Echelon Media » Social Media

How to Create Share Worthy Content and Viral Campaigns for Social Media

Josh — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:08:40 +0000

This is a guest post written by Patrick Meninga of Make Money With No Work.

Does your social media strategy consist of integrating Facebook “like” buttons on your website?

Most people will hesitantly agree that this is pretty much the case, so let’s dig deeper for a moment.

Promoting your business should always include some form of content planning.

The goal is to publish content on your website that invites your site visitors to share it with others and help spread your message in a viral fashion.

Social media sharing is one of the end results, but we can shape this process by focusing on our content creation process.

If you want people to share your message, then build better stuff to begin with! Let’s look at a few different ways that we can do that.

Use existing data to point you in the right direction

Your website should already have some clues as to what type of content is a winner for your audience. Look in your Analytics package and sort to see your top content by pageviews or visits.

You might ask yourself a few questions about the top 20 articles, such as:

Which articles have the most comments (and thus user engagement)?
Which articles have the lowest bounce rate (and thus have a message that resonates well with your audience)?
Which articles have the most incoming links?
Which articles have done well in the past via social media?

When you are planning out future content, consider what your audience has responded to in the past, and use that as a guide to create more “winners.”

Promote, test, measure, repeat

Creating share-worthy content should become an iterative process for you.

This means that you are going to consciously create new content with the goal of surpassing the performance of older content. What you choose to measure is up to you based on the goals of your promotional strategy, so you may be judging your content based on the number of reader comments, number of Facebook likes, or whatever the case may be.

But each new piece of content should seek to set a new record when measured against your older content. If it fails to do so, then you have learned something, and you can then try something else.

If it succeeds, then you are onto something, and you should run with your idea and see if you can create more “winners.”

The web makes it very easy to test and measure success in this manner, so take advantage of the lessons you are learning when your audience responds (or does not respond) to your new content.

This testing process is important because eventually you can use this information to create custom content that you know will do well with your audience. You can then be more confident that any dollars spent promoting such content will be well spent, and your whole marketing strategy will become much more effective. You will create less content in the future that fails to engage your audience.

Crafting share-worthy content for your website

So how do you get started creating share-worthy content?

Start with your users, your audience. What is their most burning desire? What do they most want in the world, based on the fact that they are visiting your website?

Start with that hypothetical “burning desire” in the mind of your audience, and then work backward.

Special attention should be given to the headline of your content, as that is where much of the “share-ability” comes from.

One strategy is to start with your headline, make a huge promise to your audience, and then write an amazing article that actually delivers on that promise.

For example, your headlines might be things such as:

“How to Double Your Social Media Engagement in 30 Days or Less”
“Use this Simple Social Media Trick to Double Your Website Traffic Overnight”
“How to Write Articles that Sell Themselves and Spread Like a Virus”
“10 Steps to Building a Social Media Following that Has a Positive Impact on Your Business”

Using the iterative testing process, you might brainstorm several dozen of these headlines, then get together with your team and pick out the top five.

Then, carefully write and polish an article for each headline, making sure to test the response that you get from your audience.

I recommend that you focus on delivering real value to your audience with such articles rather than aiming for hype or sensationalism. That way, your articles will stand the test of time and continue to deliver real value and engage your audience for longer periods of time.

Successful social media starts with conscious content planning

There are thousands of cheap tricks and gimmicks when it comes to social media promotion, but a strong campaign starts with careful planning.

Start with your audience in mind and create genuinely valuable content that makes a big promise using a catchy headline.

Over-deliver with your article and then carefully measure the results of your content based on the metrics that are most important to you.

Keep brainstorming new content ideas and headlines, then test new content you create against your existing data.

Constantly refine your content offering based on the response and engagement. Continue to test and to measure new content until you have reached your social media goals.

Tips to Grow Your Business Facebook Page

Brian — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:14:42 +0000

There’s nothing more frustrating than starting something and not seeing growth. The problem isn’t Facebook, it that most of the time we focus too much on ourselves and not enough on the greater community at large. Being a successful social marketer for your business requires you to be an engaged social marketer within the greater community.

We have all seen those pitchy Facebook pages, or streams of non-stop blatant and nauseating advertising messages disguised as “genuine” conversation. These types of posts often receive little or no response. Consumers these days are increasingly savvy. They know B.S. when they see it. Maybe your pages are not growing because you are guilty of not being “genuine” enough? To be genuine, you simply have to stop being a robot. Online it’s all about interaction

So how can you ramp up the interaction rate of your business Facebook page to foster growth? Here are a few tips:

Don’t forget to “like” other pages as your page and customize your “Featured Likes” under your “Edit Page” options. We all have partners and stakeholders so be sure to put them front and center. You’re allowed five featured likes. Use at least three of them for your most important partners and leave a couple open to randomly rotate among your entire “likes” list.

Share! Don’t be a selfish self-promoter! Share content from others too. The share button is a powerful tool in building relationships and providing topical content to your followers.

Keep an eye on your newsfeed even when you’re signed in as a page! If you find something interesting “share” it. Chances are others will find it interesting too and the original author will think you are cool beans.

LIKE! Like and comment on the content of others. Spread some love! It puts your name in front of more people and it tells people that you are listening. What comes around goes around. Show a little love, get a little love.

Comment on and “like” the post comments that people contribute to your page. Again, it shows that you are listening and appreciate the attention that your fans are giving you. If a comment requires a response…respond. It is kind of like rewarding good behavior. It makes people feel good and encourages future interaction.

You see, by dedicating a little more time to engagement you’re tapping into a huge pool of people who will start doing some of the marketing for you. It’s not just “playing” around on Facebook. It’s marketing. Simply put, social media is word-of-mouth advertising.

Recently, the Fargo-Moorhead Convention & Visitors Bureau (FM CVB) marked the 15th anniversary of the release of the film ‘FARGO” by creating a full-scale replica of the infamous wood chipper and brought the actual movie prop to the community for “The Wood Chipper in Fargo” exhibit. To promote the exhibit, we created a presence online with a Facebook page [hyperlink:http://www.facebook.com/FargoMoorhead#!/thewoodchipper]. In just a few months, the Facebook page has grown to more than 7,000 fans, and is growing at approximately 1,000 new fans a month. We’ve also seen a true “real world” impact. Walk in visitors to the F-M Visitor Center are up more than 30 percent in the months following the installation of the exhibit and launch of our social media efforts. The “Wood Chipper Community” is extremely engaged and responsive too. But, let me assure you it didn’t happen all by itself. It took dedication to our fans and continued efforts of outreach and interaction to foster this healthy and vibrant online community.

You can do the same for your business. All you have to do is get involved in the conversation, reward your audience for their participation and spread the love.

How Bakeries are Using Social Media to Gain Customers

Josh — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:05:27 +0000

Recently we were quoted a ton in the May issue of Modern Baking on how bakeries can use different social media tools to increase business and revenue.

Here is the link to the article:

So how can businesses and bakeries use social media to increase sales?

The #1 thing they can do is to interact over social sites such as Facebook and Twitter with their clientele. We are not just talking about sending out an update on your next special or when your store hours are, we are talking about genuinely engaging in conversation with them. This dialog can cover anything and everything under the sun, but your customer needs to view you as a person that cares about them and not just some business with a Facebook page.

Follow the link to the article to see other great ideas.

Green Screen-It’s Easier Than You Think!

Brian — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 02:22:06 +0000

Today I received my first green screen in the mail and I have to say it a lot easier to work with than I expected. As you can see in the video below it didn’t take very long to get up and running!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmr5nRc8E70

As I mention in the video all you need are few things! 2 sets of lights, a green screen and a camera.

Be sure to shop around too! You can save A LOT of money! I picked my lights for less than $200 and my green screen for $30. In the video above I used the onboard camera built into my iMac…nothing fancy. I took a few minutes to fully light the screen and used another set of lights to loosely light myself. This was truly a “run ‘n gun” experiment and the first project I have tried to use green screen on. Not too bad for a first try which makes me pretty excited about future uses!

The most important thing you need to do when working with green screen is to light the screen first! And do it well. Don’t skimp here! Take your time to light the entire screen and most of the hard work of “keying” out the green can be done for you by the software you are using. In this video I used iMovie which is a free program that came with my Mac.

HINT: If you use iMovie be sure to turn on your advanced settings or you won’t see the “green screen” options!

There is no reason why you can’t start using green screen yourself to enhance what you do online! The possibilities are endless! I am going to be working with this quite a bit in the future and will provide more tips and tricks as I discover them! Bottom line, YOU CAN DO THIS TOO!

Thanks for checking out the site and I’d love to hear you comments on green screen!

Embrace the obvious

Brian — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 04:05:35 +0000

"The Woodchipper" in Fargo, ND

Far too often brands are missing the obvious. They’re trying too hard to create their own thing, or out Google the mighty Google. If you are having a hard time outranking something that is already strongly associated with you why not just latch onto it and join in the community! Being an engaged social media marketer costs a lot less and can also help form valuable connections with your true fans.

For example, when most people hear “Fargo” and they think of that famous Coen Brothers film…you know the one with the wood chipper. Yeah. Search Google or YouTube for the term “Fargo” and you’ll see pretty fast that the movie owns the term. Links to IMDb info, wikis and video clips are “owning it.” So what is a city like Fargo, ND supposed do when they are trying to get noticed? How do they compete with an Oscar-winning film to get exposure “above-the-fold” on page one of search results?

Unless you are an SEO god like Allyn Hane or Steve Sherron (Both of which are Echelon Media partners) you’ve really only got a couple options:

1) Pay to play ($$$)
2) Get in the mix (Organic)

In the case of Fargo Tourism it just made sense to finally embrace the whole infamous wood chipper thing. You see for years the brand had distanced itself from the stereotypes portrayed in the film about the area and people. They missed a huge opportunity to jump on the publicity bandwagon. With the growth of social media in recent years they took advantage of jumping on something they missed.

Marking the 15th anniversary of the release of the film they built a full-scale replica of the infamous wood chipper from the film and created a Facebook page dedicated to it. They hired a local photographer and bought a domain name. Got some professional design work done and started to push the idea on an already established community.

How cool is that? Heck, if you’re going to be in Fargo, you might as well get your picture taken with the wood chipper, right?!

The cool thing is that once you get involved in the community a lot of other opportunities start to present themselves. Fargo Tourism is now bringing the real wood chipper from the set of the movie to Fargo with an exhibit of memorabilia to enhance their efforts. They’re also planning numerous contests based on the requests of their fans. You see, by opening themselves up, engaging and listening a lot of new unforeseen marketing opportunities have presented themselves, organically.

The key in social media is to present something that is unique and approach your goals with an honest intent in contributing something of social value. We have all seen those insurance company Facebook pages, or streams of non-stop blatant and nauseating advertising messages disguised as “genuine” conversation. The times have changed. In order to have a positive and lasting impact with your social networks you need to give something of lasting value. Otherwise you quickly get thrown out of people’s minds along with the rest of the noise in the social stream.

Fargo embraced the “ruby slippers” of the film ‘Fargo’. And let me tell you,..there are a lot of “ruby slippers” out there that people are missing.

After 5 days of being public online…

“The Woodchipper” in Fargo reached 500 fans on Facebook.
Got covered in a French magazine: http://bit.ly/gxgy62
Garnered local TV coverage: http://youtu.be/xMCUXNkHilI
Garnered local Radio coverage: http://bit.ly/g6rrTl
Was mentioned on Brand Channel: http://bit.ly/hq3kna

Easy Facebook Tips to Improve TODAY!

Brian — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 01:45:04 +0000

The other day I had a consulting session with a client that wanted to get better at engaging on Facebook. They of course wanted more comments, more likes and more interaction. The client was being active, sharing relevant content and for the most part going above and beyond what most users on FB do with their pages. Even though they were sharing content regularly their posts were not getting any traction.

Sound familiar? If so, you don’t have to recreate the wheel…all you really have to do is start out with some simple additions to what you are already doing. If you take a few more seconds on your posts and pay attention to some of the details and options in front of you, you’re posts can really get energized.

Here’s a few tips, and you don’t need to be some guru to make them happen…you just need to pay attention.

Tip #1 Customizing the details & titles of shared links

This is a really easy way to get your message across. Far too often I am seeing shared links on Facebook with long titles or descriptions, that are in many cases irrelevant to the content being shared or not appropriate for the page it is being presented on. Take advantage of customizing the message in the details and titles area. You can summarize the contents, share links and personalize the message. It’s there for the taking! So don’t overlook this step in the posting process…just move your cursor over the description, click it and customize that post! It’s easy and overlooked by virtually everyone I work with. No longer do you have to be stuck with the message someone else wrote for a different audience…just take 5 seconds…and customize! Easy.

Tip #2 Add a picture

It makes a big difference if you take the time to add a relevant image to your posts. There are a couple of reasons for this: #1 It is more visually appealing than just a text post. #2 It is all about real estate. Seriously, think about it while looking at the following posts.

Old Way:

New Way:

Pictures are worth a thousand words! They are easy to digest and increase your posts real estate several times. When someone is scrolling through the list of updates on their home screen a single line post can get lost pretty easy. So bust out the camera, dig into the archives and take a few seconds to add an image to your posts! (If you are feeling really adventurous bust out the video camera!) Again, Easy.

Tip #3 Start utilizing the @ feature in Facebook

A great way to start linking up and spreading the love (not to mention gain some more exposure) is to link profiles and pages in the posts that you do. It is really easy to do and can help you build a cozy network. This can be really beneficial for pages trying to promote broader things besides themselves.

In your post where you would typically just type the name of something you are mentioning you just add an @ symbol, type the name of the account you are wishing to link to and select it from the drop down. Check it out.

The result, is a link within your post to the page or profile you are mentioning.

Not linked:

Linked:

Pretty slick…and a great way to show people that you are promoting them because they will know that they got tagged in the post! Again, Easy!

Start using these tips and you’re going to give yourself a pretty good shot at improving those insights, increasing your reach and be well on your way to a healthy and vibrant Facebook marketing experience! Hey, it can’t hurt!

I’d love to hear your thoughts! What kinds of tricks or tips do you use! This is just the tip of the iceberg, so stay tuned, get subscribed and thanks for spending a little time with Echelon Media!

It’s Time For You To Use Social Media Just Like The Big Boys Do

Steve — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:39:42 +0000

Have you noticed a trend as of late on TV commercials? Major worldwide corporations are marketing their Facebook page instead of their website. These companies must certainly have invested millions in their online presence over the years but many have now decided to brand themselves with a free social networking website.

Major corporations are using the same free Facebook account that is available to all of us. If you take the time to give that some thought, it really is mind blowing. I’ve seen Coke, Ritz Crackers, Fed-Ex among others, ask TV viewers to visit their Facebook page at the end of commercials. I’m very interested to see the Super Bowl commercials to see how advertisers use social media this year. I predict that many will advertise their Facebook page.

You would be well advised to examine the trend of the Big Boys to see how you may put the same type of marketing into practice no matter what size your business.

Let’s break it down just a bit. A company makes a product. A company distributes a product. All companies must have distribution platforms in which to sell their product. Facebook is emerging as a major platform of distribution for all companies world-wide.

What is your distribution platform? Social Media is one cog in the wheel. Are you using it effectively?

I’m not saying every business should have a Facebook page. If I owned a catheter supply business, I would not start a Facebook page. I can easily predict it would fail and would be a miserable platform in which to market my goods.

What if I owned a local jewelry and dress store? What if I was a local landscaper looking for new accounts? What if I operated a local community website and I was looking to increase my readership? It’s a no-brainer that all of these businesses could and should have a social media presence.

It boils down to strategy. What is your marketing strategy? Are you getting any visitors to your website?

If I come to your website, do you make it easy for me to join your social network?

If your Facebook page is about lawncare and lawncare tips for Smithfield, Kansas, are you focusing it to get more customers and make more money? Are you using Facebook to build your reputation as the local lawncare expert? Are you making it painfully obvious that you are the “go to” guy for lawn care and if you don’t, your yard will probably suck?

If not, why not?

If I “like” the Dollar General Facebook page, guess what? They are going to try to sell me some stuff from their store. I know that going in when I click the like button. Dollar General marketed their Facebook page to me for that exact reason. I expect to be marketed to. Coke, Fed-Ex, Ritz Crackers all want me to buy some stuff from them. News flash!! They are trying to sell me stuff using social media. Imagine that?

The Big Boys are experiencing success through social media and it’s time that you jumped on the bandwagon. If not, the dust you are choking on and the dim red lights you see is your competitor speeding down the road ahead of you.

How can Echelon help you with your social media presence? Do you have video on your Facebook page? Do you understand the importance of marketing yourself as the local expert? These are just some of the questions we can answer for you. We are here to help. You can contact us using our convenient contact form.

HD Video on a Shoestring Budget

Brian — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:15:39 +0000

Video content for your site is important, and yes it is a big deal, especially HD. HD is becoming the norm. It was what we are all accustomed to…it is what we expect.

Having quality video to share as your content on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, whatever is UBER important.

At first glance it may seem like an expensive endeavor. Cameras, lighting, audio equipment, talent, etc. It all adds up pretty quick. But, in reality, if you play it right…it isn’t that bad.

So how do you do it? How can you produce quality HD video content for your sites? I’ve tested out quite an array of equipment over the last several months. Here’s one setup that I think can help you get started fast (on the easy and the cheap) at producing quality HD video for your website or blog…or whatever.

Zi8 from Kodak:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7xdyNInXvc

Love this camera for several reasons. The mic input is key. Bad audio can RUIN any good video. We have all seen those videos with the “wind slap” hitting the built in mics. Having the option to use an external mic system is HUGE. The Zi8 also has expandable memory in the form of SD cards and a “flip type” USB jack for easy file transfer. For $120 you can’t go wrong with the Zi8 from Kodak. 1080p HD video for that! Not just video either! You can take still images with this thing too! Worth a shot! And don’t forget about the remote option!

Check out the Zi8 remote here.

Wireless Mic from Galaxy Audio:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_EMbK0jgmE

This thing is pretty slick. The thing that I love most about this setup is that it is completely battery powered. No more being limited to where a wall outlet is. You could take this thing out in the middle of the woods or in the middle of a conference ballroom. It is as wireless/mobile as you can get. Again, I believe audio is IMPORTANT. So, dropping $350 bucks for professional audio that is mobile-friendly is simply a no-brainer.

3 Point lighting system from Wescott:

Lighting is important, but really not that complicated. You’d be amazed by what you can do by yourself. YouTube is great for finding tutorials. But, having the right lights is key. I picked up a set from Westcott for about $220. Not a bad investment at all. Especially for someone on a budget!

They are easy to setup and really lightweight. Take some time to study some how-to videos and you can really improve what you are doing with video. For the price you can’t beat it.

Getting a good tripod is key too…but I would recommend not skimping. Having something that moves nice and smooth is so very important to making good video. Look to spend a couple hundred bucks one. It’s worth it.

Here’s a HINT. Ask to buy the floor model. I saved about a hundred bucks on mine just by simply saying, “I want this one.” It’s worth a shot.

My homemade "Poor Man Steady Cam"

Finally, for those who wanna try something, there is this thing called the “poor man” steady cam. It can add considerable smoothness to your shots…I built one. I gotta say, it works pretty darn good. I built one out of PVC…but you can do whatever you want…the principle behind the contraption is the same. Look into it. It can’t hurt to experiment a little bit!

Here’s the breakdown:

Kodak Zi8: $120

Galaxy Audio Wireless Mic: $340

Westcott Lighting Kit: $220

“Poor Man” Steady Cam: $20

Tripod: $200

TOTAL: $900

At the end of the day, with this setup, you could have a studio (for less than 1K) in your conference room or living room for that matter that is capable of producing HD quality video, integrated with fully lighted sets and professional, wireless audio. Not too shabby.

What type of equipment would you recommend for someone on a shoestring budget? I love talking about stuff like this! Be sure to comment!

Brian Talks Social Media with The Newspaper Industry – Part II

Brian — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:42:59 +0000

In this segment Brian talks about the evolution of the newspaper industry and how the arrival of social media has changed the way information is shared and why the internet should be an integral part of how newspapers conduct business from here on out.

The LIKE button

Brian — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 03:41:54 +0000

Do you get how serious the “Like” button is on Facebook? It is a really BIG deal. Never before have our consumers had this ability to share what they like and use. When you buy a bottle of Listerine at the store does anyone know? When you check out a product or service online does anyone know? If they are using social media they do!

Seriously, the whole idea of a “like” button sounds cheesy. I get it. But the power that the “like” button possesses is HUGE. It is something that builds on itself. The more it gets clicked the more you benefit. Simply saying that people should click your “like” button is one thing…getting them to click it is an entirely different thing.

So how do you get people to click that elusive “like” button. Well, it is pretty simple. Conveying true and honest content of what is going on around you is the key. Drop the whole idea that you can tell people about that 10% savings. Start telling them about you. Social media is reality. It isn’t the old and ineffective tools of placed advertising in print or banner ads on websites. If you are trying to get people to hit the button you have to prove to them that you are real.

Facebook is about people. Facebook is about connectivity and communications. If someone clicks that “like” button for you…you better take notice. Start having a conversation. Reply to your comments, let people know that you care. Seriously, you need to take the scientific probabilities and chuck them out the window. Being on Facebook is one thing. Being a part of Facebook is a completely different one.