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Black Friday Ecommerce: 17 Ideas, Tips & Strategies to Increase Holiday Sales for Shopify Store Owners

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 05:08:18 GMT

Black Friday Digital Marketing Strategies for Shopify Store Owners

1. Run deep Black Friday deals

A “deep” Black Friday deal involves a major discount that attracts shoppers because it’s greater than normal. While Shopify Plus data shows the average merchant discounted products by 14.3% in 2022, Chase Fisher, founder and CEO of Blenders Eyewear recommends going beyond the average to stand out. “You can’t go into Black Friday and put 15% off, 20% off and expect to do well,” Chase says. “Everything comes down to your offer—it’s the one time out of the year you can lower your prices without feeling like you’re losing brand integrity. Make sure your offer is compelling, no matter what.”

Blenders has been known to go deep on its Black Friday offers, with 55% off on all sunglasses sales and buy one, get one free offers. On past Cyber Mondays, the ecommerce team has even marked down snow goggles by 40%. That’s why the company boasted sales surges of up to 10 times that of its previous year’s Black Friday Cyber Monday performance.

Meanwhile, Nik Sharma, marketing consultant and DTC (direct-to-consumer) expert, emphasizes implementing strategies that increase your average order value. “My favorite offer for Black Friday is a high discount combined with a high average order value (AOV) offer,” Nik says. “For example, if you’re selling a $20 product, try to build a bundle that sells for a total of $100 after a 30% to 40% discount. When you increase the AOV, you can afford to give a bigger discount on the product.”

But instead of discounting your entire store, Greg Zakowicz, senior ecommerce expert at Omnisend, recommends taking a page from Blenders Eyewear and offering category-specific sales. “The challenge for retailers is that, as sales start earlier and earlier, it puts increased pressure on them to deliver the discounts they have trained their customers to expect,” says Greg.

Using category-specific sales can accomplish several things, including:

Generating incremental sales with higher margins
Engaging email subscribers and visitors for longer
Helping you better manage your inventory, ordering, and future promotions

2. Go all in on VIP customers

Don’t be afraid to go even bigger withdiscounts and offers for your best, most loyal customers. For its VIP email customers, TANIT Botanics gives early bird access to its Black Friday sale, branded as Change Friday. The brand offers special perks like gift boxes, bundled deals, and sitewide savings of up to 25% with a special code.

Via TANIT

VIP customers tend to be the biggest spenders and the most engaged, so brands can benefit from segmentation of their top-tier group for its customer lists. According to Adobe, it’s the top 1% of a brand’s customers that typically spend five times more than the rest. Using VIP emails can be an effective strategy to reach your most loyal customers at minimal cost.

“The MVC [most valuable customer] segment is typically your subscribers, loyalty/rewards members, ambassadors, general high lifetime value [LTV] customers, or maybe even your first 1,000 customers,” says Nik. “You can use tools like Postscript, Klaviyo, or Yotpo to make these emails feel personal with very little manual work on your end.”

The TANIT example combines a sense of exclusivity with “Join the VIP Early Bird List” copy and a “Be the First” call to action (CTA), which creates a sense of urgency for shoppers to sign up. Together, these two tactics aim to boost conversions from a single email send.

3. Create a master plan for Black November

Black November is the lead-up to Black Friday, when many retailers begin promoting their sales. So, pacing your promos throughout that time is important to keep new and existing customers engaged.

Note that ad buyers are starting to run Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals earlier on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. It gives them time to test and learn, figuring out which creative assets work best, so they can ramp up spending during the four-day shopping weekend.

To avoid customers experiencing burnout from your Black Friday ad messaging, adopt strategies that maximize your return on investment (ROI). Additionally, consider how to capitalize on your growing social audience as part of your integrated Black November plan.

Here are a few key dates to include in your Black November plan for 2023:

Singles’ Day (China’s biggest shopping day of the year): November 11
Thanksgiving: November 23
Black Friday: November 24
Cyber Monday: November 27

Knowing key retail holiday dates are critical if you have both a North American and international customer base. Keep in mind:

Black Friday may be known as the biggest day for discounts, but you should begin your promotions much earlier, because many retailers start “leaking deals” through advertising in late October and early November, then nurture through email and social media to drive sales.
Alibaba, China’s largest ecommerce retailer, in recent years generated as much as $76.5 billion in sales during Singles’ Day celebrations. Remember to develop a separate strategy for that day, and the related two weeks of festival events.

Examples of Black Friday strategies that can help you gain ecommerce traffic include:

A Black Friday buzz-building campaign. The campaign can include a countdown, deals, and specials that use ads, emails, and social media leading up to the event.
Sneak peeks on door crashers. Doorcrashers, or doorbuster deals, are specials that run for a limited time, starting at early hours or at opening. You can also offer other sales that will go live during the weeks leading up to and on Black Friday.
A coordinated promotional strategy. Consider a promo strategy that spans all online channels—websites, emails, and social—to maximize impact on the day of your sale.
An influencer and micro-influencer engagement strategy. Leverage influencer marketing to boost word of mouth about special offers.
Post–Cyber Monday deals. Use, extended sale offers for last-minute online shoppers,emphasizing shipping dates and gift wrapping, throughout December.

Altitude Sports extended its Cyber Monday deals, offering up to 40% off to customers—with bonus savings for those who joined as a brand member.

Via Altitude Sports

4. Build anticipation through social media

Sales attributed to social commerce channels hit a record $58.1 million in 2022—making social media a top channel to leverage during the lead up to Black Friday. Strengthen customer engagement by making an emotional connection with customers—try using inspiring imagery and highlighting positive testimonials on popular social media platforms. Then, when Black Friday hits, use email marketing to drive immediate results.

For example, leading up to Black Friday 2022, Blenders started highlighting its BOGO (buy one, get one) deals, using the hashtag #blackfriday. Content creators and influencers promoted the sale through Instagram.

Simultaneously, Blenders was building buzz on TikTok, while promoting the hashtag #blendfriday and the upcoming new drops timed to Black Friday. This multichannel approach allowed Blenders to speak to their followers and prospects in multiple places, and successfully tease the upcoming sale before it hit.

5. Segment your emails before and during Black Friday

Email is still a staple of Black Friday Cyber Monday sales. Personalization by audience segment is an important tactic to leverage.

Marketing automation platform Klaviyo recommends identifying the following five key segments based on their motivation, willingness to spend, and level of urgency—and customizing marketing messaging for each:

Deal hunters
Last-minute shoppers
VIPs
Window shoppers
Impulse buyers

Additionally, retailers often identify these segments in need of re-engagement:

Email ignorers
Haven’t purchased
Almost purchased

For those who have almost purchased, pushing them toward checkout is key. For example, Ivory Ella sent an email out to only those customers who had received their morning email but had not opened it or placed an order that day.

For email ignorers, try enticing them with free shipping or a complimentary gift with purchase. Ursa Major sent a “free shipping plus a free bar of soap” offer at 7 p.m. the day after Black Friday to convert subscribers who didn’t open an email on the day of the sale.

6. Make sure your site can handle a surge in traffic

All of the effort you put into your Black Friday marketing campaigns then begs the question: Can your site handle the surge? The potential to lose or gain millions in sales on Black Friday can hinge on your ecommerce platform’s reliability.

Despite SweetLegs’ best efforts to make its ecommerce site ironclad and uncompromisable by spending thousands extra each month on better servers, a Black Friday crash cost the company six figures in lost sales.

“There was just an error page: ‘Try back again later,’ ” says Chris Pafiolis, founder of SweetLegs. “Too many requests. Too many people. It just choked.”

After replatforming in just 30 days, SweetLegs had its best Black Friday and Cyber Monday ever. The company launched a 50%-off promotion for the duration of the sale, and the site stayed up the entire time.

Whether or not you need to replatform right now, it’s good to have a backup strategy. Install an uptime monitor like UptimeRobot or Pingdom to notify you when your website experiences downtime. That way, you can react quickly and lean on your platform support team to swiftly resolve the issue and minimize the loss of customers

Site crashes are a huge turn-off, but a slow-loading site can be equally irritating for customers.Every second a page takes to load can up the site’s bounce rate. Therefore, slower ecommerce sites will likely lose customers to a faster competitor’s site. To improve your Black Friday ecommerce site speed and performance, review the optimization tips for Shopify Plus ecommerce sites.

Additionally, PageSpeed Insights is a Google Labs tool that personalizes suggestions to improve your site performance and speed. It calls out elements like CSS and JavaScript that can slow down your site’s loading times.

7. Optimize for mobile-first buying

US consumers spend 276 minutes (or nearly five hours) on their mobile phones daily. If your site isn’t optimized for a seamless mobile commerce experience, then you risk falling behind and losing customers to competitors.

While some customers still shop via desktop and browse by smartphone, during the 2022 Black Friday Cyber Monday, Shopify merchants saw mobile transactions account for 73% of all sales, compared to 27% on desktops.

You can boost your likelihood for mobile shopping success by keeping pace with mobile commerce trends, improving your site navigation and website speed, and offering one-click purchases to mobile-first customers.

8. Improve your website’s navigation

Improving your site’s search functionality will help customers to navigate your site quickly to find holiday gifts. Alternatively, 70% of shoppers will abandon a site because of a poor on-site search or user experience. There are a couple of ways to improve navigation—one is enhance search, and the other is to lean into navigation designs that are familiar to customers.

Implement predictive search

To prepare for the holiday rush, find a predictive search tool that offers:

Real-time analytics. To help you understand trends and performance with unlimited real-time analysis.
Instant, accurate search results. To retain customers who are almost twice as likely to convert when using site search.
Storefront customization flexibility. To use search as an extension of your brand by controlling overall search styling.

Mimic offsite platforms onsite

MVMT watches features an Instagram gallery embedded at the bottom of its site to help mobile device users quickly browse its product line. It also encourages customers to visit its Instagram and see social proof of customers’ love of MVMT products.

Via MVMT

Users can also click and scroll through MVMT’s latest Instagram posts, view more images and pricing, and click on a single Add to Cart button—without ever leaving the site. Additionally, MVMT leverages a host of traditional offsite multichannels and mobile-first elements like:

Full-screen product images
User-generated content and reviews
Additional “Shop Insta” visuals

All of these elements make for an easy browsing experience that engages and converts customers.

9. Simplify the checkout experience

The average person in the US spends more than $300 each month on impulse purchases. To boost impulse purchases on Black Friday, reduce the on-site barriers to buy.

One-click buying enables customers to purchase items with a single click, with the customer’s payment information stored in a secure mobile wallet. Businesses can enable one-click purchases by offering Shop Pay, the best-converting checkout on the internet, which lets customers save their email address, credit card, and shipping and billing information.

Via Shop Pay

You can also add dynamic checkout buttons to increase mobile transactions. Once a customer has selected their preferred payment method, Shopify’s back end remembers their choice and automatically presents that payment button on all future visits.

Also, you can speed up the checkout process by displaying those buttons directly on product pages—giving customers the option to buy immediately or add the item to their cart.

10. Kill the coupons and codes

Customers have come to expect coupons and special Black Friday codes. But having to remember and input a code can create friction during the checkout process.

Shopify Plus merchants can also reduce checkout friction using automatic discounts. You can create and automatically apply discounts to a customer’s cart, without a discount code. It offers fast, flexible promotions using fixed, percentage, or buy-X, get-Y discounts to streamline the checkout process.

Using automatic discounts on Black Friday, you can:

Boost conversions, Discounts are automatically shown at cart and checkout.
Have more flexibility with promotions. Customize discounts by adding a minimum purchase amount or quantity of items. Set conditions to only apply the discount to specific collections or products.
A/B test automatic discounts. Use A/B testing to identify the best automatic discount thresholds to boost sales and conversion rates. Then, create a more complex, personalized experience with Shopify Scripts.

Implementing automatic discounts can be easier with the help of Shopify Scripts. Using the Script Editor app, you can create scripts that run each time a customer adds items to their cart. These scripts can have many uses, from discounting products with specific tags to running promotions such as “buy 2, get 1 free,” or a free gift with purchase.

11. Rescue abandoned carts by any means necessary

Shopping cart abandonment is still high in online retail: an astonishing 70.19%. While email marketing is still a strong channel to rescue abandoned carts, leading brands reach out on other channels, like social media, to re-engage customers.

For example, Pura Vida Bracelets uses ShopMessage for automation through Facebook Messenger. ShopMessage helps you:

Recover abandoned carts
Build a Messenger subscriber base
Trigger personalized conversations by onsite behavior

If a customer views a product on the Pura Vida website but doesn’t buy right away, the company can automatically offer a discount using ShopMessage. It takes one click for customers to return to the checkout and see their cart reconstructed, with the discount automatically applied.

ShopMessage has helped Pura Vida generate:

A 26% clickthrough rate
A 10% lift in revenue from subscribers logged into Facebook

12. Leverage automations

While Black Friday can be a significant source of revenue for many ecommerce businesses, it can also be a source of stress. Leveraging automation can help, as it saves you the guesswork about which workflows would work best for your site, and saves you the time of creating them from scratch. Automation also lessens the risk of human error.

Ecommerce automation tools like Shopify Flow enable you to automate nearly any customer-facing or back-office process you can imagine—from launching new, personalized campaigns to fraud management to low stock alerts. You can also store and execute triggers, conditions, and specific actions, without any coding.

Merchants use Flow to automate high-pressure business tasks for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, such as:

Customer service
Fraud prevention
Design and development requests
Merchandising
Marketing and advertising
Managing inventory

Socks For Living uses ecommerce automation to easily schedule, execute, and monitor events such as sales, product releases, inventory restocks, and content changes. The team usesLaunchpad to automatically roll out and roll back discounts, theme changes, and products. That means, for example, their team doesn’t have to stay up late to post or take down a new sale.

Launchpad’s real-time monitoring tool helped Socks For Living streamline which offers it promoted through email—and to whom—to prevent overlap: If one customer received an offer to buy a product for $15, they wouldn’t later get an offer to buy that same product for $12.

Shopify Flow also offers a library of pre-made workflow templates you can use to automate multiple ecommerce business processes. For example, you can send browser push notifications after a customer makes a second order, create support tickets after a negative customer review, and send a win-back email to “at-risk” customers. All Flow templates can be customized on your own in minimal time.

13. Invest in post–Black Friday loyalty

Incorporating loyalty programs into your Black Friday marketing strategy can pay dividends. That’s because customers who redeem loyalty rewards often spend more than those who don’t. That’s because the psychology of a loyalty program email is completely different than promotional emails:

Loyalty emails include rewards that your customers have worked to earn, so they don’t want to lose those points.
They’re one of the few emails your customers receive that is 100% personalized.

LoyaltyLion integrates with a number of email service providers (ESPs)—like Dotdigital, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and HubSpot. So you can automatically enhance customer emails with loyalty information, such as point totals.

Don’t forget to promote rewards in the customer’s cart, as well. Enabling customers to claim loyalty rewards directly from their cart with one click is another way to help grow average order values.

14. Prepare a Black Friday shipping and returns plan

Fast shipping and simple returns are two customer pain points. During BFCM, ecommerce merchants need to have a solid last-minute shipping plan.

Here are two key dates to keep in mind:

December 11, 2023: Green Monday

The concept of “Green Monday” was developed by eBay in 2007 to commemorate its busiest day of last-minute gift shopping. It falls on the second Monday in December, and it’s a critical time to increase your marketing efforts.

December 14, 2023: Free Shipping Day

During Free Shipping Day, ecommerce stores often provide free shipping on all items, and guarantee delivery by Christmas Eve. If your store participates this year, be sure to set clear shipping expectations with holiday shoppers.

You can use one of several Shopify apps to show whether products in a customer’s cart are eligible to ship within a quick time frame. If the products won’t arrive in time, identify them in the cart as shipping separately. You can warn them on the product page or a sales landing page, as well.

For more last-minute shipping ideas, check out Shopify’s holiday shipping and fulfillment strategies or Global Retail Calendar for important holiday shopping dates. Remember: Make finding cancellation, exchange, and return policies on your website an easy, uncomplicated, and seamless process. If a customer decides to return a Black Friday or Cyber Monday gift or purchase and has a poor customer experience, you risk losing both the customer and revenue.

An app like AfterShip Returns can address this customer pain point. You can automatically generate labels, refunds, and emails to save time and enhance your customers’ shopping experience. You can also customize your portal to look and feel like your website. Likewise, create specific Black Friday policies for final sale and discounted items.

15. Use Amazon as an additional holiday sales channel

Data shows that most people start their product search on Amazon. However, it can be tough to stand out in a sea of Amazon products. That’s why it’s important to allocate some of your advertising budget to Amazon Ads, which offers sellers valuable tools like:

Amazon search for product searches
Amazon demand-side platform
Amazon attribution
Access to custom advertising experiences

If you’re wondering, “Is selling on Amazon is worth it?” or if you have reservations about working with the ecommerce giant (61% of sellers rank as a top concern the fear that Amazon will take away their seller privileges), think about the shopping strength of Black Friday.

If you think of Black Friday as the Super Bowl of online shopping, then buying ads and listing products to sell on Amazon will help boost awareness for emerging brands. And you can use that exposure to attract satisfied customers to your site long term.

“We realized it is hard for people to have faith in a new brand, especially for something as sensitive as footwear. We really liked the idea of Amazon being able to list our products side by side with the bigger legacy brands. That helped validate our product,” says Nolan Walsh, co-founder at Thursday Boots.

The footwear brand lists some of its bestselling items on Amazon. It then entices repeat business by selling new product launches exclusively on the Thursday Boots site. More Amazon promotional ideas can be found in the Shopify post outlining the multichannel sales benefits of working with Amazon and eBay.

16. Upsell and cross-sell your products

Upselling and cross-selling products can be an effective strategy to bolster your Black Friday sales. Upselling is when you persuade customers to buy a more expensive or upgraded version of items or add-ons to boost the total sale amount. Cross-selling, meanwhile, involves offering shoppers a product that complements their original purchase. Ecommerce companies that employ these types of product recommendation tactics see a 10% to 30% boost in revenue, on average.

To upsell effectively, consider envisioning yourself as the customer. Figure out what might help your customer needs. It’s a softer sales technique that acts more like a friendly recommendation to help them make the right purchase.

Cross-selling can also serve as a reminder for both new and repeat customers who might otherwise leave something behind. For a hypothetical coffee company, this might look like upselling a bigger bag for three dollars more, then cross-selling its coffee filters to increase average order value (AOV).

For both selling techniques, creating sales copy with enticing phrases such as “Add Extras,” “You May Also Like,” or “Others Also Bought” often can persuade people to take action. It’s a softer sales technique that acts more like a friendly recommendation to help them make the right purchase.

17. Adopt a buy now, pay later platform

Capture more holiday sales by offering buy now, pay later (BNPL) options for shoppers.

BNPL is one of the fastest growing ecommerce payment methods and is popular among 25% of Americans. The market size is expected to top $39 billion by 2030, with an annual growth rate of 26% from 2022 to 2030. Brands like Nordstrom, American Eagle, and Morphe have adopted BNPL options on their checkout page.

Shop Pay Installments provides a seamless solution for adding BNPL options, both online and in-store. Customers can either pay in full at checkout or divide their purchase into regular, manageable payments. Merchants using Shop Pay Installments have seen average order value increases of up to 50% and up to 28% fewer abandoned carts.

Other big players in the BNPL space include Klarna and Afterpay⁠—both of which can be added as third-party payment options to your Shopify store.

Preparing your ecommerce store for Black Friday Cyber Monday in 5 steps

Attempt to replicate the issue
Determine if it’s an isolated event
Check third-party apps, themes, and plug-ins
Lean on Shopify Plus’s priority support
Plan for stockouts

Recurring issues—from supply chain demands to order fulfillment to ecommerce platform load times—can have a serious impact on your fourth-quarter earnings. The following steps will help you troubleshoot any unexpected problems.

1. Attempt to replicate the issue

Perhaps someone is having trouble loading the payment information page to add a credit card. Determine what device they’re using, and in which browser and version.

Request screenshots to help your team replicate, or reverse-engineer, the customer’s problem. It might be affecting other customers as well. Also, filter out “local” issues that may not be caused by your site or servers.

2. Determine if it’s an isolated event

Shopify’s Status page can help you determine if this is an isolated event or system-wide issue. Engineers are performing 24/7 monitoring, and will update any unusual problems within minutes of their occurrence.

3. Check third-party apps, themes, and plug-ins

Always test new apps and themes on your “backup” or staging development store first. Then, replicate the exact working conditions, as your live production site should be able to spot problems on the backup version before pushing the problematic app combination to the live site.

4. Lean on Shopify Plus’s priority support

Tap Shopify Plus’s priority technical support. The team can help you test drive the settings for your apps, themes, and other functions. Connect through email, chat, or phone by heading over to Settings > Account page in your admin portal.

5. Plan for stockouts

Don’t forget to plan for stockouts—because you don’t want to wake up the day after Black Friday or Cyber Monday having sold out all inventory without a backup plan. Preparing for the unexpected, like supply chain delays for example, helps ensure you have a contingency plan to protect your business.

A few tips to help avoid going out-of-stock are:

Monitor inventory levels

Your ecommerce platform tools should let you set up inventory tracking to monitor your inventory levels during Black Friday. Look for seasonal trends in your inventory history to prevent stockouts.

If you’re planning a pop-up event during the holidays, or are moving inventory into additional warehouses or spaces:

Track and monitor your stock across multiple locations
Make inventory adjustments as needed
Manage and save time by combining inventory levels with automation tools to replenish products.

Set up inventory management workflows

Shopify Flow can be integrated with the inventory monitoring tools to master your inventory management. It automates most customer-facing or back-office processes, without any coding. You can use the Slack app with Flow: A workflow can send you a Slack message when your inventory levels dip below 10 items.

Ready or not, Black Friday ecommerce is coming

Is your ecommerce site ready for the biggest retail event of the year? While ecommerce holiday sales are expected to continue to climb between 10.3% and 12.8% (or $278 billion and $284 billion), to reap the benefits, brands will have to take a strategic approach.

Plan ahead and consider everything from mobile site speed and performance to integrated online and offline promotions. Your Black Friday strategy should also include shipping and contingency plans for unexpected issues and stockouts.

We wish you a very successful Black November, and we’re here to answer any questions you have leading up to the main event!

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Black Friday ecommerce FAQ

Does Black Friday affect online shopping?

The pandemic changed the Black Friday shopping holiday slightly. More retailers now promote deals ahead of Thanksgiving week and push more deals online between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Is Black Friday or Cyber Monday better for online deals?

Cyber Monday is often cited as having better online deals and discounts. Cyber Monday deals are usually flash sales, offering only the best deals for a day or two and in limited quantities.

How much do sales increase during Black Friday?

Across Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, Shopify merchants collectively made $7.5 billion in sales in 2022, up 12% from 2021.

Does Black Friday affect brick-and-mortar stores?

Despite a dip in foot traffic for physical stores during the pandemic, Black Friday retail sales grew 29.8% through mid-afternoon in 2021, versus 2020, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. Black Friday is a prime day for retailers to see increased foot traffic and sales in their brick-and-mortar stores.

5 TikTok Strategies for Apparel and Fashion Brands

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 08:00:03 GMT

5 TikTok Strategies for Apparel and Fashion Brands

TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion active users. The app's focus on short, engaging videos has made it a favorite among Gen Z and millennial audiences, making it an ideal platform for apparel and fashion brands to promote their products. Here are five strategies for apparel and fashion brands to succeed on TikTok:

1. Partner with Influencers

Partnering with TikTok influencers can be an effective way to reach a wider audience. Find influencers who align with your brand's values and aesthetic, and work with them to create content that showcases your products.

2. Create Engaging Content

TikTok users are looking for fun and engaging content, so make sure your videos are visually appealing and entertaining. Use popular music and trends to make your content more relatable and shareable.

3. Leverage Relevant Hashtags

Hashtags are an important part of TikTok, and can help your content get discovered by a wider audience. Use relevant hashtags that align with your brand and content, and consider creating your own branded hashtag to encourage user-generated content. For example, here are the top trending fashion related hashtags on TikTok:

#bra - 4 billion views
#pants - 4.3 billion views
#sustainablefashion - 4.4 billion views
#hat - 4.6 billion views
#fashionblogger - 4.8 billion views
#fashionstyle - 5+ billion views
#fashionnova - 5.1 billion views
#diyfashion - 5.1+ billion views
#tshirt - 5.3+ billion views
#fashionshow - 5.6+ billion views

4. Offer Exclusive Deals

Offering exclusive deals or promotions to your TikTok followers can help build brand loyalty and drive sales. Consider creating special discount codes or limited-time offers for your followers to redeem.

5. Leverage TikTok Spark Ads and Influencer Whitelisting

TikTok Spark Ads: TikTok Spark Ads is a powerful advertising tool that can help brands reach their target audience on TikTok. These ads are designed to be short, engaging, and visually appealing, making them a great fit for the platform. By leveraging TikTok's advanced targeting capabilities, brands can ensure that their ads are seen by the right people at the right time. With the ability to reach millions of users, TikTok Spark Ads can be a valuable addition to any brand's marketing strategy on the platform.

TikTok Whitelisting: Influencer whitelisting is another effective advertising strategy on TikTok. Brands can work with specific influencers to create ads that are more authentic and engaging, and then use whitelisting to ensure that these ads are only shown to the specified influencer's followers. This can help increase the effectiveness of the ad, as it is shown to an audience that is already interested in the influencer's content and more likely to engage with the ad. With the right influencer and targeting strategy, whitelisting can be a powerful way for apparel and fashion brands to promote their products on TikTok.

5 Social Media Strategies for EdTech or E-Learning Brands

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 07:18:17 GMT

5 Social Media Strategies for EdTech or E-Learning Brands

As more people turn to online learning, edtech and e-learning brands are becoming increasingly important. To help these brands succeed, it's important to use social media effectively. Here are five social media strategies that edtech and e-learning brands can use to reach their target audience:

1. Share Valuable Content

One of the best ways to use social media for edtech and e-learning brands is to share valuable content. This could include cross promoting blog posts, infographics, short or long form videos, or whitepapers. By sharing more consistent content that is valuable and relevant to your target audience, you can establish your brand as a thought leader in the space. You can even take advantage of your live events like we did with our client partner, ISTE .

2. Use Visuals

Visuals are a powerful tool for any social media campaign, but they can be especially effective for edtech and e-learning brands. Consider using images, UGC videos, or graphics that help illustrate complex concepts or ideas. This can help make your content more engaging and shareable. We recommend to our clients to lean on trending audio, editing styles, etc.

3. Leverage User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is any content that is created by your audience. This could include short form video, GIFS and even static images. By leveraging UGC, you can help build a community around your brand and create more authentic connections with your audience.

4. Engage with Your Audience

Engaging with your audience is a key part of any social media strategy. This could include responding to comments or messages, hosting Q&A sessions, or running polls or surveys. By engaging with your audience, you can build stronger relationships with them and gain valuable insights into their needs and preferences.

5. Partner with Influencers

Influencers are social media users who have a large following and can help promote your brand to their audience. Consider partnering with influencers in the edtech or e-learning space to help reach your target audience. This could include sponsoring their content or hosting a joint event or webinar.

By using these social media strategies, edtech and e-learning brands can effectively reach their target audience and build stronger relationships with them.

Did you know you can whitelist ads directly through an influencers page (and…target their followers)?

Rossman Media is the #1 Social Media Agency

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 06:17:40 GMT

From $3M to $20M run rate in just 12 months, Rossman Media becomes the fastest growing social media agency in the country

In today's digital age, social media has become an essential tool for businesses to reach out to their target audience. With millions of active users on various social media platforms, it's crucial to have a strong social media presence to stand out in the crowded market. And that's where Rossman Media comes in.

Rossman Media is a leading social media agency that provides top-notch social media marketing services to businesses of all sizes. Whether you're a small startup or a large corporation, Rossman Media has the expertise and experience to help you grow your social media presence and reach your business goals.

One of the reasons why Rossman Media is the #1 social media agency is because of their team of social media experts. Their team consists of highly skilled professionals who are well-versed in the latest social media trends and strategies. They use their knowledge and expertise to create personalized social media strategies that are tailored to meet each client's unique needs and goals.

Another reason why Rossman Media is the best social media agency is their commitment to results. They don't just focus on increasing your social media followers or likes; they focus on achieving your business objectives. Whether it's increasing your website traffic, generating leads, or boosting your sales, Rossman Media will work tirelessly to help you achieve your desired results.

Rossman Media's success as the #1 social media agency is also evident in their impressive portfolio of clients. They have worked with some of the biggest names in various industries and have helped them achieve remarkable results. Their clients include Coca-Cola, Nike, Apple, and many other well-known brands.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a social media agency that can help you take your social media presence to the next level, Rossman Media is the right choice. With their team of experts, commitment to results, and impressive portfolio of clients, they are undoubtedly the #1 social media agency.

Rossman Media Building a Marketing Dream Team through M&A

jonathan@rossmanmedia.com (Jonathan Nguyen) — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 05:58:41 GMT

Rossman is rolling up the marketing agency space with speed & certainty with 3 acquisitions in just 12 months...

Executive Overview

Over the last year, Rossman Media has been making strategic acquisitions to build a dream team of senior-level marketing experts. By acquiring specialized agencies, Rossman Media has been able to enhance it’s capabilities and improve client retention. This blog post will discuss how Rossman Media is building a marketing dream team through M&A.

Why Rossman has Centered It’s Focus on Building a Marketing Dream Team

By acquiring agencies with specialized skills and knowledge, Rossman Media has been able to build a team of senior-level experts with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This has allowed Rossman Media to offer its client partners a full range of marketing services, including social media & content creation, media buying, influencer marketing, SEO, email marketing and more.

Another benefit of building a marketing dream team is the ability to stay ahead of the curve which aligns with Rossman Media’s core mission of being “built for the now.” By staying up-to-date with the latest marketing trends and technologies, Rossman Media has been able to offer its client partners cutting-edge marketing solutions that are tailored to their specific needs. This has helped Rossman Media to stay competitive and meet the evolving needs of its client partners.

Acquisitions that have Built Rossman Media's Marketing Dream Team

Rossman Media has made several strategic acquisitions to build its marketing dream team. In Q1 2022, Rossman Media acquired davies + dixon, a digital marketing agency that specialized in organic social media marketing. This acquisition not only helped to expand Rossman Media’s marketshare in social media but also paved a way for an experienced leadership team comprised of Kelsey Dixon (SVP of Growth) and Makenzie Davies (SVP of Client Services).

In addition, Rossman Media acquired B2B marketing agency, Hook & Blade, in Q4 2022. This acquisition brought on board a team of B2B marketing experts who helped Rossman Media to expand its offerings and reach new markets, including the addition of VP of Marketing Strategy, Andy Morris. Finally, Rossman Media just acquired an undisclosed brand storytelling agency, in June 2023. This acquisition brought on board a team of 17 tenured media experts who have helped Rossman Media enhance its capabilities in a big way focusing largely on the Home Services industry. Led by two iconic media professionals, we expect their combined experience to be an incredible asset to the ever-growing leadership team. A formal press release coming soon with details on this acquisition.

Challenges of Building a Marketing Dream Team

Building a marketing dream team is not all butterflies and rainbows. One of the biggest challenges is integrating the cultures and processes of the acquired companies with those of Rossman Media. This can be a complex and time-consuming process that requires careful planning and execution. Another challenge is the potential for financial risk. Acquiring companies can be expensive, and there is always a risk that the acquisition will not yield the expected returns. Rossman Media has mitigated this risk by thoroughly researching potential acquisition targets and carefully evaluating the potential benefits and risks both from a qualitative and quantitative lens before making a final decision.

Future Outlook for Rossman Media's Marketing Dream Team

Rossman Media's marketing dream team has been a key factor in the company's success in recent years contributing to a projected $20 million dollars in revenue by end of 2023. As the company looks to the future, it will continue to build its team of experts through strategic acquisitions. By staying ahead of the curve and offering cutting-edge marketing solutions, Rossman Media is well positioned to continue growing its business and meeting the evolving needs of its customers.

Conclusion

Building a marketing dream team through M&A has been a successful growth strategy for Rossman Media. By acquiring companies with specialized skills and knowledge, Rossman Media has been able to build a team of experts with diverse backgrounds and experiences. While building a marketing dream team can be challenging, Rossman Media has successfully navigated these challenges to drive its growth and increase its market share. As Rossman Media looks to the future, it will continue to leverage M&A as a strategic tool to achieve its business objectives and build a world-class marketing dream team.

5 Best Social Media Strategies in 2023

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 17:26:19 GMT

Start Implementing These Social Media Strategies In Your Business Right Now

Introduction

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives and is constantly evolving. With the ever-changing landscape, it is essential for your business to stay up-to-date with the latest social media strategies to stay ahead of the competition. In this blog post, we will discuss the 5 best social media strategies that businesses should implement in 2023 to maximize their reach and engagement, not to mention sky rocket sales.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has been a popular trend in recent years, and it is expected to continue to grow in 2023. Influencers have a loyal following and can help businesses reach a larger audience. Businesses should identify influencers in their niche and collaborate with them to promote their products or services. The key is to find the right influencer who can effectively communicate the brand's message to their followers.

Short-Form Video Content & UGC

Video content has been on the rise for a few years now, and it is expected to continue to grow in popularity in 2023. Videos are more engaging than text and images and can attract more views and engagement. Businesses should create high-quality video content that is relevant to their audience along with mixing in user-generated content. Your brand can create tutorials, behind-the-scenes, or product demos to showcase their brand's values and personality.

Personalization

Personalization is the key to success in social media marketing. Customers want to feel valued and heard, and businesses should cater to their specific needs. Businesses should use data analytics to understand their audience's preferences and deliver personalized content that resonates with them. This can include personalized emails, product recommendations, or social media messages via DM, comments, etc.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is an emerging trend that is expected to transform social media marketing in 2023. Augmented reality allows businesses to create immersive experiences for their customers, which can increase engagement and brand loyalty. Businesses can use augmented reality to showcase their products or services in a unique way that stands out from their competitors.

Chatbots

Chatbots have become increasingly popular in recent years and are expected to continue to grow in 2023. Chatbots can provide instant customer support and can handle a large volume of queries at the same time. This can help businesses improve their customer service and response time. Chatbots can be integrated into social media platforms like Facebook Messenger, allowing customers to interact with businesses easily. Also with the rise in AI, you can expect this feature to become increasingly more personalized and tailored to every users specific consumer behavior.

Conclusion

Social media is a constantly changing landscape, and businesses should stay up-to-date with the latest trends and strategies to stay ahead of the competition. In 2023, businesses should focus on influencer marketing, video content, personalization, augmented reality, and chatbots to maximize their reach and engagement among other strategies. These strategies will help businesses create a strong social media presence and build long-lasting relationships with their customers.

If you’re looking for done-for-you social media and digital marketing services all under one roof, we’d love to put together a complimentary marketing plan to help you achieve your businesses goals.

Contact Kelsey Dixon at kelsey@rossmanmedia.com for to schedule your strategy call and get the process started!

$1 Million in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 15:49:05 GMT

How Rossman Media Surpassed a Milestone of $1 Million in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

Introduction

For any tech-enabled marketing agency like Rossman, achieving $1 million in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is a significant milestone. It is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the entire team, and it is a testament to the value that the company provides to its customers. In this blog post, we will discuss our path to achieving $1 million in MRR and the key factors that contribute to this exciting milestone.

Customer Acquisition

One of the main factors that contribute to achieving $1 million in MRR is customer acquisition. A marketing agency like Rossman needs to have a steady stream of new and recurring customers to grow its MRR. This can be achieved through various channels such as SEO, content marketing, paid advertising, and for us through three (3) strategic acquisitions of other agencies that compliment our capabilities as a company. However, it is important to focus on the quality of customers rather than just the quantity. A company needs to attract customers who see the value in its product & service and are willing to pay a premium for it.

Customer Retention

Acquiring new customers is important, but retaining existing customers is equally important. A high churn rate can quickly erode MRR gains. Therefore, it has been crucial for us to provide excellent customer service and support to keep customers satisfied and loyal. Regular communication with customers, listening to their feedback, and incorporating their suggestions into product & service development has helped to improve customer retention.

Pricing Strategy

Pricing plays a critical role in achieving $1 million in MRR. A company needs to set a price that reflects the value of its product while also being competitive in the market. It is important to test different pricing strategies to find the optimal price point that maximizes revenue. Offering different pricing tiers with varying features has allowed us to attract a wider range of customers and increase MRR significantly.

Conclusion

Achieving $1 million in MRR is a significant milestone for any recurring revenue company. It requires a strong focus on customer acquisition and retention, as well as a smart pricing strategy. However, it is important to remember that MRR is not the only metric that determines the success of a company. Customer satisfaction, product innovation, and team culture are also essential factors that contribute to long-term success.

Rossman Media is Honored by The Manifest as San Diego’s Best Reviewed Advertising Agency for 2023

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 06:30:24 GMT

Rossman Media is Honored by The Manifest as San Diego’s Best Reviewed Advertising Agency for 2023

Advertising is vital to the success of a business. Without a dedicated advertising and marketing partner, your business can end up in limbo. Here at Rossman Media, we won’t let that happen. Established in 2016, we are an all-around ad and marketing partner that has worked with the likes of Airbnb, BraveRobot, and GoodRx.

The fantastic support of our beloved clients recently helped us achieve an amazing award from a trusted industry resource. During the yearly The Manifest Company Awards, Rossman Media was spotlighted as one of the best recommended and reviewed advertising agencies from San Diego this 2023!

Words cannot give justice to how honored we feel right now. This feat validates all our hard work and commitment to our partners. Trust has always been huge for us. We know how big it is to earn the trust of a partner and how easy it is to break. Receiving this award shows that our clients strongly believe in our capabilities.

To give you a better understanding of this award, The Manifest is a company listing resource for browsers that want to know more about the B2B industries. Each year, the platform holds an industry award to showcase the outstanding companies that share stellar relationships with their clients.

Thank you so much to everyone — our clients, stakeholders, and hard-working teammates. Rossman Media is privileged to be surrounded by supportive and brilliant people. Cheers to more exciting opportunities moving forward.

Interested in working with us? Or, just have a question? Rossman Media is here to help. Send us a message and we’ll be in touch.

A Guide to TikTok Trends

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 15:04:15 GMT

A Guide to TikTok Trends

Move over, you dancing teens and make way for serious brands on TikTok!

TikTok’s audience is getting more mature and the platform isn’t saturated with advertisements as of now. Making it a ripe platform to steer your social media marketing efforts and dollars to.

Even though half of the majory brands aren’t leveraging TikTok yet, the ones who have report great results.

One of the things that sets TikTok apart from other platforms is the trends that pop up. Trends offer a great way to get in front of a large audience and this post will get you up to speed.

Wait! Why Should My Brand Be On TikTok!?

Wondering if your brand should be on TikTok? Let’s solve that once and for all and to answer this question, I recommend you read this and this .

Though originally a fun platform for a young audience, TikTok has transformed into a cultural phenomenon over the last 2 years.

The audience on TikTok is getting older so it’s a great way to leverage your brand in a humorous way to get in front of new audiences.

And then add in the fact that TikTok isn’t saturated by advertisements yet, making it a great platform to focus on and experiment with.

Identifying Trends on TikTok

To start identifying trends on TikTok, check out the “discover” tab and the “for you” tab. Use “search” functionality to follow the hashtag #TrendAlert.

One way to identify TikTok trends that will resonate with your audience is to follow like-minded accounts.

Something to keep in mind is that by the time a TikTok trend is trending, your brand is already too late to the party. Therefore, we recommend that you follow the right trendy creators so that you know about trends before they happen.

There are some TikTokers that JUST promote upcoming trends on the platform. It’s wise to follow them. Try following wavewyld and jera.bean .

I learn best from examples so I recommend you check out this list of trends on TikTok last year and this year for some inspiration and a good understanding of what trends on this platform.

Strategies Capitalizing on TikTok Trends

Want to trend on TikTok? Whether it’s your brand trending or leveraging TikTok trends to get in front of new audiences or starting a new trend, there are a few strategies that will help.

I could go on about these strategies all day but consumers love it when brands get straight to the point so here are my 9 points:

Post consistently, at least 2 times per week
Don’t be afraid to be a disruptor
Experiment with different video themes, hashtags, etc to hone in on your approach
Use some of your budget on paid TikTok ads to reach a larger audience
Work with TikTok influencers who already have an engaged demographic
Use a branded hashtag like Chipotle did here
Use the right audio as the majority of videos that go viral creatively utilize sound
Be humorous or even self-deprecating
Keep your videos at 30 seconds or less

Social Selling on TikTok

Many brands are taking advantage of the fact that they can go “live” on TikTok. This shows that video content is no longer king, live video is the real royalty.

Social selling on TikTok engages audiences and can even be leveraged by aligning with a topic trending on the platform.

Social selling on TikTok just involves a host (or 2) who go live and engage with their brand’s audience often to make sales in real-time.

And FYI, the average consumer will spend $518 on social shopping by the time the year is over which is up 27% from last year.

The Go-To Search Engine For Younger Audiences

40% of 18-24 year olds prefer to do brand research via TikTok instead of Google. If you can be lucky enough to trend on TikTok, the algorithm will favor your content and you'll be more likely to show up in TikTok search results.

As I mentioned earlier, TikTok is somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. It’s paving it’s own way with a new opportunity for brands to authentically connect with their younger audience. In fact, TikTok users are starting to use the platform as a search engine.

When a consumer is looking for quippy bits about your brand or your industry, don’t you want these consumers to discover your content over your competitor’s? That is why trending on TikTok is an experiment you can’t afford to let go.

Next Steps: I Want to Capitalize on TikTok Trends

A consumer may visit your brand’s TikTok page for entertainment. But once they see that your content resonates with them, they’re more open to a community building relationship that eventually converts into sales.

Because TikTok isn’t saturated by brands yet, there is a lot of room for your brand to go viral on the platform. Follow the strategies that I outlined.

TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes accounts that post consistently and frequently so having a presence on TikTok and leveraging the platform to engage new audiences is crucial. You may be realizing by now that capitalizing on TikTok is a lot of work. If that’s the case for your brand, you may want to work with an agency that specializes in TikTok like Rossman Media and you can contact us here .

Do you have any strategies for brands to leverage TikTok trends? We’d love to read your insights in the comments below!

Social Media Trends in 2023: The Fashion Industry

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 16:45:04 GMT

Social Media Trends in 2023: The Fashion Industry

Sure, social media marketing will help you sell more clothes. But the benefits go far beyond just sales.

From brand awareness to establishing your brand’s vibe to seeing how you stack up against competitors, social media marketing for your fashion brand will be a game changer.

There are some caveats for brands wanting to get ahead with social media marketing. More exposure means more opinions and at the end of the day, fashion trends tend to both pop up and have a short shelf life. With the right social media marketing strategy, it’s your job to keep your social presence relevant.

With all of the options and strategies when it comes to marketing fashion brands on social media, it can get a little overwhelming. Because we’ve worked with so many fashion brands and have helped them enhance their social presence, we’ve created this guide to boost sales, awareness and retention for your own fashion brand in 2023.

Identify Your Audience

Just like anything, brands can’t succeed with social media marketing without a strong foundation. Knowing your audience and goals will help you develop a data-driven strategy for the amazing things you can do on social for your fashion brand.

It’s helpful to revisit your buyer personas and identify things like:

Which social platforms do your audience spend most of their time?
What makes your brand unique?
Which pain points do your consumers face?
What has converted your current customers in the past?
How do consumers find your brand?

A big part of identifying your audience is narrowing down your target age demographic. Afterall, if you’re going after Gen Z, keep in mind that half of this age demographic has made a purchase after being incentivised on social media.

Elements of a Strong Social Media Strategy in the Fashion Industry

The pandemic kind of flipped the fashion industry on it’s head. Consumers quickly realized the value of online shopping more than ever before. And even though retail locations are open to the public again, consumers still value to option to purchase online.

Therefore, many brick and mortar stores are revamping their marketing strategy and are realizing that they can capitalize on online sales by leveraging social media marketing.

The fashion industry, as you know, is very competitive. You need to be unique to stand out from the crowd. Arguably, you need to be a disruptor in your space.

Consistent posting is key. Try to alternate the 4 core strategies with each post. The main strategies fall into promoting, educating, inspiring and entertaining.

Be sure that your social profiles are optimized so that your brand can hit the ground running. Be strategic with your link on TikTok, verify your account on Instagram and encourage UGC from YouTube, for example.

Your CTA in your social media posts is uber important as well. Guiding your audience to take the action you want them to, like making a purchase, usually just needs a little bit of guidance. Perhaps you want your audience to use your social media store front? Or maybe you have a new product that you want your audience to buy straight from your website? You can literally accomplish any goal for your social media marketing, it will just require a clear CTA.

Social Media Content Ideas

Ready to hit the ground running with your social media strategy? Consider the following types of content to engage your audience and get the most value from your efforts.

Live streaming: Almost every social platform has live shopping functionality. Take advantage of this feature to increase sales by incentivising your audience to purchase in real-time. A lot of times fashion brands will partner with influencers to host their live streams.

Branded content: Lead with your brand’s values and goals to create some visually appealing social media content. The fashion industry is all about pretty visuals and branding when it comes to their social presence. Marine Layer does an excellent job of this on Instagram.

Showcase your new apparel: Keep your audience in the loop via social media by sharing all of your latest and greatest pieces of clothing. This nurtures existing consumers into becoming repeat consumers by keeping your brand top-of-mind. Free People does a great job of this. Nordstrom does this well.

Behind the scenes: Capture your company culture and share what goes on behind the scenes at your fashion brand. Consumers love to feel like they’re a part of your brand and social media is a great way to placate these consumers. Vessi does it well with this TikTok post.

Run a giveaway: You don’t need a third party platform to run an effective giveaway. Just make it enticing enough for your target audience to fill out a lead capture form and encourage them to share your giveaway on their own channels.

Repurpose blog content: Utilize what you’ve written for your blog on your social media channels. Perhaps a series on TikTok? Maybe a set of Reels on Instagram?

Social proof: Albeit a brand ambassador, influencer, insert your buzz word here, social proof is a great way to show your audience why your product is so great by leveraging a consumer’s actual experience on social media. This can be sharing a post written about your brand or even just a consumer’s testimonial about your brand. Free People leverages a ton of UGC on their TikTok channel .

Foster a Paid and Organic Strategy

When establishing a social media presence, fashion brands need to realize the value of both paid and organic content.

If you are first starting out, paid is going to get your brand good visibility which means more engagement which means more traffic which means more sales if your website converts well. We have seen paid social media marketing work well when brands leverage third-party content in paid. It’s all about “social proof” in the fashion industry and you can learn more about that here .

Organic social media is great when you’re on a limited budget. Afterall, don’t you want your audience to engage with your brand because they want to? Be a thought leader in the fashion space and offer exclusive perks for your followers and your organic strategy will be in shape in no time.

Using the Right Hashtags

When a brand is starting out, one of the best ways they can organically increase followers is by tapping into the right hashtags.

Many people who make up your target audience often follow hashtags instead of brands so this is a great way to get in front of new and engaged audiences.

Not to mention, TikTok is so hot for so many fashion brands. Their algorithm uses hashtags to recommend new content to their users.

You can use a hashtag generator tool or you can search for popular hashtags directly in the social platforms you post in.

Identify Trending Topics

As you know, fashion trends appear out of nowhere and can disappear before you can get your goals aligned to jump on the bandwagon. That’s why identifying trends before they happen is key to a fashion brand’s presence on social media.

To identify trending topics, social media listening is crucial. Your goal is to spot trends before they happen so that your brand can stack up.

Use a social listening tool . Then, monitor for certain hashtags and follow fashion influencers so you can get a birds eye view of what is trending in the fashion industry.

Don’t Forget About Video

There is a reason why people say that video is king.

Consumers prefer to learn about fashion brands through video as opposed to simply just the written word. In fact, 69% of consumers report wanting to learn about a new brand through video content.

Video content being a priority is probably organically recognized by the rise of TikTok and the functionality of more traditional social platforms incorporating video to keep up.

At the end of the day, you won’t get the competitive edge in the fashion space without producing a lot of video content.

Working With Social Media Influencers

Influencers have an already engaged audience who is eager to hear about your fashion brand from someone they view as a peer. Influencers are seen as peers and will be the best friends to your social media marketing strategy.

We encourage you to value quality of quantity. Meaning, the fashion influencers that you recruit should be known for posting exceptional content instead of the number of followers they have.

Influencer marketing is all about authenticity so only work with influencers who share your brands values and genuinely love your product.

The Value of UGC

UGC is a staple to fruitful social media content for fashion brands.

Did you know that a whopping 90% of consumers report making a purchasing decision based on a peer’s UGC?

It’s helpful to periodically send out an email to your consumers asking them to post about your brand. Offer an incentive like 20% off their next purchase if they post showcasing your brand.

Once you earn UGC, you can use it on your own social channels and even leverage it for paid ads.

Urgent: Customer Service

Consumers, particularly younger consumers, expect customer service to take place very quickly and on the social media platforms of their choice.

Make sure you dedicated the time to execute your customer service presence on social media. Check your inboxes every hour so that your consumers feel like your brand is responsive. Reply right away to questions you get about your clothing because a lot of potential consumers will have questions about your products from sizing to materials and more.

Customer service is expected on social media and it also helps convert interested customers into paying customers.

Next Steps: How Can I Do Better With Social Media in 2023?

Mastering all the social media platforms and leveraging all the nuances in the fashion industry is obviously a lot of work.

Take into consideration the fulltime salary for someone to own social media marketing for your fashion brand. Compare it to the cost of an expert agency who specializes in fashion brands and has the expertise to run it for you.

The right agency or dedicated employee will realize how important it is to identify your audience before posting anything. They will then present you with strategies on how social media content can reach these target consumers. Experiment with paid and organic and don’t be afraid to be unique.

Rossman Media is recognized as one of the top agencies for fashion brands for a reason and you can book your free consultation here to explore if we’d be good partners.

If you were able to share one social media marketing tip for fashion brands, what would it be? We would love to read your insights in the comments below!

How to Perfect Your Brand Image With Social Proof

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 14:19:41 GMT

How to Perfect Your Brand Image With Social Proof

Marketing is very psychological. We are always trying to get in the heads of our target consumers and dreaming up campaigns that will resonate with them.

Social proof is a psychological form of marketing. It can do incredible things for your brand including brand awareness and landing sales.

When done strategically, social proof can convince your target consumers that they should purchase your products or services.

In this post, we will cut to the chase and cover everything you need to know about social proof and how you can start utilizing it immediately.

What is Social Proof?

Social proof is gathering and showcasing a third-parties content about their experience with your brand. People tend to be more likely to purchase after seeing that their peer has purchased an item.

Social proof resonates with consumers because consumers don’t trust brands. They’re always looking for a third-party brand recommendation and these types of recommendations are called social proof. It’s proof that your products or services serve a purpose for consumers just like them.

Consumers are savvy and they want proof that their purchase will be a good experience and the proof you can give them is social proof.

The Benefits of Social Proof

These third-party endorsements carry a lot of weight including:

It’s an authentic way for target consumers to learn about your brand
It can be utilized on social media and in email marketing
It sways customers to purchase from your brand
Social proof builds brand trust

The Different Types of Social Proof

Social proof can come in many forms if you know where to look for it. Here are some examples and assets that you may already have that you can leverage as social proof.

Work with influencers
Gather UGC
Ask customers for testimonial quotes
Case studies
Reviews
Earned social media mentions
Consumer spotlights
Adding customers’ logos to the website

How to Source Social Proof

First, make a plan to never miss organic mentions of your brand that you can utilize as social proof. You can read all about social media listening here .

Aside from organic social proof, you can tap into your audience. You can email your customers and ask them to share a testimonial. If you want to get really deep with this, you can ask your customers to participate in a case study that you publish on your site and promote on social.

Influencers are another avenue to earn social proof. Don’t just rely on their organic reach, use influencer-generated content in paid ads.

There are also review sites that you can tap into and you can extract reviews from there to incorporate into all of your marketing efforts.

Utilizing the Social Proof You Earn

A lot of social proof doesn’t reach your target audience without a little help. So it’s not only your job to gather social proof, it’s also your job to get it out into the world. A few strategies include:

Use social proof content in your paid social ads
Incorporate social proof into your email marketing efforts
Display social proof on your website

How do you utilize social proof in your marketing strategy? We would love to read your tips and tricks in the comments below!

18 Instagram Post Ideas For Businesses to Increase Engagement

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 16:41:31 GMT

18 Instagram Post Ideas For Businesses to Increase Engagement

Do you feel like you put a lot of effort into Instagram but your engagement rates are mediocre?

Not sure how to better connect with your audience?

In this post, we will offer you 18 new Instagram post ideas that will delight your audience, increase engagement rates, and be hard to resist for your audience to re-share.

You’ll know these new post ideas are working when you see an increase in engagement, followers, and conversions. Sounds so good, right!?

The average Instagram user is on the platform for about 30 minutes per day . So let’s jump in and explore how you can capture the attention of all of these current and potential consumers on Instagram.

Behind the Scenes

Your audience wants to feel part of your brand. Instagram is a great place to give them the warm and fuzzies.

Videos and photos of your company culture and how your business operates humanizes your brand. And who doesn’t crave more human connections?

You can also show how your products are made.

User-Generated Content

User-generated content offers social proof. Showcasing a happy consumer’s posts about their experience with your brand can put your brand in a positive light and since it’s a consumer’s content, it doesn’t come across like a sales pitch.

We love user-generated content here at Rossman Media and you can read a whole post on the best practices here .

Exclusive Discounts

Occasionally posting Instagram-only discounts can entice more people to follow your brand. It goes back to FOMO and will make people feel like if they don’t follow your brand on Instagram they’ll miss out on some great deals.

One strategy we recommend is to use your email marketing to announce to your audience that they need to follow you on Instagram so that they don’t miss any fantastic discounts.

Weekly Tips

Tips pertaining to your industry are quick to create but are highly engaging.

When filling in your editorial calendar, pick a day of the week in which you’ll share a tip every week so that your audience can count on it.

A Social Cause that Aligns with Your Brand

Consumers are increasingly becoming cause-minded. They love when brands match their enthusiasm for the greater good.

Join a cause and promote it on your Instagram.

Employee Features

Feature a different employee every week.

This can be a photo with a caption or a video. Keep it interesting and don’t just talk about what they do professionally but extract some fun information that makes them unique.

This is just another way that you can make your audience feel like they are part of your brand.

FAQs

You know the questions that get asked a lot about your product or service. Feature some of these questions in Instagram posts with the answers to these questions.

Chances are if you are hearing certain questions a lot, your current audience may have these questions too.

Tutorials

Show how your product solves pain points through tutorials.

Many consumers check out a brand’s social media channels before making a purchase decision and if you have helpful posts on your Instagram channel, you may just land some new consumers.

New Product Launches

Back to making your audience feel like by being a follower of your brand, they’re going to feel like they have exclusive access.

Before a product launch, excite your audience with a sneak preview and maybe even an early discount.

Showcase an Influencer’s Experience With Your Brand

Influencer marketing is powerful but you’ll get the most leverage out of it if you promote influencer-generate content.

Partner with influencers to create awesome videos showcasing their experience with your brand and post them on your Instagram.

Ask Questions Pertaining to Your Brand

Polling your audience is not only a great way to gain business insights, it’s also a way to increase engagement rates.

Ask your audience questions that align with your brand for a great Instagram-focused conversation.

Make them feel heard when they weigh in!

Engaging Quotes

Make an aesthetically pleasing graphic with a quote each week. People love to be inspired or humored so just have fun with it.

You don’t need to be a graphic designer for this strategy, Canva makes it really easy to create quote graphics for Instagram.

Statistics

People like making decisions based on data.

If you post industry-related statistics, these posts will resonate with the logical side of your audience.

Sometimes just one data point can move someone through the buyer’s journey.

Blog Content Teasers

When you post a blog post, announce it to your Instagram audience. Use the image you used in your blog post, write a little caption and direct your audience to the link in your bio to check out the blog post.

Thank Your Customers

You wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for your customers supporting your brand. Publicly thank them to show your appreciation and to portray a positive vibe at your company.

With their permission, you can post a photo of them and a story about their experience with your brand.

Giveaways

Giveaways on Instagram can increase followers and engagement rather quickly.

The gist is that you offer a chance to win something from your brand by performing certain actions such as following your brand on Instagram, inviting their friends to follow you, posting the giveaway on their own Instagram channel, etc.

We have a guide to running giveaways on social here .

Feature Like-Minded Brands

Give shout-outs to brands that align with your brand. Those brands may return the favor on their own Instagram channels which will expand your audience.

Social Media Holidays

There are so many fun holidays that you can post about on your Instagram channel. From National Donut Day to National Women’s Day, have fun with these holidays.

Don’t know when social media holidays are coming up? Here is a complete list.

Have a good post idea for Instagram that we didn’t cover? We’d love to read your insights in the comments below!

How Do I Know if I Should Outsource My Social Media Marketing?

Sun, 05 Jun 2022 17:20:37 GMT

How Do I Know if I Should Outsource My Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is crucial for any brand large or small.

To do it right, social media marketing involves a lot of time, dedication, strategy upkeep, lots of monitoring, and tracking your efforts to constantly improve your strategy. It’s fun, creative and super important but not all brands have the internal resources to do social media marketing right.

In this post, we will explore what it takes to run an effective social media marketing strategy so that you can determine if you run it in-house or you outsource this strategy.

Why Your Brand Needs a TON of Social Media Efforts

Social media marketing benefits brands in a variety of ways. This type of marketing used to just be about engagement and was “nice to have” but now it’s crucial for brand health. Let’s take a look at the benefits.

Lead generation
Consumer retention
Thought leadership
Brand awareness
Social proof
Get in front of new audiences
Engage with current consumers

Define Your Social Media Goals and Needs

Nearly half of brands report that defining their social media goals is a challenge for them.

Whether you’re going to run social media marketing in-house or hire help, you need a clear view of your goals before you can move forward. The most common goals are:

Increase brand awareness
Sales
Lead gen
Engagement
Follower growth
Increase website traffic

Social Media Marketing Considerations to Keep in Mind

Whoever runs your social media marketing needs to be an expert at it and have the capacity to scale it.

Many brands that outsource social media marketing worry that they will lose control over their strategy. But that’s not the case! You will have weekly meetings, the ability to approve assets before they’re published, set a budget, and more.

Benefits of Outsourcing Social Media Marketing

If you don’t think running social media marketing for your brand in-house is an option, don’t fret! Plenty of brands come to this conclusion and outsource this strategy. Benefits of outsourcing include:

Scale efforts
An agency will have expertise and will know all the steps to building you a stellar social media presence
Identify opportunities for your brand
Gain audience insights to use to make business decisions
Grow your brand's presence
Save time in-house
Gain someone(s) with a ton of knowledge and best practices
They’ll already have access to the social media marketing tools necessary to have a solid strategy
Strategy optimization
Increase social media response times
An agency stays up to date with the constantly changing social algorithms
Paying an agency is cheaper than hiring a full-time employee to run your strategy

Outsourcing Options

Social media marketing agencies are very prevalent. Of course, we prefer you go with Rossman Media , but you have options!

If your budget is limited, you can go with a freelancer from sites like UpWork . Just be sure to vet their work.

If you have a decent budget, a social media marketing agency is your best bet. With an agency, you get a whole dedicated team. Not to mention, they specialize in exactly what you’re looking for.

Questions to Ask Social Media Marketing Agencies

If you decide to outsource social media marketing, vet a few agencies. Look at their portfolios and see if their work aligns with your brand. When you’ve identified a few agencies that fit your brand, ask them some questions to help you choose which one will work for you.

How much time per week will you need my help/guidance for social media marketing?
Do you understand my brand voice and values?
What is the cost per month for your services?

Do you outsource your social media marketing? We’d love to read all about your experience outsourcing in the comments below!

How Social Media Polls Can Improve Your Brand

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 16:09:01 GMT

How Social Media Polls Can Improve Your Brand

Consumers like to have a voice in the brands they support and a poll on social media is the perfect way to make your audience feel like they’re part of your brand.

Polls not only bring your audience into your brand, but they also can provide valuable consumer data and information on how to improve your product or service.

As marketers, we always have to implement a balance of creativity and data. Creating your polls is fun and creative and the data you get from them is super valuable.

In this post, we will explore how social media polls can do so many things for your brand. We will also provide best practices that you can implement polls on social today.

Polls Are Simple and Quick

Unlike a survey, social media polls have a few short questions so that it doesn’t take up too much of your audience’s time.

They’re easy to create and easy for your audience to fill out. Multiple-choice questions work best.

You may want to offer an incentive for filling out your polls. Something like an entry into a drawing for a gift card can go a long way.

Real-Time Feedback

Social media polls have a short shelf-life so once posted, your poll will reveal a bunch of data and insights within 24 hours.

Once you get the hang of polling and enjoy the data that you glean, you can make polling part of your ongoing strategy.

Extract Testimonials

Ask a few open-ended questions so that you gain some quotes from your audience about your brand. Consumers love social proof so gaining these testimonials is crucial. You can then put them on your website, email marketing and social media posts.

Gain Business Insights

Asking questions like how your audience utilizes your product or service–both positive and negative will give you insights into how you can improve different aspects of your brand.

You can ask anything from their experience with customer service to their pain points that your brand solves to opinions about your brand and so much more!

You Get a lot of Leverage Out of Polls

Who doesn’t love data? Not only can your social media polls give you audience insights, but you can also publish your data for maximum leverage.

Things like research reports, infographics and blog posts are all great ways to leverage your polls results.

You Can Generate Leads

When someone takes your poll, have them enter their email address so that you can put the participants in a lead nurture program.

Sometimes it helps to give the data to the audience who participated in the poll a day before you publish your results to the rest of the world. People love exclusivity.

Best Practices When Creating Your Polls

When done right, you can get a lot of respondents to weigh in via your polls on social media.

Some things to keep in mind:

Keep the questions limited–it should take a maximum of 5 minutes to take your poll
Offer an incentive for audiences to take your poll
Promote your poll
Keep votes anonymous
Keep questions adhering to one theme per poll
Add in some fun questions with your business questions

Next Steps: Create Your Polls

Now that you see the value in social media polls, it’s time to create one! This post explains how to create polls on each social media channel. There are also tools like Google Forms .

Polls engage your audience while gathering insights into your current and target consumers.

They’re easy to do so there is no reason why you can’t start implementing polls in your social media marketing today!

Do you use polls as part of your social media marketing strategy? We’d love to read your tips in the comments below!

How to Use Social Media to Collect More Email Addresses

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 19:57:33 GMT

How to Use Social Media to Collect More Email Addresses

It’s a pretty safe bet that most brands “under-utilize” social media marketing. Not only is it an outlet for thought leadership and engagement, but social media marketing can also fuel your email marketing.

Why do we care so much about email marketing? It’s because when it’s done well, on average, it generates $42 for every $1 spent and there is no other marketing strategy with that good of results!

This post will explore a few strategies that you can implement into your already running social media program to gain more email addresses to nurture through email marketing.

Create a Landing Page

First things first. You need a “home” for your email collection efforts.

Create a landing page that you link to from your social posts. It should explain why someone should provide their email address. It can be anything from a newsletter signup form to a free resource.

Once you have a landing page to collect email addresses, you’ll be ready to implement creative ways of getting consumers to your landing page.

Run a Giveaway

One of the most effective ways to collect many email addresses is to host a giveaway on social media.

Pick a prize–it can be a gift card or your best-selling product. An entry to win the prize can be to sign up for your brand’s emails. You’ll be surprised at how willing consumers are to give you their email addresses if it’s for a chance to win a cool prize.

Promote your giveaway on all of your social channels using strategic hashtags and quippy messaging.

Sound like a winning strategy? This post does a deep dive into running a giveaway on social media.

Invite People to Vote

Enticing people to vote on something is similar to running a giveaway.

We’ve already talked about landing pages. Have people vote on something pertaining to your brand like product colors, best stories, etc. and to vote, consumers have to enter their email address.

Be sure to promote your voting and designate a prize. The prize helps incentivize people to vote in the first place and will maximize your efforts.

Just like with a giveaway, promote your voting opportunity on all of your social channels.

Utilize Content With Lead Capture Forms

Content that you create that is “cooler” than just a blog post should be gated with a lead capture form.

Once your content is live, promote it like crazy on your social channels to direct them to your downloadable content in exchange for their email address.

You’ve probably already seen this strategy when you personally download eBooks, reports, white papers, etc.

Be Smart With CTAs

You want people to sign up for your emails? Then tell them! Consumers love transparency.

Whether it’s to vote, download content, etc., sprinkle the CTAs in your profile, in your actual posts, within threads and even paid ads.

Run Paid Ads

So we’ve covered a variety of ways to use social media to lead people to an action in which they provide their email addresses.

Once you see your social efforts to collect email addresses working, maximize the strategies that you observe to be the most effective by running paid social ads .

Utilize Social Proof

Consumers want to hear from other consumers. Via social media, you can get your brand’s social proof out there.

What does this have to do with email addresses? Well, you can gather testimonials about the value current consumers are getting out of your emails and use their quotes in graphics to post on social with a CTA to sign up for your emails.

Final Thoughts: How to Utilize Your New Email Addresses

We’ve just equipped you with new ways to use social media marketing to build up your database of email addresses. Want to make the most out of these contacts? Then check out some of our top email marketing posts.

Do you have any strategies to gain more email addresses via social media? We’d love to read your insights in the comments below!

The Only Guide You Need to Social Listening

Thu, 26 May 2022 15:34:05 GMT

The Only Guide You Need to Social Listening

Ever wonder what consumers REALLY think about your brand?

Or maybe you are wondering how your product or service resonates with your audience?

Perhaps you’re curious about the behaviors of your target audience?

These questions come up with every marketing professional. And the good news? These questions you’ve been asking about your audience are all answered through one crucial social media marketing strategy–social listening.

Afterall, Two-thirds of marketers say that social listening has increased in value within the last year

In this post, we are going to dive into every aspect of social listening so that you can implement it today and finally get a pulse on your current and target audience.

An Explanation of Social Listening

Social listening is the process of identifying what is being said on social media about brands, products, services or individuals.

It allows you to react proactively and gain insights into your brand health.

Not only can you gauge what consumers are saying about your brand on social media, you can also use social listening to get a pulse on industry topics pertaining to your brand and how your competitors are performing on social.

Why is Social Listening Important?

Implementing social listening has many benefits.

Knowing how consumers feel about your brand
Gain audience insights
Be proactive about negative brand mentions
Campaign analysis
Get a pulse on competitor’s online presence
Industry trends
Identify unhappy customers
Collect campaign information
Avoid a crisis before it escalates
Discover thought leaders in your brand’s industry

How Exactly Does Social Listening Work?

Social listening contains 3 components.

Monitoring: This involves tuning in to conversations about your brand, products, services, and keywords that resonate with your brand. This can be done manually or through a social listening tool which we will get into later in this post.

Analysis: This entails using the mentions you find through monitoring and making them actionable. Based on these social-centric conversations, you can analyze your audience and their sentiment when it comes to your brand.

Response: After monitoring and analyzing, the last step of social listening is choosing how to respond. This can be individual engagement with social conversations or even repositioning the entire brand strategy.

Social Listening Best Practices

Once you’re ready to implement social listening, there are some strategies that will help this strategy be effective:

Get a thorough understanding of your audience and develop social media buyer personas and use collected data to frame your social media marketing strategy
Monitor for mentions of your brand as well as keywords that pertain to your industry
Use a social media listening tool to save time identifying conversations
If consumers are saying negative things on social about your brand, develop a strategy to engage with such consumers
Adapt your social media marketing strategy based on conversations discovered through social listening
Identify which social platforms your audience is on to engage with them
Respond to posts about your brand in real-time

Platforms to Power Your Social Listening Efforts

To save yourself a ton of time scraping manually for brand mentions, consider a platform that automates this for you.

There are a variety to choose from and most of them aren’t super expensive. Most of them also offer a free trial so take advantage of this and find the platform that resonates best with you.

Some places to start are Hootsuite , Talkwalker , SproutSocial , and Lately .

How to Get Started With Social Listening For Your Brand

Now that you know everything you need to know about social listening, it’s time to get started!

If social listening sounds a little overwhelming to run in-house, there are agencies like Rossman Media that will stay on top of your social listening strategy.

If you’re going to run social listening in-house, be sure to memorize the best practices we outlined and dedicate the time to run this strategy effectively. And be sure to get a social listening platform or you’ll waste a lot of your time.

At the end of the day, social listening is crucial to getting a pulse on your audience. When done well, it will help you make business decisions and gain insights into what people really think about your brand.

Do you implement social listening for your brand? We’d love to read your tips in the comments below!

How Can I Optimize My Brand For Digital Marketing?

Mon, 23 May 2022 16:53:10 GMT

How Can I Optimize My Brand For Digital Marketing?

Are you wanting to get your feet wet with digital marketing but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you are a new brand that needs some digital marketing power?

Wherever you find yourself on your digital marketing journey, it’s always a good idea to “check-in” and see where your efforts are lacking.

Building an online presence for your products or services isn’t just “nice to have” it’s now “make or break.” In reality, digital marketing should bring in more money than you put into it. You just need a solid plan.

In this post, we will go over everything you need to know about optimizing your online presence to bring in a ton of sales from your digital marketing efforts.

Build the Right Team

It’s no secret that digital marketing takes time and talent. You can create an in-house team or some brands prefer hiring a marketing team like Rossman Media to entrust their digital marketing efforts.

Whether you contract an agency or run digital marketing in-house, be sure that you have the dedicated time and manpower to cover every area of your digital marketing plan.

Speaking of a a digital marketing plan, let’s dive into what yours should look like!

It All Starts with Your Website

Your website is your digital storefront and is the first impression consumers have of your brand.

Don’t cut corners with your website as a polished website builds trust and makes consumers more likely to buy from your brand.

It may be tempting to create your website yourself using a template but trust us when we say it needs to be customized by a professional or team of professionals.

Create Buyer Personas

Before marketing to your audience, don’t you think you need to define your audience?

Buyer personas are the backbone of your digital marketing. They are simply profiles of your target audience so that you know where to engage with them and what messaging will resonate the best.

Here is a free template to create your buyer personas.

Once created, your buyer personas should be consulted whenever making a digital marketing decision.

Audit Competitors

Reverse engineer what your competitors are doing. They have the same audience as you do and likely have a functioning digital marketing strategy. Seeing what they’re doing is a great place to start.

Check out their website, social media channels, sign up for their emails, etc.

Take note of what you like and what you don’t like about their marketing efforts. It’s so much better than starting from scratch…

Social Media

Getting your social channels set up is crucial when it comes to optimizing your brand’s digital presence.

Many consumers vet brands by checking out their social media accounts so be sure that yours are professional.

In terms of which channels to have a presence on–consult your buyer personas. Right now, we are fans of Instagram and TikTok .

Post actively on your social channels. A good rule of thumb is 3 times per week.

Experiment with organic social and paid social.

Something else to keep in mind is that consumers now largely expect customer service to take place on social . So be sure to dedicate the time to actively engage with your audience.

We live and breathe social media here at Rossman Media so check out our blog if you are jonesing for more social media tips.

A Branded Blog

Blogs are great for thought leadership and SEO.

Google algorithms love consistent content on a website so a blog is a great way to please search platforms.

We’ve seen a lot of brands “house” their blogs on a third-party platform and we don’t advise it. House it on your website for maximum brand lift.

A few other things to keep in mind are to spruce up your blog with:

A subscribe button
Social share icons
CTAs at the end of each post
Sidebar ads for your brand on the right-hand side of the blog

A CRM Platform

A CRM platform keeps all of your contacts/leads organized.

Salesforce is the most commonly recognized CRMs but it’s a little pricey. If you’re not ready for a heavy-hitter like Salesforce, there are other options.

The main thing to keep in mind is that you need a way to track where your contacts come from originally, which strategies make them convert and how long your buyer's cycle is.

A CRM platform keeps your brand engaged with your current and ideal consumers.

Email Marketing

When done right, email marketing brings in $42 for every $1 spent.

There are two components to a well-oiled email marketing strategy.

The first is gathering email addresses. This can be done through a downloadable piece of content with a lead capture form.

The second is creating 2-3 engaging emails per week. Emails should be thought leadership with a CTA to purchase for a non-salesy approach to your audience's inbox.

SEO

SEO is constantly changing. To rank organically in search, your website copy needs to be strategic.

Do your keyword research and implement your keywords into your page titles and headers.

Blogs help a ton with SEO.

When setting up your site, it’s not a bad idea to work with an SEO expert who can optimize your website. We like UpWork for this purpose.

Linkbacks also help with SEO efforts and you can earn these links by working with influencers and by guest posting on other blogs linking back to your brand.

Consistency and Engagement

When you are crafting your digital presence, prioritize consistency and engagement.

Your audience needs to be able to rely on content from your brand so create an editorial calendar for your social, email and blog posts.

If a current or potential consumer wants to engage with your brand digitally–have the process in place to do this consistently.

At the end of the day, your goal is to make your audience feel like a part of your brand through consistent content updates and prompt replies to their messages.

Reviews

Consumers love hearing what people like themselves think of a product or service.

Whether it’s on your site, on social or on a third-party review site, you need to maximize your reviews.

Incentivize consumers to leave you a review.

When you earn reviews, use them! Incorporate them into your social media content, email content and website content.

Do you have any tips for brands starting out with digital marketing and how they can optimize their online reputation? We’d love to read your insights in the comments below!

Video Content is King and 50 Experts Provide Tips

Fri, 20 May 2022 19:05:57 GMT

Video Content is King and 50 Experts Provide Tips

You’ve probably already noticed that your audience prefers video content over static text-based content on social media.

But don’t take our word for it, let’s look at some stats :

93% of companies have acquired a new customer through social media videos
Over half of social media users prefer video content compared to other types
85% of social media users want MORE video content from the brands they follow
People share video content twice as much as other types of content

After looking at these stats, here at Rossman Media , we knew we had to write a ginormous post about video content on social media. So, we sought out the help of a bunch of experts and curated their tips in this post.

Things to Note Before You Record

Before hitting record, you need to get all of your ducks in a row. This includes theme, goals, topics, etc. Our experts have great tips on what you need to do before recording.

Luisa Zhou “The most important thing is practice. Start by sitting in front of your computer, turn on a video recording tool like Photo Booth if you use Macbook and just say "Hi, my name is (your name). I help (who) get (the results they get from your service or product).”

Tom Melhuish “The best thing to do is to create an outline, similar to that of a film where you'd produce a film treatment, and create a small outline for your content that gives you structure. This way, you have a basis for building your video content. From this, you can write a mini script or create prompts to help you record the video and get your content out there.”

Chris Grayson “Focus on telling a story. A good story will keep viewers engaged, and it will also help to promote your brand or product. When planning your video, think about what kind of story you want to tell and how you can use visuals to bring that story to life. Remember, social media is all about building relationships, so don't be afraid to let your personality shine through in your videos.”

Maddie Greer “Before you sit down to create your first video, you need to know what types of content your target audience is engaging with. Once you know what they’re engaging with, take a look at the hashtags they’re using, and the various brand/creator accounts they’re following. This insight will give you a clearer picture of how your brand can break into the space (without just creating more noise) and help you get your videos in front of the right viewers.”

Jacquelyn Son “Reflect on your energy before creating anything - your audience will subconsciously or consciously feel your energy. Are you coming from a place where you feel like you need to prove yourself or where you don't feel good enough? Or are you coming from a place where you feel super excited to share your content? Your energy matters way more than your strategy.”

Katie Schenk “Spend time on social media finding inspiration. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel every time you film a video for social- dig into other brands content and find examples of content that you like, then think through how you could put your own spin on it. Scroll through TikTok to identify trends that would be easy for you to join, then join them! Hopping on trends is a great, easy way to boost engagement.”

Connor MacDonald “Each platform has a different audience and a different type of content that is successful. It is key to keep that in mind before filming the video. Not only is it necessary to film content that best fits the audience of a platform, but the video also needs to be formatted correctly. Look to see if a horizontal or vertical camera would produce the best quality for a platform.”

Tips on Video Length

Consumers have shorter attention spans than they used to so it’s crucial to determine a video length that will resonate and catch the attention of your target audience.

Matthew Healey “Keep it short and sweet. Nobody wants to sit through an hour-long video just because it has the word "product" in the title. Make sure you give them what they're looking for in under five minutes, or they'll stop watching before the end of the first minute!”

Ilija Sekulov “On social networks, short formats are generally the most popular (between 30 seconds and 1mn30), in fact the goal is that the Internet user catches on very quickly and this happens from the first seconds of the video!”

Sam Browne “When posting videos on social media for content, a one-minute video jam-packed with valuable information is more progressive than a 10-minute video that dilly-dallies. Keeping your videos short and simple will not only help two parties save time, but prospects get to retain their memory more regarding video content if they’re approached with precision.”

Ryan Gallet “Make your video short, and easy to digest. Design is extremely important to draw in the viewer - but so is the writing, story, and timing. In 10 seconds or less you have to tell a story and get a message across. By 3 or 4 seconds they need to know who, what, and why - and the why encompasses why they need or want what is on topic.”

Rachel Roff “By using short videos to highlight what makes your business different and exciting, you can attract customers to visit your website or store. You need to clearly show people what sets you apart, and you have to do it quickly. If you don’t pique the viewers’ interest immediately, they will swipe up and you’ll have lost your chance to entice them to visit your website.”

Video Production Best Practices

Our experts had some fantastic insights on best practices when it comes to producing your video content.

Maryam Ahtasham “Make sure the video is high quality. This means good lighting, clear audio, and sharp visuals. Nobody wants to watch a blurry, dark, or muffled video! Be creative with your content. Don’t just post a video of you talking into the camera – mix things up by including graphics, animations, or fun editing techniques.”

Sara Johansson “Don't try to deceive your audience by "setting up" your office to look like a different location. Every detail of your video is being scrutinized by your audience. Shoot your videos somewhere other than your office, preferably in front of textured and fascinating backdrops that aren't too cluttered.”

Tracy Acker “Trying out different effects during the video editing process can be enjoyable, but don't overdo it. A simple, clean editing style generally appears to be the most professional. Whether you're editing videos yourself or hiring video editing services, there are a few things you should do at this stage through noise cancellation and lighting.”

Emily Petherick “Do something while you’re talking*We know that authentic, shot on phone camera video content is trending at the moment, so brands should be producing video content that feels personal and allows their audience to connect with them. It can be intimidating talking straight to the camera, so doing a simple task whilst you’re talking can make it feel less awkward, whilst also making your video more engaging and authentic.”

Meg Prejzner “If your in a business where you're putting yourself on camera, commit to posting your video with no more than three takes. The first is practice, the second to clean up and the third is posting. Of course, if you can do it in 1-2 takes, great, but committing to post a video within three takes helps you not overthink the video and to pump out more content.”

Adam Moore “When creating video content, I suggest to always trial your ideas with friends and family first before making the real thing. This is very helpful with calming your nerves, as well as being able to make adjustments to ensure lighting is good, the sound is good and that it is as you had envisioned it in your head.”

Brian Donovan “Producing video content can absolutely be an intimidating venture, and you may feel like a novice in a pool full of experts when comparing your media channels to others. Try not to compare yourself to other companies, and to not steal content ideas from them, either. You want to remain competitive and original at the same time! Start small. Start by introducing your team or your product. A video introducing your service in a very simple and aesthetically-pleasing way can attract a lot of attention!”

How to Optimize Your Video Content on Social

Once you’ve created a video, there are things to do to optimize it so that it’s effective when posted on your social media platforms.

Tiffany Payne “When it comes to casting performers for your projects, set high expectations. Choose someone who can naturally deliver conversation, memorize lines, and isn't stiff in front of the camera. Plan time for a few run-throughs if possible to iron out any mispronunciations or giggles.”

Sep Niakan “With bad sound recording quality, you don't want to come across as an amateur. When shooting sit-down interviews, use lapel or lavaliere mics, which are both hands-free, or microphone and boom setups for larger shots. If you're shooting a video with your smartphone, you can buy microphones that plug into the phone's headphone jack to increase sound quality quickly and easily.”

Irene Graham “Use Hashtags – While sharing your video on social media, you need to understand the value of SEO. If you can find some real good or popular hashtags related to your business or industry. It would be best for you to use them. It will help generate leads & will open a big market for your business.”

John Tian “Use auto-generated captions, there's no reason not to include them in your video content. Keep in mind that your audience may consist of deaf or hard-of-hearing people. They wouldn't be able to enjoy the videos you've worked so hard to create if they didn't have captions. In addition, some people prefer to watch videos with the sound turned off. Take the time to add and edit captions to be mindful of their needs and preferences.”

Yuvi Alpert “By using software tools that track social media, you can find what are the most popular types of videos and even be able to analyze the sharing rates of your previous efforts. In studying what is trending now, you can ensure that you will have the most up to date information on styles, effects and content to begin your video making process, and give yourself the best chance of success.”

Lyle Florez “Videos should always have a call-to-action. According to renowned video creator Animoto, 85 percent of polled marketers believe video is an efficient way to grab attention online. In contrast, polled viewers claim they retain 95 percent of a video's message on average, according to Social Media Week. A social video is ideal for harnessing that engagement and transforming it into a click-through since video can capture attention, and people are more likely to remember its message.”

Ubaldo “Ubi” Perez “Perfect the cover image, videos hold the user’s attention but they’re initially drawn in by the thumbnail. To make an eye-catching cover image, don’t use the default thumbnail that Instagram gives. Find the most dynamic scene in your video and make that the thumbnail. Instagram allows you to peruse through your video and choose your own cover.”

Sofia Morales “If you want to acquire more views on YouTube, make sure your videos are optimized to appear for the precise phrases that people are looking for. SEO for video marketing is important because it helps people search and find your content out of the millions posted in the platform everyday. Also, it helps if you place the right descriptions and make use of the right hashtags to draw in audiences interested in the topics and also to help your video be on top whenever people filter out categories based on their interests.”

Nicole Denson “When producing and posting videos on social it's important to include closed captioning. Not only does it help those who are deaf, hard of hearing, or learning a new language, but people watch video content without audio regularly. Numerous stats suggest that anywhere between 83%-92% of Facebook videos are viewed without audio on.”

Maegan Griffin “Use trending music or sound and if your video already has sound, you can just turn the added TikTok sound or music down to zero to still benefit from the trend. Search out trending hashtags before you post and include as many as possible. Also, remember to add a cover and a few words that describe what is happening in the video, which will make users browsing your account more likely to watch certain videos.”

Joseph “After you've created your videos, it's important to promote them. This can be done by sharing them on socialmedia, sending them to friends and family, or posting them on your website or blog. Also, don't forget to interact withyour viewers, respond to comments and questions, and create videos that address their concerns. This will help keep them engaged with your content and coming back for more.”

Creating Engaging Videos

Videos NEED to be engaging or you’re wasting your time. Check out the tips our experts have shared so that you can create an engaging video strategy.

Sarah Walters “As long as the content and the message you are delivering is valuable in and of itself engagement will follow. Having a big production or special effects in a video is nice to have but if there is no meat in your content you are just going to be wasting resources.”

Lattice Hudson “Q & A videos are an excellent tool for stimulating informal discussions with your consumers. At the same time, this shows that you care about them and that their problems are your problems.”

Lauri Kinkar “Consider doing How-to videos- this kind of video is rampant on social media nowadays. Teach your target customers something relatively new. Include testimonial videos- this way, your target customers can somehow relate.”

Sebastian Schaeffer “Be authentic and let your personality shine through. Don’t try to “fake it till you make it”. Be yourself, and make sure that the people who are working on your videos project the company’s personality.”

Malena “When it comes to doing video for social, less is more. Both in terms of length and in terms of editing. While yes, we all love a cool extravagant video, with the rise of TikTok we've seen an increase in more "raw" videos, which means you don't have to spend a ton of time recording and editing a video, especially since your audience might connect even better with a less-polished one (which makes you look more human and relatable).”

Equipment and Technicalities

To maximize your video content, there are platforms and equipment that don’t break the bank but can transform your videos by a lot.

Dennis Kubitz “Find a video platform that's easy to use, one good option is to look for an app or website that offers templates, pre-selected layouts, and built-in editing features, so all you have to do is plug in your content and hit play. This will help you get your videos done quickly and efficiently without having to worry about the technical details.”

Annette Choti “Use a platform such as InVideo or Lumen5. These platforms allow a business owner to take content and then add music and video that is royalty-free. The platforms are exceptionally easy to navigate and every video can be branded as well. For a low fee, small businesses can create video themselves. Google does not know whether a video was done by a professional video company, or a video-creation platform, and therefore, these are effective ways for a small business to grow through video content online.”

Sean Chaudhary “Whether you use a smartphone or camera, any beginner can benefit from a really good video editing software. This is typically all you need in order to create a visual masterpiece that will look professional and capture your audience’s attention. Many newer programs are equipped with everything you need to take a simple video and turn it into a high quality one. Since most video makers are not content creators, they make the software simple so anyone can use them.”

Rob Boirun “One of my go-to online tools to create video is Animoto.com. It's around $50 a month and I can create as many of these videos as I need. You do need to put in the time to create them but I came up with a template that I can use over and over so each video usually only takes ~10 minutes to complete. This is a very worthwhile service to use if you want professional-looking videos without breaking the budget.”

Sarah Cuellar “We host several webinars a month and use Parmonic to easily transcribe and create videos from our recordings. Parmonic creates small clips that we can share on our website and social media. You can add an intro and outro to your video clips to make them fully branded. It’s an easy way to reuse the content from the webinars for other marketing purposes. Parmonic has been extremely effective for our content strategy. It allows us to create several different pieces of marketing materials from one webinar.”

Sal Gonzalez “Here are a few tips on recording; Make sure you record in a minimum quality of 1080p with a frame rate of either 24fps or 60fps. Both are settings that any smartphone can accommodate nowadays. Always aim for one take, three max. You want to make mistakes; the more comfortable you are making them, the more likely you will be consistent in posting.”

Julie Weishaar “A really easy program to use is Lumen5. It is a platform that allows you to make videos using their images and videos or you can upload your own. The cost is $49/month and very reasonable if you are creating a lot of videos. I like to use it when I need a quick video. I also like the fact that your text can be included in the video so viewers will see your message when their sound is turned off. Facebook’s default video setting is mute.”

The Value of Authenticity in Video Content

Consumers crave authenticity and it has transformed social media marketing. Instead of a polished and professional video, try being raw and transparent.

Crissy Conner “We forget to take advantage of our surroundings, video doesn't have to always be us talking, it can be of your behind the scenes with a voiceover (or words on the screen), it can be that walk that we record as a hyperlapse to talk about something we've just overcome. We work harder than we need to. Reminder: real, raw video will always convert better than something overproduced. Be yourself, be real, be raw, be vulnerable...your audience will relate with that!”

Omid Semino “Recording genuine reactions, and capturing the surprise, laughter, smiles or even satisfaction with your products or services, reaches audiences on a very basic human level that they will immediately identify. In addition, this method also builds the social proof of your business, and is more impactful than any review. By recording customer reactions and posting those videos, you can create a promotional powerhouse with little required expertise or costs.”

Rogers Healy “Be relatable. Tell your audience what will resonate with them. Even if you are teaching them something, make them desire to listen and learn. Also, Give them skills. I have found that giving advice is a great strategy. My audience wants to hear about everything from business endeavors to my personal life experiences.”

Amy Bos “Simplicity is key when it comes to video content. When you over think it the video can look over produced. Video for social media is not like an Ad it should give a feeling of being real and less polished. When you use video for social posts it's your chance to get your audience to relate to you, your brand, and your products.”

Be Strategic

Animesh Das “Along with trending hashtags in the description, add relevant keywords in the short video content. Keywords add value to your content and make the videos engaging. By researching keywords, you will wisely strategize your content. Focus on the first 10 seconds to encourage viewers to stay tuned till the end of the short video. Include the most potent keywords within the first 10 seconds to drive engagement.”

Ankur Goyal “Share videos made by your customers and partners. Customer testimonials are the best form of social proof, and social media users are more likely to trust your brand when they hear from advocates. Reposting informative or fun user-generated content is a cost-efficient and effective way to increase brand visibility and reliability. It helps customers engage with your community rather than just learning about your product.”

Cristy Stewart “Take 30 days and test your audience. Post different types and videos and see how your audience responses. In IG the more engagement you get the more the content is pushed out to other people so use the analytics to tell you what type of content your audience likes and make more of it. Go into insights and sort by reach and then engagement the ones that have the highest reach and engagement are the ones your audience wants. Make more of those. Continue to test and monitor. Things are always changing.”

Emma Gordon “Embrace live video. Your audience will be much more forgiving to imperfections when you go live vs. pre-recorded. The interactive part of the live video will invite your viewers to join the conversation and create meaningful connections with your brand.”

Jeff Mains “If your films are posted on YouTube or an online networking channel, they should include a link to your website or a landing page and straightforward, on-brand content and consistent message across all channels.”

Tomas Keenan “Be creative with your content. think outside the box to come up with videos that will really stand out from the crowd. Also, don't forget to promote your videos. once you've created a great video, make sure to share it on all your social media channels and encourage your followers to share it as well.”

What tips do you have when it comes to video content on social media? We’d love to read your insights in the comments below!

The Latest TikTok Updates: What You Need to Know

Mon, 16 May 2022 17:24:08 GMT

The Latest TikTok Updates: What You Need to Know

Social media marketing is always changing. This time last year, you may have been asking yourself “should my brand be on TikTok?” And now, your brand is most likely on TikTok and you’re probably wondering “how do I keep up with TikTok trends?”

TikTok is a unique social platform with its own nuances so here at Rossman Media, we make it our job to keep you informed concerning all things TikTok. May is only halfway over and there have been some big changes in the TikTok world this month.

In this post, we will explore the latest TikTok updates and what they mean for your brand.

TikTok Published a Report on Integrated Media

TikTok just released an interesting report on how consumers digest content. Particularly, online and on traditional TV.

TikTok summed up its findings by saying “Linear TV, TikTok, and streaming services all provide marketing opportunities. But our research suggests that brands can compound success by combining these channels into a fluid video marketing strategy. Participants in this study who were primed by TikTok paid more attention to brand cues like product shots or branding when they saw them later on TV or streaming services.”

The report shows that purchasing habits increase when a consumer sees an ad on multiple channels such as a TikTok ad and then a TV ad and vice versa.

If your brand can’t afford TV ads, you’re not alone! With 93% of consumers taking an action after seeing a TikTok ad, TikTok needs to be a priority. You can get the integrated media component on a more affordable channel than TV such as YouTube ads.

TikTok Launched New Market Insights Tool

Want more data on your target audience? You’re in luck because TikTok just made this possible.

TikTok insights can be accessed here and is a handy tool for marketers. It provides you with a range of filters so that you can gather insights into your target audience and craft posts adhering to their traits.

The tool is customizable and gives you deep insights into the consumers you’re trying to reach.

TikTok Announced New Data Partnership

Do you ever run a campaign to get more in-store visits through your social media marketing? TikTok is trying to connect the dots for you.

Through a partnership with Foursquare , TikTok is helping brands track the effectiveness of TikTok ads on in-store visits and purchases.

This attribution tracks consumers via their mobile devices so that brands can monitor the traffic they’re driving into a physical location.

TikTok released a statement about this functionality “With Foursquare, this integration will focus on the metrics that are critical to advertisers with physical business locations. Advertisers will be able to understand how effective their media plan on TikTok has been and discover new insights to optimize campaigns, ultimately tying their TikTok investment back to real-world visits at their business locations.”

TikTok Shared Insights for Marketers in the Gaming World

TikTok just released an overview of the gaming culture found on their platform. More specifically, how marketers can leverage insights on gamers to promote initiatives.

Curious? Here is some info straight from the source: “The global gaming community is massive, and judging by the amount of gaming-related content on the platform, many of these gamers can be found on TikTok. In fact, the top 100 gaming-related hashtags on TikTok receive more than 40 billion video views per month, according to internal company data. TikTok’s gaming community is also ready to spend. According to a recent survey, 65% of US TikTok users have made an in-app purchase within the last 3-6 months.”

TikTok advises gaming brands to take a 3-step approach to their marketing on TikTok. This includes organic, paid and earned content.

TikTok Improved Monetization for Creators

All social platforms, including TikTok, have been struggling to offer features that allow creators to monetize their efforts.

However, TikTok is trying to improve this and support its creators. Through TikTok Pulse , brands can place their content next to high-profile creator-generated content in the app. A new way to leverage paid ads.

This is a very unique strategy and TikTok offered “marketers today are looking for the opportunities to be on the pulse of relevant cultural moments. TikTok Pulse places brands at the heart of TikTok communities and alongside the trending content that is driving conversation and action.”

To tie creator content to paid ads, this quote from TikTok sums up what we are all wondering: “With TikTok Pulse, we will begin exploring our first advertising revenue share program with creators, public figures and media publishers. Creators and publishers with at least 100k followers will be eligible in the initial stage of this program. We’re focused on developing monetization solutions and available markets so that creators feel valued and rewarded on TikTok.”

New Insights: What Do Consumers REALLY Think About Influencers?

Fri, 13 May 2022 19:30:56 GMT

New Insights: What Do Consumers REALLY Think About Influencers?

Do you wonder if influencer marketing lives up to all the hype? Curious if influencers actually drive results for brands?

We hear these questions all of the time and instead of theorizing on influencer marketing, let’s tackle these questions with new data.

Izea, who has a strong foothold in the influencer marketing industry recently released a report about consumer trust and influencers.

It’s full of fantastic insights and you can read the whole thing here , but it’s a little lengthy so we extracted the key data points and takeaways in this post.

Methodology

Izea surveyed over 1,200 social media users for their report and asked questions about how influencer-generated content resonates with them.

The report represents consumers in different age demographics for a really thorough understanding of the effectiveness of influencer marketing.

Respondents were based in the U.S and were an even split of male and female.

Influencers and Product Discovery

The report dives into how consumers go about finding new products to buy.

Influencer posts is the number one way that consumers report learning about products to try with 36% of respondents claiming that influencer posts is how they learn about products.

When it comes to discovery of products via influencer–generated content, ages 30-33 are the most likely to buy a product based on an influencer’s recommendation. Over 45% of consumers in this age range prefer to learn about new products from influencers.

Consumers ages 18-44 years old are twice as likely to try a product recommended by an influencer than a TV ad. However, consumers over the age of 44 still prefer TV ads.

Channels That Resonate Best With Consumers

Respondants were asked which platforms they prefer to hear about an inflfuencer’s recommendation on.

The number one platform is YouTube followed closely by Facebook and Instagram. TikTok is in the middle. Twitter, Pinterest and blog represented less than 3% of consumer preferences.

Diving a little deeper, men favor YouTube to follow influencers and women prefer Facebook and Instagram. It’s also important to note that consumers over the age of 60 largely prefer influencer-generated content on Facebook.

Key Takeaway: Does Influencer Marketing Work?

Yes, influencer marketing works!

To do influencer marketing in an actionable way, be sure to consult posts and reports like this one to determine which channels and influencers will reach your target consumer.

17 Actionable Email Marketing Tips to Supercharge Your Efforts

Tue, 10 May 2022 18:29:41 GMT

17 Actionable Email Marketing Tips to Supercharge Your Efforts

For many brands, email marketing isn’t the priority that it should be.

In actuality, email marketing is one of the strongest tactics a marketer has in their toolbox. When executed strategically, it brings in $42 for every $1 spent . If your email marketing efforts aren’t bringing in these results, there are actually some easy things you can do to increase profitability from this strategy.

In this post, we aren’t going to focus on email marketing strategies that are hard to implement. Instead, we’ve got 17 tips for you that are quickly going to get your email marketing program to where it needs to be.

Segmentation is Key

Your email contacts are at different stages in the buyer’s journey and they won’t all resonate with the same products or services. Therefore, your audience needs to be segmented.

There are many ways to segment your email list so that you can offer them specific messaging. Just a few ways include:

Location
Stage in the buyer’s journey
Lead source
Interests
Engagement

Bottom line is that you want to tailor your emails to different audiences to increase email marketing success.

Mobile isn’t Optional

Today’s consumer reads emails on their phones more than they do on their computers.

Optimizing your emails for mobile is crucial. Luckily email marketing platforms automatically optimize your messages for mobile. Just be sure to preview it on your phone before hitting the send button because it’s not a perfect science.

Test Plain Text Emails

Sometimes email filters send emails from an unknown sender to SPAM if they contain images.

Don’t get hung up on pretty emails and try sending plain text emails.

Since email marketing is different for every industry, try a few plain text emails and compare the open rates to emails containing images to identify what works best for your brand.

Prioritize Thought Leadership

Of course the ultimate goal from email marketing is to generate sales. However, sales-heavy emails can be a turn-off to your audience.

Lead with a blog post, helpful tips, resources, etc. that convey thought leadership.

Your email may be about something cool in your industry that entices your audience to read your email but you should still always add a CTA at the end of your email to purchase.

Use the Right Marketing Automation Platform

Email marketing doesn’t work without a good automation platform to power your efforts. The good news is that there are a ton of platforms to choose from. Most of them offer free trials so we encourage you to try a few until you find the right one for your brand.

A few of our favorite email marketing platforms are Klaviyo , HubSpot and Active Campaign .

A good marketing automation platform is key because it will automate your efforts, allow you to segment your lists, offer audience insights, monitor email performance, and track sales.

Be Strategic With Your CTAs

We already mentioned to lead with thought leadership but not to neglect a CTA that encourages your audience to take a certain action.

Include a button at the end of your email so that it’s obvious to readers. Some effective CTAs include:

Read the blog post
Buy now
Sign up here
Register now
Claim your free gift

Consider Your Preview Text

The preview text should support your subject line and explain why your readers should read your email.

If you don’t set a preview text, in most email automation platforms, it will just display the beginning of the text of your email in the preview text.

Don’t Be Tempted to Purchase an Email List

Who doesn’t want to have a big email list!?

There are a lot of services out there that sell targeted email lists and they’re so tempting to buy. But, we are here to tell you it’s a waste of money. Not to mention, you should only email people who have opted into communication from your brand.

We’ve talked to tons of brands that were disappointed with the results from purchased lists so we recommend growing your list organically and here is a post to get you started.

Know When to Personalize

We talked about segmentation which helps with personalization.

But always personalize as much as you can. Little things like including your audience’s first name or company name can go a long way.

Have a Dedicated Email Address for Your Efforts

Too many businesses use a no-reply email address. Don’t they want to interact with their audiences!?

We will say, email marketing can clog up your inbox. So, we recommend creating an email address that is dedicated to your email marketing efforts.

Be Thoughtful With Your Subject Lines

The subject line is so important because it is your audience’s first impression of your email. The subject line, if it’s good, will increase your open rate.

Your subject line should be 30-50 characters.

A good subject line makes your audience want to open your email and it should concisely say what your email is about.

Keep Your Emails Concise

Make your emails easy to skim.

Don’t create text-heavy emails. Break them up with images and dividers. We are all busy people and long emails don’t get read very often.

Write Like a Human

Sometimes brands make the mistake of sounding too technical and strive too hard to be professional.

In reality, your audience wants to hear from another human. So, write conversationally to better engage your readers.

Offer Social Proof

Consumers get sick of hearing from brands and want to see what their peers think of your business. So give it to them!

With UGC and influencer-generated content, you can incorporate these into your emails and your audience can see how people like them are using your products or services.

Know When the Best Sending Times Are

The best time to send an email is different for each industry. Experiment with different days and times to learn what resonates best with your audience.

To start, emails on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after 10 am are the best times in general to send emails so start there and see what works best for your brand.

Track Your Efforts

With an email automation platform, you’re going to have access to a lot of analytics. Take advantage of this!

Knowing things like what subject lines are getting the most opens, which CTAs work the best, how your email list is growing, how many conversions you achieve, etc. are crucial to a well-functioning email marketing strategy.

We recommend creating a spread sheet with your target metrics and update it once a week so you can see the growth of your efforts.

Be Consistent

If you follow all the tips we outlined, your audience is going to be excited for your emails. Craft and send out your messages on a schedule.

We recommend 2 emails per week.

Do you have any email marketing tips that we didn’t include? We’d love to read your insights in the comments below!

Top 20 Social Media Marketing Blogs That Will Turn You Into a Pro

Fri, 06 May 2022 18:18:25 GMT

Top 20 Social Media Marketing Blogs That Will Turn You Into a Pro

With so much digital content at our fingertips, we can learn anything using the internet. It’s no secret that social media marketing is a unique skill set and the algorithms are always changing. However, if you follow the right blogs, you’ll be in the know and consistently acquire skills to market your brand on social like a pro.

We spent a lot of time curating 20 social media marketing blogs. We chose blogs based on great content–not their audience size. So you may have heard of some of these blogs and others will be new to you.

In this post, we will highlight our favorite social media marketing blogs with a little information about them so that you can choose which ones you want to follow. Let’s dive in!

Social Media Examiner

One of the largest and most robust social media marketing blogs, this publication curates posts from experts pertaining to changes to social media platforms, best practices, tips, case studies, and more. ( link )

Social Media Week

This blog relates social media marketing trends to how they can achieve business goals. Full of actionable insights, Social Media Week is a must-read. ( link )

Social Media Today

Social Media Today is unique in the fact that it reports on social media news and changes to each platform. Follow this blog for multiple articles per day. ( link )

Rossman Media

We have to include our own blog in this list because we spend a ton of time writing valuable social media marketing content for our audience. We aim to keep our content innovative and most importantly, actionable. ( link )

Hootsuite Blog

This is a go-to resource for the latest social media trends and how to apply them to your brand. Strategies such as best practices for posting on social media make this blog so great. ( link )

Sprout Blog

Sprout Blog is a great blog to check into because they offer detailed posts on social media strategy. They use a lot of screen shots and are the most thorough posts we’ve found. ( link )

SocialPilot

Full of best practices and social media algorithm tips, this blog needs to be on your radar. They have a nice variety of beginner level content and content for the more advanced social media pro. ( link )

DreamGrow

Focusing on the more technical side of social media marketing, DreamGrow offers posts that lean towards which tools will help your efforts. ( link )

Ignite

We like Ignite because they write content based on their experience as social media marketing pros. They make it a priority to stay ahead of the trends and offer actionable strategies. ( link )

Social Media Explorer

This blog offers news and updates as new things happen with each social media platform. Following this blog is the best way to stay up to date with changes in the industry. ( link )

The Keyhole Blog

We like this blog because it covers social media analytics, tracking and monitoring. These topics are crucial to a well-oiled social media marketing strategy. ( link )

Awario Blog

Full of timely social strategies and expert interviews, this blog offers content that is full of tips to help any level of social media marketing. ( link )

The Social Media Hat

Offering best practices, The Social Media Hat is one of the best social media marketing blogs. We like that you can filter content by the social platform(s) your brand focuses on. ( link )

Lilach Bullock

Being a social media guru, Lilach Bullock’s blog will turn you into a social media pro in no time. She focuses on increasing revenue through social media marketing and improving brand images. ( link )

Blog2Social

Focusing on more technical topics like social media automation, Blog2Social is a great blog to add variety to your social media knowledge. ( link )

Socially Sorted

Visual storytelling is a key piece of social media marketing and Socially Sorted focuses on exactly that. ( link )

Top Dog Social Media Blog

We had to put this one on the list for our B2B audience as it focuses on all things social media marketing for B2B brands. ( link )

Likeable Media

This blog focuses on every component of creating high-quality content for social media. Full of best practices and tips you won’t find anywhere else, don’t miss out on this blog. ( link )

Sociable Blog

Sociable blog is great because they post content about the latest news and tactics in the social media marketing world. They offer industry-specific content which is extremely helpful. ( link )

RecurPost

Two of the main focuses of this blog is lead gen on social and attracting your target consumers on social. Learn how to increase sales via social media marketing from RecurPost. ( link )

Are there any social media marketing blogs that we didn’t include in our list? We’d love to checkout a blog you like through the comments below!

How Can My Brand Go Viral on TikTok?

Mon, 02 May 2022 21:16:18 GMT

How Can My Brand Go Viral on TikTok?

What resonates with TikTok users? How can my brand go viral on TikTok like other brands are?

With more than 1 billion monthly users, TikTok is quite an addiction and the perfect place for your brand to interact with your target consumers. TikTok’s algorithm makes it so anyone can go viral–whether they have 2 followers or 2 million followers.

If you’re not ready to consider going viral but you’re considering having a presence for your brand on TikTok, we have some great posts for that! You can read them here , here and here.

Brands love the potential to go viral on TikTok because it’s easier than on other platforms with 1 in 10 videos going viral. Keep reading if you want your brand to go viral on TikTok.

Elements of a Viral TikTok Post

Semrush did a research report on what makes a TikTok post go viral and you can read their report here . But there is a lot of information in it, so we are highlighting the main takeaways:

Happiness was the most common emotion triggered by viral TikTok videos: 58% were made in a way that inspired happiness over other emotions.
More than 1 in 3 viral TikTok videos focused on a person speaking within the first three seconds.
More than half of viral TikTok videos used music as their primary backing sound in the first three seconds.
Sixty percent of viral videos featured one person visible on screen. Only about 17% had no humans visible, and less than 10% featured more than two.

Embrace the “For You” Page

The For You Page is where all the magic happens. Understanding this is the most important component of mastering TikTok.

Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok doesn’t offer the same type of feed, instead, they have the For You Page. This page recommends videos to users based on the type of content they consume.

The For You Page is actually a good thing for brands because you don’t have to have a lot of followers to show up on your target audience's page. Businesses just starting out with their TIkTok strategy have more potential on this platform than others.

Understand Trends

TikTok is trend-driven. This means you need to know about current trends and be able to predict future trends. Since trends are short-lived, by the time you see one, you may already be late to the game.

You can discover trends in the For You Page and when you jump on a trend, your videos will get put in front of many new eyeballs.

Use the Right Hashtags

Hashtags are a key piece of TikTok’s algorithm.

3-5 hashtags are optimal for your posts and adhering to TikTok’s algorithm.

Try to stay away from generic hashtags as they have a lot of competition. Instead, use ones that your target consumer would be interested in.

Wondering how you can come up with a good variety of hashtags? Here is a free tool .

Be Sure to Have a Pro Account

Creating a pro account is simple and it increases your chances of showing up on users’ For You Pages.

A pro account also gives you access to analytics so that you can see which videos resonate the best with your audience.

How Partnering With Influencers Helps

An influencer’s audience hangs on to their every word so having them mention your brand and how to check out your brand on TikTok is extremely effective.

Use a tool like Influencity to find influencers who have curated an audience that you want your TikTok videos to get in front of.

Create a Challenge

Challenges in TikTok go viral super fast. To create a challenge, think of something that aligns with your brand that is funny or fun and record a video of you doing the challenge and challenge your audience to do it too.

Challenges are discovered and tracked by hashtags. Use an enticing but unique hashtag.

Try TikTok Ads

Instead of focusing only on organic efforts, brands have had success with TikTok ads. They essentially fast-track your content to become popular.

Optimizing Your Videos for TikTok

Part of going viral on TikTok is obviously a good video. We talked data and strategy so now let’s talk creativity and creating great posts. Here are a few things you can do to ensure your TikTok videos rock:

Use TikTok’s tools for video and sound effects
Try to keep videos at 15 seconds
Don’t overly promote your products or services–TikTokers hate advertising
Use hashtags and mentions in the captions
Use a text overlay for your CTA

Do you have any TikTok tips for other brands? We’d love to read your insights in the comments below!

6 Ways to Promote Your Products for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Gifting

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 23:04:07 GMT

6 Ways to Promote Your Products for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Gifting

Mother’s Day is May 8th and Father’s Day is a little over a month later on June 19th. If executed strategically, your brand can position itself as a great source for gift-giving during these holidays.

With 84% of US consumers celebrating these holidays and 39% making their gift purchases online for these holidays, your marketing strategy needs to be solid.

At Rossman Media, we pride ourselves on being a helpful resource when it comes to all things digital marketing. So we’ve put together this post full of strategies on how to promote your brand for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifting.

Gift Guides Have High Conversion Rates

There are two approaches to gift guides that we recommend you jump on board for.

The first is influencer-generated gift guides. Many influencers produce gift guides for each holiday usually in the form of a blog post. These gift guides highlight and link to their choice of gift options for any given holiday.

Gift guides have high conversion rates. Our theory is that it is because consumers read a gift guide with the intent to purchase.

Another enticing component of working with influencers who produce gift guides is that the average gift guide costs $50 for placement.

You can reach out to targeted influencers directly or work with an influencer marketing freelancer who recruits the gift-guide influencers for your brand.

The second approach is putting together a branded gift guide. With this, you’ll create a gift guide of different product options from your brand and promote it heavily.

Implement both approaches and you’ll be golden!

Tap Into the Right Hashtags

Reverse engineer how consumers find your brand for holiday gifting. You’ll see that a lot of them stumble upon your brand when they are SEEKING out a gift. So instead of blatant ads, tap into hashtags you think your ideal consumer will search for and craft a series of social posts that use these hashtags.

If you’re stumped on which hashtags to use, there are a handful of hashtag generators out here and this list has a bunch.

Hashtags expand your reach but keep your current audience in mind. Meaning, make your social posts relevant and helpful–don’t just hijack hashtags.

Work With Influencers

Influencers can get your brand in front of consumers that you can’t get in front of with your other advertising efforts.

Influencers make authentic brand recommendations and it’s wise to partner with them to promote your products during the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day shopping season.

Educate your influencers about your products but leave room for creative freedom. Influencers know how to engage their audience better than you do.

We could write about the benefits of partnering with influencers all day so for some further best practices on this strategy check out this post , this post and this post .

Offer a Time-Sensitive Discount

We are all guilty of seeing a product we want to buy and deciding we will purchase it later.

When promoting your brand for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, offer discount codes and promotions that have a deadline to create some purchasing urgency.

Your discount can be for a percentage off a purchase, free shipping, free bonus product, etc. Just make it enticing enough that consumers will stop what they’re doing and buy your products for their parents.

Implement an Email Series

Email marketing still has high conversion rates. Use this to promote your brand as a viable option for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifting!

Map out your editorial calendar and send a promotional email at 6 weeks before the holiday, 4 weeks, 2 weeks and 1 week. So 4 emails total.

Sometimes consumers need to be touched a few times before they’re ready to purchase.

Promote UGC

Consumers love social proof. So instead of promoting “salesy” content about your brand, highlight consumers who love your brand. It’s more relatable.

UGC can be earned social posts, testimonials, videos, etc. and are a better use of your paid social budget than branded ads.

Do you have strategies for brands to promote themselves for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifting? We’d love to read all about your efforts in the comments below!

9 Ways to Get More Out of Your Paid Social Media Ads

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 17:19:27 GMT

9 Ways to Get More Out of Your Paid Social Media Ads

Social media has evolved quite a bit over the past few years. Once about organic posting, social media marketing offers ways to interact with consumers on every step of the buyer’s journey.

Sometimes organic social efforts just aren’t enough. Paid ads allow brands to reach a larger and more targeted audience. The good news is that implementing paid along with your organic social efforts isn’t too difficult.

Whether you’re auditing your paid ads strategy or you are starting it from scratch, it’s a simple tactic to master if you tap into the following 9 ways to get more out of your paid social media ads.

Wondering if paid social media ads are truly effective? We think they are. Afterall, 75% of brands use them showing that it’s an effective way to reach consumers or else so many brands wouldn’t be doing it.

Ready to see how you can supercharge your paid social efforts today? Let’s thoroughly explore 9 strategies.

Get Rid of Everything You Know About Advertising

The first thing to note about paid ads is that they should come across organically and authentically.

Have you written promotional ads for your brand in the past? Get rid of this knowledge. Unlike self-promotional and “salesy” messages you may have used for other marketing strategies, your paid social ads need to come across as educational or they should display thought leadership.

Paid ads work best when they offer social proof. So putting budget behind testimonials, UGC , influencer-generated content, etc. is more effective because these social ads will come across as non-promotional.

Utilize Influencer-Generated Content

Speaking of social proof, a lot of brands are realizing the value of working with influencers to earn engaging videos. These brands then dice up the earned videos and optimize them for social ads.

Consumers would rather hear from a third-party than from your brand and amplifying your earned influencer-generated content for paid ads is brilliant.

Keep in mind that in addition to an influencer’s fees, you will most likely pay a small fee in addition to licensing the content in paid social ads.

Experiment with Video

Video gets more impressions and engagement than static social posts. In fact, video gets 10x the engagement than an image with text.

So if you want your social ads to stand out, you should consider making the majority of your ads video.

Consult Your Buyer Personas

It’s crucial that you have a thorough understanding of your buyer personas before implementing paid social ads.

This knowledge of characteristics pertaining to your customers will shape your strategy. For instance, which channels are they active on? Or what is their location? What pain points do they encounter that my brand solves?

You get the gist and buyer personas will get you on your way to crafting an amazing paid social ads strategy. If you haven’t created buyer personas yet, no worries! Here is a free template .

Make a Time Sensitive Offer

Since the majority of consumers have made a purchase from something they saw on social media, it’s clear that utilizing paid ads to expose your products to new consumers works.

Sometimes social media users see a product on a platform and make a mental note to buy it later. In order to create a sense of urgency and speed up the customer journey, make your ad so that it displays a short offer.

Cater Your Ads to Each Platform

Not only are there different demographics on each social platform, there is also a unique vibe on each platform.

Take TikTok as an example. The audience is a little younger and the vibe is laid back and humorous. You wouldn’t put the same videos on TikTok and Facebook.

To learn more about catering your paid ads to each social platform, check out this post .

A/B Test Your Ads

The beauty of social media ads is that you can put a small budget behind a few of them, see which one is converting best and then put the rest of your budget behind the top performing ad.

Create multiple ads experimenting with audience, CTAs, messaging, video, etc.

Utilize “Look Alike” Functionality

Once you’ve analyzed data on your initial paid social ads, you’ll be able to identify the audience that your messages resonate with the most.

Using robust look alike functionality in your social ads, you can find new consumers to target by implementing filters pertaining to your best customers.

Instagram and Facebook offer very advanced look alike functionality on their platforms.

Be Smart With Your CTAs

Your paid social media ads are meant to inspire new audiences to complete an action. This could be to download a piece of content, sign up for something or even make a purchase.

In order to steer audiences in the right direction, make sure your CTAs are well thought out and clear.

Do you have any tips for paid social ads? We’d love to read all about your input in the comments below!

All Your Questions About B2B Social Media Marketing Answered

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 19:18:04 GMT

All Your Questions About B2B Social Media Marketing Answered

If you think about it, so much of B2B processes are already digital. Remote meetings, sales processes and conferences are all happening online. So shouldn’t the ways in which B2B brands generate leads, make sales, build a network, etc also be digital? Well, with the right social media marketing strategy, these goals can come to fruition.

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We’ve come across many B2B brands who aren’t sold on social media marketing. With this post, we will smash that misconception and equip you with the answers to all your social media marketing questions.

Is Social Media Marketing Viable for B2B Brands?

If you think about it, B2B isn’t much different than B2C brands when it comes to social media marketing. Businesses want to research brands and reviews before making a purchase decision just like consumers do. So obviously, it’s wise for your brand to be active on social.

On social media, you can cultivate an active community. As your social presence grows, you can even run a referral campaign adding to your bottom line.

What Are the Benefits of Social Media Marketing for B2B Brands?

There are many benefits that your B2B brand will glean on social media. Just a few to get you excited include:

Social media gives your brand the opportunity to offer personalized content to your audience–consumers crave personalized content
Social media broadens your reach by a ton
You’ll find that customer service now often takes place on social media and if you offer this feature to your audience, you can deliver efficient customer support
On social, your brand can deliver engaging and educational content to position your brand as a thought leader in your industry
Drive top of funnel leads with strategic social media marketing and sharing gated content on your social channels
Social media allows brands to offer social proof–usually UGC leveraged from current consumers
Social media allows businesses to have a humanized presence to appeal to current and future consumers
Customer retention happens when B2B brands find engaging ways to interact with current customers on social
Last but not least, on social media, B2B brands are loving the fact that they can drive sales and conversions!

Is There Data On the Success of B2B Social Media Strategies?

There is a TON of data pertaining to why B2B brands should be active on social. The top 5 statistics that caught our eye are:

84% of C-level and VP-level buyers are influenced by social media when making a purchase decision ( source )
31% of social media users will use social for business-related research ( source )
96% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to engage with prospects ( source )
Social media is the top distribution method for B2B content marketers ( source )
44% of B2B millennial B2B customers don’t want to interact with a sales rep ( source )

Which Channels Should My B2B Brand Be Active On?

Deciding which channels your brand should be active on is not a one-size-fits-all. You first need to dig into audience insights to determine which platforms your audience is on.

LinkedIn is the most logical place to start. Afterall, 96% of B2B marketers use this platform.

Facebook is also a great option because there are Facebook groups to align with any industry. Just remember to not be self-promotional in these groups and distribute your best thought leadership material.

Twitter is useful for customer support and identifying trending topics in your industry.

70% of B2B buyers consume a YouTube video when making a purchase decision so for most businesses, a YouTube presence is key.

Instagram is a less common channel for B2B companies but is a great avenue to distribute company culture and infographics.

What Are Some Proven B2B Social Media Marketing Strategies?

We likely have you as excited about B2B social media marketing as we are. That means it’s time to consult powerful strategies that will earn you the social rewards that we’ve discussed.

Implement social listening to identify what consumers are saying about your brand and to also identify which topics your audience is most interested in
Use buyer personas to guide content creation
Make a plan to earn UGC to share on your social channels for that oh so amazing third party recommendation
Humanize your social content to build brand trust
Post consistently but prioritize quality over quantity
Create an editorial calendar that encompasses posts that speak to all your buyer personas
Embrace the fact that customer service is moving to social and dedicate the right amount of manpower to offer stellar service

Should I Do Organic Posts, Paid, or Both?

You should be doing both organic and paid social media posts. Organic is a slow build but it’s worth it. Paid allows brands to tailor their audience and grow their reach.

On average, a B2B buyer needs to experience 8 touch points to make a purchase decision. Organic and paid ads are effective touch points.

When your brand has a time sensitive promotion, paid social is very effective. Emphasizing the timeliness of your promotion will incentivise consumers to act quickly and can actually shorten the sales cycle.

The best thing about paid ads is that you can A/B test them and start with a small budget to see what is resonating and converting best with your audience.

How Can I Plan My Social Posts for My B2B Social Media Efforts?

First, you’ll want to develop themes. These themes will steer your posts and should align with your business goals. Some themes to get you started are:

Educational content that shows off your brand’s expertise like infographics and how to guides
Content that provides updates about your brand and keeps your audience in the loop for things like new product launches
Content that offers social proof such as testimonials, case studies, earned media from influencers and reviews
Content that promotes your brand such as press or awards

How Can I Move Forward With My B2B Social Media Marketing?

This post has equipped you with everything you need to know about powering your B2B social media strategy. However, you may be worried about the time investment required to execute such a strategy. If that is the case, there are agencies like ours that can run your social strategy for you.

Are you a B2B brand that utilizes social media? We’d love to read your tips on this strategy in the comments below!

LinkedIn in 2022: What Marketers Need to Know

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 20:19:15 GMT

LinkedIn in 2022: What Marketers Need to Know

LinkedIn may not be as cool and as fun as other social platforms, but it’s the number one way for businesses to connect with other businesses and thought leaders.

Just like the other social platforms, LinkedIn is constantly adding more functionality for marketers to do their jobs effectively.

Because the world of social media is constantly changing, Rossman Media aims to always put the most important social media marketing information in front of you. In this post, we will explore all the latest updates happening on LinkedIn so far in 2022.

Gen Z Insights

In November, LinkedIn published insights into trends among Gen Z. Afterall, this demographic is about to make up the biggest consumer spend. Some key findings include the fact that Gen Z is the fastest growing audience demographic on LinkedIn, they visit LinkedIn at least once per week, and Gen Z is leading the “great reshuffle” as over half are considering quitting their jobs.

To read more about Gen Z and social media, you can access the full report here .

New Creator Tools

LinkedIn Live is now available for members on the platform who meet certain criteria . In creator mode, LinkedIn Live allows people to live broadcast to their followers.

LinkedIn Live has been around for a few months and already, Live videos see 7x more reactions and 24x more comments. Obviously this is a fruitful way to engage with your audience.

In addition to LinkedIn Live, creators also now have access to newsletters–another way to engage your audience. Straight from the source, LinkedIn had this to say about their new newsletter functionality: “Whenever you publish a new article in your newsletter, your subscribers are automatically notified via push, in-app, and email notifications so they stay up to date with your latest content.”

What do these new tools mean? Well, there is more opportunity to position your brand as a thought leader in your industry. They also mean there are more lucrative ways to partner with influencers who can use these features to talk about your brand.

LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn Groups are nothing new but what is new is that LinkedIn created a mega-group for digital marketers. LinkedIn Partner Community is a place for digital marketers to connect and learn about all the latest LinkedIn insights to apply to their social media marketing strategies.

LinkedIn explains the group: “The group is designed specifically for marketers who want to take their efforts to the next level. We want to increase the synergy and collaboration between our marketing partners, customers, and internal experts to help everyone involved reach new heights. If you’re interested in getting the most out of LinkedIn for your marketing, and learning how various third-party connections and enhancements can improve your results across a variety of focuses — from content and creative to targeting to lead generation and beyond — this group is for you.”

Insights From LinkedIn’s Spark 2022 Conference

At the beginning of March of this year, LinkedIn hosted its second annual Spark Conference . The shindig was aimed at helping LinkedIn members maximize their success on the platform.

You can stream the presentations here and the primary topics addressed were building a personal brand, growing your network on LinkedIn and leveraging it and knowing what to do with data.

New LinkedIn Podcast

116 million Americans tune into podcasts at least monthly. So it’s no surprise that LinkedIn is taking advantage of podcast popularity and has started their own .

The podcast features internal and external experts who discuss professional trends.

You can tune into the episodes on your favorite audio platform.

Next Steps For Rocking Your LinkedIn Presence This Year

This post dove into new features and insights from LinkedIn. If you're new to using the platform for marketing purposes, read this article .

With so many new features for marketers, it’s probably time to power your LinkedIn marketing strategy. But don’t get overwhelmed, Rossman Media can help your brand to become a smashing success on LinkedIn.

Do you utilize LinkedIn as part of your social media marketing strategy? Do you have a favorite tip to share? We would love to read all about your insights in the comments below!

Do Consumers Actually Buy My Products When I Partner With Influencers?

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 21:06:39 GMT

Do Consumers Actually Buy My Products When I Partner With Influencers?

If you Google influencer marketing, you’ll find a lot of inflated statistics and empty promises.

The truth is, influencer marketing can generate sales but requires a dedicated and strategic approach. You might not get $10 for every $1 spent but with the right influencer program, there is no reason why you can’t achieve $5 for every $1 spent. And that’s not bad!

If you’ve never experimented with influencer marketing, now is a great time. If you’ve implemented influencer marketing and were disappointed with the results, you’re not alone and that’s where this post can help you out.

The following post won’t just help you with influencer marketing in general, it will help you design the type of strategy that actually brings in sales.

Influencer Marketing in 2022

Consumers are ad-blind and have been for a while. As brands scramble to reach new audiences and generate sales, influencer marketing has become a fruitful way to generate the sales that ads used to do.

However, consumers are also starting to be turned off by influencers who shamelessly sell.

So what to do? When partnering with influencers, you need to make an authentic connection. Only activate influencers who sincerely love your product or service. Also, marketers need to vet influencer posts to make sure they’re not all sponsored. An influencer with a healthy balance of sponsored and organic content is going to be your sweet spot. Influencers with too many sponsored posts aren’t very credible to the audience you’re trying to reach.

With 46% of consumers purchasing a product because of an influencer’s recommendation, this is a strategy that you can’t afford to pass up.

Best Practices to Generate Sales With Influencers

I’ve had brands come to me and tell me that influencer marketing didn’t work for them. After digging into their strategy, a lot of times the brand didn’t initiate a campaign theme or seed their influencers with the right assets to produce posts that actually convert.

In order to generate actual sales via influencer marketing, you must follow the best practices.

Work with mid-level influencers. They have a reach of about 50,000 on any given platform. The average price for a mid-level influencer to post is $200. Read all about mid-level influencers here .
Establish long-term partnerships. Research shows that when an influencer mentions a brand 3 or more times, conversion rates go way up.
Seed influencers with the brand assets and campaign themes needed so that they can produce engaging posts that make consumers want to purchase.
Incentivise influencers with a commission in addition to their post fees to drive more sales.
Give influencers a unique discount code that they can give their audience for a certain percentage off when their audience purchases online. This creates a sense of urgency to purchase from your brand.

Identifying the Right Influencers to Gain a Strong ROI

I’ve seen so many brands get hung up on an influencer’s reach and not their contextual fit with their brand.

If an influencer has curated an audience who expects to read posts about home decor but you sell tech gadgets, the brand fit is not there. So even if they have a million followers, the conversion rates will be low.

Determine the type of influencers your target audience follows and which platforms they’re most active on so that you recruit the influencers who will actually drive sales for your brand.

Once you know the criteria for influencers to drive sales, it’s time to search for them. Here are a few influencer identification strategies to keep in mind:

Google for your influencer niche with “keyword of niche” and “list of influencers”
Use an influencer identification platform (prices vary but they almost always offer free trials so you can find the tool that works well for you)
Search for influencers on each specific social channel

Influencer Marketing Tips According to Each Platform

Once you’ve identified your influencer criteria and are ready to activate the influencers you searched for, put together an omnichannel plan.

Each platform is different. Different tones, demographics, etc. Therefore, your influencers will need to craft specific messaging for each channel.

Blog: Blogs are great for showcasing a thorough brand experience with the nature of the long-form content. They also help with SEO if you give influencers the anchor text in which to link back to your brand. So do your keyword research and equip your influencers strategically.

Facebook: Facebook is very community-oriented. Target influencers who run or are part of large Facebook groups that align with your brand.

Instagram: Video on Instagram gets twice the engagement of a static post. When activating influencers, equip them with a creative theme that works well for video posts.

TikTok: TikTok is laid back and fun. It’s also its own cultural phenomenon. When partnering with TikTok influencers, give them creative freedom because they will be experts on how to engage their audience.

YouTube: YouTube should make up at least part of your influencer campaigns. YouTube influencers tend to cost more than other platforms but the ROI is also better. Focus on quality content over number of subscribers.

LinkedIn: B2B brands should pay special attention to LinkedIn . Recruit influencers on this platform that are comfortable with writing long-form content. Unlike the other social platforms, content should be thought leadership and professional.

Twitter: I think Twitter is one of those channels where it is just nice to have. Conversions aren’t super high but sending out a tweet, on the other hand, is super easy. So I recommend asking your influencers to tweet but not to prioritize this channel.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Influencer Partnerships

I think a lot of brands drop the ball by only relying on an influencer’s organic reach to drive sales.

In reality, there is a lot more that can be done with your influencer-generated content that adds to your revenue stream.

Repurpose influencer generated content and dice it down into assets you can use for paid social ads. This is an effective use of your paid ad spend because influencer generated content performs better than branded content as it demonstrates social proof. These types of ads get more leverage out of your earned media and bring in sales.

How to Get Started Generating Sales With Influencer Marketing

If you’re ready to power your influencer marketing strategy and start landing actual sales you have to make a decision.

Do you have enough time and manpower to do influencer marketing in house? Or do you need to partner with an agency like Rossman Media who has relationships in place and can execute your influencer marketing for you?

Does your brand work with influencers? Would you consider influencer partnerships fruitful? We’d love to read all about your experience in the comments below!

A Bazillion Strategies For Marketing on Instagram in 2022

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 15:49:01 GMT

A Bazillion Strategies For Marketing on Instagram in 2022

Are your target consumers on Instagram but you’re having trouble reaching them? Wishing you got more engagement on your Instagram posts?

The good news is that we’ve curated some new strategies for you to apply to your Instagram marketing that are guaranteed to power your presence this year.

Why is a strong Instagram presence important for your brand? Well, 70% of online shoppers use Instagram for product discovery.

Maybe this post doesn’t contain a bazillion strategies for Instagram but there are a lot of actionable tips to supercharge your Instagram marketing efforts this year. So let’s dive in.

Consult Your Marketing Goals

Instagram posts should align with your marketing goals as social media compliments the way you do business. Consider the blog posts you plan to put out, which products your brand is pushing, your email marketing strategy and KPIs, and design Instagram posts that line up with your other efforts.

Visit Your Buyer Personas

Consult your buyer personas to identify the types of Instagram posts to craft and schedule.

What are their pain points? What will engage them? What types of information do they seek out? You get the drift.

Optimize Your Instagram Profile

Create a profile that is the name of your brand so Instagram users recognize it as a branded channel.

You have 150 characters to fill out your bio. Use them wisely to talk about who you are, what you do and maybe highlight a specific campaign. You get 1 link in your bio and many brands switch it out to lead people to blog posts, campaigns, etc.

For the profile image, your brand’s logo makes the most sense.

Research Hashtags

Hashtags make it so that your posts are found by other Instagrammers than your followers.

You can have up to 30 hashtags on in-feed posts and reels. You can have up to 10 hashtags on stories. With so much potential, where to begin?

We like tulzoo to research relevant hashtags. You can also search within the Instagram app to find popular hashtags.

Create a long list of hashtags that would be followed by your target consumers and rotate through that list with each post.

Create a Cohesive and Unique Aesthetic on Instagram

Since Instagram is so visually driven, you want your feed to look cohesive.

Decide on consistent colors, fonts, filters. Don’t feel like you need to re-invent your Instagram presence, you should already have these aesthetics in your marketing materials.

Craft Posts That Are Engaging

If your Instagram posts aren’t engaging, you’re wasting your time. But that sentence is kinda vague, don’t you think? Let’s look at some engaging post ideas:

Tell stories
Hit on trending topics
Give industry-related tips
Be funny with memes
Ask an interesting question

The more comments, shares, etc. that you get, the more Instagram’s algorithm loves you so engaging posts are crucial.

Follow the Rule of 3 on Instagram

To keep audiences engaged but also to promote your brand, follow the rule of 3 when it comes to your Instagram posts.

One third of your posts should promote your brand, one third should be about interaction with your audience and the other third should be resharing other Instagrammers’ content.

Caption Inspiration

While Instagram lets you add long captions, limit your wall of text when applicable. Long captions are good once in a while but Instagram is known for the short and quippy captions.

We could write a whole post on Instagram captions and probably will, but for now, check out this definitive guide on Instagram captions.

Partner WIth Influencers

The right influencers for your strategy will produce Instagram content that your target consumers will follow. And with their large reach, they have the ability to put your brand in front of a new audience in an actionable way.

We are fans of the micro-level influencer and they charge about $200 for an Instagram post.

Be strategic and help them with a creative theme for their posts with a smart CTA.

Utilize UGC

Content created by your happy consumers is fantastic content to share on your Instagram channel.

Social proof is what gets conversions. Showcasing a third-party experience with your product or service as opposed to salesy branded content is how consumers love learning about new brands.

Photos Versus Videos

Static photos can be published singularly or in a carousel with up to 10 images.

Videos can be uploaded to your feed.

Since videos tend to get more engagement than static images, it’s smart to do 75% of your posts as video and 25% as static images.

Videos get twice the engagement of static posts so prioritize them.

Know When to Use Instagram Ads

Sometimes your organic Instagram presence isn’t powerful enough and that’s where ads come in.

You can set your target audience, define your goals, boost current posts or create dedicated ad posts.

Consider A/B testing a few ads with $100 behind each one to see which performs the best.

Understanding Instagram Reels

Reels is Instagram’s attempt at capitalizing on the TikTok band wagon. Reels are short and live in a dedicated tab on your profile.

They’re meant to be fun and engaging so think about how your brand can humanize your image within 15 seconds.

Instagram Story Ideas

Instagram Stories last for 24 hours and are ideal for sharing “behind-the-scenes” and upcoming product launches content about your brand. The fact that they disappear after a day, makes Instagram Stories more engaging.

Stories are great for humanizing your brand. Consumers love to feel like an extension of your brand and you can leverage Stories to keep them in the loop.

Once you have 10,000 followers on Instagram, you will be able to add the swipe up feature which presents you with another way to insert a link onto the platform.

Don’t Forget About Instagram Live

Going “live” is a newer but popular use of social media. Straight from the Instagram app, you can go live. This is a great strategy for social selling.

Many brands have influencers host their live event and push a few products during that session.

Offer a discount to create momentum and maximize sales from your live streaming.

Post at Optimal Times

Optimal post times depend on your audience. However, there is a lot of research about the best times to post on Instagram. Start with the recommended times for a few weeks and then analyze the lift of your posts and adjust accordingly.

The best time to post on Instagram is between 10 am and 3 pm. The best day to post on Instagram is Tuesday. The best time to go Live on Instagram is Monday through Friday at 12 pm.

Read more about posting on social media at the right times here .

Run Giveaways

Giveaways on Instagram will increase your audience and engagement.

Giving users a chance to win something by performing an action is a great way to get new followers. An entry to win a product from your brand can be a reshare, a like, a follow, etc.

To run your giveaway, we recommend the Rafflecopter widget.

Show Your Instagram Feed on Your Website

With tools like Instagram Feed Pro , you can show your latest Instagram posts on your website. This attracts new audiences who already have an affinity for your content and your brand.

Incorporate Instagram Shopping Functionality

For many brands, Instagram’s Shopping features serve as a great way to bring in sales via the platform.

You’ll need to set up a shop through your profile. Then you can add product tags and curate products that Instagram users can shop for straight from Instagram.

Sourcing Images

It can be daunting to take photos every day for Instagram. Sometimes it makes sense to source them elsewhere.

You can find images by reaching out to your consumers and influencers. You can try a free site like Pexels .

If you’re not strong at graphic design, Canva has an easy-to-use platform with free templates to create Instagram posts.

Promote Your Instagram Presence

To build an audience on Instagram, you already have some resources in place. Consider the following simple strategies:

Email your list of contacts that your brand is on Instagram and you want them to follow you
Cross promote your Instagram account on your other social media platforms
Put your Instagram link in your email signature
Get your coworkers to promote your brand’s Instagram account
Follow relevant profiles and chances are, they’ll follow you back

Stay Up To Date With Instagram Insights

Instagram Insights exist within the platform and are available to anyone with a business account.

It’s free and will give you stats on your posts, audience, engagement and more. This will allow you to identify what resonates the most with your audience and tailor your posts accordingly.

Final Thoughts: Amplify Your Brand’s Instagram Presence Today

We just threw a lot of information at you rather quickly. If running your Instagram strategy sounds a little daunting in-house, we would love to help. We are Instagram experts and offer free consultation calls so reach out .

Do you have an Instagram marketing strategy to share? We’d love to read all about it in the comments below!

How to Stay Ahead of TikTok Trends in 2022

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 15:32:43 GMT

How to Stay Ahead of TikTok Trends in 2022

Is your brand active on TikTok? Are you wondering how to amplify your TikTok presence and maybe even go viral?

On TikTok, there is room for everyone. Ages vary, interests vary and communities vary. It’s important to note that TikTok is a bit of a cultural phenomenon . Meaning, it has its own lingo, its own user base and its own trends. Take everything you know about social media and throw it out the window when planning your TikTok marketing strategy.

Part of succeeding on TikTok involves knowing the trends. Which can be overwhelming. So we’ve created this post so that you can stay up to date with all things TikTok trends. From The Pink Stuff to Leggings to #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, trending on TikTok isn’t as difficult as you may think…

Why TikTok Has More Potential Than Other Social Platforms

TikTok has more potential for brands to go viral than the other social platforms. In fact, 1 in 10 TikTok videos has a viral component to it.

Videos on TikTok have a longer shelf life. They are relevant for 90 days.

TikTok audiences love the fun and laid back nature of the platform. It’s a great chance for your brand to connect with current and potential consumers in a genuine manner.

When it comes to the purchasing power of TikTok, 67% of the platform’s users report buying something on TikTok when they weren’t actually looking to make a purchase.

Why TikTok Trends Matter

TikTok is built on trends. Jumping on these trends is the single most fruitful way to get the attention of your target audience.

Since TikTok doesn’t have a “home” feed, there is a lot of value on the “For You” page. The For You page curates videos according to a user’s likes. The posts are a mix of mega popular videos as well as up and coming videos.

Knowing the trends that appeal to your target audience can help you create content that shows up on their For You Page.

Over half of the content shared on TikTok is based on trends .

How to Identify Upcoming TikTok Trends

Start with the “Discover” page. It will show you the most popular videos and you can identify common trend themes like hashtags, songs, effects, etc. Just note that if these trends are showing up on the Discover page, the trend may already be saturated.

Up and coming TikTok trends are your sweet spot. By the time you spot a huge trend, you’ve probably missed the bandwagon. But, trends with a few hundred or thousand posts haven’t reached super status yet and are a great way for you to trend early on the platform.

A lesser known way to identify upcoming TikTok trends is to create a second “empty” TikTok account. This means that your For You page won’t be tailored to you and will display the top videos when you log on. To spot upcoming trends, you need to see more content than from just your niche.

Follow the hashtag #TrendAlert as TikTok users often do the research for you and will call out a trend on the platform.

Hashtag Challenges on TikTok

Challenges on TikTok are extremely popular and often trend.

You can join a challenge or even start one of your own, marked with a specific yet creative hashtag.

TikTok users love challenges because they’re interactive and fun. Encourage your audience to partake in your trend and consider using other social platforms to market your TikTok challenge.

Best Practices When Implementing TikTok Trends

Now you know where to look for TikTok trends.

You don’t have to limit your TikTok creations to just one video per trend. Feel free to experiment with different videos per trend to see which performs the best.

Put your own spin on trends. Glean inspiration from other videos but make it unique.

If a TikTok post of yours flops, don’t delete it. TikTok’s algorithm looks unfavorably at accounts that delete videos.

Don’t jump on every trend you see. Limit your posts to trends that actually align with your brand and will resonate with consumers.

Lastly, a good rule of thumb is to keep in mind that trends should make up about 10% of the videos you publish. Don’t stray too far away from the valuable trust building and value offering content you most likely already produce.

Have you ever posted a video on TikTok based on a trend? We’d love to read all about your experience in the comments below!

12 Ways to Make Your Social Media Strategy Actionable Today

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 16:28:02 GMT

12 Ways to Make Your Social Media Strategy Actionable Today

Where there is an audience, there is an opportunity to create brand awareness, engage with current and potential customers, generate sales, and solidify your branding. And the largest audience you will find is on social media.

To implement an actionable social media marketing strategy, there are a lot of steps and you need to dedicate a lot of time. If you know you need the type of strategy that we outline below but don’t have the dedicated time, there are agencies like ours that can do it for you. And if you outsource, it’s still a good idea to have a pulse on what an actionable social media strategy looks like.

To help you sort through all the platforms and strategies, we’ve put together this post. We will explore actionable strategies that are easy to implement so that you can get started today!

Run an Audit

The very first thing you need to do is run a social media audit. Identify the channels your audience is most interactive on, learn who they like to follow on social and your top performing posts.

These valuable insights will build a foundation for your social media marketing strategy. You’ll extract data from the social media platforms you’ve been active on and your Google Analytics.

Define Your Goals

What would you like to see from your social media marketing efforts?

Do you want to generate leads? Increase sales? Build a following? Feel free to set lofty goals and organize them so that your social media marketing strategy is contributing to your overall business goals.

These goals will steer the type of posts you publish. If you want to generate leads, you’ll create a strategy that entices your audience to fill out a lead capture form. If you are wanting to increase sales, you’ll add in shoppable links. Etc. You get my drift.

Address Pain Points

At this step, you’re almost ready to start formulating your social media posts.

Before you compose your messages, consult your buyer personas and get a good grip on the pain points that your brand solves. List them. Then start ideating different content you can write to share on social that addresses your target consumers’ pain points.

Content that addresses pain points positions your brand as a thought leader and a viable solution to what consumers need.

Choose Your Tool

An actionable social media marketing strategy usually involves a tool or a few.

There are all-in-one tools, social media monitoring tools, analytics tools and more. We encourage you to try a few tools out to see what works best for your workflow and budget. Most offer a free trial.

Use a Social Editorial Calendar

Whew, that was a lot of steps and items to put in place before you start coming up with quippy social media content.

Now that you’re ready to compose, consider creating a social media editorial calendar. This will help you collaborate across your team, organize your messaging, and more.

Two things to keep in mind when creating your editorial calendar. First, schedule posts in advance. Second, create posts that are tailored to each social channel.

Post at Optimum Times

Believe it or not, extensive research has been done on when to post on social media to elicit maximum engagement.

Optimum post times differ by channel as each audience is unique. But don’t worry, we wrote a post all about it!

Engage With Influencers

Influencers have a large audience and the right influencers will have a large audience interested in your brand.

Identify these influencers and follow them on social. Engage with their posts, share theirs on your brand’s social channels and reach out to them for solidified partnerships when the budget allows.

Their third party recommendations of your brand are extremely valuable.

Create Facebook Groups

Interact with your current and future consumers in a Facebook group created by your brand. These groups are a good way to bring your audience together in one place as you position your brand as a thought leader in your industry.

Creating groups on Facebook is simple. Click “Groups” in the left hand bar of your Facebook feed. Click “Create Group.” Choose your group name, set your settings and add your branding. When it’s all filled out you will click “Create” and you can start promoting your group and inviting members.

Use Video as Much as Possible

Social media posts that use video get 48% more views than plain text posts. So clearly video is king and your audience prefers to digest video content instead of a wall of words.

Experiment with product demos, live streaming, interviews, tips, etc.

Be Strategic With Hashtags

Hashtags make your posts “findable” and help your social posts get seen by users who don’t follow you yet. You can even start your own hashtag to track engagement.

You don’t want to just cram your posts with hashtags, it’s tacky. Instead use a few strategic ones in each post and we like Hashtagify to find hashtags with good engagement metrics.

Make Use of User Generated Content

Consumers trust brands less and their peers more. Instead of self promoting your content on your social media channels, incentivise your customers to create content about your brand and use it in paid and organic posts.

Embrace Customer Service on Social Media

With 90% of consumers reporting that they’ve reached out for customer support on social, it’s clear that customer service is now taking place on social media.

Not only do consumers expect you to be available for social customer support, they expect fast response times. Be sure to dedicate the time and manpower for this crucial piece of an actionable social media strategy.

Do you have additional tips for making a social media strategy actionable? We’d love to read your insights in the comments below!

Is Twitter Still a Viable Social Platform?

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 23:35:21 GMT

Is Twitter Still a Viable Social Platform?

Is Twitter dead?

The short answer is no. The long answer is found in this post.

In fact, there are a lot of new features coming out of Twitter which tells us that Twitter is still thriving.

In this post we will cover new and promising features and tests that Twitter is implementing. And they’ve all surfaced in March and we’re only halfway through the month!

Twitter is Testing Podcast Functionality

Currently, Twitter is testing out offering a podcast tab within the app. This test tells us that Twitter has plans to allow podcasters to share direct links to their episodes much like how users can share links to sign up for newsletters.

Seems like Twitter is jumping on the social audio bandwagon?

Tweet Awards

Another function that Twitter is testing is Tweet Awards.

This feature would allow users to donate to creators. It would be a good way to get the attention of a Twitter influencer or simply reward favorite Twitter creators.

Pin Latest Tweets

Yet another feature that Twitter is testing out is the ability for users to pin the latest tweets so that they can swipe through content without an algorithmic cluttered Twitter feed.

This feature would create an alternative feed and create a stream of the latest tweets.

In-App Shopping

Following other social platforms, Twitter is now offering “Twitter Shops” with select brands.

This feature offers a “view shop” button which allows users to view the products a brand offers within the app.

A quote from Twitter about this new feature: “With Twitter Shops, merchants can handpick a collection of up to 50 products to showcase to shoppers on Twitter. The feature, which is free to use, gives people the chance to view products from the profiles of their favorite brands, so when you talk about and discover products on the timeline, you can now browse them on Twitter, too.”

Creator Dashboard

Just weeks ago, Twitter launched the Creator Dashboard which will help influencers on Twitter track their monetization efforts.

However, there are some requirements to be eligible for this feature. Those include US creators only, must participate in Ticketed Spaces and/or Super Follows, requires IOS, and must have more than 10k followers.

Experimental Development Team

Twitter seems to be wanting to dip its toes into a younger demographic. We think this because they recently hired Michael Sayman, a youth app expert.

Sayman is part of a new team designed to make Twitter appealing to a wider audience. Particularly, a younger audience.

This new business decision is forecasted to bring in 100 million new Twitter users.

New Insights Straight From the Source

Twitter has recently released new insights after analyzing billions of tweets.

The report can be downloaded here and looks at emerging conversation topics happening within the platform.

The three primary areas that surfaced in Twitter’s analysis are The Great Restoration, Fan-Build Worlds, and Finance Goes Social.

Crowdsourced Fact Checking

You may be familiar with Twitter’s crowdsourced fact checking initiative–Birdwatch in which users can add notes to tweets that they think are misleading or not factual based.

Just 2 weeks ago, Twitter added new features to this functionality.

Twitter had this to say about the new changes to Birdwatch: “Starting today, a small (and randomized) group of people on Twitter in the US will see Birdwatch notes directly on some Tweets. They’ll also be able to rate notes, providing input that will help improve Birdwatch’s ability to add context that is helpful to people from different points of view.”

This is a controversial release and in time we will see if it’s a positive or negative one.

Do you still use Twitter as part of your social media marketing strategy? If so, is it effective? We’d love to read your insights in the comments below!

What Are the Best Times to Post on Social Media in 2022?

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 15:43:10 GMT

What Are the Best Times to Post on Social Media in 2022?

With the short shelf life of social media posts, it’s important to know when your audience is engaging online. Enticing content is great, but if your audience isn’t on social to see your posts, your efforts are fruitless.

There certainly isn’t a “one size fits all” when it comes to when to post on social. But there is some great data out there to give you a starting point. After a few weeks or months after posting regularly, you can pull data on when your audience is the most active on social and adjust your scheduled posts accordingly.

Keep in mind that the following times reflect the time zone that an audience resides in. It’s common for brands to have audiences in multiple time zones so it’s smart to post at each audience’s peak time when they’re active on social.

Each social platform has a different audience so the ideal times are specific to each channel. Obviously, with so many platforms that you need to be active on, all with different peak post times, your social media posting strategy can get a little complicated. That’s when the right post scheduling tool comes in handy. We like HootSuite and Sprout Social . If time is still an issue, many brands contract social media agencies like Rossman Media .

Gathering the data to find the best times to post on social can be tedious. Luckily, we like to be a social media marketing resource so we’ve done all the heavy lifting for you and in this post, we will cover the best times to post on each social channel.

Best Time to Post on Facebook

Facebook is one of the most used social platforms with 1.8 billion daily active users last year. Because of Facebook’s ability to drive high quality leads, posting at the right times is crucial.

The best days to post on Facebook are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
The worst day to post on Facebook is Saturday
The best time to post a video on Facebook is between 12 pm and 1 pm as most users are on lunch during this time and can interact with video
Posting between noon and 2 pm on weekdays is the peak activity time
On the weekends, early morning and late evening are the worst times to post

Best Time to Post on Instagram

Before researching hashtags and coming up with punchy captions, it’s important to know when your audience is active on Instagram .

The best time of day to post on Instagram is between 10 am and 3 pm
The best day to post on Instagram is Tuesday
The worst day to post on Instagram is Sunday
The best day to post on IGTV is Wednesday at 8 pm
The best time to go live on Instagram is Monday through Friday at 12 pm

Best Time to Post on TikTok

To grow your audience on TikTok and score maximum engagement, it’s key to know when the best times are to post on this short-form video platform. TikTok has become a bit of a cultural phenomenon and offers a lot of opportunities for brands to publish viral content.

The best days to post on TikTok are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
Sunday is the worst day to post on TikTok
There are 3 times that are best to post on TikTok: Tuesdays at 8 am, Thursdays at 11 pm and Fridays at 4 am

Best Time to Post on Twitter

Tweets show up in feeds in reverse chronological order and have a very short shelf life. Because of this, it’s extra important to know when your target audience is active on the platform.

The best time to post on Twitter is at 9 am on the weekdays
The best day to post on Twitter is Wednesday
The peak engagement times on Twitter are on Wednesdays at noon and after 5 pm
Friday after 3 pm and weekends are the worst days to post on Twitter

Best Time to Post on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the most popular professional social platform. Because of this, behaviors on the platform are a little different as it tends to be acceptable to surf LinkedIn during normal work hours.

The best time to post on LinkedIn is between 9 am and 5 pm
Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to post on LinkedIn
Sunday is the worst day to post on LinkedIn

Best Time to Post on Pinterest

This visually driven platform offers a lot of opportunities for brands to get noticed. In order for your pin to be seen, your posts should go up when your audience is the most active.

The best days to post on Pinterest are Friday and Saturday
The worst time to post on Pinterest is weekdays between 5 pm and 7 pm
The best times to post on Pinterest are between 8 pm and 11 pm
Pinterest user activity peaks on Fridays at 9 pm

Best Time to Post on YouTube

Creating videos for YouTube takes more time than posts on other social platforms. So you definitely want your hard work to be noticed and that starts with publishing on YouTube at the right times. However, it’s important to note that YouTube videos take a bit to get indexed. That means that ideal posting times are before the highest traffic times to give the video time to get indexed.

The best days to publish on YouTube are Thursday and Friday
The best time to post on YouTube is between 2 pm and 4 pm
YouTube traffic is highest between 7 pm and 10 pm
The worst days to post on YouTube is Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

Which time zone(s) does your target audience reside? Do you cater your posting schedule to meet the needs of these different time zones? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!

TikTok’s Latest Report Reveals New Insights and Trends For Marketers

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 19:34:37 GMT

TikTok’s Latest Report Reveals New Insights and Trends For Marketers

Over 1 billion people use the smashing success of the short-form video platform, TikTok. In fact, TikTok has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. With its specific nuances, verbiage and more, the platform serves as a great tool for marketers to reach target consumers with the right data-driven approach.

TikTok just released their What’s Next report full of insights, case studies and trends for brands to take note of. The report is based on user behavior in 2021 and offers insights into how marketers can use the platform better in 2022.

The report is based on user behavior and identifies which verticals are trending on the platform.

The 35 page report can be downloaded here . However, most people don’t have the time to read 35 pages so we will go over the key takeaways in this post.

6 Key Trends

The report emphasizes the following trends and if your brand could capitalize on one or more of these trends, they’re already proven.

Self-care champions : Beauty and self care topics dominated TikTok in 2021. Particularly popular post types in this category are before and after reveals.

Financial services : This category was a surprise. But financial services on TikTok are up 255%. Typically, videos in this vertical call out pain points on the path to financial independence.

Recipes and food videos : Many foodie brands have been using feed ads to share tips and tricks about their products. Cooking contests are also very popular.

Gaming culture : Rising gamers on TikTok have become a staple of the TikTok community. They are so popular that non-gaming related brands often partner with gaming TikTokers and see success.

Shopping functionality : 2022 will be the first full year of the release of TikTok Shopping. This feature is a suite of tools that turn videos and live streams into shopping experiences. With TikTok Shopping, consumers can purchase from brands that catch their attention without leaving the platform which has created an expedited buyer’s journey.

The evolution of sound : One thing that sets TikTok apart from other popular social platforms is that music is an integral part of the videos that get posted. 88% of TikTok users say that sound is central to the overall app experience. This has led to some musical artists gaining popularity because of TikTok. The report also states that videos with music have longer viewing times.

The TikTok Audience

While many marketers associate TikTok with teens dancing and lip synching, the platform and it’s audience has matured lately and now has a broader demographic. Gen Z is still the biggest audience on the platform so brands who want to reach a younger audience shouldn’t overlook TikTok.

TikTok is said to be more authentic than other platforms with 73% of TikTok users feeling a deeper connection with brands than on other platforms.

Consumers crave interaction and this made community a theme of the latest report. Community is so strong on TikTok that 67% of users say they’ve purchased a product on TikTok even when they weren’t planning to do so!

Insights Into The Famous #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt Phenomenon

The trend #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt was huge in 2021 and still is trending in 2022. The hashtag represents the power of word of mouth to make a product go viral.

This type of power is called a social commerce movement and the report offers tips on creating viral trends on TikTok.

The hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has been viewed 9.7 billion times. It has become popular for product discovery and has even made some small brands famous.

Influencers and TikTok

Influencers, or in the words of TikTok, “creators” were another central theme in the report. Partnering with influencers can increase view-through rates by 193%!

TikTok claims that partnering with influencers on their platform is more effective than paid ads.

Last year, TikTok created the Creator Marketplace which allows brands to connect with high profile TikTokers aka influencers. Brands can search through the Creator Marketplace via searches like industry, budget, goals, etc.

Though the Creator Marketplace is fairly new, it already has over 100,000 creators that brands can partner with.

TikTok Shared Post Types That Resonate With Users

Not getting the engagement you would like on TikTok? In the report, TikTok shared engaging post types that their users love.

Start brainstorming how you can implement some of the following ideas:

Before and after reveals
Behind the scenes videos
Showcase the manufacturing process
Self love movements
Timely reactions to events in the news
Branded hashtag challenges
Lead gen ads
Tips and tricks about products

What do you think is the key takeaway from TikTok’s latest report? We’d love to read all about what stands out to you in the comments below!

Why Facebook Ads Are Losing Effectiveness and What To Do About It

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 16:57:29 GMT

Why Facebook Ads Are Losing Effectiveness and What To Do About It

Data privacy is important to everyone. And because of that, Apple released the IOS 14 update which was aimed at appeasing users with enhanced data privacy measures.

However, marketers are struggling with this update as it makes it hard to advertise on platforms like Facebook.

Advertisers on Facebook have lost access to their most powerful targeting data and are already seeing the effectiveness of their ads dwindle.

Are you one such marketer who is struggling with running Facebook ads?

The IOS 14 Update

When Apple released the IOS 14 update, it affected how apps process conversion events on certain platforms. Specifically, Facebook. The update made it so users have to opt-in to share data which impacts the Facebook app ability to personalize ads and track the success of paid ads.

The update obviously impacts how Facebook users use the MOBILE application. Unlike a desktop computer that utilizes cookies, apps use something called IFDA to track user behavior within an app. When the IOS 14 update was released, Apple turned off IDFA by default and now prompts users to turn it on manually.

It’s important to note that only 10% of US Facebook users have opted in…

While users may love this feature and extra layer of data privacy, marketers are not so happy.

The Impact On Facebook Ads

Simply put, the IOS update has dramatically changed how brands can view and track user activity. Facebook said that they don’t agree with Apple’s new updates and that they are going to be implementing features for advertisers.

Taken directly from Facebook , the platform succinctly explained what the IOS update means for Facebook ads. “Apple’s proposed changes will limit your ability to effectively reach, understand and engage people on mobile devices and across the web. They will impact your ability to understand performance, control who sees your ads and make informed decisions about your advertising budgets. As these changes take effect, over time you may see an overall decrease in ad performance and personalization and an increase in cost per action.”

There are 3 areas that were specifically affected by the update and those are targeting, reporting and optimization. Any marketer knows that you can’t run a successful Facebook campaign without those three components.

Is Money Spent On Facebook Ads Fruitless?

The short answer is that money spent on Facebook might be fruitless.

The update impacts ad spend and doesn’t let advertisers see which ads are working. Another impact is seen reaching new consumers. Even more frustrating for marketers, the update makes it extremely hard to retarget Facebook users.

With that said, brands are actively seeking alternatives to Facebook ad campaigns.

What to Do Instead of Facebook Ads

Perhaps the aftermath of the IOS 14 update was a blessing in disguise. Facebook has declined in the ability to influencer purchases even before the update. Especially with younger audiences.

Here at Rossman Media, we’ve been seeing better results by diverting ad spend from Facebook to TikTok . So, it’s no surprise that in the graphic below, younger audiences clearly have an affinity for purchasing from TikTok as opposed to older platforms like Facebook.

Another set of data shows just how much consumers seem to trust TikTok as a platform over other platforms.

To get started with TikTok ads, this article is a great resource and comes straight from the source.

Have you seen Facebook ads lose their effectiveness? We’d love to read all about your experience in the comments below!

Enterprise Brands NEED to Update Their Social Media Strategies

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 19:29:23 GMT

Enterprise Brands NEED to Update Their Social Media Strategies

Large paid social budgets, an already established brand presence and access to premium tools. Sounds wonderful, right?

While running social media for an enterprise brand is exciting, it also comes with a lot of pressure to perform and more risk for a PR crisis.

There are an overwhelming amount of brands competing to get the attention of the same target consumers that you are. Your brand’s social presence can make or break your online reputation.

Afterall, 76% of consumers will purchase from a brand who interacts with them on social media.

For the sake of this post, we won’t bore you with tips you already know like setting up your profile and using the right hashtags. We will dive into next level strategies that your audience expects of you on social media.

Determine What Makes You Unique

Come up with a value proposition on why you are different from your competitors and use that to steer the social posts you create.

Lead with your unique values, company culture, innovative way of operating, etc.

Spend a lot of time on your competitors' channels and get inspiration for like minded posts you can publish as well as take note of what they do that you don’t like so you can avoid mistakes at their expense.

Promote Comparison Content

Create blog posts and/or white papers that dissect the difference between you and your competitors and highlight why your brand is a great fit.

Share these pieces of content on all of your social channels regularly.

Schedule Your Posts

Being an enterprise brand, you likely have audience members all over the world. In order to engage them, schedule your posts at different times to cater to the different time zones.

Look at social analytics data to determine when your audience is the most active.

It’s likely you’ll want posts to go out at night your time when it’s daytime in other countries. Scheduling makes it so you don’t have to be online at obscure hours.

Utilize Influencer Content for Paid Ads

Influencer marketing is nothing new but repurposing their content strategically is underused by so many brands.

Running social media at an enterprise means you have a budget for paid social. Instead of the super polished and professional videos, brands are seeing more conversions with videos generated by influencers that they use in their paid ads. They come across as less “salesy.”

Provide Customer Service on Social

More and more consumers expect customer service to take place on social media . In fact, many of them expect a response to a support question within one hour.

In order to not turn off the existing and potential consumers of your brand, be sure to dedicate the time and resources to run customer service via your social media channels.

Boost Sales With Social Selling

Consider social selling or social commerce to sell your products directly from your social platforms. The best part, consumers don’t have to leave the platform so your sales will increase when you implement this.

Corporate Communication

Consumers love interacting with brands on social because it makes them feel like an extension of the brand.

From new product announcements to responses to social issues to new hire announcements, it’s your job to keep your audience in-the-know about your brand.

Monitor Your Content and Audience

It’s crucial to know what type of content and topics your audience likes to digest. It’s also extremely important to know when your audience is most active so you can schedule posts accordingly. All of this data can be gleaned from insights within each social platform.

Past insights on your posts, your brand needs to monitor for brand mentions and relevant conversations happening on social. There are many tools that let you monitor the social sphere and engage with relevant audiences.

Find the Right Tools

As an enterprise brand, you're lucky enough to have the budget for social media marketing tools. Obviously these tools are helpful since 81% of enterprise brands use social media management tools.

There are many social media management tools out there. For brands with small budgets, they have to rely on simple tools and usually a few tools at once. Enterprise brands usually use an all-encompassing tool to manage each channel and each strategy in one place.

To save you time, we have a favorite list here of enterprise tools that you can explore. Many of them offer free trials so feel free to be choosey and try out a few.

Do you run social media for an enterprise brand? Have a tip to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Micro-Influencers Are the Hottest Thing Since Sliced Bread

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 21:34:27 GMT

Micro-Influencers Are the Hottest Thing Since Sliced Bread

There are millions of influencers representing a variety of niches. With influencer marketing having endless possibilities, one of the crucial things you need to identify is if you want to work with micro-influencers, macro-influencers or both.

Influencers can have a small to ginormous follower count and if you choose wisely, they can increase brand awareness, sales, loyalty, conversions, and more. These benefits are pretty appealing, right?

Contrary to popular belief, an influencer doesn’t have to have millions of followers to bring in great results. A micro-influencer can actually be more effective than a macro-influencer while being easier on the budget.

Want to know more? In this post, we are going to thoroughly explore why we love micro-influencers so much and we are convinced that by the end of this post, you’re going to love micro-influencers too.

Since this post centers on micro-influencer marketing, if you’re wanting to learn more about influencer marketing in general, check out this post , this post and this post .

Now let’s dive in!

What Exactly is a Micro-Influencer?

To put it simply, a micro-influencer has between 10,000 and 50,000 followers on any given channel.

They specialize in a certain niche so while their audience may be smaller, they have the power to spread word about your products or services to a targeted group of new consumers.

That’s all there is to it. Once you understand what a micro-influencer is, you’re ready to get started.

Micro-Influencers Versus Macro-Influencers

Micro-influencers are better for the budget while yielding great results. The more followers an influencer has, the more they charge.

Our theory is that micro-influencers tend to have higher engagement rates than macro-influencers because their audience is at a manageable size for them to engage with. In fact, micro-influencers get 7X the engagement a macro-influencer gets.

Micro-influencers aren’t as in demand as macro-influencers so they can usually turn a campaign around faster. They also are loyal to the brands they partner with since they’re not as in demand.

Authenticity is another thing to keep in mind when working with influencers. If an influencer promotes too many brands, authenticity is compromised. And with so many offers macro-influencers get, they tend to promote more products which lessens their authenticity to their followers. A micro-influencer on the other hand, tends to have a good balance of sponsored and organic posts making them more authentic.

Micro-Influencer Marketing Benefits

There are many benefits to working with micro-influencers. The most common being:

Brand awareness
Sales
Power a product launch
Earn content to repurpose
Conversions
New contacts/consumers

Micro-Influencer Marketing Best Practices

So we’ve convinced you that you need to work with micro-influencers. That’s all well and good, but what’s next?

If you follow the best practices we’ve outlined, your micro-influencer campaign will be a smashing success!

Set goals before reaching out to influencers
Determine KPIs
Make sure someone on your team has enough bandwidth to successfully manage influencer marketing and if they don’t, find an agency or a freelancer
Set a budget
Determine which channel(s) your influencers need to be active on and the topics they specialize in
Create campaign briefs
Build strong personal relationships
Give influencers a creative campaign theme to ensure engaging content
Work with the top performers multiple times
Offer rewards in addition to compensation to create some healthy competition within your campaigns
Track your results every month
Repurpose influencer generated content on your website, paid social ads, email marketing, etc.

How to Find the Right Micro-Influencers For Your Brand

Now that you know that you want to work with micro-influencers and you know the best practices for shaping a powerful strategy, it’s time to locate the right influencers. Here are a few strategies to consider:

Use an influencer marketing database, we like Fourstarzz because they have a bunch of influencers for a low cost
Google for lists using “keywords” and “influencer list” if budget is an issue because this is a free way to find influencers
Hire an agency with existing relationships like Rossman Media if you have the budget or lack the bandwidth to run in-house
Run manual searches on the social channels your targeting through keywords and hashtags as another free but mildly time consuming option

Do you have any tips for working with micro-influencers? We’d love to read them in the comments below!

Consumers Now Expect Customer Service to Take Place on Social

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 20:45:54 GMT

Consumers Now Expect Customer Service to Take Place on Social

The foundation of great customer service is built on meeting consumers where they want to be met. And today, that is on social media.

Gone are the days of brand interaction happening via phone calls or even emails. Consumers have gotten used to the ease of social media communication and they expect your brand to keep up.

Because today’s consumers are so used to instantaneous communication, it’s no surprise that customer service has shifted to social media.

In order to delight your consumers past your awesome products or services, it’s time to power your social media customer service strategy. Don’t know where to begin? We have created this post to help the amazing brands we work with when it comes to customer service on social media.

Consumer Expectations and Social Behavior

We can tell you how crucial it is that you offer excellent customer service via your social channels until we are blue in the face. But the most successful marketers develop strategies based on data so let’s look at the statistics pertaining to social media customer service.

47% of consumers have a more favorable impression of brands who respond to them on social
90% of consumers say they’ve used social media to reach out to brands about support issues
40% of customers who complain via social media expect a response within one hour
75% of social media users say they will post a positive mention of a brand if they’ve made meaningful social connections
67% of consumers will look for resolutions via a brand’s social media channels
30% of consumers will purchase from a competitor if a brand doesn’t respond to their social messages

The Value of Social Customer Service

A customer’s experience with your brand translates into your brand success. Don’t you want it to be a positive experience?

Sure, social media customer service can be a little intimidating. With everything being so public, brands often worry about the negativity that will occur online. However, consumers value communication so it’s key to focus on the positives. Afterall, consumers are going to talk about your brand on social whether you like it or not.

Positive outcomes of implementing a social customer service strategy include brand loyalty, exposure to new consumers, increase in sales and customer retention. Just to name a few.

Customers often reach out to brands when making a purchase decision. So not only does a social customer service strategy support your current consumers, it also can land new consumers if you delight them through your social engagement.

Top Reasons Why Consumers Reach Out to Brands on Social

We love SproutSocial and they released a study on why customers reach out to brands on social media. Those reasons are:

Had a good experience (59%)
Have a question about products or services (47%)
Had a bad experience (40%)

It should ease your mind that your customers tend to engage your brand more about a positive experience than a negative. And at any rate, knowing why consumers would reach out to your brand will help you shape your strategy.

Social Customer Service Best Practices

When it comes to social media customer service, the most important thing is being available to your current and target consumers. If you adhere to the following best practices, you’ll be ahead of the game.

Create handles dedicated to customer support
Run an audit to determine which channels your audience is active on
Build out customer support guidelines for your brand
Dedicate the resources to respond to questions and concerns within 1 hour during business hours
Be empathetic and apologetic when a customer has a concern
Reply to ALL comments on social about your brand whether they’re positive or negative
Be positive and transparent in your interactions

Monitoring Your Audience

Consumers expect your brand to reply to their questions very quickly, that’s a given. They also expect you to engage with them when they post their experience with your brand and that’s where monitoring comes in.

Many social media users will talk about a brand without actually tagging them. Solid keyword monitors will help you keep a pulse about the conversations happening about your brand.

Where Chatbots Come In

If you’re getting a high volume of customer support requests, chatbots are helpful.

Chatbots are great for frequently asked questions but they don’t replace the value of an actual human. So know when to use chatbots and when to treat serious concerns on a personalized level.

Knowing When to Take the Conversation Offline

Sometimes a customer support request requires lengthy explanations and if this is the case, it’s fine to take the conversation offline. Keep in mind, a support request on social media is public, so respond publicly before moving the conversation.

If there is sensitive information required for you to help your consumers, definitely move the conversation. Things like address or order number should never be public.

Is Your Brand Dropping the Ball on Social Customer Service?

Only 32% of consumers are happy with the response times they get from brands when they reach out on social. That number is low but after reading this post, you should be ready to delight your audience in a timely manner.

Do you have consumers reaching out to you for customer service on your brand’s social media channels? We’d love to hear all about your process for fielding support requests in the comments below!

What Do the Super Bowl Ads Tell Us About Marketing Trends

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 18:00:44 GMT

What Do the Super Bowl Ads Tell Us About Marketing Trends

Super Bowl ads are usually reserved for elite brands. Or I should say, brands who have a $7 million budget for a 30 second commercial.

Each year the Super Bowl shows competition. Competition on the field and competition between brands for the best ads.

Since the best and most successful brands are putting a ton of effort into these commercials, marketers can extract trends and best practices to shape their strategies.

Partnership Marketing Pushes Creative Boundaries

Rocket Mortgage and Barbie were an unsuspecting yet brilliantly creative commercial to market to parents and home buyers.

Perhaps marketers can start thinking outside the box and come up with some partnerships that stand out. Partnership marketing is great for entertaining content and it also helps with the budget because you have another brand splitting costs with you.

Are Goats the New Puppies?

Puppies and kittens have been in Super Bowl commercials for a long time. This year we saw goats! Which makes us think goats are the new puppies.

This trend isn’t surprising since Americans are over the pandemic and are drawn to light and happy things. Can you include cute goats in your marketing materials?

TikTok Integrates into TV ads

Uber Eats used the infamous “oh no” TikTok audio in their ads to capture the attention of younger buyers. Expect to see more social media-focused marketing and trends in traditional creative as we step forward.

Expect More QR Codes in Ads

This old marketing tactic is on a resurgence path due to the pandemic demands. Though dated, it’s effectiveness is stronger than ever.

It’s a way to add a longer shelf life to ads if a QR code takes them to a landing page.

Messages Tied to Unity

Similar to last year, we saw marketing messages tied to unity as a nation and a world. Using marketing as an advocacy channel to unite target audiences will continue to be a strong tactic in today’s world.

A Rise in New Brands

About 40% of the brands who did a Super Bowl commercial this year were new brands and had never advertised at the Super Bowl before.

Many of the new brands were cryptocurrency brands.

It was refreshing to see old and new brands which gave viewers a variety of commercials to be entertained with.

Key takeaway from this, sometimes new brands need to get outside their comfort zones and pay big money to “play.”

Electric Car Ads Bring in Traffic

After 6 of the 7 car commercials were for electric cars, and immediately after airing cars.com saw an 80% increase in page views of electric cars.

Does a product at your brand have the potential to earn a huge increase in page views?

Pandemic Fatigue

None of the ads touted actors with masks on. Taking it a step further, Covid wasn’t even mentioned in any of the commercials.

Apparently target consumers are sick of Covid and don’t want to watch it on tv!

Ads With a Purpose

There were a handful of commercials that had a purpose past just selling products or services. One such theme with a purpose we saw a few times was the encouragement of sustainability.

Consumers like to support brands that have a greater cause which can easily be worked into any digital campaign.

What Super Bowl ad trends did you notice? We’d love to read all about it in the comments below!

8 Types of Social Media Posts to Get More Leads

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 18:16:49 GMT

8 Types of Social Media Posts to Get More Leads

Social media is a very lucrative channel to generate leads. After all, social media provides a way for brands to reach a niche group of the billions of consumers who are using social media.

Chances are, if you’re not currently using social for lead gen, your competitors are. Not to worry though, this post will get you to a point where you can instantly start gaining leads.

Of course there are both paid and organic strategies to gain leads. The paid avenues are more typical so in this post we will focus on the organic strategies for lead gen.

Leads make marketers usually think about B2B brands. Of course the strategies that we outline work for B2B brands. But, B2C brands also need to fill their funnel and get new contacts so if you are part of a B2C brand, this post is for you too!

Social media efforts to gain leads go hand-in-hand with other strategies. For example, social works in harmony with your website since a lot of what you need to do is use social to direct potential consumers to landing pages. Social media for lead gen also relies on email marketing. Once you’ve gathered your juicy new leads, you will nurture them with engaging emails.

Webinars

Webinars convey thought leadership and are a great way to drive leads. The perfect way to reach new audiences is to promote your webinar on all of your social channels.

You can read all about webinar best practices here . The main thing to note is that webinars should have a landing page with a lead capture form in which your audience fills out their name, company and email address to attend.

Take it a step further and put social share buttons on your webinar landing pages so that attendees can effortlessly share your event with their own audiences.

Downloadable Content

Save your best content ideas to utilize in downloadable pieces of content. Unlike blog posts which just live in the digital universe, eBooks, white papers, research reports, etc. are enticing enough to be gated with a lead capture form.

Use all of your social media channels to point your audience to the landing page that houses your downloadable resource.

Create engaging posts that “tease” your audience about what is in store for them when they download your content.

Case Studies

Case studies offer the “social proof” that your target consumers crave when making a purchase decision.

Promoting your case studies via social media adds credibility to your brand more than any other form of content. Read more about creating case studies here .

Typically, case studies are not gated with a lead capture form. So the best plan is to have a CTA on social media to read your case study and then a CTA on your case study page that entices readers to fill out a form.

As you can see, sometimes generating leads via social is sort of like a path of bread crumbs slowly leading your audience to your brand. There may be a few steps.

Special Offers

Post special offers that can only be found on social. This will build up your followers as they have a reason to join your network.

Your special offer posts can be anything from discount codes to coupons to free shipping.

Create a sense of urgency by having the special offer convey a short shelf life. Afterall, social media posts become irrelevant really fast!

Influencer Partnerships

Influencers are trusted by their audience. They also have a very large audience. Wouldn’t you love to get your brand in front of an influencer’s followers?

If you’re interested in influencer marketing check out this post .

Partner with influencers to create thematic posts about your products or services. They will share their experience with your brand all over social. And because these are paid efforts, you get a little bit of control over the messaging. So be sure that they link to a landing page or a spot on your website that converts.

Influencer partnerships can also be paired with some of the other strategies that we already listed. For example, you can have influencers link to your landing page that houses your downloadable content.

Quizzes

Quizzes offer a fun and interactive way for your audience to engage with your brand.

Think of BuzzFeed and all of the quizzes they offer. Wouldn’t you like to jump on the bandwagon with this proven strategy?

Your quiz should be relevant to your industry, and more importantly, relevant to your buyer personas.

With quizzes, the lead gen component happens when they answer the questions and then enter their email address for the results of the quiz.

What does this have to do with social? The best way to promote your quiz is on social media. And if you’re strategic about it, you’ll have social share buttons on the quiz landing page so that your quiz takers can share their results with their own followers and perpetuate the amount of people who take your quiz.

Referral Campaigns

With 84% of consumers reporting that they trust a brand recommendation from a peer, referral campaigns are a natural fit with your lead gen strategy.

Be sure to offer incentives to your clients who refer their contacts to you to ensure a lot of amplification.

Of course a referral campaign involves email marketing, it also involves social media. Your contacts who refer your brand will share their recommendation on social. You can also promote your referral campaign on your brand’s own social channels.

Contests/Giveaways

A lot of brands have had a lot of success with gamification.

Offering contests and giveaways is a fun way to generate leads. Not to mention, contests and giveaways make for great social media posts.

In order for someone to enter your contest or giveaway, they need to perform an action. This can be signing up to receive email from your brand or inviting their own connections to follow your brand on social. All steps that trickle down to lead gen.

How do you generate leads on your brand’s social channels? We’d love to read all about your insights in the comments below!

What Has Rossman Media Been Up To?

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 19:41:57 GMT

What Has Rossman Media Been Up To?

It’s only the beginning of February and we’ve already had a big year here at Rossman Media!

Since we view our audience as an extension of our brand, we are excited to share with you the latest innovations at Rossman Media .

If you’re not familiar with our agency, we prioritize social media growth for brands like Airbnb, Orange Theory, Nike, and Louis Vuitton just to name a few.

We deliver creative and strategic social media management and campaigns–no canned packages here! We stay ahead of trends and bleed innovation. Our team is hands-on and we don’t rely on robots to power our social strategies. Afterall, engagement and real results happen with a human touch.

One of our strongest footholds in the market is our partnership with TikTok. Since we have a partnership with them (only a few agencies have this), we have access to technology and activations that brands can’t get on their own.

With all that said, let’s dive into what we’ve been up to lately!

We Acquired davies+dixon, a “daring and bad ass” agency

We are constantly looking for ways to add more innovation into our business model so we acquired a new agency .

davies + dixon is a woman owned agency from Seattle. We loved how they value strong client relationships and their trusted brand presence. So, we made it official on January 10th and the owners of davies + dixon have joined our team.

Together, our two teams are excited to offer our clients award winning social media marketing strategies.

The Manifest Reviewed Rossman Media

The Manifest highlighted us as one of the most reviewed agencies .

The publication highlights the top agencies and ours was the most reviewed. And they were great reviews! The review includes client reviews via a press release.

We Had Our First Year on Clutch

We experienced our first year with Clutch , a B2B ratings and review platform.

Their evaluations are based on quality of work, thought leadership and client reviews.

After our first year on Clutch, we are proud to say we have a 5.0 rating.

We Celebrated Our 5 Year Anniversary

We have now celebrated 5 years of being in the inbound marketing industry. Prioritizing social growth, we’ve had an amazing 5 years and our clients agree!

Our founder and employees live and breathe social media marketing as well as inbound strategies and we’ve had a blast passing that expertise on to our amazing clients.

Over the past 5 years, we’ve been elevating the online presence of B2C and B2B brands from mediocre to exceptional.

Our Founder Was Featured on How I Built It

TikTok is hot so we aren’t surprised that How I Built It wanted to interview our founder.

In the podcast, Alex Rossman talked about how brands NEED to be on TikTok and offered strategies for brands who want to have a presence on the platform.

TikTok personalized brands in a way other platforms can’t. And even more, 1 out of 10 videos have a viral component to them. The marketplace is hot for brands and you can hear all about it here .

Are you wanting to elevate your social media presence with an award winning agency? Get in touch with us for a free consult.

Your Business NEEDS to be on TikTok

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 16:23:24 GMT

Your Business NEEDS to be on TikTok

Our CEO, Alex Rossman was interviewed on the popular podcast How I Built it and he downloaded all of his knowledge about brands and their TikTok presence.

Rossman Media is a trusted TikTok partner. So let’s just say, Alex really knows his stuff.

You can listen to the podcast here and this post will explore Alex’s views when it comes to a brand’s presence on TikTok.

Heads up: TikTok isn’t just for dancing teens anymore despite the platform's reputation.

Why is TikTok Valuable for My Brand?

You want to meet consumers where they already are at–and that is largely on TikTok nowadays.

TikTok allows brands to establish themselves in an authentic and entertaining way. Unlike super polished posts on Facebook and Instagram, TikTok posts are raw and connect with audiences in a REAL way. This is what your current and future consumers crave from the brands they support.

At the end of the day, TikTok can personalize your brand in ways that other social platforms can’t.

Worried that TikTok doesn’t contain your target market because of the young demographic? This was true last year but now TikTok is now becoming more mature with a broader age demographic.

TikTok is all about bite sized content making it an easy platform to keep up with.

Key TikTok Takeaway

Usually key takeaways are at the end of a post. However, in case you don’t have time to read this whole article, here it is:

TikTok is not saturated yet like other social platforms. Brands don’t have to bend over backward to see results. As of now, the platform lacks so much competition that one out of every ten videos you post on TikTok will have a viral component to it!

Repurposing Content on TikTok

Algorithms and audiences show an affinity for short form video content. However, this type of media takes a bit of time to create so many brands are repurposing content.

Repurposing saves time and helps brands keep up with an active posting schedule. Just be mindful that each platform has a different audience so you want to be mindful of WHAT you are repurposing and HOW OFTEN you are repurposing videos.

Here are the most common ways that brands are repurposing TikTok content:

Incorporate videos on your website
Post the TikTok video on Instagram Reels, Facebook groups, YouTube Shorts , Pinterest and even LinkedIn
Add your TikTok videos to your email efforts

TikTok for B2B Companies

Alex has a bunch of B2B clients for whom Rossman Media has found success on TikTok showing it’s not just for B2C brands.

Here are the top 5 things to keep in mind when creating your B2B TikTok editorial calendar:

Showcase what consumers are saying about your brand
Engage and network daily
Humanize your image
Focus on community building, not sales
Leverage organic and paid components

How to Do TikTok the Right Way

If you’re ready to establish a presence for your brand on TikTok, hang tight and read these tips on TikTok success. Tips have been gleaned from Alex’s experience making his clients’ TikTok superstars.

Spend a lot of time on TikTok to get a feel for what is trending
Put your own spin on trends (especially when starting out)
Don’t be self promotional
Be intentional
Convert to a business account so you can have a link in your profile
Post at least once a day
Be sure to implement audio quality
Know your audience

If you don’t have the bandwidth to immerse yourself in TikTok, there are agencies like Rossman Media that have the expertise to execute it for you.

Consumers don’t like being sold to. The best way to build up an audience is to expand your social presence and engage–not sell.

Keeping Up With Trends

A large component of TikTok is aligning with trends. And they change really fast. Trends are a great way to get your brand in front of new audiences with the right hashtags.

Schedule out your TIkTok posts each month. However, spend time on TikTok daily and leave time in your editorial calendar to post spur of the moment videos that align with what’s trending.

Measuring Your TikTok Strategy

Analytics help you plan your content and refine your approach to TikTok.

There is a lot of data you can pull straight from the app and there are also social media marketing tools that will pull data from TikTok as well as your other social platforms so that all of your analytics are in one place.

Give your TikTok account 90-180 days before measuring your efforts. When you have a pulse on your TikTok presence and audience, run paid campaigns.

Is your business on TikTok? We’d love to hear what you think about the platform in the comments below!

ROSSMAN MEDIA ACQUIRES SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AGENCY DAVIES + DIXON

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 21:01:49 GMT

ROSSMAN MEDIA ACQUIRES SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AGENCY DAVIES + DIXON

PORTLAND, OR – Rossman Media, a premier social media agency that serves the world’s leading global brands has acquired davies + dixon, a woman-owned award-winning social media marketing agency based in Seattle, WA. The acquisition became official on January 10th, 2022. The combined companies will operate as Rossman Media, further establishing themselves as a leading global social media agency.

Alex Rossman, founder of Rossman Media shared, “We were drawn to davies + dixon because of the team’s trusted presence in the northwest and beyond. We pursued this relationship because of their evident commitment to creating an intentional and impactful company culture and deep client relationships. The founders, Makenzie and Kelsey, have over seven years of experience as successful agency owners and harness the very values that Rossman Media cherishes.”

"The Rossman Media team impressed us from the start and we’re humbled at the opportunity to be part of it. This collaboration will allow for greater opportunities and growth for our collective team, clients and the impact we will make together in the industry. Makenzie and I are eager to bring our experience to Rossman Media and support scaling and cultivating this forward-thinking team,” said Kelsey Dixon, co-founder of davies + dixon.

The acquisition of davies + dixon fits into Rossman Media’s mission to help growing brands engage and convert more customers through award-winning social media strategies. The purchase of davies + dixon will bring co-founders Makenzie Davies and Kelsey Dixon to the Rossman Media executive leadership team alongside founder and CEO Alex Rossman. Headquartered in Portland, OR, Rossman Media is an all-remote company that employs 60 people and growing.

About Rossman Media: Founded in 2017 by Alex Rossman, Rossman Media is an award-winning, premier social media agency serving the world’s leading global brands such as Airbnb, OrangeTheory Fitness, Nike, Louis Vuitton and Saks Fifth Avenue to name a few. Rossman Media has been awarded “Best New Social Media Agency” of 2020 by Business Insider, listed as a Top Social Media Marketing Company in Oregon by Clutch and listed as one of the “Top 100 Visual Effect Companies in Los Angeles” by the Manifest.

About davies + dixon: davies + dixon is a fully remote, social media marketing agency based in Seattle, founded by Makenzie Davies and Kelsey Dixon in 2014. d+d is celebrated for its all-female, boundary-pushing team and its marketing strategies that have changed the trajectory of growing brands. d+d's clients are changemakers, trendsetters and social-do-gooders. The team has been recognized as a Supplier of the Year from Smart Meetings Magazine, a MeetingsNet Changemaker, Connect 40 under 40, PSBJ 40 under 40 and more.

An Introductory Guide to YouTube Shorts

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 17:41:26 GMT

An Introductory Guide to YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts are new but short-form video isn’t new to marketers. YouTube has released YouTube Shorts in response to the popularity of TikTok.

Another social media platform to put on your radar!

Isn’t it overwhelming to keep up with all the latest social media trends? Here is everything you need to know about YouTube Shorts so that you’re in-the-know.

Trend Alert: Short-Form Video Content

Short-form video has been rising in popularity with Instagram Reels and TikTok . YouTube is now hopping on the little video bandwagon with their latest release of YouTube Shorts.

Short-form video has a higher ROI than any other social media marketing strategy and 30% of marketers are investing in short-form video more than any other strategy. That’s huge!

What is the Deal With YouTube Shorts?

YouTube Shorts are simply short YouTube videos with a maximum length of 60 seconds. The platform has functionality like music overlays, app based recording and video segmentation. View examples here .

What makes them different from traditional YouTube videos is that they are mobile-first and are 60 seconds or shorter.

Just like with TikTok, these videos are usually not over produced and arerecorded with a phone.

In March of 2021, YouTube Shorts were fully released in the U.S and immediately averaged 6.5 billion daily views . A short time later, the platform was released globally.

So far, YouTube Shorts have had 5 trillion views. No, that isn’t a typo, views are really in the trillions.

How YouTube Shorts Differ From Other Social Platforms

Unlike Instagram, the videos don’t disappear.

Some brands are having trouble breaking into TikTok because of the young user base and brands targeting an older demographic will likely have more success with YouTube Shorts.

YouTube Shorts is obviously based on YouTube’s platform. YouTube has credibility and the seasoned nature of this app makes it so they face less potential for bans and censorship regulations that platforms like TikTok have dealt with.

YouTube Shorts has robust functionality which includes the largest music library when compared to other platforms.

While Instagram and TikTok only let you save drafts, YouTube Shorts lets you schedule out your posts.

YouTube has an older audience than Instagram and TikTok so it makes sense that brands are predicting they can reach an older demographic on YouTube Shorts than with other channels.

Why Brands Should Pay Attention to YouTube Shorts

Creators don’t need a computer or equipment to create and publish YouTube Shorts they simply do it on their phones
Content is short and digestible in a way preferred by your consumers
The platform is convenient and easy to use
Since YouTube Shorts capitalizes on it’s “mother platform,” YouTube, there are already billions of users in place
With billions of daily views, YouTube Shorts is a viable avenue for brand awareness

Top YouTube Shorts Categories

Based on current active videos and their views and engagement rates, the following categories are dominating YouTube Shorts. (In order of most popular to least)

Video games
Pop culture and entertainment
Music
Food and drink
Sports
Jokes and pranks

How Should My Brand Capitalize on YouTube Shorts?

Since YouTube Shorts are new, the platform isn’t saturated and marketers can get great results from capitalizing on this new form of social media without a lot of competition.

Organic presence: This will probably be its own guide in the near future so for now, check out this post which thoroughly explains how to establish an organic presence on YouTube Shorts.

Influencer partnerships: There are many creators on the YouTube Shorts platform with a lot of followers. Reach out to them just like you would influencers on YouTube and find creative ways to promote your brand authentically.

Will you be capitalizing on YouTube Shorts for your brand? We’d love to read about your plans in the comments below!

The Manifest Highlights Rossman Media Among San Diego’s Most Reviewed Inbound Marketing Agencies for 2021

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 15:33:06 GMT

The Manifest Highlights Rossman Media Among San Diego’s Most Reviewed Inbound Marketing Agencies for 2021

Rossman Media celebrates five years in the inbound marketing space. Over the years, we’ve become an extension of the brands we work with by delivering a bespoke, high-impact social media solution — no canned packages here. Your social media growth is our top priority.

This year, we celebrate another milestone as The Manifest has highlighted us as one of the most reviewed inbound marketing agencies in San Diego.

Our story started in 2017 when Alex Rossman founded Rossman Media. We live, eat and breathe social media. We take pride in staying ahead of digital trends, thinking outside the box, and elevating consumer and B2B brands from mediocre to exceptional.

A few years later, the world’s first lab-grown vegan ice cream company, BraveRobot, partnered with us to help grow their TikTok following and engagement, improve brand awareness, and convert online purchases. We focused on an aggressive creator campaign and procured TikTok creators in various categories, including vegans, health and wellness, lifestyle, and more. With our help, BraveRobot reached their goals in less than three months and continue to advance their TikTok efforts.

This year marks another milestone for Rossman Media. We are incredibly proud of being recognized by The Manifest as one of San Diego’s leading and most reviewed B2B companies in the inbound marketing space. The Most Reviewed Company Award on The Manifest features the 15 companies on each listing page that have received the most number of new reviews in the past 12 months.

Most Reviewed companies have the opportunity to show off their new client feedback through a press release on The Manifest, offered a Most Reviewed Company badge, and content marketing support to share the news on their blog.

The whole team at Rossman Media would like to extend its appreciation to The Manifest and our amazing clients for making all of this possible. We wouldn’t be here today without their support.

Are you interested in working with us or have a question? Rossman Media is here to help. Send us a message , and we’ll be in touch.

7 Key Elements of Online Brand Reputation Management

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 16:14:40 GMT

7 Key Elements of Online Brand Reputation Management

Before a consumer buys your product or service, they use the internet to research what others are saying about you.. This makes your brand reputation more important than ever.

Whether you are deterred or delighted by the fact that conversations about your brand are happening without you, reputation management is not an option anymore–it’s a necessity. Nowadays, your brand reputation exists on social media and review sites. Consumers have all of the information they need to make a purchasing decision at their fingertips.

Online brand reputation management has a few key components. It is aimed at creating a positive perception of your brand. It includes monitoring, addressing customers, implementing a plan, and showcasing positive earned media. Under this umbrella of online brand reputation management, there are 7 key elements to creating a positive perception of your brand.

Recognizing that the success of your brand is tied with your online brand reputation can be a little intimidating. Fortunately there are strategies and even tools that can help you create a more positive brand image online.

Review and Rating Sites are a Priority

Consumers are self-sufficient and prefer to do their own research before making a purchase decision. They often start with review sites.

Afterall, 85% of consumers trust an online review of a brand as much as personal recommendations. Furthermore, consumers read an average of 10 reviews of a product or service before making a purchase decision. This data alone shows you how important it is to get positive reviews of your product or service posted on review sites.

Need to build up your presence on review sites? You can incentivise happy customers to leave you a review with a gift card. You can implement an email marketing campaign asking for reviews. You can even use social media to ask for reviews.

Proactive Responses to Questions and Concerns

With customer service largely taking place on social media, everything is public. If a brand doesn’t respond to a question or concern on social, it damages their brand perception because other consumers can witness your brand-consumer interaction.

Being communicative and responsive when a consumer asks a question albeit on email or social media, causes them to trust you more. And we all know how important brand loyalty is!

Knowledge of Where the Online Conversations are Happening

Consult buyer personas and identify where your consumers are active. This allows you to not spread yourself too thin from guessing where the conversations are taking place.

Identifying the social media platforms and review sites that your consumers are spending their time can be done by surveying your contact base. Ask them questions about what they expect from brands and their purchasing behavior.

When you know where the conversations are happening, you can glean valuable insights. From the negative brand mentions, you can identify areas of your brand that need improvement. From the positive brand mentions, you can uncover what you’re doing right and scale it.

This monitoring should be done consistently because conversations about your brand are going to continue to evolve.

Active Social Listening

It’s likely that consumers are having conversations about your brand that you don’t even know about. That’s where social listening comes in.

There are a lot of social media platforms to keep up with. Social listening tools help you streamline the process of identifying posts that mention your brand so that you can proactively engage publicly and show your audience that you’re a responsive and credible brand.

With social listening, you’ll set up monitors that will search the digital world for:

People tagging your brand
People who mention your brand without tagging you
Social posts that talk about an affinity your brand has
Positive and negative sentiment
Organize direct messages in one place

Earn Consistent Media and Promote it

Reputation management isn’t just about a pulse on what customers are saying, it’s also an opportunity to steer the messaging.

Keep in mind consumers don’t want to hear from your brand. They trust a third party. This means you can incentivise earned media and strategically make sure potential new consumers find it.

There are a few ways to earn third-party media:

Influencer marketing
UGC campaigns
Testimonials

Once this media is earned you can promote it a few ways:

Integrate quotes from review sites onto your homepage
Share influencer and UGC via paid social
Use earned media in your email marketing
Create a testimonials section on your website

Implementing these approaches to earned media will get that social proof out into the digital world about your brand and positively impact your brand’s reputation.

Conducting Feedback Requests

The best way to get a pulse on your online brand reputation management strategy is to get feedback on your efforts. Every time you interact with a customer, send them a survey.

Keep the survey short so that it’s not inconvenient for your customers to fill it out. Questions should capture information such as customer satisfaction and how likely your customers are to recommend your brand.

Analyzing all the feedback you get every month will exponentially positively increase your brand’s reputation because you’ll be steering your efforts based on data.

A Focus on Transparency

Consumers crave authenticity from the brands they purchase from. The best way to give them authenticity is to be transparent.

Don’t delete negative comments and respond publicly to customer concerns. Engage with both positive and negative brand mentions.

The bottom line, make your customers feel heard and like they are a part of your brand.

What strategies do you implement to keep your online brand reputation positive? I’d love to read all about it in the comments below!

Top Holidays and Hashtags for Your Q1 2022 Social Media Editorial Calendar

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 19:42:04 GMT

Top Holidays and Hashtags for Your Q1 2022 Social Media Editorial Calendar

Scrambling to fill up your social media editorial calendar with engaging content for this quarter? Wishing you could think of more things to post?

Social media holidays are both major holidays and lesser-known yearly national days like “cat day.” Often, we don’t know about these holidays until we see other brands post about them.

These posts are fun and even sometimes entertaining. They offer a nice break from promoting your brand and curating content .

Here at Rossman Media, we live and breathe social media marketing and have seen from experience how effective tapping into holidays is for a social media strategy. Naturally, we had to create this post outlining all the holidays in Q1 of 2022 that you can capitalize on.

January

January 1: New Years Day #NewYearsDay

January 2: Science Fiction Day #ScienceFictionDay

January 4: National Trivia Day #NationalTriviaDay

January 5: National Bird Day #NationalBirdDay

January 6: National Technology Day #NationalTechnologyDay

January 11: Human Trafficking Awareness Day #HumanTraffickingDay

January 11: Clean Off Your Desk Day #CleanOffYourDeskDay

January 13: National Sticker Day #NationalStickerDay

January 14: Organize Your Home Day #OrganizeYourHomeDay

January 15: National Hat Day #NationalHatDay

January 16: Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay

January 17: Martin Luther King Day #MLKDay

January 20: Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay

January 21: National Hugging Day #NationalHuggingDay

January 23: National Pie Day #PieDay

January 24: National Compliment Day #NationalComplimentDay

January 25: Opposite Day #OppositeDay

January 28: Data Privacy Day #PrivacyAware

January 31: Community Manager Appreciation Day #CMAD

February

February 1-28: Black History Month

February 2: Groundhog Day #GroundhogDay

February 4: World Cancer Day #WorldCancerDay

February 7: National Send a Card to a Friend Day #SendACardToAFriendDay

February 9: National Pizza Day #NationalPizzaDay

February 9: Safer Internet Day #SID2022

February 11: Inventors Day #InventorsDay

February 12: Chinese New Year #ChineseNewYear

February 13: World Radio Day #WorldRadioDay

February 13: Super Bowl #SBLV

February 14: Valentine’s Day #Valentine’s Day

February 17: Random Acts of Kindness Day #RandomActsOfKindnessDay

February 20: World Day of Social Justice #SocialJusticeDay

February 20: Love Your Pet Day #LoveYourPetDay

February 21: International Mother Language Day #IMLD

February 21: President’s Day #PresidentsDay

March

March 1: Mardi Gras #MardiGras

March 2: National Read Across America Day #ReadAcrossAmerica

March 3: World Wildlife Day #WorldWildlifeDay

March 4: National Employee Appreciation Day #EmployeeAppreciationDay

March 4: National Day of Unplugging #NationalDayOfUnplugging

March 7: National Be Heard Day #NationalBeHeardDay

March 8: International Women’s Day #BeBoldForChange

March 10: National Pack Your Lunch Day #NationalPackYourLunchDay

March 11: National Popcorn Day #PopcornLoversDay

March 14: National Potato Chip Day #NationalPotatoChipDay

March 14: PiDay #PiDay

March 15: World Consumer Rights Day #WorldConsumerRightsDay

March 16: National Freedom of Information Day #FreedomOfInformationDay

March 17: St. Patrick’s Day #StPatricksDay

March 18: Awkward Moments Day #NationalAwkwardMomentsDay

March 19: National Let’s Laugh Day #NationalLetsLaughDay

March 20: International Day of Happiness #InternationalDayOfHappiness

March 20: First Day of Spring #FirstDayOfSpring

March 21: World Poetry Day #WorldPoetryDay

March 23: National Puppy Day #NationalPuppyDay

March 26: Purple Day #PurpleDay

March 30: National Take a Walk in the Park Day #NationalWalkInTheParkDay

March 31: Equal Pay Day #EqualPayDay

Do you have any tips for posting on social media holidays? We’d love to read your input in the comments below!

A Guide to Content Curation for Social Media

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 15:31:39 GMT

A Guide to Content Curation for Social Media

Need to keep up with an active social media publishing schedule but short on time? Enter content curation.

Our clients often ask us about content curation as a social media strategy. In this post, we are going to explore everything you need to know about this strategy by tackling the 6 most common questions we get on the topic.

Let’s dive into the topic of content curation for social media by exploring the tactics and benefits so that you can implement content curation in your social media marketing strategy.

What Exactly is Content Curation for Social Media?

All social media content is either created or curated. Created is the content you publish on social that you write or design. Curated is content that you did not create but is still relevant to your audience. It involves finding, organizing and sharing content that you know will add value.

Curated content can be anything from an educational blog post to an intriguing infographic to an engaging video. The bottom line is that it adds value to the lives of your followers.

Why is Content Curation so Important?

Content curation solves a few pain points. It’s an effective way to keep putting out relevant social media posts without having to write them all from scratch. It helps brands keep up with an audience and social algorithms.

It’s no secret that being active on social is part of how brands position themselves as thought leaders. Curating the best content and positioning yourself as an informational source is a sure way to become a thought leader in your industry.

Another attractive piece of curating content is that by sharing someone else’s content, you can actually get your brand on their radar. Whether it’s a brand you want to appeal to or an influencer tagging the content creator on social is a great conversation starter.

What Are the Key Pillars of a Content Curation Strategy?

Here at Rossman Media , we are immersed in the social media marketing strategies of our clients. We implement content curation and from our experience, have developed pillars to this form of social media publishing.

Do the research needed to get to know your audience and buyer personas so that you know you’re sharing content that actually appeals to your audience
Don’t simply share content–link to it and offer 1-2 sentences about why it’s valuable
Link to and tag your content source
Curate a variety of types of content
Take time to actually read the content you are curating

How Do I Find Content to Curate?

This is arguably the most important question to ask about content curation. There are a few places to look to make content curation simple yet effective.

Google alerts
Following like minded brands on social
Subscribing to email newsletters
Following relevant hashtags
Twitter lists
By following influencers

You’ll find that eventually content curation becomes easy because these content sources will give you a lot of content to save and add to your editorial calendar.

What is the Rule of Thumb When it Comes to Posting Curated Content?

In order to have a variety of curated content and still post unique content, a good rule of thumb is to do 60% of your posts as curated content. You’ll find that this gives you more time to focus on creating rich and unique content.

Lastly, What Are the Next Steps for My Social Strategy?

Content curation for social media is pretty straight forward, right?

The key takeaway to always shape your content curation strategy is that the content you curate should add value to your audience.

Curated content helps social media marketers keep their social channels active by lessening the need to constantly be creating new content.

Keep in mind that content curation doesn’t replace content creation–creation is still extremely important. Rather, it will give you more time to create quality content to share.

If you want to get started with content curation today, find the right sources of inspiration and start adding valuable content to share on your editorial calendar.

Do you have any tips for content curation on social media? We’d love to read all about it in the comments below!

15 Influencers Weigh In On How They Like to Work With Brands

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 18:04:47 GMT

15 Influencers Weigh In On How They Like to Work With Brands

Influencer marketing is hot. And it’s no surprise that this authentic marketing strategy brings in a strong ROI when executed correctly. Rooted in authenticity, influencers meet consumers where they want to be met with their brand endorsements.

What better way to grow expertise in an industry than to go straight to the source? To learn more tactics on working with influencers, check out this post , this post and this post . But in the post you’re reading now, we have rounded up expert advice from 15 influencers we’ve worked with on tips for brands from the influencer point of view.

Alex Tran

Schimiggy Reviews

“Brands should never assume a blogger will work for free or "exposure." Things brands should ask when negotiating are conversion rates and what rates does an influencer have (via media kit or otherwise) when approaching them with an opportunity.”

Maria Mitchell

Change Diapers

“Brands should ensure that an influencer is a good fit for their brand before contacting them. Make sure their values and interests align with your brand, and know that if they don’t typically do partnerships like you’re suggesting, it may be a hard sell. Get to know their content and personalize your email. Don’t send a canned email and copy/paste the title of a recent blog post to say you love their work.”

Ashley Drewes

Closet of Samples

“I wish brands helped promote review posts to their audience. It would be more beneficial to both brand and influencer for the brand to share the influencer(s) post to their audience. The influencer is already sharing the brand with their audience and sharing the influencers post would be equally beneficial. I also like when brands work long-term with me rather than a one and done."

Janis Brett Elspas

Mommy Blog Expert

“When offering a potential collaboration opportunity please be clear

in writing at the outset exactly what the deliverables and deadlines

expected are as well as all the compensation details.”

Michelle Goth

Blackberry Babe

“When sponsoring blog posts, brands should think long-term whenever possible. Encourage the influencer to build a post that has longevity through keyword targeting, while also incorporating your desired messaging. When blog posts are optimized for good search performance, your sponsorship messaging has the potential to be seen for years, rather than weeks. The influencer also benefits from increased traffic to that post over time, it's truly a win/win for me.”

Cristy Harfmann

Happy Family Blog

“I am grateful when brands give us creative freedom and trust that we know our audience best and will create content that will resonate with them.”

Cindy Kerschner

Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

“My most successful campaigns involved brands that interact with my posts and social feeds. Direct engagement through comments and shares always increases consumer interest and drives up platform hits. Followers are more likely to click on direct brand links when they see a brand's participation.”

Nicole Brady

SAHM Reviews

“If an influencer shares something relevant to your business, AMPLIFY IT. You can reshare or retweet without making changes. You can add your own branded narrative and link to their content. You can include backlinks or embed their content on your site. Be creative in how you use the content (with attribution), but find ways to actually use it.”

Alison Blackman

Advice Sisters

“I only work with samples. It's not that I need to stuff a closet (and I NEVER sell anything--I will give it away if I can't use it) but samples are the only way to really work provide authentic work. I never understood how a high-resolution photo of a fragrance, for example, would provide anything meaningful to my readers and followers unless all I talked about was the bottle. Not everyone understands fragrance notes, but once I smell a perfume I can break it down in understandable terms. I prefer brands to be upfront about what they are offering so I can spend my time working on things that make sense for my readers.”

Jessica Formicola

Savory Experiments

“The tools brands use to estimate monthly pageviews are often incorrect. Asking the influencer for screenshots of statistics is acceptable and often welcomed to prove reach, this protects the brand and the influencer.”

Dr. Lisa Leslie-Williams

The Domestic Life Stylist

“I have an Amazon Storefront that generates thousands of dollars in sales every month. These things are a huge miss for brands if their only focus is on followers or pageviews, Be willing to dig deeper and think outside the box when it comes to creating the right partnerships.”

Dena Garascia

The Review Wire

“It would be great if brands understood and took into account the amount of time and effort that bloggers put into their collabs, from content creation, filming or staging of photos, film and photo editing, and the actual writing and editing of the posts. Bloggers need to be compensated accordingly for their work, as influencer partnerships have to be mutually beneficial.”

Sue De Chiara

The Zhush

“I wish they'd give us more room for creativity sometimes. Let us run with the product and why we love it, without a script. Also, don't have a whole bunch of influencers post about the same product on the same day. Looks inauthentic.”

Iveth Rodriguez

For the Love to

“For brands, working on establishing long-term relationships/partnerships with bloggers/content creators is definitely beneficial. The longer a content creator posts naturally about a brand, the more its audience will recognize and become familiar with it.”

Kristina Petrick

Day in My Dreams

“I love when brands allow me the freedom to suggest partnership deliverables. We know our channels and followers the best. And, we're a consumer of your brand. By allowing us to share our voice and content naturally, we're able to deliver the best, most authentic results.”

Do you have any influencer marketing tips to share? We’d love to read about your experience in the comments below!

Rossman Media's First Year with Clutch!

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 02:33:38 GMT

Rossman Media Looks Back at their First Year with Clutch through Latest Year in Review

There are many companies that offer social media and digital marketing services out there. What makes Rossman Media stand out is our commitment to bringing the best for our clients in order to reach their goals. Our team is equipped with the right knowledge, experience, and tools to make sure that you receive the highest quality services and solutions in the market.

We are very proud of our achievements and milestones. One of which is our debut on Clutch’s platform last year. For those that don’t know, Clutch is a B2B ratings and reviews platform based in Washington, DC. They evaluate technology service and solutions companies based on the quality of work, thought leadership, and client reviews.

To be recognized on Clutch is truly a great accomplishment for us! Together, let’s take a walk down memory lane as we visit our year in review from their platform. We debuted late last year on Clutch and as a result, our team was able to collect 1 total review with an average review rating of 5.0.

For next year, we aspire to improve the number of reviews we have while maintaining our perfect review rating. It will be one long road, but we are committed to collecting more feedback from our clients this coming year.

Furthermore, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Clutch and their team for their awesome work. We are looking forward to working with all of you this year.

Interested in working with us? Just have a question? Rossman Media is here to help. Send us a message and we’ll be in touch.

8 Creative Ways to Make Your Email Marketing Strategy More Appealing

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 18:37:54 GMT

8 Creative Ways to Make Your Email Marketing Strategy More Appealing

Email marketing is nothing new so we aren’t going to waste your time talking about why you need email marketing . However, email is a saturated space so what is new are the tactics you can implement to make your email marketing strategy more engaging.

With 86% of consumers reporting that they WANT email from the brands they buy from, your email marketing strategy should give consumers what they want–engaging emails that don’t waste their time.

This post aims to help you revamp your email marketing strategy so that you send the type of emails consumers crave. Through running a ton of email marketing campaigns for our clients, we’ve extracted 8 new ways you can breathe more life into the email you send.

Perpetuate Social Proof

Why it’s a good idea: You know your brand well. And you can likely write pages about why your products or services are superior. But is that what consumers want?

Social proof in emails gets the point across about your brand in a trusted manner. Consumers trust brands less than ever before so it’s smart to curate third-party content that talks positively about your brand as consumers respond better to tips and information about brands from their peers.