Online Communities | J2 Marketing

Jan 28 2013

Instagram

How To: Using Instagram for Business

If you are new to Instagram, you may want to read this article first.

Here are a few of our ideas on using Instagram for business:

1. Show yourself at popular events

Ever go to tradeshows, community events, local gatherings, or parties? Show yourself off a little bit. People like to see what you’re up to and see that your company is active, not growing cobwebs. And they may just come see you at your next event.

2. Show off your workspace

You may have a lot of cool and unique things at your workplace or in your workspace. At least give everyone a chance to envy what you have

3. Spotlight your products

Stop taking boring old pictures of your products. Make something that’s seemingly mundane into something no one has ever seen before! You’ve worked so hard to make your widget, now put some extra effort into showing it off.

4. Show how it’s made

Who isn’t curious about how everything is made. There are even shows out there about this kind of stuff (How It’s Made). Display your expertise to the world by showing how you do it. Your customers may gain a greater respect for what you do.

5. Retrofit your daily/weekly specials

Please don’t send an all caps message on Facebook/Twitter about your daily deals, every day. (eg. SPECIAL DEAL TODAY ONLY!!! 5% OFF WATER IF YOU BRING 10 FRIENDS!!). Give out some realistic bargains and make them attractive. I guarantee you’ll see a better turnout.

6. Behind the scenes

Great way to tell people what you do without giving a sales pitch, show them what you do. Behind the scenes shots make a great portfolio and verify your experience. You may hear people say, “I didn’t know you could do that!”

7. Highlight your customers

“Oh wow! They work with those guys?!” For business to business, be more creative in showing who you work with. Your clients may like the notoriety as well. For business to customer, show off your 1,000th customer and give them a gift. Everyone likes to have a day of fame for all their friends to see!

8. Give a sneak peek

Here’s an example of our client giving a sneak peek of their soon to be released training videos. Build the anticipation of what you’re about to do so you can get a much greater response once it’s all done.

9. Contests and giveaways

Garnish the power of your followers. Have them post an epic picture of your product or business. Whoever posts the coolest picture (chosen by you or by votes), gets something free! You want to increase your engagement, and nothing does that better than getting something free in return.

What do you think? These are just a few of the things we teach our clients to use it for. What ideas have you seen? How do you use it for your business? Comment in the box below!

If you’re not sure how your business could use this and you’d like to know more. Let us know, here.

Tagged business, Customer, Facebook, Instagram, J2 Marketing, Online Communities, Photo sharing, Social network, Twitter

Jan 24 2013

1 Comment

Instagram

What is Instagram?

This post is one of many to come regarding Instagram and its many uses. For those who have no clue, this will touch base on what Instagram is, how to use it, and why you would want to use it. Later there will be more detailed How-To articles and answers to the many mysterious FAQs for Instagram.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is an online photo-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take a picture, apply a digital filter to it, and share it on a variety of social networking services, including its own and other leading sites such as Facebook or Twitter.

Instagram was launched in October 2010

Facebook recently bought Instagram (April 2012) for a whopping $1 Billion! Think twice before making fun of “nerds.”

Whats all the hype?

Why use Instagram?

Besides the obvious reason that “everybody else is doing it?” It’s a new playground for any photographer to showcase their photos to their friends, in a unique fashion of course. Snap, capture, or take (whatever you call it) any average photo with your phone, add some cool effects (vintage, black & white, blur, color, etc), throw it in a unique frame, and voilà… you’re now a professional.

Instagram for personal use?

It’s just like any other social site out there, meant to share with friends and others alike. Everyone has their own reason for using it. Ask your friends, they’ll all give you different answers.

Instagram for business use?

Now you’ve opened Pandora’s Box of opportunities… In another post, we’ll break down details of using Instagram to promote your business. But for now, just imagine taking a picture of your widget, adding some pizzazz, and showing it off to interested customers without uttering a word. Make looking at your product or business more enjoyable and entertaining while getting your message out. Use Instagram well and you can generate a lot of hype without a whole lot of words.

Check out this post for more detailed info on, How To: Using Instagram for Business.

In the meantime, if you’re still confused or stuck with understanding the scope of Instagram’s potential for you, just remember, so are millions of others If you want specific help with your business or industry, contact us HERE.

Tagged April 2012, business, Facebook, FAQ, How To, Instagram, J2 Marketing, Online Communities, Photo sharing, Social network, Social networking service, Twitter

Feb 24 2012

1 Comment

Marketing Tips, Social Media Tips

New Facebook Ads

Facebook appears ready to launch a new set of premium ad units, and, based on a review of documents which purport to describe them, the social network would seem to be doubling down on two core principles that mark fundamental departures from traditional advertising.

First, Facebook is making the new ads social by default, meaning they will automatically show users when their friends have already Liked the advertiser. And the new formats will draw their content exclusively from posts to brands’ Facebook Pages, rather from advertising copy written independently.

Combined, these features make two statements about where Facebook believes the future of online advertising lies–at least in its particular universe. It is saying that ads based on content, rather than messaging, have a better chance of hitting home, and that ads involving tacit endorsements from the people you know have a better chance of capturing your attention.

“When people hear about you from friends, they listen,” the Facebook materials say. “We’ll expand your ad with stories from friends who have already connected.” (“Stories” is Facebook’s shorthand for a wide varitey of interactions on the site. In the case of ads, it seems to refer to the fact that the ads will display which of a viewer’s friends have Liked the brand.)

Facebook has not commented publicly on the new ads (presumably they will discuss them at a marketing launch event in New York next week). But the materials describing the new units were posted to Scribd earlier this week. The news was first reported on GigaOm.

Tagged advertising, Elkhart, Facebook, Facebook Page, Goshen, Granger, Indiana, J2 Marketing, Michiana, Mishawaka, New York, Om Malik, Online Communities, Scribd, Social network, South Bend

Feb 07 2012

Make Your Facebook Fan Page Something to ‘Like’

As Facebook continues to enhance its fan page options, businesses are not only struggling to keep up with the changes, but they also are still trying to figure out how to brand and market their pages. Because of some of the changes, strategies you used just last month to increase your “likes” and interactions with fans may not be as effective.

Here are a few quick branding fixes that will make it easier for prospects to find you, as well as some tips on getting more fans–or what I prefer to call interested prospects.

No.1 – Brand the URL. If your fan page URL is still set with a bunch of numbers, you are making it harder for prospects to find you and missing out on a branding opportunity. Facebook recently lifted the requirement that you get 25 “likes” before you can name your fan page URL. Now, all you need to do is go to http://www.facebook.com/username and set your name in the URL, which is great for branding purposes and easy link referrals. For example, instead of http://www.facebook.com/1283743hreu818, my link is now www.Facebook.com/StarrHalldotcom.

No.2 – Name your page appropriately. Once you reach 100 friends, you cannot change the title of your page, so make sure you choose wisely from the start. Your brand name is the ideal title to make it easy for people to find your page when they search. You still can change the title if you have less than 100 likes by going to edit page, selecting Basic Information from the menu at left, changing the text in the Name field, and saving your edits.

No. 3 – Take prospects to a welcome tab, not your wall. When you send people to your fan page and have them land on your Wall, your posts probably won’t be enough to entice them to “like” you. Posts are just you talking. Even if you’re giving valuable information, prospects need a reason to be your fan. Instead of having them land on your Wall, set up a welcome tab. A welcome tab can include a greeting and an enticement, such as an e-book or video series, to encourage visitors to become fans. Such sites as woobox.com offer free trials and step-by-step tutorials to help you customize your page, including tabs.

No. 4 – Engage potential fans. You need to offer something that will engage people. For instance, you can use Facebook applications to create a poll or launch a game. These can be located on your welcome tab. Wildfireapp.com, for instance, provides a free trial so you can navigate its engagement applications. If you decide to use its programs, services start at $5 and go up from there, depending on which tools you use. SocialUps, a company that specializes in creating games for fan pages, starts at $300. One of SocialUps’ most recent game apps was launched at www.facebook.com/vitalyte, a fan page for Vitalyte Nutrition Products that was started three months ago and now has nearly 100,000 followers. The downside of some gaming applications is that they can gain access to your page and randomly post messages.

No. 5 – Check market insights. Is Facebook Advertising for You? Recent enhancements to fan page analytics make it easier to know your prospects, including their sex, age and where they live. Also, you can see which posts they like best and follow a viral report showing if they did something on your page that their friends could see. Such viral activity extends your reach to friends of friends. However, this option only allows you to see that your fans are talking about you to other people; it doesn’t share information about whom they’re sharing with.

Facebook fan pages are quickly turning into Facebook websites and interactive business tools. With access to millions of prospects, it’s important to brand your page well, make it easy to find and keep the content up-to-date and engaging.

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