Derby season is in full swing in Kentucky. The Kentucky Derby is just a few days away and our community calendar is chock full of events and activities. Racing fans are scouring racing periodicals and other sources to make their picks to win the big race.
I am not a Louisville native, nor a huge horse racing fan, so I don’t really get all the hoopla, but that’s just me. What does amaze me, however, is the magnificent beasts that run around the racetrack at blazing speeds.
Thoroughbred race horses are amazing creatures. They have been bred and trained for one thing - speed. Great care is taken by trainers, riders, and jockeys to prepare horses for each race.
Similar to the way that trainers prepare a horse to compete, there are defined steps that you can take to prepare your marketing strategy to compete against your competition. The reality is that you are in a race with your competitors to reach your target audience and serve them with excellence. The better prepared you are, the better your chance of winning.
Trainers know exactly how far their horses are going to run in a race. Similarly, you have to know what you are trying to accomplish before developing and implementing a marketing strategy. Are you trying to create more brand awareness? Create a certain number of leads for your sales team? Drive direct sales? It’s impossible to develop an effective marketing strategy unless you know where the finish line is.
This first step is essential. If you don’t intimately know your target audience, it is impossible to craft messages that will be relevant to them.
The next step is to develop a plan to build trust with your target audience by providing value first. Be careful not to embrace a "sales first" attitude. Focus on developing relationships based on trust. Sales are a natural progression from strong relationships.
Whether your content strategy is based on blog posts, podcasts, social media, email marketing, or other distribution channels, it is important to be consistent with your messaging. You can over-communicate as easily as you can under communicate. Strike a balance that keeps your message in front of your target audience, but does not overwhelm them.
Is your messaging connecting with your target audience? There is no way to know unless you set up metrics to track the results. This can be a challenge depending on the complexity of your strategy and how many channels you are using to connect with your target audience.
The winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby won’t be a random streak of good luck. All the horses competing in the race have been trained to win that race.
Winning the marketing race against your competitors isn’t the result of random luck either. It takes planning, hard work, and fierce competition to cross the finish line first.
In our first installment of Squad U, Joel Gerdis shows us the benefits of local targeting through Facebook.
If you are a business owner with a Facebook account (If you don't have one, create one!), Facebook advertising is an affordable way to target your marketing strategies and develop inexpensive campaigns around your business.
The Facebook Ad Tool is a fantastic opportunity for small business owners to implement a strategic and affordable ad spend for as little as $5-$10 per day, reaching hundreds of potential customers.
If you have not taken the steps to get your business the attention it needs, contact us. The Marketing Squad has a full house of professionals ready to make your goals a reality.
We have been working towards this reveal for the past four months.
Today we are excited to reveal The Content Squad’s new name... The Marketing Squad
A subtle, yet powerful shift.
While content marketing is a core service we provide our clients, we do so much more than that.
Our service offerings include a wide range of marketing solutions including:
We have many exciting things to share in the coming weeks. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, or Instagram.
Instagram (IG) is becoming one of the best online marketing tools for many companies. IG not only allows you to promote your business, it allows you to connect with your target market on a much more impactful level. If you’ve ever heard the term "Instagram famous," then you probably already have an idea of IG’s impact in the world. The people/businesses who become IG famous are the ones that connect with their audience on a deep, emotional level. Their brands empower, encourage, and engage their followers.
Empower – On IG, people are looking for content that is aesthetically pleasing. They’re looking for inspiration. Think about it, on IG, people post the best possible photos and even use Photoshop. Why? Because people are looking for beauty in a world where Facebook is now used to complain about politics and controversial issues. They are looking to their favorite accounts to spark a fire in them. If you can appeal to their emotions and values, you’ll become a resource for them and ultimately build trust.
Encourage – Some of my favorite IG accounts do encourage their followers extremely well. By "encourage" I mean let them know that they are invested in them; that they want them to win. Annie Jaffrey, my favorite IG lady, is amazing at encouragement. Her posts consist of inspiring messages of love and beauty that her followers adore. She encourages everyone to be their best self, and because of this, people love her.
Engage - Make sure you are engaging with your followers on a deep level. Comment on their photos and reply to their comments. Staying top-of-mind is always a good thing. Don’t creep them out or anything, but definitely let them know that you pay attention to their content. People love to feel special and treasured. Also, pay attention to which posts get the most likes and comments. Your followers' engagement will help you see what appeals to them and what you should continue to post.
In order to make an impact on IG, you have to be intentional in what you post and how you connect with your audience. If you need a little more IG help, check out my blog on How To Use Instagram to Build Your Brand and let me know how you use IG to impact your followers.
Facebook has become an essential part of many marketing strategies. Actually, it's really a part of being in business today. We connect with current clients on this platform to inform and engage them. We meet potential customers here as well as interact with industry peers and everyone in between. However, sometimes Facebook's landscape and algorithm changes and you have to scramble to figure out what is going on so your presence in this platform remains strong.
Have you ever paid attention to the Response Rate and Time Bar on the right side of another business' Facebook page? It's meant to be a statement– whether good or bad– about that business. Are you aware of this same rating on your own business page?
Although it may not make or break a business, it is important to maintain a good response time as best as you can. As a social platform, Facebook continues to prioritize community engagement (shares, comments, responses- aka dialogue) over content frequency or impressions.
According to Facebook Help:
"Response rate is the percentage of new messages that your Page sends an initial response to on the day they're received. Response time is the average time it takes your Page to send initial responses to new messages in one day."
This means that when someone sends you a private message, the clock starts ticking until you respond back. Nevertheless, the response time only tracks the initial response, Facebook does not count until you respond to follow-up messages in the same day.
If you receive messages while you have your profile message status set to "Away," then Facebook does not start accruing time until after you set the messaging profile to "Available" again. The maximum time for away is 12 hours.
Instant Replies (messages automatically sent as your Page's first response to new messages) are not considered an initial response from your Page.
Messages marked as Spam are, thankfully, not taken into account for the response rate or time.
Rather than seeing this as another chore, see it as an opportunity.
Facebook has some conditions for a good response time and response rate.
When you have the badge or high response rate, anyone can see it; however, if you don't have the badge or a high response rate, only the people who can manage the account can see the Responsiveness info on the page. For those in e-commerce or thought-leaders and influencers, we believe commitment to very quick response times is important to your type of business. There is probably a little bit of lax for other industries.
Just remember, Facebook wants businesses to actually help and respond to followers. This is what most customers want too. This shows that you care.
Facebook Help is a great resource if you have quick, easy Facebook questions. Nonetheless, if you have more complex questions or feel like you would rather have professionals do your social media with you and for you, our team The Marketing Squad is here to help!
If you're looking for a digital marketing job in Louisville, we're looking for you! The Marketing Squad is currently hiring for the following positions- Content Manager and Director of Partner Marketing
We think our culture, the people who work here, and the owners who lead the way are all pretty awesome. Here are few of the cool things about The Squad that we think you should know:
If what you've just read sounds like a good fit for you, we'd love to meet you. Apply online and someone will follow up with you.
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