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Say it with (Social Media) Stories

Telling your brand’s story on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn just got easier thanks to social media stories. Are you currently utilizing stories in your social media strategy? Where do you tell your brand’s “stories”? The data shared here may blow your mind.

If you are new to stories check out my blog post, The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Instagram Stories before you continue. Great, now that we are all caught up…

Stories on Snapchat and Instagram are commonly used, but what about Facebook and LinkedIn? Facebook and now LinkedIn stories (still in beta) are still foreign territory for some as they were the last to adopt the feature, but if you aren’t utilizing them you may be missing out and here’s why.

  • 70% of consumers surveyed by Hubspot said they prefer to watch stories on Facebook. Only 17% said Instagram and another 13% responded with Snapchat

  • Facebook Stories surpassed 500 million daily active users in 2018, just a few months after Instagram reached the same milestone

  • Facebook is still the most used social media channel with 1.59 BILLION daily users vs. Instagram’s 500 million

While this blog post may be leaning towards the wonders of Facebook stories, the glory of social media is that you don’t have to choose just one platform! Since Facebook owns Instagram, the story features can be connected among the two, utilizing the same content. Use both and truly benefit.




Get Noticed with Local Awareness Ads

Whether or not you are ready for it, the holidays are fast approaching. If you are looking to increase foot traffic to your brick and mortar store or simply reach people within your community, Facebook and Instagram's Reach Ads, (formerly known as local awareness ads) are exactly what your business needs this holiday season.

With 79% of the U.S. population using social networks, what better outlet to reach them?

With reach ads, businesses can quickly find and target customers near their neighborhood’s radius. A map will show the area covered by your ad. Not only does Facebook and Instagram create an audience of people who live nearby, but they also target users' who were recently near your business.

Other benefits to Reach ads:

  • Get people to your store with the “Get Directions” button

  • Spread the word about in-store promotions

  • Faster ad turnaround time vs. newspapers, radio advertising - communicate with people in real-time

Interested in learning more about your social media marketing advertising options? Let’s discuss how it can benefit your business today.

The Importance of the Hashtag

If you are a relative newbie to social media you may be asking yourself, what is the story behind the word(s) following the # symbol? If you read # as "pound", this blog was especially written with you in mind.

When I first wrote this post in 2015, it was specifically for Twitter, but since then social media networking sites have evolved and you can find hashtags across most social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. You may even notice hashtags on the corner of your TV screen while watching your favorite shows in order to build engagement on social media.

# (or Hashtag) is more than just a silly thing all the kids are doing nowadays, it's an important element of your business's social media strategy and here's why!

Hashtags are a great search tool - Did you know clicking on a hyperlinked hashtag is similar to using Google search but within the social media platform you are using? Incorporating appropriate hashtags to your content helps broaden your visibility to people who may not be following you, but are exploring the hashtag. 

Using hashtags is also a great way to promote a trade show or event. Most trade shows have an official hashtag. Be sure to incorporate them to increase visibility and impressions on your posts, you may even gain new followers!

Hashtags can be branding gold (sometimes). When used right, including a hashtag in an advertisement or campaign can be the perfect addition to your creatives. Here’s several examples of what NOT to do.

Looking to perfect your branding hashtag or expand your visibility with hashtags? Let’s get started!


3, 2, 1...ACTION with Facebook Live

Can you believe Facebook Live was launched nearly 4 years ago? I may avoid being recorded like the plague, but for those of you who aren’t camera shy, Facebook Live is an excellent option for your business.

What is Facebook Live?

Facebook Live is a feature within Facebook that allows users to broadcast a video in real-time utilizing a computer/laptop’s camera or mobile phone. Viewers are able to like and comment in real-time which is my personal favorite feature since it allows instance communication and engagement.

Benefits for Your Business

Are you ready for your close up? If you haven’t added Facebook Live into your social media strategy now is the time.

Instagram, the New Facebook?

March has been a month of changes for Instagram. First, improvements to videos as mentioned in my previous blog post and now a not-so-welcomed feed change. The looming change in Instagram's feed will display photos and videos from accounts you are following based on an algorithm. Posts will be displayed based on popularity and other social signals versus its current chronological order. Sound familiar?

Instagram may be taking cues from its big brother and owner, Facebook which made the same algorithm move back in 2009.

After a frenzy of complaints from Instagrammers, Instagram tweeted the below. The cryptic tweet may mean the change isn't imminent but I have a feeling it'll be on the horizon soon enough.

Instagram Tweet