Testimonials….they mean the world!

We are so blessed to be able to work with some fantastic businesses and individuals and when we receive great feedback, it really does mean the world. We love what we do and it is humbling to know our clients are so happy with our service.

This recent testimonial from Amy Belcher at Companion Care Vets / Vets4Pets is possibly one of the best we've received……we just had to share!

"It is with great pleasure that I have the opportunity recommend One To Three Marketing Solutions. Since our business relationship began in 2008 One to Three have delivered world-class service in many ways. Their research and advisory role on how to develop and implement the social media strategy across the group and to offer detailed directional advice online has been second to none. Their guidance on how to approach both corporate PR to raise the company profile throughout the industry and community PR for our practices has been superb.  The ongoing relationship and aftercare service they provide to ensure we are continuously at the top of our game and generally to make sure everything is running smoothly is fantastic. I cannot recommend them highly enough." Amy Belcher, September 2014

Facebook certainly aren’t afraid of change!

This week, Facebook HQ has announced more changes to how your posts are delivered to your audience.

This news follows changes earlier in 2014 that saw a widespread reduction in the organic reach of Page posts. Anyone running a business page will be sure to have felt the effects of these changes.

So let’s go over the most recent announcements and how they might affect you.

Firstly “click-baiting” headlines are being addressed.

What’s a click-bait? Well, Facebook’s definition of this is when a publisher posts a link with a headline that encourages people to click to see more, without telling them much info about what they will see.

For example the post could read ‘Guess what this celebrity did on the red carpet last night….’ Or ‘We love these ten tips to help you lose weight…..’

The post essentially doesn’t tell you any useful information – rather all of the detail is behind the click, on a website.

According to Facebook, 80% of people say they prefer headlines that help them decide if they want to read the full article before they click through.

Whilst we believe a big part of social media is to encourage web traffic, it is important to give your fans something for nothing.

Our advice would be to mix up your content – some of your posts should encourage clicks but others can be tips, images, videos and snippets of news  that sit on Facebook without the need for your fan to do anything but read and scroll.

On to the second change.

It is easier to get links to content in front of your fans if they are included in the text part of a photo post.Facebook, after all, does tend to show photo posts to more people.

We think this wasn’t a bad thing as photo posts are indeed more engaging and can make the overall presentation most content more interesting.

Facebook is apparently killing this strategy. Here’s their statement:

We’ve found that people often prefer to click on links that are displayed in the link format (which appears when you paste a link while drafting a post), rather than links that are buried in photo captions. The link format shows some additional information associated with the link, such as the beginning of the article, which makes it easier for someone to decide if they want to click through. This format also makes it easier for someone to click through on mobile devices, which have a smaller screen. With this update, we will prioritize showing links in the link-format, and show fewer links shared in captions or status updates.

Our advice – if sharing a link keep the link in there and don’t ‘bury’ it as part of a caption.  Take a look at our Facebook page to see some examples of posts where the links appear fully.

Apparently these changes will roll out slowly – our advice, keep an eye on your Insights and see how your varied posts perform.

How to get that all important reach

Many many people have reported a dramatic reduction in  organic reach via their Facebook business pages – we’ve seen this with our clients too.

Engaging, varied content and fans who like, comment and share are crucial – ensuring your Facebook page is integrated with your other marketing activity is important.

Boosting posts is of course an option and as part of a strategic campaign, can work well…..we’ll be blogging about boosts and promotions soon so watch this space!

In the meantime if you’d like any bespoke advice just drop Claire Fryer an email Claire@onetothree.co.uk

Engaging content….it's not all about 'me me me!'

We've run some great social media workshops this past month with all sorts of businesses - from start ups to the well established, our clients come in all shapes and sizes but the one common question when talking about their social media channels is, 'what do we say?'







Great posts create opportunity for discussion, sharing, engagement and networking. The ‘better’ the post the more chance they have of being liked, shared or commented on/replied to.

 

To help our clients we've developed our own top tips on engaging content for social media….here's a taster to get you started - just get in touch by emailing claire@onetothree.co.uk if you'd like to find out more.

Use links to drive people to your website.

Enter a link into Facebook and it will automatically come up with a large ‘click’ area. The image here is

important. Choose wisely

Use engaging copy, images and videos

·    Photos and videos get attention. 

·   Try to keep posts between 100 and 250 characters.

Create a two-way conversation

·      Ask your fans to share their thoughts and feedback

·      Always respond

·      If you’ve had some feedback or a request act on it and share on SM. This will help to build customer

    loyalty

Share discounts and promos

·      Keep your customers interested

·      Keep reminding them about what you can offer

·      Does the promotion have an end date? Share this to create a ‘buzz’ a feeling of ‘I must do this now!’

Competitions – exclusive to Facebook / Twitter

    ·       Reward your connections every so often

    ·        It could be when you reach a certain number of likes, on an   anniversary, around a seasonal ‘hook

     

Think ‘seasonal’

·      Tap into holidays, celebrations, Father’s Day etc

 

Plan your content

·      ·    What are your objectives?

·      ·    Work out a ‘calendar’ of what you want to say and how you are going to say it

·     ·    Use Hootsuite (or FB’s in built scheduler) to plan ahead

Review your page using Insights

·      ·     See what’s working and what’s not

·      ·     Which posts are getting most ‘reach’ and engagement?

·      ·     What time of day is working

Facebook - how to increase reach and engagement

Have you noticed that the 'reach' of posts on your Facebook business page have been less in the past few months?

If so you're not alone….A recent study found that companies' posts dropped from reaching 12% of their followers in October to just 6% by February.

Facebook has attributed this change to the fact that more and more businesses are joining the Facebook for Business platform - a typical Facebook user receives 1,500 posts per day from friends and pages and Facebook chooses around just 300 to appear in your news feed!

Don't despair though and certainly don't give up on Facebook for Business - it's still a fantastic marketing tool.

There's lots you can do:

1) Boost posts. For just a few pounds you can boost specific posts to increase their reach. Perfect for a big piece of news, a launch, an event (getting bums on seats!) or perhaps a competition

2) Advertise your Facebook page. Again not costing the earth a strategically timed ad can work wonders for your page growth.

3) Use Facebook Insights to analyse which posts are most popular with your audience.

4) Really consider your content. Facebook leans towards what it describes as 'quality content.'

So what is quality content? Here's a few tips:

1. The more relevant the content, the more likely people are to engage with it (which Facebook

loves!). So ask yourself, “will people share this or comment on it?”

2. Add value. Share tips and hints … think 'free' information also think about links to interesting

articles or customer testimonials. Google Alerts is a great place to find newsworthy content – a

daily or weekly email of the best news based on your keywords saves time and offers great content

ideas.

3. Research suggests that posts containing photos get 53 percent more Likes, 104 percent more

comments, and 84 percent more clicks than those that do not. Videos also work well.

4. Research says that posts with less than 80 characters get 66 percent more engagement.

5. Facebook Insights will help you see which posts are driving the most engagement, views, and

reach. You can also review day of the week, time of day, and frequency of posts, as this will help you

optimize posting activity.

6. Don't think about 'selling' ask questions, use polls and “fill in the blank” posts to stimulate

engagement from fans. Think about your call to action.

7. Always reply to people who comment on posts with a comment of your own, and thank those who

Like or share your content. Not only is it polite it will encourage future engagement.

We help businesses to maximise their social media presence - from bespoke workshops to ongoing support ….. to find out more just drop us aline…….