How to Implement Branding Ideas

Posted on August 16, 2013 by admin

7781054_sAs long as there is internet, there will be trending topics or stories that go viral. This provides a unique opportunity for businesses to use these trends wisely. It must be done the right way, however, and this is where it can get a little hard. As a business, you have to make sure that you’re using these trends while making your message meaningful; everything must be done with purpose behind it. Just a while ago we heard the delightful news of Prince George being born into the Royal Family and all across the social media world, #RoyalBaby was trending.

Now, it would have been easy to just throw that hashtag into any post you already had planned. However, your message might not have meshed with the hashtag about the Royal Baby. These are things to think about and there are definitely ways to take a viral concept and run with it, while maintaining your brand and your message.

Coca-Cola and Oreo knew in advance that something to do with the Royal Family would eventually trend come the birth of the young prince. They thought it over and planned well. Coca-Cola expressed a congratulations and tapped into the Royal Baby Fever conversation with a simple, “Time for a royal celebration” message. Oreo simply had a baby bottle filled with milk and an Oreo on a red pillow with the message, “Long live the crème.” Clever messages while still maintaining their own branding ideas.

Granted, Coca-Cola and Oreo had quite a bit of warning (almost 9 months in fact!). The principle is still the same whether you have 9 minutes, 9 hours, or 9 months to create a message. Think about how you can get into the conversation while keeping your branding ideas in place. If the trend doesn’t fit with your message, don’t jump on that particular bandwagon – wait for the next one and enjoy that ride instead.

We at Susan J. Campbell enjoy looking for trends and stories with potential to go viral. If you’re looking for someone to help you maintain your branding ideas while jumping into some fun topics, we would be happy to help.

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How To Use Twitter For Your Business

Posted on August 15, 2013 by admin

16532510_sLike all social media platforms, Twitter has an abundance of its own tools and apps. If you’re just getting started with Twitter you could be a bit overwhelmed. This article talks about sifting through all the free tools your business can take advantage of.

Depending on your budget, you can choose to manage your profile and tweet from the native Twitter homepage or one of the many free or fee-based clients. Your decision should depend on all the accounts users, your analysis and reporting needs, what smart devices you will be using, and how often you use your account.

We’ve taken the chore out of search for free Twitter tools and apps. Here are a few we recommend.

  • Hootsuite. This can be used on your mobile or desktop. There are three ways to sign up, including a free app that gives you the option to manage four different social networking sites using one simple tool. Hootsuite gives you access to basic analytics, team collaboration, and scheduling. Your view can be put into columns called “streams” for searches, keywords or groups on accounts.

  • Tweetdeck, which is now owned by Twitter is for desktop and web only. It enables you to create two columns for accounts and searches that give you the ability to monitor any incoming feed and you won’t miss any of your follower’s tweets.

  • Twilert enables you to receive updates on any tweets that contain your products, services, and brands. It gives you the option to decide which keywords you want updates on.

  • Twitter Advances Search is not talked about a lot but has powerful search capabilities.

  • Monitter is a great monitoring tool that allows for real-time searches based on specific keywords.

  • Klout and Kred are two great tools that can measure what influence your company may have among social network platforms.

  • SocialBro and SocialBakers are strong Twitter analysis tools. SocialBakers can track stats internationally.

  • Twistlistmanager can keep you organized. It retrieves your followers and the lists you have and places them on one page.

The list can seem endless. Let Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions help you decipher all of your options and use Twitter to your advantage.

 

Posted in Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

8 Ways to Increase Blog Traffic

Posted on August 13, 2013 by admin

18611084_sContent is no doubt a big component in a successful blog writing campaign, however, it’s not the only thing. You need to look at other elements in the equation and how tweaking those can drive blog traffic. Even if your content is solid gold, it’s not worth its weight if it’s not being read. In order to capitalize on your blog, you can take these steps to grow your readers.

Here Are Some Simple Steps To Increase Readership.

Update regularly. Quality and Quantity are equally important and it would make good business sense to not focus on one more than the other. Your blog traffic will increase if readers see that you post regular updates.

Develop a community. You created a blog to engage your target audience and bring more awareness to your brand right? Encourage your blog’s readers to interact with you by leaving comments and remember to respond to whatever feedback they offer. It’s okay if you don’t receive a large amount of comments at first. It takes a while to establish a reputable blog community.

Tag your blog posts. Categorizing your tags makes it easier for readers who are searching for specific subjects. Make reading your blog easy.

Take advantage of social networks. A simple and effective tool to advertise a blog is to get the word out on a variety of channels. This will increase blog traffic. Encourage any followers you have on your company’s Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts.

Have a good title. Titles should be precise and right to the point. Readers should quickly know what they are about to read and an accurate title will tell them all they need to know to continue reading. You should also make sure your title is search engine friendly.

Use visual aids. Yes, readers will still enjoy your quality content but adding an image to accompany your blog is always aesthetically pleasing.

Search engine optimization. Need I say more? Once you have established your top SEO keywords from your company’s website, use them in your blog posts. This will help drive any blog traffic.

Link. Links can be an important feature of any successful blog. You can link to industry leaders, comparative articles or your own site. Doing this can facilitate more traffic by offering up more information to your target audience. This can also come full circle as those you link to may return the favor.

If you are struggling to find the balance between quality content and regular blog posting, let the professionals at SJC develop a plan for you.

Posted in Blog Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Monday Morning Coffee with Rebekah Young

Posted on August 12, 2013 by admin

bekah.2012Rebekah Young is a recent addition to the Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions team, bringing a hands-on knowledge of social media tools – along with a hard work ethic, creativity and a great sense of humor.

Rebekah grew up in between Smithville and Platte City, Mo., with her parents and two older brothers. At a young age, she thought for sure that yelling her opinion was the best possible way to communicate. Thankfully, as she got older, she learned that there were other more constructive ways to get her point across. Her love of communication and people never wavered, and she looked for a college that would provide her the best opportunity to learn the nitty-gritty about people and different styles to communicate with them.

Rebekah found her second home in the small town of Bolivar, Mo., attending Southwest Baptist University. While there, she fell even more in love with communication – despite all the theories to memorize, papers to write and speeches to give. Gradually, she found her passion in social media and helping organizations really blossom using these amazing tools. She also earned a minor in counseling, which adds a deep level of insight to her daily interactions.

“This unique combination of psychology and communication classes provided me with new perspectives on people, helping me fundamentally change the way I communicate with everyone,” says Rebekah. “This is very valuable as we try to help businesses find their voice across new communication channels.” Recently she has begun adding Instagram as a social media channel for clients, and is expanding into specific and targeted business uses for Pinterest.

She continues to shine for her unique engagement ideas across Facebook and Twitter, while keeping up on new developments and ways to use social media channels. Her psychology knowledge is proving a strong asset in developing brand and marketing strategies for clients. Rebekah also enjoys witty office humor, sharing snippets she finds from social media with the team –which sometimes become a source of inspiration for another new strategy.

When the opportunity to work with Susan J. Campbell came, it was an easy decision for Rebekah. “Working with a variety of clients across different industries has helped me learn to tailor communication styles and messages based on each client’s needs and their customers,” says Rebekah.  “I learn more with every project, and I’m excited for the possibilities and the opportunities to grow as an individual and as a professional within Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions.” 

Susan’s take on Rebekah: Finding individuals who want to work with our dynamic team is never a challenge; finding the right mix of creativity, a great work ethic and quality writing is always hard to accomplish. With Rebekah, we entered new territory by bringing on someone fresh out of the college scene and into an office of more “seasoned” individuals. While it’s often a source of fun teasing, Rebekah’s age brought a new element that we needed – someone who was raised on social media and could see it through different eyes.

In just a few short months, Rebekah has introduced new ideas, taken over the management of our clients’ social media initiatives and promoted new ways of thinking when it comes to effective marketing communications. I’m excited to see how we diversify our client base and continue to grow with Rebekah on board.

Posted in Monday Morning Coffee, Social Media Marketing, Support Local | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Five Branding Ideas for Your Organization

Posted on August 9, 2013 by admin

17860213_s (1)There are a lot of organizations and companies who have established their presence on social media. However, there are few who are attempting to engage their followers to truly build a community who will make recommendations which lead to sales.

There is a lot more to encouraging each of your Facebook followers to share their thoughts about your product. First, not everyone is going to want to share your company’s news. Second, you don’t (and shouldn’t) want every single individual who likes your page to represent your brand.

Here are some branding ideas that will really create a truly meaningful organization-consumer experience:

  1. Understand and Identify: Gather information about your followers. If you can find individuals who are interacting with the brands they “like” on Facebook, they could be a good potential fan for your company.

  2. Motivate to Advocate: Yes, free products and services sound good for a time. But essentially you are buying their fandom, and they’ll only stick around while you’re still giving them free stuff. Look into what might produce sustainable relationships. The FanRally Platform has found that special offers, sneak previews, insider information, immediate access to products and services, and rewards and recognition are some of the best ways to excite followers.

  3. Gamification: An interesting word that sounds a little made up, but basically means using game mechanics in a non-game setting. Social media channels such as Foursquare are built around this concept. Users check in online at a physical location to earn badges in the virtual world. Check out this infographic about the Business of Gramification for more information.

  4. Favorite Networks: There are a lot of social media channels to choose from. Even among the top choices, there’s too many to participate in them all. Respect your follower’s time and generate your content using a main platform. There are going to be channels that help the most with your branding ideas; stick with the ones that work the best with your audience.

  5. Evaluate: We all know this is the last step to most lists, but it’s important to remember. Deliver your content, engage with your followers, encourage them to share, review, and advocate. Measure these actions and your branding ideas will fall into place through recommendations and sales.

These branding ideas take time and effort before you’ll see a measurable result. Building relationships is part of this and relationships take time to create and maintain. Susan J. Campbell would love to help establish a sustainable relationship with your followers. Contact us to hear how we will implement these branding ideas in your company!

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How to Plan Your Content Strategy

Posted on August 8, 2013 by admin

17250211_sA successful content strategy, simply put, is one that involves more content and content that is quality. Even if you have a million topics running through your head, don’t jump the gun. It is important to have a plan. A content strategy that takes advantage of calendars, launch dates and other initiatives that you and your team can follow through on is important for success.

Once you have a single content strategy in place, execute it. If there are several ideas running around with no clear objective, it won’t work. Content that is well organized with website URLs is great for your marketing plan. A recent social media post highlighted how you can take that up a notch and incorporate those key words into a series of blogs, segments and anything else that resonates with your readers. Every piece you write should flow with previous topics, even linking back to those other posts.

Don’t be afraid to delegate and take advantage of freelancers. Content assignments can be outsourced to provide time to develop regular goals for your website’s URL, reaching your target audience, and separating yourself from the competition.

Feedback can be an integral part of your business operations. Take advantage of live focus groups that collect real emotion to develop an online demographic to push your products and services. This means giving subjects the ability to express their honest feelings. If you act fast, this information could no doubt have the ammunition you need to move forward with incentives for a content strategy.

The year is half over and you are already searching for that next milestone or campaign. If you are looking to deliver more compelling content or spruce up your website URL, let the experts at SJC create a content strategy to prepare you for 2014.

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How to Get The Best Social Media ROI

Posted on August 7, 2013 by admin

8052477_s (1)Years of advertising and marketing research has proven that companies can track how circulars and television commercials impact their business. But in today’s world of social media it’s difficult to really measure social media ROI. Do “likes” and “followers” become a company’s new formula to evaluate marketing strategies instead of foot traffic at brick and mortar locations?

The answer depends on what goals you have in mind. Here are a few tips that paint a clear picture for social media ROI.

  • Motivate with Incentives. If you want an increase in followers try to create a campaign that drives more follows, likes, shares, and mentions. It would be beneficial to invest in the likes of Facebook and Twitter and the promotional offerings they have when it comes to long-term options. Design incentive strategies to encourage click through on your site. Incentivize the behavior.
  • Apply a tag URL and even measure the Bitly click throughs to get a good look at what posts do well. This will help you create content in the future, depending on follower behavior.
  • Combine your company goals with campaigns using Business Metrics B2C. This can measure any form submissions, coupon redemption, and other eligible posts tracked using the click through to sales option.

The B2B route has more obstacles but still measurable. Using business metrics, tie in leads that were sent on to your sales team, the dollar amount generating to long-term customers, and even retention rates when comparing followers on social media and general customers. Do you see a difference that can drive your decision one way or another?

It’s relatively easy to determine the amount of traffic if you are using a paid option. For example, a business that uses Google AdWords can look at the number of click throughs using that avenue versus the alternative social media placement. You may be surprised on your social media ROI. This puts a clear perspective on the value of traffic and allows you to make informed decisions along the way.

One thing to keep in mind – social media should never replace your marketing strategy. Instead, make it a key part of your strategy, consistent with your brand and reinforcing the value you bring to the market. If you do this strategically over time, you will see the benefits.

Posted in Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Four Ways to Boost Your Blog Traffic

Posted on August 6, 2013 by admin

21032163_sBlogs are a great way to develop customer interaction and get your business information out to the masses. It doesn’t matter if you’re a self-employed boutique owner or the IT director of a family-owned business, start a blog.

Getting set up is the easy part. Generating blog traffic that is interesting can be the hardest part. A big fear many of us have is coming up with ideas on what to write about and how often you should blog. There are a lot of factors to consider so here are some tips to increase blog traffic:

  • Purchase Google AdWords before you start your own organic SEO strategy to drive blog traffic. Most first-time bloggers know very little about what it means to pay for search engine optimization. Google AdWords will drive blog traffic almost immediately but can also eat away at your budget. Use them as a tool to test blog traffic results so you don’t have to pay per click with Google.
  • Know who you want to attract. Successful campaigns don’t happen overnight. Take the time to understand your target audience and use terms that make sense and get the most feedback. If they are under performing, get rid of them. It’s not easy to track optimal results but persistence will pay off.
  • Write your own content. This is the best way to ensure your keywords are being used. You also are the best person to determine who the experts are in your field. Don’t forget to watch what they’re talking about and link to other reputable sources. Who knows, you may get the favor returned.
  • Just because you’re blogging does mean you forget about social media. There are plenty of networking opportunities to increase your blog traffic this way.
  • It’s important to establish a voice to reach your customers and a blog is a great tool. If you’re unsure of how to get started, what you should write about, and how often, let the experts at SJC help you on your way.
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Monday Morning Coffee with Niche of Time Jewelry

Posted on August 5, 2013 by admin

nicheoftimeYou might think that in order to get your own customized, unique jewelry – like an engagement ring pieced together, just for you; earrings that seem to match your personality because they were designed with you in mind – you would have to be in the jewelry business.

However, Niche of Time Jewelry has worked hard over the years to offer one of the finest selections of weddings rings, and other gorgeous pieces of jewelry. Custom, unique design creations make Niche of Time truly stand out, especially for bridal and engagement sets. In fact, there’s a custom “creator” tool on the website, along with information to help you learn more about the fascinating diamond and gemstone industry itself. Not only are these tools quite engaging for customers, they also convey immediately that these individuals really know their stuff when it comes to jewelry, and that you’re in good hands – literally.

Niche of Time was actually founded in 1948 by Edward Segrist. It was then called Segrist’s Jewelry, and it was mostly a watch and clock repair store. After Mark, Edward’s son, attended school at Missouri Western State College, he began apprenticing under his father. After his experience of working with his father, Mark decided he wanted to pursue a career in jewelry. This led him to the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology where he learned all about jewelry – stone setting, fabrication and casting, repair. He even took an elective class on wax carving custom jewelry. At the time, he didn’t ever expect to use that knowledge, but it eventually became a fundamental piece of his work.

Eventually, Mark went from doing mostly watch repair and some wholesale jewelry repair to having specialists work for him. Niche of Time has a staff that are constantly learning more and more about gemstones and diamonds. With their support, Mark is skilled in hand-picking material that will ensure durable and flawless pieces. He stresses that while something might look great in the magazine, it still needs to be something you can really wear.

Niche of Time is a new member of the St. Joseph Metro Chamber and is excited to continue to grow in this industry. Mark’s shop is staffed with a knowledgeable group of people. They are kind and very easy to talk to, which is great when talking about jewelry. (Or any business service, actually). It’s also very easy to see their passion for custom pieces that truly tell a story – both about the recipient and the giver.

Today at Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions, we honor this business team who continues to build a legacy on true expertise in a “niche” industry, and to demonstrate their commitment to both uniqueness and quality.

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