marketing | Social Media Aspirin™

November 9, 2016March 16, 2017

Top Three Thursday: Social Media News You Can Use

Welcome to my Thursday feature. Here’s where I link three useful and interesting articles from excellent information sources all about social media and marketing subjects.

As you know, changes are always happening in the world of social media. We have a lot to keep up with!

Facebook released a new report on Millennials and brand loyalty. It is estimated that 77% of Millennials remain loyal to a brand, but only 37% of those customers will become repeat buyers. The article is titled “Modern Loyalty: Love in a Time of Infinite Choice” and describes what causes this generation of consumers to remain loyal to a brand or move onto another company. Understanding your customer is crucial in sustaining your business.

LinkedIn made some updates to their “Endorsements” feature on their platform. Endorsements are helpful in finding a new job as well as in aiding employers in hiring a new employee. In one of LinkedIn’s recent articles “Expert Tips for Making Skills on Your LinkedIn Profile Stand Out”, they explain how to use this feature to its full potential and improve your LinkedIn profile.

In Mashable’s recent article “Everything Your Small Business Needs to Know About the Evolving World of Marketing” they outline some very helpful attributes of a healthy marketing strategy. Topics range from how to engage with your audience on their level to seeking advice from experienced mentors. The article is full of instructional videos outlining these strategies. These words of wisdom are sure to motivate and inspire you as you curate, create and schedule your social media.

See you next week with another edition of Top Three Thursday: Social News You Can Use.

Melody Jones is your social media aspirin. She helps take the pain out of social media for you! Check out her services and see which one can reduce your social media pain the most.

September 15, 2016September 14, 2016

Top Three Thursday: Social Media News You Can Use

Welcome to my Thursday feature. Here’s where I link three useful and interesting articles from excellent information sources all about social media and marketing subjects.

As you know, changes are always happening in the world of social media. We have a lot to keep up with!

Social media has past the point of simply being a hobby and is now a standard for business. Proof of that is how social is impacting our companies. Mashable lists some of these impacts in their latest, “5 Powerful Ways Social Media Has Forever Altered The Way We Do Business.” How many of them have already affected the way you work?

Facebook, with its 50 million+ business pages, seems to know what it takes to keep being successful. Now Facebook Is Wooing Small Businesses in order to increase the popularity of its advertising platform since only 3 million of those business pages are currently paying for ads. Forbes is predicting that Facebook ads will be one of the next avenues of growth for this social media standout.

Sounds like Twitter is looking to get into the live video market in a big way by launching apps to stream video on TV. CNBC reported that the company is introducing new live streaming video apps for Apple, Xbox, and Amazon – incorporating NFL games into their offerings. This is quite the switch from the social platform’s branding so watching where the site goes next should be interesting.

See you next week with another edition of Top Three Thursday: Social News You Can Use.

Melody Jones is your social media aspirin. She helps take the pain out of social media for you! Check out her services and see which one can reduce your social media pain the most.

July 8, 2016January 11, 2019

How to Use Simple Psychology in Social Media to Reach More People

In the marketing world, human behavior has been studied relentlessly in the name of using psychology to motivate people. What is social media? It’s another tool for marketing, yes, and it has the unique capability of creating conversations in a way never before available. In fact, the conversation, it turns out, is the most important thing.

Make the most of your social media efforts by applying a few basic psychological principles.

Emotions are contagious

By using software, Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, analyzed one billion Facebook posts over two years and noticed an interesting trend.

Users dealing with gloomy weather tended to post more negative thoughts, adversely affecting those who were experiencing nice weather. Gloominess was contagious.

In turn, it was discovered that positive posts were actually more contagious than negative posts, which I think is good news. Facebook status posts using positive words prompted those who saw them to post almost two times more positive posts themselves.

For more research on “emotional contagion” in social media, visit PLOS.org.

People love exclusivity

You know the rush you feel when you just beat a deadline? Everyone who missed it, even by a minute, did not get to be part of the exclusive group, but you are.

Use this to your advantage in social media. By creating a way for your fans to be part of an exclusive group, you’ve helped them feel valuable, like they’re part of the club.

A few ideas:

Make offers time-limited thereby creating a sense of urgency and a feeling of exclusivity;
Establish an invitation-only closed or secret group on Facebook or your website that only includes fans who have worked for it in some way (signed up for a course, participated in an event, etc.);
Do the time-honored “The first ten people to (insert action here) get (an exclusive thing)” and then keep a public running count of how many are left.

People like to be seen

You’ve no doubt noticed the high number of selfies on social networks. (Hey, don’t kill yourself getting a selfie!).

Big brands have experienced great success in creating fan ambassadors by appealing to being seen.

For example, if fans post a photo of themselves enjoying a product or visiting a site that relates to the brand, they “win” something.

It can be as simple as their photo being posted in a prominent place for a week, or they may win an actual product. Fans then post themselves winning that product, and the brand has created an ambassador.

Think about how this can work for your business or author platform. Perhaps all fans who submit a book or product review get promoted on your social media or maybe they win something bigger such as coffee with the author, or a substantial coupon for the next new product. Don’t be afraid to think big!

Be creative in applying these basic psychology concepts to your social media marketing strategy. With a little extra effort, you can continue building a strong online presence.

Melody Jones | Social Media Management Services — Melody Jones

Melody Barnes Jones is Founder and CEO of Social Media Management Services. Melody is your Social Media Aspirin, here to take the pain away so you can go about your business. Visit her website to learn about her programs, upcoming workshops, and coaching services.