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Case Study: How Dream Vacations Enhanced their Social Media Presence with Rallio Local Services

Dream Vacations is a prominent franchise brand under World Travel Holdings, a renowned travel agency and cruise agency franchise company. Dream Vacations specializes in offering comprehensive vacation experiences to customers worldwide. Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to invest in and operate their very own Dream Vacations agency, providing expert trip planning and booking assistance to help customers fulfill their dream vacations.

Challenge

In the competitive travel industry, having a strong online presence and engaging with a wide audience on social media is essential for success. Dream Vacations recognized the need to enhance their social media presence and boost engagement with their target audience. They aimed to connect with more potential customers, inspire travel enthusiasts, and promote their exceptional vacation offerings.

Solution

To address their social media challenges and meet their goals, Dream Vacations turned to Rallio and opted for the Rallio Local program. The Rallio Local program offered a comprehensive solution to their needs, assigning a dedicated Social Strategist who would take charge of their social media presence. This strategist was responsible for creating and scheduling content, actively responding to inbox messages and reviews, and optimizing their online reach through weekly ad spend.

Key components of the solution provided by Rallio Local included:

  • Dedicated Social Strategist: Dream Vacations had access to a skilled professional who understood their business and industry and could craft engaging content tailored to their audience.
  • Content Creation and Scheduling: The Social Strategist managed the creation and scheduling of posts across multiple social media platforms. This ensured a consistent and appealing online presence.
  • Inbox and Reputation Management: Prompt and professional responses to inquiries, comments, and reviews were provided to maintain a positive online reputation and customer satisfaction.
  • Ad Spend Optimization: The Rallio Local program included a strategy for utilizing weekly ad spend effectively to reach a broader and more targeted audience.

Results

 The implementation of Rallio Local services had a significant impact on Dream Vacations’ social media presence. Here are the results achieved from January 1, 2023, to October 19, 2023:

  • Followers Increased by 10.01K: Dream Vacations experienced a substantial growth in their social media following, indicating an expanded reach and influence within their niche.
  • Average Daily Post Engagements Increased by 147: The engagement rate on their social media posts rose significantly, showcasing the effectiveness of their content strategy and audience interaction.
  • Published Posts Increased by 3,170: A substantial increase in published posts demonstrated the consistent and active presence of Dream Vacations on social media platforms.
  • Post Engagements Overall: 135,514: The total post engagements reflected the success of the Rallio Local program in building a more interactive and engaging social media community around the Dream Vacations brand.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Dream Vacations’ partnership with Rallio Local enabled them to strengthen their social media presence, engage with a wider audience, and realize impressive results in terms of follower growth and engagement. By leveraging the dedicated expertise of a Social Strategist and a comprehensive approach to social media management, Dream Vacations was able to inspire more travelers and promote their vacation experiences more effectively. This case study demonstrates the power of strategic social media management in driving business success in the modern travel industry.

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Social Uncategorized

Top Trends in Social Media Marketing for 2023

Top trends in social media marketing
Image by pch.vector on Freepik

Social media marketing has undergone a lot of changes over the past decade. Some of these changes have been for the better, some for the worse, and some are still up in the air. But regardless of how you feel about social media marketing, you can’t ignore it if you’re hoping to grow your business. As we get ready to start a new year, we’ll explore some of the top trends in social media marketing that will affect your marketing strategy in 2023.

1. Marketing Automation

Marketing automation is the use of software to automate marketing tasks. It’s a way to increase efficiency, save time and money, and help you get more out of your existing resources. You might already be using some form of marketing automation for social media or email marketing campaigns; this trend will make it easier for you to expand your existing programs or start new ones.

The software platforms we’re seeing today are more flexible than ever before, which means they can accommodate both small businesses with limited resources as well as larger companies with big budgets. If you haven’t yet tried a tool like this yourself but have always thought it would be useful in your business, now is the perfect time. Be sure to check out Rallio’s dashboard and mobile app with integrated artificial intelligence for an easy way to create, automate, and manage social media content and online reviews.

2. Social Commerce

Social media is becoming more and more important for e-commerce. If you want to get ahead of the game and make sure your business is ready for 2023, you need to make sure your brand is set up for e-commerce on Facebook and Instagram (at a minimum). Use the platforms’ built-in shop tools and advertising options to promote your products or service offerings online throughout the year and make it easy for people to complete their purchases from the apps.

3. Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is a technology that integrates digital information with the user’s environment in real-time. It has been around for decades, but the emergence of AR-enabled smartphones has made it ubiquitous.

Augmented reality can be used to enhance marketing and sales by providing visual aids for customers who are shopping online or in person. For instance, if you’re shopping for a sofa, you might be able to get an idea of what it would look like in your living room with the help of augmented reality.

The technology also makes it possible for companies to provide virtual tours of their products and services, allowing potential customers to get a feel for what they’re buying before committing. It can also help businesses develop more personalized approaches to customer service by providing workers with information about each individual’s preferences and needs at any given time.

4. TikTok as SEO

Among the top trends in social media, you cannot ignore TikTok. This popular app that allows you to make short videos with music and effects, share them on social media, and engage directly with your audience. TikTok has surged in popularity among Gen Z in particular as a way of finding local businesses (for example, locating somewhere fun to eat). As such, there’s some chatter that TikTok is giving Google a run for its money as a search platform.

As the use of this platform continues to grow and evolve, it will only become more useful as a marketing tool for small businesses. Overall, the consumption of short videos is on the rise on all social platforms that support video uploads. If you’re looking for ways to reach new audiences or build up your brand recognition among certain groups, consider using TikTok as part of your marketing strategy in 2023 and beyond.

5. Social Media Increasingly Used for Customer Service

Social media is a great way to engage with customers, resolve issues quickly, and provide support. Social media channels can be used as customer service channels, especially if you have a large number of followers or subscribers. Social media is also an effective method for communicating with your audience in real-time. Companies that embrace this will have an advantage over their competitors that do not have the same understanding of social media as a customer service channel.

6. Interest Over Reach

Increasingly, engaging content is taking priority over accounts with a large follower count. This means that algorithms are favoring content of a viral nature — say, a cute puppy snoring or a mom ranting about prioritizing mental health — rather than accounts that have a high volume of followers. This is because the ability for viral content to spread and reach more people is generally more valuable than follower counts.

This trend makes sense when we think about how many times we’ve seen memes or videos go viral on social media — which are often funny, relatable, controversial, or just plain weird. The reason they get so much traction is simple: they’re shareable.

7. Nano Influencers

Nano influencers are micro-influencers who have a small following. They are becoming more popular than macro-influencers because they have a higher engagement rate and are more likely to be authentic and trustworthy. They’re also more likely to be active in the community, which is important because your brand needs to align with their values in order for them to feel comfortable endorsing you.

8. Audio Social Media

Although audio is not a new marketing medium, considering the popularity of podcasts, playlists, and radio to advertise brands. However, it has only recently emerged as a social media platform. Clubhouse, for one, is one of the leaders in the audio social media space and is growing in popularity.

One of the key benefits of audio social media over other forms of other marketing is that these platforms are interactive. Unlike a podcast, for example, a social platform like Clubhouse enables users to engage with brands just as they would on other social platforms. So, if you have a message that you want to get heard, consider implementing audio social media in 2023.

Social media is only going to grow in importance in 2023. Make sure you’re keeping up with the top trends in social media.

Social media isn’t going anywhere in 2023. It’s a channel that provides direct access to your customers and can help you understand them better than any other type of marketing. That’s why it should be a top priority for every business in 2023: as more people use these platforms, they will become even more important for businesses.

At the same time, the means of using these platforms and integrating them with your overall marketing strategy are certainly evolving. Make sure you’re aligning with the top trends in social media marketing above, and you’ll be in great shape with your marketing in the new year. For more help improving the results of your social media marketing, reach out to us at Rallio.

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12 Ways to Grow Your Social Media Pages

girl with watering can grow your social media

Around the world, over 4.26 billion people were using social media worldwide as of 2021. That number is projected to increase to nearly 6 billion by 2027. It’s safe to say that if you’re hoping to capture the attention of some of those users, you’ll need a solid social media marketing strategy in place. The good news is that even if your page is brand-new, there are many ways to attract the attention of your target audience and build your following month-over-month growth. In the following article, we offer 10 simple ways to grow your social media pages that will help you achieve steady growth. Let’s dive in!

1. Post Engaging Content

One of the most critical steps in growing a social media page is to post the types of content that people want to see. If you’re not sure what qualifies as engaging content, start by simply posting photos of your team members and customers (with permission). Tell your followers a little about the people and processes behind your brand to give them a peek behind the scenes. Videos are also extremely popular on social media, as many people prefer to consume content through this medium. How-to videos, tutorials, and educational tips related to your product or service are a great place to start.

2. Use Hashtags

Hashtags consist of words or phrases with a hash sign (#) and are designed to highlight topics of interest and promote conversations. While hashtags are more widely used on Instagram and Twitter, you can also use them sparingly on Facebook and LinkedIn. To find hashtags you can use, try searching social platforms for a few related words and phrases. You can group together several hashtags and save them as a separate note on your computer or phone to use them over and over again. Also, you can add hashtags to your caption itself or add them as a comment on your post to keep your caption cleaner-looking.

3. Post on a Consistent Schedule

Social media isn’t a “set it and forget it” medium (if such a thing exists in the world of marketing). If you want to build a highly engaged audience, grow your social media, and convert more followers into customers, you need to post consistently. While some businesses post daily content, this isn’t a necessary step in the beginning as you build your page. Focus on posting about three times a week, and do it well. Great content and captions win over watered down content that’s posted just for the sake of posting. Keep an eye on your analytics to track the days and times when your audience is the most engaged, and stick to that posting schedule as closely as possible. Rallio’s dashboard makes it easy because you can schedule all your content in advance and monitor and manage your engagements with a single log-in.

4. Cross-Promote on Other Channels

As much as you use social media to promote your website, you should also be using those channels to promote your social pages. For example, if you publish a blog or send out weekly emails, include calls to action to follow you on social media. You can also include links to your social pages through icons on your website’s header or footer as well as in email communications. This way, even if someone doesn’t come across your page on social channels, they will be more likely to discover you through other means.

Related: 12 Days of Local Content Ideas to Boost Your Following

5. Host Contests

Contests and giveaways are a great way to get people interested in your content and encourage them to follow your brand. People who didn’t follow you before will be more willing to do so if they know there’s a possibility of winning something.

Consider the many benefits of holding a contest when you’re trying to grow your social media:

  • Page growth. Contests can help you gain new followers, which means more likes, comments, and shares. 
  • More reach. Comments, likes, and shares can help to boost your reach on social media.
  • Engagement. The more reach you have, the more likely it is that people will engage with your content and help grow your following exponentially. It’s one big, happy cycle.

6. Include Calls to Action

Calls to action (CTAs) can help you boost your follower count and conversions as people engage with your content. A CTA is any type of invitation that encourages users to take some form of action. It might be a button, a link, or a prompt to leave a comment under the post. CTAs should be used strategically in every piece of content you publish, whether it’s an article, a video, or an image. They can help boost engagement and conversions by encouraging users to click through and take the next step toward becoming customers or followers.

7. Host Livestreams

Today’s social platforms make it easier than ever to connect directly with your audience in real-time and grow your social media pages. With livestreaming, you have the ability to go live with your audience to answer questions, discuss a new product launch, feature special guests, and otherwise talk to your followers just like you would your friends. It’s real, unscripted engagement that creates a community around your brand and allows viewers to interact with each other as well as the brand. Plus, your followers get notified when you’re going live, mixing in the urgency factor to get them to open their app and tune in.

Grow Your Social Media Today

When you focus on authentic, engaging content that’s posted consistently, it makes it that much easier to build your social media pages. And while it takes time to achieve steady growth, if you are persistent and follow or tips above, you should be able to grow gradually over time. Even if you have just a handful of followers now, just stay committed to your goals, and you will be successful. To learn how Rallio can help you with your social media marketing and management needs from one easy-to-use dashboard, get in touch at rallio.com.

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Social Uncategorized

Ads Rejected on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s Why

facebook ads rejected

Have you ever tried to post an ad on Facebook or Instagram and had your ads rejected? This happens more often than you might think, and it can be a frustrating experience — especially if you’ve put a lot of time and effort into your ads. At the end of the day, your perfectly designed Facebook or Instagram Ads could be gathering dust in your campaign archives. To make sure they see the light of day and get you the return on ad spend you’re after, follow our tips below for using words and imagery that won’t get your ads rejected.

Why Are Ads Rejected?

When you publish a Facebook ad or an Instagram ad, it goes into Meta’s queue for review, a process that takes anywhere from a few minutes to a day or more. Typically, most ad reviews are complete within 24 hours, depending on factors such as whether it’s a holiday.

If Meta’s review detects an issue, your ad will display as Rejected. While this isn’t ideal, it doesn’t mean that your ad will never be approved. You can view your ad account status and any rejected ads through your Ad Accounts section.

Here, you can view further details about your ad and address any issues. Typical policy violation issues include the use of prohibited content, such as grammar and profanity violations or language that refers to a person’s personal attributes — that is, anything that could come across as too intrusive. Other possible issues could include social and political issues or sensational content. If you believe the ad is in line with Meta’s advertising policies, you can request another review; or simply try to tweak the ad to get it approved.

Your best bet is to get your ads right from the get-go so you can get your ads up and running as quickly as possible while also delivering the best experience for your target audience. Below are some possible reasons for ads being rejected and ways to ensure a smooth ad production process.

Related: Boosted Posts Vs. Facebook Ads: How It Works and Why You Should Advertise

First Names

Facebook and Instagram don’t allow you to use first names in your ads because they can be perceived as spammy or intrusive. If you’re trying to target someone based on their name, it can come across as creepy or overly personal. Avoid this issue altogether and make sure you don’t get your ads rejected by excluding personal identifiers like names.

Religious Affiliations

While it’s not against Meta’s policies to include religion as an ad topic, you will want to avoid any language implying that you know a person’s religious affiliation. For instance, don’t say something like “Meet other Christian singles in your area”; make it general by rephrasing as “Meet Christian singles here.”

Other Personal Identifiers

There are many areas that fall under the category of being too intrusive or personally identifiable for your target audiences. Ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, mental and physical disabilities or disorders, and voting status are just a few of the touchy subjects where you need to be cautious with your wording and avoid anything that implies you know certain details about your audience.

For example, your language cannot imply that the reader is within a certain age group; you can’t say something like “Now that you’re in your 50s, you need this product.” Instead, rephrase it: “People in their 50s love this product.”

Financial Status

Avoid mentioning anything that implies you know a reader’s financial status. Instead of “Are you struggling to pay your bills?” try “Saving money is easier than ever with our software.” Are you catching on to the idea that you can’t say anything that makes Meta think you’re creeping on your customers’ personal information?

Social and Political Issues

Running ads on anything related to social issues or politics requires a special approval process first, so make sure you read through the requirements and request approval before attempting to run these kinds of ads. Anything from climate change to elections and social issues falls under this area. Also, be aware that these ads will include a “Paid for by” disclaimer for people to see.

Misleading Claims

If you are making any claims or quoting any statistics in your ad, make sure they are easily provable. While it’s fine to tell prospective customers about the potential benefits of using your products or services, nothing you say should be misleading or make any exaggerated claims about potential results or the expected time frames for success.

Before publishing ads, it’s always a good idea to review any claims or statistics in your copy. If you can’t prove the claims or if they’re demonstrably false, remove them from the ad copy and use another tactic to promote your brand.

Poor Grammar

A missing comma or a misspelled word is not ideal, but they are not necessarily grounds for an ad being rejected. However, you’ll need to avoid deliberate grammar and punctuation issues when you’re attempting to make your ad stand out. For instance, you cannot capitalize alternating or random letters, and it’s best to avoid accented letters if possible. To be safe, keep your copy clean and free of unnecessary punctuation or unusual use of letters, and remember, you can always use emojis to make your ad more noticeable.

Avoid Getting Your Ads Rejected

If you’re looking for more information about advertising on Meta platforms, take a look at this page. And remember, keeping your copy free of anything too personal will help to speed along the ad approval process. As always, if you need any help getting your ad campaigns up and running, reach out to us at rallio.com for help.

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5 Quick Tips to Improve Your Social Media Now

quick tips for social media

It’s no secret that people are using Facebook, Instagram, and other social platforms to find local businesses, hunt for new jobs, and learn more about their favorite brands. But with all the different platforms out there, it can be hard to know how best to use them to help your business grow. To save you the hassle of doing hours of internet research, we’ve gathered some quick tips that will help improve your social media right now.

1. Be Consistent With Posting

If you want people to see updates from your business on social media, then make sure you post consistently so people are regularly seeing your content. This might mean posting daily or weekly, depending on how active your audience is and what kind of content they prefer seeing from you. It’s also important not to overdo it though — don’t flood their feeds with too many updates in one day, because that can be overwhelming for anyone who follows you (and annoying).

2. Use Social Media Management Tools

Social media management tools allow you to schedule posts, manage multiple accounts, and track engagement. Some even offer insights into how your audience is interacting with your content, which can help you make better decisions about what kind of content to post and when. Rallio offers an all-in-one dashboard where you can connect all your social accounts, create content, store your media assets, engage with your community, and track detailed analytics. 

Think about the time savings of not having to log in to multiple accounts, multiple times, and you can imagine why such tools are important for your business. Having the right technology to automate things allows you to spend less time on each platform and more time connecting with new customers.

3. Answer Questions Quickly

Have you ever tried to contact a company about an issue, only to be told that someone would get back to you “within 24 hours”? That’s frustrating because you’re left waiting with no real idea of when someone will respond. As a business owner, be sure to answer questions on social media as soon as possible so customers can get back to what they were doing without having to wait around for an answer. It also helps if you have technology like Rallio, which, again, pulls everything into one dashboard for easy management — from comments on your posts to reviews of your products or services.

Related: The Best 7 Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

4. Use Engaging Visuals

Use images, videos and links to make your content more visually appealing to visitors. Share photos of your products, office space or employees, and post videos of customer testimonials, product usage tips, and behind-the-scenes snapshots of your business. 

You can also share links to blog posts or other websites that are relevant to your industry or business. If you have a company blog, aim to write a blog post about once per week. Regularly posting new content will keep people coming back to see what you have to say next, which gives them another chance to learn more about your company and services and establishes you as an industry expert.

5. Piggyback on Social Media Trends

It’s not that hard to find out what’s hot in the world of social media. In fact, there are plenty of tools you can use to keep up with trending topics and monitor your competitors’ activity. Here are some great ways to capitalize on these trends:

  • Find popular hashtags on Twitter and Instagram
  • Monitor your competitors’ Twitter feeds for mentions from influencers or customers
  • Listen in on conversations taking place around your brand or industry by checking out Twitter lists or monitoring relevant hashtags
  • Monitor what people are saying about your competitors using Google Alerts

Use These Quick Tips to Your Advantage

Even if you’ve been using it for years, you can never be sure that you’re doing everything right. So learn as much as you can, and make sure to always keep an eye out for new tips and tricks—they can only help improve your business. And above all, always make sure that your posts reflect the authentic personality of your brand. The more genuine you are, the better off your business will be.

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Social Uncategorized

11 Days of Instagram Caption Ideas

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.

Related: Quick Guide to Instagram Grid Layouts

Instagram grid layouts

#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!

Related: 15 Social Media Content Ideas for Small Businesses

social media content ideas

#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!

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Content Marketing Uncategorized

12 Surefire Ways to Grow Your Email List

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. 

Related: 3 Simple Ways to Increase Your Exposure Online

Increase your online exposure

#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. 

Related: 5 Easy Steps to Run a Successful Social Media Contest

social media contest

#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. 

Related: Upgrade Your Social Media in 4 Simple Steps

Upgrade your social media

#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.

 

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4 Major Instagram Trends to Watch in 2021

We’re about a week into 2021, and we’re acutely aware of how quickly time is passing. For franchises and SMBs that are still wondering how to approach their social media marketing this year, it’s important to be aware of the top Instagram trends. 

With expanded capabilities on the platform, you have an opportunity to fine-tune your marketing strategy and make the most of your social media presence in 2021. With Rallio as your SaaS provider, you can automate agency-like services and employee advocacy across your pages, improve your reach and take the guesswork out of social media ROI.

Read through these Instagram trends with a fine-toothed comb, and use our action items to start applying them to your own brand. It doesn’t take much extra effort — meaning you can simply work smarter, not necessarily harder, to get the results you desire.

Trend #1: Seek, and Ye Shall Find

Recent changes on Instagram have greatly expanded the platform’s search capabilities. Users can now search keywords in the search bar, not just hashtags, and find relevant profiles, posts, videos and more. 

This is one of the major Instagram trends to get on board with as you’re creating posts and Reels, updating your bio and expanding organic exposure.

Action items:

  • Include keywords in your captions to help Instagram identify what you’re discussing in your post.
  • Consistently post content that’s relevant to your niche to help your account show up in search within your category. If someone searches for “home cleaners” and you provide these services, you want to make sure your content focus on house cleaning doesn’t stray too far into unrelated categories.
  • Update your bio with relevant keywords. “Plum Deluxe Loose Leaf Tea” (@plumdeluxe) is a lot more descriptive than just “Plum Deluxe.”

Related: 3 Major Forces Shaping Social Media Marketing for Franchises — and What to Do About It

Forces shaping social media

Trend #2: Reels, Reels, Baby

Open up your Instagram app and click over to the Reels tab at the bottom, and you’ll instantly see a variety of short-form video content. Reels, Instagram’s answer to TikTok, delivers 15- to 30-second videos designed to grab attention quickly and entertain the audience. 

Given that Reels are front and center in the app (literally positioned smack-dab in the middle at the bottom, between the home, search and shopping pages), marketers need to pay attention to this Instagram trend going forward.

Just as engagement on Stories previously overtook feed-post engagement, Reels are now earning more views than both Stories and feed posts. Side note: This shift toward Reels can be to your benefit, given that they can live on your profile page indefinitely — as opposed to Stories, which disappear after 24 hours.

Action items:

  • Watch several Reels from different accounts to get an idea of the kind of content that’s being created.
  • Play around with creating Reels of your own. Keep them to 15 seconds; this is the maximum amount of time a Reel will play before a user has to tap “more” to see the rest of your content. Read: Keep it short and sweet.
  • Add text overlays in addition to music and voice sounds. Not everyone will have their sound turned on, and others may need closed captions. In addition, you can make the text a part of the Reel in fun ways — like timing the text to appear with the beat of a song, or to reveal your message piece by piece for a more dramatic effect.
  • Remember to create a value-add caption that encourages users to take an action, such as saving or sharing the Reel. Every action helps your content perform better with Instagram’s algorithm.

Related: Your Guide to 2021 Marketing Based on Current Consumer Trends

Guide to 2021 marketing

Trend #3: Insta-Shopping Is Eyeball Cardio

The popularity of online shopping and services is helping not just online retailers, but also brick-and-mortars impacted by the pandemic. With a reduction of foot traffic and in-store shopping, and with more eyeballs on social media than ever before, Instagram can help you pivot your business model and make more online sales. 

The Shopping tab on Instagram lets users browse shops, view editors’ picks and buy directly on Instagram. Posts can be linked to products for in-app purchasing. Instagram Live enables live formats for classes, product reveals and announcements. 

The more you can take your real-world products and services and translate them into online purchases, the better you’ll be prepared for this year of continuing contactless shopping. There’s a huge opportunity to capture sales right in the app without having to direct users over to your website — taking them from “casual scroller” to “customer” with fewer barriers. 

Action items: 

  • Make sure your account is set up for Instagram Shopping. Tap on the “Add Shop” tab from your profile page to get started. 
  • Link products to your shop directly from your posts, Reels and Stories.

Trend #4: All Omnichannel, All the Time

The pandemic has made the need for an omnichannel approach more important than ever — whereby you’re delivering a consistent user experience across mobile, web and in-store shopping. Before the pandemic, omnichannel strategies seemed to be employed more as a “nice to have” rather than a necessity. Retail Dive reports Euromonitor’s 2019 Voice of the Retail Industry Survey findings:

  • Just 30% of retailers indicated that they allowed shoppers to reserve an item online and pick it up in-store
  • Fewer than 15% offered any option for delivery in two hours or less
  • Just 7% indicated they offered an option to get customer support through video chat

Oh, how times have changed. Real-world experiences have been replaced or augmented by digital offerings. Meanwhile, social media apps like Instagram have become an important part of marketers’ omnichannel approach. The same July 2020 survey indicates a new definition of omnichannel has emerged, and it’s no longer simply a neat marketing concept occasionally discussed at the marketing roundtable. 

Retail Dive writes: “Even as retailers were looking to optimize their store- and web-based touchpoints to serve the new needs of shoppers as COVID-19 emerged, many were increasingly turning to third parties to drive digital sales as well. Fifty-six percent of respondents indicated in July that they thought one of the most likely effects of COVID-19 on their business was looking to sell through additional digital channels such as marketplaces or social media sites.”

Capitalize on Instagram trends with omnichannel marketing

Action items: 

  • By today’s definition of omnichannel, social media sites like Instagram need to be included as one of your customer touchpoints. You’ll have more ability to scale than you would if you relied on your website alone.
  • Assume that your customers want seamless shopping experiences that limit or eliminate in-person contact. That trend will hold even when the pandemic is no longer an immediate concern.

These Instagram Trends Are Worth Watching

Although trends are just that, trends, the Instagram trends we’ve presented here are going to continue impacting business for the foreseeable future. Even in a post-pandemic world, the conveniences and entertainment value of Instagram will be important to your audience. 

To make the most of these Instagram trends, make sure you have the right technology supporting your efforts. Rallio’s SaaS can help you automate your social media presence and optimize your pages in 2021 and beyond.

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