than ever. Engagement is one of the metrics Instagram uses to determine where your content shows up in your followers’ feeds. When your followers consistently comment and like your posts, Instagram sees it as a sign that they want to see more of your content. As a result, your posts will become prioritized in their feed.

So if you want to get more eyes on your content and build your audience, use the tips above to get more engagement on Instagram.

Luce Media has extensive experience in all things related to Instagram – creative posts, Instagram Stories, Instagram Ads, and analytics.  Contact us today for a Free analysis on your Instagram efforts and how they may be improved.

This post first appeared on Sprout Social at this location – https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-engagement/