Author: Rallio

Social

Meet the Social Media Platforms: A Quick Guide to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter

Post author By Rallio
Post date December 13, 2021

So many platforms, so little time — ever have that feeling as you’re running your business? What’s more, you might not have a firm grasp of what each of the social media platforms has to offer or how they can benefit your business.

There’s no need to panic, however. We’ve got a quick guide to four of the major platforms to help you out. Read through the guidelines below and let us know if you need any further help making the best use of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter for your business.

Facebook

Still the reigning social media platform champion with the most monthly users, Facebook had over 2.9 billion monthly active users as of October 2021. Love it or hate it, Facebook is still an important place to be if you want to get in front of your target audience.

How it works: Claim a business page on Facebook that’s similar to your business name. If you are a franchisee that’s part of a larger system, your corporate entity might take care of this for you. With a business page, you have the ability to post local content, promote offers and events, and advertise your page and its posts, helping you reach more of your target audience.

In terms of advertising, you can go about it in two different ways:

Boost content from your page to increase reach
Create ads in Ads Manager, which offers more specialized targeting and functions

As for what to post on your page, take a look at 15 Social Media Content Ideas for Small Businesses for simple content ideas that will help you add personality and authenticity to your page.

Instagram

Owned by Facebook, Instagram is primarily a visual platform that includes photos and videos, which you can post via Stories or Reels. Stories appear at top of the homepage, while Reels fall under a separate tab and can also be included on your profile page.

Instagram has evolved a great deal in recent years to make it a social media platform of choice for influencers and micro-influencers — that is, people who represent brands and serve as brand ambassadors. Influencers can include people who are paid to post on your behalf, people who post in exchange for free product, as well as employees who are incentivized to post about your brand.

With a potential advertising reach of roughly 1.4 billion monthly active users, Instagram is another key social media platform for reaching your target audience.

How it works: Claim a business handle that’s similar to your business name (again, this depends on your franchise organization’s social media guidelines). You can then post photos, videos, Stories and Reels, adding captions with hashtags to reach more of your ideal customers.

Note that when you create ads on Facebook, they’ll also post on Instagram since they’re owned by the same company.

See our post Quick Guide to Instagram Grid Layouts for information on how to organize your content for the greatest aesthetic appeal on Instagram.

With nearly 800 million members, LinkedIn is touted as the world’s largest professional network. Businesspeople from around the world use LinkedIn to connect with like-minded people in their industry and related sectors of interest. The social media network also includes groups encompassing a variety of topics, industries and thought leaders.

How it works: On LinkedIn, you can have both a personal and business page. The business page is best suited to the parent brand or franchisor, while your personal page works well for posting professional updates, news and expert insights.

As you grow your network on LinkedIn, you’ll create more opportunities for lead generation and referrals. This is the sweet spot of LinkedIn, being that it’s primarily a B2B social media platform.

How it works: To build your network, start with people you know. LinkedIn allows you to connect the platform to your own address book and email contacts so you can find people you know.

Once you make a connection, resist the urge to sell! Your first instinct might be to send a message about your products and services, but instead, make that first message about building rapport. Whereas a simple comment about a detail on the new connection’s profile page will go a long way toward establishing a professional relationship, a sales pitch will fall flat and scare them away.

Another tool you can use on LinkedIn is Sales Navigator if you want to more quickly build your professional network. With this paid tool, you can filter your search for new connections using different parameters, such as mutual connections. Be aware that LinkedIn limits the number of new connections you can add weekly.

Twitter

When you think of Twitter, think short and sweet. This social media platform is akin to a microblogging site where your posts must be no longer than 280 characters. This means you need to get your point across quickly, clearly and succinctly.

With Twitter, you can expect to have a tougher time building a local audience and customer base for your specific location. Instead, your greatest impact among the 436 million people using the site will be in posting content that builds brand awareness, establishes thought leadership, connects you with potential partners and industry leaders, and creates a personality for your brand.

How it works: Post images, videos and links. Share content from other accounts, reply to tweets, and share and like other tweets. As with Instagram, include hashtags to generate conversations around a topic. Don’t overdo it though; remember, less is more on Twitter. You can also advertise on Twitter, but your budget might be better spent on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also use your own personal Twitter account to build your following on Twitter. Keep it professional and related to your business, and follow the same rules as you would with your business Twitter account.

Now That You’re a Social Media Platforms Guru …

You’re ready to start posting! With a basic understanding of how each of these four social media platforms works, you’ll have a greater impact in achieving your marketing goals.

With Rallio, you get one dashboard for all four of these platforms, so you’ll have a single login with multiple posting and advertising capabilities. Our team of experts can also help you figure out what to post, when to post it, what to advertise and how to build your following. Contact us via rallio.com to schedule a free, no-obligation demo today.

Tags social media management platform

Social Uncategorized

11 Days of Instagram Caption Ideas

Post author By Rallio
Post date December 1, 2021

In our last post, we explained Instagram grid layouts — an easy way to make your page look like one cohesive work of art instead of a random series of photos. Now that you’re an Instagram grid guru, you might be wondering, what do I post on Instagram? Glad you asked — because we’ve got Instagram caption ideas to spark your imagination!

The captions below are not “cut and paste,” meaning you will need to customize them for your business. Obviously, you also need your own photos to post. However, with these Instagram caption ideas in hand, you’ll have plenty to work with when you’re snapping photos and figuring out what to post.

What other Instagram caption ideas can you come up with? Challenge yourself to get creative and think outside the square — the Instagram square, that is. Snap some personalized photos, add your own caption and hashtags, and create a grid layout of your own to start making the most of your Instagram profile.

#1 Get a Case of the Mondays

Play off the day of the week, like Mondays and Fridays. It’s a relatable topic that everyone understands and probably has an opinion about.

Example: I don’t know about you, but I like Mondays. ?? I actually wake up excited to start a new week. It’s true: Love what you do, and you’ll never work a day in your life, including Mondays. Anyone feel the same way?

#2 Quote Somebody

Quotes are one of the easiest types of posts you can create. Throw a quote into a nice layout (Canva.com makes it easy), and voila! There’s your post.

Example: “Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” — Abraham Lincoln

#3 Talk About Your Industry

Post something about trend in your industry that your followers would want to know more about. You’re the expert on something, so share your knowledge!

Example (for a marketing company): Video will continue to be a dominant focus on Instagram going forward. Comment below and let us know: Are you using video in your social media content? Why or why not?

#4 Post a Testimonial

Ask a happy customer to give you a review, and get their permission to take a photo of them. Nothing is more powerful than the words of someone who loves your brand!

For this example, use your customer’s own words, shortening it as needed for purposes of a caption. If the customer is OK with it, tag them in the photo and ask them to share the post on their own profile.

#5 Post a How-To

Take a video of yourself explaining how to use one of your products or services. Keep it short and sweet but helpful, too.

A furniture company could post a video explaining how to care for a leather sofa. A beauty brand could post a tutorial for applying face serum. The possibilities are endless!

#6 Post an Offer

Offers shouldn’t be the bulk of your page, but they can be sprinkled in. Make sure it’s aesthetically pleasing and doesn’t look like a giant “Sale!” sign. You can easily grab a nice product photo from your website and add a caption that explains the offer.

Example: Don’t miss out! For three days only, get free shipping and 25% off your order when you spend $99. Head over to the link in our bio to snag this deal before it’s gone!

#7 Post a Giveaway

Like offers, giveaways can be mixed in among your regular content to gain engagement and get your followers excited about your page. Try partnering with another brand to collaborate on the giveaway.

For this example, spell out the contest rules clearly and make sure you add in language that encourages people to follow and engage with your brand.

#8 Post a Behind-The-Scenes Photo

Who started your company? Who’s your star employee of the month? What fun events do you do as a team? Get snapping and tell your followers about it!

Example: This is Christie. She runs our front desk like a boss and always has a smile on her face. She also makes the best German chocolate cake this side of the Colorado River, and she has three adorable beagles she sometimes brings to work. Leave a comment below and give Christie a shoutout!

#9 Post a Fun Fact

Again, you’re the pro. What information can you share with your followers?

Example for a cleaning company: Ever feel like your floor is constantly getting dirty? Cut down on the dirt and germs by removing your shoes every time you walk in the door. If you have pets, consider purchasing pet-friendly paw wipes to reduce the amount of dirt tracked inside.

#10 Make a Prediction

What industry predictions can you make? Pull out your crystal ball, and take a few wild guesses!

Example: Here it is: our top three predictions for the latest and greatest in [XYZ industry] trends for 2022.

Prediction 1
Prediction 2
Prediction 3

What about you? What are your top predictions?

#11 Focus on the Little Things

Like a day of the week, talking about small, relatable topics has a way of connecting with your followers.

Example: Never underestimate the power of a smile from a stranger, a chocolate chip cookie hot out of the oven, and fresh, clean sheets on the bed. Today, we are grateful for all the little things.

Instagram Caption Ideas Are Easy Once You Get Rolling

You’ll notice that the ideas above are repeatable, so you can recycle the same ideas with different captions and photos to keep your content fresh. You’ll never run out of content this way!

Of course, not everyone has time to post on Instagram if you’re busy running your business. Does your business need help posting more frequently? Contact us at Rallio and we’ll help you out!

Tags social media marketing

Social

Quick Guide to Instagram Grid Layouts

Post author By Rallio
Post date November 30, 2021

Around the world, thousands of businesses use Instagram to market their products and services. Whether you’re selling your new lipstick line or promoting your life coaching program, there are so many ways to connect with your target audience, build a following, and grow your business. One way to connect with them and impress your followers? Instagram grid layouts.

While you can easily get started posting without a specific pattern in mind for your page, eventually, you might want to think about creating an Instagram grid layout. With a grid layout, your page looks like one cohesive work of art instead of a random series of photos.

Arguably, a grid layout is not the be-all, end-all of gaining followers and engagement on your page. Some people will come across your posts in their feeds and won’t bother to visit your page. They also might solely view your Stories or Reels, making the grid layout less important.

However, if you want your page to be aesthetically pleasing — say, for a fashion, beauty or graphic design business — then a grid layout is the way to go. Plus, driving people to your profile is ideal because that’s where you’ll have a link to your website or other important information.

Squares Grid

As the most basic Instagram grid layout, squares are a great place to start if you’re new to creating grids. The idea with squares is to simply post a photo one at a time, using consistent colors and filters.

For example, use a simple black and white aesthetic to give your feed a consistent look and feel. Select colors and filters that reflect your brand’s personality and industry niche, and then stick with that theme throughout your feed.

Checkerboard Grid

If the squares layout grows tiresome for you, at some point you might want to swap it out for a checkerboard. With a checkerboard Instagram grid layout, you alternate between two types of posts or color themes.

For example, you might have a quote post one day, followed by a real-life photo the next, and you continue to alternate these post types throughout your feed. Another option with the checkerboard is to alternate backgrounds — say, a dark background one day and a white background the next.

Again, stick with the same color scheme and filters. Also, use consistent fonts if you’re posting any quotes or images with text.

Row By Row

Are you a natural storyteller? The row-by-row layout could be for you.

With a row-by-row layout, you create a visual story that moves from left to right like the pages of a book or a magazine. The key is to share a story within three posts that share a similar visual aesthetic, if not the exact same person or object within the three photos. You can also publish a series of quotes across three different posts.

While visually appealing, the row-by-row layout can be challenging if you don’t have the time or resources to post three photos at the same time. (It has to be done this way, or you’ll wreck the layout.)

However, if you’re able to plan ahead or have someone help you with your posting — our Rallio Local division, for one — then the row-by-row layout can be a fun, engaging way to display your feed.

Puzzle Grid

The puzzle grid is perhaps the trickiest type of Instagram grid layout. With a puzzle grid, you have one image split into multiple posts that are each part of a whole.

Even though puzzle-grid photos fit together as part of a larger image, ideally the individual photos should be able to stand on their own. This way, if someone views a post within their feed, the photo will still make sense.

Again, the puzzle grid takes some planning and foresight to pull it off effectively. As always, stay consistent with filters, colors and fonts across your puzzle-grid photos.

Vertical or Diagonal Lines

With a vertical or diagonal lines grid, you have a consistent theme either vertically or diagonally in your feed. Examples include:

Quotes with a consistent background
Images with a consistent background or visual aesthetic
Consistent borders, such as framed quotes
Similar post types — say, images of dogs all down the middle of your feed, surrounded by quotes

It’s common with vertical grids to post photos down the middle of a feed, but you could also post on the right or the left. With a diagonal grid, it’s the same idea, only the photos share a similar look and feel in diagonal lines.

Additional Grid Options

If none of the options above work for you, try one of these:

Rainbow grid. Gradually change the core colors of your feed every three, six or nine photos. Use a color wheel to slowly transition from one color to the next.
Mixed grid. You don’t have to stick with the same grid forever. You might have a puzzle grid for a specific purpose, such as a product launch, and then implement a different grid once the puzzle is complete.

Keep Your Feed Fresh With Instagram Grid Layouts

Keep in mind that Instagram is primarily a visual platform and should be treated as such, with aesthetically pleasing photos and carefully thought-out themes that catch your followers’ eye. With proper planning and consistent effort, your Instagram page can really come to life with a grid layout.

Could you use some help creating an Instagram grid layout for your page? Reach out to sales@rallio.com and we’d be happy to recommend the best strategy for your business.

Tags social media marketing

Social

3 Critical Questions to Ask Before Slashing Your Marketing Budget

Post author By Rallio
Post date November 18, 2021

This post was originally published in October 2020 and has been updated.

There are many different ways to trim your budget as you consider your business spending for 2022. While there may be certain cost-cutting measures you can take, however, your marketing budget should not be one of them.

Internet and social media usage continue to be at an all-time high, meaning you have an opportunity to reach customers who otherwise would never find you. Statista reports that usage continues to climb, with 82% of the U.S. population saying they currently use some form of social media.

Although the pandemic has brought about challenging times for businesses and consumers alike, it has also presented opportunities for businesses to grow. Rather than slash your marketing budget, ramp up your marketing efforts stay ahead of your competition.

According to Harvard Business Review (HBR): “Companies that have bounced back most strongly from previous recessions usually did not cut their marketing spend, and in many cases actually increased it. But they did change what they were spending their marketing budget on and when to reflect the new context in which they operated.”

As you finalize 2022 marketing planning, ask yourself these three critical questions. You might find that it’s simply a matter of reallocating your marketing dollars in new and better ways.

Related: The 6 Most Important Social Media Metrics to Track for ROI

Have You Pivoted?

By pivoting, we mean changing course. Throwing your marketing dollars at the same things you were marketing heavily a year ago just doesn’t make sense. Instead, consider how your business can shift to address the current reality — now that we’re nearly two years into the pandemic.

By now, many businesses have already figured out how to pivot. There have been entirely new lines of business created, out of necessity:

Fitness studios, forced to close their doors due to COVID-19, had to launch virtual classes. Many of them are continuing these virtual offerings even as they reopen to cater to people who want to stay fit from home.
Restaurants had to create takeout and delivery options.
Retailers had to create ecommerce offerings in place of in-person shopping.
Businesses that lost workers are now using social media to recruit new talent.

Many of these new additions to businesses are here to stay. And yet … can you do more?

Now is not the time to get comfortable. Keep the things that are working, but keep discovering ways to be better than your competitors, too.

As HBR puts it: “Research … shows that products launched during a recession have both higher long-term survival chances and higher sales revenues. That’s partly because there are fewer new products to compete with, but it also comes from the fact that companies maintaining R&D have focused the investment on their best prospects — which may explain why products introduced during recessions have been shown to be of higher quality.”

“A new and innovative product engenders hope that the economy is on the mend, and that the consumer may soon be able to afford it,” HBR adds.

It’s not enough to launch new products and services — how are you going to spread the word?

It’s essential that you pair your launches with strategic marketing plans for the greatest impact with your target audience.

Read more: Lessons Learned From the Pandemic: A Conversation With Franchisees

Are You Satisfied With Your Share of Voice?

Share of voice (SOV) is a metric that describes your share of advertising compared to your competitors. It also includes all forms of measurable brand awareness, such as the number and reach of online mentions, pay per click, website traffic and other factors, says Search Engine Journal (SEJ).

“Basically, share of voice helps you understand how popular your brand is compared to all your competitors,” adds SEJ.

Calculating your SOV requires a detailed explanation that goes beyond the subject matter of this article. The SEJ article referenced above offers a nice breakdown you can use to determine your own SOV. (Feeling acronymed out yet?)

However, the key takeaway is that increasing your advertising is a smart move right now while your competitors are cutting back. Think about it: As they decrease, and you increase, you gain more SOV.

“During recessions, when most firms are cutting back on their brand advertising, a firm’s share of voice increases if it can maintain or increase its advertising budget,” says HBR, citing Reckitt Benckiser, whose family of brands includes Clearasil, Durex, Woolite and, notably during the pandemic, Lysol.

“In the recession following the 2008 financial crash, the company launched a marketing campaign aimed at persuading its consumers to continue purchasing its more expensive and better performing brands, despite the harsh economic climate,” explains HBR. “Increasing its advertising outlays by 25% in the face of reduced marketing by competitors, Reckitt Benckiser actually grew revenues by 8% and profits by 14%, when most of its rivals were reporting profit declines of 10% or more. They viewed advertising as an investment rather than an expense.”

In today’s climate, gaining SOV means ramping up your marketing budget and advertising via social media and other digital mediums. Your followers need to hear from you, or they’ll forget about you and go elsewhere.

And even established brands need to work to stay relevant. Just look at big names like Coca Cola in 2020, reminding its customers that the brand “always has been, and always will be there for you, in good times and bad,” notes HBR. (Learn more in this YouTube segment.)

Your followers also need to see that you’re responsive to social media questions, comments, online reviews and other digital engagements. All of these small interactions add up to a greater SOV than the competitor with no social presence, unanswered comments and questions, and sometimes even reviews that haven’t received a response.

In summary, increasing your marketing budget has the potential to give you:

Not just greater SOV, but also greater market share as a result of increased connections with customers and new prospects. Your social media ad campaigns, boosted posts and related email offers all help you reach your target audience.
Retention of your core customer base. Staying top of mind means they think of you when they need your products or services. Out of sight means out of mind.
New customers. How are you going to keep a constantly growing pipeline if you aren’t marketing and advertising yourself?
A positive online reputation. Having someone dedicated to responding to every single social interaction and review is essential for cultivating credibility and trust with your target audience.

Can You Better Allocate Your Marketing Budget?

So if you aren’t going to cut your marketing budget, it makes sense to look at where you are spending your marketing dollars.

If you take a good look at where you are spending your marketing budget, you might find that you need to make some tweaks. If you’re spending money on pay per click but spending nothing on social media, for instance, you’re missing out on opportunities to reach your customer.

Learn more: 5 Ways to Integrate Email Marketing With Social Media Marketing

What kind of tweaks can you make?

Allocate money toward social media. Our research and firsthand experience with clients have demonstrated the value of social media marketing and advertising. Time and time again, we’ve seen that even a modest social media ad budget allows brands to extend their reach and expand their following. We are also actively helping our clients navigate iOS privacy concerns and changes to Facebook ad targeting options, which will become significantly reduced starting in January.
Ensure your digital platforms are an extension of in-person experiences. Your social media messaging, design, visuals and even the people pictured in your local photos should reflect what you have in-store. Own a restaurant? They should see James, your head chef, and Sally, your hostess with the mostest.
Provide a seamless shopping experience by aligning your social media with the rest of your marketing. For example, a shopper who shops in your physical store should be able to hop on your social media pages and have a similar experience. A shopper who receives marketing offers via email but isn’t targeted and retargeted via social media is a lost opportunity.
Consider whether outsourcing would help you achieve more of your marketing goals with less money. The cost of hiring someone to manage the full-time job of social media marketing is often greater than the cost of outsourcing to a partner like Rallio.

Your Business Deserves a Smart Marketing Budget

We understand the current economic climate might make some businesses nervous about spending money on marketing. However, without a dedicated and properly allocated marketing budget, your business will have a tough time getting ahead.

Keep in mind that Rallio offers a variety of different products and services to help with your marketing goals. We’ll make things work for your particular marketing budget — so you can feel good about spending the money. Schedule a no-obligation consultation to find out how we can help.

Tags social media marketing

Social

3 Big Reasons You Need Influencer Marketing

Post author By Rallio
Post date November 8, 2021

It’s harder and harder to get people’s attention these days. As consumers thumb through their social media feeds, you have only nanoseconds to stop the scroll. Marketers are getting savvy about solving this problem, however, and influencer marketing is one way to stand out from the crowd.

Influencer marketing involves having your product or service promoted by someone who has a social media following. Rather than rely on big celebrity endorsements, you’re working with influencers who tell their followers what they like about your brand.

These influencers don’t need to have hundreds of thousands of followers, either. Even accounts with modest follower counts are able to capture the attention of their fans.

There are many reasons for this shift toward influencer marketing. In this quick read, you’ll discover three of the biggest reasons you should add influencer marketing to your strategic plans.

Influencer Marketing Offers Long-Term Results

When you partner with influencer marketers, you’re able to create a mutually beneficial long-term relationship. These people effectively become brand ambassadors who promote your brand message among their own followers.

Those followers may share this content with their own followers, too. This broadens your reach even further, as more and more people learn about your brand. This extended network is filled with potential new followers and customers who want to buy from you.

People Trust Influencer Messaging Over Brand Messaging

The Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) reports that 70% of younger generations trust influencers over celebrities. The messages coming from influencers are viewed as more authentic and credible than a paid ad or promotion from a brand.

With this credibility, you are more easily able to connect with your target audience. DMI also states that 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations, and 40% had purchased something after seeing it on Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

Think about a product you love that you found through social media, and you can understand these statistics. Seeing how a product is used in real life by someone who seems relatable makes you more likely to buy it.

Influencers Can Include Employees and Customers

Consider, too, that influencer marketers aren’t just outsiders who partner with your brand. They can also include happy customers as well as employees within your own company. DMI notes that employee-generated content is re-shared up to 24 more times when posted by employees versus a brand. In addition, these posts get up to eight times more engagement.

Moreover, you can incentivize employees to post both branded and unbranded content about your company. With Rallio’s Activate platform, the process is even easier: Provide your employees and influencers with limited mobile logins so they can upload and post content about your brand.

With customers, you can feature their testimonials on your own social feeds. Either post a photo or video of them that you film yourself, or reshare user-generated content. For example, if a customer posts a Story about your new soda flavor or lipstick shade, reshare it on your own stories.

Start Small and Grow With Influencer Marketing

The best part about influencer marketing is that it’s possible to get started without investing a lot of capital. If you have a product or service people love, they will be happy to share about your brand.

Sometimes, all it takes is asking. Get in touch with your top employees and customers, and ask if they’d be willing to post about your brand. Create an incentive plan or special discount that makes it worth their while.

In time, you’ll be able to grow your influencer marketing program to include influencers with a bigger following. Remember, though, it’s about quality and not quantity. Your followers will often connect more readily with people who have a modest following rather than a large account, which they might view as less trustworthy.

To learn more about how Rallio can help you power up your influencer marketing, contact sales@rallio.com.

Tags social media marketing

Reputation

3 Ways Social Media Impacts Reputation Management

Post author By Rallio
Post date October 27, 2021

At any given moment, conversations may be happening about your brand online (both positive and negative). Some of those conversations could be happening on dedicated review platforms, but others might appear on social media — maybe even right on your own page. At times, you might feel like your reputation management is out of your hands.

It’s understandable why you’d feel that way, given that social media is more than just a place to post funny memes or videos. Nowadays, it also serves as a customer service channel, a place to give and receive product recommendations, and a means to express both joy and frustration about a brand. And ultimately, these types of third-party reviews fuel buying decisions. A few noteworthy stats:

91% of consumers are more likely to do business with companies that have positive reviews
The average consumer reads 10 reviews before placing trust in a local business
32% of people will visit a company’s website, and 16% will visit the business itself, after reading positive reviews

While it can feel like your reputation is out of your control, nothing could be further from the truth. Pay attention to the subtle ways social media impacts your online reputation, and with focused effort (plus our technology to help you manage the process), you’ll be able to amplify your brand’s positive online presence.

In addition, Rallio’s technologies can help you better manage and monitor your brand’s reputation.

At Rallio, we’ve built our social media SaaS platform and our Revv review accelerator with an eye toward brand reputation management. We’ve customized solutions for many different clients to help them build a positive online reputation and mitigate the impact of any negative customer feedback.

Be sure to read the following “mini case studies,” where we’ve rounded up key insights gathered as a result of clients using either our Rallio dashboard or our Revv technology to manage their brand reputation.

Mini Case Studies: 3 Powerful Ways Our Technology Boosts Brand Reputation

#1: Employee-Generated Content

It only takes one employee posting a controversial meme, hashtag, photo or video to bring down a brand. If the content is in poor taste and they mention your company’s handle or business name, it’s going to reflect badly on your brand online.

One way to avoid this problem is to create a social media policy and distribute it to employees. Make it clear what they can and cannot post in relation to your company.

Also, using Our Activate platform will allow you to distribute brand-approved content to your employees, as well as reward them for posting on your behalf. With the right controls and guidance in place, plus employees who are on board with your protocols, reputation management becomes much easier.

#2: Customer Feedback

As a business owner, you must take into account how your customers are discussing your brand online. As the business owner, it’s important that you address complaints appropriately and promptly.

The Rallio Dashboard pulls your online reviews into one central location so you can view and respond to them, either within the Rallio platform or on the review platform itself. However, online reviews aren’t the only thing to monitor. Our dashboard also pulls in social comments and messages so you can quickly reply to customers’ comments, questions or complaints.

Better still, get proactive by collecting more positive reviews. With our Revv app, a simple one-question post-sale survey is sent to recent customers immediately after a sale. When customers respond positively, they are prompted to leave a review and linked directly to that store’s review platform of choice. With negative feedback, they can be prompted to leave a comment and request further assistance so you can contact them directly.

Read our article Responding to Online Reviews in 3 Easy Steps to learn more about navigating online reviews.

#3: Post Authenticity

If your social media content tends to be overly promotional or mostly stock photos, your audience will view you as inauthentic. Without realizing it, you could be building a reputation as a brand that only cares about sales, or that doesn’t have anything original to say.

Instead, create a sense of trust by posting authentic content — real photos and videos that show the human side of your brand. You’re more likely to build a social media following and capture your audience’s attention by posting and sharing content that shows your team members, customers and community. You’ll also be able to create a dialogue with your followers as they engage with your content.

Social Media and Reputation Management Go Hand in Hand

You can’t practice reputation management properly without considering how social media impacts your brand image. Take control by integrating our technologies into your processes, and leave some of the heavy lifting of reputation management to us. Contact us at sales@rallio.com to learn more.

Tags online reputation

Case studies Social

Labor Shortages Got You Down? Use Technology to Help With Recruiting Top Talent

Post author By Rallio
Post date October 25, 2021

In these strange and unpredictable times, recruiting employees has become a job all on its own. “Help Wanted” signs in store windows, understaffed checkout counters and restaurants, and unfulfilled job vacancies are stark reminders that we haven’t quite reached the other side of the pandemic.

As of July 2021, there were nearly 11 million job vacancies in the United States. That number decreased somewhat at the end of August, to 10.4 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In what the Washington Post calls an “acute staffing shortage,” restaurants, leisure and hospitality are among the hardest-hit sectors. Both franchises and independent businesses alike are struggling to fill positions left vacant by workers who have moved on to new opportunities or are otherwise choosing not to reenter the workforce.

Whatever the reason for the labor shortages, it’s become clear that a “Help Wanted” sign isn’t going to cut it. If you’ve found yourself among the many businesses experiencing recruiting woes, you’ll want to begin implementing the following tips as soon as possible. With the help of technology, you can set yourself apart as an employer of choice and start down the road to recovery.

The Current Situation

QSR magazine reports that hiring competition is fierce for operators. Oftentimes, there may be hundreds, if not thousands, of job openings in one geographic area alone. “This opposite supply and demand curve has made it critical for HR teams to look beyond traditional hiring tactics and job boards when it comes to fulfilling exact roles in each brand location,” says QSR.

Here’s where technology, especially social media, can work to your advantage. In the same way that social media can help to attract local customers, it can be leveraged to find ideal local job candidates. QSR reports that as much as 84% of recruiters use social media to find qualified employees, making social media an invaluable tool for targeting and reaching local recruits.

Hype Up Employee Culture With Local Content

If you want to attract top talent, your social media pages should be filled with posts that illustrate your company culture. Photos and videos of team members who actually look like they enjoy working for you are essential. These real-life, authentic posts allow you to:

Convey the type of work environment that new employees can expect. Are you all about team celebrations? Bringing pets to work? Hosting Halloween costume and pumpkin-carving contests? Providing free snacks and drinks? Whatever makes your company special should be captured on film and plastered all over your social media profiles.
Generate social proof that not only makes your company look like a fun place to work, but also a great place for customers to spend their money. People want to do business with (and work for) companies that care about their employees more than they care about profits.
Build your follower count and engagement. People are more likely to engage with photos and videos that feature real people, places and things rather than generic stock imagery.

Local content is one of the most crucial elements of an employee recruiting strategy. The more often you post this content, the more authentic and inviting you become, and the more you solidify your brand vision in the eyes of job candidates.

Boost Your Top-Performing Posts

Getting hyper-local content posted on your pages is just one part of attracting top talent. In order for people to see your posts, it’s important to boost top-performing content, including those that promote company culture.

Although boosted posts do not offer the same level of customization as Facebook ads created in Ads Manager, they still help to increase visibility, engagement and follower count. To understand the difference between boosted posts and Facebook ads, read this article.

Boosting a post is as simple as choosing a piece of hyper-local content, clicking the boost button, and then choosing your budget and audience. One strategy we’ve seen work well recruiting-wise is creating job posts for specific roles from a location’s page and then boosting the post.

As you select your target audience, you can target candidates for specific roles near the location. These candidates will then see open roles while getting a feel for your work environment. Here are a few examples of campaigns we’ve run:

One residential cleaning franchisee reached nearly 8,000 people and had over 360 engagements on a boosted post that included a link to apply for a housecleaner position.
A dog grooming franchisee reached over 2,500 people and had over 380 engagements on a boosted post seeking experienced groomers.
A cargo and freight company reached nearly 1,200 people and had 47 post clicks on a boosted post seeking logistics coordinators and sales representatives.
A damage restoration company franchisee reached 1,840 people and had 164 engagements on a boosted post seeking new hires for several positions. The same franchisee has run multiple recruiting campaigns with success.

Be Responsive

As you’re boosting posts, you’re likely to get more engagement, including comments, likes, shares, messages and reviews. Be responsive to every engagement, and reply to your messages and feedback promptly.

With job applicants, be sure to acknowledge their application and get back to promising candidates within 24 hours if possible. In this current climate, you don’t want to leave people hanging or they might move on.

You can also use Facebook’s built-in Messenger tools to automate responses to FAQ and even pre-screen candidates with important questions.

Turn Employees Into Advocates

At the end of the day, it’s up to you as the business owner to set the tone for your work environment and company culture. Lead by example, and reward your employees for a job well-done. A little recognition and occasional incentives go a long way toward employee retention and loyalty. In turn, your employees will be more likely to champion your brand on social media. Here are some ways to encourage employee advocacy:

Feature your employees on social media to tell their stories and highlight their achievements, interests and hobbies. Recognize them as the rockstars that they are.
Reward your employees. They are choosing to spend a majority of their time working for you. Celebrate their successes in any way you can, whether that means higher wages, promotions, recognition for employees of the month, incentives such as gift cards or special outings, or other benefits (McDonald’s franchisees are offering higher hourly wages, paid time off, backup child care and tuition payments, reports CNBC).
Use social media to brag about your employees and mention any examples of how they are taking advantage of special benefits. Do you offer paid time off for volunteering, for instance? Ask employees to take photos when they volunteer and post them on social media (or send to you for posting; our mobile app helps with this process. More on that below.).
Roll up your sleeves and stand proudly alongside your employees. Nothing boosts morale more than seeing the boss willing to get in the trenches and support their team — especially when you’re short-staffed. Consider the example of Raising Cane’s, where 50% of the corporate team is showing up to work inside short-handed stores and recruit talent amid the labor shortage — proving that nobody is above being a fry cook or a cashier.

How Rallio Can Help With Recruiting

Recruiting and retaining employees can sound like a monumental task, especially when you’re busy running your business and navigating staff shortages. However, Rallio has several tools available to streamline the process and manage some of the heavy lifting.

Here’s how Rallio can help:

Rallio Dashboard — Our all-in-one dashboard and mobile app put all your social profiles in one place for easy scheduling, time savings, analytics, and leaderboard stats across locations and employee logins. Pull everything into one central location instead of having to log in to multiple platforms.
Rallio Local — Our Local division automates the process of getting content on your pages, adding captions, boosting content for more visibility, and responding to comments, messages and online reviews (both positive and negative).
Rallio Activate — Our employee advocacy tools allow you to activate employees as brand ambassadors. They get limited employee logins to our mobile app so they can upload photos and post about your brand. You can even reward top performers and see leaderboard stats.
Revv — Our reputation accelerator can tie in directly to your POS system and help you get more positive reviews. We’ll send a simple survey via text to customers after a purchase so they can leave a review or get help with any customer service issues. The more positive public reviews you have, the more you become an employer of choice for people checking out your brand before they apply for a job.

In the same way our technologies help businesses increase their brand awareness, leads and sales, they can help you with recruiting the best employees. Contact us at sales@rallio.com or visit rallio.com for help finding the right recruiting solutions for your needs.

Tags social media company

Social

4 Big Reasons You Need Localized Social Media Content

Post author By Rallio
Post date October 13, 2021

Social media is the first and last impression your customers will see of your brand on the web. You need to stand out from the competition and post localized social media content that is engaging and speaks to your audience.

There are several benefits of posting localized social media content on your profiles. For one, it lets people know that you understand their needs and interests — and that there are real humans behind the scenes. Because social media is a fast-moving platform, it pays to have content that’s relevant and tailored just for your audience’s needs.

Not convinced yet? Here are 7 reasons you should ditch generic posts and create localized social media content for your business’ social profiles.

#1: Localized Social Media Content Shows You’re Invested in Your Community

Posting localized social media content that includes real photos and videos of your team, your location and your community allows you to showcase your brand’s personality. When people see your content, they’re more likely to engage with it if it comes across as authentic. There’s no better way to illustrate your authenticity than with real-life snapshots of a day in the life, team celebrations, birthday parties, pet pictures, customer testimonials and community events.

Consider how you personally interact with posts on social media. Would you rather like and comment on a post that’s entertaining, inspiring or informative — or a post that includes a stock photo and a generic caption? When you post locally relevant content to social media, it has the effect of building relationships with locals 1-on-1. This can be beneficial for business because it makes local communities feel “known” and understood.

#2: Localized Social Media Content Differentiates You From the Parent Company

Most franchisors have social media marketing assets that they share with franchisees, and there’s a place for this branded content. After all, as a franchisee, you joined a brand for the name recognition, processes and systems. So why not use the brand name to your advantage?

While it makes sense to make use of your parent company’s marketing tools, it’s important that you don’t rely exclusively on them. When you personalize your pages with real photos and videos from your location, you send a message to your followers that you’ll treat them as individuals, not just another follower on your page.

#3: Localized Social Media Content Generates More Opportunities

By posting localized social media content and attracting more likes, comments and shares, you create opportunities for more leads and customers. If a follower comments on your post, you can interact directly with that person, showing you’re interested and engaged with your community.

At times, your followers may have questions that they leave within the comments section or through a direct message. Or they might even leave a review about your business on a review platform. When you stay engaged and alert to what customers are saying about you, you have an opportunity to make that customer happy. You also show prospective customers who are checking out your business online that you care about your customers.

#4 You Create Loyal Customers

According to Salesforce Research reported by Hubspot, 89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience. When you consider that many people turn to social media for customer support issues, you can better understand why you need to stay on top of your local social media page.

“Despite social media’s role as a place to connect with friends and coworkers, many businesses and consumers are using it to connect as well,” notes Help Scout. “Functionality like Facebook and Instagram messaging have made it easy for users to connect directly with brands in a more meaningful and authentic way than they used to. Because of that, many companies are striving to create more presence in those environments.”

If a customer were to comment on a post or reach out via Messenger and other forms of direct messaging, they expect a speedy response. When you make a habit of checking your engagements, posting regularly and monitoring mentions of your brand, you’ll be able to follow up on any customer service issues promptly.

Localized Social Media Content + Consistency Are Key

As you may know, there is plenty of competition out there for brands like yours. Localized social media content, posted at least three or four times a week, will give you the consistent online presence you need to stand out from the crowd. Over time and with the addition of ad spend, you’ll build a relationship with your customers — and you might even enjoy the process of getting to know them. If you need more help creating that localized presence and automating the entire process, reach out to us at rallio.com.

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

–Jeff Bezos

Tags social media marketing

Content Marketing Uncategorized

12 Surefire Ways to Grow Your Email List

Post author By Rallio
Post date October 11, 2021

So you have a special offer, promotion, announcement or video you want to email to your customers. But what do you do if your email list could fit on, uh, a sticky note? Or, more to the point, how do you grow your email list so you actually have people to email?

It’s a common problem among businesses that are just starting out or that haven’t put focused effort into acquiring subscribers. Start implementing the following 12 tips, however, and you’ll be well on your way to bulking up your email list and converting more of those people into paying customers.

Ready to grow your email list? Let’s go!

#1: Create a giveaway.

One of the simplest ways to grow your email list is by launching a giveaway where people need to provide their email address to enter. It’s best if you give other options for entering via social media — by liking a post and tagging a friend, for example — so that your giveaway is accessible to everyone (not just people who give you their email).

For the email entry, create a landing page for the giveaway that’s independent of Facebook and your website. A simple email entry form will let you capture email addresses, and you can provide further details about the giveaway rules and the giveaway itself. You’ll also make use of this landing page in additional steps below.

#2: Add a call-to-action button to your Facebook page.

You can use a Sign Up button on your Facebook profile that links users to your giveaway landing page. This button can also be linked with other content when you’re not hosting a giveaway, such as a gated featured resource that requires email access.

#3: Create an email automation.

Once you have a subscriber, you can send them through different email automations. An email automation is simply a series of emails that you send to a subscriber based on different triggers. These emails not only provide information to subscribers, but also help with retention so people don’t immediately unsubscribe after your giveaway is done.

For example, once someone enters your giveaway, you can send them through an automation that tells them more details about the giveaway. Then send them another email on days 2, 3, 4 or however long you want the automation to be — a seven-day sequence is a good goal. When they reach the end of the automation, have the automation subscribe them to a general email list that you can then use for your email marketing.

In the subsequent emails, add value by sending out blog posts, freebies or other information. You can also pair your emails with social media posts that echo your email content.

#4: Create a challenge.

You could also create a landing page featuring a unique seasonal challenge with a downloadable resource — an ebook, for instance — such as “7-Day Healthy Eating Challenge” that people would opt into. You could then take info from your ebook and create an email sequence to distribute the healthy tips and create other assets to go with it on social media, such as social media posts and even a private Facebook group (more on that in tip #11).

#5: Host an online event.

Have a topic you know something about? Or some type of special event you can host virtually? Create an educational webinar, a “virtual tasting” event with food or drinks, or even a how-to session explaining one of your products.

Create a landing page or use a service like Eventbrite.com where people input their email address to join your event or class. Be sure to promote the event on social media, in your newsletter and on your website.

#6: Add an “Instant Win” to your website.

Ever seen a “spin the wheel” animation on a website? People can enter their email address in exchange for instant savings, such as a percentage off at checkout.

See Viral Sweep for instant win ideas. Note that after a user enters their email address, they can be presented with social media sharing options.

#7: Use your cover photos.

Turn your Facebook and Twitter cover photos into calls to action to sign up for your email list, for a contest, for a special challenge or anything else that gets people to subscribe.

Canva.com is an easy graphic design tool, or you can use a service like Fivrr or Upwork to locate a freelancer who can create the artwork for you.

#8: Post snippets to social media.

Draw out useful tidbits from your monthly newsletter content or blog that you can repurpose on social media. Ask your followers to become email subscribers — send them over to that landing page you created.

#9: Pin a link to your landing page to the top of your profile.

As with your cover photos, you can pin your landing page to the top of your Facebook and Twitter profiles. You can also put this link in your Instagram bio and/or link to it from Stories. If you have more than 10K followers, you can add this link as a swipe-up feature.

Note: If you have multiple links you want to share with your followers, gather them together in a single link using a link-bundling tool like Linktree.

#10: Add an “Email” link on your Instagram profile.

This technique to grow your email list might not get you an influx of subscribers, but it falls under the category of “why not?” You’ll simply go into your Instagram settings to add this button and provide another means for people to message you.

Then, if and when you get an email, you can invite them to join your subscriber list. Try adding a call to action to “subscribe to emails” within your email signature, so that anytime you reply back to someone, you have another opportunity to obtain new subscribers.

#11: Create a Facebook group.

Facebook groups can be a great place to connect with a smaller group of followers who are interested in your topic. If you have a massage business, you could start a Facebook group featuring tips on stress relief and healthy living, for example.

Within your Facebook group, you can try various tactics to gain email subscribers. The massage business could create “7 Days of Stress Relief” where people opt in to receive emails. Each day, they would get a different email with new stress-relief tips.

Be sure to promote your Facebook group via your main Facebook page, too, with social media posts inviting your followers to join the group.

#12: Partner with a business.

There are plenty of complementary businesses out there that would be willing to add your email newsletter link to their own website, newsletter and social media channels in exchange for you doing the same. Reach out to them and let them know you’ll feature the partner in your own newsletter.

This technique can also work well for co-hosting contests and giveaways. Plus, if another business provides the giveaway item, it won’t cost you anything.

Grow Your Email List One Tip at a Time

As you can see, many of these techniques make use of existing resources such as your social media pages. You can get them done in seconds and, in many cases, without spending any extra money.

Start with the tip that’s easiest for you, and then continue through the list until you’ve checked off all 12. Before long, you’ll be able to grow your email list to a sizable number of subscribers who are interested in your brand.

Tags content marketing, social media marketing

Social Uncategorized

Case Study: Why Localized Social Media Matters

Post author By Rallio
Post date October 7, 2021

As a franchisee, you buy into a system that includes brand recognition and certain business processes. Instead of starting from scratch, you can lean on the corporate brand to an extent as you get up and running. There are, however, certain things you shouldn’t rely on completely — including localized social media marketing.

It’s true that most parent brands provide assistance with social media at varying levels. Some brands supply branded content and social media guidelines. Others leave it to their franchisees to create a social media presence. But in all cases, it’s important to have localized social media, and that’s something that can’t come from the corporate office.

By localized social media, we’re referring to social media posts and advertising that takes place on a franchisee’s local page. So you have a franchisor with a national page representing the brand, and individual pages representing their specific locations. Ideally, there’s a balance between the two — but in reality, that localized presence often falls short.

Challenge

Franchisees are faced with no time and, often, no desire to post on social media. At Rallio, we see franchisees make the mistake of ignoring their local social media pages.

These franchisees may have corporate-syndicated content on their pages — a process that’s streamlined for them through our technology platform — but they aren’t building a localized presence through real-life images, videos, special offers, recruitment posts and advertising.

They are therefore missing out on opportunities to connect with their local communities, respond to customer reviews and inquiries, build relationships with their followers, attract new talent, and give people a reason to visit their location or pay for their service.

Essentially, they are invisible on social media because not only do they lack localized social media, but they also aren’t doing any advertising, an essential component of social media marketing success.

Solution

Our Rallio Local division automates the process of posting locally, gathering assets via uploads from team members, and boosting posts for greater visibility. Franchisees who want extra help are paired with a dedicated Strategist who connects one-on-one with owners.

Social media posting, reputation management, directory listings and employee advocacy are wrapped up into one platform to serve corporate and franchised locations alike. We’ve seen many of our brands go from zero following and engagement to month-over-month gains.

Results

The results below provide an idea of the results franchisees experience by posting localized content with our help. The goal is to flood their pages with hyper-local content that shows the personality behind the location.

With some franchisors that we work with, franchisees have a choice of whether to opt in to our Rallio Local program. Others choose to implement a systemwide rollout of Rallio Local.

We have found that Rallio Local locations consistently outperform non-Rallio Local locations month over month in terms of followers and engagement.

Over a six-month time frame from March to September 2021, one spice and tea brand had a 58% increase in the number of average daily engagements and a 66% average following growth.
Over the same six-month time frame, a laboratory services franchise had a 225% increase in the number of average daily engagements and a whopping 7,229% average following growth.
With a pet supply franchise, we have an agreement with corporate to publish localized content to all franchisees’ pages. During the pandemic, the localized content combined with boosted posts has helped franchisees to introduce new services, such as curbside pickup and delivery, and build awareness of how the franchise is serving its communities. As a result, in 2020, over $1.7 million in purchase conversions was generated brand-wide, thanks to localized social media.

Conclusion: Localized Social Media Makes a Greater Impact

Every brand will experience different results of their social media marketing efforts, depending on factors like franchisee buy-in and contributions to their localized social media as well as ad spend budget. However, one thing remains consistent: hyper-local content is more engaging, entertaining and likely to connect with audiences than mass-syndicated content.

To learn more about how localized social media can help you, go to https://www.ralliolocal.co/ and explore our various packages.

Tags local social media