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Robyn Ackerman

Robyn Ackerman
In E-Marketing, , How to, Marketing

How to Increase Newsletter Sign-ups

Before covering the tips on how to increase sign-ups, you need to be clear on why you want more.  People often think the larger number of sign-ups means you are doing better at marketing your business.  This is not the case.  It’s what actions the subscribers take after reading the content- that matters. Increase newsletter signupsTherefore, you need a newsletter goal.  Each piece of communication should have a planned purpose and desired outcome prior to sending it.  Once you have an idea of what action you would the readers to take, you can strategize the content you want in it.

 6 Tips to Increase Newsletter Sign-ups:

  1.  Create Sign-Up Forms.  This seems simple enough, yet I have seen many clients that enter in emails personally whenever they get them and don’t provide website “passerby’s” to sign up on their own.  Remember that there may be a potential customer who is not ready to call you about services, but is still interested in your content.  By providing sign-up forms on your site, you are supplying customers with an easy and non-pressured way to learn about your company.
  2. Place the forms everywhere! Have a link in the navigation of your site titled “newsletter”.  You should provide sign-up forms in the sidebar of your site and buttons to sign up on appropriate pages.   You should also have a sign-up extension on your Facebook business page.
  3. Opt-in option.  No reputable email platforms these days allow you to use unauthorized or purchased emails.  If you want to gain the trust of your readers, gain their subscription and ultimately gain their business, make sure your opt-in (and opt-out for the matter) options are set correctly and easy to manage!
  4. Provide subject choices.  Email open rates will increase when the email is specific to the needs of the reader.  Provide a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 different subject check-boxes for new sign-ups.  See example here by click here.
  5. Clearly state the value.  Explain in a sentence or two above the newsletter fields, what the reader will receive or how they will benefit by signing up.  What makes your emails unique?  Keep it short and sweet.
  6. Make the emails forwardable and sharable.  Make sure you have a “forward to a friend” option inserted in every email communication that goes out to the public.  You also want to connect your newsletters with your Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook pages to autopost.  And thirdly, insert social sharing buttons in each email campaign.  As outsiders see the emails from a friend’s (whom they already trust) page or a forward, they are likely to sign up as well. 

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Robyn Ackerman
In , How to, , Uncategorized

How to Embed a Facebook Post on your Website

Previously only permitted to developers, Facebook now allows people and businesses to embed a facebook post, picture or video on a webpage/blog.  See below for an example of an embedded post:

Post by Pop Digital Marketing.

How Embedding a Facebook Post On Your Website Can Help You:

  1. Create engagement right there on your blog
  2. Allows readers to “Like” your facebook page from the post
  3. Readers can like, share or comment on the post immediately from your blog
  4. Readers can even embed the post onto their website increasing brand awareness for you

How to embed a facebook post on your website:

  1. From your Facebook Page, choose the post you want to embed (note: only public posts can be embedded)
  2. Click on the ‘down arrow’ in the upper right corner of the post to open a pop up box of options
  3. Choose “Embed Post”
    Facebook Embed
  4. Highlight the code in the new pop up and copy it to your clipboard
    Facebook Embed code
  5. Paste the code on the webpage you want it to appear on

 

Robyn Ackerman
In , Hiring, Marketing, , Training

7 Qualifications To Seek In An Online Community Manager | The Hiring Guide

The position and title of “Online Community Manager, Social Media Manager, Online Marketer etc.” is fairly new to many companies.  If you are striving to take your company to the next level and utilize the web to gain a greater online presence and ultimately increase new customers, you have likely already started planning to add this new role to your marketing department.

Below are 7 qualifications to look for when hiring an Online Community Manager:

1. History of social media experience:Online Community Builder

This person should have at least 3 years experience with Social Media Marketing.  Just because someone is active on twitter and Facebook, does not necessarily mean that he or she is qualified to run your Online Marketing Campaigns.  What blogs and websites do they follow?  This will show you how current this person’s social media knowledge is.  How many facebook friends does he/she have? This is important for a couple of reasons.  First, you want someone who is social.  Second, you want someone who is well networked already, giving you instant access to hundreds or thousands of new people.

Other important questions to ask:

What Linkedin, FB groups do they already belong in?
How do they leverage those groups for their social media strategy?
What Social Media publishing tools do they use?
Does he or she know what Facebook EdgeRank is?

2. They know and LOVE your product:

The Online Community Manager is going to be the face of your company also known as your company ambassador.   Do they want to SCREAM with excitement everything your company offers?  This person needs to be proud to be a part of your team.  An ideal candidate will not be hesitant  to use his or her personal accounts/name to promote the company.

How well does this person know your product and services?  The online community manager should know your products and key audience so well that he or she can feel confidant promoting, marketing and fielding questions.  You do not want someone who has to depend on you to develop content conception.  When it comes to Social Media, passion is key.  Your company is best represented by those who are passionate about it!

3. They are a marketing maven:

This person knows how conduct market research, has experience with brand development and brand awareness.  Ask if he or she has experience tracking marketing analytics.  Many print marketing practices can be re-purposed for online strategy.   It’s equally important that this person has online marketing experience and knowledge.  This includes basic tech comprehension, best practice understanding of how, why and when to post online and more.

4. Awesome and engaging personality:

We used to hire introverts as our IT/Computer people.  Nowadays however, we need outgoing people to represent us online. Does your OCM have a great sense of humor?  Great posts and status updates are often the funny and witty ones.  Your hire needs to have the ability to engage customers online.  Usually the way people talk in person is reflected in how they converse on Social Media.

5. Creative, strategic and analytic:

Yes, usually it is hard to find an extrovert (see above) who is also analytical, but if you do- you’ve hit the jack-pot!  Ask your candidates to provide a 3 month strategy plan for your Facebook page.  See how creative they are in these plans.   Creativity comes into play with how this person goes about executing such strategies.  Another question to ask is how this person would turn Facebook Fans or Twitter/Pinterest Followers into customers.  It is one thing to generate “likes”, it’s another thing to convert a Like or Follower into a paying customer.

6. Great time management skills:

Re-activity is extremely important in building online relationship with potential customers.  If someone asks a question on one of your social media platforms, an answer cannot and should not take more than hour to appear.  By then your potential client has already moved on.  And so have all the other people watching.  Find someone who is willing to be “on-call”.  Most OCM’s have every social app on their phone so that they can be accessible on the go!

7. They have a common community with your company’s community:

If you are interviewing someone who claims to be “well-connected”, great!  Please note though of who these connections are! It does not really do much for your business if their connections do not coincide with your target audience.  If they are sharing content from your site to their connections, how effective will it be in getting you qualified leads?

Obviously, there is no perfect candidate.  If you can find someone who possesses the majority of the above 7 qualifications you are on the right track!

Click the button below for more on how to hire and train a rock star Social Media Professional:

Contact Button

 

Robyn Ackerman
In , Marketing,

8 Tips To Facebook Posting For Business Pages

Congratulations!  You finally put together your facebook page.  Now you need to grow your fan-base, figure out what to post and how to post it.  Below are a few best practice methods to getting started on your facebook business page.

Here are 8 tips to consider when posting on your Facebook Business Page: Facebook Pages

  1. Think about your target audience.  Who are you trying to reach?  What type of things would they like to know?  What age group does your fan base consist of?  Is it mostly female or males?  You can actually find all of these statistics on your page’s “insights”.  Once you can answer those questions, you will be better equipped to providing a great “fan” experience.
  2. What you post.  Is it relevant to your followers?  Are you posting something that will be of interest to them?  Are you providing your fans with original material?  People like your page because they like your business, brand or what you represent.  Everything you post should have something to do with your business or industry.  It is very beneficial to create a “publishing calender” with enough content to post for 3 months out.
  3. Be the first to post.  If something comes out in the news, you want to be the first to share it.  That way you own the post that everybody is sharing.  Therefore, I suggest that every morning, you search different news sites for important information in your industry.
  4. When you post.  When are your fans likely to be on facebook, and thus see your updates? If your target audience is comprised of retired empty-nesters, 2:00pm may be the best time to post.  If your fan base is mostly stay at home moms, nap times are the best time to post.  Common practices show that 7:00am, 11:00am, 3:00pm and 8:00pm are the prime times for facebook activity, but that may vary depending on your audience demographics.   This takes us back to the first tip of knowing your audience.
  5. How often you post.  This is an important one.  You don’t want to be posting so often that your followers start hiding your updates.  Likewise, you don’t want to have any empty page.  Most successful pages post 3-4 times a day, and post different things.  There isn’t anything more annoying to followers than seeing the same post multiple times a day!  Make sure to spread the posts outs throughout the day. You can use social media tools such as HootSuite, Sprout Social or even on Facebook, using the scheduler below your actual post.
  6. Keep posts short and sweet. When you start rambling, people stop reading.  It’s that simple.
  7. Don’t just sell your business.  If people want to learn about your services or products, they can visit your website.  You should  use facebook to engage your customers.  Show them that you want to provide them with valuable information, listen to their wants and needs, and every now and then let them know about a sale or new service.
  8. Give them something to talk about.  If you want your fan-base to continuously grow, you have to provide buzz-worthy information.  Sometimes the most shared content is the most controversial.  Use this method to ask questions and encourage your followers to participate in the conversation and share with their friends!

Good luck and may your facebook page numbers continue to grow!

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