Recent Articles
When To Post On Facebook
The Best & Worst Days to Post on Facebook
A comprehensive report on when to post on Facebook (and how often) across a range of different businesses, was recently published by Buddy Media, based on an analysis of user engagement on more than 1,800 Facebook Pages from some of the world’s largest brands. You can download the report for free here: STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE WALL POSTS: A TIMELINE ANALYSIS.
Here is a small sample of their findings regarding when to post on Facebook:
Marketers, businesses and brands mainly post to Facebook during the week, when in actuality, “the interaction rate for posts on the weekends is 14.5% higher compared to weekday posts.” It turns out though, that only 14% of posts by brands are actually published on Saturdays and Sundays.
In general, the best day for brands to post on Facebook is Sunday.
The worst? “While Monday and Tuesday receive decent interaction rates, brands should avoid Wednesdays when interaction is 7.4% below average.”
The Best & Worst Times to Post on Facebook
Most brands and businesses post to Facebook during the working day. The report shows that Facebook interaction takes on more of a night owl quality. “Brand posts published between 8 pm and 7 am, which are defined as ‘non-busy hours,’ receive 14% higher interaction than those that post between 8 am and 7 pm,” yet only 18% of posts are sent during “non-busy” hours. This is entirely logical. Most people will be too busy during their working day to visit Facebook, or simply not allowed to by their employers.
Posting Frequency
Do you think posting often is the key to gaining Facebook engagement? The report shows that you should not exceed more than 7 posts a week and 1-2 times a day.
“Brands that post one or two times per day see 19% higher interaction rates than those who post 3x per day. The key is not to bombard fans with too many posts, as Facebook News Feed Optimization often penalizes for this.”
Additionally, brands posting more than seven times a week on Facebook saw a 25% decrease in interaction rates.
Keep it Simple
You may be assuming that giving your Facebook followers a lot of context is appropriate, as more than 75% of brands write lengthy Facebook posts. But posts with 80 characters or less are receiving 23% higher interaction posts. It looks like results are much better when you keep it short and sweet!
As you’d expect, results vary from industry to industry. Here are some examples:
Advertising & Consulting – Best: Saturday & Sunday; Worst: Wednesday
Clothing & Fashion – Best: Thursday; Worst: Sunday
Entertainment – Best: Saturday & Sunday; Worst: Wednesday & Friday
Food & Beverage – Best: Saturday & Sunday; Worst: Monday & Thursday
Health & Beauty – Best: Saturday, Sunday & Monday; Worst: Tuesday
Nonprofits – Best: Sunday; Worst: Wednesday
Technology – Best: Monday; Worst: Friday
Travel & Leisure – Best: Sunday; Worst: Monday
In summary, if you’re pleased with the engagement on your Facebook Page then carry on with what you’re doing – “If It ain’t broke, don’t mend it!” – but if you’re not getting the response you hope for, this report is a reminder that simply increasing the volume of posts probably isn’t the answer.
For an even more in-depth analysis of the report, check out this article by Colleen Corkery in VerticalResppnse Marketing It certainly got me thinking, but why not ask or tell us about your own experiences of when to post on Facebook via our comments box below. It’s your chance to be heard!
How To Have An Award-Winning LinkedIn Company Page
Are you unclear about how to have an award-winning LinkedIn Company Page for your business? An excellent infographic came to our attention recently from marketing agency The Starr Conspiracy. They’ve supplied some excellent tips to get you thinking:
How To Have An Award-Winning LinkedIn Company Page
To get a full size PDF download, go to the bottom of the page on The Starr Conspiracy, where there is a link to download the PDF directly as constraints of space prevent us from displaying the infographic to it’s full size.
If you want to tell us about your LinkedIn Company Page or just have some questions about how to have an award-winning LinkedIn Company Page for your business then do say so in the Comments box below. It’s your chance to be heard!
If LinkedIn Were A Country…
If LinkedIn were a Country, it would have the 5th largest population in the World reports leading online newsletter Business Insider in reacting to the news that LinkedIn has now reached the milestone of 200 million members. Not only that but two new users are signing up to LinkedIn every second of the day states the same report.
Business Insider also produced a fascinating infographic detailing even more information about LinkedIn:
If LinkedIn were a country it would have the fifth biggest population in the World.
Read more: Business Insider
Facebook may have the numbers but who’s to say it isn’t LinkedIn which has the influence? It would be really great to have your views in our comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!
Developing Strategies To Optimize Your Business Marketing
Business marketing is an ongoing operation in any company. To keep their company at the forefront of customers’ minds when it comes to choosing goods or services, businesses must develop well thought-out marketing strategies. A good maxim is to “work smarter, not harder” – and that’s where optimizing existing marketing strategies in addition to generating new ones can make a big difference.
Optimizing existing strategies
The online presence of a business continues to be of great interest to customers, so expanding on existing strategies makes sense. Websites have moved on from being an internet “shop window” for businesses, merely offering a simple page of frequently asked questions (FAQs), and are now more responsive and interactive – for example, many websites have real-time chat options available. Adding this feature to an existing website will greatly enhance the company’s value to customers who like to think of themselves as interacting with real people in a virtual world.
Additionally, many potential customers are now viewing websites on tablets or cell phones, so optimizing existing websites for easy viewing on smaller screens makes good marketing sense.
Generating new ideas
When existing strategies have been updated to make the most effective use of current online marketing tools, it is time to consider what the future might hold and begin coming up with new marketing ideas for further impact. Luckily, developing new marketing strategies is mostly based on information gathering techniques. Once these are in place, they will supply essential information for shaping new marketing plans. Company information can be processed by a skilled marketing agency, such as MediaWhiz, and turned into a robust online marketing strategy.
Blogging tips
Personalized posts on a company website made at regular intervals will provide commentary that is
of interest to existing and potential new customers. Keeping the content relevant and useful is important, as is search engine optimization (SEO), which can help generate increased traffic to
the site.
To maximize SEO, always use appropriate keywords – preferably those with a long tail, which will attract a lot of smaller hits. There are free browser toolbars that analyze keywords to help businesses decide which keywords to choose. They will also indicate words that are too common or competitive to be useful.
Backlinks are another important feature when blogging. These links may be placed elsewhere – for example, in posts written by other people on other sites – but will direct people back to a company’s own blog, thereby reinforcing the firm’s reputation for quality content. Acting as a guest blogger on other websites has the same effect.
Sharing via social media is an increasingly powerful marketing tool, because the number of times content is shared via Twitter or Facebook, for example, is used by search engines as a factor when prioritizing sites on results pages. Writing great posts which stimulate interest or debate and then sharing them is an extremely effective marketing tool for inciting the interest of online communities.
Internal links on a website, which take users to other posts, will also increase the number of hits – aim for at least one link on every page and avoid any duplication of content, as this may reduce overall SEO.
Finally, ongoing optimization should be a long-term priority for a business blog. As a result, companies will soon see a payoff in the amount of free traffic that is delivered by search engines.
Taking Care Of Your Finances As Your Business Expands
Starting and then running a successful business can be one of the most worthwhile things to undertake in life. Having the initial idea, testing it and then launching the venture combines excitement with a certain amount of terror, so when it works, and works well, the next thing to consider is expansion.
This is where careful financial planning and management is key to continuing success. Not all business owners are financial wizards, though most learn enough about the numbers to make sure they can read a balance sheet. The owner’s main job is to front the operation, so the people employed to run the business need to be skilled and enthusiastic as well as scrupulously honest.
Financial planning
One of the main difficulties that businesses face is trying to expand too quickly. This hastiness can be detrimental to the company – expansion requires careful thought, and a good finance manager will be able to walk the owner through all the pros and cons of the financial implications of taking the business to the next level. Questions to be considered are whether or not there is sufficient capital available to invest, and if not, where the additional capital will come from. This may include working capital to ensure that there is good cash flow as the business develops or financing for major equipment or the purchase of premises.
Borrowing to expand the business
If borrowing is the agreed upon route for expanding the business, then some rigorous planning is essential. For most businesses, borrowing is a necessary part of the financial portfolio. One major reason that businesses fail is that they take on too much debt and compound the problem by taking on further debt in an attempt to fix the problem. A good financial or business adviser will have factored this possibility into the plan and will work to ensure the business avoids these mistakes.
Understanding the money markets
An experienced financial director will have a good understanding of how the money markets work, what rates are available for business development and how to use his or her knowledge according to the best interests of the expanding business. If money market rates for capital equipment are different from money market rates for working capital, the business owner will need to know this and therefore deal with the implications. Markets can be volatile, so staying informed of the options will help keep a check on finances.
Location
If the business needs to relocate due to its proposed expansion, it’s important that it moves to the right place. For example, just because premises are offered at a low and attractive rate does not mean this is the best option for the business. The premises may be cheap, but consider if the location is easily accessible to customers. How long does it take to access the transport links when deliveries are to be made? Weighing factors such as travel distance to markets, for instance, will help the business decide how to save money and make the business more profitable. Having a careful grip on finances will achieve both.
A Checklist For Evaluating Your Facebook Page
A Checklist For Evaluating Your Facebook Page
Hasn’t Facebook evolved dramatically in 2012 – what worked for marketing your business a year ago may not be working so well today, so a checklist for evaluating your Facebook Page is more important than ever. One of the very best I’ve come across was posted on SOCIALLYSTACKED on December 10th. They’ve come up with a very handy checklist to review whether your Facebook fan page is on track or not, with plenty of straightforward tips!
Let’s take a closer look. Many of these tips can be implemented within minutes but they could make a dramatic difference:
Here’s a simple checklist to properly evaluate your Facebook Page and see if you’re on the right track.
Facebook Page Checklist:
“About” section: is your website URL the first thing listed?
Additional “About” section: Are you providing links to your company’s other social channels, like your Twitter account and blog?
Cover photo: is it well-designed and does it meet Facebook’s Guidelines?
Cover photo description: when someone clicks on your cover photo, do you have a photo description with information, a call to action, or links?
Profile photo: does it clearly reflect your brand?
App thumbnails: are the three most important apps featured as “favorite” apps, and do the app thumbnails include a call to action or have a promising label?
“Talking about this number”: Divide your “Talking about this number” by your Page’s total number of Likes. This will calculate your Page’s engagement from the past seven days. Average Page engagement is two percent. If you’re below two percent, your content strategy needs to be adjusted.
Content strategy:
1. What type of content is your business sharing?
2. Are you using a photo or another type of media to accompany each status update?
3. Are you sharing valuable, relevant information with your fans?
4. Are you implementing the 70/20/10 rule?
5. Does your content speak directly to your target audience?
Exclusive content: What are you offering your Facebook fans that they can’t get anywhere else? A free eBook? Exclusive industry advice and tips? Frequently updated entertaining content?
Branding: What does your brand say about the users who like your Page? Remember: people Like a Facebook Page not because they like a particular product or service, they do it because what they Like says something about their own identity.
Commenting: Are you engaging back with your Facebook fans? You should be Liking their comments and responding to all their questions.
Industry opportunities: What opportunities does your industry present; meaning, what type of industry-relevant content should you share on your Facebook Page? For an example of what we mean, we evaluated Kevin Bhookun’s Photography Page to see what opportunities he has as a photographer on Facebook. Remainder Of ShortStack.com Article
This is just a sample of many recommendations in a very informative article, which then goes on to cover other essential aspects to create A Checklist For Evaluating Your Facebook Page which is extremely comprehensive, including how to determine your industry’s opportunities. I’m sure this is a checklist for evaluating your Facebook Page which you will wish to refer to again and again, but don’t leave it at that – do send us your own recommendations for adding to any future checklist by telling us in the “Leave A Reply” Box below.
LinkedIn For Business
LinkedIn For Business
LinkedIn For Business delivers a complete system for profiting from LinkedIn. Top social media marketer Brian Carter shows you how to use LinkedIn to supercharge your existing business-to-business marketing, advertising, and sales processes, generate more qualified leads, and build sales in powerful new ways! Through case studies, Carter reveals how innovative businesses of all types are achieving amazing results with LinkedIn and teaches specific, actionable lessons you can apply right now. Whether you’re an advertising expert, content marketer, sales professional, PR pro, B2B executive, or social media specialist, LinkedIn will offer you far more power than you may realize–and this book will help you leverage all of it!
If you are a LinkedIn newbie or you are struggling or don’t know how to show off your expertise, then LinkedIn For Business has some great tips for you, including how you can use LinkedIn to secure new business.
I particularly like the section on how to set up a weekly routine. This includes how long to spend promoting new content and how to make use of options such as LinkedIn Answers and LinkedIn Groups.
Here are a small section of first hand reports on this book, posted on Amazon.com
“Like many others, my business has been slow to adopt social media as a viable business and marketing tool…and we have suffered because of it. The biggest problem is that we just didn’t have a plan of action on how to put social media into place. LinkedIn for Business has been a valuable tool in not only getting my business up & running with LinedIn, but more importantly, getting my business up & running the RIGHT way. Without guidance, most companies use LinkedIn all wrong. They set up a profile and expect the leads to begin pouring in. Worse, they start spamming others seeking leads. This book not only shows you how to avoid those pitfalls, it shows you how to use LinkedIn to increase both the number and the quality of leads to your business and how to NETWORK properly in this day and age. If your business is not using LinkedIn, you are truly missing out on a golden opportunity. If you’re looking to increase leads and improve your brand, I highly recommend this book for step-by-step guidance to getting your business up & running on LinkedIn the right way” – B. Matthews.
“This book thought me some amazing things that I never knew were possible by using LinkedIn.It clearly explains the best and fastest ways that you can achieve profit for your business by using LinkedIn.The thing that I liked most about this book was that it showed me how I can use LinkedIn to generate more interest in my business and the other great thing about LinkedIn is that, once you set up your page, it will do the work for you! I would recommend this book to any business owner that wants to accelerate their sales and clientele, strengthen their brand profile and learn how to optimize LinkedIn’s ad campaigns to get more potential sales and clients by using online marketing, such as LinkedIn” – S. Murphy.
“This book is a useful tool for anyone looking to significantly improve their career. Brian Carter gives us a simple and easy-to-use method for increasing our visibility through one of today’s most popular social media platforms. The book is written in an easy-to-understand style and has lots of insights on how to use LinkedIn more effectively and get the most out of online networking. As an entrepreneur, I’m always looking for fast, inexpensive ways to increase my online presence and this book absolutely delivers. I give it a solid five stars” – Suzanne Nielsen.
For me the best part of LinkedIn for Business was the “Get it All Done” section. Here, Brian Carter has recommendations for what your weekly LinkedIn marketing schedule should look like.
If you are a marketer who doesn’t have a daily or weekly activity plan, this is a fantastic section which removes the guesswork and adds tons of value to your LinkedIn experience.
Very much one of the most useful books about LinkedIn out there, I highly recommend that you pick up your copy of LinkedIn For Business
We’d love to have your view. Your questions and comments are welcome in our box below.
The Entrepreneur’s Secret to Creating Wealth: How The Smartest Business Owners Build Their Fortunes
The Entrepreneur’s Secret to Creating Wealth: How The Smartest Business Owners Build Their Fortunes
An often overlooked secret to creating wealth as a business owner has little to do with actually running the business. Marketing, customer service, quality products, and more are required to make a business successful…but when it comes to creating real and lasting wealth, decisions regarding this key “secret” will have the greatest impact. These are not my words but those of Chris Hurn, a very successful businessman who has just published his first book: The Entrepreneur’s Secret to Creating Wealth: How The Smartest Business Owners Build Their Fortunes
In The Entrepreneur’s Secret to Creating Wealth, Chris Hurn explains the myriad of factors and variables involved in this significant wealth-creation strategy. Plenty of books describe how entrepreneurs can create more ideas or have happier employees. But no other business book outlines in such detail — or with such authority — how to actually develop the wealth behind the business.
As a frequent guest as a small business commentator on Fox Business News, The Huffington Post, PBS and other media outlets, Chris Hurn states that he knows how small business entrepreneurs think because he is one.
Here is a small cross section of reviews that this new book, which is Chis Hurn’s first, has already received:
“Entrepreneurs have been forsaken by both Big Banks and the government. One of the few places small business entrepreneurs can turn to for help and advice is Chris Hurn’s book (and also his company).” – Lindon Hayes
“After explaining his fascinating background in business and politics, Hurn argues for owning [commercial property] over renting, offers advice on finding the right property and the right commercial broker, and then gives tips for successfully applying for an appropriate loan. Each chapter closes with an engaging Q&A with a businessperson who discusses life as an entrepreneur, as well as the experience of purchasing commercial property…Hurn’s engaging mix of clarity, enthusiasm and nuts-and-bolts humility mark him as an author to watch in the finance genre.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Chris Hurn reveals his insider strategies and step-by-step tactics for creating our lifelong fortune. Plenty of books describe how entrepreneurs can create more ideas or happier employees. However, no other business book outlines in such detail and with such authority how to actually develop the wealth behind the business.” -Sally Hogshead, creator of HowToFascinate.com and bestselling author of Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation
“Small business has no better friend than Chris Hurn, and he demonstrates it yet again with this insightful book. It’s an invaluable guide to a crucial, but often overlooked, aspect of building a business.” — Bo Burlingham, editor-at-large of Inc. magazine
For a first book, these are very authoritative reviews, but for even more reviews and for details of how to acquire The Entrepreneur’s Secret to Creating Wealth: How The Smartest Business Owners Build Their Fortunes
You could certainly do a lot worse than to add Chris Hurn’s book to your Christmas List! If you do, why not send us your own review in our comments box? It’s always great to know who’s reading us!
LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day
LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day explains how to create, customize, and optimize a presence on LinkedIn, the world’s largest social network for business professionals. In this detailed, step-by-step book, LinkedIn expert Viveka von Rosen reveals how to use this powerful platform to ensure that you or your company get noticed by the right audience.
The book will certainly help you to discover previously undocumented tips and tricks for community growth and management, including how to best use Groups, events, and other LinkedIn features and applications. Amongst many expert reviews of the book is this one by Howard Lewinter which appeared in the website Small Business TRENDS on November 18th. Here are a few excerpts from his review:
How is LinkedIn part of your marketing plan? How can LinkedIn help you achieve your business goals? LinkedIn has become THE social media or social business tool for business people, including CEOs, business owners and entrepreneurs – for business marketing, networking and hiring.
LinkedIn, in the business community, is becoming as essential as having a website. That’s how important it is for you to be on LinkedIn. But what also is vitally important is how you use LinkedIn on a regular basis.
Here are two observations:
1) The learning curve and the amount of time involved with social media is more than most business people have time for.
2) The fear of being left behind as business and technology continue to rapidly change is on the minds of business people.
I admit I was skeptical about it just taking an hour a day. I tend to be a “get it done NOW, kind of person.” But with LinkedIn, the success is in the details. The author has systematically organized the book as a 5 days per week, an hour a day, business plan that spans 23 weeks. She addresses all the in’s and out’s, why’s and how to’s of using LinkedIn.
What I like about the book is how detailed, easy to read, simple to use and well organized it is. It’s manageable, doable and practical for business people to read, understand and put into practice quickly. You won’t feel like your back in school reading a textbook. The book is part of the Wiley book series, An Hour A Day.
Here’s how Viveka takes you through LinkedIn each week:
Weeks 1-2: Get Started: Prepare your LinkedIn presence and define your goals.
Weeks 3-6: Ready, Set, Profile: Make yourself findable and unique to stand out from the crowd and your competitors.
Weeks 7-9: Use Your Company Profile For Branding and Positioning
Weeks 10 -15: Creating And Managing A Network That Works: It’s all about connecting and managing your network that will bring the results and success you’re looking for.
Weeks 16-18: Getting Strategic With Groups: Building your network and creating relationships.
Weeks 19-22: Get Strategic: Getting to know other LinkedIn options to further build out your reach.
Week 23: Putting It All Together
The book also addresses how to optimize your time, LinkedIn ads, mobile apps and other tools. It’s like an encyclopedia for LinkedIn. HOWARD LEWINTER’S FULL ARTICLE
When used in the right way, LinkedIn is certainly a very powerful tool for any business and/or business professional, as well as offering the perfect opportunity to network with other business professionals who you might not otherwise meet or get the chance to do business with.
If you agree that business is about relationships, LinkedIn will help to activate and nurture such relationships. I agree with Howard Lewinter that LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day will help you to move your business forward through using LinkedIn. If we’ve not convinced you yet then it must surely be worth checking out even more reviews
