Hootlet – A Great Tool For Listening & Responding

My love for HootSuite is real and it continues with this clever plugin for Chrome or FireFox, introducing Hootlet.

What is Hootlet?

 

Conclusion:

This is a great shortcut tool that will community managers share relevant content they have found to their community. I advise testing out this free plugin to see if this helps with content execution and improves efficiency.

You’re sitting on the best content!

Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis

I don’t have any content, I have no idea what to post, Would people actually like that… I hear this all the time and my response is usually the same.

‘…read my blog!’

There’s no right or wrong (apart from the obvious no go zones) in social, it’s all a learning curve that brands should embrace and not be afraid to try something new.

Most brands will post the same stuff over and over again, why? Because on Monday we post an offer, Tuesday we post a #TBT, Wednesday we post something funny … etc you get my point. Someone that got paid way to much made it super easy for the marketing team and gave them guidelines on what to post each day and the community manager has taken this way to seriously. Whilst this isn’t the worst idea, brands need to be more flexible with their content and post what’s relevant and timely.

Often the best content is right under their noses. Yes, if you love a brand you want to know everything you can about it. Don’t tell me about stuff I already know, every now and then give me something that’s ‘inside news’.

• New product landed
• Opening a new store and where
• Throwing an awesome party
• Competition is coming get excited
• Behind the scenes at shoots
• New product coming soon, pre order here… etc

Don’t sit on content. When you have it, shout it out as that’s when it’s most relevant to your community.

So what am I trying to say here? Don’t sit on content, don’t wait for the perfect time, your community wants to hear about EVERYTHING the brand is up to and they want to hear about it when it happens. They want to know the ins and outs and connect with a brand on a deeper level. This is all about the brand being real and transparent, helping to nourish customer relationships.

Don’t be afraid to try something new that doesn’t sit within your content plan. Don’t be the gate keeper that blocks everything, let content flow past you, only thing you need to worry about is making sure the execution is on brand and that your listening and responding constantly.

Facebook, does your brand need to be on it?

This might come as a shock, but with Facebook gently pushing brands to spend more money on Facebook, I’m now questioning whether brands should be investing resources into this channel.

If your brand has been on Facebook for quite sometime and you have built up a large community then my advice is you should remain playing in Facebook. You clearly have invested time and money and this shouldn’t be thrown away. I would continue with your posting strategy but I wouldn’t put as much emphasis or importance on Facebook. I don’t feel it’s delivering enough for brands unless they’re putting more money into promoting their posts. There are other mediums that should be strongly considered, that are delivering return on minimum investment.

If you’re a brand that’s just about to start on Facebook, I would question this as I feel your digital spend could be spent elsewhere, and the return would be far better than Facebook.

You’re posts are not being seen?

Due to Facebook slashing organic reach, your posts are (generally speaking), not being seen by your community that you have worked so hard to attain. If you’re not prepared to invest budget into promoting your posts then your Facebook posts need to have strong CTA to engage.

What’s next?

I have recently written a few digital strategies an Facebook hasn’t had a look in. The channels I’m looking into are; Email, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Polyvore. These platforms are not slowing down like Facebook and from all reports I see they’re only getting stronger.

Email is king and brands should be spending time on building, retaining and cleaning their database. This channel continues to out perform all other channels on investment vs return.

Are you turning off Facebook or do you think they’ll get a second wind?

Blogs: Should your website have one?

I see quite a lot of brands using blogs on their site and it’s great. For brands, blogs are an internal solution to house your own content without having to pay an external agency to create for you.

Most brands are using a WordPress plug in and the content is looking great, but for the brands that are not executing their blogs correctly it’s due to one big problem: They have no idea who their customer is. If you don’t know this, then please read ‘Who really is your customer?’

Below is a list of blog sites that are doing it right, so take note:

Topshop

• Relevant story which is topical now.
• Lifestyle and inspiring shots, which their community could see themselves wearing.
• Told a story through minimal words and more through images.
  A picture says a thousand words.
• Loved the ability to buy straight from the blog, super easy and user friendly.
• Clean, simply layout.

Mr Porter

• Call their blog the ‘Journal’
• it’s got a simple, yet beautiful design which makes it quite easy for their customer to locate stories of interest.
• It appears like a high end web magazine which highlights their products and the lifestyle they represent. 
• Once you click into the story, I feel the layout could be better, however their content is so good you can look past that.

Quiksilver

• Really have a firm understanding of who their customer is
• Blog is simply designed which makes it easy for the user to scroll through on any device and consume it’s content.
• Use a lot of beautiful image and videos to show of their story.
• Minimal words are used as they’re truly not needed

Industrie

• Don’t push their product, they push their brand.
• Blog stories are all about lifestyle, which puts Industrie in the circles they want to be seen in.
• Again, little words and all imagery.
• Interesting topical stories that people want to read as they don’t come across as a sales/marketing message.

Conclusion:

Retail consumers don’t have much time to read a long wordy blog. Images tell a thousand words and are what is preferred by the wider digital community.This is why social channels like Instagram and SnapChat are becoming ever so popular.

 

Put your pen down and pick up your camera it’s time to shoot!

 

• Don’t use images that we can see already on your product pages.
• Shoot new lifestyle pieces of where your clothes can be worn.
• Lifestyle and Inspiration.
• Trim down your copy and let your photos tell the story.
• Add easy buy links that keeps the user on the blog but allows user to add to cart (TopShop).
• Add social share links

Above all, don’t over think it and keep it simple!

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If you know of any other blogs doing it right, please comment them in below as I’d love to check them out!

How To Grow Your Instagram Channel

I often get asked how to grow Instagram channels and my response is always the same. It’s all about user-generated content. If you can get Instagram users to @mention you in their grams your followers will grow, if you get highly influential Instagram users to @mention you you’ll see your followers grow ever more.

I watched this with the brand Frank Coffee Scrub and what they did blew me away. I strongly suggest brands look at Frank’s content and adjust what they’re doing accordingly.

1. Get your product to influential grammers
2. Get them to do a few grams about your products @mentioning you and using a unique hashtag
3. Follow all influential grammers back
4. Regram the best grams you come across
5. Acknowledge all grams that use your unique hashtag through liking and commenting.
6. Create daily content that relates directly to your brand.

Following these simple steps will help you grow your Instagram community quickly.

This strategy is great, because it’s so simple and effective, but if these steps are not followed then this strategy will not work for you.

 

Facebook Milestones: Why are they so under utilised?

I find this old feature is rarely used and I often wonder why. My fashion brands are always looking for new content ideas that are interesting and engaging and I feel it’s right under their noses.

Content Idea:

Taking cues from #flashbackfriday or #throwbackthursday – where users post old photos and memories on Instagram. Could brands use similar thinking to create new, interesting, engaging content for their fans? I think they can.

Example Posts:

• Best sellers from past seasons (showing off fashion from the past), getting your community to engage with old trends and showing off how much fashion has changed.

  On this day in 1972 our first range was sold. We just love the (product name), maybe this should make a come back!?!
  (shown off in album or wall post)

• Advertisements ran in traditional form (magazines, tvc), showing off some of your favourite and most talked about ads would be of interest to your loyal fans.

  Our first spread in Cosmopolitan was released on this day. My how fashion has changed, but we must say we do love our models figure.
  (shown off in album or all post)

• New store openings. Showing off the history and growth of the brand.

  On this day X opened and has become one of our leading stores. It’s fair to say it’s changed a lot. Which is of our stores is your favourite?
  (show shot of before and now). 

Further Execution:

Aside from executing on Facebook (using the milestone feature), I would suggest using these stories on Instagram (sharing to Twitter). I would even suggest creating a Pinterest board.

It would be great to either use one of the hashtags above, as they’re widely used, or if you want maybe create one of your own; #brandnamebackintime

 

Hurdle:

Finding past content isn’t often easily found. Hopefully it’s stored somewhere in the archives and it’s accessable.

Trello, A Handy Tool To Manage Your Digital Content Calendar!

Looking for a visual way to help plan out your digital content calendar?
Look no further than Trello.

This platform allows for internal and external copy writers, designers and managers to work in one place to approve all content before your community sees it.

I’ve used this platform with a few of my clients and everyone has found the process easy to follow.
It also helps to de-clutter your inbox of small design and copy changes as they can all be made directly in Trello.

Facebook puts an end to Like-Baiting

Facebook are keeping a very close eye on brands that specifically ask for engagement in their post copy and post images and are punishing those repeat offenders.

 

Here’s Facebook’s example:

Like-baiting refers to when a post explicitly asks News Feed readers to like, comment, or share the post. In other words, the goal is to go viral, or at least get additional distribution beyond what the post would normally receive.

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With Facebook latest change of reducing organic reach and now punishing brands for like-baiting, brands are now forced to strongly think about post content and execution.

 

Gone are the days of banging out a post in the last minute, Facebook are wanting brands to think of this channel as an advertising space, just like you would for a magazine or billboard ad. Facebook are demanding that brands work smarter and invest more time and money into Facebook for better results.

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Content Strategy:

Brands need to trial new post execution styles and get a better understanding of what their community wants. The brands community will determine how far their content is pushed organically. Their content needs to be executed in the highest manner so that their community organically like, comment and share their content.

I have found that these content types are working across the board for all my fashion clients.The below examples are from Forever New, whom are performing well in reach and engagement and should be considered to be a leader in Australian Fashion on Facebook.

• Album Posts: Mobile is a huge part of how Facebook users consumes content, and they’re doing so in the News Feed view. Albums stand out as they’re easy for users to flick through and engage with the brand. I’m finding that album posts are reaching more people than single wall post images/videos/links.
• Multiple Images: Brands that are showcasing more than one product in a wall post image are generating more stories (likes, comments, shares). This is due to fashion being subjective, the more products you have on display the more chance the user will like one of them enough to engage with your story.Single product vs a look – Looks with multi images are garnishing the most engagement.
  

  Forever New Facebook Multiple Post

• Lifestyle/Inspire: Facebook users are wanting to be taken on a journey. Posts should inspire users to engage with the brands story. Example of this is to show of a key look with a destination or event around it.Example: First date, anniversary, trip to an island paradise, trip to New York. This helps users relate to the brand on a deeper level that’s more than just the product. It also puts the brand in everyday life scenarios that users can connect with.
  

  Forever New Facebook Inspire and Lifestyle Post

• Offers/Sales: These types of stories are valid and are needed for all brands. Please note that there will not be many stories generated from these posts (likes, comments, shares) in comparison to the above posts. The reason is the CTA is to click the sale link and engage with the brand website.
  

  Forever New Sale/Offer Post

  I advise that brands promote these so these stories reach more users.

• Post Copy: We’re all time poor so brand should keep post copy down as much as possible and get to the point as quickly as they can. Keeping the conversation open will help people to engage as they feel they’re invited to chat directly with the brand. If brands do this, be sure to be responsive and answer community questions as they come up.I advise if the post has multiple images and it’s a wall post that brands have one link, which takes users back to the brands website where the story can sit in more detail and the user can easily purchase the product(s) they desire. I have not seen this done yet, but look forward to the day that brands execute their Facebook communications in this manner.

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Facebook want brands to listen to their community and give the people what they want. If the above content strategy doesn’t align with your brands strategy or you’re finding your stories are not reaching the desired amount Facebook users, then brands will need to put some dollars back in by way of ‘boosting’ their posts.

 

I strongly advise that brands consider (if not already doing so), custom audiences and lookalike audiences to promote their stories. These will hit quality and not quantity. The overall game is to communicate stories to the right people, whilst organically continuing to grow the Facebook community. Custom Audiences allows brands to do this and I advise if you’re promoting your posts that you trial this angle and test the results to see what works better for your brands KPI’s.