Content Marketing Unlocked: Your Content Marketing Training Course

Blogging is so effective that there are over a billion blogs on the web.

Just think about that… that’s roughly 1 blog for every 7 people.

Sure, we don’t really need any more blogs, but people still create them because they can be such effective marketing channels.

And best of all, unlike social sites, the moment you create a blog that has an audience, you can continually reach them without having to worry about algorithm changes.

So, to help you with your content marketing efforts, I’ve created a free 4-week training course called Content Marketing Unlocked.

Introducing Content Marketing Unlocked

As I mentioned, over the next 4 weeks I am going to teach you all about content marketing.

Everything from the basics of content marketing and how it works to the advanced parts such as generating traffic and sales from blogging.

To get you started, make sure you watch the welcome video:

The welcome video breaks down what you’ll learn over the next 4 weeks and, under the video, you’ll find a goal worksheet and a course outline.

Then you’ll learn about the history of content marketing:

In that lesson, you’ll find 2 worksheets:

1. Content outline – this will show you how to outline and create content.
2. Content steps – this breaks down the steps you need to follow in order to write amazing content.

After you get the hang of writing content, you’ll want to learn how to rank your older (existing) content on your site.

And in that lesson, you’ll also get a list of tools that you should use and a master resource guide that’ll help speed up the process.

From there I teach you about the different types of content you can leverage to get more traffic. Believe it or not, there are actually 18 types you should be using.

Over time I will continue to add more lessons, but I don’t want to drown you in information by embedding all the lessons in this post.

So, what else will you learn?

The four lessons above are a great start, but there is much more to the content marketing course. This is what you can expect from Content Marketing Unlocked:

Week #1

Lesson #1: Getting Started

• Course Introduction
• Strategies You’re Going to Learn
• What Google Wants
• Content Production Strategy Overview
• Understanding the Algorithm & Updates
• The Right Mindset

Lesson #2: History of Content Marketing

• History of Content Marketing
• Fact & Fiction About Content Marketing
• Understanding Your Target Audience
• How to Find Keywords That Will Make You Money
• Refining Your Keyword Lists
• Content Examples

Lesson #3: Optimizing Your Existing Content

• How to Audit Your Existing Content
• How to Optimize Your Content the Right Way
• How to Re-Write Your Content So It Gets You Traffic
• Step-by-Step On-Page Optimization Tactics
• Content Templates to Rewrite Your Content

Week #2

Lesson #1: Major Content Types

• Credibility & Trust Through Content
• Types of Content
• Blogs
• Articles
• Infographics
• Videos / Visual Content
• Podcasts / Radio Shows
• Facebook Posts / Pages
• Courses / Digital Classes / eBooks / Checklists
• How-to Guides
• SlideShare / PowerPoint / Webinars
• Photographs / Graphics / Art
• Instructional Guides
• Magazines (Digital & Print)
• Streaming Media (Periscope, Facebook Live, Snapchat)
• Forums / Wikis / Groups / Resource Centers
• Whitepapers / Case Studies
• Memes (Twitter/Facebook)
• Testimonials / Reviews
• Content Templates for Different Content Types

Lesson #2: Pilar & Cluster Pages

• Turn Your Keywords Into An Outline
• How to Write Content That Gets You Traffic
• Topical Clusters
• Pillar Pages
• Cluster Pages
• Pillar & Cluster Templates

Lesson #3: Alternative Content Strategies

• Building Authority Through Guest Posting
• Content Production Tools
• Plugins to Use
• FAQ Schema
• Live Case Studies, Market Data & Field Reports
• Share Worthy Content
• Content Outline Templates

Week #3

Lesson #1: Marketing Your Content

• Site Structure
• Theme & Topic
• How to Rank Your Content Faster
• Promote Your Content on a $0 Budget
• Content Marketing Strategy
• Content Promotion Workflow

Lesson #2: Link Building Tactics

• What is Link Building?
• External Link Building
• Internal links
• Your Link Profile
• Advanced Linking and Off-Page Optimization Strategies
• How to Build Links from Authority Sites
• How to Launch Link Campaigns

Lesson #3: Tracking & Analytics

• Setting Up Google Analytics / Google Tag Manager
• Setting Up Google Search Console
• Must Have Content Marketing Tools
• Live Ranking Case Studies, Market Data & Field Reports
• Determining KPI’s
• Budget Planning

Week #4

Lesson #1: Ranking 1 Long Term

• You’ve Got Content & Links, What’s Next?
• Content Marketing in a Competitive Space
• How to Get Started if You Are New & Have Little to No Budget
• How to Scale if You Do Have a Budget
• Build a Brand Long-Term

Lesson #2: Media Outlets

• Getting on Huge Media Websites (Forbes, HuffPost, NYTimes, etc)
• Guest Blogging
• Podcasts
• Social Media
• Connecting with Influencers

Lesson #3: Omni-Channel Strategies

• Going Omni-Channel
• Back Office Infrastructure
• Analyzing and Measuring Results
• More Content Marketing Case Studies
• Become A Great Content Marketer
• Summary – How to Get the Most Out of This Course

How can I follow along?

You can go to the training section of this site as I keep all my courses there.

Every Monday, Thursday and Saturday I will be adding new lessons and content.

Each lesson is roughly 10 minutes in length and contains worksheets, templates, cheat sheets, checklists, spreadsheets, and more that will make your life easier.

In general, if you take the time to follow along each week and complete your homework assignments, it shouldn’t take you more than two to three hours each week.

Some weeks will be less work, but because this course involves writing and promoting content, you will have to put in a little bit more effort than some of my other courses.

As a heads up, I won’t be blogging about each lesson, so the easiest way to keep up is to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Once you click the link above, you’ll see a subscription box popup on YouTube. All you have to do is click the “SUBSCRIBE” button.

Once you click “Subscribe,” you’ll notice a bell image next to the subscribe button. Make sure you click that as well.

When you click on the bell, you’ll be given a few options.

Click on the “All” option. Next to the “Subscribed” button, you should see a new bell notification:

This makes it so YouTube notifies you when I release a new Content Marketing Unlocked lesson.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoy Content Marketing Unlocked.

I created this course because content marketing is one of the best ways to market your business and compete with the large companies.

Best of all, you won’t have to spend a dollar on marketing.

Let me know what you think about the course so far.

And also, what free course would you like me to create next?

The post Content Marketing Unlocked: Your Content Marketing Training Course appeared first on Neil Patel.

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Twitter hashtags: A guide to finding the right ones and making the most of them

If you’re not yet using trending hashtags on Twitter to their fullest potential, you could be missing out on a lot of prospective impressions and engagement. In other words, it could be a missed opportunity to attract a relevant audience on the platform. So even if you know what to Tweet, you might not get optimum visibility for your Tweets without the right hashtags.

This post gives you a detailed guide on Twitter hashtags, why you need them for your brand, when you should use them and how you can find the best ones. Let’s get started.

Why are Twitter hashtags important?

Hashtags are a combination of keywords or phrases preceded by the # symbol, excluding any spaces or punctuations. For example, if you put the # symbol in front of the words “social media,” it becomes a hashtag #socialmedia.

Hashtags help group Tweets and conversations around a similar topic so people can easily find and follow what interests them. So when someone clicks on or searches a specific hashtag, they will be able to find all the profiles and public posts that use that hashtag. For instance, if I search for #homecooking, I can see plenty of posts of home-cooked meals.

So when you use relevant hashtags with your Tweet, there’s a good chance it will appear when people search that hashtag or topic. And the more visible your Tweet is, the more likely people will engage with it.

Engaging in trending Twitter hashtags could also help you attract a highly relevant audience that is interested in what you have to say. Some might discover your products through these hashtags, while others might start following your brand.

When to use Twitter hashtags for your brand

The key to Twitter hashtags is to use them correctly rather than just blindly using them and hoping for the best. This is especially true for those running brand social media accounts as it requires taking a calculated approach for proper hashtag marketing.

Check out when you should use Twitter hashtags for your brand:

1. Tweeting about events and conferences

Make the most of Twitter trending hashtags to join in on conversations around popular events (#Oscars) and industry conferences (#SocialMediaWeek). Better yet if your brand is making an appearance or a relevant contribution to an event, you can use these hashtags to share news about your participation.

See how Billboard uses the #Grammys hashtag in the following Tweet to create a discussion around the event.

Why #OrvillePeck is the unconventional Best New Artist pick the #Grammys need https://t.co/EVoe7lpNXI

— billboard (@billboard) July 2, 2020

2. Observing holidays and celebrations

Use Twitter hashtags when celebrating a national (#Thanksgiving) or global holiday (#EarthDay) with your community. In addition to highly significant and important holiday, you could join in on the fun with lesser-known celebrations such as National Pancake Day or National Emoji Day. Be sure to make the most of celebrations that are highly relevant to your product.

Take, for example, take the popular burger chain Five Guys posting about #NationalBurgerDay.

We hope everyone gets to enjoy a burger today! You deserve it. Happy #NationalBurgerDay! 🍔 (📸: jaredmcintyrefitness | Instagram) pic.twitter.com/92hKwSXOh4

— Five Guys (@FiveGuys) May 28, 2020

3. Promoting brand campaigns

The best time to use Twitter hashtags is when you’re promoting your brand and its products. This could be through a hashtag for a certain marketing campaign or even a hashtag for the product itself. You could also create a branded hashtag campaign to collect user-generated content and drive even more visibility around your brand.

For example, Social Media Examiner uses the #SMEchat hashtag to promote its Twitter chat.

Welcome to Social Media Examiner’s Twitter chat, #smechat! We look forward to discussing hot social media news topics with you every Wednesday. -Jen #IMS20 pic.twitter.com/e7q9Xq3iqL

— Social Media Examiner #FMS20 (@SMExaminer) July 15, 2020

4. Joining in on pop culture topics

Twitter is a conversation hub, especially on pop culture topics. So if you decide to join in on those conversations, using a relevant hashtag for the topic will help your Tweet get some visibility.

See for example how the official Wendy’s Twitter uses the Animal Crossing: New Horizons hashtag #ACNH in the following Tweet.

Don’t miss our best catches! Hop in the stream now! https://t.co/J4Z5cZlvtz #ACNH pic.twitter.com/mnAaUVZ3TJ

— Wendy's (@Wendys) March 25, 2020

Keep in mind that your brand doesn’t need to get involved in every pop culture topic. Social media crises can happen even when you think your Tweet was on par with the topic. Make sure you understand the topic before you post.

5. Joining in on popular weekly challenges/trends

A lot of the trending Twitter hashtags involve weekly challenges and trends, such as #ThrowbackThursday, #MondayMotivation, etc. So if you ever decide to join in on these challenges and trends, don’t forget to make use of the relevant hashtags.

Check out Subaru retweeting something for #FeelGoodFriday.

#FeelGoodFriday 💙 https://t.co/0kca14WWQb

— Subaru (@subaru_usa) May 22, 2020

6. Showing your support for a cause

In an era of socially conscious consumers, it’s become crucial for brands to stand up for a cause. According to the Sprout Social #BrandsGetReal survey, 70% of consumers feel that brands should take a stand on public issues.

And when showing your support for a cause, use trending Twitter hashtags to gain more visibility. Ben & Jerry’s has been exemplary in this aspect, as covered in our recent Social Spotlight. See how they used #StopHateforProfit in the Tweet below, for example.

We will pause all paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the US in support of the #StopHateForProfit campaign. Facebook, Inc. must take the clear and unequivocal actions to stop its platform from being used to spread and amplify racism and hate. >>>https://t.co/7OpxtcbDGg pic.twitter.com/I989Uk9V3h

— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) June 23, 2020

7. Posting about general interest topics

Even when you post about general interest topics (#nature, #marketing, etc.), including a relevant hashtag will help you gain more visibility among an interested audience.

See the use of hashtags like #ethicalfashion and #sustainablefashion in the following Tweet from the UK brand Pretty Polly, for instance. By using those general interest topics, they’ve expanded their audience beyond their local market.

Our brand new Eco-Wear collection features a sustainable range of hosiery, seamfree underwear and leggings made from the first biodegradable polyamide in the world. ⁠🌿https://t.co/ixxzhkk3kU#ethicalfashion #sustainablefashion #ecofriendly #sustainableliving pic.twitter.com/V0guJgmQBf

— Pretty Polly (@PrettyPollyLegs) July 13, 2020

3 ways to find trending Twitter hashtags

Besides knowing when to use Twitter hashtags, you need to find which hashtags are trending. Here are three ways to find trending Twitter hashtags:

1. Native Twitter trends search

Twitter comes with a native search feature that lets you keep up with the latest trending topics and hashtags. From your Twitter dashboard, click on the #Explore tab. Then select the“trending” tab to get a list of the topics and hashtags currently trending in your region.

You can also find a list of popular topics and hashtags personalized according to your interests. And you can check out the most popular topics in different categories such as sports and entertainment. But there’s little option to further personalize and filter these results based on what your brand needs at that moment.

2. Sprout Social

To create a more relevant list of trending Twitter hashtags, make the most of Sprout’s social listening tools. The Twitter Trends Report lets you view topics and hashtags that people use frequently when mentioning your brand. You can even get comprehensive hashtag analytics for each of the hashtags that are mentioned in the Trends Report including frequency by day, or by people and brands mentioning or talking about you.

3. Trendsmap

Trendsmap helps you tackle the limitations of the native Twitter hashtag search function by showing you the latest trending hashtags as well as letting you explore their performance over time. It also gives you a detailed perspective about certain topics, allowing you to see the most popular Tweets and accounts related to them.

Letting Twitter hashtags lead the way

Although it’s important to find hashtags relevant to your content before you publish, you could also create content based on trending Twitter hashtags. Jump in on trending conversations in an engaging way to gain more visibility on the platform.

Have you noticed how fast food brands like Wendy’s created their own hashtags and made it go viral on Twitter? The brand used their #WendysBreakfastBattle hashtag to Tweet scorching roasts about its competitors. Read more about their viral hashtag campaign and more trends in our 2020 Sprout Social Index and see how you can improve your social strategy.

This post Twitter hashtags: A guide to finding the right ones and making the most of them originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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What Pinterest search trends reveal about the future of retail in a post-COVID world

We’re more than halfway into 2020 and it’s safe to say many consumers and brands are still figuring out what constitutes their “new normal.” Retailers in particular have had to deal with a number of challenges, from navigating quarantine to keeping up with evolving consumer behaviors to resolving supply chain problems.

While there is no roadmap for how to recover after a pandemic, consumer behaviors on social media give retailers a pretty good idea of what to expect post-COVID. As consumers move past their initial stages of disorientation and frustration, they’re starting to think about life after quarantine, planning for milestones like weddings and dreaming of their next getaway. And they’re planning for that future on Pinterest.

While some consumers are eager to get back to a sense of normalcy, many of the habits developed in quarantine are here to stay. In this article, we’ll use Pinterest search trends to map out what consumers are most looking forward to and how retailers should prepare for a post-COVID world.

Pinterest search trends are filled with optimism

Consumers have gone from panic buying to DIYing to making plans for the future in a span of a few months.

When brick and mortar retailers initially closed for business, consumers were in search of anything that would provide immediate relief. Pinterest data from March to early May revealed a spike in searches for things like easy pantry recipes and activities to entertain kids stuck at home. Searches for “home office” increased 150% while searches for “DIY haircuts” jumped 400% from the end of March to the beginning of April.

By early spring, Pinners began to show signs of going back to their pre-pandemic lifestyles. Searches for travel, future apartments and weddings steadily increased as consumers increasingly grew restless at home. Summer parties, for example, are on consumers’ minds with searches for the term jumping 50% in the first two weeks of April. Road trips are also making a comeback. Searches for “road trip packing” are up 237% year-over-year, and Pinners are planning specific trips to places like Utah, South Dakota and national parks.

Recognizing the shift in sentiment, State Farm began publishing Pins with tips for planning an effective and safe road trip.

These forward-looking searches suggest consumers’ growing optimism, and recognizing this shift in sentiment is critical for retailers planning their comebacks. Humans are resilient. And retailers need to match that resiliency while balancing changing consumer expectations, emerging safety guidelines and a situation that remains in constant flux.

When the pandemic first hit, customers wanted empathy and understanding. Now, as they become eager for normalcy, they want brands to help fulfill their plans for their future and encourage their sense of optimism. For retailers, it’s not enough to meet the needs of your customers today; you also need to consider how to meet their needs in the future.

Online services aren’t going anywhere

Customers may be eager to get back to their pre-COVID routines, but some habits developed during the pandemic are likely to become permanent.

Ecommerce and delivery services, for example, are going to stick around for the long run even after people are free to shop in-person. The number of consumers who now shop for groceries online has grown 40% over the last year to nearly half of all consumers, while the number of online purchases Pinterest drove to grocery stores jumped 70% from February to March.

Not only is ecommerce considered safer than in-person shopping, it also affords customers a level of convenience they may not have realized before. Consumers have just spent several months buying essentials online and having things like groceries delivered to their doorstep. What was once considered a nice-to-have option is now part of their day-to-day behaviors, and nine out of 10 consumers say they’re more likely to choose retailers based on convenience.

Acknowledging customers’ demands for safe, hassle-free shopping, Shipt uses Pinterest to promote its same-day grocery delivery service.

With safety and convenience top of mind for customers, online shopping is paramount for retailers’ long term survival. Even as some states relax their lockdown restrictions, retailers would be wise to go all in on their digital channels and expand contactless delivery and pickup options. Research shows only 37% of consumers plan on going back to shopping in physical stores after quarantine ends. If ecommerce wasn’t a big part of your retail strategy before, it certainly should be now.

Every moment counts

From graduations to birthdays to weddings, the pandemic cancelled a number of milestones typically celebrated in the springtime. But as consumers grow increasingly optimistic about the future, they’re looking to double down on the holiday season to make up for lost celebrations.

In fact, Pinners are starting their planning earlier than ever, with Pinterest holiday searches up 77% in April 2020 compared to April 2019. Around the world, 50% of Pinners say they want brands to help make the holidays extra special this year. At the same time, brands need to recognize 40% of consumers will be spending on a budget. And it’s not just the big holidays, like Christmas or Thanksgiving, that people are looking forward to. Seventy percent of Pinners say they’re ready to celebrate smaller traditions as well.

For retailers, this means no moment is too small to ignore. Holidays like Friendsgiving are just as important as Thanksgiving, and features like expedited shipping and guaranteed delivery will distinguish leading retailers from the rest. After months of quarantine, customers are looking for a reason to celebrate and retailers need to be ready to help bring those moments to fruition.

Consumers, for example, are spending their summers thinking about Halloween and Target is already promoting pins for spooky outdoor decorations.

Retailers need to look ahead

To say it’s been a tough year is an understatement. But as we enter the second half of 2020 and consumers settle into their new normal, there’s reason for retailers to be optimistic.

With consumers already planning for their futures, it’s not too early for retailers to also be thinking of life after COVID—but with a few minor tweaks. For starters, digital commerce is going to be a fixture for retailers moving forward. And every milestone, big and small, carries greater meaning and value than they did in the past. If retailers want to meet their customers in a post-COVID world, they’ll need to look to consumer behaviors to inform the adjustments they need to make to their operations today.

Ready to plan for life after COVID? Check out our 5-step Pinterest marketing guide for tips on how to get the most out of your Pinterest strategy today.

This post What Pinterest search trends reveal about the future of retail in a post-COVID world originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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Expert tips on using Facebook for your small business

As an owner or employee of a small business, we know your time is limited. Marketing isn’t your only hat and if you’re confused on where to start for Facebook, we’re here to help. Over 90 million small businesses use Facebook and its related products.

There are many reasons for a small business to use Facebook. The network boasts 2.45 billion monthly active users and 74% of its adult users who earn more than $75k are on the platform.

Not only does Facebook cover a wide demographic range but it also serves as a multi-use platform for small businesses. Potential customers use Facebook to discover new businesses, research them, receive ads and more. Having a Facebook Page establishes brand credibility and for some businesses, can take care of a customer from start to finish without ever leaving the site.

From setting up a Page to the promotion, here are some expert tips on how to get the most out of your Facebook Page as a small business.

Facebook Page setup for small businesses

Facebook offers a wide range of products so it can be understandably daunting to figure out what works best for you. If you’re starting fresh on a Facebook Page or it’s been a while since you performed a Facebook audit, these tips are for you. Not every feature is meant for every type of business, but it’s especially important for small businesses is making sure everything is up to date.

Choose the right category & template

You can change your categories, subcategories and templates anytime so don’t sweat if you don’t pick the right one at the beginning. However, refining to the right selection is specifically important for small businesses because categories are key for discovery, and templates unlock important features like shops and reviews.

Customize your tabs

When you go through the Page templates, you’ll be able to see which tabs are available to you. After applying the template, you’ll then be able to hide and add select tabs, as well as rearrange their order. So, for example, if you think you’ll be investing in a video marketing strategy, then you should move the Videos tab up further in the lineup.

Customize CTA button & link a catalog

If you’re a service or product-based business, then taking the time to set up your call-to-action button and linking your product catalog is important. These features allow your customers to book directly or purchase from your Page without ever leaving the site.

PRUDY Braiding Studio lists its services and has a CTA button for booking appointments. When a customer is interested in a service, they can click it to learn more and then use the button to book their appointment. This flow provides a seamless experience for customers.

At the time of this writing, Facebook Shops is rolling out to all businesses as a way for them to promote new products.

Tip: A bonus for setting up these features is that they also become available to you if you have a linked Instagram account. Set this up once for two networks.

Set up Messenger & more

A prime advantage of being a small business is that you’re more nimble than the larger ones. This means that direct communication with customers via Messenger might not need to go through as many approval hoops.

Messenger has evolved from a peer-to-peer chat box to a customer service platform. Add your availability times, FAQs and even automated responses.

The above are just the basics for setting up a Facebook Page for a small business. There are far more tips you can explore, including using Facebook Business Manager to manage multiple permissions and learning about the verification process to further establish your brand credibility.

Facebook Page promotion & execution

Once your Facebook Page is set up to your liking, it’s time for promotions and posts to begin. Explore a variety of post ideas to bring in more engagement and consider using a content calendar to plan out your work. Having this is in place helps you understand what’s missing and how to space out your posts.

Run occasional discounts or flash sales

No one likes to miss out on deals. The latest Sprout Social Index indicates that 40% of consumers follow brands on social media to learn about promotions and discounts. Why not give them what they want?

To enhance your social promotions, use Facebook’s ad offer feature so you can track how many are actually taking advantage of the sale.

Cross-promote your content

As a small business, you need to be savvy about how you use your content. One platform’s content could be reused on another if the audience and goals fit. A small tweak in caption is less time consuming than creating fresh content.

Even better, if you use Instagram Stories frequently, you can link your Facebook Stories to them so every time you publish Stories on Instagram, you also publish the same content to Facebook.

Set up expectations for social customer service

The same Sprout Social Index report found that when consumers follow brands on social media, 74% of them will reach out for customer service or support. If you’re going to use Facebook as a platform for social customer service, you’ll need to set up those expectations beforehand with clear information for your customers. Don’t wait for someone to message and then wonder what the next step is going to be or when they’ll hear back.

As mentioned earlier, Messenger has multiple ways for you to manage this expectation, including your own availability for responding to messages. Your away message here should include your hours and helpful links if you have those available.

Schedule posts

Once you have the content and calendar all ready to go, it’s time to schedule all those posts. Facebook has a robust native scheduler or you can use software like Sprout to help manage posts across multiple platforms.

The Sprout schedule not only shows drafts and scheduled posts but the ViralPost feature will automatically schedule based on your brand’s highest engagement times. You may not need a scheduling tool if you’re just starting your social presence, but over time you’ll likely find saving the time and effort for other parts of your social strategy to be an advantage.

Learn more about Facebook for small business

Facebook isn’t a set-up-and-done kind of social media platform. It’s constantly evolving in features, ads and newsfeed algorithms. Your campaign strategy from last year might not work as well this year if you repeat it without consideration of new social trends and features. Because of this constant evolution, it’s important to continue learning and exploring new strategies.

Custom audiences for ads

One of the strongest ways to advertise on Facebook is to use the custom audience feature. You can retarget those who have visited your website, engaged with your ads and most recently, taken certain shopping actions. Custom audiences take advantage of sources that you already have in place, like a newsletter list, and advertises to them. These people are likely more receptive to the ads because they’ve willingly followed or interacted with you already.

Review analytics

Without analytics, you can easily find yourself floundering in the midst of all your content efforts. How do you know if a post was successful if you don’t look at how it performed? Facebook’s native Insights tab gives you a plethora of information from engagement to clicks to Page actions.

However, with business growing, you might find yourself with a need to present analytics graphics to investors or management. Analytics tools like Sprout help you easily understand what’s going on with your Page and will generate presentation-ready graphics for you with the click of a button.

Keep up on new features

As mentioned before, Facebook is not a static platform. New features are constantly added and the advantage of being a small business is that you can easily test these out without a complex and time-consuming chain of approvals and inputs.

For example, your business might benefit from adding a Shop feature, allowing you to tag products on a post and for consumers to purchase from it. A larger business may have difficulty linking a huge catalog but a small business with a focused offering could do it easily.

COVID–19 grants

With the COVID–19 pandemic severely impacting small business operations, Facebook announced a $100 million cash grant for small businesses and an additional $100 million to Black-owned small businesses, creators and nonprofits. Take a moment to see if you qualify for the program.

Take Facebook for Business courses

It’s to Facebook’s advantage for business owners to get the most out of their platform. Because of this, the company created an entire resource library for businesses. The resources range from new features relevant to businesses to singular courses to helpful case studies for inspiration. Exploring resources like this and reading about new Facebook strategies puts you ahead of the curve and at a competitive advantage to other small businesses.

Conclusion

Facebook doesn’t have to be a daunting platform for small businesses. Once you break it down into steps, a Facebook marketing strategy is easy to learn and execute. Small businesses need to pay attention to details like the CTA button and set up Messenger to take full advantage of what the platform offers. With the right approach and upkeep on new features, you’re well on your way to being a pro at Facebook. For the latest data on how marketers and consumers are using social media, explore the Sprout Social Index.

This post Expert tips on using Facebook for your small business originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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8 ways to show your clients the value of social in a tumultuous climate

While nearly everything came to a halt in early 2020, social media never slowed down. In fact, roughly half of consumers report using social more since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Sprout’s Agency Partner Program was built to help our agency customers expand their client networks, connect with other agencies around the globe and use Sprout best-in-class tools to serve their clients more effectively. Agency Partners have always recognized the power and value social, but a common challenge agencies face is demonstrating that value to clients. The events of 2020, however, created a tipping point. Read on to learn about how eight agency experts turned tumultuous times into an opportunity for their clients to level up on social.

1. Social is an essential tool for essential businesses

Ingredient is a food marketing agency and several of their clients are grocery stores, which were deemed essential businesses during COVID-19 and were one of the few places consumers still regularly visited during the pandemic.

“Social media has been critical when it comes to grocery stores keeping customers informed of store hours, mask guidelines, and what precautions they are taking to keep their employees and customers as safe as possible. We’re seeing customers connecting with their local stores at more of an emotional level instead of just a functional level as customers openly express their support of and appreciation for the store employees.

Through Sprout Premium Analytics, we’ve been able to monitor the impact of this on impressions, reach and engagement. More specifically, we saw organic impressions double from February to March as customers looked for and shared this information on both Facebook and Instagram.”

– Emily Tritabaugh, VP Content Strategy, Ingredient

2. Stay connected despite the (social) distance

When the world feels unstable, people search for answers and a port in the storm. Throughout the pandemic, the 123 Internet Group’s top priority was ensuring that their clients are staying connected with their customers and communities on social.

“No matter what industry you’re in, you need to keep in touch and be transparent with your customers. We worked closely with all our clients to help them understand the needs of their customers while providing answers and advice related to the pandemic.

We use Sprout Social to schedule and post regular Q&As so our customers can drum up conversations and take direction as to how they could improve their business straight from their customers. Then we use Sprout Analytics to understand which posts and topics had the most engagement and which stories resonated. As we continue to grow their following we can ensure we continue to highlight these topics to increase engagement”

– Scott Jones, CEO, 123 Internet Group

3. Personal connections > constant sales messaging

Retail is an industry that has faced major disruptions during 2020 like store closures, production plant shutdowns and drops in sales. Connec+, a full-service digital marketing and retail consultancy business, recognized that social media would be instrumental in filling communication gaps.

Thanks to social media we were able to continue to provide the connection that customers were craving throughout this time. We moved our focus from marketing and ads to more direct engagement—one-on-one interaction with other people—and our followers responded.

As we added in marketing messages we were able to convert more customers through social media to sales, and the loyalty we created during lockdown has continued as the stores have reopened. It’s been an important lesson for our clients that personal connections on social media are more valuable than constant sales messaging and we hope that they will continue to see the importance in the months to come.”

– Aimee Stewart, Managing Director, Connec+

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Today’s consumers expect more. 👂 They want to speak and be heard. 🎓 They want to be entertained and to be educated. ✔️ They want to have their needs met without asking #customercentric #socialmedia #getconnected

A post shared by Connec+ Your Digital Partner (@connectplusnz) on Jul 24, 2020 at 9:19pm PDT

4. Give the people what they want and need

 Connection is the new currency. At Aroluxe Marketing, an integrated marketing agency in Nashville, TN, the team takes an empathetic approach to creating deep, authentic connections between clients and their audiences.

“Social media is now more important than ever. It enables your brand to stay connected despite our current environment. The key is finding what your audience needs during this time both emotionally and physically. Do they want to be sold to right now? Would your product or service be valuable to them right now? Maybe your ideal customer just needs some feel good stories or wants to know how your brand is supporting its community. Sprout’s Social Listening tool allows us to dive deeper into whatever those needs may be and build content around those insights.”

– Sara Staats, Social Lead, Aroluxe Marketing

5. Teach clients where they fit into the new landscape

 Emely Roman and her team of “marketing mixologists” at The Foundry Collective ensure that their clients’ social presence is anything but generic. Unfortunately though, social was the first thing to go for some of her clients as the pandemic disrupted business. They quickly realized their mistake.

“In the beginning of the pandemic, we lost a couple of clients because social media had sat on the back burner of their company budgets. However, as social distancing and isolation became a new norm, those same clients and new ones quickly realized how important it was to use social to connect with their audience online.

A restaurant, a public speaker and even a ministry reached out to us to help them enhance their social media presences. All of them were now faced with the challenge of developing new product offerings and reaching out to an evolving consumer base. Thankfully because we had Sprout Social on our side we were able to send proposals with live competitor analysis from their Listening Tool, which showed how much more efforts the brands that are currently being successful were putting on social media.”

– Emily Roman, CEO, The Foundry Collective

6. The only doors that have stayed 100% open during hard times are on social media

 At See.Spark.Go., social media is a pillar of the content marketing they provide for their clients. As their name suggests, they balance long-term thinking and learning with quick reflexes and real-time data.

“As Sprout’s CMO Jamie Gilpin said during Sprout Sessions, ‘the only doors that have stayed 100% open are on social media.’ Whether it was daily changes in store hours or a CEO opening a dialogue about racial injustice, we were able to show our clients data from examples—both good and bad—and connect it to their long-term strategic business objectives.

Reporting weekly, being transparent and adjusting our strategies based on new learnings regularly allowed us to continue to show the value of social media, so much so, that clients who were forced to furlough internal team members saw that the one thing they couldn’t press pause on was social.”

– Jennifer Garrett, VP of Content and Creative, See.Spark.Go.

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⚡️ Enthusiasm cannot be cancelled. 🧡 Care + compassion cannot be cancelled. 💪 Motivation to forge new paths cannot be cancelled. 👥 Relational connections cannot be cancelled. 🙌 Trust, faith and courage cannot be cancelled. 💡 Our dedication to #ShineBright for our clients, our team and our communities CANNOT be cancelled. . We are here together during these uncertain times, and for that we are so GRATEFUL. 🤍

A post shared by See.Spark.Go (@seesparkgo) on Mar 16, 2020 at 2:23pm PDT

7. Social is the where customers go for quick, reliable customer support

 According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index™, 49% of consumers will unfollow a brand on social due to poor customer service. In times of crisis, the need for reliable customer service and support only becomes greater, which Happy Hour Media Group recognized and championed during the pandemic.

“Our agency has shown our clients how powerful social media can be for providing customer support and helping to ease tensions and concerns their customers have during tumultuous times. Businesses that stay silent leave their customers more confused, so we advised them to continue sharing any and all relevant updates on social media to keep customers updated and informed.

Thanks to the help of Sprout, our agency is able to stay on top of incoming messages and relevant mentions that come in through the Smart Inbox. This ability helps our agency and our client be responsive enough to turn a frustrated customer into a satisfied one.”

– Amanda Mueller-Hickler, Social Media Manager, Happy Hour Media Group

We're bringing you a 4-part series on lessons learned from a global crisis full of insights from social media marketers…

Posted by Happy Hour Media Group on Monday, July 20, 2020

8. Convince non-believers with social data

CREW Marketing Partners, a full-service agency that prides itself on growing their clients into leading brands in their industries, proved it’s not just paid media that supports marketing goals. An engaged audience and organic content can go a long way. They’ve got the data to prove it.

“I talk with clients about companies that invest in content and audience building year after year, and explain that those are the brands that are finding themselves in a better place today than their competitors who didn’t make that investment. That’s in part because those businesses that build engaged audiences don’t have to rely entirely on paid media for their traffic when times get tough.

When we halted nearly all paid activity, we pitched a social contest to a client as a way to continue building brand awareness. We were able to use Sprout Social data to clearly illustrate how the contest helped give the brand extensive organic reach and impressions, engagement and new followers. Making the investment in building audiences has recently paid dividends, and will again in the next downturn.”

– Brad Marshall, Director of Digital Marketing, CREW Marketing Partners

Grow with us

Being able to help our Agency Partners excel during challenging times is what Sprout’s Agency Partner Program is all about. The program includes access to co-marketing resources, sales support to grow your network and a community of support and unmatched social expertise. Come grow with us! Learn more here.

This post 8 ways to show your clients the value of social in a tumultuous climate originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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Effective ways to successfully ask for customer reviews

When making purchasing decisions, potential customers put a lot of weight on the experiences of others. Many shoppers seek out reviews to find objective and unbiased information on products they’re interested in buying. As a marketer, social proof such as reviews from customers organically sharing their opinion is extremely valuable.

It’s essential to incorporate asking for reviews into your marketing strategy to make sure that you’re getting quality reviews from your customers.

The importance of customer reviews

Figuring out how to use customer testimonials as part of your brand’s marketing process can boost credibility through social proof, improve your reputation and relationships with your customers, and improve your brand’s SEO and visibility.

Better brand reputation

Having a lot of reviews can improve your brand’s online reputation and inform new potential customers. Shoppers will see that your brand has helped others solve a problem and use it as a solution of their own.

According to a study conducted by BrightLocal, 85% of online shoppers trust reviews just as much as personal recommendations. So when shoppers see a high number of positive reviews, they’re less likely to have concerns, or second guess purchasing your product.

Increased social proof

Social proof is a concept rooted in customers’ sense of belonging. Customers want to feel good about who they’re giving their money to and they want to feel like they are making the right decision. Having a lot of customer reviews can reinforce potential customer’s feelings of certainty about your brand. It makes them secure in their buying decision by showing them that others have made the same decision and that they are satisfied enough to recommend the purchase to others.

Improved SEO

Once your brand receives five reviews on Google, your business will begin to show up on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). This strategy is most beneficial for local businesses. However, it can also create an advantage over your competitors if you have the most reviews on your Google My Business page. The more reviews you have on Google, the higher your business will show up in local search results.

How to get more reviews from customers

Most brands hope that their customers will love their product or service enough to leave glowing reviews organically. But if you’re not actively seeking out reviews, customers may move on and forget to write them. For this reason, it’s important to incorporate intentional strategies to ask your customers for reviews.

If you’re unsure how to ask for customer reviews, here are some strategies you can use to encourage your customers to provide reviews more frequently.

Reach out to power users or repeat customers

One of the easiest ways to get customer reviews is to reach out to customers who you already know enjoy your products. For e-commerce or B2C brands, follow up with customers who have made multiple purchases. For B2B brands or Saas companies, take note of the people who continually use your service or software and reach out to these power users for feedback or even participation in case studies.

This outreach can be as simple as sending an email expressing your appreciation for their continued support. In this email, ask if they are willing to leave a review and create a direct link for them to use to review a product they purchased.

Make it as easy as possible

The easier it is for your customers to leave their review, the more likely they are to do it. Creating a template or form that the customer can quickly fill out will lower the barrier and streamline the process. While you want the review to be authentic, creating a streamlined process makes it easier for your customers to share their thoughts.

A lot of brands, like Expedia, create forms that give customers the option to rate different parts of the experience. All it takes is a few clicks to rate and review various aspects of their trip.

Offer an incentive

Sometimes people need an extra push to share their experiences. After all, people are busy and leaving a review or testimonial can be time-consuming. Show your customers that you value their time and feedback by offering a small incentive to anyone who leaves a review. This can include things like a small discount on their next purchase, a freebie or a shoutout of some sort.

ActiveCampaign implemented this strategy by emailing their users a request to leave a review in exchange for an Amazon gift card. To promote transparency, they even encouraged customers to disclose that they received an incentive to leave this review.

Create review options on different platforms

To make it even easier for your customers to leave reviews, give them the option to leave reviews on a variety of platforms. If customers are more active on Facebook, they’re more likely to leave a review on your Facebook Page. Some of your audience might prefer to use Yelp or Google reviews and choose to leave you a review there. Make sure that you’ve claimed your business pages on various platforms to allow your audience to share their experience more easily.

Share user-generated content

Keep an eye out on social media for people who are already, organically talking about your brand. If your brand receives a lot of user-generated content, highlight those customers by sharing their posts with your audience. It demonstrates that you have fans who value your product enough to talk about it on their own. You can also show your appreciation for your loyal customers by replying to them on social media and sharing their messages on your accounts.

You can also create a branded hashtag and encourage your audience to share their experiences using that hashtag.

Use a Review management tool

If you’re not sure how to track and manage your Facebook or Google My Business reviews, Sprout’s Reviews tool can help. The tool enables you to manage and monitor reviews across multiple business pages. The Reviews tool makes it easy to keep track of all of your review platforms. In Sprout, you can Google My Business, Facebook Pages and TripAdvisor reviews, all from one easy-to-use dashboard.

Using a review management tool that helps you integrate all of your review platforms can save time and keep you organized. It will also make it easier to respond to reviews and track where they come from. Knowing where your reviews most frequently come from can help create a more streamlined strategy when asking for them in the future.

Create case studies

For B2B brands, creating case studies can be a lucrative way to show how you’ve helped other businesses. Case studies are much more in-depth than standard testimonials. When done right, they can be an incredible way to showcase your product or service in a new light.

At Sprout, we use case studies to highlight customer success stories and showcase how brands are using our tools to meet their goals. Case studies are mutually beneficial for clients because they also highlight the other business. They also demonstrate new ways existing customers can use product features that they may not have thought of previously.

Creating a case study will require more of a time commitment on your part and on that of the client. You may need to conduct multiple interviews and it helps if you have been tracking the client’s progress over time.

Things to remember when asking for customer reviews

Yes, asking for reviews is an integral part of your strategy. But you still want your customer reviews to be as authentic as possible. There are some strategies you should avoid as they can promote dishonest reviews and even damage your brand’s reputation. Keep the following guidelines in mind when asking for reviews:

• Encourage honest reviews. Always encourage your audience to be as truthful and authentic as possible in their review. Offering incentives can encourage more reviews, but never pay someone to write a positive review. The purpose of the incentive should not be to sway their review in any way.
• Avoid asking too soon. Wait until your customers have enough time to form an opinion before asking them for a review. Asking too fast or too often could come off as pushy.
• Create a feedback loop. Make sure that you’re engaging with your audience before asking for a review and have a good feedback loop cycle. If you consistently receive negative reviews, find ways to make improvements and incorporate customer feedback into your product before asking for additional reviews.

Customer reviews have the power to propel your brand’s reputation and build trust with your audience. Whether you’re collecting reviews on your website, social media, or another tool, these strategies can help streamline the process. For a more in-depth look at how reviews can impact your business, download our complete guide on Building a Better Reputation with Reviews.

This post Effective ways to successfully ask for customer reviews originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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