Must-Know Basics to Managing Your Company's Social Media

Social media get it right and your company can soar to viral internet fame. Get it wrong and your brand could languish in obscurity. social media marketing agency To help crack the code to the perfect social media messaging mix we spoke with three savvy business leaders whose passion for social media comes through loud and clear on their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.Like pretty much every other social media platform these days, Pinterest is changing its look to become even more visual.In a recent blog post, Pinterest says, “Pins are bigger and we’ve added more information related to pins, so it’s easier to find things you’re interested in. For example, on each pin, you’ll see pins from the same board, other boards this pin was pinned to, and a whole slew of related pins.”The platform is seeking volunteers to be among the first to try the new look, so savvy brands looking to be early adopters might want to take advantage of that here.They also improved the functionality and made the navigation “more intuitive,” so look for those changes to roll out over the next few months.In the wake of Facebook’s switch to the timeline format about a year ago, platforms such as Twitter and Tumblr have been going the way of larger images. This has forced brands to make sure all of their assets are high resolution.With related content now showing up next to pins, some see cross- and up-sell opportunities.From digital marketing and ecommerce research and training company Econsultancy:“By highlighting other content and even users related to an original pin, there's an increased chance that your account will be found through a users' organic connections, and a chance to showcase more of your products, services, and even those all-important influencers who already engage with your product.” social media marketing company It could also point to potential for more monetization of the site. After all, who wouldn’t want to pay to have their content show up next to some of the top-performing pins on the site? With Pinterest’s growth rate slowing, it will need to continue to evolve the site to appeal to those willing to pay to play.

Put down the megaphone and listen

A lot of entrepreneurs fail [with social media] because they're talking at people," says Dave Brown, social media marketing plan template director of digital strategy for New York-based experiential marketing agency MKG, whose clients include NBC Universal and Evian."Put the megaphone down and listen, join conversations organically. Let them see your passion for what you do," he says. Brown knows how get potential customers to join the conversation, at his previous position as social media specialist for Etsy, he increased unique visits on Etsy's social platforms by more than 200 percent.One way to start the conversation is to provide something of value to your customers and fans. "Always make sure what you're broadcasting is meaningful and relevant to people's lives," Brown suggests. For example, Evian posts inspiring quotes on its Facebook page for “Motivation Mondays” to help fans start the week off right.Last summer, for example, baked-goods behemoth Entenmann's faced a backlash after its marketing agency tweeted from the @Entenmanns feed: "Who's #notguilty about eating all the tasty treats they want?!" following the "not guilty" verdict in the Casey Anthony murder trial. This fall, home appliance company KitchenAid caused a minor meltdown when it sent a strange tweet about Obama's deceased grandmother during the first presidential debate. If a business is going to try tweeting about a trending topic, it should do so with a tone that reflects its brand. And it doesn't hurt to avoid tweeting personal or political opinions.In addition to Oreo, here's how some other brands got their creative marketing juices flowing during last night's Super Bowl power outage.Clients ranging from pro basketball's Detroit Pistons to pro football's Indianapolis Colts to mortgage lender Quicken Loans have seen solid returns. social media marketing world SocialToaster claims that 40 to 60 percent of the average customer's social media content is shared. Companies pay $379 and up per month for the service, depending on the number of brand ambassadors sharing their content.

Don't let your intern handle your social media

You may be busy, but you can't afford not to know what's being said by your brand. social media marketing tips Geoff Alexander, president of Wow Bao, an Asian steamed-bun franchise, oversees all of his company's social media, and no tweet goes out without him seeing it first. He says social media is the last thing a business owner should give up because nobody knows the company like its owner.Take, for example, Celebrity Boutique, the online retailer that tweeted about a Kim Kardashian-inspired dress called the “Aurora” during the Aurora, Colorado massacre in July 2012. The company deleted the tweet and apologized, but the damage was done."If [a company] pushes social media to an entry-level employee, it really undermines the importance," says Dan Kim, founder and chief concept officer of Dallas-based Red Mango, a top-rated frozen yogurt franchise, has built a following of more than 700,000 Facebook fans and 1.7 million Twitter followers (on his personal page) without national advertising."[You're] turning over the brand's reputation to someone who knows nothing about it." If a television reporter wants to interview the company, you'd send the CEO. The same goes for social media. If you absolutely can't make time for social media, make sure you find someone you trust that knows your brand inside and out and how to represent it over social media.Yet Razzaque knew he needed cash to build a product that could handle the needs of major clients. In 2011, while whittling through $500,000 from a silent seed investor, he went after several dozen potential backers in New York City, Boston and Silicon Valley. Money-wise, his road trips were a bust, social media marketing tools but he did collect valuable feedback on his business model (simplify the pricing) and sales pitch (talk about the number of active fans SocialToaster can leverage, not the amount of content shared).In the end, he didn't need to go far to find help. Last summer he closed a nearly $2 million round of Series A funding led by Blu Venture Investors, located just down I-95 in Vienna, Va.