At least for now, Facebook continues to be the 800 pound gorilla in the world of social media platforms.  Facebook also continues to be one of the more (successful) innovative platforms that works hard to satisfy both members and advertisers. Facebook is the place we fish, and here’s why: Facebook has nearly 1.6 billion members and Instagram has 300 million. Your customers and prospects are most likely a part of this community. Facebook is the best platform for you to connect with 30-40 year old up and comers who offer you a lifetime of transactions. Facebook is also the best place for the 50+ demographic – that’s the fastest growing social segment. Facebook shows the most powerful social media ecommerce statistics, sending a massive 60% of all ecommerce referrals for last year. By comparison, Polyvore drove 20% and Pinterest drove 15%. That’s not to say we ignore other platforms that deliver real value to their clients. Twitter has gained importance now that it has partnered with Google. Your  Twitter feed will show up in Google search results and it’s usually the first page.  Great for getting found! But, this is the world of social media and it’s a world that is traveling at Mach 3 speed. So who knows how things will look this time next year, but for now we’re fishing in the ocean that offers the greatest number and variety of fish. Still not convinced?  Click here for a mind blowing infographic that shows all of the activities that happen in a “Facebook Minute”. Ready to add Facebook to your marketing mix?  Want help optimizing your Facebook marketing to really drive business results?  Simply click here to send us a note and one of our social media consultants will be quick to respond! [wysija_form id="1"]

1 – Details, details! Do an informative, promoted post 4-5 days before your sale or event. Give the reader every piece of information they need to plan for it and to find it. Date, time, details, and location (include the address!) are all mandatory. If your sale is online, include a "Learn more" button on your ad that takes the customer to your web page with all of the information. Be sure to include a coupon code that will get them to return when the sale goes "live". Facebook provides some great guidelines on creating these types of ads!                         2 – Make your offer a win/win! Holiday sales can be a great way for you to clear out overstocked product at a value price that earns you a happy new customer. Does your inventory include a currently "hot" item? Take advantage of this to not only sell the product, but to establish yourself as a go-to place to shop for all things trending.                       3 – Showcase your customers. Post images of happy customers in your store with their awesome deals. Images like this will create excitement and tease to your sale. You can also use these images to tease to your next sale. 4 – Laser focus your targeting. Study your customer profiles and make sure... ... your radius represents your products. In other words keep it to 10 miles if you have a lot of competition for what you're offering. Expand to 25-50 if you have a "hot item" that people are willing to travel for (think Sphero Star Wars Droid, Fitbit HR or Apple Watch). Obviously if you're an online seller this doesn't necessarily apply to you unless you offer a local pick-up option. ... you take advantage of interests and behavioral targeting in addition to standard demographics. Selling clothing to teens? Age and gender are obvious selections but make sure you include selections like "teen fashion" and behaviors like "fashionistas" to get your ad in front of the right prospects). Yes, you'll get fewer impressions but they will be far more likely to convert. Teens also look for unique pieces of clothing, so if you are selling something generic like jeans, jackets, etc. you may want to add on some embroidery designs to make them look one of a kind, this could pique interest in some buyers and hopefully help you shift what you need to. Need help with your holiday sales campaigns? We're happy to help! Give us a call at 888.607.9655 or contact us at Sales@Engage121.com.

Are you ready to make the most out of Small Business Saturday? It's the alternative or counterpart to better-known shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday and it's gone viral since its introduction in 2010. In fact, according to Facebook, approximately 88 million people in the U.S. (that's 1 out of every 4 Americans) spent an estimated $14.3 billion with small businesses in 2014. Here's how you can make the most of it for your business: 1. Be social. This could be your biggest "shopping day" of the year so get the word out on all channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest. Plan on 3-5 posts/week focusing on Small Business Saturday and what it means for your customers (not you). You could even get in touch with various marketing agencies in your vicinity. For example, if you were living in Australia, you could always seek help from a digital marketing agency australia to help you amplify the reach of your business and increase traffic on your website. 2. Be digital. Don't forget to promote it on your website and through your eNewsletters and blogs. Use invoice software to digitize your invoices for simplicity and practicality - many shoppers appreciate going paperless now anyway as it's more convenient and helps to save the environment. Taking the assistance of accounting software such as Quickbooks and others could help the financial aspect of the business to be streamlined and - helping in accepting and giving out payments and invoices for clients, customers, and vendors alike. Multiple bookkeeping software companies tend to partner up with check printing companies such as Check O Matic (visit their service page at https://www.checkomatic.com/order-quickbooks-checks to know more) to print checks compatible with the software, and give the business a smooth functioning benefit. 3. Be personal. Decorate your shop or office with signs about Small Business Saturday. Have your employees promote it as well. Consider playing a particular kind of music to draw in customers. You can use streaming services, allowing you to create playlists and moods for your shop. You can click this to personally know about it. Keep in mind that one of the reasons your customers choose you over a big box store is that they feel a personal connection to your business and your community. Capitalize on that and get some buzz going by asking them to contribute to your pages/sites. Get their stories. Get their videos. Get them involved. Ask them to support Small Business Saturday by tweeting about shopping small with the #ShopSmall hashtag. Or posting a photo on Instagram with the same hashtag. In exchange, you do the same: post pictures of them in your establishment, make a fun video of them showing their support. You get the idea. Reward your community for their loyalty. Saturday, November 28th is just around the corner. To learn more and get FREE promotional materials for your own business, courtesy of American Express, visit here. Like their Facebook Page to be inspired by other small [...]

We hear it from our new clients all the time: we see our real growth potential being with the 25-40 year old demographic. But they're elusive! They don't read emails The only TV they watch is Netflix or TiVO (no ads) - and they even know how to get around blocked sites thanks to sites like Avoidcensorship.org/ The only radio they listen to is Sirius (also no ads) They don't answer their phones (especially from numbers they don't recognize) They surely don't read newspapers So what's a business to do? You need to congregate where they do and that's on social media. Facebook is the 2 ton gorilla here with nearly 1.6 billion members. And, now that they have integrated Instagram Ads that gives advertisers a massive network of desktop, mobile, Instagram and third party channels. Who wants to get in front of Millennials? Real estate agents, specialty retail companies, early childhood centers, to name just a few. Can we help YOU get in front of Millennials? You bet we can. Operators are standing by! 888.607.9655 or email us at Sales@Engage121.com

Not surprisingly, Facebook continues to be the top referrer for retailers. Plus, Facebook traffic is more likely to convert into sales over all other social channels. These findings come from the latest Adobe Digital Media Index (ADMI) release. The ADMI also found that Facebook’s average revenue per visitor (RPV)* is double that of Twitter and 1.5 times more than from Pinterest. Facebook’s average RVP in Q3 was $1.24 – that’s a 7% increase measured year over year. And while social is a relatively small referral source for retailers, it’s growing. Fast. Social shopping accounted for $3.3 billion of the top 500 retailers’ sales and that’s an increase of 26% over 2013 levels according to the Internet Retailers Social Media 500. That’s great growth compared to the overall average e-commerce growth rate of 16%. This is all great news for social e-commerce. It should be even more interesting in Q4 as Instagram’s ad program takes off! Want to learn more about how you can (and should) incorporate social commerce into your business marketing arsenal? Reach out to us at Sales@Engage121.com and a social media specialist will be in touch!

The more content you post, the better your results. FALSE.  Last night before I went to bed I checked Facebook and, sure enough, my friend “Veronica” had posted at least a dozen articles and links.  Then, this morning, I was doing my morning Facebook routine and there she was again…and again…and again. Chances are we’ve all had that Facebook friend that jams up your newsfeed.  I have been so inundated with her posts that I’ve stopped paying attention to them.  And the fact is, if “Veronica” was a business I would have un-liked her page. So what’s the best practice here?  1-2 times a day and then sit on your hands. You don’t want to be a “Veronica”. Social media is a great platform for selling your goods and services Actually, this is TRUE but if you treat it like your other channels you’re not going to be successful. Social media is all about attraction and is a great platform for establishing your bona fides to customers and prospects, and for developing trust and influence. This is where you sow the seeds for future business by being informative, expert, helpful, entertaining and, oh yes, just occasionally showcasing your business. To be successful on social media you need to use all of the available channels. Unless you have unlimited people, time and energy resources this is FALSE.  Focus on “fishing where the fish are” and chances are you’ll discover that Facebook is your biggest “ocean” with over 1.5 billion monthly users. Layer in Instagram’s 300 million monthly users, which is now making advertising available using the same API as Facebook, and you’ve pretty well covered most, if not all, of your social sphere. Facebook is for teens and young adults. Not so any more. That may have been true a decade ago but actually adults 55+ are the fastest growing demographic on Facebook.  While teen users declined by over 25% over the past 3 years, the 55+ sector’s growth has been an explosive 80.4% over the past 3 years.  

Social media usage by older Americans has grown significantly, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. The report reveals that 35% of US adults over the age of 65 are now using social media – that's an increase of 24% since 2010. Further, 77% of US adults aged 30-49 are using social media. This is great news for businesses as it means more and more of their prospects and customers are on social. With social media scheduling tool and software, it is much easier for marketers to plan their posts well ahead of time. This means they can visually plan, create and directly publish the scheduled content from one platform to all their social media profiles. And with less help, social media delivers messages and offers in uniquely engaging, tightly targeted, and cost-effective ways. But then businesses need to look at various social media growth apps like Kicksta and Growthoid review before they decide on something for their growth. Other highlights from the Report? Adults from higher income households are more likely to be social media users. 78% of US adults who earn more than $75,000 per year are social media users, compared to 56% of adults who make less than $30,000 per year. Gender does not make a difference in social media usage. 68% of US women are social media users, compared to 62% of men. Pew observes that this difference is statistically insignificant. Younger adults have the highest penetration of social media usage. 90% of US adults ages 18-29 now use social media, up from 12% in 2005. Growth of social media users of those ages 50-64 has largely remained flat. Slightly more than half of US adults in that age bracket are social media users, unchanged from two years ago. These statistics are particularly good news for small businesses whose marketing budgets tend to be tighter. Why? Traditional marketing media are "pay to play". In other words, you're going to pay $X for a mailing, newspaper add or radio or TV commercial irrespective of how many people see/hear it. Social, on the other hand, is "pay for performance". That means that if you don't get the desired action (i.e., click, inquire, file out a form, request a white paper, etc.) you don't pay a penny. Though this depends if you are paying for advertising on the platform or directly posting on the platform yourself and using a growth service like TokUpgrade (See this TokUpgrade review verdict for more information) to attract an audience. If your business uses its own social media account to post then the cost is the time spent taking any photographs and the time taken to post it. Many different platforms allow you to promote posts to users that aren't already subscribed to your posts. Again this is largely pay for performance; no engagement? No cost? All in all social media can provide many different opportunities for you to advertise to new audiences, generate new leads, and build a solid foundation [...]

Facebook is the clear winner at 67%. No surprise, considering that there are now over 1.6 billion people on the platform. Pinterest, however, is another powerful platform especially in the beauty, art, home, garden and food categories. Instagram, no doubt, will be nipping on Pinterest’s heels soon now that they started rolling out their advertising on September 9th of this year. Analysts at Kenshoo, a marketing software company, report that Instagram users are 2.5 times more likely to click on ads than other social platforms. This fact, coupled with Instagram’s integration with Facebook, make this a powerhouse combination. Ready to put Instagram to use for your business? Reach out to us at 888.609.9655 or email us at Sales@Engage121.com and one of our social media specialists will be in touch.

As we enter the third quarter, Engage121’s services have generated well over 2 million social media posts for our small business clients. Engage121 is actively managing 34,000 social media accounts for over 15,000 small businesses. 2,087,000 unique posts have been sent on behalf of these small businesses. What does all this mean? For our  small  businesses we have saved them over half a billion keystrokes (or thumbstrokes for the mobile crowd)  and approximately 209,000 hours!

Coming soon, Engage121 will be able to turn any promotion into an Instagram ad for no additional money. Facebook fully released Instagram advertising for Facebook Business pages on September 30th. To get ready for Engage121 to start creating Instagram ads on your behalf, you need to Go into the “settings” section of you page, and click on “Instagram Ads” in the left hand nav. Click “Add an Account” Choose to add an existing account by entering your Instagram username and password, or Create a new Instagram account for your business