Why Page Publishing Should be Your Business’ Core Competency

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According to FB report, the best ads come from posts on your Page, so our best practices for Page publishing apply to Page posts and to ads and sponsored stories.  Here are some Posting best practices recommended  by FB:

Get the basics down.

Be succinct. Posts between 100 and 250 characters (less than 3 lines of text) see about 60% more likes, comments and shares than posts greater than 250 characters.

Post regularly. Post at least five times a week to stay top of mind for fans. Consistency is also key. For example, post new product announcements on the same day every week so fans know what to expect and can look forward to hearing from you.

Post at the optimal time. Only you know what’s right for your business, and you can use your Page Insights to figure out what’s working (for instance, try posting at different times of day and see when you get the most engagement).   For example, FB reports show that restaurants post from 7am-12pm when people are making plans for the day, while retailers post in the 8am-2pm window. User engagement with Facebook Pages is highest from 9-10pm and the 18-24 demographic is the most engaged during this time.*

Be specific and relevant.

Know your specific audience. When posting to your page, your message will reach fans who are likely to be familiar with your brand, so insider content can make them feel in the know.  To reach new audiences, you should create an ad from your page post and keep the content more general while still using your brand voice.

Be seasonable and timely. Fans are more likely to engage with topics that are already top of mind, such as current events, holidays or news. For example, posts mentioning Independence Day on July 4th generated about 90% more engagement than all posts published on that day.

* All engagement data and statistics are based on internal Facebook studies and represent average results.

Be relevant.  For example, local businesses can reference community events, while national businesses can link to articles that their community will care about.

Make a visual impact.

Post photos and videos. Posts including a photo album, a picture or a video generate about 180%, 120%, and 100% more engagement than the average post, respectively.*

Use bold visuals. Grab your audience’s attention by using simple images with a clear focal point. Images with highly saturated colors also help the creative stand out against the site’s white background.   An internal study showed that top performing ads (those with >.3% engagement in the form of likes, comments and shares) feature close-up images and a single color that stands out.*

Feature images that capture your brand. Ideally your profile image will be your logo or other brand  symbol, but people should also recognize your brand in the images you feature. An internal study showed that when a brand was immediately identifiable in an ad, it performed better in terms of recall and purchase consideration.

Craft compelling content.

Speak from your specific brand voice. Include key words that are unique to your brand identity. If your brand has a fictional spokesperson, use their voice. If not, imagine how your brand would sound if   it was a person.

Position your brand as a hero or problem solver. Highlight a specific product feature, such as anngredient or the convenience factor, and the impact it made. Reinforce this in the image if possible.  An internal study showed that this was a characteristic of top performing ads.

Give fans exclusive access to content, products, events, and offers. Fans are 2x more valuable than non-fans, so you should reward them for their loyalty.* Take fans behind the scenes of events and product launches to make them feel special. Announce new products to fans on Facebook before anywhere else, give fans early access to sales, or post exclusive photos from events.

Deliver value to fans. Post limited-time offers or coupon codes, or use your Page to promote a sweepstakes or giveaway.  Social loyalty rewards programs would make an excellent strategy.

AA Customer Spotlight: Green Square Growers

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New York doesn’t have acres of land to grow fresh food. However, rooftop spaces can always be maximized to include growing fresh produce. Brooklyn Grange, the largest rooftop farm in NYC grows salad greens, rainbow chard, kale, basil, eggplant, cucumbers and ground cherries. This is one of the biggest projects funded by Mayor Bloomberg as part of the Green Infrastructure program that will help NYC become “a greener, greater city.”

Further down South (down under in Australia!) from where we call home is a group of like-minded individuals that share the value of going green through sprouting (literally) public edible gardens. Green Square Growers is an inspiring community that shares ideas such as how to create that strawberry vertical garden you never thought you could have as well as “how to green up your workspace.” Apart from their love and knowledge for gardening, they also know how to engage their community the right way. Let’s see how to do things the Green Square Growers way…

1. Who are the Green Square Growers?
We love growing food – at home and in public spaces. We are a local community group based in Green Square of Sydney, Australia and were founded in September 2011.

Basically we are all about sharing our knowledge of growing food with each other and others in the community. We also love installing public edible gardens that anyone in the community can access any time of the day.

2. How do you keep your community engaged, involved and excited to be a part of Green Square Growers?
We meet the 2nd Sunday of every month. Our meeting details are always shared on our Facebook page. Ironically our Facebook community is our local neighborhood community. We meet ‘offline’ to share knowledge, swap excess food produce, maintenance of the community gardens and to plan for future community gardens being installed. We encourage discussions to flow into the online space too.

3. Why did you create a Facebook brand page and why did you download the AA Static HTML app? How have these helped your organization?
We felt a Facebook page was a very simple way for the community to find out more about what we are doing and for our members to keep in touch with each other between catch ups.

We downloaded the AA Static HTML app to easily create a welcome page. We didn’t want a landing page as such (just happy for people to go straight to our wall). However once you arrive at our wall, you will be greeted with a large ‘hello’ button just under our cover photograph. The AA Static HTML app made it easy to create a multimedia welcome using text and video. This made it simple for people to know more about us and to inform them how they can get involved.

5. What advice can you give to other groups/organizations that want to succeed in their Facebook and inbound marketing efforts?
Encourage interaction online and offline and to take the time to welcome new visitors who click that wonderful ‘like’ button. Let people know your community group or business cares.

Optimizing Facebook Engagement: What Newsfeed Content Works

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Every brand, product and target audience is different, so perfecting type of content is a unique process for each brand. While Tabs have played a significant role in how brands use Facebook to reach their customers, this blog points to a much deeper issue regarding any brand’s social strategy. Tabs are only part of the equation.  The key lies in the quality content that continuously inspires genuine engagement.

The main hub on Facebook now between a brand and its fans is the newsfeed — the only place to reach a brand’s Facebook audience. To implement an effective strategy on Facebook, brands need

to engage more earnestly with their audience by focusing on content that breaks through the clutter. In turn, this compelling content heightens engagement and increases the likelihood that the Facebook Edgerank algorithm will incorporate these types of updates in the future. And for brands, this means knowing and thinking like their audience.

For starters, explicit calls to action get the best response. Here are other ways to tap into the mindset of a Fan, demand attention in the newsfeed and maximize engagement. 

1. Establish connection with the Fans.

Once customers become Fans, brands need to remind them why they “liked” them in the first place. Insight on company culture, employees and events allows Fans to connect with a brand in a more direct and personal way.

2. Keep the message short and sweet.

Facebook users scan their newsfeeds multiple times a day. Multimedia updates that stand out next to long text blurbs tend to catch their attention and attract more comments, clicks and shares. Avoid text overload with visuals.

3. Set industry trends.

Fans like to learn more about the brands they follow and look to them for new ideas as a leader in their industry. Sharing white papers, interesting assets and positioning posts helps to showcase brands as thought leaders and set them apart from competitors.  Use continuous newsfeeds to teach and inspire with leadership.

4.  Be more than interesting – be helpful

Surprising Fans with interesting content that is not expected makes it fun, such as games, puzzles, etc.  Nothing makes Fans more excited than accidentally finding something in their newsfeed that they were looking for.

5. Be relevant – a.ka. Be Local

Fans based in New York do not share common interests as fans in San Francisco. Facebook’s new promotion capabilities can unlock specific targets/markets.  So use them wisely.  Target updates based on personal location or interests. Share the right content with the right people to make your brand relevant. 

6. Interact with your Fans in Real-Time

Social media allows brands not only to broadcast to their audience but to interact with them in real-time. Customers have now learned to use brand pages to express problems and concerns with the company.  Hence, it has become even more important to address them in a timely manner. Positive experiences with customer service and extra help from brands build customer loyalty.  These loyal customers create word-of-mouth marketing which, in essence, is free advertising.

7. Actually ask what Fans think

Opinions matter.  Fans get excited knowing their opinions matter. The newsfeed is a great place to find out how Fans use a product or what they think about an issue through comments and polls. As they interact with a brand’s content, the newsfeed encourages their friends to chime in, as well.

8. Make your Fans feel special

Who does not like a VIP treatment? Fans appreciate knowing that they are valued. One way of showing their value is by giving away discounts, specials and exclusives on products and services just for Fans – This gives them incentives to try something new, and they would also spread the word about the exclusive deals to friends.  Using a social loyalty program would be a good strategy, as well.

9. Lure your Fans back to the page

Fans need a reason to check out the “full view” of brand pages — and the newsfeed is a perfect place to do circle them back to the page.  Promos, contests and engagement opportunities posted in the newsfeed are a great way to heighten interest and direct them to a brand’s Timeline or even a custom-designed application.

 10, Create and Repeat

Facebook gives brands the platform to master the creation of compelling content,  raise interest in Facebook content, inspire engagement, then better secure placement of future content in the newsfeed. And loop back again.

How to Make a Successful Facebook Conversion Funnel

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The keys to leading a person from being a casual visitor to Liking a FB fanpage, and through making a purchase, depend on having a solid social strategy and compelling offers that get your community excited about. So how can your company make a successful conversion?  Let’s go over some of the key factors and talk about how they can be applied to marketing on the world’s largest social network:

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The Fewer, The Better – Liking with Limited Quantity

Scarcity is a powerful tool. Offering a product with limited time period or quantity can be very enticing.  This is what drives impulse buys in social commerce. If your customers know they can’t get it anywhere else and there’s only a few left, they are much more likely to buy. Scarcity will attract new Likes (and customer acquisition) by word of mouth.

Quality Over Quantity

Popularity may be awesome but can be a tricky thing.  A brand with 20,000 fans on Facebook is popular compared to one with 100 fans, but pales in comparison to the brand with 20 million fans. The real lesson is what you do with your fans and less about how many you have.   So engage with your fan base and continue to offer a unique and awesome experience. In turn, your community will grow. The bottomline is that authenticity, consistency, and great content that generates a reaction are big drivers in developing a community. Posts with photos and powerful videos encourage sharing, and therefore expand a brand’s reach. An authentic brand voice will build trust, leading the casual brand fan to have a deeper sense of personal connection and ownership.  This makes them pay more attention to your updates that appear in their news feeds.

Go Directly to Your Customers – Remove the Middle Man

So you have a community of fans.  They are there for a reason – they like your products,  your customer service, your stores, your marketing, etc. You are the authority on your brand and your fans want to directly deal with and buy from you.  So take out the middle man and go directly to your fans. That way, you’re in control of the experience. Fans appreciate that direct experience much more than just buying your products at a big retailer. This is a big factor in the conversion funnel. People buy from the direct source because the sense of trust is very high. They know that the direct source cares more for the customers more than anyone else.  Thus, a great social experience that ends with a sale builds affinity and is an opportunity for brands to build repeat business.  The keyword here is “experience”.  The experience flows all the way from the initial introduction to the offer through the message a person receives after the transaction.  The experience ensures repeat customers.

Friends get Rewards

Reward your fans for being loyal to your brand and you can easily turn them into your evangelists or advocates of your brand or products.  This is the beauty of the social loyalty program.  You don’t only retain your existing customers. (Remember, new customer acquisition costs 8 times more than retaining your existing customers.)  In essence, your evangelists give free testimonials and help you acquire new customers.  You get free advertising.  And for the first time ever, Facebook makes it so much easier to do word-of-mouth marketing and use existing fans to acquire new customers. Find what reward system works for your brand and make it a part of your overall strategy.  It does not only drive down your costs, but it is a very effective marketing tool.

Be Consistent

The key to success in any endeavor is consistency – Show Up!  When it comes to Facebook Commerce, you need to just stay on top of it. Your fan base is built over time.  This can be accomplished in the form of polls, photo caption contests, giveaways, quotes, choosing a fan of the day, anything that engages your fans or get them involved.  Facebook Commerce is about building a community. When used well, the Facebook conversion funnel is a loop. By being smart with the offer and providing a great experience along the way, you can build your audience’s expectation and make them shop through your Facebook page.  So what else are you waiting for?  It is right at your fingertips!

AA Customer Spotlight: Heason Events

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Rock climbing, orienteering, skateboarding, and adventure racing are not seen in the Olympics but these exciting, sometimes grueling and tough sports, all have stories behind them– from the lives of the athletes to the terrains they seek and conquer, to reaching new heights (even literally) and milestones.

Who doesn’t love a good story? A story presented well has the power to be an art form. It can serve to inspire people, to make them understand something and to give them a call to action. Heason Events from the UK knows good story telling. They have successfully married the excitement of live lectures with the magic of big screen cinema into their events  that adventurous spirits and minds always flock to. And thus, Heason Events carries over their expertise in storytelling to engage their community of enthusiasts using mediums like AppAddictive’s Vimeo and YouTube Gallery Apps on their Facebook Page as well as craft short messages via Twitter (@HeasonEvents). Let’s learn how to do things the Heason Events way!

1. What is the story Behind Heason Events?

Matt Heason launched Heason Events in spring 2003.  It began life as a series of grassroots rock climbing talks in Sheffield.  His aim was simple – to create slick, multi-media, digital presentations to excite, entertain and inspire audiences around the country.

Not long after, Matt started putting on the Best of Kendal Mountain Festival nights on at Sheffield’s Showroom Cinema.  The evenings proved such a hit that in 2006 the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival was born.  This year’s trailer had more than 100,000 hits and every year for the past 8 years 100% of visitors said they’d come again and recommend it to a friend.

Every summer, Matt partners up with Sheffield City Council to put on the UK’s biggest outdoors festival for outdoors folk – Cliffhanger.  With more than 20,000 visitors the aim of the event is to inspire & involve. Featuring elite competitions and / or professional demonstrations in rock climbing, orienteering,  mountain biking, running, slacklining, adventure racing and more, visitors are able to watch incredibly talented sports-people of all ages at the top of their game, and then take part in the very sports they have just been inspired by.

Matt also runs a successful speaker agency – his ‘Serious Adventure’ Speakers Portfolio is the most comprehensive network of serious (but not humourless!) adventurers, explorers and extreme sports athletes in the world.  As he puts it, if the person you’re looking for is not on his list give him a call as he probably knows them or will be able to track them down.

Two years ago Matt teamed up with Lissa Cook – a former Radio 4 news journalist and PR.  She’d moved to the Peak District to seek the good-life with her adventure sports writer and athlete husband, Nik Cook. Matt was impressed by the serious amount of media coverage she was generating for her handmade childrenswear business, Peak Princess, and got her on board.

It proved a dream team – with ShAFF ticket sales increasing by more than 75% in 2011 and another jump of nearly 50% this year and hundreds of pieces of press coverage.

2. How do you keep your community engaged and excited about your events? How do you keep people coming back to your events? 

We “talk” to people & create a community of people who love adventure sports – we make sure we share plenty of great video content, interesting links to people we’re working with, products we’re reviewing, eye-catching images etc.  We put a lot of effort in to responding via email, facebook and twitter so it’s a 2-way conversation.

3. Why did you create a FB brand page and why did you download the AA Vimeo app?

For a lot of film-makers Vimeo is a great way to share video content in high quality. Downloading the AA Vimeo app meant we can have a one click app where we share our Vimeo content.

4. What advice can you give to other businesses that want to succeed in their FB and inbound marketing efforts?

Don’t just broadcast what you’re doing – ask what your community of fans and followers are up to. Respond and react. Have fun. Share great quality content that fans in turn will want to share.

The Power of Storytelling is Authenticity

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Stories are authentic human experiences. Stories can also build relationships, and bring people closer together.  Stories connect us to each other.  Whether we are aware of it or not, stories have a huge impact on who we are, the way we learn, and the way we teach. A good story can capture the attention of a huge audience, and really cement a point that you are trying to make. Stories leap frog the technology and bring us to the core of experience.

There are several psychological reasons why stories are so powerful.    

  • Humans are narrative creatures by nature.  And stories have always been a primal form of communication.  They connect us to a self larger than us and to universal truths. They bring us back to ancient traditions, legends, archetypes, myths, and symbols.  They also transcend generations.
  • Stories are about human connection and relatedness. They engage us through emotions of joys, laughter, sadness, hardships and passions. Stories allow us to understand ourselves better, to find our commonality with others and overcome differences, to share meaning and purpose in the different aspects of our lives.
  • Stories reveal our thought processes and how we make meanings of life.  Psychologists use different names such as mental schemas, scripts, cognitive mapping, mental models, metaphors, or narratives.  Nevertheless, they all lead to a common purpose — We use stories to explain how things work, how we make decisions, how we justify our decisions, how we persuade others, how we understand and define ourselves, and how we teach human values such as responsibility, commitment, compassion, and the like.
  • Stories can be therapeutic and provide order.  People seek certainty and this is a universal truth.  And narratives offer a structure that is familiar, predictable, and comforting. Within the context of the story, we can withstand intense emotions because we know that resolution follows the conflict. Narratives can provide solutions and a safety net.  In my private practice, I have used stories to help children gain mastery and overcome some of their intense experiences (e.g., separation anxiety, low self-esteem), fears and emotions that can be too overwhelming.
  • Stories can be gateways that tap into our right brain and trigger our imagination. Through imagination, we become participants in the narratives. We can step out of our own shoes, see things differently, and increase our empathy and compassion for others. Through imagination, we think outside the box and harness our creativity that is the foundation of innovation, self-discovery and change.

In the context of social media, organizations, causes, brands or individuals identify and develop a core story.  They create and display authentic meaning and purpose that others can believe in, participate with, and share. Stories are so important today because there is SO much information out there and stories can serve as an effective filtering agent. Good stories will get someone to pay attention without clicking on the next link, changing the channel, or flipping the page. So what makes up a “good and powerful”  story? Most good stories will have the following elements:

  • Must have a Clear message (be engaging with tension or drama to evoke a powerful emotional experience
  • Mush have a Powerful introduction
  • Be Authentic
  • Be Relevant
  • May or may not have a call to action

AA Customer Spotlight: Flight101 Sport Speed Development

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Olympics fever is on! The past weekend's events brought us spectacles like the Chinese divers, so synchronized, they were like mirror images of each other; a few surprises (and tear jerkers) like World #1 Jordan Wieber not making it to the all-around finals later this week, as well as some shifts in power evidenced by Lochte (the new alpha male in men's swimming) and Phelps unable to carry their relay team to win the gold and beat the French in the 400m relay.

To add to the Olympics excitement, this week's AA Customer Spotlight features Jay Murdock, head coach and trainer of Flight101 Sport Speed Development, a well-known training ground for our future Olympians and World Champions. Coach Murdock has been busy as he just sent off 33 of his athletes to the AAU (US AMateur Athletic Union) Junior Olympics but he still makes sure to communicate and engage with his clients/community. Let's learn how it's done the Flight101 way.

What is Flight101 Sport Speed Development?

Established in 2005 and located in Canton OH – the heart of high school football country, Flight101 Sport Speed Development offers northeast Ohio’s best available sports-specific high performance athletic training. Regardless of the sport, the greatest concern among today’s athletes is how to improve playing speed. Not just another gym or the latest “fad workout” Flight101 Sport Speed Development is a complete approach to improving athletic playing speed, reaction, agility and quickness. No matter what the sport, improved playing speed is often what separates good athletes from great athletes and can make the difference between a “winning season and a championship season.”

Head coach and trainer Jay Murdock has over 25 years experience coaching athletes at every level in a variety of sports. He has worked with young athletes from youth baseball, soccer, football and basketball to track and field at the college ranks. A former educator, on-air radio personality and long-time community activist, during his over two decades of coaching young athletes he has had athletes in national and state championships every year but three. He has coached 1 world champion, 3 national champions, 5 state champions, dozens of state qualifiers, 2 high school district championship and 6 high school conference championship track and field teams. His “athlete first, coach driven, performance based” approach to training young athletes has produced winning teams and championship athletes in an assortment of sports.

What is your coaching philosophy? How do you keep the athletes excited to come to training and be Olympic hopefuls one day?

First, it is important that our athlete’s feel like they are a part of a special fraternity – the Flight101 family. Even though they might come from different backgrounds, schools and communities the thing that they have in common is that they train with Flight101 and that they want to be the best that they can be. Over the years we have had a number of our athletes go on to prominence on and off the playing field and we make sure that our younger kids feel connected to what these athletes have accomplished. Second, we use what I call the ACT (Attitude, Conditioning and Technique) Equation to get them to understand our Coach/Athlete relationship. Conditioning and technique are the things that we can coach but attitude is what they bring to the table and without the proper attitude the drills and exercises we coach are meaningless. One of the things that we try to do in order to make sure that our athletes understand why we might be doing a particular drill or exercise. The days of just running because coach said so won’t work with this generation of athletes. We often put the goals of our workouts in writing so that the athlete can see the specific outcome we are trying to accomplish with that particular training session. Finally and most importantly, we try to make sure our athletes are having fun and enjoying themselves and to help them understand that training is about personal growth and not necessarily about winning and losing. However, with hard work and commitment they can achieve incredible things – like maybe one day representing country on the US Olympic Team.

Why did you create a FB brand page? How has the AppAddictive YouTube app helped your business since you downloaded it?

We had been using our blog and monthly electronic newsletter to communicate with our clients and promote our business for a number of months when we decided to launch our Facebook brand page. Both the blog and newsletter were great but they both required a considerable amount of time and attention in order research and write the articles on a regular basis. The FB brand page allows us to communicate with our clients in real time. By subscribing to feeds and posts that might be helpful and of interest to our clients we can update our FB brand page 2-3 times daily. We can post status updates on our athletes who are doing well on the field and in the class room. We welcome new athletes to the Flight101 family by posting their profile on our page and parents can post their videos of our athletes in various sporting events.

The AppAddictive YouTube app has helped our business in a number of ways. Again, it has allowed us to promote our business by linking our FB Brand page to other brand pages that have similar interests or provide information, products and/or services that our clients can use. We have used the video capability to highlight our clients and promote their athletic achievements to college scouts and recruiters. We have also used the videos as a coaching tool to help our athletes improve their performance.

What advice can you give to other small businesses that want to succeed in their FB and inbound marketing efforts?

We have found our FB Brand page to be the most economical way to promote our business and communicate with our client base. If your business is looking for a “get the word out to more customers” I can’t think of a better way to do it.

Why Visuals Are Very Powerful Tools in Social Media Marketing

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Social media marketing is more than just setting up a Facebook account with contact information and a few press releases, then waiting for the masses to “like” you.  It is also more than just tweeting and getting people to sign up and follow you.

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A recent survey by UK marketer Dave Chaffey asked managers to rank the current key challenges of social media marketing. The top results were:

  • Managing reputation
  • Delivering customer service
  • Acquiring new customers
  • Increasing sales from existing customers
  • Increasing engagement with brand
  • Acquiring insights (analytics, ROI, brand preferences)

Small business owners are constantly facing these challenges.  And one of the keys of developing a successful social media strategy is to Focus on Visuals.  Why?

Visuals Equal Value

Visuals are a critical part of any successful marketing program. In the past, the visual part of your identity was a mere static logo. A little color, a little swoosh, and you’re done.  But in today’s social media age where videos and interaction have become an important part of the online presence, visuals take on a whole new territory.

In Universal McCann’s renowned “Wave 5″ report, watching online videos is the top social media activity.  Videos are great because there is a huge demand from users to develop a more social and interactive relationship with brands.  In other words, we must move beyond the simple product or service demonstration.  Interactive visuals are very powerful tools to tell a BRAND STORY.

Take the video of Corning:  A Day Made of Glass.  This video was intended for a small group of the company’s investors. And it carries an incredibly compelling look at the near future based on Corning’s innovative products. And it’s gone very viral. Since it launched on February 7, 2011, it has 19,523,661 views to date.

The phenomenal rise of social media sites like Pinterest and applications like Instagram has demonstrated that people are far more receptive to visual content than they are to written text. Short, sweet and to-the-point copy/text along with an enticing graphic or video generates so much more interaction than a long, written-out paragraph or slew of tweets featuring “How To” articles. And today’s online technology tools make it so much easier for you to share photos and videos from essentially anywhere.

Many small business owners are still gun-shy about getting too personal on social media sites.  However, the truth of the matter is that the personal element is what is going to make your Facebook business page, Twitter account, Pinterest boards and blog STAND-OUT   —- simply because they engage and connect with your customers.

For the most part, the first interaction a person has with your brand is through a social media site. If you do not have a branded presence on these sites, you’re instantly making it harder for new people to do business with you! Why? Because you’re making them work to recognize, remember, or figure out who you are!

With a customized, branded social media design strategy using videos and photos, you create a consistent look and feel for your brand that matches your website, email marketing, and print marketing materials. Creating a consistent brand which includes the look-and-feel for your business through social media will reinforce your credibility, your dependability, and your expert status. It will also make your prospects take notice, and your brand stand out from the crowd.

Some Tips for Creating Successful Visual Content for Your Brand

People are curious of what their peers and online connections are up to.  The reality shows prove that. The same thing holds true for the success of social media sites like Facebook, Pinterest, etc. This is an important mindset to keep when creating your social media presence.  Here are a few ideas on posting interesting, visual content that will still keep things professional without getting too personal:

•    Post Short Videos. Posting 1-2 minute informative videos once or twice a week is always a great way to get people stay interested, engaged and feel connected.  Videos are powerful ways of evoking human reactions and emotions.

•    “Share” photos/videos from other businesses you are connected with. Give recognition to businesses you connect with by sharing their photos and videos.  This shows you like their content.  And this breeds good karma.  Down the line, they’ll reciprocate the nice gesture and give YOUR profile some exposure or testimonial, as well.  Now, that’s free advertising.

•    Take snapshots of your everyday life and community.  On your way to work or doing an errand, snap a photo of a funny sign and upload it to Facebook.  Did you recently win an award or celebrate a happy occasion? Instead of just announcing it, take a photo of it and tweet it. People want to know what you’re up to each day in your business. There’s nothing wrong with taking a few photos each week and sharing them with your online community.  There’s nothing with sharing some warm, fuzzy feelings.

•    Infographics.  These are interesting images that people create that showcase facts about a particular topic in a visual, intriguing way. It is a great tool to use for highlighting valuable, up-to-date information to your network.  People like that.  It keeps them in the loop, so to speak.

AA Customer Spotlight: de Vere’s Irish Pub

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What do you think of whenyou hear of quiz night, whiskeys and ales, goat pot pie and St. Patrick’s Day? That’s right… a boozy drunken night in an Irish pub!

In this week’s AA Customer Spotlight, we interviewed Henry de Vere White, co-owner of de Vere’s Irish Pub in Sacramento, California. Henry is a self-proclaimed social media geek and it shows evidenced by the community he has fostered and the thousands of ‘likes’ he has in the de Vere Irish Pub Facebook page!

What is your elevator pitch? (Please tell us what you do, where you are, how long you’ve been around)  

We are a family-owned-and-operated pub that has been providing an authentic Irish experience for our guests to enjoy for four years. We take pride in our design, food, spirits, ales, and most importantly, service.

What drinks/events/food/specials is de Vere’s known for? Why do peoplel keep coming back?  

Our service and homemade food are two reasons people keep coming back. As we like to say, “this is not your average pub food.” We have over 180 whiskeys (and growing), rotating craft beer handles, and a great selection of traditional ales. Weare also known for our St. Patrick’s Day parties, St. Baldrick’s Day fundraising events, and many more events. We are always trying something new and constantly taking part and/or organizing community events. We support the community as they support us, because we were raised to always give back.

Why did you create a Facebook brand page and why did you download the AA YouTube Gallery app? 

We are working on expanding our YouTube presence to help put a face to our business. Your app is easy to use and makes a great impression on people, because it is functional and clean. We are highly involved in all forms of social media, which helps us learn more about our guests and give them a way to get to know us better. Social media allows us to engage our guests in their lives, outside the walls of our business. People interact with people they know and like. Facebook and Twitter are tools that allow us to share with and engage fans, and we take it–and our reputation–very seriously.

How has the AppAddictive YouTube app (and any other AppAddictive’s apps you’ve downloaded) helped your business since you downloaded it? 

Your platforms are great, and your newsletters keep us up-to-date on the ever-changing world of apps and sharing platforms. You allow us to do things that we otherwise would not be able to do. I know very little code, and I can manage my way around your apps with the little I do know. This is why I will always come back. I have a tight budget and can’t always afford the expensive apps or pay a developer. That makes you cutting edge and small-business friendly. Our web presence is ever-growing, and you play a direct role in that.

 

What advice can you give to other small businesses, restaurants and retailers that want to succeed in their FB and inbound marketing efforts? 

Make your material unique and interactive. Social media is about relationships–you need to engage people and your community. Also, remember that not everyone can like you, and don’t take it personally. Just take it as feedback, find the truth in it, and grow from it. If someone has a bad experience or doesn’t like a post, it’s ok. At least they are telling you and providing you a chance to grow.