What's New with Facebook

·     Posts that ask readers to like, comment, or share the post in order to get more distribution. According to Facebook, these types of posts are 15% less relevant than other stories with a comparable number of likes, comments, and shares.

·     Facebook will prioritize posts based on whether the topic is trending and when -- instead of how many -- people like, share, or comment on it. For example, if a friend or a Page you are connected to posts something that others are talking about, Facebook will now show you that post near the top of your news feed.

·     Facebook’s Buy button will allow users to make purchases without ever leaving Facebook

·     Millions of people check into their favorite places and use optional features like Nearby Friends (currently only available in some regions). Facebook is working on ways to show you the most relevant information based on where you are and what your friends are up to. For example, in the future, if you decide to share where you are, you might see menus from restaurants nearby or updates from friends in the area.

·     If you often watch videos on Facebook, you might see more of them pop up in your news feed. In June, Facebook said it would consider whether people watched a video and for how long to determine whether or not it appears in your news feed. Conversely, if you skip over videos without watching them, Facebook will show you fewer of them.

·     Beginning in January 2015, people will see less buy this now, buy this before-content in their News Feeds. “As we’ve said before, News Feed is already a competitive place — as more people and Pages are posting content, competition to appear in News Feed has increased. All of this means that Pages that post promotional creative should expect their organic distribution to fall significantly over time.” -Facebook

·     Facebook recently launched a brand new CTA (call-to-action) button for fan pages! You can choose from one of seven buttons and link to any URL on or off Facebook. The choices are: Book Now, Contact Us, Use App, Play Game, Shop Now, Sign Up, or Watch Video. If you don’t have the button yet, it’s coming very shortly!

·     Start using Facebook groups to interact with potential customers. Be mindful to not always sell but be sure to educate. Provide value and they will follow you anywhere.

Actionable Social Media Marketing Tactics:

•   Understand your target audience’s social media personae on Facebook. You must be able to tailor your content to engage them through photographs, videos and interactions.

•   Develop a dedicated Facebook channel strategy. Ensure that you have integrated your Facebook content into your overall content strategy and editorial plan.

•   Plan for Facebook engagement. Have employees (aka dedicated headcount) who are responsible for interacting with your followers.

•   Add targeted advertising to increase your reach. To extend your organic Facebook reach allocate advertising budget and resources to ensure that it’s targeted.

https://www.facebook.com/SociallyYoursMedia

10 tips for Social Media Marketing in 2015

1. Be present on social media

Your business MUST first be active and establish a professional, branded presence. This requires more than a Facebook page your teenager created.  Cover photos need to be sized correctly. Have your graphic designer create social media templates for your promos. Fully establish your brand and tell it’s story through the images your place on social media.

Social media isn’t a one-way publishing platform like traditional media where you can set it and go. Social media requires on-going interaction when your prospects and customers are active, not just during your business hours. This often means evenings and weekends. Further, social media is multi-directional, so you must be prepared for customer responses.

2. Get started on Instagram

If you haven’t started an Instagram account for your business, what are you waiting for? The younger generation has flocked to this social media platform with over 200 million monthly active users. It’s important to know what the under 30 crowd is using- they will soon be your clientele.

3.Paid promotion on Facebook

Adding just $5.00 in promotion to selected Facebook posts will drastically increase your interaction. You’ll start to notice a major spike in communication when you boost your post for a small budget. With Facebook’s Edgerank Algorithm, the likelihood for a business to appear high in the news feed is less likely. This is why for 2015, you should focus on posts that can yield the best results and boost them for a small budget.

4. Start Blogging

Current content gets you noticed by Google. Increase your SEO by blogging Additionally, a blog can serve as content for a Facebook and Twitter post as well as a teaser for an email marketing campaign. By creating better blog content in 2015, your web traffic will increase and your content will become more compelling

5. Email marketing

If you are a business that only sends out one email blast per month, start doubling this number and send out at least two per month. Nordstrom sends out multiple email blasts EACH DAY! If you have compelling content that would be informative to the subscribers on your email list, tell them about it via email communications. One suggestion is to send out a large newsletter with lots of content at the beginning of the month and then divide the content by the remaining number of weeks and send an email out each week. (but never on a Monday-lowest open rate day!)

6. Twitter outreach

There has been a lot of frustration amongst marketers over all of the advertising that various social media channels are forcing businesses to partake in. Luckily, Twitter is still a great platform where you can grow your following organically. Start searching for hashtags within your industry and reaching out to users in this fashion. Start reaching your target audience via tweets through the perfect Twitter outreach strategy in 2015.

7. Google+ game plan

Google+ might not gain you that much interaction on your social media posts. This social media platform plays a crucial role in search engine optimization on the localized level, which makes this a must for marketers in 2015.

8. YouTube videos

Did you know that Google owns YouTube? By implementing videos into your online marketing mix, you can start to get search engine exposure for the videos that you upload onto YouTube!

9. Compelling graphics

The more compelling your graphics are on various social media channels, the more interaction you will receive. If you have a graphic designer, start sending him or her over your social media calendar so they can help create beautiful imagery. In 2015 you will want to increase engagement and great pictures certainly help.

9. LinkedIn

Make your employees shine on LinkedIn. Provide professional photographs and videos to support your employees, especially your sales team. Help craft their profiles. Every now and again post an image that seems a bit more suited for Facebook or Instagram- This will provide your connections with something fresh to look at. Ex. A happy Monday photo or #TGIF. Take some time to like and comment on your connections posts. Go through your connections and endorse them and be sure to say congrats on your new promotion.

10. Unique promotion:

Brainstorm a unique promotion that people will actually enjoy that can drive massive publicity for your company in 2015! Whether it is coming up with a user generated jingle contest or a photo upload promotion, entice your great fans on social media to interact with your brand in a clever way. If the promotion is a success, it will be one of the most talked about campaigns for your company in 2015.