Category Archives: Social Media

Why It’s Important to Caption Your YouTube and Facebook Videos

Online marketers have been reaping the rewards from using video in their content marketing. Hopefully, you’ve found success using video too.

Now, we take a careful look at Video Captioning.

Before you veto this on the grounds that it will take too much time, understand the immense value you’d be leaving on the table.

Three “no-brainer” reasons your videos need captions:

Up to 85% of viewers on Facebook watch your video content with the sound off! Apparently, silent films are trendy again. No, the real reason is that most of us watch Facebook videos in places where we probably shouldn’t be. Captioning your video content gets your message in front of this “secretive” Facebook viewing audience.
Views generate views. This is a “duh” statement built off the first reason, but the point needs explanation. If 85% of your potential viewers keep scrolling, your video is going to rank lower, even if Facebook or YouTube aren’t specifically incentivizing captions in their algorithms. It’s practically common sense.
Caption files help search engines query your video content. While the specifics of every search engine’s algorithms are trade secret, we can safely assume they’re querying video caption files. These files allow search engines access to the keywords within your video content without having to decipher the attached audio files. Search engines love efficiency and helping them in this way will pay you back in ranking over time.

Thankfully, there are some shortcuts available.

Many video hosting platforms including Facebook and YouTube have implemented auto-captioning functions within their platform. These tools will likely improve over time and may never be perfect, but they’ll beat doing nothing.

“Transcribe and Auto-Sync” is a YouTube specific tool.

At the time of writing, this feature is offered for free in everybody’s YouTube Creator Studio. Should this change and become a paid feature, there are many transcription services geared at servicing this very need.

Rev.com is a trusted name in transcription.

For $1 / min of transcribed or captioned video content, Rev aims to be your one-stop-shop should you decide upon outsourcing your captioning efforts.

Their website boasts their affiliation with some pretty big clients, ranging from Uber to Comcast. Whether you choose Rev or a competitor, the ROI on captioning should outweigh the cost implementing it.

“Silence is golden”

It’s not all about sneaking around and watching when you shouldn’t be. Video captioning is beginning to make its stamp as a “must-do” aspect of most brands’ online content marketing efforts.

You’re reaching the “library, no-headphones, late-night, airplane” audience who just can’t turn the sound on no-matter how visually-engaging your video is. Don’t forget that Facebook is showing your video without sound, by default, and that’s not likely to change.

Make your video more accessible to your audience and expect engagement to improve.

5 YouTube Metrics You Need to Track

YouTube is no longer an untamed wild, full of viewers scrambling for media content. Now, viewers know what they want and make harsh decisions about which channels get their precious time.

That’s why everyone from aspiring celebrities to businesses looking to snag a few extra customers should use data analytics to assess the success of your social media campaigns. These are the 5 metrics that should be carefully watched over time.

Watch Time

Watch time is the sum of time viewers have actually spent with the video playing in their browser, not loading or waiting. YouTube places a lot of weight on watch time in its search algorithms to encourage creators to make content that keeps users watching their screens. Since more watch time also means more ads are displayed, watch time tends to scale to profitability.

Search Rankings

Exposure can make or break a YouTube channel’s popularity. Working to get your videos to the top of the searches for keywords relevant to your business is the end goal. Getting there is a complex process, but everyone can start at determining the keywords to track using search ranking metrics.

Views

The number of views and the way they fluctuate are a great way to determine what your overall exposure looks like. It works best when used alongside other metrics. Compare the number of views to the amount of watch time to determine how long each viewer spends on your videos. A higher view count is always better, but it’s also important to make the most of those views.

Subscriptions

Viewers who subscribe to a channel have the latest videos pushed in their notifications, making them more likely to return to build your view counts and total watch time. For channels with videos intended to be watched repeatedly, like music or children’s entertainment, each subscriber may represent a steady trickle of watch time on new videos which feeds back to older videos.

Viewer Engagement

Evoking a response from a viewer is a good way to get them to keep coming back. The most powerful viewer engagement data point is the ratio of likes to dislikes compared to the number of views. For example, a video with 5 likes and 24 dislikes may have it rough, but the implication changes if the video has had 40 views or 40,000 views. The first indicates a strong dislike, while the latter shows that viewers don’t feel very strongly about the video.

The comments section may also be used as a tool for gauging viewer interest. The content itself is important, but it’s hard to convert it into data points. The more tangible data point is the percentage of viewers that took the time to comment on the video.

The Measured Approach to Success

While these 5 metrics are absolutely vital to track. There are a number of others that help to create a clearer picture of your YouTube channel’s performance. The important thing is that you begin analyzing all the data your channel generates, so you compete in the modern world of creative media. Learn more about each metric and watch them change over time. They’ll let you know when you’re on the path to a successful channel.

Need guidance with your social media marketing strategy? Contact us today!

Online Social Media for Business Workshop

Practical and informative online workshop to help businesses take advantage of the power of social media as a way to market their business.

• Want to use Social Media strategically in your business?
• Trying to determine what social networks to be on?
• Having trouble keeping up with the latest social media marketing updates and best practices?

All this will be covered and a strategic plan overview for how social media
can be used by your business to grow leads and sales will be outlined to attendees!

Social Media is different than traditional marketing. Learn about the methods for Attraction, Engagement, Lead Capture, Conversion, and more.

The workshop, presented by, Mike Gingerich, and available live online or by replay after will help entrepreneurs, small businesses and marketing teams from larger businesses understand how they can use the latest tools and updates in social media as part of their overall integrated marketing plan to increase their website traffic, reach new customers, and nurture new leads to become clients. This is a entry to intermediate level workshop.

Businesses will have the following questions answered:

What social networks should our business focus on?
How can we not just spend time, but gain real leads via social media?
What trends for 2017 in social media do we need to be aware of?
How do we use Facebook Live Video, Instagram Stories, & Facebook Ads?
How does social media fit into our overall marketing plan?
How do I capture leads from social media?

A question and answer time will be included after the initial 60 minute presentation for an additional 15 minutes to answer further specific questions. Each participant will leave with actionable steps to help guide them in next steps they can take to improve their use of social media for their business.

WORKSHOP DETAILS:

Date: Thursday, May 25, 2017 – 12:30-1:30 pm Eastern Time

WHERE: Online

Cost: $10. (special price discount for current Digital Hill clients! Contact us.)

Get practical knowledge and tips you can implement anytime!

About Mike:

Mike offers no-nonsense, straight talk on growing leads and leverage with social media and digital marketing to help small and medium-sized businesses elevate their game and win online.

Mike is President of Digital Hill Multimedia, a web development & marketing agency, co-founder of TabSite.com, a leading Facebook Page app service for contests, and Waftio, a website lead capture tool. He is a noted Facebook Marketing speaker, as well as author of the book, Game Plan for Social Media Lead Generation. Mike’s passion is to see businesses and people grow into their highest potential.

Mike has the unique ability to dive deep quickly, understanding businesses, social networks and trends, while delivering energetic and practical ideas marketers can understand. Mike has 10+ years experience in Internet Marketing, a Master’s in Organizational Development and Leadership, and a proven track record of providing innovative digital and social strategy consulting for businesses.

Facebook Marketing Strategies that have Proven to be Successful

Marketing and Facebook have become bosom buddies. Facebook sits at the top of social media platforms and key marketing opportunities. By using Facebook, you can ramp up conversions, traffic, sales, and social media following all while growing your brand’s influence. To capitalize on this giant’s marketing power, you need to use effective strategies.

Proven Strategies for Facebook Marketing

Why waste time (and money) wondering what does and doesn’t work when you can go with tried, tested and reliable strategies?

Use Your “Free” Ad-Spaces

Your brand’s presence needs to be felt throughout your page. Before you create that first ad, look for these free advertising spaces – your profile pic and your cover page. Your logo could suffice for your profile pic. For the cover page, make sure you have engaging copy for your business description and feel free to get creative. Take advantage of the flexibility of a cover page and change it up for:

Holidays
Promotions
Special Events
Milestones

Invest in Facebook Ads

As we all know, not everything in life is free. When doling out money for ads, however, think of Facebook ads as the next best thing to free – an investment. Facebook ads are a cost-effective way to drive conversions. Determine what you want to build (likes, engagement, app installs, offer claims) and use Facebook’s many targeting options to nail down your target audience.

The best Facebook ads are timely, eye-catching, creative, well-crafted and engaging. Take a look at two ads featured in Adespresso’s list of inspiring Facebook ads. Each ad serves as a great example of a high-quality, engaging Facebook ad.

The Snicker’s ad is witty, positive, timely and makes use of the season to sell their famed products.

Fiverr’s ad employs color psychology to elicit positive emotions towards the brand while drawing in the audience.

Engage Your Community

Building a relationship with your customers goes a long way in fostering repeat customers and customer loyalty. Show your fans that you care about their opinions and thoughts.
Create a dialog by asking followers relevant questions. Use the @ feature to tag specific fans in conversations.

Reply to comments and questions as quickly as possible to get the conversation going. Don’t forget to ask customers to like and share your content.

Engage With Other Pages

Facebook lets you discover your followers like and dislikes. Track those likes back to groups and pages your followers frequent and leave a comment.

Set Up a Facebook Group

Create a group for your fans. Open groups are often the best at building traction for your brand. With a group, you can increase engagement by encouraging participation. You can also test content in your group before you publish it to your page.

Create Content Schedules

Consistent posts let audiences know when to expect an update. When you post on a regular schedule, you increase engagement. Facebook allows you to schedule posts in advance.

If you have a well-defined target audience, you can schedule posts for the best time (such as the time zone most of your fans are in) and increase the number of people who see them. Using the Insights provided by Facebook, view the hours your audience is typically online.

With an effective strategy, you can get the most out of your Facebook marketing. By following these proven strategies, Facebook will be your brand’s best tool to grow your reach and build a strong customer base.

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Best Social Media Customer Service Practices

Thanks to technology, it’s now easier than ever to build relationships with your client base—or is it? While new technology has certainly given us more ways to connect with potential customers, it also comes with its own rules and learning curves. Don’t assume that having the hottest gadgets or using the latest apps will automatically put you a step ahead of the competition. You’ll also have to make sure you’re employing the right strategies to use those tools effectively. Otherwise, you might as well still be cold calling from a phone book.

Social media is one of the best examples to illustrate this concept. Practically every established
business out there has Facebook and Twitter pages by now, but look at the numbers and you’ll
see that some brands have much greater success across these platforms than others when it
comes to key factors like customer acquisition, satisfaction, and retention.

Furthermore, there are plenty of other social media platforms out there, each with their own uses. Figuring out how to make the best possible use of each one can be overwhelming—so let’s start slowly. Here are a few simple things you can do to improve your social media customer service practices across the board:

Choose the platforms that work for your business

As we mentioned previously, there are plenty of different social media platforms out there—in
addition to Facebook and Twitter, there’s also LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and a whole host
of others. Before you drive yourself crazy for the next week setting up accounts for each, do a
bit of research into what platforms are most likely to help you interact with your audience. The answers will vary widely depending on factors like the size of your company, the demographics
you’re trying to reach, and of course, the products or services that you provide.

Monitor your engagements

Good customer service is great for growing your brand, and if that’s one of your goals then you need to know how often your brand is being talked about—and by whom. Without this crucial marketing data, you leave yourself no room to develop—there’s no telling how to move forward when you don’t know where you currently stand.

All major brands already do this, and every startup with serious ambitions should. Look for resources that can help you track mentions, likes, and other forms of engagement.

Pay attention to feedback

Communication with your audience isn’t a one-way street, and most social media platforms give your customers ample opportunities to speak back to you about the quality of your products or services. In addition to monitoring the number of times you’re being mentioned, you should also pay close attention to the context—are people talking about you because they’re thrilled with your brand, or are they upset about a major flaw in your business model?

In either case, your customers’ opinions can be extremely useful. Good feedback is an excellent way to find quotes for testimonials, whereas negative feedback might alert you to a correctable error before it sinks your company entirely.

Always respond appropriately

Stay clear, composed, and professional no matter what platform you use. As well as, no matter how many people are talking about your brand and what they’re saying about you. The anonymity of the internet makes it very easy to fire off a retort when somebody gets under your skin. However, remember that you’re not anonymous when you’re representing a brand.

The news is full of examples of businesses who have lost customers and damaged their credibility with a short-tempered social media posting, including a Las Vegas pizzeria that threatened one customer for posting a negative Yelp review. Train whoever represents your business on social media to have some basic negotiating skills—it could save you from a scandal down the road.

Social media can be an extraordinarily powerful tool, but it’s a double-edged sword and you need to handle it with care. Wasting your energy on platforms that don’t work for your brand, failing to monitor customer engagements, ignoring feedback, or responding to it inappropriately can all do more harm than good.

Keep our suggestions in mind, though, and you should be able to connect with your customers while avoiding these common mistakes. We look forward to seeing you and your brand on the web!

The New LinkedIn Layout

When it comes to social media platforms, there have been big winners, big losers, and those that just sort of lurk in the background.

With 1 billion+ active users, Facebook is clearly at the head of the pack, while MySpace has virtually vanished, and is definitely in the rear. LinkedIn has, in recent years at least, been somewhere in the middle, with occasional rumors of trouble in digital paradise.

This year, however, LinkedIn seems determined to revamp its image. A big part of that is the new layout and design. Here’s what you need to know.

A Familiar Look and Feel

One of the biggest changes in the LinkedIn platform is actually a move towards copying other platforms. The world’s professional networking platform now looks more like its peers. Conversations, status updates, and similar user-generated content are firmly at the forefront. It feels more familiar, even to newbies, and it seems like a step in the right direction.

Better Metrics

A positive change in the LinkedIn platform is in the metrics, which are improved, and give users more information they can use. Again, this is more in line with what users expect from other platforms.

Simple Messaging

Another move towards twinning with other social media platforms is to make messaging other users simpler. This is a nice change, and again, makes the suited and booted version of the social network a little more user-friendly for everyone.

Streamlined and Familiar

All in all, from the focus on news streams to the layout and the trending topics, the new look LinkedIn looks a lot like Facebook. That’s actually a great thing. While we all know you shouldn’t be sharing snaps of your lunch or the color of your aura on a professional network, it’s nice just to be able to log in and get things done, without having to figure them out.

By following the pack, LinkedIn may well have solved some of their biggest user friendliness problems.

The Next Step?

LinkedIn was built on the concept that people would be willing to pay for premium membership. Their business model has always been centered on this. However, premium membership is not a priority for most average users, so the platform may well be missing their last trick there.

A shift to focus on paid advertising and increased job-related services, while making the rest of the platform free may well be the solution to the company’s rumored financial woes. It will be interesting to see if they copy Facebook’s model here too.

Until then, however, there’s no doubt that this service looks much better, and is much easier to use. Well done LinkedIn!

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Engage your Fans on Social Media to Grow Leads

You have a challenging task in front of you, taking your sales team from good to great. Lead generation resources are plentiful and make it easier to accomplish this goal, but you still have a long road to get from point A to point B.

Want to short circuit this process and get the results you want? Does a lead generation pipeline that’s free and works 24/7 sound like it’s a good fit for your organization?

Social media is the secret selling weapon that you’ve been waiting for. Too many companies set up social profiles and post about a few discounts or share company news. They don’t consider this channel the center of a robust lead generation strategy. At most, they treat it as a marketing channel. Social media selling opens up high quality leads that your sales team will love to work with.

What is Social Media Selling

Social media selling looks a lot different from the typical sales pitch. You aren’t going through an entire spiel to try and convince a person to buy your products or services. In fact, most of the time your sales team won’t be talking about your offerings at all.

Instead, you engage with your customers and potential leads on social media pages. Listen to what they have to say and have conversations with everyone stopping by. Follow the same brands and influencers that your target audience does, so you learn more about what’s important to them.

Follow the Three Rules of Social Selling

Stop yourself from talking about your products and services unless it’s incredibly relevant to the conversation.

Don’t talk about yourself. This conversation is about the consumer, not your company.

Be authentic and don’t come off like you’re reading from a sales script.

What’s In It For the Customer?

Many companies think that social selling only revolves around posting constantly about their products, services or how they stack up against the competition. They show off their awards, post testimonials and talk about employees. The “me me me” approach doesn’t endear you to social media followers.

They’re asking themselves “What’s in it for me?” There are millions of social media accounts to follow. If you don’t offer a compelling reason for this audience to stick around, they’re headed elsewhere.

The Three Keys to Social Engagement

Educate

Buyers go through many stages in their journey from an interested person to a customer. They often start out without knowing a lot about ways to fix a problem or to improve their quality of life. Educate potential customers with the information they need to make informed choices on the best solutions for them.

Excite

Don’t do the same things as everyone else. Look for ways to stand out and offer customers a different experience. Position yourself as the go-to company in your industry, rather than a follower.

Engage

Have a conversation with interested audience members. The most important thing you can do right now is to listen. Understand what they’re asking, the pain points that influence these questions and the best way to convey information to them.

5 Ways for a Non Profit to Grow Their Email List

No matter where you look for digital marketing information, there’s one universal truth: the secret to high conversions lies in the list. Your website draws people in, but it’s your email list that keeps you in touch with them, and it’s that long term relationship that turns visitors into community members.

As a nonprofit, you rely heavily on the community. We’ve got 5 great tips that will help you extend your community online, so you can reap the benefits of digital marketing, fundraising, staying in touch, and sharing your successes.

1. Put Opt-In Forms On Every Page

It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how many websites don’t use this simple trick. Make it easy to sign up. Put a small form on each page, preferably above the fold, where they are seen by every single visitor.

2. Offer Something In Return

When last did you sign up for a newsletter just because you want email? If you’re like most people, the answer is never. You need to give people a reason to subscribe! Whether it’s a free report, an ebook or your newsletter, make it free, and make it too good to turn down!

3. Make It Shareable

Automatically redirect new subscribers to a page where they can invite some friends, or you could simply redirect your subscribers to a thank you page that asks them to spread the word. Most people are very willing to share a good cause anyway. They just need a little reminder or a nudge in the right direction.

4. Tell EVERYONE

Putting your opt-in forms on every page is a good start, but if you want to see your list grow, you need to do more than that.

Add a link to your sign up form on your email signature, so you market it whenever you send mail.

Post it on your social media channels, and ask fans and followers to do the same.

Mention it on your business cards.

Run a contest, where entry requires sign up.

The more you market your list, the more people will sign up, guaranteed.

5. Send Great Newsletters

If you’re telling people that you’re going to send them a newsletter that will inform, amuse, inspire and excite, then you had better deliver! Most people don’t struggle to build their lists once they really set their minds to it, but they do struggle to keep subscribers.

Make sure that every newsletter you send is one that you’d be excited to see in your own mailbox. Write for your audience, rather than simply pushing your agenda. Ask questions. Share knowledge. Include inspirational stories that they’ll want to share with their friends.

When done correctly, an email list can be a nonprofit’s greatest digital marketing assets, and these tips should help you to get started on the right track.

The Value and Limits of a Social Media Policy

One of the inherent features of social media usage is that it allows people to express themselves freely. Provided their posts are within moral and social guidelines established by the particular website.

In December of 2016, this principle was put to the test in Elkhart, Indiana, when a lawsuit was settled in favor of a citizen who had been denied access to the city’s Facebook page for posting commentary critical of city officials, and their handling of public accommodations and facilities for the disabled.

First Amendment rights violated

In the period leading up to his blockage from the city’s Facebook page, Mr. Richard Wolf had several of his critical remarks deleted by the city’s Facebook page administrators. Ultimately he was banned altogether. That’s when Mr. Wolf decided to retain counsel and fight the process, feeling that his right to freedom of speech had been violated.

The American Civil Liberties Union agreed. In October, they provided a team of lawyers to take up Wolf’s case against the City of Elkhart. In a landmark decision, District Court Judge Theresa Springmann ruled that since the city maintained a Facebook page which allows public comments, no one should be banned from posting comments solely on their viewpoint.

City officials resolved to update their policy regarding the usage of social media. They paid $2,300 in attorney fees to Mr. Wolf. As well, he was of course reinstated by page administrators working on behalf of the city.

Limits of social media policy

From this instructive case and an almost carbon-copy situation which is underway in Martinsville, Indiana, about three hours south of Elkhart, the limits of social media policy are being made clear, not only to the public but also government officials. You have to allow speech.

In effect, when any government agency chooses to maintain a social media page (including Facebook and all other social media), which expressly permits public commentary, it must not remove postings because of the perspective that was taken.

It is perfectly acceptable for the government agency to have its own stated policy about commentary on the public page. However, that policy must not conflict with the First Amendment rights of users who decide to post comments expressing their opinions.

Value of a social media policy

These incidents occurring around the country should not be taken to mean that there is no value to having a social media policy in place. A useful set of guidelines established by government organizations on their Facebook pages and other social media will help keep public commentary language-appropriate. Therefore avoiding the format of personal attacks on individuals or groups of individuals.

We recommend having a policy that has a clear outline on:

What is acceptable speech
What is not tolerated (swearing, racism, sexism, threats, etc)
How these will be handled

As an example, the first offense is a warning comment. 2nd offense is a warning comment and message back to the individual privately to outline the policy violation. 3rd offense is that the comment in violation is hidden (not the user blocked). The key is having clarity on what type of speech is not allowed. Thus, not just banning due to a perspective that differs.

Furthermore, no restrictions should be placed on posts simply because of their perspective. This would not be a conflict with First Amendment rights regarding freedom of expression. In essence, the cases springing up in America which are centered around this issue, are extensions of First Amendment interpretation as applied to modern technology.

It has always fallen under the auspices of the Supreme Court and other judicial bodies to interpret the extent of protection provided to individuals under this constitutional right. This is the precise area of the law being tested in many municipalities now. It would seem that the courts are applying the same interpretation of First Amendment rights to the privilege of posting comments on social media, even when critical of government organizations.

Fort Wayne Social Media for Business Workshop

Practical, tactical, and empowering workshop to help businesses take advantage of the power of social media as a way to market their business.

All this will be covered and a strategic plan overview for how social media
can be used by your business to grow leads and sales will be outlined to attendees!

Social Media is different than traditional marketing. Learn about the methods for Attraction, Engagement, Lead Capture, Conversion, and more.

The workshop, presented by, Mike Gingerich, and hosted at the Greater Fort Wayne Inc. offices will help entrepreneurs, small businesses and marketing teams from larger businesses understand how they can use the latest tools and updates in social media as part of their overall integrated marketing plan to increase their website traffic, reach new customers, and nurture new leads to become clients.

Businesses will have the following questions answered:

What social networks should our business focus on?
How can we not just spend time, but gain real leads via social media?
What trends for 2017 in social media do we need to be aware of?
How do we use Facebook Live Video, Instagram Stories, & Facebook Ads?
How does social media fit into our overall marketing plan?
How do I capture leads from social media?

A question and answer time will be included for the final 15-20 minutes to answer your specific questions. Each participant will leave with actionable steps to help guide them in next steps they can take to improve their use of social media for their business.

WORKSHOP DETAILS:

~~Date: Thursday, Feb. 2, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m SOLD OUT~~

Date: Thursday, March 16, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Chamber, 200 E. Main St, Suite 800 Fort Wayne 46802
In the Doermer Central Room. The receptionist can direct you. NOTE: Use the public parking garages nearby. Parking onsite not validated.

Cost: $25; discount for 2 or 3 attendees from the same business.

Get practical knowledge and tips you can implement anytime!

About Mike:

Mike offers no-nonsense, straight talk on growing leads and leverage with social media and digital marketing to help small and medium-sized businesses elevate their game and win online.

Mike is President of Digital Hill Multimedia, having started in business development and website sales, and then as social media exploded, gravitated towards Facebook and the marketing side of how to use social and tools to grow your audience, increase your leads, and convert more sales. He is a co-founder of TabSite, a industry-leading promotion and contest app platform, author of the book Game Plan for Social Media Lead Generation, and thoroughly enjoys leading social and online marketing trainings.