JUMP START Blog and Online Community

Find out what you've missed in the world of search engine optimization for the week ending March 25, 2016. These are a few of this week's top stories, hand-picked by the team at Flair Interactive Services.

Social media marketing has changed significantly over the past few years, so staying up to date on trends is absolutely essential to your success. 

One of the fastest growing trends is image-centric marketing rather than traditional text-based marketing.  Many find that it is easier to digest information when presented visually rather than by just reading text.  Understanding this change in trend can help optimize your social media marketing campaign, giving you an edge over any competitors who may still rely soley on publishing text. 

As a child, when someone told you "less is more", you probably thought they were crazy. If you're like most of us, that opinion probably also followed you into your teen years (and maybe even your early 20's). Today, however, you know better than that. As a mindful, capable, experienced business owner, you have seen enough to know that more is not always better. Unfortunately, it can be a struggle to know when you should take the minimalist approach versus going all-in. That's the enigma we are confronting here: when is low-key better than the whizbang alternative? 

...and perhaps more importantly, why should you care? 

Building a presence on Instagram is a great way to introduce your brand to a new audience. This concept is easy for most business owners to grasp. This is a very fresh and engaging platform, especially when compared to social networks like Facebook or Linkedin, which have been around for more than a decade. The part that is difficult for most is how and where to begin. Here are a few tips to get you on your way to #instafame:

While the delivery may change with time and technology, there will never be a suitable replacement for "word of mouth". Nothing will ever help your business grow the way that personal recommendations can. The same is true for negative feedback, as well. One poor mention of your business can have a significant impact on your bottom line. 

Whether we approach the topic from the perspective of personal or professional use, most of us have a pretty good understanding of the pecking order of our favorite social media outlets. 

Even with all of the algorithm changes and threats to business owners, Facebook still reigns as king among social butterflies and marketers alike. Running a close second is Twitter, which is then followed by Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google Plus. 

Using these platforms in a way that maximizes your company’s reach takes practice and dedication, but first, it’s important to understand that each of the social channels has its own peak hours, patterns of use, and user behaviors.

We recently came across an awesome article by Hootsuite about the importance of creating an editorial calendar to plan out your social media content. 

No time to plan, write and manage your blog and social media?

Find out how we can help you create consistent, engaging content that drives traffic and conversions with our blog and social media management packages.

Our team of experts can help you:

• Create a solid blog and social media strategy that will get results
• Plan out consistent, engaging posts for the next three months in an editorial calendar
• Create posts that engage your specific users
• Increase traffic and conversions
• Manage spam and visitor interactions
• Save your team time so they can focus on their areas of expertise

Want to learn more? Contact us or find out how we're helping other marketers get better results with consistent blog and social media posts.

Join the American Marketing Association in Charlotte, North Carolina in January for their Essentials of Social Media Marketing event.