Purple Phone PR & Marketing

How to Craft a Viral Message on Facebook

A couple of weeks ago on Facebook, most of us saw the video of a nine-month old, diapered baby getting his groove on to Single Ladies by Beyonce. (If you didn’t, check it out: it was hysterical!)

As a business owner, it can be frustrating to watch such a silly video being passed from one person to the next while you’re working as hard as you can to publish informative and useful information that just sits, resulting in little interaction from your fans.

Certainly, the people who are already fans of your business may find your content interesting, and it may help to keep you at the forefront of their minds, but why aren’t they passing along your posts? Why isn’t the Facebook magic that other people are buzzing about working for you?

Don your marketing cap. Think back to the principles of what transforms something interesting into something viral (passed along from one person to the next).

There are three main traits that a message must have to become viral:

1. Emotion. Your content needs to appeal to the reader/viewer on an emotional level, be that joy, sadness, fear, anger, love, or happiness. If you think about the dancing baby, most people chuckled heartily when watching the video. They felt joy and, perhaps, a sense of surprise, so the video touched them on an emotional level.

2. Benefit. The content that you publish must also give your fans the feeling that they will be helping people in their networks by sharing this information. Benefits either increase a positive or they reduce a negative. Benefits are concrete statements and are often expressed in numerical form.

For example, you might be saving your friend 20% on a clothing item or saving them 5 minutes by sharing an organizational tip.

Now, in the dancing baby example, there isn’t a way to quantify how much a person’s happiness would be increased, but certainly, people spread the video expecting that their friends would have a good ‘ol belly laugh after watching.

3. Trigger. A trigger reminds people to pass the information along. This is where Facebook “does the work for you” and why it’s such a wonderful tool to use from a marketing perspective. If you have the first two traits in place, Facebook users know instinctively that they simply need to click a “share” button or make a comment about your words and off your content goes to their network.

The lesson here is that, if you want your words to be sent of into the great land of Internet magic for all to share, you must focus on appealing to your readers/viewer on an emotional level AND making them believe that they will be helping others by passing it along.

Keep these two traits in mind with each Facebook post and you’ll see many more of your fans clicking that “Like” button or making a comment each day!

Rotating Photos, Confused Customers

Wait - where did you go?  I feel like I just got to know you and now I've lost you.  Oh - that's you now with the baby as your icon.  Or, are you the dog with bright red glasses now?  Help!

As you delve into social media, all the advice out there implores you to add a photo to your profile.  And, I do agree!  You must.  After all, I follow you visually, so I want to be able to recognize you as quickly as possible.  I've got 500 people on Twitter to sift through, so I need to identify you and mentally connect quickly.

Now, if you're my buddy down the street, chances are good that I'm going to see your baby niece's picture and smile or get the dog joke and chuckle, BUT if you're online and using your profile to do business, you take a chance by changing your photo out too often.

Why?  Because, your photo becomes you.  Certainly, that's an overstatement in real life, but online, your photo (or icon or logo or whatever image you initially use in your profile) becomes your brand.  It's how I recognize you if I don't know you .  It's how I connected with you when I first "met" you.  

So, think long and hard when you make your first choice of profile picture.  And, think again before you go and change it.  Change it too often and you may find yourself confusing your customers.

On-Going Marketing Support

Sometimes, it just doesn't make sense to choose one marketing product here or there to support your business.  If you're in need of someone who can  step into your business for several hours per week or month to tackle marketing and public relations overall, from strategy to social media, to content creation, contact Purple Phone PR & Marketing.

Rachel Minihan will work with you to craft just the right on-going arrangement to drive leads and ensure name recognition with your clients.  Call 919-745-9094 or email us today!

Overcoming Blogger's Block

Blogging seemed like a smart business move.  A way to share your expertise with the world, an opportunity to get people talking about what matters in your industry, an avenue for spreading your brand while sharing useful information.  So, you sat down and created the account that would have audiences hanging on your every word.

Then, reality struck.  You clicked the "new post" link and up popped an empty page.  Staring at you were two fields: one said "title" and the other "body."  "Title - well now, that should be easy enough.  I just need a couple of words to finish this up," you think.  So, you throw in a phrase and stare at the bright white and still empty page.  Hmmm . . . what do I have to say about this.  Backspace, backspace, backspace.  And, you try again.  At this point, the pressure is mounting.  You're thinking, "I've got to blog or my business will fail and I have nothing to say!"

You're not alone in this panic.  Even the most experienced writers face writer's block (or in this case "blogger's block") from time to time, but there are ways to get through those stumbling moments and still create a thriving forum of ideas for your audience.

Read, Read, and Read Some More

Whether its industry journals, favorite blogs, or Twitter feeds, start reading.  Once you look beyond your empty page, you'll see that both the online and offline worlds are swarming with ideas and energy, so think of your writer's block as a chance to explore new ideas.  Set aside your blog for a moment, and read.  Learn about new methodologies and consider how they might apply to your business.  Investigate the latest laws and comment on their impact.  Find out what others are talking about and agree or disagree.  Consider the latest technology movement and what it will mean to your industry.  

Ask for Help

You know from networking that people love to share information about themselves.  In fact, the rise in popularity of Facebook, Twitter and other social media are simply proof of this.  So, give someone else an opportunity to talk.  Invite a complimentary guest blogger to your site.  For example, if you are a website developer and you have a contact who is an SEO expert, ask him or her to contribute an article.  It's additional promotion for their business and it keeps your blog active and effective for those reading.  

Engage your Audience

Instead of looking at your blog as simply an article repository, invite your audience to get involved, and turn it into a conversation.  Chances are you've never stared blankly at someone with whom you are speaking the way that you are staring at the blank blog post in front of you.  See what others have to say: how can you elaborate on this?  Listen to their concerns: what advice can you offer?  Learn what confuses your readers:  how can you help them?  The more you get your audience involved, the more effective you can become as a blogger . . . the added benefit is that you always have a topic that needs to be written about so that you can help people out.

Take the Pressure Off

The idea of putting yourself "out there" for the world to hear and comment on can be intimidating: that fear can show itself as writer's block.  So, it's important to remind yourself that you're not aiming to make history with your blog.  You're simply trying to let people know who you are and what you're thinking about.  It's OK if no one reads a particular post.  It's OK if someone disagrees, because your goal is conversation anyhow.  It's even OK if you make a mistake, because we all do!  

As you leave this site and turn back to that empty, white "body" field on your blog, do so with the confidence that you do have ideas to share.  If you're stuck on what those are right now, you know how to go and dig up a few for today's post!

Am I Ready to Hire Someone to Manage my Facebook Page?

The other day, I posted an entry called Five Factors to Consider When Seeking a Facebook Page Manger. As I was adding a point here and there, it occurred to me that I had started with the assumption that business owners are READY to have someone manage their pages.  Certainly, time may be crushing in on business owners and they may WANT someone else to take over, but are they ready?

In an attempt to help my fellow business owners answer this question, I recommend considering the following before you even begin trying to find someone to help you manage your Facebook page (or any other social media, for that matter):

1. Do you honestly have a solid understanding of who your target audience (ideal client) is?  Seems basic, but I constantly run into business owners who respond vaguely to this question.   
2. Do you know WHY you want to have a Facebook page?  What is it you hope or intend to accomplish with this page?  Do you have specific business objectives that you are trying to reach?  Do you have an idea of how you will measure against these objectives?
3. How will you coordinate with your content manager?  Weekly phone calls?  Regular emails?  What is the escalation procedure should an urgent client request be posted? 
4. Are you comfortable letting your content manager discuss industry related topics that are not related to your business?  Do you understand that it is not always beneficial to simply offer links to your own content and discounts to your own products? 
5. Are you committed to the success of the page?  Are you ready to establish a personal Facebook page so that, when needed, you can comment on your business page?  Are you ready to relay news and updates about your company to your page manager? 
6. Do you have a basic understanding of public relations?  (Social media is a lot like public relations.)  Do you recognize that the person ought to be monitoring your brand beyond Facebook and bringing brand mentions to Facebook?   Are you prepared to expand your communication repertoire beyond Facebook - to local media, podcasts, YouTube, etc.?

For all of us, business owners that is, time is critical!  That goes without saying.  But, before you dive into bringing a Facebook manager on board to rescue your sanity, make sure you have a solid plan in place so that it a successful venture for you.   

Five Factors to Consider When Seeking a Facebook Page Manager

Business owners, from the largest corporation to the smallest, in-home start-up, have heard of Facebook and are establishing their presence there.  Facebook has become one of the tools to use for establishing community, building brand recognition, learning about the competition, and understanding buying personas.  For all of its positive marketing uses, however, not every business owner has the time to or interest in building a robust page on their own, so they turn to consultants to manage the pages on their behalf.  

If this sounds like you, what should you keep in mind before agreeing to have another party manage your Facebook page?  The following are five key factors to consider.

1. "Talk the Talk".  The ability of the page manager to provide engaging content and get people talking will somewhat depend on their ability to understand who your target audience is and the lingo that the community is accustomed to using.  For instance, if you're target audience is the basketball fanatic and your candidate can't jump into a conversation about the Celtics offense this year, you may want to keep looking for someone who is as enthusiastic about the topic as you.
2. Professionalism.  While you may be looking to cut costs and assume that hiring someone right out of college will enable a lower rate, remember that not everyone who departs college steps forth with a high level of professionalism.  This is often a skill that is learned in time while working in a variety of settings under a variety of situations.  
3. Understanding of measurement.  Experience not only brings the vague quality of professionalism, but it also ensures that the person hired understands the importance of defining measurement goals for the page and then watching/working towards those goals. 
4. Customer service or public relations background.  Engaging someone with a strong ability to address and mitigate any negative comments that may be posted to your Facebook page is key.  You don't want negative comments lingering unanswered for the rest of the world to take in as truth.  
5. Trust.  Most importantly of all, as a business owner, you must trust that this person or agency is trustworthy and has your best interests at heart.  If you doubt that, move on! 

Keeping these five factors in mind as you find someone who can assist with your workload will ensure that your Facebook page is managed in line with your overall business objectives and that your brand maintains or enhances its current standing.  
  
  
  

Thanks to Toilet Paper Entrepreneur!

They ran a great blog post that asked how women who are both mothers and entrepreneurs keep the balance.  I was thrilled to be able to include a tip.  Here's the link: http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog/mom-entrepreneur-success-strategies

Avoid the One Dimentional: Balance and Blend Your Tweets

Given its ever changing presense in the world of social media, I can't claim that I'm a Twitter expert; rather, I'll tell you that I'm a fan, a heavy users, and one who is excited to watch it grow and take hold over time.  That said, I tweet often - and I read tweets often.  

These are three of the things that really bother me, and which generaly result in my unfollowing a person.

1. Ads:  As a marketer, I'm all for using Twitter to get your name out there and I certainly don't mind people occasionally sharing something that they or a contact are working on.  I'd expect them to tell me that if we met for coffee somewhere, so why not online?  But, and it's a BIG BUT . . . don't inundate me.  Use them sparingly and blended with really interesting things that I would enjoy hearing about over coffee. 
2. Posting only one type of content:  Maybe its me, but if all you do over and over is post the exact same type of content again and again (say 20 positive quotes or 18 historical facts), you've lost me.  I like variety and if I'm not getting it, I'm moving on!
3. Consistent crassness:  Again, the once or twice tidbit about the crazy night you had or the stupid thing you did won't turn me off - after all, we're all human.  But, if that's all there is to you, see ya! 

The overall message here is that most things are allowed once in a while, but to keep a reader, it's important to blend together a variety of types of messages that relate to who you are.  After all, you're not a one-dimentional person in real life, so why be one-dimentional online?

Why do people buy things?

People buy things because 

My brother sent me a business plan to review yesterday.  I'll keep the idea to myself, but overall, I thought it was a marketable product.  But the one thing that the plan lacked, IMHO, was a clear statement about what I'd get out of using the product.  Why would I want to purchase that in the first place?  What value does it have to me?

This a common topic that comes up again and again with many business owners.  Sometimes, I listen to someone speak and at the end think, "Great that your jewelry is made of sterling silver." or "How nice that your you have 20 years experience in your field." But, so what?  What the heck do I care?

So, next time you're 

Surviving the Recession

There are some useful ideas in this article that was written and published by Elizabeth Upchurch of Bristlecone Learning, LLC: Use the Recession to Create Long-term Value .