Social Media Marketing

What are digital breadcrumbs?

marciacatlin · January 10, 2016 ·

As Forbes so correctly notes in a recent article (“3 Ways Social Media Is Driving A Business Revolution“), social media marketing can be deployed without spending millions. This should be reason enough for any business, large or small, to embrace it and to figure out strategies that would work for its particular industry and goals.
Like brand expert Cindy Ratzlaff, I am often asked how to analyze the ROI for a Twitter or Facebook account. There are plenty of measurement tools for this. Decoding the numbers for clients is another story.
So I was delighted to find Cindy’s analysis of the REAL value of social media. [See below.]
It’s branding!
I can see the “digital breadcrumbs” I’ve sprinkled about in my various Twitter campaigns with daily blog posts, branded images and curated content linked to Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. The ROI is cumulative. Time and consistency are keys to success. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Create digital breadcrumbs today. Then drop them where the people most likely to want what you offer are already spending time.
A potential client just asked me how he could quantify the ROI of social media. I get this question a lot and I understand the desire to have data or metrics to justify the time and money we spend on building a social network. Because I want you all to think of yourselves as a brand – and what you write, create or offer as a brand extension – it’s important for you to realize that your posts, tweets, images and other social updates are serving multiple purposes.
First, they start a conversation or at least let people know you have something to say. Secondly, they are digital breadcrumbs leading people back to your primary site – hopefully a website or blog site – where they can learn more about you. How? Add your website to images, make sure your URL is in your bio, share links to your blog posts and be present daily.
– Cindy Ratzlaff

– By Marcia Coffey
Find Marcia on Google+
Call Marcia at 561.906.3436

Genius Little Tool. Drive Traffic. Promote Yourself.

marciacatlin · January 10, 2016 ·

It used to be that web designers were leery of putting too many outgoing links on their websites. Who wants their web visitors wandering off to other sites and potential competitors anyway?
No more! Problem solved. Welcome Sniply, a simple tool that lets you overlay your own custom message onto any piece of content.
Own a Website or Blog? Sniply can Make it Better!
You don’t have to own the content to add your message, so you can appear on Mashable, New York Times, TechCrunch and pretty much wherever you wish! This creates an opportunity for you to include a call-to-action like a button linking back to your blog, affiliate program, Facebook fan page … wherever you are driving traffic.
There are three basic components to Sniply: (1) the page you want your message to appear on, (2) the message you want to appear on the page, and (3) the call-to-action that leads to a conversion.

Cost Savings for Small Businesses

Content marketing is the strategy of driving conversions and generating exposure through quality content. But, it can be expensive for small businesses to create first-rate content on a regular basis. Sniply helps solves that problem. Now small businesses can reap the benefits of content marketing by leveraging quality content to build up their brand.
Here are 3 more reasons to check out Sniply:
Conversions from Curated Content
Many experts claim that at least 50% of the content you share should be from others. This also means that 50% of your online sharing consists of driving traffic to somebody else’s website, which essentially cuts you out of the picture.
With Sniply, you can now capture value from curated content by attaching your own brand to every link you share. Whether it’s an article from Forbes or video on YouTube, you can include your own custom call-to-action to drive conversions from curated content.
Conversions from Earned Media
Media is considered “earned” when a publication features you or a blogger mentions you. You are never paid for the exposure, but you’ve “earned” it through your endeavors.
Now you are “compensated”. With Sniply, you can take control of Earned Media and include your own call-to-action as you share it.
Conversions from Your Own Content
Including a call-to-action on links to your own content is an effective way to get your followers to take action. Sniply gives you the flexibility to change your messaging dynamically and keep your followers updated on what you want them to know.
There are a million ways to use the tool and the beauty of it all is that Sniply puts you in control.
See my Sniply demo here
– By Marcia Coffey
Find Marcia on Google+
Call Marcia at 561.906.3436

How Pinterest Theming Targets Your Audience

marciacatlin · January 9, 2016 ·

Do you happen to have a new product that resembles the proverbial boulder not moving up a hill?
Yes, of course … you know that yours is the only organic cooking oil in the world that jazzes up popcorn like nothing else, not to mention what it can do for broccoli.
But, why would anyone buy this unknown gourmet brand of yours at three times the cost of ordinary cooking oil sold in a supermarket?
You love your product. Question is how to reach an audience that doesn’t know what it’s missing.
Pinterest could just be a cost-free answer for you. Consider isolating a theme that would be exciting, helpful and educational to your target audience and build it out visually just like a special issue magazine. Obviously make it a Cooking Theme for your oil and then design Boards of foods suited to your oil, with images of relevant recipes (preferably, some of them yours), nutritional values, tips, et al.
Give the theme a catchy name, with your keyword. Maybe “100 Gourmet Cooking Oil Surprises”.
Case History

Consider the story of Petplan Insurance which markets a “non-essential” product … so say the stats. In the U.S. only 1% of pets are insured (30% in the UK, and as high as 50% in Sweden). Petplan wanted to increase the awareness of both the availability and necessity of pet insurance.
They began creating boards with compelling images from their pet health magazine, fetch!. They then expanded into specific educational content such as the “Health Tips” and “Breed All About It” boards.
While the Petplan boards cover different subjects, they all feature ONE CONCEPT: “how great pets are!”
Petplan has seen a 87% increase in new site traffic, a 35% increase in page views, and a 12.5% increase in insurance quote requests!
Pinterest Theming Project I’m Working On
Aesthetic Dental of Jupiter offers general dentistry as well as cosmetic dentistry. Most people are very interested in all of the anti-aging or cosmetic dental procedures and need information.
So Cosmetic Dentistry is the perfect theme with visuals of all of the ever-changing advancements in the field.
It’s no secret that companies are using Pinterest for marketing purposes and doing so successfully. Pinterest is a great tool for raising brand awareness, driving traffic back to your website and increasing sales
– By Marcia Coffey
Find Marcia on Google+
Call Marcia @ 561.906.3436.
Follow @jmgroupdesign