In early November, Ogilvy released its latest red paper, “The Digital Social Contract,” a play off Rousseau’s The Social Contract. The paper aims to, “uncover the unspoken social rules governing the digital world and explain to brands how to thrive in it.”
If you have the time, the 110-page paper is worth a read in its entirety. But… you probably don’t have the time. So, in that case, here’s what you need to know…
The Six Big IdeasThe subheads are directly from Ogilvy. The text beneath is our own (BuzzPlant) experience and observations.
#1 Pure passion trumps production.Gary Vaynerchuk is a testament to the supremacy of passion. While he now adds significant production value to many episodes of the #AskGaryVee show, that hasn’t always been the case. In the early days, Gary’s videos were very raw – oftentimes just him talking directly into a webcam. Countless other YouTube stars began their careers this way, too. Production doesn’t matter so much when the content is excellent and there’s plenty of passion.
#2 Community is king.The broadcast days are over. Today’s brands can’t just pump out content. They have to listen, respond, and engage with users in order to be successful.
#3 Engagement-driven, not hit-driven.Again, you can’t just throw content and advertising budgets at an audience. Brand communications are a two-way street now.
#4 Think small to be big.Brands can – and should – drill down to a core audience. Novelist Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.” The same could be said of doing social media. Figure out your target, and speak directly to them. Your message will be authentic; it will resonate; others will notice and get on board.
#5 Make universes, not content.You can’t pretend that your Instagram, YouTube channel, and website are three totally different platforms. Many users will engage with all three, so make the experience worthwhile for them.
#6 Revenue grows when it disappears.In other words, brands can’t just throw money at creators, and ask them to “sponsor” their story or partner with them. The narrative of the brand and the narrative behind the creator’s platform have to mesh.
Where do you see digital content and marketing headed?Chime in with your thoughts on Ogilvy’s six big ideas. For starters… are you making “content” or a “universe?”
With over 380 million registered users, LinkedIn is one the largest professional networks in the world. It can lead to a lot of engagement and provide you with a platform where you can share updates about your company, news, upcoming events and more. The network allows you to connect with professionals in your industry as well as potential customers.
You can easily optimize your personal as well as company page on LinkedIn to engage with your target audience. Here are a few tips you might find helpful.
Increase visibility on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great platform for lead generation. Post daily updates and blog posts to make sure that your LinkedIn company page is visible to your customers. If you cannot spend a lot of time creating these updates and posting them to your page consistently, there are social media management tools that can help you achieve the task within minutes.
You can use DrumUp to discover content that is relevant to your business, and also schedule weekly posts to be published to your company page. This ensures that your LinkedIn page remains active, and that it stays on your customer’s radar.
Get more followers on your page
Optimizing your LinkedIn page and gaining more followers on your page is a team effort. Keep in mind that your employees and colleagues play an important role in promoting your page on LinkedIn.
Encourage your employees and colleagues to actively participate in the discussions that take place on your page. Spark conversations with them and make it easier for them to engage with you on the page. You can also ask your employees to include a link to your Linkedin company page in their email signatures. This will help draw more attention to your page, and can lead to more visitors.
Ask your web design team to include a LinkedIn Follow button on your company website and blog. This can be easily done using the Plugin Generator that LinkedIn offers on their developers website. By clicking this button your website, your customers can follow updates, posts, and event notifications that you post on your page.
Create and join groups on LinkedIn
The best way to place your company in front of your customers is to create a group that is relevant to your field. In this group, you can start discussions, and create an open forum for your customers to share their opinions, suggestions and concerns. However, you cannot just create a group and leave it at that. You must actively participate in those discussions and address your customers’s opinions or concerns.
Other than creating a brand new group, you can also consider joining other groups and communities that are related to your business’s niche. This way you can listen to what your target audience is talking about and the kinds of problems they are facing. Address these problems in those groups and propose solutions that your company can offer. If you develop a connection with a potential customer in the group, you can send them a message via LinkedIn InMail and start building a stronger relationship with your customer.
Complete your LinkedIn profile
We have placed this at the bottom of this list because it is pretty much a no-brainer. Having a completed profile is a must when it comes to your LinkedIn company page. Your customers should be able to understand what your company does, and know more about the products or services that you offer by just skimming through your page.
Give special attention to the Summary section on LinkedIn. In 2,000 characters, you can directly speak to your audience and provide them with more information about your company. Ensure that your summary is to the point and addresses the pain points of your customers . These customers often like to connect with a person first, rather than with an entire organization – which is why most of them prefer visiting the company’s LinkedIn company page before they visit the company website.
Rupert Murdoch said if you want to motivate people, you have to engage their minds and their hearts.
A truism whether in life or online.
If you can capture people’s attention and ignite emotion, you can inspire interaction.
But when it comes to Facebook engagement, gaining audience attention can be tough.
Whether it’s the latest algorithm change or the overwhelming amount of shared content, one thing is for certain.
If you want to increase engagement, you need to make a few changes.
So… how can you do it?
Below are a few tips to help you dazzle and delight your fans – and get your Facebook Page buzzing!
11 Little Facebook Tips That Bring BIG Engagement Results
1. Brand Your Business
If you want to create a memorable brand on Facebook, you must clearly articulate who you are, what you do and how you help your fans and customers.
Not only that, you must keep your branding consistent. Better branding equals heightened awareness and that translates into better engagement.
From you Facebook graphics to your logo, videos, and cover image – create a seamless look and feel that’s a direct representation of your company.
One of the first things people will see is your cover photo. It’s a perfect place to brand your business and tell your story.
But don’t just stop there. Use it to promote your products, share what’s happening within your business and talk about upcoming events.
And make sure you change out that cover often!
I recently changed mine to promote an upcoming Facebook webinar. Want to join me there? (see the details below)
2. Use Friend Power to Build a Tribe
Back in 2013, Nielsen released an advertising study in which they noticed participants showed much greater recall of ads if Facebook friends’ icons appeared under who “Liked” that particular product.
Today, Nielsen reports that 92% of consumers trust a recommendation from family and friends over all forms of advertising.
Granted, this study was about advertising; not about Facebook Pages – but their conclusion shouldn’t be ignored.
All it takes is one enthusiastic “fan” to propel your Facebook Page towards super-status!
Imagine how 45,000 and 11,000 shares could help your business get noticed.
20 of the most wow-worthy bathrooms we’ve ever seen: http://bit.ly/1Srv6sH
Facebook is a visual medium. Make sure all of your important details are front and center.
Include links to webinars, videos, upcoming events you’re hosting, and in-depth information about you, your product and/or service.
Tips to Help You Craft Your “About”
Add your mission, vision and values along with any founding details that would matter to potential clients.
You have a short amount of time to gain the attention of potential fans. Put the most relevant details at the top of your “About.”
Answer questions any customer or fan would have. (e.g. how long have you been serving the community)
Provide success stories and examples of how you’ve helped others. Was there a difficult situation you were able to work through? Highlight that story!
Strike industry jargon from your your messaging and talk to consumers in a conversational way.
Add keywords and phrases that are relevant to your business and would be used by any consumer looking for your small business.
4. Use the Call to Action Button
A call to action isn’t just for your marketing material. You need to use it within your Facebook Page.
Not familiar with the call to action button? From Facebook,
The call to action button is designed to bring a business’s most important objective to the forefront of its Facebook presence, call-to-action buttons link to any destination on or off Facebook that aligns with a business’s goals.
You have multiple options with an unlimited amount of ways you can use these buttons.
The seven calls to action available are:
Book Now
Contact Us
Use App
Play Game
Shop Now
Sign Up
Watch Video
Look to Peg Fitzpatrick’s Facebook cover as an excellent example. She has a clear call to action and integrates book sales into the SHOP NOW button.
5. Keep Your Content Fresh
Post daily and keep your content fresh and relevant. Change up your posts by using images, links, video and other media to monitor what works best in your community.
And think through your content. For example, a humorous message that makes your community laugh will often engage an audience in a way that keeps readers coming back.
And if people look forward to your posts, that’s a hook that strengthens the ties to your page.
PRO Tip:
The multiplication possibilities via Facebook are similar to the magic of compound interest.
Here’s how it works:
When your friends and fans repost and comment on your page, the information spreads to their friends, and can be picked up repeatedly by another “generation” of friends.
In that manner, the reach of your message can be unlimited. It’s the Facebook version of “going viral,” but the only way it’s going to happen is if you post often and share valuable content.
6. Pay Attention to Your Insights
Whether you’re managing one Facebook Page or multiple Pages, Facebook Insights are an invaluable resource.
Take a look at your audience statistics. Pay special attention to age, gender and country of residence. This is going to give you insight into who’s connecting with your Page.
Now, go one step further. Look at your total interactions and the interactions per post.
Can you see how helpful that would be to your overall strategy? Knowing what your fans are responding to makes content and post creation much easier.
7. Use Visual Marketing
As Pinterest has proven, people love eye candy. And we’ve seen that exact effect happen with images on Facebook.
Use images that are a banquet for the eyes. Bold, beautiful, eye-catching and simple to scan.
The goal here is to create an image that will immediately intrigue, delight and connect with your audience.
Take this post from Mindshift, a company committed to exploring learning and education. Wouldn’t you agree that they know exactly who they’re speaking with?
Find what type of visual content connects with your Facebook audience and then post that over and over again.
Look at all the ways teachers make a difference: http://ow.ly/QDMdk Graphic by @sylviaduckworth
I’m often asked whether marketers should boost Facebook posts.
Many have heard (and you might be one of them) that boosted posts are a waste of money.
My response? Not true!
At least not when boosted posts are targeted and specific.
Want to see what this looks like in action? My friend Scott Ayres, author of Facebook All-In-One for Dummies recently shared results from one boosted post campaign.
By spending just $65 on Facebook, his boost post results were:
Visit your page frequently and actively connect with your fans. Engaging daily with your community is the quickest and most effective way to build trust and credibility.
Invite feedback by asking open ended questions that can lead to long and lively discussions. Ask for responses — simply ending your message with a “what do you think?” or “do you agree?” can often get the party started.
And be responsive!
Always monitor your fan page so that you can respond to questions and comments quickly. It keeps the discussion and interest up, shows appreciation for those who are reaching out to you, and is the ideal opportunity to engage with new people.
Facebook is about connecting socially and can be a powerful networking tool if you focus your efforts on building and maintaining an entertainingly informative fan page.
11. Use testimonials
Testimonials sharing real-life experience with your company go a long way in building credibility.
Get people excited about sharing their thoughts on your page. Then take those and turn them into shareable graphics.
Here’s an idea to get people interested in sharing testimonials on your page via Wishpond.
“According to Search Engine Land, “72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.” Asking your clients for written reviews of your product and having them post it on to your Facebook Page gives you authentic confessions that can add a boost to your product sales. A positive review from a real consumer can be incredibly beneficial to your bottom line.”
Final Thoughts
The more entertaining your posts are and the easier they are to react to (think short and sweet), the more likely it becomes that your reach will naturally expand.
Give fans a reason to keep coming back, day after day!
In the first article in my series on building raving fans, I wrote about the difference between influencers and advocates. I looked at the basics of Facebook groups and gave you a set of questions to consider before putting an advocate group together. In this post, I’ll show you how one of my author clients developed an active Facebook group and now uses it as a base camp for advance reader reviews and social media amplifiers.
First Things First
Before she started her Facebook group page, she had an active business Facebook page under her author name. She used the page to link to blog pieces, announce launch parties, invite readers to launch parties of other authors, run contests, and get newsletter sign-ups. She also posted pictures of vacations, favorite recipes, and promoted her Pinterest and Twitter accounts. She ran Facebook ads to promote her free books and newsletter sign-ups as well. She had about 600 fans before she decided to start a Facebook group. If you would like more information on the difference between a Facebook group page and a business page, here is a short informative piece from Facebook.
Start With A Goal
The initial goal was to form a Facebook group of dedicated fans with active social media followings of their own that would grow to 200 members in the first year. Notice the goal has a built-in objective: reach 200 members in the first year. She made her group private so she and another admin could okay everyone who wanted to get in to the group. It was just a formality but allowed them to keep spammers out.
How To Set An Objective
Setting a measurement for a goal can sometimes be tricky. Since this particular author already spent some time on Facebook every week writing content for her author page, she decided that spending additional time developing content for a group would not add that much time to her marketing tasks. There was some time involved up front making a graphic for the cover photo and coming up with a manageable promotion schedule to get the group off the ground. She decided that she wanted a group that could produce at least 50 advance readers in the first year in addition to 20 or so social media advocates that would share her content and invite others to the group. She based those numbers on the engagement activity she had already seen on her business page.
Why Not Just Use The Author Page?
The author wanted to develop an inner circle. This would be a core group of fans that she could talk with on a regular basis, run ideas by, ask to share her posts, have some fun with, and review her books. Her main Facebook author page was a place to develop reach or get her name out to more readers. But she also wanted to develop a more intimate group of “friends” that were invested in her brand and would develop relationships with other group members as well.
Advocate groups have a bigger stake in a brand. They are already proven fans of your product (books) and since you give them value, they are willing to give back. According to Rob Fugetta’s book Brand Advocates, these inner circle friends are most motivated by helping others. And they are willing to use their platform to build yours.
Give And It Will Be Given To You
Advocate groups like rewards as much as anybody else. Be sure you have a plan to add value to your inner circle. Social media is very much built on reciprocity. Tom Webster, vice president of Edison Research said, “Much influence on the social web is built on a promise of returned favors. We coexist every day on small favors… like if you retweet this, I’ll retweet yours. I’ll like your page if you like mine. The effort to accomplish these things is low—so they are easily done.” Relationships are the currency of the internet.
Your goal to grow your Facebook group needs to be accompanied by a solid plan to add value to your fans to foster a spirit of generosity and thankfulness. Let's call this your strategy. Our author made a list of “benefits” she wanted to add to her group over the coming year.
Two major giveaways exclusive to this group: The 12 Days of Christmas (12 giveaways starting Christmas Day) and another exclusive giveaway in the summer, either related to a book launch or July 4.
Offer free advance reader copies of all her books in exchange for fair reviews. This group was dubbed the Advance Reader Team (ART). This group will also be promoted through the author’s newsletter.
Regular discussions with members of the group on issues of the day and fun topics.
Regular poll questions to solicit feedback on character names, book covers, and pop culture issues.
Ask for book recommendations regularly so members can develop a reading list. Fans love to share what they are reading with others.
Solicit recipe testers for a series where the author gives out an original recipe in each book.
Occasional random book giveaways of her books and books of author friends: 6-8 times per year.
Special invites to book launches of other authors with giveaways.
Occasional “shout out” video posts and thank you’s to groups members.
Other benefits to be determined.
Because this author offered a steady stream of value to her fans (including her own time to answer questions and respond to their posts), she earned the right to ask her group members to help her. They are more than willing to help. These requests included an occasional ask to share an important post, review a book, invite friends to the group, give away a free book to one of their friends, or participate in polls.
Loyalty Is A Slow Build That Lasts
Loyalty comes in degrees and manifests in different forms. Some of your fans are not chatty. Some would rather invite a friend to join the group than post a comment. But the organic growth of Facebook groups, if done right, brings long-term returns. She reached her goal and then some, and has a thriving fan advocate group on Facebook that continues to grow.
