To #Hoot or not To Hoot...

I get the question "Do you use hootsuite?" pretty often from business professionals and friends when asking about my work. I quickly respond after a reaction that some can compare to a look of disgust with, "not one bit!" 

No offense to #hootsuite... for some people this software may be a life saver, but I have NOT had the same experience. I also don't like to judge before experiencing, so I tested out hostile for a couple months and tried to use it... however, it was more difficult than following through on my New Year's Resolution to not drink soda. ;)

There are pros and cons to any software, below I have outlined the ones I think Hootsuite holds and you can develop your own opinion on whether you'd like to use it or not!

#PROS

First off... do not mistake quantity over quality  in the below numbers

1. Access to MANY social media networks

 With a click of a button you can access Facebook, twitter, instagram all from one web page and monitor them closely

2. All in one interface

 Goes hand in hand with the above point, you can see all of those social networks in one interface. No opening other tabs or logging into various accounts... it's all there

3. Advanced Posting Options

 Does anyone even post daily anymore? Ha! No way.. it's all scheduled. I build my client's Facebook posts a full month in advance to tell you the truth, instagram is the only day to day upload I actively do. 

4. Unique app directory

A feature unique to Hootsuite is a directory or library that supplies access to more than 100 apps, such as apps for YouTube, Salesforce, Google Drive, and SoundCloud.

#CONS

1. #Confusing 

After an entire month of poking around this site, and I like to boast on my tech "saviness" if that is a word... and this site still has me scratching my head. 

2. Longer Learning Curve

 IF you end up figuring out their website, and that is a strong... IF you have the patient for it. The learning curve is a long time. Platforms like Wordpress can be mastered in a meager minute, while hootsuite left me clicking the big X because I was tired of working this hard to make my life potentially easier...

3. Costs can add up

Although it's only $9.99 per month.. that can quickly add up, especially for a small business owner!

So! I leave it to you, to decide whether you will hoot or not... but I personally can wait until a new platform comes out with a much easier and less "pull your hair out" interface :)

#callangroupcommunications #hootsuiteprosandcons

The Power of Google

The Power of Google

We wanted to share a recent success story, since so many people/businesses etc dismiss digital presence and the importance of building yourself up on it. 

Our client, the Little Black Photo Booth in #DaytonaBeach has the FULL digitally evolved package with #CGC and we cover every area of their marketing for them online. Are you currently on Facebook for your business? Twitter? Instagram? Google +? If you answered NO to any of the previous questions, we should sit down :)

Online marketing is an interesting journey to climb, and seeing results for our clients grow and grow each month only invests us more in it's power. Think about how often we are on our phones, on facebook, googling answers to question we don't know, liking instagram photos... now turn all of that free-time people are spending, into $$ for your business. 

The above photo draws special attention to the power of Google + and building up your presence organically with Google. Did you know Google owns YouTube? Having a profile (and connecting it to your G+ profile) not only helps people find you quicker, but it helps increase your ranking on google. But how?
Well first off... Google LOVES Google, so they want to reward people for using their services! Easy enough...

So do yourself a favor, log into your gmail and create a G+ profile for your business. Upload your logo, interior photos, exterior and more. Next, publish WEEKLY articles on various topics pertaining to your business. Then watch as your exposure #BUILDS BUILDS BUILDS!

Social Trends in 2016

Marketing Trends 2016

I can't believe it's almost 2016, this year really flew by! With the new year comes new advances and areas of interest when it comes to social media. We wanted to outline what WE think will be hot in 2016.

1. #Content Remains Queen 

Quality over quantity everyone! #Content #Marketing Institute released survey figures that 86% of B2B organizations have a strategic content marketing strategy in place. 

Time for the remaining 14% to get on board - am I right?

Whether you're an insurance agency, yoga studio or chiropractic office; providing your consumers with informative information does two things. Builds trust and brand identity. Also from the CMI, 80% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles rather than advertisements. So time to fine tune that blogger, connect it directly to your website and share your articles via all social media outlets. Continue publishing weekly articles to Google +, where according to Google, articles get the most traction when they're 60 characters OR LESS. So you can always be short and sweet on this platform while elaborating in your blog. But don't forget to ##### !

2. The #Buy Button

Have you noticed the ease it is to BUY things lately?!

this is NOT helping my online shopping addiction...

Now with Facebook you can click the "buy now" feature through sponsored posts and be directed to that product to purchase without blinking an eye. Think it can't get any better? Well, how about Facebook makes it easier to click buy and stay within their app to purchase the product instead of being taken to another website. Instagram is moving in the direction of making it easier to purchase through their sponsored posts, it will be very interesting to see how other apps (including instagram) adopt this feature.

3. #LIVE Social & Video

Ever heard of periscope? A live stream you can record and share through social media, and described by the company as "the closest thing to teleportation". From a rioter in Ukraine, to a cliff diver in Australia, you can go wherever the videos are streaming in from. Experience the world, all via live streaming.

Makes it especially easy for couch potatoes to NEVER move in my opinion ;)

Some things to know about video from a business standpoint before you wonder the importance of it...

Videos average 62% more engagement than photos

Video shares increased by 43% at the start of 2015

58% of consumers consider companies that produce video content to be more trustworthy

71% of consumers say that videos leave a positive impression of a company and help them BUY 

We think in 2016 there will be an increase not only in video usage by companies, but live videos through social. Nothing is more trustworthy than a video taken in the moment. Think of this example... You view pictures of a hotel on yelp or tripadvisor and get to the hotel to find it's nothing like the pictures. SHOCKER... Well now the Hilton would be able to take live feeds, or even customers staying there can share how their room was via video. 

4. #Inbound #Messaging for Social

Messaging a company is going to continue to increase, and companies are going to have to invest more time and man-power into replying. Sprout Social reports that across industries, brands have received 32% more inbound messages this year than last, and 82% of those messages that brands receive, go without a response. 

REALLY?! I would be so irritated if I was ignored and therefore look differently at that brand.

Making things more personal and more interactive with the brand and the consumer are steadily rising. Consumers are craving this, and brands are responding.

Changes to Google +

So #Google + has had a major face lift this past week. At first glance you can tell the obvious alterations to the dashboard, and simpler use from desktop to mobile. Google wanted users to have a consistent experience whether they were on a small screen or a large one, for both Android and iOS devices. The company met with thousands of G+ users and narrowed it down to the two most important qualities of the social network, based on what people said. 
#Collections and #Communities.

Collections let you immerse yourself in content about topics like surfing, or tiny tilt-shift photography scenes. Communities enable groups of people with the same interest to join up and geek out on anything from game of thrones to painting.

One key difference between now and then G+, is you can follow a person’s posts about a particular topic – and avoid all their posts about topics unrelated.

Some say that Google has really “slimmed down G+” and hangouts are on the way out, along with tagging your friends in photos you upload.

Some remain skeptic thinking the G+ name is already damaged and no one will jump on board due to these changes – however, Google will be monitoring data usage and user reviews to remove components low in popularity.

#GooglePlus #CallanGroup #OrmondMarketing

Trip Tips and Tricks to become #1

As a #MarketingDirector you need to be versed on many different social mediums to give your clients the best service. Over the next couple of weeks we will discuss how to excel at different platforms out there, this week we will start with #Tripadvisor!

Have a restaurant, spa, yoga studio or hotel as a client? These are only a couple businesses that flourish on Trip. It’s important to build up your clients presence here to gain customers that aren’t from the area, or are doing research on these types of businesses in the city you reside. Did you know Trip has over 200 million unique monthly visitors? What a large network with #targeted audiences! Below are a few tips on how to #mazimize your Trip presence.

#1: Have your past #customers help you. The amount and quality of reviews your profile has is crucial on Trip.  Getting those reviews is also a tricky part because of the #1 DON’T RULE: Do not ask co-workers or you yourself to review your business – They must be real customers! Instead.. you know that monthly newsletter you send out to your past customers (you better be doing that!) include a link to review your business so customers can easily go there.

#2 Encourage #Pictures & #Videos. This trick is technically involved with the above tip, however it’s so important we wanted to make it it’s own! Ask your past customers to upload #PICTURES from their trip or experience with you. Ever heard the saying, “A picture says 1,000 words” – so you get the picture ;)

            “According to TripAdvisor, properties with 30 or more photos have 41% more engagement than those with 10 or fewer. When it comes to video, the same is true. North American properties with at least one video have about 34% more engagement than properties without a video.

#3: Holla Back. Have you ever written a review and received a response “from the owner”? Well, not only do you feel even more connected to the business but it made you want to go back, no? Funny thing is….You most likely were messaged from their marketing director. A lot of business owners do not have the time to manage their review sites, so responding to EVERY review is very important! Positive or negative, you need to respond, and if it’s negative… that leads us to tip #4!

#4: When responding, never admit fault. Say a customer was mad about the wait or simply the food wasn’t cooked to their expectation. Apologize that they had a bad experience and invite them back. Do not include “Sorry our Chef messed up your order” because that has a negative view to your business. Apologize that their experience was not the 5-star experience that your restaurant is expected to give, and you’d like to invite them back to change their perspective!

#5: Include Trip icon on all social sites and website. Make it EASY! #EASY EASY EASY for your customers to click and review. The longer it takes to do something, the higher % chance you will lose their interest.

#6: Keep it fresh. Update new images monthly if not weekly, make sure hours and business info is up to date… with minor changes from month to month to keep it fresh.

Do you have other #TipsandTricks for Tripadvisor? Comment below and thanks for reading!

CGC

The Art of the Hash

Ever wonder why everyone uses hashtags and what they even do? How to use them properly?

Well for starters, it's important to know what social mediums the "hashtag" works on.

Twitter, #Facebook, #Pinterest, #Googleplus, and possibly in the future (but not right now) LinkedIn.

So, what exactly is a #hashtag? It's "#"

Alone, it does nothing.. but attach a word behind it with #NOpunctuation what-so-ever and you have a link to another community. A community that also used that exact word or phrase, and all of a sudden you're thrust into a news feed of similar posts. The hashtag is used to draw attention, organize and promote your post. Whether you're uploading a picture of your puppy and including #frenchbulldog or your beverage of choice and putting #cocacola - the hashtag has a use for every person. Whether marketing your brand, or trying to find other french bulldog lovers ;)

The hashtag was created by #Twitter, but it's use didn't stop there. You cannot use punctuation, spacing or special characters in your words or phrases. For example, #you'regreat would translate to #you since the 'regreat portion will be cut off. Instead you have to go against ALL grammatical rules and change to #youregreat (makes me cringe) or find another way to say it! 

So why use them? First off... they help you find your target audience. Using the above two examples again, if you wanted to find more profiles on instagram that also are about french bulldogs, click on your #frenchbulldog link and you will see a feed of other profiles. And it works the other way around, you're more discoverable! 

Hashtags also improve your clickthrough rate. According to research from #BuddyMedia, tweets that hashtags receive double the engagement as posts that don't! Another great way to use a hashtag is for market research, ask a question to high school professors and #highschoolprof and see who is out there! 

There is so much more into the hash tag and it's uses... we'll dive even deeper next week! And we will discuss how LinkedIn doesn't have #'s but uses a variation... 

Thanks for reading!

#CGC

#theartofthehashtag #ormondbeach #marketing 

If you're not using Google Drive & Drop Box... you're missing out!

Sending and receiving photos, videos or large files can sometimes be a huge pain due to email size restrictions. When working for a communications firm like us, you constantly find yourself being blocked because that graphic is double the size of allowable files in outlook or gmail. What is the best solution though?

We have used Google Drive and Dropbox for awhile now and I'm still amazed at their ease of use. Whether I am uploading 150 pictures from a #photoshoot with one of our clients, or sending a large PDF to a newspaper, Google Drive is on everyone's list of go-to's when sending. Want to collaborate with a couple different people? No worries... avoid sending an email with a lot of attachments to everyone who then needs to download each file separately, invite them all to your file on google drive and boom - instant access!

Dropbox is another great system when sending a lot of photographs to another person. You upload everything you need and send a link to their email, once clicked they can see everything you've sent and don't have to download each component separately.

Save time, frustration and future headache with #GoogleDrive and #Dropbox. Want to learn more about them? Call us today and we can chat!
#CallanGroupCommunications