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Tag Archives: BEB
LinkedIN Class Receives Highest Ranking
Another sold-out class is on the books for our Fall Marketing for Small Business Advanced series.
Our Kathy Norris Hall conducted yesterday’s LinkedIN seminar. We reviewed LinkedIN – Past/Present and Future, the anatomy of a Profile, Group, and Company Page, and how to use LinkedIN for sales and prospecting.
100% of our attendees ranked the class as Excellent, and 100% said they would recommend the class to a friend or colleague.
FACEBOOK Class Ranked Excellent
Our HOW TO: Facebook class, the second of our five seminar fall curriculum, was at full capacity yesterday.
We met some fantastic entrepreneurs with amazing companies…again! The class covered details on how Facebook decides who sees posts on your newsfeed, why your organic reach from your company Facebook page is waning (the latest statistics show that less than 6.5% of followers to your company page will see your posts), and a detailed explanation of insights.
We surveyed our participants and 100% ranked the class as EXCELLENT. Next week is HOW TO: LinkedIN!
Delivery Delays Due to Hurricane Matthew
Anticipated Mail Delivery Delays Due To Hurricane Matthew Along the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic Coast
Post Office Closures/Relocations/
The U.S. Postal Service is monitoring the progress of Hurricane Matthew. With its current track, the hurricane is poised to have significant impacts along the Florida coast and northward into Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. In preparation, the USPS has begun to take the necessary steps to prepare for the storm.
At this time, the Governor of South Carolina has issued an evacuation order for the counties around Charleston, SC, effective 3:00 PM. today. Specific offices impacted will be shared shortly. Also, the Governor of Florida has asked for voluntary evacuations in coastal, barrier islands, and low lying areas along the east coast.
As the impacts to postal operations are identified, updated information will be posted to the USPS Alerts website accessed through the RIBBS webpage, http://ribbs.usps.gov/ and http://about.usps.com/
Direct Mail Drives Digital
Today, people are inundated with advertising, which can lead them to burn out and tune out. As campaigns ramp up for the 2016 holiday season, it’s time to start thinking about effective ways to break through the clutter so your message gets heard-loud and clear.
Direct mail is the spark that can initiate action. Year after year, it continues to prove itself as one of the most engaging and effective channels.
Not only is direct mail a proven backbone for digital experiences, it is a unique platform that enables you to micro-target and measure campaign results.
With the ever-expanding use of technology, many are now turning to digital channels for their news and product information research. Social, mobile and search engines have become key players in reaching and engaging both mass and targeted audiences. Direct mail is part of a multi-channel campaign can play a big role in propelling buyers toward digital experiences.
Why does multi-channel marketing work? Using a variety of media channels – from mobile to print to online ads – can help stave off the standard/expected trailing response rate of campaigns. This strategy can result in upticks or surges, allowing you to extend your reach and strengthen your message’s impact.
Digitally enabled direct mail can be highly effective because it:
- Merges tangible and digital elements that can stimulate the recipient’s senses while instantly delivering relevant information.
- Helps break through the “noise” to bolster engagement.
Which Social Media Platform is Best for Your Business
Which platform is best for your business? The best way to determine that is to find out who is on those platforms.
Referencing data from the Pew Research Center’s Annual Internet Project Survey, 72% of adults online are on Facebook. 28% are on Instagram, 25% on LinkedIN, and 23% are on Twitter.
There are more women than men on Facebook and Instagram. Though almost even, LinkedIN 
and Twitter have more men users than women.
Young adults are still the most likely to use social media. 90% of online adults ages 18-29 are active while 77% aged 30-49 are also active on social media. However, the fastest growing segment are adults aged 50-64. 51% are engaged on a social platform (up 5% from 2005), and 35% of adults aged 65+ partake in the medium. That’s up from 2% in 2005.
The study reviews income and education demographics of multiple social platforms as well. By reviewing each of the demographics, you will see a general profile of the people using specific social sites. Here’s a couple of quick reviews:
Founded in 2004, this 12-year old platform is the most used social site. It’s been around the longest too. An entire generation has “grown up” on it.
70% of Facebook users check their account daily. On average, users check their account 14 times a day.
This 10-year old platform touts 313 million active monthly users. Over 50 million tweets are posted daily. Who is posting all of that information?
36% of Twitter’s users check their account daily.
Adding an interesting mix to the fold are the statistics showing people on multiple platforms. Over 25% of online adults are engaged in more than one social network while 17% are on three. This is growing trend worth watching.
You can learn more about “who” is on “which” platform by attending our Marketing for Small Business Social Media Classes.
Your business should be active on at least one social platform. Advertising is inexpensive, it helps your search engine optimization (at no cost), and enables your clients (both existing and potential) to interact with you. If you know who your clients are, choose the platform that has your audience/client base engaged and get started today!
TWITTER 101
Why should your business be on Twitter? It’s a great way to stay connected to your customers, it’s an excellent lead generation platform, you can share information quickly and gather feedback in real time.
Twitter is a recipient driven platform. People choose to follow your account. Messaging is quick to read and write, exchangeable anywhere and is easy to integrate into multiple networks such as Twitter, Instagram, and your website.
There are a few cautions to note. 
Be sure to check out the profile before you follow someone. Pornography sites are prevalent, hackers are present, and stay away from people selling “followers”. Lastly, be careful about aggressive tweeting – hounding people to follow you, pushing people to interact, you could get your account shut down. Respect the platform and see who starts to follow you and be sure to follow those whose tweets you want to see more of.
Messaging is limited to 140 characters per tweet (for now). This includes website links and pictures. Be sure that you write well though. Don’t start using short hand unless it’s necessary. You’ll find the more you’re on Twitter, the more concise your writing will become!
Best Practices
SHARE! Share photos and behind the scenes info about your business. Even better, give a glimpse of developing projects and events. Users come to Twitter to get and share the latest, so give it to them!
Listen. Regularly monitor the comments about you, your co-workers and your company, brand, and products.
Ask – Respond – Engage
Ask questions of your followers to gain valuable insights and show you are listening.
Respond to compliments and feedback as soon as you can.
Engage existing & prospective clients; it may not seem so, it adds a personal touch.
Demonstrate Wider Leadership. Reference articles and links about the bigger picture as it relates 
to your business.
Champion Your Stakeholders. Retweet and reply publicly to great tweets posted by your followers and customers.
Establish the right voice.
Twitter users tend to prefer a direct, genuine, and of course, a likable tone from you, think about your voice as you Tweet. How do you want your business to appear to the Twitter community?
The very best way to become comfortable within Twitter, is to start using it. Search for people and businesses to follow. Start with following your current clients. Then start Tweeting.
You can also attend one of our many Marketing for Small Business classes. We offer training on how to choose the right social platform for your business as well as how to use those platforms. Our next HOW TO: Twitter class is on Wednesday, October 5, 2016 from 11:30 – 1:00pm. Register here today!
Zehrbach elected to PIGC BOD
Our Joy Zehrbach, (Vice President), was elected to the Board of Directors of The Printing Industry of the Gulf Coast (PIGC).
The PIGC is an industry association available to graphic communications firms in the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast area. It serves as the official representative of the graphic arts industry in the area and further the cause of the industry in the areas of business, government and to the general public.
Established in 1918 by a group of Houston printers as the Printer’s Education and Publicity Bureau, PIGC is one of the state’s oldest still existing trade associations. In 1920, Houston printers joined with Galveston’s printing industry to form the Houston-Galveston Typothetae and affiliated with the United Typothetae of America (the original name for Printing Industries of America). PIGC is a non-profit corporation in the State of Texas.
PlGC’s members provide leadership and knowledge by serving on the various committees and on its Board of Directors. All activities of the Association including its services, functions and positions are reviewed and studied by committees for recommendations to the Board of Directors.
PIGC is an affiliate of Printing Industries of America . Both PIGC and Printing Industries of America work together to deliver products and services that enhance the growth, efficiency, and profitability of its members and the industry through: advocacy, education, research, and technical information.
In fact, on average, Printing Industries of America members experience growth in sales at a rate 40% greater than the overall industry. Printing Industries of America serves more than 12,000 member firms and their employees with some of them right here in the Texas gulf coast region.
Businesses on Social Media – Why it’s so Important
Social media changed the entire marketing structure for businesses. The ability to reach a large audience in a simple and lightning fast manner leveled the playing field and allowed all businesses the chance to affordably market.
Social media put an end to “One Way Street Marketing”. Today’s businesses are able to engage with their existing and potential clients and in real time. Positive engagement with customers can lead to improved reputation and referrals which leads to more sales.
As the world is becoming predominantly mobile, social media sites allow your advertising to be seen in a mobile optimized format. Be sure your website is mobile enhanced too. The majority of internet access is done on a mobile device today, and the social media landscape is a very strong driver to your company website.
Traffic to your website not only connects your audience to your business, it enhances your organic search engine optimization (SEO) which will make it easier for people to find your business on the web. Social media networks are becoming search engines unto themselves and offer many opportunities to incorporate SEO enhancements such as keywords and back links.
If you aren’t utilizing social media in your marketing strategy today, you’re missing out on new business.
FACEBOOK’S FOUR NEW ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS
Last month, Facebook announced 4 new advertising solutions launching in 2016 during the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes, France. The focus is on accelerating the shift to mobile advertising as the platform boasts 1.6 billion active users on Facebook and another 500 million on Instagram. The new solutions include:
- Audience Insights Application Program Interface (API)
Facebook partnered with a small group of advertisers, like Mondelez International (an American multinational confectionery, food, and beverage conglomerate based in Illinois which employs about 107,000 people around the world) and Anheuser-Busch InBev (the world’s largest brewer with 25% global market share), to develop insights from composite and unidentified demographics, psychographics, topic data and reports from Facebook IQ. The teams have been able to use these insights to create effective campaigns. The Audience Insights API will be available to partners early next year.
- Improvements to Canvas
Introduced last year, Canvas is a post-click, full-screen, immersive mobile ad experience that
loads instantaneously. It is designed to help businesses tell stories and show products on mobile devices in a beautiful way. Updates include steps to make it easier for marketers to design, create, share and gain insights, the ability to share Canvases with stakeholders to simplify the review process and it will have a new feed unit to help entice people to engage. In addition, Canvas will be available for all Pages to use in a post (even when it’s not promoted as an ad). Also, marketers will be able to access detailed metrics such as dwell time per component and clicks per component to track performance.
- Enhancements to Slideshows
Slideshow ads make it easy for businesses to create videos from photos. It gives the ability to create, edit and promote video ads in seconds and are five times lighter than the average video file, which means they’re ideal to reach people on slow connections. Audio and text overlay, an easy “video-to-slideshow” creation tool, the ability to create from a mobile device and integration with Pages Photo Library and Shutterstock image library are the latest enhancements. These tools will be available to all advertisers and can be used however you would use a video.
- Introduction of Creative Hub
People consume content on mobile in fundamentally different ways than they do on other channels. Creative Hub is an online interface, a “sandbox” where agencies can test different ad formats for online and mobile and experiment with what works best. In the past, most ad creation happens on desktop, but that is changing fast and Creative Hub’s experience is for a mobile device. The Creative Hub gives ad creators an easy way to preview their work in a dynamic mobile feed. They can also share mock-ups through a preview URL.
The Creative Hub is currently in test mode and should be available to everyone later in the year.
Facebook for small business continues to change almost daily. We’ll (try) to keep you abreast of the latest updates and opportunities as we learn them.
For more details, be sure to check out our Marketing for Small Business Classes too. We offer two curriculum, The Basics and Intermediate.
The Basics course was specifically created for business owners and staff that are branching out their marketing to include digital. The course includes four, 90-minute classes over four weeks. Classes include Blogging, Social Media, Email Marketing, Direct Mail Marketing and Organic Search Engine Optimization.
The Intermediate courses (also four, 90-minute classes over four weeks) are: HOW TO: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Constant Contact. Check out details, dates and pricing here.