Hootsuite Article - Viral Trends

Viral Trends: A Practical Guide for Marketers

By Kaylynn Chong

3 FEBRUARY 2017SOCIAL

Viral trends are a combination of things—they’re fun, entertaining, and reflective of what people are interested in. It makes sense that as a social media marketer, you’d want to include some form of popular culture into your social media strategy.

When brands jump on trends, it’s called real-time marketing. While the potential payoff can be huge, the risk is also high.

We’re going to show you how to identify a viral trend that would be good for your business to jump on and how to do so effectively.

How to identify viral trends on social media

1. Monitor hashtags and keywords

Twitter has a Trends section that lists hashtags and keywords that are being widely used in a specific region or globally. In parallel, Facebook’s Trending section features the top articles on trending topics, as well as how many people are “talking about this.”

Image via Facebook.

For the most part, hashtags were invented for users to keep tabs on topics and conversations floating around social media. They make it easier for people to find out more about a subject or news event, or to join in on an existing discussion.

Hootsuite lets you search and monitor hashtags, keywords, and discussions across all your social media streams from one place. The dashboard also makes it easy to engage with users that are posting in a specific area.

2. Learn from industry leaders

Think of digital media giants like BuzzFeed—experts at capitalizing on trends fast.

You should also pay attention to online communities like Reddit—the “front page of the internet”—as so many trends start there.

3. Know when a trend is no longer a trend

Similar to a fashion trend in real life, an online trend has a best-before date. In the digital world where there is so much content and things move so quickly—trends come and go.

Catchphrases, memes, images, videos—all of it spreads rapidly across the internet, and inevitably people will tire of it.

It’s hard to tell exactly when a trend will reach its saturation point, but a good indicator is when more brands than people are involved.

Good indicators of a dying trend are when the creators are brought onto a talk show to discuss it, when the trend is covered in the news, and when it begins to trickle into other mainstream media.

How to know when your business should jump on a social media trend

1. Go back to your business objectives

In any kind of social media marketing strategy, you should establish your business goals and objectives before doing anything. Ask yourself—What are you trying to achieve by integrating this trend into your strategy? Is it to drive brand awareness or more traffic to your website? How will you know if you’ve succeeded—what metrics will you measure?

Hot tip: Use the S.M.A.R.T framework to establish your goals.

Review your business goals and make sure any real-time marketing strategy will align with those.

A good example is when local businesses capitalized on the Pokémon GO fad. Pokémon GO features augmented reality and the nature of the game involves a lot of waiting. By figuring out if their storefront was a Pokestop or Gym, businesses offered discounts to Pokémon GO users which encouraging them to use their services or products while they played. These businesses made sales, generated brand awareness, and created a sense of relevancy around their brand.

2. Keep an eye on competitors

You and your competitors are fighting for the same audience, business, and industry recognition.

If your competitors are on a trend, it might make sense for you to be too. Of course the best thing to do is to get to it before they do.

How to capitalize on a viral trend effectively

1. Research, research, research

Be sure to fully research a trend before jumping on it. A trending topic might be circling the internet at warp-speed, but if it’s totally unrelated to your brand it won’t work.

A little research would have come in handy for a butcher who wanted to commemorate singer Prince with a plate of purple sausages. He took to Twitter to promote his purple tribute to the recently deceased singer. Turns out, Prince was vegan. The local butcher ended up angering animal rights activists and received a letter from PETA.

View image on Twitter

 Follow

McKaila @K102Kaila

Angry vegans attack butcher's purple sausage tribute in memory of Prince http://bit.ly/1VVooBj  @TQHeraldExpress

6:27 AM - 27 Apr 2016

 
•  Retweets
 
•  11 like

The butcher’s Tweet has since been deleted, but the damage was done. A simple fact-check would have saved the man a lot negative press.

2. Move quickly

Trends have expiration dates. While it’s important that you do research before adding the latest internet craze into your social media strategy—it’s equally important to be quick on your toes once you’ve got your research down.

To make the most of a trend, make sure you’re acting at the right time. That means having your organization establish trust in the team or person who’s running your social media. This avoids having to go up a long chain of approval when you’re ready to strike with your own Salt Bae meme.

For example, when everyone started coordinating their own version of the Mannequin Challenge, Hootsuite’s social team knew it was time for our brand to get in on the action. For these time-sensitive situations, it’s extremely valuable to have earned the trust of higher-ups—this trust allowed for our social team to go from idea to execution very quickly.

3. Don’t force it

On the flipside of being prompt when it comes to getting viral content out the door—make sure you think twice before sending out that post. Don’t feel pressured to jump on every single trend, as it might not come off the way you were hoping.

Look what happened to the Victorian Taxi Association on Remembrance Day. They attempted to tie the somber #RemembranceDay hashtag to their business. It was not the best call.

View image on Twitter

 Follow

Jamus @JamusOT

.@YourTaxis just keeps digging that grave the entire cab industry will inevitably end up in. #YourTaxis

4:36 AM - 11 Nov 2015 · Melbourne, Victoria

 
•  11 Retweet
 
•  33 likes

As you might have guessed, this earned the taxi company a lot of bad press.

While it’s important to stay up-to-date when it comes to social media, zoning in on the latest internet sensation won’t make or break your brand. If it so happens that your brand isn’t suited for real-time marketing, learn more about what right-time marketing can do for your social media strategy.

Whether you’re real-time marketing or keeping your postings business as usual, Hootsuite can help. Schedule posts, engage with followers, and measure the success of your efforts. Try it free today.

https://blog.hootsuite.com/viral-trends-guide/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=owned_social&utm_campaign=ent_selfserve-bau-glo----social_hootsuite&hootPostID=39d84c1449802a0c3ef059fe6544cc98

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Creative - Solution Thinking

Creative - Solution Thinking

Have you caught yourself saying that there could be no other solution to a problem and that that problem leads to a dead end? How often have you felt stumped knowing that the problem laying before you is one you cannot solve. 

Did it feel like you had exhausted all possible options? When encountering such enormous problems, you may feel like you're hammering against a steel wall. The pressure of having to solve such a big problem may be overwhelming.

With some creative problem-solving techniques you may be able to look at your problem in a different way. The light might just be the end of the tunnel that leads to possible solutions.

First of all, in the light of creative problem-solving, you must be open-minded to the fact that there may be more than just one solution to a problem. You must be open-minded to the fact that there may be solutions to problems you thought were unsolvable.

Be optimistic, with an optimistic mindset, we can be more creative in solving our problems.

1. The possible reason we cannot solve our problems is that we have not really taken a hard look at what the problem is. Try to understand the problem and have a concrete understanding of why it's a problem. If you know how it works, what the problem is, then you have a better understanding to solving the problem.

2. Try to take note of all of the constraints and assumptions you have of the problem. Sometimes it is these assumptions that obstruct our view of possible solutions, you have to identify which assumptions are valid, in which assumptions need to be addressed.

3. Try to solve the problem in smaller parts. Solve it going from general view towards the most detailed parts of the problem.  Write down the question, and then come up with a one-sentence solution, for them. The solution should be a general statement of what will solve the problem, from here you can develop the solution further, and increase its complexity one step at a time.

4. It will help to have critical thinking aboard as you solve a problem, you must also keep a creative, analytical voice at the back of your head. When someone comes up with a prospective solution, try to think how you could make that solution work. Try to be creative and at the same time, look for the usefulness of that solution.

5.  Remember that there may be more than just one solution being developed at one time. Try to keep track of all the solutions as they develop. There could be more than just one solution to a problem.

6.  Don't be stubborn " two heads are better than one." That one is truer than it sounds. Be open to new ideas,  you can only benefit from listening to all the ideas each person has. This is especially true when the person you're talking to has had experience solving problems similar to yours.

You don't have to be a solo hero to solve the problem. If you can organize collective thought on the subject, it would be much better. Ask for help, it's a strength, not a weakness.

7.   As long as you persevere, there is always a chance that a solution will present itself. Remember that no one was able to create an invention the first time around, be patient.

Creative thinking exercises could also help you in your quest be a more creative problems solver. 

Take a piece of paper and write any word that comes to mind in the center. Look at that word, then write the first two words that come to your mind. This can go on until you can build a bunch of related words. 

The solution could be staring you in the face. All it takes is creative thinking, some planning, and some work.

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An amazing Article - 50 Ideas for Social Media!

Is social media part of your marketing strategy?

If it is, you know how hard it can be to keep up with all of the latest news from the different social platforms. Things changing constantly can make it difficult to craft a cohesive social media marketing strategy for your business.    

Let’s get started! The first 10 are all about FACEBOOK this is an excellent article full of amazing resources for you to use.  Then they go to twitter who has made amazing strides in the ads portion of their platform.  

Right now I believe that the 2 most powerful social media trends are LIVE videos and Pinterest!

Read & Save this article as an important resource for you to go back to there are 50 ideas do not try to implement them all at once.

FULL ARTICLE HERE! Written by
 Carlo Pacis — February 20, 2017

3 trends you may want to watch on Social Media...

Here is an article that I have been discussing in my trainings to my "Mom and Pop" small business owners and entrepreneurs.  The bottom portion of the article is below and I ABSOLUTELY believe that to much automation takes the "Social" out of Social Media if you are automating all of your posts.  tools and I use some automation tolls and I train and discuss this fulling with my audience as to how to appropriately use automation on social media.  

The purpose of social media is to socialize and engage with present or future customers and clients. I agree with this article and thoughts about using caution in your social media. I love the fact that I am not alone in this belief and that I can post this information on to my clients.

Social media marketing: Three trends to watch out for in 2017

"Automation – less is more?

Companies are increasingly turning to social media automation to schedule and measure content. It was inevitable given the rise of the platforms. However, they must be cautioned against too much automation.

People still turn to social platforms (as opposed to a call centre), expecting a more personal interaction . When it comes to customer service, they are also looking for resolution within the platform, and not to be directed to an email address or call centre.They’re also expecting a prompt response from the brands they’re engaging with - whether it be the resolution of their complaint or query, or an acknowledgement that their issue is being attended to.

They need to strike a balance; while automation should be used for content marketing and advertising, one of the key elements of social media is being social – engaging with fans by participating in conversations, responding to comments and queries, and in being able to provide customer support. And these have to be done in real time, by real people."

Full article 

Micro Influencers and what that means.

Another interesting article was written about Social Media, shocking!

I love to read every article that discusses social media marketing or marketing in any form.  I get golden nuggets from all of the articles because we all absorb information differently.  

This article is a little different it gives you statistics and it uses a different format than the norm.  Please read this article to learn how to use influencers in your own marketing strategies.  There are steps and instructions if you choose to use this as one of your strategies.  I think every strategy has it's place whether this one is for you or not, only you can decide.

But I do believe that this is worth your time to read, this is a short quote from the article below.

"Why Micro-Influencers are a Social Media Marketing Imperative for 2017"

"Who are Micro-influencers and Where to Find Them

Step 1: Research your target demographic and identify where they go for information. You can use social media dashboards to study the interests of your audience and then find forums that discuss those interests. You will find your target audience there.

Step 2: Identify individuals with subject expertise, who appear to lead conversations in communities that are important to you. Alternatively, you can also search your social media followers for such an individual. 

You can keep track of these prospects via Twitter lists or social media monitoring tools. 

Step 3: Interact with your prospect influencers on social. Share their content and take an interest in what they do. 

Step 4: Approach your prospects and create a mutually beneficial agreement. It is important to consider your state laws before committing to any sort of partnership. "

Disha Dinesh write this article to read the full article go here: ARTICLE

My thoughts about Video Marketing aticle....

I do a lot of training teaching people different platforms, video marketing is the most sought after marketing strategy out there.  This type of marketing like FB live is also very scary for most people and businesses.  I have just pivoted and changed my business so I have removed all my videos and I am starting fresh at this point.  My videos were long and not at all what I am looking to create at this point forward.  

Knowing how and why videos are so important will help me and let me help you create better shorter value-packed videos that will get watched. I agree with the author of this article on where videos are going and what you need to know to promote your business or services.  We all need to get involved with videos live and otherwise, or we will miss this golden age of video marketing.  It motivated me to get my videos about my live and virtual training going, my hopes is that it motivates YOU!

I read an article and below is quote from the article called Seven Video and Social Media Marketing Calculations for 2017

"Mark Zuckerberg said at the end of 2015 that we would be in the "Golden Age of Video" for some five years. So... it's not over yet, and business owners' and marketers' growing access to video will only further the shift in our social feeds in 2017.

We should also expect to see changes in the way users engage with content on social channels; an influx of new media formats, including 360-degree video, live video, and virtual reality; and new marketing tactics as brands experiment with these new formats. Finally, we'll also start to see more automated ads and personalized ads targeting our screens as such new technologies make their way into the hands of more and more marketers.

Here are seven predictions for the social media and video marketing landscape in 2017."

Tom More is the CEO and founder of social video creation platform Slidely, which he launched in 2012.

Full article click here:

Businesses are failing due to this huge problem!

Niche Marketing, How To Pick The Right Niche For You.

Niche Marketing, How To Pick The Right Niche For You.

Choosing a good niche subject to base your Blog around is one of the most important aspects of monetizing. This will give you a foundation. Build from here, target one general audience with a pack of keywords that they are most likely to be searching for. You could take each one of your keywords and use it on the basis of one article on each page. This way, even though you are targeting one specific area, you will be able to interest a wider variety of people within that niche. Add links to other pages that are within your niche that may interest them, which will keep them returning to your site to learn new information about your subject.

The best way to find keywords for your niche subject is to use a Google keyword program and type in the word that is the subject of your niche. This will assist you to generate a list of keywords or phrases that contain your niche. It should show you approximately how many people search for each word or phrase. Google offers a lot of analytics to tell you how many sites are available and you may be competing with for each keyword or phrase (this will help you know if those sites are worth competing with for the number of searches out there). Make sure your topic or niche is something that you are passionate about, that passion will be obvious to others.

You must decide which of these would be most profitable by determining which have the least amount of competitors, so that you have a chance to be found in search engine results, but that also have a decent amount of people looking for your niche each month. These will be the keywords or phrases that you will base the pages of your niche blog. Understanding that competition is a good thing, it means people are searching your niche topic, as long as you are adding fresh new content daily, you will do well.

If there are a number of topics that you like, pick the one that you feel would be easiest to start with and then, once that blog is built and generating income or traffic, you can start another site. The most profitable blog, website, and Facebook marketers, who use their talent of finding niches and combining that with good site content and a handful of affiliate links, have a good amount of passion about the topic or niche that they have started. You are never limited in what you can do with niche marketing unless you do not believe that you have the marketing and skills, belief in yourself. Make it happen, the potential is limitless!

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Do Your Own Blog...

Do Your Own Blog...

When you are trying to monetize and create a following, you will need a good, simple, and easy to navigate website to put them on, I suggest Blogger.com. There are two ways that you may be able to accomplish this: You could do it yourself whether you have any web design skills or not, learn some basics or hire someone else to do it, however, if you don't know the basics, you will not know how to hire the right person.

Doing it yourself, unless you are a professional, to begin it could be difficult for some, follow the blogger tutorials. You will need to read some tutorials and it may take some time to get going. You could also risk having a site that looks bad, no worries, it's all fixable. It is also important (for visitors and search engines) that your site is easy to navigate, which may be a problem if you do not know what you are doing.  Learn the basics, you will not know how to hire the right person.

Making a Do It Yourself website can be hard, so use blogger.com and other people's articles (like NY times or major news sources), make sure you give the link and the author's name DO NOT COPYWRITE, FAIR_USE_Act.  When you accomplish your goal, maybe you will learn so much that you could make new niche sites for other's and get paid!

How is your business selling to the holiday shoppers in 2016?

How is your business selling to the holiday shoppers in 2016?

Fabulous, the holiday's are upon us.  If you sell products or service what are you doing to market to the holiday shoppers? Digital shopping is expected to increase 25% according to PwC's report.  Your customer or client is getting slammed with holiday sales & black Friday deals, so how do stand out? 

First and foremost we all search on ur phones and tablets, but we do not purchase. Then they are either going to the store or going to their computer to purchase. So please make sure that the mobile ads you are running are browser friendly and not pushing buy now, knowing they most likely will purchase differently.  Make it easy for them to save a picture or list of the top 5 or so items you find to be great holiday gifts.  

Do some research on what people may be searching for this year's gifts, be different, unique is good. Know your current customer base and offer a discount for a particular item or service, gift certificates are always a good idea.  Have your team's input on ideas remember someone quietly sitting in the corner may have a brilliant idea, listen carefully.

When it comes to the holidays make sure you are not missing out!  Do not be afraid to spend money on PPC ads on different platforms depending on your products and services you offer.  Keywords around holidays phrases and ideas, like Christmas, Santa, Rudolph, Hannukah think of your favorite holiday memories.  Have fun with your marketing if you are having fun then the end user will feel that as well, don't be afraid of being you and showing it in your ads.   Make sure you have your ads targeted for remarketing to get the biggest bang for your buck!

Understanding the SMM side of things live videos of your office short

 and sweet, showing your staff decorating or secret Santa silliness.  Remember you can get away with more around the holidays, be professional & kind, but have fun! Every business should be doing some sort of charitable drive whether it be Food, toys for tots or whatever your passion might be.  If people are able to work with and buy from a company that gives back, so make it public that people can come by and drop off donations or a portion of the service they purchase will go to a charity.

Jeanne Zierhoffer

Get a consultation for your business, make sure you are 

positioned correctly to get the holiday shoppers you deserve.

How Social Media May Boost Your Website

How Social Media May Boost Your Website:

My client's ask me all the time if social media is as important as everyone seems to think it is.  I laugh at this because google analytics will show you exactly how important it is to help drive traffic to your website, with the correct plan in place.

Planning is the key to success! I just finished reading and studying an article published in MOZ, which states that "Social Media indirectly influences website performance in Google."  She also states that SMM blogs perform in organic search results better that SEO blogs.  Social Media for local businesses in a target geographical area can create huge momentum for their business when done correctly with a well-targeted social media plan in place.  

When using social media referral marketing is one of the strongest tools you can implement to drive traffic to your website.  The great news is it is all trackable in Google analytics.  Posting to post is not the answer either, understand what you are trying to accomplish & what type of ROI you are expecting to receive. This is a process and will not happen overnight, be patient and consistent. Read the article and understand as much as possible, however, hire an expert. MOZ is a great tool to have in your arsenal of tools, but an expert in Local Marketing & Social Media is your real answer

Read the MOZ article written by Alexandra Tachalova