DivergingSoul Media Production

Getting people to engage with their Facebook content is one of the top concerns many businesses have when it comes to Facebook marketing. This infographic, created by OPENforum, breaks down the secret formula to “The Simple Science of Facebook Engagement.”

Among these tried and tested techniques:

• Posts with images have a 39% higher interaction rate than average
• Posts with 80 characters or less have a 23% higher interaction rate
• The best time to send out a post is 3 p.m. Wednesday

Start testing out these tricks for yourself, and see what works best for your audience.

Sources:
SocialMouths.com
OPENforum.com

Mobile marketing is taking off and allowing for more personalized ad experiences than ever before. A new technology, Sonic Notify, uses inaudible sound waves projected through any speaker or microphone to trigger mobile notifications at any specific time or place.

With new Sonic Notify technology, you can now get personalized mobile notifications and deals exactly when they would come in handy. For example, walk through the door of your favorite store and a coupon that you can use right then and there is automatically summoned to your phone. Receive the recipes for the mouth-watering dishes the “Top-Chefs” are cooking up in front of you. Keep up with the football game with stats and other content right there in the stadium.

How does this seemingly magical technology work? First, the company interested in Sonic Notify must have a mobile app. The next step is to install the Sonic Notify technology  into the app through Sonic’s SDK, which can be downloaded straight from their website. After the technology is installed, Sonic Notify will provide them a unique and inaudible  audio file. The company must then take the audio file, assign it to the content they choose, and incorporate it into their media. The media may be on television, an in-store radio, sports event, carefully placed devices in food aisles, or anything else that involves a speaker. After that, the Sonic Notify technology is ready to send out content to anyone in the area with the mobile app.

Who’s already using it? Lady Gaga sends out mobile content to her concert-goers during shows filled with exclusive photos and polls for fans to vote for an encore song. Country star Miranda Lambert has integrated Sonic Notify into her mobile app for users to get exclusive content at her concerts, or while watching her music videos.

On their website, Sonic Notify offers three demonstrations of their technology  for you to try out yourself. In their demonstrations Sonic Notify is employed in clips from “Top Chef,” “Men in Black” and a NY Giants football game. Check them out and see what you think! Is this new audio technology a first look into the future of mobile marketing?

Read more at Mashable.com, or at Sonic Notify’s website.

Today at DivergingSoul, we are unveiling our latest website production – www.WavelengthsHairSalon.org. We worked with Wavelengths Hair Salon and Day Spa, located in Peabody, to design a new website that expresses who they are as a company and encourages customer interaction. Built on the user-friendly WordPress content management system, salon staff can easily keep their clients up-to-date with frequent blog posts and image uploads of their recent work, adding a strong personal touch to the site.

The social media platform Pinterest also plays a big part in Wavelengths Salon’s new site. We set up a Pinterest account for the salon, which can be found at pinterest.com/wavelengthshair, and integrated it throughout the site to give clients a little inspiration for their next salon service. We also added “Pin It” buttons to the site to allow for visitors to easily “pin” their favorite Wavelengths creations on their own Pinterest pages. Wavelengths’ Pinterest page is also the focus of a new digital sign we created for them as part of this project. The digital sign is displayed in the salon, and rotates through their Pinterest pins. As they wait, clients can get ideas and inspiration in a new and fun way. Stop in Wavelengths Hair Salon and Day Spa to check out their new sign, or visit www.WavelengthsHairSalon.org to see their new website.

Want to know more about Pinterest, and how it could help your business? Pinterest acts as a virtual collage about you and your interests. You collect, organize, and share images that interest you, inspire you, or just make you laugh.  These images become “pins,” and are linked back to the original source. “Pins” are then placed on “boards” that can be categorized into anything you’d like. Yes, it’s mostly dominated by females as of now, but there’s plenty of room for everybody – even your business. It’s a perfect way to introduce your brand in a highly creative and engaging way.

Ready to get your business started on the third most popular social network in the U.S.? Here’s how in 5 steps:

1. Join. This is obvious, but even if you’re not up for pinning just yet, you may want to reserve your name for when you’re ready. Pinterest recently dropped their “invite-only” policy, and the site is now open for anyone to easily join.
2. Add a “Pin It” button. Adding the “Pin It” button to pages on your website will make it easy for customers to pin their favorite items of yours onto their boards.
3. Showcase Your Personality. Tailor your boards to reflect who you are as a business and the lifestyle you represent. If you have products to sell, display your products within various themes that promote these values. Chobani does a great job with this. Their boards feature recipes with their yogurts, nutrition, fitness, humor and cuteness to go along with their motto, “Nothing But Good.” If you don’t have products to sell, take some notes from Mashable. The news source for the “Connected Generation” displays their nerdy personality through boards related to tech and gadgets, social media, and web humor.
4. Host Contests. Contests are a great way to get people involved and gain exposure for your business. Especially on Pinterest, where everything spreads fast and far. Contests can be as simple as earning the most Likes or Repins for your items, to more complex ones such as British Midland International’s “Pinterest Lottery.” No matter what contest you decide to host, the “repinning effect” will show your business to a large network of pinners.
5. Pinterest as a Focus Group. Get a feel for the public opinions of your business and products by looking closely at what people are commenting, liking and repinning. This will give you insight into what is working for your business and what isn’t, and help you decide what steps to take next.
6. Learn from the Best. Follow some of the biggest names on Pinterest and take notes on how their showcasing their personality and engaging followers. Here’s some to get you inspired: Perfect Palette, Whole Foods, Nordstrom, and General Electric.

Here’s some more info on Pinterest from MDGadvertising:

Sources:
Econsultancy.com
Mashable.com
Mashable.com

Big brands may have the big budgets to spend on big advertising campaigns, but according to SocialMouths‘ Francisco Rosales, small businesses have the advantage when it comes to social media. Through social media, small businesses can interact on a personal level with customers, forming trust and loyalty. Rosales offers 5 reasons small businesses can take home the social media gold:

Strategy. Or not? Small businesses have a much smaller checklist than big brands when it comes to social marketing. To get started, your small business needs the necessary product and industry knowledge, social network sensibility, and a set of goals (both daily and long term). “Having a set of goals in place and knowing what you are aiming to achieve with your daily activities is enough for an entrepreneur to dive in and adjust as needed.” In contrast, in order for big brands to succeed they need heavy documentation defining brand representation, language, tone, crisis management, employee involvement and outsourcing, among other items.

Being Human No matter how hard they try, it is nearly impossible for big brands to form true engagement with customers. Indeed, small businesses have it much easier. In a small business, an individual can become the voice of the company – building trust, solving problems, offering advice, and personally interacting with its customers. This voice may even be the company President, while big brand CEOs remain distant.

Satisfaction Small businesses are able to ensure customer satisfaction and provide good customer service quicker, more personally, and more efficiently over social networks than big businesses. It is often difficult to get in touch with big brands, and communication with them over social networks can get drowned out and often all together ignored.

Management A smaller social media management team allows for small businesses to handle issues with honesty and ensure satisfaction more efficiently than a big business, who will often instead take a damage control approach.

ROI While big brands have big, messy numbers to sort through and calculate to measure their ROI, small businesses can take a much simpler approach. They can measure their cost on time spent, rather than money spent on media. They can also measure their success on social networks through directly asking sources how they came across the business, or through the number of personal connections formed.

Big brands may win out in the all-around, but when it comes to social media, they can’t stick their landing. With a few goals, a focus on customer satisfaction, and a personal touch, small businesses are favored to take home the social media gold.

Sources:

Social Mouths – Small Business Advantage Over Brands in Social Media

Infographic from Social Mouths – Small Business in Social Media

Feeling overwhelmed with trying to keep up with all of those social networks, all of the time? Not sure if you should hold conversations with your clients on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+? Well, a recent infographic from the business consultant network Zintro will help you sort out which social platform you and your business should be using, and when, to get the most of of your social media campaign.

Here’s a quick look into the top social networks:

• Facebook is best for interacting on a more personal level with contacts
• Twitter is best for short, to-the-point updates; monitoring conversations about your brand and finding potential customers.
• LinkedIn is best for showing off your professional accomplishments and linking to others.
• Google+ is best for starting conversations and adding specific people to it.

 Source: Mashable.com

You’ve heard us preach about how important it is to market your business online. Taking your marketing campaign to the World Wide Web has the potential to reach, well, world wide. However, there are many different approaches you can take to spread your business across the globe. So, what’s new in the world of online marketing? Content Marketing.

Content marketing, as defined by copyblogger.com, “means creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers.” The content you create and share must be relevant to your business. This serves as a way to acquaint prospective customers with your business, and gain their trust. Your content can come in the form of blogs, video tutorials and email newsletters, among many others.

To be successful at content marketing, you need an engaged audience. The content marketing agency BlueGlass is letting you in on their secrets on how to build that dream audience, and keep them coming back. The “Secret Trifecta for Building an Engaged Audience” breaks it down into 3 key strategies:

• Build an audience with content
• Utilize social media
• Increase your subscriber account

Check out the guide below, or read more at Mashable.com.

Sources:

http://mashable.com/2012/06/26/how-to-build-an-engaged-audience-infographic/

http://www.copyblogger.com/content-marketing/

We found this article a while back and thought we’d share it with you. In their infographic “Anatomy of a Fan”, the social media and e-commerce experts at Moontoast identify the different levels of interaction that users have with your facebook page/brand.  But how do you attract those users that will have the high levels of interaction (and subsequently promote your brand the most).  The co-author of Facebook Marketing All-In-One for Dummies, Amy Porterfield, has written a piece on Mashable with a few tips on getting your fans to become “super fans.”  You can read it here, and you can view the “Anatomy of a Fan” infographic below.

Most social networks provide businesses with a specific platform, such as Google+’s brand pages, to interact with the public. However, while most businesses have set up these accounts, many are not using them to their full potential. They are forgetting the main purpose of social media: to be “social.” Opening up your business’ page to conversation can yield surprisingly helpful tips and insight from your “friends” and “followers.”

Riley Gibson found 5 mistakes businesses often make when it comes to social media, and offers advice on how to turn those mistakes into progress. Here they are:

1. Companies Don’t Ask for New Ideas Over Social Media

“Customers love having the opportunity to influence the direction of companies, but they’re unlikely to provide valuable ideas without being prompted first. Companies need to start by proactively posting or tweeting questions that ask for customers’ thoughts on specific product ideas, marketing strategies, or anything else relevant. And when people answer you, dig deeper! Turn any initial feedback you get into a conversation, and try to create something real from the dialogue.”

2. Companies Use Social Media for Self-Serving Information

“Since it’s usually the marketing department that controls a company’s social media activity, it’s not surprising that the majority of information companies share over social media is about their own products or services. The problem is that promotional tweets and Facebook posts don’t generate useful conversations with fans. It’s not all about you! Instead, companies should post fun contests, polls, and questions to let their customers know they value their opinion, and that they have a personality.”

3. Companies are Strapped for Time and Labor

“Most companies believe they’d be better at social media conversations with customers if they had more people or time to work on it. While this is probably true, the misstep in this situation is neglecting to realize that effective social media engagement doesn’t have to take a lot of time to be effective. In most cases, those managing social channels just need a bit of direction and focus. Often, just getting together with the marketing, product development or customer service departments can help you set a course that’s both manageable and worth the time and effort.”

4. Companies Receive Overwhelmingly Positive Feedback on Social Media

“When I speak with companies about the feedback they get from customers over social media, most are overjoyed by the amount of positive comments they receive. Sure, knowing what you’re doing right can be helpful, but companies need more than positive feedback to help drive progress. For more useful feedback, companies should post and tweet questions that are relevant to specific areas the business explores. Feedback in response to the question ‘What new watch designs should we offer?’ will be more valuable than compliments on how sweet your watch bands and face designs already are.”

5. Companies Receive Feedback, Then Nothing Happens

“Usually the people who monitor social media channels within a company aren’t the same people who make decisions about the direction of the company. This means that many valuable ideas that come in through social channels are never even considered. To fully take advantage of social media as a tool for progress, a system needs to be put in place to make sure the ideas coming from customers over Facebook and Twitter are passed along to the appropriate decision-makers. Communication is essential in order that feedback can actually cause change. Also, once customers realize their ideas are being turned into reality, they’ll be more likely to contribute new ideas again.”

Now that you know how social media can work for your business, log on to your page and start socializing!

Source: 5 Ways Businesses Can Use Social Media as a Tool for Progress

Google+ is taking major strides in the social media war. Just recently, the newest social network powerhouse joined its competitors and released their version of brand pages for businesses. On January 10th, Google+ took a leap ahead of all other social networks to unveil a unique feature that no one else currently has the resources to compete with. Google search and Google+ have officially merged together to form “Search plus Your World,” bringing your personal world into your search experience. As Google states in their blog, “We’re transforming Google into a search engine that not only understands content, but also people and relationships.”

How are they doing this? Search plus Your World introduces three new features that integrate your Google+ social life with what you’re interested in searching:

1. Personal Results- Your Google search will return not only information on the public web, but will also include matching results from your Google+ posts and photos, and those that have been shared with you.

2. Profiles in Search- Using a new autocomplete feature, searching a person on Google will first return to you results for people you know, or may be interested in following, before it shows you people you do not know. The results for people you know come accompanied with information from their Google+ profile and web pages that may be relevant to them.

3. People and Pages- Along with information on your search query, Google will return Google+ profiles that are related to your search, and enable you to immediately add them to your circles.

Of course, you must be logged into your Google+ profile to gain access to your personal results, and Google has added other security and control measures to ensure that Search plus Your World is truly a personal and private experience. Google search results and Google+ content are protected by SSL encryption for signed in users, which is the same method of security used for messages in Gmail. To allow for transparency and control, Search plus Your World personal results are marked as Public, Limited or Only You, and Google+ profile results are distinguished by their circle or connection to your search query. Google has also added a toggle button to give you control over whether you want Google to return your personal results, or not.

Without a doubt, this merger between Google search and Google+ is unprecedented, and will remain the only one of its kind for some time. But, what’s next? This certainly will not be the last social media innovation Google unveils. Indeed, according to their blog, “Search is simply better with your world in it, and we’re just getting started.”

For more information on Search plus Your World and Google+, read:
Google’s blog, “Google Merges Search and Google+ Into Social Media Juggernaut,” and “Google+: The Complete Guide.”

The moment all businesses have been waiting for has finally arrived: Google+ brand pages! Just recently, Google+ followed Facebook and Twitter and created a place specifically for brands and businesses to network in the social media sphere. Your business can now connect, and even “hangout” with your Circles. Are you ready to get started on Google+ Brand Pages? Here’s how:

1. First, you need a Google+ personal account to build your brand page off of. If you do not have a personal account, you can create one here.

2. Once you have a personal account, sign in here to begin building your page

3. Pick a category your business falls under. Your options are:
a. Local Business or Place (Hotels, restaurants, places, stores, services…)
b. Product or Brand (Apparel, cars, electronics, financial services…)
c. Company, Institution or Organization (Companies, organizations, institutions, non-profits…)
d. Arts, Entertainment or Sports (Movies, TV, music, books, sports, shows…)
e. Other

4. Add your business’ information.

5. Add only 10 words that best describe your business. You may add your companies tagline, a quick summary of your product or services, or any other 10 words or less you would like to use.

6. Upload a photo to use as your brand page’s profile picture.

7. Announce the creation of your new brand page to your personal circles!

That’s it! In 7 simple steps you have created a Google+ brand page for your small business, and increased your social media presence and SEO. Once you have your brand page, you can post, share, upload photos and videos, add to your circles, and host hangouts. You can even get creative and jazz up your profile with the scrapbook feature. For more information on all of the features and how to use them, check out Mashable’s “10 Tips and Tricks for Better Google+ Brand Pages.”

Take a look at DivergingSoul’s brand new Google+ page, and be sure to add us to your circle!