Starting from Zero: Tips for Companies that are Just Starting to Utilize the Power of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing has grown rapidly over the past few years, and increasingly more companies are turning to the digital realm to attract business, often with the help of a digital marketing agency. Since more people are buying things online and using the Internet as a whole, it’s worthwhile to tap into digital marketing. Here are some tips on how to get started on your own by using digital media to your advantage.

Set Objectives

What do you plan to accomplish through digital marketing? Start with broader or more general goals. Perhaps you’re looking to increase your site traffic or boost your sales. Next, examine how you will reach your objectives, such as through social media marketing, or by modernizing your website. Plan for realistic milestones that are challenging to reach, but still attainable.

Understand Your Audience

Before you can jump into digital marketing, you have to know who you’re marketing to. A good way to identify your target audience is through creating a buyer persona. Through every step, ask yourself if the content you create will be useful to this imaginary buyer. You can also use your target audience to help narrow down which social channels would be more effective for posting your content.

Get Started!

An important but surprisingly overlooked tip is to make sure to include vital information such as addresses, phone numbers, hours of operation, etc. in a place your audience can easily and immediately find it.

Digital marketing agency screenshot of Galaxy Theatres Atascadero Facebook About showing address and phone number

Once you’ve made sure your basic information is available, start posting! Post regularly on the social channels you’ve decided are best for your marketing strategy. It helps to keep a content calendar or some other type of schedule to keep track of what you are posting and when you are posting it. Also, consider the best times to post. Morning and late afternoon are often ideal because people are waking up or leaving work, respectively.

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Think about starting a blog for your brand. A regularly updated blog with posts that feature SEO, or search engine optimized, keywords can help to get your name out there. Choosing the right keywords is also important to help you gain organic, or non-paid, traction.

Take advantage of the visual nature of today’s digital world and add appealing visual elements to your digital marketing strategy. However, make sure to be consistent, and take the time to develop these visuals in a cohesive way that represents your brand.

Digital marketing agency screenshot of Profiles in History Instagram feed to show cohesive visual elements posts

Harness the power of analytics. Keep track of the numbers to see how well you are doing, what’s working and what isn’t, what fields you may be able to improve in, and how far you are from reaching your pre-determined goals.

Engage with your audience. Interacting with people on social media instead of only focusing on advertisements is an easy way to create a positive image for your brand. People like being noticed, so “like” other people’s posts and comments. Responding can be an effective engagement tactic as well, even if it’s as simple as, “Thanks for the support!”

The frontier of digital marketing may seem vast and overwhelming. If all of these tips and new vocabulary are making your head spin, look into working with a digital marketing agency. Bright Age will help you plan and strategize your digital marketing campaign to reach your marketing goals.

The Importance of LinkedIn as a Social Media Platform for Businesses

In the current era of digital marketing, it is crucial to establish your brand on a variety of platforms in order to optimize your social media strategy. With a whopping 303 million monthly active users, one of the most important platforms for businesses to utilize is LinkedIn. The self-proclaimed “world’s largest professional network” facilitates productive connections between individuals and companies, but it can sometimes be overlooked when trying to increase brand awareness. Developing a successful LinkedIn strategy may seem like a daunting task, but hiring a social media marketing agency to help boost your brand’s LinkedIn presence will produce results in no time.

Networking Opportunities

LinkedIn is a great place for individuals to connect with friends and colleagues, but it’s also a great place for businesses to connect with potential employees and vice versa. Because users can curate their profiles to display their work experience, accomplishments, and other relevant professional information, businesses can hire and retain valuable employees through this platform. LinkedIn also allows current employees to connect with their company, which generates even more engagement and exposure for company pages through the employees’ connections. Moreover, businesses can also build relationships with their clientele on LinkedIn, which can help foster a relationship between a business and the surrounding community.

Social media marketing agency photo of a laptop, succulent, phone, and drink

Building Credibility

Because of LinkedIn’s reputation as a professional network, sharing useful content that relates to a company’s specific industry would significantly strengthen its LinkedIn presence. These kinds of posts would allow for the demonstration of thought leadership and the subsequent portrayal of that company as a highly knowledgeable, credible source within its field. It can be difficult to source quality content for your business page, so working with a social media marketing agency to generate creative, informative posts will benefit you in the long run. Additionally, gaining recommendations from consumers is a great way to increase your business’s credibility – people trust customer reviews, so feel free to show off any good ones you receive on your company page.

Social media marketing agency screenshot of EVA Air LinkedIn post with infographic

Sharing Updates

In addition to posting content related to your industry, posting about company updates and accomplishments is also an effective way to connect with your audience on LinkedIn. By giving users an inside look at company highlights and showcasing success in your field thus far, users will be more interested in and drawn towards your company’s page. Sharing updates and accomplishments is an easy way to humanize your company while also demonstrating what you have to offer potential clients and employees.

Social media marketing agency screenshot of EMCORE LinkedIn update to show example of company updates

Improved SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most critical factors in developing a successful digital marketing strategy. Maximizing your SEO requires developing a presence on various social media platforms, so a strong LinkedIn presence is crucial. 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn, so it is highly beneficial for businesses to invest time marketing on this platform. Adding one more online location where users can view information about your company will increase the chance that they will navigate to your page and interact with your content.

Social media marketing agency screenshot of Parex LinkedIn post example

Establishing a strong presence on LinkedIn will generate more leads for your business and expand its reach to prospective clients and potential employees alike. With the help of a social media marketing agency, your LinkedIn strategy will help your company build a robust professional network and ultimately flourish online.

How to Grow Your Online Communities Through Contests

For brands on social media, engagement is everything. You want to boost it, grow it, measure it and exploit it. But how? Social media contests are an effective way to excite and engage your audience. Let’s look at how you can optimize the connections you have with your audience through social interaction!

 

Why Social Media Contests?

Social media giveaways are a successful way of promoting your brand without spending a lot of money. Contests can boost online engagement, grow your social media presence, market an upcoming product and gather user generated content. It is important to first know what your goals are in order to choose the contest that is right for your brand. 

 

Understand Your Audience

If you want to achieve your goals, then you need to know what audience you’re trying to reach. Remember that your contest should cater to your audience in order to increase engagement. For example, if you want to engage local movie enthusiasts and drive ticket sales, you can tie your contest in with memorabilia from an upcoming movie. 

digital marketing agency screenshot of Galaxy Theatre instagram contest

Experiment With Different Platforms

Today there are many new platforms available to experiment with in order to reach your audience. Different platforms appeal to different demographics. Understanding where your audience spends most of their time will help you narrow down which platforms you should utilize. Facebook can be used to target adults while instagram is geared more towards teens and young adults. Twitter is used most often by people in their 20s. Brands should do their research and take advantage of social media contests to engage with their followers. You can also partner with a digital marketing agency to help you understand your audience and how to target them.

 

Know What Type of Contest to Run

Once you narrow down what platforms to use and what audience you are trying to target, the next step is to think about the type of contest to run. Now that Instagram and Facebook live features are more popular than ever, it is easy to engage with customers with an active, visual and experience based campaign. Comment giveaways are a good way to get your audience involved with your brand. For example, asking them to tag people in the comments gives your brand more exposure and reach. Fan content campaigns not only involve your audience but also gives you access to customer generated content that you can use later. 

 

You want to make it easy for your audience to participate! Make the rules simple and explain the contest clearly. State a deadline and stay transparent about how you will choose a winner. 

digital marketing agency screenshot of holly home twitter contest

Prize Matters

Social media contests can be a great way to enhance engagement, but you’ll still need to convince your customers that they should interact with you. The prize you give out will depend on the goal of the contest, and it needs to be something appealing to the people you want to reach and connect with. For instance, millennials are searching for ways to connect with people through experience. Re-think offering a tangible prize and consider how best to appeal to your audience through experience. By offering more attractive prizes, people are more likely to share your contest.

 

Using a Digital Marketing Agency

You might choose to employ the benefits of a digital marketing agency like Bright Age Digital Creative Agency to help you create unique contests on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Our past experience with social media contests will result in increased audience engagement and brand awareness.

How to Build Brand Awareness Through Social Media Marketing

With nearly 3 billion people using social media worldwide, marketing on social platforms has become one of the most effective ways for businesses to communicate and engage with their consumers. Building a strong presence on social media is also a great way to reach even more people and subsequently increase brand awareness. With the help of a social media marketing agency, you can utilize these platforms to your advantage and develop a successful online strategy to grow your brand.

Find Your Image

Before you can build awareness for your company on social media, you first have to build your brand. Pinpoint the specific themes, aesthetics, and style that embody the image you want your company to portray, and then cultivate postable content from there. Additionally, using hashtags on each of your posts widens your reach to a larger audience and allows users to see all of your content in one place. Creating a brand-specific hashtag would also aid users in recognizing your posts on their feed. Ultimately, when you solidify your brand’s image, your followers should be able to identify you through the content you put out.

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Post Creative Content

The average attention span is only 8 seconds, so it’s imperative to create content that captures users’ attention and leads them to engage with your content. Make your posts unique and informative, and ensure that they fit in seamlessly with the rest of your content. Creating one solid voice for your brand can be a daunting task, but a social media marketing agency can help you develop your image and stand out on all platforms.

Consistency is Key

Posting on a consistent basis is critical in building a loyal following on any social media platform. Followers may lose interest if an account isn’t posting very often, so it’s crucial to draft and plan posts ahead of time to help maximize your retention rate. Many companies opt for at least one post a day – often enough to make an impression without overloading their followers’ news feeds. Another aspect of consistency involves maintaining a cohesive brand identity across all social media platforms. Using the same copy in your posts, the same profile picture, and a similar aesthetic all contribute to greater interconnectedness between all of your accounts. People are drawn towards familiarity – if they see your posts often enough to familiarize themselves with your brand over time, they will be more inclined to engage with your content.

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Understand Your Target Audience

Increasing brand awareness is only possible if your content is reaching the right people on the right platforms. In order to cater to your target audience and ultimately increase your conversion rate, invest more time into creating posts that appeal to users who are more likely to be interested in your content instead of worrying about appealing to the masses. An easy way to familiarize yourself with your target audience is to directly engage with your followers on social platforms – write personalized replies to their comments and questions on your posts, repost their content, and thank them for positive reviews. These actions will help humanize your brand and subsequently increase your followers’ loyalty and trust in you.

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Page Likes and Follower Campaigns

When you can identify your target audience, the next step in building brand awareness is to implement a paid ad strategy. Page likes and follower campaigns are helpful when trying to reach your target audience on social media. These ads are aimed at your custom demographic with the hope that they will take action on the ad, which is usually to either like your page or follow your account. Tell users in a concise, yet eye-catching way how they will benefit from engaging with your content, and then give them a call to action so they can act accordingly.

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Building awareness for your brand on social media is essential in developing a successful marketing strategy. Through utilizing these tips, as well as consulting with a social media marketing agency, your brand will ultimately achieve exponential growth and online results.

How Recent Instagram Updates Will Affect Businesses

In order to stay relevant and keep its users interested, Instagram must constantly change its features and improve itself. With Instagram continuously evolving, it’s important to stay current on all of the updates in order to use them to benefit your business. With assistance from an Instagram marketing agency in Los Angeles, your content will revolutionize simultaneously with Instagram’s updates.

Instagram Hides Likes

Instagram users often depend on the amount of likes a picture has in order to dictate whether the product or service being promoted is credible or not. The higher the likes, the higher the popularity, the more esteemed a photo seems. Instagram has commenced a trial of hiding the number of likes on each picture and video. As of now, this test only reaches some countries across the world including Australia and Japan, along with a few others. While this trial has only been live for a couple of weeks, there are many mixed emotions about whether or not this change will improve the overall structure of Instagram and how it will affect businesses. However, you can still see the amount of likes on your own photos, which means you can still see how well your posts are performing. Although it may seem like this could have a negative effect on businesses, it may actually drive followers to engage more by commenting on posts rather than merely liking it andcontinuing scrolling. Moreover, you can still share your statistics with other clients and partners if you wish.

Landscape in IGTV

Instagram’s IGTV is now able to feature videos in landscape format rather than vertical. Viewers can turn their phones sideways so that the video takes up the entire screen. With this new addition to Instagram, businesses can show more detail in the screen space and are no longer restricted with what they post by the dimensions of vertical videos. IGTV is a great way to show demonstrative videos, DIY videos, and can help give viewers a closer look into a brand’s overall personality. Plus, with horizontal videos now, Instagram users can be more creative with what they desire to post on IGTV, which is another key reason to hire an Instagram marketing agency to help actualize your innovative ideas.

Donation Stickers

There are a multitude of reasons people log on to Instagram: to find inspiration, for a quick way to learn about what their friends are doing, to find food recipes, and much more. Rather than using Instagram for personal reasons, the app now includes a feature called “Donation Stickers” to help users positively impact others and think of a greater good. Users can add these stickers to their stories by choosing a legitimate nonprofit charity to help raise funds for. Those viewing the story simply click the sticker and are taken to a page that lets them donate whatever amount they wish. Businesses can use this feature to help raise awareness of a cause they are supporting, which benefits the business in return by showing a more genuine character to its followers.

Sit back, relax, and let an Instagram marketing agency like Bright Age work on discovering the most recent social media updates to enhance your media platforms. Utilizing these new features will increase the amount of engagements your posts receive, which will ultimately promote your brand!

How Digital Marketing Strategies Vary Based on Your Brand’s Target Audience

In the era of digital marketing, it is important for brands to keep up with current marketing trends in order to stay afloat and flourish above their competitors. Social media has established itself as an effective conduit for B2C connections, with users of all ages now able to directly interact with brands they know and love. As of this year, 91% of businesses in the US utilize social media platforms to promote themselves, and no two strategies are the same. In order to decide what kind of strategy will work best for your brand, the most important factor to consider is your target audience – the people who are most likely to be interested in your brand and what it has to offer. Through working with a digital marketing agency to develop a successful strategy, your company’s online presence will be able to achieve substantial growth and you will reach your target audience in no time.digital marketing agency

Understanding Your Target Audience

At its core, your strategy should be based on understanding your target audience enough to fine-tune and customize your content to appeal to their interests, ultimately increasing your conversion rate over time. One size does not fit all in the realm of digital marketing, so it is important to acknowledge the makeup of your target audience in order to successfully market your products and services to them. What aspects of your brand are they drawn to the most? What are the dominant age and gender groups that interact with your brand’s content? What are some of their other interests that they demonstrate on social media? These are necessary questions to ask in order to identify your target audience. For example, EVA Air mainly aims their content towards frequent travelers, since they understand that many of their followers are loyal passengers who use their airline. Alternatively, Galaxy Theatres mainly targets movie-goers, since they know that many of their followers are residents of the surrounding area who regularly attend showings at their theatres. Because these companies take the time to familiarize themselves with the demographics and interests of their followers, they are able to capitalize on those shared qualities and effectively market their content towards people who fall into those categories.

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The Importance of Networks

Once you’ve identified your target audience, the next step is to find out your best point of access. In regard to social media networks, understanding the demographics of your target audience is essential for choosing which platform(s) to use for your brand. For example, Parex is a company that specializes in CI, stucco, and architectural coatings and finish systems. One of the platforms they utilize is LinkedIn, in which 57% of the users are male. Marketing on LinkedIn allows Parex to get the largest reach out of all other social media sites, since the majority of Parex consumers are male. According to their reports, 65% of the users that interact with them on Facebook are male, as well as 80% of the users on Twitter and 72% of the users on Instagram; therefore, their most efficient digital marketing strategy requires a solid presence on LinkedIn. When you find the optimal platform for your brand, it will be much easier to gain access to your target audience.

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Search Engine Optimization

Although marketing your brand on social media platforms will play a large role in your digital marketing strategy, another important factor to consider is search engine optimization (SEO). You can gain valuable insight about your target audience through conducting analyses to find out what they are typing into their search bars, allowing you to see exactly what they are looking for when they search your brand. In this manner, you can make changes to improve your SEO by molding your content to fit their search habits. Certain industries, such as healthcare and businesses with multiple locations, can also maximize their return on investment (ROI) by posting SEO blog articles on their websites. By writing these blog posts, their ranking on search engine results rises and their audience reach is subsequently widened. Hiring a digital marketing agency to aid you in composing these articles would be a beneficial step towards improving your brand’s SEO and overall online presence in the long run.

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Building a digital marketing strategy for your brand can be an overwhelming task to think about, but it is absolutely crucial. Having a creative team from a digital marketing agency to guide you through the process is the best way to help your brand reach its target audience and ultimately stand out online.

Taking Advantage of the Skip-Ad/Click-Through Generation

Skip ad in 5, 4, 3, 2… click. Reaching your target audience is already a challenging task as it is, but now brands are faced with the challenge of creating lasting impressions on platforms that allow their users to skip or swipe-through advertised content. Today, many platforms have adopted these skip-ad abilities in order to create a more suitable advertising experience for their users. Most notable of these platforms is YouTube, where 65 percent of viewers skip advertisements. In the same way, Instagram Stories allows its users to swipe through advertisements that are inserted between stories. Though it may seem a daunting concept, as an advertising agency we find that these ads entail many benefits when properly taken advantage of. For users, it’s control. And for your brand, it’s better insight to your audience.

No Hard Feelings: User-Control

In an increasingly portable world, it’s important for your brand to evolve with the changing habits of consumers. More than ever, people are interacting closely with

brands on digital platforms, and they seek to do so in a way that is convenient and quick—through social media advertising. As users cling to their ability to curate their feeds, it’s becoming more necessary for your brand to reach your target audience in an unobtrusive and organic manner. Overall, it’s better to have someone skip or swipe through your advertisement than to be frustrated with your brand. As an advertising agency, Bright Age believes advertisements should add value to your brand, not intrude on your audience.

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Measurability: Precision Targeting

59% of millennials opt for skipping out on advertisements, so how can this possibly ever benefit your brand’s marketing? It’s simple: A low inclination to skip means a higher inclination to buy. When running a social media campaign for your brand on platforms such as YouTube or Instagram, those who skip through your advertisements are not interested, while the options to skip or click through offer a user-friendly experience. Instagram Insights, for instance, gives specific metrics including reach, impressions, and video metrics that will ensure your next advertisement budget is better spent on those who are engaging with your brand.

Reaching Your Audience: Preventing Swipe-Throughs

With skip and click-through options, traditional marketing methods will not always cut it. Therefore, brands are facing the unique challenge of creating content that will quickly and effectively engage “skippers.”

Get Your Message Out Quickly

60% of Instagram stories are viewed with the sound on, so users swiping through are likely to hear your advertisement. On platforms with skip and click-through abilities, it is important for your brand to maximize the first few seconds of your advertisement. Successful social media campaigns, like Spotify’s and Airbnb’s, will include attention-grabbing components, such as music, large font, and reputable branding and design.

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Utilize an Advertising Agency

As consumer buying habits on social media platforms grow quickly, advertisers are increasing their budgets for social media campaigns on digital channels, such as YouTube and Instagram. To truly take advantage of the precision targeting that skippable advertisements make possible, utilize an advertising agency that will identify, target, and create social media campaigns ahead of the pace of current user habits. As an advertising agency, we know one thing is for sure– skip and click-through ads are not going anywhere soon, so let us help you navigate them.

Advantages of Using a Social Media Agency vs. Creating an In-House Team

Are you debating hiring a social media agency or creating your own in-house team? Do you have a marketing goal but are confused about which strategy is the best option for you and your company? Let’s take a look at the benefits and differences between working with a social media agency vs. creating an in-house team.

 

The Team

In-house social media agencies can be structured like traditional agencies but only have one client – themselves. To create an in-house agency, you have to build a knowledgeable and passionate team. The team may consist of current employees, but employers often have to take the time to find the perfect individuals to come aboard. By hiring an agency, you are hiring experienced individuals who are skilled in all of the necessary components that enable a successful social marketing campaign.

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Communication is Key

Having an in-house team may provide you with faster communication because you are usually working in the same space, but hiring a social media agency doesn’t mean that you won’t be a part of the process. If you are worried that partnering with an agency will result in you losing your voice, remember that it’s the agency’s job to know their client. Agencies will consult with you throughout the process and get your input from start to finish. They have an outside perspective and can oftentimes see things more clearly than you, allowing for more innovative content that will capture your audience. 

 

Money Money Money 

Building an in-house team is an investment because of the necessity to bring new employees on board. By hiring an agency, you save from paying higher payroll taxes, healthcare costs and more employee salaries. You are also getting an experienced, well rounded team with people dedicated to specific roles. A social media agency is worth the cost and will help optimize your campaigns with constant monitoring. Inexperience may lead you to pay for clicks that you don’t want. Since marketing and advertising have the potential to offer a large return on investment, you should consider outsourcing to an experienced agency. social media agency

 

Saves You Time

Using a social media agency can save you valuable time. Running a business means you probably don’t have enough time or people to give an ad the commitment and energy it needs. Creating an in-house team can also take months of preparation and training. By hiring an agency, you are getting an established team that is trained and knows how to work efficiently. An agency’s structure will help get things done on time and on budget. 

 

End Goal

You should consider using a social media agency if you want to expand your brand recognition. Agencies specialize in market research and can help identify your target market through key demographic and interactions. They can also help create different ads for multiple media platforms and publish daily content to grow your online presence.

 

Choose Us

Since online digital marketing is a very multifaceted industry, it’s in your best interest to work with an experienced team that has a track record of success. Bright Age Digital Creative Agency offers a full range of services depending on your needs: digital marketing, social media management, content creation, SEO and more. Our team can create and execute a marketing strategy that aligns with your unique goals while keeping you involved in the entire process. 

 

When Your Business’s Influence Actually Works

You might be consistently putting out social media content to promote your brand’s products or services, but how do you know what will actually have an impact on your audience? How can you stand out as a brand? When it comes to putting out social media content, your brand is essentially after one thing—influence, and figuring out the most effective way to reel in customers is not an easy task. Fortunately, researchers in psychology have discovered six fundamental keys to persuasion, or “weapons of influence,” that just might be able to unlock the door to your brand’s next successful social media marketing strategies. Reciprocation, consistency, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity all determine how your audience will behave when they encounter your social media content, making them some of the most valuable strategies for a social media management team to utilize.

Reciprocation

Have you ever felt guilty after taking a free sample and not buying it? This is simply because you’re experiencing a sense of obligation to reciprocate the gesture. With social media content, people buy and engage more with content that has offered them some form of value. Whether this be inspirational posts, informative blogsocial media management articles, or certain products, your target audience is more compelled to reciprocate when given free value.

Consistency

It’s human nature to justify our past choices by means of commitment. As a brand, it is important to offer a means by which social media managementyour audience can stay committed to your content, such as a subscription plan or rewards program. For instance, Starbucks® Rewards encourages its members to consistently purchase via their mobile app to collect “Stars” that expire after 6 months if not redeemed. Customers are especially likely to maintain their loyalty to your business when their commitment is rewarded through special perks.

Social Proof

Our perceptions of other people’s beliefs affect how we follow, share, retweet, etc. content on social media. When it comes to content, highlighting customer reviews or testimonials on your pages is an effective way for your brand to display the quality and reliability of your products and services. As customer review platforms, such as Yelp and Facebook Ratings & Reviews, continue to grow, so does the importance of social proof. A key component in maintaining a positive consensus for your brand is a social media management team that can respond timely and appropriately to customer reviews and inquiries.

Authority

People may also be more inclined to buy and recommend a product or service when it is approved or endorsed by valued authority. This is why larger brands often use influencer marketing to reach their target audiences. As a growing brand, however, your own social media content is an opportunity to display your knowledge and expertise to gain this authority amongst your audience. As a digital creative agency, we strive to make our creative abilities and experience in social media management services apparent in our content.

Liking

Your content may have a larger influence on your audience if they are able to relate to it. One way that your brand can identify with your audience is throughsocial media management posting transparent and authentic content. Share your story, introduce your staff, and focus on what connects you to your customers. Audiences find value and assurance in organic and genuine social media content.

Scarcity

In the same way that Starbucks sales climb with the annual introduction of their limited-edition holiday beverages and cups,

brands find much success when promoting their products or services with a sense of exclusivity. A special offer or event, such as Galaxy Theatres’ Flashback Cinema program, is a great opportunity to reach out to a new audience and set your business apart from the others.

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Prioritize Social Media Management

A social media management team that utilizes these strategies will ultimately determine the degree of influence your brand’s content has on your audience. As a digital creative agency in Los Angeles, we offer a multitude of services that will grow the degree of influence your content has on your target audience. We believe these “weapons of influence” to be successful digital marketing techniques to make your brand stand out.

Benefits of Implementing User-Generated Content for Social Media

Social media has become a very competitive platform for brands to market products and reach potential customers. As a result of companies utilizing social media, the average user is exposed to roughly 5,000 ads daily. People are constantly targeted with advertisements. So how can your brand stand out and encourage people to follow and interact with your account? User-generated content creation has proven to be a successful method for companies to attract and keep their online communities engaged. 

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User-generated content (UGC) is any form of content, such as images, videos and text that have been posted by people on social media about your company. Let’s take a look at the benefits of using UGC to strengthen your brand’s online presence and how you can encourage people to post content to build a stronger brand.

 

Pros of User-Generated Content

UGC Helps Save Time on Content Creation – If your company is in need of more original posts for your social platforms, utilizing your fan base’s shared photos and videos is a great place to start. This will allow your company to get unique and personalized content. Partnering with a social media agency in Los Angeles can help you navigate the entire process from discovery to reposting. 

 

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UGC Helps Build Brand Trust – According to the Nielsen Consumer Trust Index, 92% of consumers trust organic, user-generated content over traditional advertising. Most people don’t trust online ads but will listen to influencers and online reviews. By reposting someone’s positive experience with your brand, UGC has the ability to attract potential customers who are on the fence about your product and boost your credibility as well. 

 

Reposting Builds Customer Relationships – People often get excited and share when their posts are used by a company which increases social traffic and brand awareness. UGC humanizes your brand and gives it a personality that can engage and build a community of users. When sharing UGC, you’re interacting with your audience and giving them a voice at the same time. 

How to Encourage User-Generated Content

Create a Custom Hashtag – Hashtags can be very useful for a brand. When clicked on, Instagram displays all photos posted under that hashtag. There is also a new feature which allows people to follow hashtags. Companies have used hashtags as a campaign to create a social buzz. The #AerieReal campaign on Instagram and Starbucks’ #RedCupContest are two examples of companies that successfully used hashtags to engage with customers and collect UGC. 

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Influencer Marketing – According to Forbes, influencer marketing is growing faster than digital ads. People trust influencers more than they trust online ads. By giving your ad a face, people are more likely to trust the product and your brand. This is a fast way to reach multiple audiences that are already established and build brand awareness. 

 

Launch a Photo Contest – This strategy is like killing two birds with one stone – you are engaging with users while obtaining content at the same time. Social media contests that encourage people to follow your page, tag friends, and/or post a picture will also result in brand awareness. This is a great way to get people involved with your company and spark conversation.

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Steps to Utilizing User-Generated Content

Choosing Which Social Platform to Use – The first step you need to take is to find out where your audience lives on social media. It is important to know where your brand has the most influence and which social network will help you reach your goals and target audience. 

 

How to Find UGC – The most effective way to find what people are posting about your brand is to see what posts you have been tagged in. Another way is to look content creationunder the location of your company or any hashtags that involve what you sell or promote. Using a social media agency in Los Angeles makes finding UGC easier.

 

Always Ask for Permission – Make sure you send a message to a person or tag them in a comment before using their post. Most people will be happy you like their content creation but it’s better to take precautions. The exposure to your followers is usually enough of a compensation but some people may want you to pay them to use their content. When reposting make sure to tag that person to give them credit. 

 

Hire a Social Media Agency – There is so much that goes behind gathering content for social media and engaging with your audience that you might feel overwhelmed. But we’re here to help! Bright Age is a social media agency in Los Angeles that has experience in all areas of social media marketing and content creation. By working with us, your online presence and relationships with customers will strengthen and grow.