For those of you who are unaware SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization’. SEO is the term given to activity that attempts to improve search engine rankings. In plain and simple terms, it has the power to give your website the potential to rank high on google the most used search engine in Ireland and Internationally. Generally speaking., SEO involves keywords and phrases that relate to their type of business.
Now for blogging, According to data from a research study conducted by Research Now, nearly nine in 10 consumers (84%) make purchases after reading about a product or service on a blog. Lets just hope you like what bloggers are saying about your product or business, because some people follow these blogs religiously. Many companies have introduced blogging to a certain aspect of their business and have reaped the benefits. Among consumers between the ages of 18-34, blogs ranked as the most important source of information to make buying decisions, this is incredible! Guest blogging can get you ranked highly or have a celebrity blogger. The reason I place so much trust in bloggers is because they are people just like me, down to earth and probably live the same life as myself. The popularity of blogs are on the rise daily plus google returns social media search results. If you connect your blog to your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts, you give search engines one more thing to find when people look for your company.
Before I give you my top 5 tips for creating great content, let me give you a few facts on this small little thing we all know as Facebook.
If Facebook were a country it would be the most populous nation on earth. Just to clarify, there are 1.36 billion people living in China and in January there were 1.39 billion people on Facebook. This figure is rising everyday.
These statistics are literally unbelievable , and Facebook is only eleven years old.
1. Create Content which interests your customers
A company or brands target market is their everything. They have to know how to target these people on Facebook and make their content interesting and relevant to these people lives. It’s important to not just post about your business but about topics that appeal to your target market either it be a joke or a funny video etc. A stronger bond can be built between the company and its customers. Red Bull the energy drink supplier are a prime example of this. They are known for their high energy and living on the edge lifestyle, they target 18-39 year old. They always post non related videos but which fit in with their high energy persona.
2. Post a variety of content
Variety is the spice of life, this applies also in the world of Facebook. The same old statuses get boring. Companies need to switch it up, either be a video, blog post, pictures you need to keep people interested! Some times it isn’t a bad idea to use a personal touch to posts bringing to light their is actually a person behind these posts, believe it or not Facebook isn’t run by robots! Interactivity and Engagement are the keys to Facebook. Ask people their opinions and thoughts of various topics, you are guaranteed responses! Posts that include a prompt for conversation or a question receive 70% above average engagement
3. Drive Click-Throughs
A link posted by a business with no description or explanation will not generate many clicks. It is always important to move your Facebook followers to other pages either it be to the businesses official website or polls etc. It can also increase the likely hood of people downloading a possible app. Lowe’s an American home improvement company have cleverly posted a link to a quiz in which their Facebook followers can click onto and see what they get in the quiz. It is interactive and shows that believe it or not there is life outside Facebook! This may also be enhanced by sharing stories and links to articles or news in relation to various products reviews or a blog on what events are coming up for the business. This makes them feel important and part of the brand.
4. Note when your fans are online
Although it is definitely safe to say Facebook never sleeps, a business or brand should note the peek times of the day their target market are mainly online. Pages that suffer from low engagement are ones who don’t do their research on this. It is easy to know how many people your post has reached, but are they the people your targeting? This can be viewed through ‘Facebook Insights’. Teenagers may be active 24 hours a day but for example if you are targeting mothers then it is very unlikely they will be online past 12 a.m. If your looking for responses then maybe the afternoon may be the best time for you to post! Businesses must strive to know these peoples lifestyles and not just few them as a ‘like’ on your page. If you try to be interactive and fail it does not reflect well on your page and ultimately your business.
5. Be Thankful & Examine Comments as they happen
What’s the point of asking people their opinion and then going missing once their post is updated? A lot of firms are guilty of this. It’s almost as if their asking a question but don’t care to hear the answer. Studies have shown that likes, shares and comments are generally made within the first few hours after an update is posted. It is important to check posts early and often so peoples voices go unheard. This will increase communication and interactivity in the future. It is also beyond important to make fans and followers feel valued and make sure their support doesn’t go unnoticed. This can encourage loyalty and entice people to get engaged who maybe haven’t before. Facebook is a community, make sure everyone is a part of it.
Thanks for checking out my top top five tips for great Facebook content!
At the end of the day, we cant live with Facebook and won’t survive without it…..
Mobile, something we can’t live without. ‘What did people do years ago when phones didn’t exist?’, a question we ask ourselves a lot. The core purpose of a mobile phone is to make phone calls, but now there used for everything but. The taught of parting with your phone for an hour sends shivers down some peoples spines and even gives them anxiety. A quote written by Eric Qualman sums up how social media is everywhere and 100% inevitable, ‘We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it’
Social Media
It is fair to say that social media affects the social life and activity of people in diferent ways. For example, I just took out my smart phone and entered the ‘Google play store’ I typed in Facebook and it has been downloaded by 1 billion people worldwide. That is almost 17% of the entire worlds population. With a 25 billion downloads combined with all the 600,000 apps available. The question I’m asking myself is do people go out of their way anymore to go on their laptops or computers to access social media sites?
According to mobile statistics.com an average person spends 90 minutes day on their phone , this amounts to a whopping 23 days a year and 3.9 years of our lives.
It is important to remember that ‘mobile’ does not actually just mean mobile phones, it also includes tablets and Ipads etc. We rely on these devices a lot more than what we think.
The people who have been loyal to computers over the years are now getting with the times and starting to buy tablets and smartphones.
All I can say is I’m so thankful I had a childhood before technology took over. Mobile may be the future but what comes next? #shutdownthedisplay #lookup
Ever find yourself saying ‘They should have an App for that’.. Your not the only one. When I found out we had to submit an app for the competition my mind went into over drive, but i was kidding no one all the apps I thought of already existed in some shape or form. I knew I had to think of something that I would download myself along with my peers. Last Weekend I wanted to get a blow dry, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money and I wanted to know did any where in Cork City have cheap offers or deals. This proved more challenging than what you’d think. That’s when ‘StylePrime’ was born, if it was created it would make my life a lot easier. The layout of ‘StylePrime’ would be extremely similar to Trivago and Booking.com but with hairdressers in your local area.
The location, style and price can be filtered by the user to avail of the best offers, deals and discounts on hair treatments in their local areas. Either it be a simply cut , highlights or a blow dry ‘StylePrime’ has it all. The users can afterwards review the service they received with comments and rate the hairdresser with stars. This way hairdressers are getting free advertising and word of mouth spreads. Lets face it, Irish women love to talk.. especially about hair!
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The users of the app can sign in using their email and receive notifications with all hair related offers and deals in hairdressers they have went to, or ones they might choose in the future. StylePrime is also going to have a social aspect, where users can interact with each other, share photos of their new ‘do’ and share their recommendations and opinions with their friends. It is going to be its own community where the users can also share their hair tips, tutorial videos, and anything that’s hair related! As a wise woman once said, Life is too short to have boring hair.
For more on StylePrime and other digital Marketing articles and news please visit my Digital Marketing Page Digital Marketing 101. Thanks for reading guys, I will be posting again next week.
Just a few Hair Related articles you guys might want to take a look at .. Happy styling!
Yvonne Murray 