Tag Archive for: social media tips

The Ultimate Guide To Avoiding The Biggest Social Media Mistakes

There are many times when we ignore new features on social media platforms. However, if your content is not reaching or engaging users like you want or expect, there’s probably a specific reason for it. 

Social media is constantly evolving, as such we need to keep up with it. Keep reading to see our list of mistakes to avoid on social media.

Sharing low-quality content

While Instagram may be more than a photo-sharing app, visuals are still king. If you want to succeed on the platform, you need to produce high-quality content.

Just look at Twitter: Although you can upload images and videos, it is a text-based app. From threads to retweets, the main feed is designed to prioritize written content.

The same is true for Instagram. Visuals are everywhere on the platform and if yours is not up to par, you will struggle to retain your audience’s attention.

Ignoring new features

Instagram is constantly evolving. Just this year, it’s rolled out new features like the Creators Marketplace, supervision tools for teens, pinned posts, Reels up to 90 seconds—and that’s just to name a few.

As Instagram continues to roll out new features, it prioritizes accounts that use them. For instance, when Reels first launched, the algorithm would prioritize accounts that used them—earning them more reach and impressions—than those who posted videos on the feed.

With this in mind, it’s important that businesses stay updated on the latest features coming out and how they will impact the platform’s algorithm. While a smaller change like a new button on the Shop tab may not affect your day-to-day business strategy, a new bigger change may warrant a strategy review.

Lacking Cohesive Graphic Design

When it comes to social media, your brand’s visual communication is just as important as the content you share. Design choices can vary depending on what kind of business you have. For example, if you are a finance firm, you might want to stray away from a bright color pallet and opt for something neutral.

When users are scrolling, you want to make your graphics eye-catching, but clear and easy to read. When you have limited time to get your message across, you want to make it count. Many marketers go with Sans- Serif fonts because they’re modern, simplistic and good for digital screens.

The same rule applies for images. If your image file is too small and has to stretch, this usually results in pixilation and poor quality. This can make your brand look unprofessional and are rarely shared by other users. Make sure the images you post to your pages are high-resolution and are the right dimension for the platform.

Content Lacking Engagement

Social media marketing can be a great way to reach new customers, but not all social media marketing campaigns are created equal. If you want to convert your followers into paying customers, you need to make sure that they’re engaged by the content you share.

Try posting engaging content and include a compelling call-to-action. Oftentimes, call to actions are a key point that many people miss. If you want your followers to share a post, then ask them to do so. If you want them to click on a link, then tell them to “click here.”

Social Media Marketing with Onimod Global 

Let’s face it: creating content for your brand can be hard if you don’t have the right tools in hand. It takes time and effort, and the results aren’t always what you’re hoping for.

But when you take the time to plan, create and customize your graphics to suit your brand and preferred social platforms, the results are worth it. Sometimes, outsourcing these efforts can make a world of difference. At Onimod Global, we’re experts in social media, digital marketing and graphic design.

We offer high-end design and branding for your business, as well as the ability to boost social reach, engagement and conversions. Ready to bring your social media marketing to the next level? Contact us today!

How To Improve Facebook Ad Performance and Measurement

Per ususal, the last quarter of the year is a busy one and a very important time for businesses like yours. For 2021 in particular, you are most likely attempting to execute paid social media strategies with Facebook ads and digital marketing plans while navigating through a sea of privacy and platform changes across the entire online advertising industry.

Facebook estimates that in aggregate they are underreporting iOS web conversions by approximately 15%. however this is an overarching number with a broad range for individual advertisers. Facebook claims that the conversions occurring in the real world, like sales and app installs, are higher than what is being reported for many advertisers. Onimod Global experts are here to help you understand these changes, specifically in Facebook ads, and optimize performance in this new environment.

Actions to Improve Facebook Ad Performance and Measurement

As you build your campaigns, try to keep these Facebook advertising best practices in mind:

  • Before you analyze performance, allow some time: Delayed data is a real pain. Due to the fact it’s almost inevitable as well as modeled reporting, we advise waiting a minimum of 72 hours or the full length of the optimization window selected before evaluating the performance for campaigns that are optimized for conversions. Daily assessment is of course still possible for campaigns and should be monitored, but waiting to analyze and report will ensure you get the most accurate picture of performance.
  • Analyze at the campaign level, not the creative level: Where it’s possible and makes sense for your analysis, analyze reporting at the campaign level. While you can always assess performance at the ad set and ad level is possible, some estimated conversions are aggregated and reported with a delay. We advise to take this into account when assessing ads performance.
  • Enable Aggregated Event Measurement: This essentially means to choose the web events (like a sign-up or a purchase) that are most aligned with your core business outcomes and are frequently used as the events to optimize against in your campaigns. If you are running ads optimized against events that have not been prioritized in Events Manager, it may potentially effect your results negatively.
  • Set up the Conversions API: The Conversions API creates a simple, reliable and privacy-safe connection between your marketing data, such as website events and offline conversions, and Facebook. Adding the Conversions API to your existing setup will help you optimize your ad campaigns, decrease cost per action and more accurately measure campaign outcomes while offering the same privacy protections we’ve put in place across our other Business Tools. Many advertisers are already seeing success with Conversions API, and you can check out their stories here.
  • Use the learning phase help Facebook discover the best way to deliver your ads: One tip we recommend to be able to exit the learning phase sooner is to consolidate your ad sets, expanding your audience or choosing an optimization event that occurs more frequently. Another way you can make the most of the learning phase is reducing the frequency of manual edits or expand your audiences, so there are more opportunities for people to complete your optimization event.
  • Take all available tools into account: You may also want to consider all measurement solutions available to you, on Facebook Ads platform and off. During this period of transition, it’s crucial to review all measurement solutions to identify potential underreporting that may be occuring for your business.
  • Continue to test and learn: Through testing new bidding, format and audience strategies, you can identify what is working today and evolve over time as Facebook Ads continue to improve. Testing new creative and marketing strategies is essential for improving your performance over time.

Final Thoughts on Facebook Ads

When there’s even more to take into account in terms of making your Facebook Ads perform better, it’s important to know how each will benefit you and drive results. We will continue to share case studies and considerations to help you drive your business. Our goal is to ensure we help improve your marketing and drive success.

At Onimod Global, we have endless experience and expertise when it comes to all things Facebook advertising, general social media advertising, and digital marketing. Got questions about Facebook advertising or want to learn more about us? Contact us here today.

The Best Times to Post on Social Media for Your Business

As a business, the goal of posting on social media is to generate brand awareness, engagement and drive more traffic to your website. To optimize your social media marketing strategy, the times you post on social media does matter. A well-timed post can lead to greater reach, more likes, comments, shares, etc. It is important to note that optimal times do vary based on industry and user trends. But in general, there are times of the day users are more engaged than others. We’ve put together a guide for the best times to post on each social media platform, making it easier to find your sweet spot for optimal performance in your specific industry. 

Facebook: 

Reaching people on Facebook isn’t as easy as it once was. Organic traffic has been on the decline over the last few years due to it becoming mostly a pay per click platform. That doesn’t mean it should be ignored, however, as there is still massive opportunity. 

During the week, the best time to post on your business page is between 1pm and 4pm. This is likely because it’s the time of day when users have some downtime at work are browning their desktop or scrolling through their phone screens. 

The best days of the week to post on Facebook are Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Weekends in general show the highest levels of engagement. And Sunday at 3pm is the single best time to post on Facebook. 

Twitter:

With Twitter, timing is everything. The lifespan of a tweet is only 18 minutes so you only have a short period of time to make sure you’re reaching the right people. 

The best time to tweet has shown to be between 12 and 1 pm. Workdays seem to drive the highest engagement, with Wednesday being the single best day. Tweeting during lunch every week day can help increase your general social media engagement. Additionally, the weekends have shown to be the worst days of the week to tweet, driving the lowest engagement. 

Instagram: 

Instagram has recently changed its algorithm for how the platform ranks posts on users’ feeds. In general, it has made driving traffic and engagement difficult for pages with small follower numbers. It favors “recency,” but does not use chronological order. It shows users posts they believe they will be more likely to engage with. This makes it even more important to post during the time your followers are most engaged. 

If you’re marketing or selling products, the best time to post on Instagram is 11am to 1pm during the week or evenings from 7pm to 9pm. Because Instagram is favored on mobile, most users tend to avoid it during the work day. When it comes to days, the best performing are Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with Wednesdays driving the highest levels of engagement. But the single best time to post on Instagram has shown to be Saturdays at 5 pm. Overall, Sundays are the worst days to post. 

LinkedIn: 

LinkedIn’s algorithm is very different from all other social media platforms. Oftentimes, it will show posts from weeks ago. This makes it even more important to create compelling content that will stand out amongst the crowd. 

Considering most LinkedIn users are business professionals, the best times to post are between 10am and 11am on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Weekends and after office hours tend to be the worst times to post. 

Final Thoughts

It’s important to note that this is all a general guide. To be successful on social you really need to know your own audience. Consider their age, their location, their challenges, pain points, etc. It’s also essential to continue to test and optimize. You never want to get complacent because things are constantly changing, especially when it comes to social media. 

If you need assistance with social media marketing, we can help. We’re experts in everything from SEO and SEM to social media marketing and website development.   To find out more about who we are and what we do, click here. To catch up on the top digital marketing news and trends, click here.  

 

Tips to Grow your Small Business Through Social Media

The value of social media for businesses continues to grow, especially in light of COVID-19 pandemic. Social media allows for businesses to maintain connections with existing customers and extend their reach to new audiences. With over 2 billion worldwide users, everyone knows social media has now become a crucial part of an overall business strategy. But as a small business, joining social media effectively can be easier said than done. Let’s take a look at 5 ways you can start using social media to grow your small business. 

1. If you can’t create, curate. 

Posting consistent content is one of the most important factors that goes into increasing engagement. If you can’t create new content on your own, curate other’s content. Tools such as Pocket, Flipboard and Feedly allow you to curate useful, relevant content from other sources and share due credits. We recommend posting a minimum of twice per week and a maximum of 5, depending on your content type and industry. 

2. Use video to keep your audience engaged and growing. 

Nowadays, visual content is key. Algorithms have changed and evolved to actually preferring video content over all other forms. Going even further, 72% of consumers prefer videos over manuals to decide on a buy. There are numerous types of video content you can create to keep your audience engaged and growing. Consider sharing behind-the-scenes looks at your business, product launches, how-to’s, service examples, etc. 

3. Involve your followers. 

Finding ways to directly involve your followers in your content is another way to maximize engagement. Consider making quizzes, polls, giveaways and contests.  Many brands will create giveaways and contests and require those that enter to like, comment or share their posts with their friends. This is a simple and effective way to drastically increase your awareness among your followers and a larger audience. 

4. Utilize hashtags. 

Hashtags are one of the best ways to improve your searchability,  gain more awareness and expand the reach of your content. This goes beyond just creating your own hashtags. Find trending hashtags that are pertinent for your business: 

  • For your subject matter: #HowTo’s, #Hacks, #DIYS 
  • For your industry: #Food, #Fashion, #Auto 
  • For your audience: #StartUp, #WannaBeChef, #FitnessFreaks 

Research what’s trending among your audience and find a relevant way to involve yourself into the conversation. 

5. Reach out to influencers. 

Influencer marketing is a great way for new and small businesses to gain traction amongst a large audience. Influencers are now seen as more trusted, relatable and popular than celebrities. Consumers turn to them more for advice on what products to buy, services to use, brands to trust, etc. There are a number of tools that can help you research who the best influencers are in your industry and make it easier for you to reach out and connect with them. 

Final Thoughts

To be successful on social media it’s ultimately about giving value to your audience, whether that be through educating or entertaining. Users are constantly being bombarded with massive amounts of content and ads everyday. Meaning you have to find ways to bring value to them and differentiate yourself from the competition. Strategies will differ based on your industry and audience, but these 5 tactics are a great way for anyone to get started. If you need further assistance in social media marketing, or any other area of digital marketing, contact us today

Onimod Global releases the latest digital marketing news and essential marketing tips every Tuesday and Thursday! To catch up on the top digital marketing news and trends, click here.

Tips to Increase Your Brand’s Engagement on Social Media

Promoting your brand through social media has become vital for overall business success. But just being on social channels isn’t enough anymore. The key to real success is through user engagement. This can help increase your brand awareness, customer relationships, and conversions, ultimately improving profits. 

Something that often gets lost to marketers is this: engagement is much more than just likes. Engagement is also comments, shares, follows, re-tweets, clicks, private messages, etc. And these types of engagements are often more valuable than likes. That sounds great, but how can brands accomplish all this? We’re here to help. Here are 5 tips for boosting your brand’s engagement across all social platforms.  

1. Talk about interesting topics, not just your brand. 

It’s common for businesses to frequently or exclusively post about their products or services. That’s not really not what social media is for, or what users want to see. The best content is exciting and informative. Ask yourself if it’s something you’d want to see or would share. It’s also important to ask yourself how it makes you feel. What getting people to engage, click, and convert comes down to is emotion. You should constantly be evaluating if your content is making you feel something and if that is worth sharing. If it’s not, editing and reevaluating may be needed. Most importantly, the content you’re creating and putting out to your audience should have value. The value is either making your audience happy, gives steps on how to get there, or anything else that’s beneficial. 

2. Join and hold Q&A’s and surveys. 

Joining Q&A sessions is a great way to provide your audience with value and get more brand awareness. You can spark discussions with prospective customers, all before competitors, you can become the go-to seller. Consumers are more impatient than ever and don’t want to wait for answers. That’s why, if it’s possible, you should have a dedicated response management person/team. While answering questions quickly is important, it’s also important to answer them accurately and clearly. We advise you to complete ongoing research for the most commonly asked questions and develop sample answers that can be customized for each question/situation. 

3. Share other people’s content. 

Constantly creating interesting, high quality, and engaging content is not easy. If there’s someone else providing quality answers to a query or other relevant content, make use of it. Your audience will see that you are there to give them what they need, no matter where it comes from. If your feed provides relevant and valuable information, whether it’s yours or not, people will be more attracted to your brand and be more encouraged to follow you. Keeping your feed diverse and from different contributors keeps audiences interested.

4. Make your customers feel engaged. 

To boost engagement, you need to be social. This means directly responding to all messages, comments, etc. Whether it be negative or positive, responding is essential. Show appreciation for the positive comments and suggest solutions for negative ones. It’s also important to respond to posts that aren’t addressing you directly, but indirectly or through hashtags. When responding you should present yourself as personable and approachable, ultimately humanizing your brand. Addressing comments with the person’s name is a great way to do this. It shows that the comment wasn’t computer generated and that someone really is listening to them. You should also try to match the person’s tone/emotion. If their comment was lighthearted and included emojis, feel free to use them back. This is a great way to generate a longer conversation and may even get other audience members involved. 

When it comes to negative comments, it’s smart to have a plan on how you’re going to deal with them. You want to be able to respond quickly to stop the issue from growing. You want to respond to show others that you’re not just ignoring the problem, but it’s also best to take the conversation offline and solve the problem privately. 

5. Post frequently and at optimal times. 

Posting frequently across all channels is vital for overall social media success. This shows your audience you’re relevant and up-to-date on the latest trends. This also helps your audience members stay up-to-date with you. Loyal customers want to know what’s happening with your brand the moment it occurs. Whether it’s a promotion, a new product/service, expansion, etc. This helps your audience stay connected and strengthens your relationship with them. 

A large part of engagement is posting at optimal times (when your audience is online and active). Most people are online during lunch hours or later at night, but it’s important to do research on your audience specifically. A/B testing may be necessary. Experiment with posting times to see which performs best and generates the most engagement amongst your audience. 

Social media moves quickly. If users think your page is inactive, they will unfollow you. Which is why it’s important to be posting as frequently as you can. Everyday isn’t necessary, but a few times a week is best practice. 

Final Thoughts

No matter what industry you’re in, social media is beneficial. It only continues to grow in value as times change in 2020. Brands that are focusing on growing their social media engagement are benefiting from better marketing reach, ROI and higher brand awareness. All which makes it easier to reach prospects and customers. Boosting and sustaining engagement is difficult and does take time, but it’s not impossible. It takes knowing your audience, a strong strategy and ongoing effort. In the end, it will be worth it. 

More from Onimod Global

As experts in social media marketing, our team knows where and when your customers need you most. We help create visibility for brands where their customers are searching, interacting and engaging. If you’re struggling in social media or any area of digital marketing, contact us today.