Social Media Myths That Are Quietly Holding Your Business Back

Like many modern forms of marketing, social media is surrounded by myths and misunderstandings. Its rapid growth and evolution can make it difficult to follow and use strategically. Nevertheless, social media is an essential and powerful marketing tool in today’s world. in today’s world. Let’s debunk some SMM (Social Media Marketing) myths. Myth 1: My customers are not on social media Pew Research Center reports that 72% of American adults who are online use social networking sites. (note: 85% of American adults are online). Even among Americans 65 years old and better, 43% use social media. So even if your customers aren’t yet using social media to conduct business, they are more likely to engage with social media in some capacity. Myth 2: SMM is for creating new customers Rather than viewing social media as a vehicle to acquire new customers, it is better viewed as a loyalty retention program. Research shows that most people who “like” a page are current or former customers. However, if these followers share your content frequently, it can translate into new exposure. Frequent exposure creates brand authority and brand authority creates higher ranking on search engines. Myth 3: Social media effectiveness is not measurable Like many forms of marketing, it is always easy to look at social media and question whether the investment is making you any money. However, social media metrics available on the platforms and various management software like Hubspot or Hootsuite allow you to view factors such as: how much traffic SMM drives to your website, how many customers are engaging in the conversation on your page, where your customers are coming from and also which other platforms they participate on social. There is a method for effective SMM and it does not mean posting three times a day or sharing other people’s articles non-stop. Effective social media happens when you follow your brand voice and become the authority in your field. The ins and outs of social media can feel daunting at times. Of course, this is especially true when there are so many other elements of your business to manage. Need assistance? Schedule a free audit of your social media marketing with our SM Manager. Or, call 410-205-6168 to speak with one of our sales associates.

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How to Vary Your Posts on Social Media

Varying your posts on social media helps drive sales. When it comes to your business’s social media page, varying the type of content that you post is almost as important as the content itself. Nobody likes to hear the same things over and over. While stating your mission, advertising your product, and promoting your business are essential, there is a thin line between staying front of mind and being annoying. If your followers feel like the content on your page is predictable, repetitive, overdone, etc., you risk losing their attention or, worse, having them develop a negative association with your brand. By varying your content, you can focus on your goals while fostering a more holistic and personable social media presence. People are more likely to engage with your content if they can relate to it. Keep the characteristics of your target audience in mind when determining what types of material to post. Below are some examples of different kinds of posts you can include on your social media: Advice: Share tips, tricks, and hacks relevant to your industry. Advice is especially valued when it comes from someone they might consider an expert on the matter. Questions: Pose a question and prompt people to answer in the comments. Doing so is especially significant if there is something you genuinely want feedback on. Always be sure to respond to any comments left on your posts. Inspiration – Relatable and motivational quotes, lyrics, or images can connect with the user’s emotions. Product highlight: Focus on and highlight a specific way your product or service can help the audience. What unique features do you have to offer? How can you make a difference in their lives? Outside article – Get into the habit of sharing relevant articles, studies, or stories that you find interesting, helpful, or motivating. It may even encourage other people to share your content, too. Personal posts: It is always important to be friendly and personable. People want to see the person behind the page and feel like there is a real human being running it. Blog – Besides being great for SEO, regularly posting blogs gives people something to look forward to reading. Not sure you want to handle all this “social” stuff on your own? We’re here to help. We offer three different social media packages and would be happy to send them to you to review. Fill out our online form to receive a free one-hour social media audit of what you are currently doing for your business.

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Which Color Manifests your Brand Identity?

When you think of Nickelodeon, orange comes to mind; when you think of Coca-Cola, you imagine red; when you think of Facebook, you think dark blue. In the eyes of the target market, color repetition is part of the brand; it communicates the company’s values and visually differentiates it from competitors. Different colors carry different meanings and trigger different emotions, such as the ones in the chart below. Before deciding your own brand’s colors, spend some time reviewing your competitors’ brand identities to ensure that yours stands out, and that the colors reflect your business’ personality and tone of voice. A brand’s palate should include three colors: a base an accent, and a neutral color. Your base color is the foundation of your color palate; it should reflect your brand’s most dominant personality trait. Your accent will be used almost as often as your base color. It should not only match the base color, but also be in line with your brand’s characteristics. Lastly, a neutral color that can be used as a background. Most often this color is not overpowering or attention-grabbing. Keeping the above in mind, there are several options when it comes to creating a color scheme: Monochromatic: A monochromatic color scheme consists of different shades of the same color. For brands with one trait that dominates over all the others, monochromatic schemes offer a great solution. Analogous: Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel (e.g. red and orange), and usually have similar emotional connotations, but not as strongly as a monochromatic palate. Analogous color schemes are safe, but do not stand out as much. Complementary: Colors that are directly opposite each other on the color wheel are known as complementary colors. These colors, when paired, bring out the best in each other (e.g. yellow and purple). The stimulating and dynamic nature of complementary color palettes makes them very popular, so be mindful that your color scheme does not match another brand too closely. Triadic: Triadic colors are evenly spaced out on the color wheel (e.g. orange, purple, and green). These pallets are safe, stable, and offer variety, but need to accurately reflect your brand identity. Research demonstrates that consumers perceive the same characteristics in brands as they do in people; consumers rely on emotional associates and instinct to choose your brand over others. An effective, consistent visual identity will foster loyalty, beyond just a one-time decision. These colors should be present across all consumer touch-points: your website, your logo, social media, product packaging, etc. Putting together a visual brand can be intimidating. We’d love to help.

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What Makes Good Branding and How to Build It for Your Business

Apple. Coca-Cola. Target. When you read each of these brand names, there is a good chance that the corresponding logo will also come to mind. That’s good branding! If we were to ask you what they all had in common, perhaps you’d say, “they are big, successful corporations.” You’d be correct. However, we’re looking for the answer: “they all have distinct and memorable branding.” Each of these iconic brands has stood the test of time. You might argue for different reasons why this success happened. But, again, we’d say that their company foundation started with a strong logo symbol that represented whom they wanted to be in the public domain. After all, a strong brand is the nucleus of a company’s success. Why is a logo so important? Well, when you meet a new person, the first thing they see is usually your face. If they cannot see your face, they might hear your voice. If they can’t see or listen to you, they may get an idea of who you are from your smell or interactions with them. These are all identifiers that represent the brand of the individual. A logo for a business is no different. A corporation has a specific look, voice, and projected image. Unique imagery, such as the apple for the Apple Corporation, leaves an impact; it’s memorable and remains front of mind with their customers and on the radar of their target audience. You don’t have to be Apple, Coca-Cola, or Target to be successful. The money would be nice, but even smaller businesses can impress with solid branding. Take Lemonade for an example. In insurance branding, it’s hard to differentiate yourself and create trust. Lemonade sticks out because it heavily uses the color pink, and its Instagram account is over-the-top creative! The past two examples clearly show that a logo’s primary purpose is to identify with your company. To Paul Rand, one of the world’s most excellent graphic designers, “a logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign. A logo does not sell (directly); it identifies. A logo is rarely a description of a business. A logo derives meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around. A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it represents is more important than what it looks like. The subject matter of a logo can be almost anything.” Does your brand make an impact? Your brand should follow these basic criteria: Simple We’re talking uncomplicated, like the Nike swoosh. Even without words, Nike’s brand is unmistakably Nike. Nike is the Winged Goddess of Victory. The logo is derived from goddess’ wing, ‘swoosh,’ which symbolizes the sound of speed, movement, power, and motivation. This is great because the Nike logo is so strong that you can see it from your car as you drive 80mph past a billboard on the highway! Communicates Core Values Going back to Lemonade, their core values are right up front. There is no guessing. They state it on their website, on their social and in everything they do. They are “transparent,” and they make sure to tell us. Appropriate A simple way to understand these criteria is to consider the Toys“R” Us logo. This logo was designed to attract children. The youthful colors and the backward “R” remind us of how a young person might write a letter when first learning to write. Yet, this look would not work for a law firm because attention to detail is essential in law. Memorable This principle goes hand-in-hand with both of the previous two. Keeping your design simple yet appropriate makes it unique. A brand is exceptional when it elicits an emotion in you that you want to move toward. It could be funny, intense, or weird. For example, the gecko for Geico out in 2000, and it was strange and different but undeniably memorable. Also, maintaining consistency across all marketing channels keeps your brand consistent and impressive. Timeless Ultimately, the goal is longevity. Before brainstorming your logo, do some research. Reference past and present aesthetic trends and look at what your competition is doing with their brand. Branding should not be trendy; it should be able to stand the test of time and still be effective in 10, 20, or 50 years. After all, if you invest your time or money into your visual branding, you want something with staying power. Branding and logo design can be tricky. So, give us a call; we would love to help.

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How Knowing Your Ideal Customer Changes Your Marketing Results

Too often, businesses operate their companies for months or years without a genuine concept of their ideal audience and wonder why they don’t see results. Knowing your ideal customer will change how your business grows. You might have a brand, product, or service, and enough money to generate eye-popping marketing. But, without targeting the right audience, your efforts will likely be wasted. Plus, creating a generic offer to try and resonate with everyone is ineffective. The more customized your approach to promoting your products and services, the greater the odds of delighting your customers and being more successful at finding new clients. Narrow your Scope Focusing on attracting an audience that values what you offer helps your business grow. Everyone wants to feel seen. When you show a potential customer that you “get” them, holding their attention and plugging your product becomes more manageable. The better you know your ideal customer, the better you will become at creating content that effectively appeals to them and then seeing the results. An essential first step is to create an example profile of your average customer by asking questions regarding their identity, age range, location, family size, income, etc. Next, think about a typical day in the life of your fictional customer. Are they resilient, curious, or sensitive? Consider where they spend time and money. Additionally, take some time to review and evaluate the qualities of your current and present clients and look for patterns amongst them. Habits What does your ideal client Google daily? What do they read? Do they spend more time on Facebook or LinkedIn? Knowing where your clients spend their time – and why – helps you understand how to reach them best. Goals What are they trying to achieve? What is their aspiration? Then, think about how you can help them achieve their goals. Problems Desires, and Needs – Purchases are often made for two reasons: to solve a problem or to fulfill a desire. What problem are they trying to solve? What are they seeking to achieve? Figuring out how to market your offerings to answer these two questions will put you in high demand. Challenge yourself to develop a list of why people in your target market need what you offer. How can it change their life or daily routine? Answering these questions requires a thorough understanding of your ideal target. Buying Decisions Do people within your target market make impulsive purchases, or do they take time to research and consider alternatives? Understanding their purchasing habits helps you be in the right place at the right time. For example, suppose members of your target audience value researching and reading reviews before purchasing. In that case, it is essential to include reviews and ratings on the site (and elsewhere). Compatibility It’s much easier to show a potential customer that you “get” them if you do! Potential customers can usually tell whether or not you are excited to work with them, and it makes all the difference. Finally, it is essential to note that as the world changes, so will your customer base. Regularly reviewing, analyzing, and updating your fictional client profile will help you keep up and stay relevant. Need some help identifying and marketing to your target audience? Let’s get started!

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Five Ways to Grow Your Email List and Keep Subscribers Engaged

Despite the popularity of social media, HubSpot research tells us that email marketing is a significant source of online leads. In fact, a strong email list is essential to expanding your business and meeting your goals. With 4 billion daily email users and statistics showing that smartphone users prefer receiving information on their phones, it’s important to be in the email-marketing game. Before we get into tips for growing your email list, let’s review what exactly an email list is. An email list is comprised of a group of people who have opted in to receiving your company announcements, information, promotions, staff changes, etc., via their email inbox. There are several benefits of having a robust email list. Research has proven that you are actually forty times more likely to acquire new customers through email than through Facebook or Twitter. Moreover, you don’t have to compete with tricky algorithms to decide how much you want to communicate with your target audience or grapple with whether or not they will see it. Similarly, communication via email feels more private, thus cultivating trust and encouraging recipients to engage with you. Targeted Lists Refer back to the target audience you mapped out in your marketing plan. Once you review this information, begin segmenting the audience into different subsections. This ensures that your recipients will only receive the messaging most relevant to them, thus saving your efforts and increasing your chances of conversion. Gated Content Rather than offering your best content for free, restrict it so that it cannot be accessed unless a user enters their name and email address. Offering users exclusive content that is valuable, well-written, and informative in exchange for adding them to your email list can significantly help grow your email list and encourage engagement. Content Everybody likes to feel special. In fact, personalized emails have 6% higher transaction rate than non-personalized emails. If you can go farther than simply adding the recipient’s name in the subject line, you should. Easy Opt-In Opt-In forms are crucial for boosting conversion rates via email. Visitors will only spend a few seconds viewing your email. Therefore, the opt-in prompt or pop-up should be extremely prominent, and stand out from the rest of the email. Incentives It’s always best to offer something to trade. Why should this recipient want to hear from you? Common incentives include limited-time offers, access to exclusive content, and discounts. Lastly, regularly analyzing your contact list and refining your efforts based on your findings is key to staying on top of your game. Let’s schedule a time to discuss your marketing plans for 2023.

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When you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail.

Good marketing doesn’t happen overnight. As the saying goes, when you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Good marketing is a process that follows a well-thought-out plan to achieve specific marketing goals. Backed by research, a marketing plan can help you increase revenue and profits, rise above competitors, gain greater visibility, and more. While this does sound a bit daunting, it’s always best to start by analyzing your current situation. Where Are You? Start by asking yourself and your team members a few basic questions. For example: what does our company exist to do? Reflect on the company’s mission statement as well as past successes, past failures, situations you have learned from, etc. Then, dive into your realistic goals and next steps by conducting a SWOT analysis to review the company’s current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Competition Once you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to compare the results with your competitors’. How have other companies in your same market navigated similar issues? How have they modified their approaches when faced with threats? Moreover, think about why and how customers use your product or service. What problems does your product or service solve? If it doesn’t stand out, it’s time to assess the things you can do to differentiate yourself from your competition. Burger King and McDonald’s both sell burgers. Nike and Adidas both sell sneakers. Avis and Hertz both rent cars. What’s the difference in their brand? What makes you choose one over the other. Thinking about what makes your business different is essential to its longterm success. Target Audience As a business, understanding your target audience is vital. Start by designing your customer personas. Typically, every business has more than one target audience. To hone in on your top tier target audience think about a typical day in the life of your best customer. Do they live close by? Is distance even relevant? What is their purchase intention? Do they typically need your product or service right away, or during a specific time of year? What is the common thread; are they the CEO who makes the decision to purchase, or in a support role? Do they fall inside a specific age group? Ethnic Group? Religious Group? Google Analytics offers extensive data about who is visiting your website. You can find age, gender, location, income, education level, profession, marital status and more to help set your ideal target audience. Set Measurable Goals Regardless of what you want to achieve, it is essential to set goals to assess your progress. Developing a “SMART” plan encourages you to create goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. This approach helps you stay on track, identify and correct shortcomings, visualize your goals, and allocate time and resources wisely. Budget If you know you will have a limited budget, sometimes it is best to determine the budget through the previous four steps. It’s important to remember that your strategic marketing plan is an investment in both the short and long term success of your business. So, spend wisely but maintain an annual marketing budget so you can track what has worked year in and year out. Strategy Mix The strategy mix consists of the Four P’s of Marketing: product, price, promotion, and place. Each P has its own tool. For example, Price can be discounts, payment period, credit terms. Place can mean where your clients can buy from you; your physical locations versus online, or in other stores. An effective marketing strategy combines the 4 Ps in order to establish the product or services’ position within the market. Don’t rush through this process. It’s a big deal and when done correctly, it reaps great rewards! What are you doing to ensure that your marketing efforts are delivering the results you’re looking for? Let us know at creative@sileskymarketing.com.

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Why your Business Needs Social Media

Social media is no longer a novel concept. This blog will explain why you why your business needs a robust social media campaign. Afterall, social media it is the norm and an inextricable part of our daily lives. From the moment we wake up until the moment we close our eyes, we are surrounded by it. Can you imagine the time before social media? How Social Media Influences Social media dramatically influences our actions, goals, and virtually everything we do on a daily basis. In fact, social media is crucial to driving sales and crucial to maintaining a coherent brand across all marketing channels. It can make or break your sales targets, and determine your ability to achieve results based on customer engagement and product adaptation; it is not a tool that should be taken for granted. Don’t believe us? These five statistics demonstrate why your business should be on social media. 45% Global Penetration Rate 88% of businesses use social media 67% of Americans get their news on social media 81% of the US population has at least one social media profile The average person will spend 5+ days of their lifetime on social media (proplogix.com) Effectively using social media can have a massive impact on your brand. In addition to boosting traffic, you can supercharge sales by enhancing customer knowledge and engagement of your brand and its product/service. As customers are aware of the product’s existence and its benefits to their lives, adaptation follows soon after that. According to a study by Forbes, consistent branding across all channels increases revenue by 23%! Some social media statistics and tips: COLOR is vital for brand recognition. A signature color can increase your brand recognition by 80% (Reboot, 2018)! There will be 5-7 brand interactions before a consumer remembers a brand, so keep at it ( Venngage )! 74% of online marketers said they used VISUALS in their content more than 70% of the time (Venngage). Include a CALL TO ACTION in your post, such as “call us”, “visit our website,” “click the link,” etc. New social media pages may take a while to build traction, so give it time before seeing tremendous results. Create a social media calendar to maintain an effective frequency to ensure that you stay active without spamming your followers.

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How to Keep Your Brand Consistent Across Every Marketing Channel

Keys to cross channel branding include consistent and recognizable branding so viewers remember your business. So, how do we accomplish that? Let’s review a few steps to maintain brand consistency across marketing channels: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE Before you begin piecing together your brand strategy, you must understand whom you are trying to reach. Creating buyer personas is a great way to stitch together an idea of who you are selling to, what problem they are looking to solve, what they like and dislike, how they spend time online, etc. In addition, factors like tone, style, and frequency can affect how potential customers respond to your brand. CHOOSE YOUR VOICE Once you’ve thoroughly analyzed your target audience and what they respond best to, you can determine the brand voice. A brand voice can be humorous or serious, casual or professional, instructional or emotional. What would your brand’s personality be if it were personified? Think about which key elements of your business you would want to be immediately understood by your audience. CREATE A BRAND GUIDE Members of your target audience should be able to identify your marketing within only a few seconds of seeing it. Ideally, your audience should be able to tell it’s your brand without the logo. To accomplish this, you need to have a brand guide, which is a mapped-out set of rules and standards for visual and written material. A proper brand guide includes a specific color palate, tone and voice, font, copy, images, and more. It is also vital that these features stand out from the competition. Keeping brand uniformity increases brand recognition in any marketing channel, even if they require different approaches. BALANCE FREQUENCY Striking the balance between under- and over-communicating is tricky; it’s essential to stay relevant in the minds of potential customers without overwhelming them. Creating a marketing calendar allows the brand to remain active without spamming followers. Maintaining frequency and consistency helps your audience know what to expect from you and want to hear more about your offer. BE HUMAN Marketing is all about personality. Your audience should never feel like they are interacting with a faceless bot, but rather a human who cares about and can relate to their needs. People who feel seen and heard are more likely to trust the brand. Moreover, providing a personal response to any question or customer service issue is a great way to reinforce your brand and its dedication to its customers. Brand consistency throughout all marketing channels is vital to the brand’s success. At the end of the day, a poorly managed brand is sometimes worse than no brand at all. At Silesky Marketing, we would love the opportunity to help create a brand and strategy conducive to this approach. Schedule a meeting with our team to learn more about our background and how we can help your brand grow.

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Which Color Manifests your Brand Identity?

What Makes Good Branding and How to Build It for Your Business

How Knowing Your Ideal Customer Changes Your Marketing Results

Five Ways to Grow Your Email List and Keep Subscribers Engaged

When you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail.

How to Keep Your Brand Consistent Across Every Marketing Channel

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Kiki DeVane

Marketing Operations Manager

Aizaz UI Hassan

Web Developer & Graphic Designer

Sue Hilger, MBA

Chief Growth Strategist

Mya Stengel

Content Developer & Video Editor

Ashelin Walker

Digital Marketing Strategist

Susi Silesky

Founder & Brand Architect