Tag: social media marketing

With our recent addition of Rallio Local for Small Business division at Rallio, we’ve been working with small businesses to help them optimize their social media pages. More often than not, we offer the same social media tips for small businesses over and over again.

Most small-business owners are so busy running their companies that they don’t have much time left over for social media marketing. Rallio helps them wear fewer hats and make a greater impact on social media. With our social media tips, technology and teamwork (hello, alliteration!), we’ve helped hundreds of business owners use social media to their advantage.

The following social media tips represent the five most common opportunities for greater success on social media. 

#1 Post Local Content

Great social media marketers have local content at the forefront of their marketing efforts. As we discuss in this article: “The key element that makes local social media, well, local, is that it shows the real side of your business.” 

Local posts consist of snapshots of the owners, employees, customers, product recommendations, how-tos, and other authentic-feeling images and videos.

It’s the difference between a post with a stock photo or a sales graphic versus a real photo or a video of a team member. When you see it, it’s instantly more relatable and engaging than something that feels like you’re being sold to.

Having local content on your page improves your engagement rates and reach with your target audience. As you post this content and boost it, you’ll ensure more of your content gets seen than it would with organic reach alone.

Make sure you:

• Post real images and videos of your team, your products, your customers and your location.
• Avoid stock photos.
• If you’re a franchisee receiving corporate branded content, be sure you are also posting local content at least three or four times a week.
• Read 31 Days of Social Media Content Ideas for more ideas.

Read the post: 7 Habits of Highly Successful Social Media Marketers

#2 Engage Your Employees as Brand Advocates

One of the fastest-growing trends in social media is employee advocacy, in which employees become loyal ambassadors for your brand. With more and more companies adopting employee advocacy programs, you might be wondering what types of content your employees should be posting for you.

Although branded content has its place, it should not be the bulk of what’s shared via employee advocates.

On the contrary, it’s the unpolished, unbranded types of content that will earn the greatest engagement on social media. This content showcases the authentic, human side of your business and is more likely to earn the trust and affection of your audience. Moreover, these types of content are more likely to be shared by your employees on their personal pages.

Own a coffee shop? The barista behind the counter will resonate more with your audience than a branded photo of coffee beans. It’s that simple. No matter what type of business you have, you need hyper-local content of your team members and their typical “day in the life” photos at work.

As employees post about your company on their personal pages, they’re doing more than just generating greater engagement for your accounts. They’re also actively contributing to the building of positive sentiment about your brand. The more that prospective customers and future team members see this content, the more they begin to view your company as likeable, trustworthy, and even socially and environmentally responsible under the right circumstances.

Read the post: The 4 Types of Content Your Employees Should Post for You

Related: 4 Types of Social Media Influencers to Power Up Your Brand

#3 Respond to Online Reviews

The cost of ignoring customer service issues can be huge. Nothing will tarnish your online reputation faster than reviews without responses from the brand, comments and messages that get ignored, and poorly crafted responses to customer questions or complaints. 

Your response time matters, too. Consumers expect rapid answers — just as rapid as if they picked up the phone and called. Within minutes is ideal if you have the bandwidth, but you should at least be responding within 24 hours.

With a system for responding to customer inquiries, you can handle their requests quickly and build customer loyalty. You’ll also make it known that you’re a trustworthy brand when you post public responses to reviews, questions or complaints.

Read the post: 4 Social Media Marketing Lessons Learned in 2020

#4 Outsource Anything You Can’t Do Yourself

Here at Rallio, we’re on social media all day, every day. We live, breathe, eat and sleep social media. That’s because it’s our business to do so — just as it’s your business to live, breathe, eat and sleep your own business.

So if you’re busy running your own business, it’s likely that you don’t have the time to manage your social media. You also might not particularly want to manage this task, much less become an expert in it.

That’s all OK, because when you outsource, you can hire people who are experts in social media like Rallio. You don’t have to waste time or resources on something that draws you away from your core functions as a business owner.

Rallio, an Entrepreneur Top Franchise Supplier and an Inc.com fastest-growing company, has earned nationwide recognition for its service of the franchise sector, from corporate down to the franchisee level. With its new Rallio Local for Small Business division, Rallio is able to lend its expertise to small businesses that are independently owned and operated.

Read the post: Should You Outsource Your Small-Business Social Media? 4 Compelling Reasons It Makes Sense

#5 Use Technology to Automate

Rallio’s solutions include a social media management platform where users can access and manage all their social media accounts, in one central dashboard with a single login. Along with a mobile app, the platform enables clients to upload and schedule content, implement employee advocacy programs, reply to comments, messages and reviews, and much more.

Basically, Rallio makes small-business social media management a much smoother, easier process. Rather than having to log in to multiple platforms with different logins, you can simply log in to your Rallio Dashboard. 

You’ll also avoid letting anything slip through the cracks like a negative customer review or an important sales lead. Everything will be in your inbox to review and respond to.

Read the post: Should You Outsource Your Small-Business Social Media? 4 Compelling Reasons It Makes Sense

Want More Social Media Tips? Get in Touch With Rallio

If you’re looking for more social media tips, we’re here to help. Our Rallio Local for Small Business division is an extension of our existing social media management and marketing solutions. As a top-ranked provider of social media technology, employee advocacy and local social media services, we’re thrilled to be offering our all-in-one social media solutions to small, independently owned businesses.

If you’re ready to outsource your small-business social media and focus on other parts of your business, contact localsales@rallio.com, and visit www.rallio.com/getlocal or www.rallio.com.

One of the fastest-growing trends in social media is employee advocacy, in which employees become loyal ambassadors for your brand. With more and more companies adopting employee advocacy programs, you might be wondering what types of content your employees should be posting for you.

Of course, before you get to the posting part, you’ll need to implement an employee advocacy program of your own. We recommend reading our article 5 Big Reasons You Need an Employee Advocacy Program for the hows and whys of advocacy.

Related: 5 Big Reasons You Need an Employee Advocacy Program

As you develop your employee advocacy program, it will be helpful to give your employees some guidelines on the types of content you’d like for them to post. While you want employees to have some freedom to be creative with their posts, you also want to be sure you’re protecting sensitive information and presenting your brand in the best possible light.

Gather together with your employees to brainstorm different ideas, and come prepared to share with them the types of content they should be posting. The five categories below will get you rolling. 

Branded Assets

The first obvious category is branded assets that you create and provide to your employees. They might be professionally created marketing graphics or videos, how-to tips about your products or services, contests, events or special promotions.

At the same time you’re creating these assets, consider creating a branded hashtag that employees can use when sharing on their personal pages. A dedicated hashtag about your brand helps to categorize your content and create conversations around your brand. You can also use the hashtag to locate employees’ content that you can then share on your company’s official accounts.

Learn more: How To Encourage Employee Advocacy On Social Media

A Day in the Life at Work

Although branded content has its place, it should not be the bulk of what’s shared via employee advocates. In fact, you’ll see that the remaining four categories do not mention corporate-branded content.

On the contrary, it’s the unpolished, unbranded types of content that will earn the greatest engagement on social media. This content showcases the authentic, human side of your business and is more likely to earn the trust and affection of your audience. Moreover, these types of content are more likely to be shared by your employees on their personal pages.

Own a coffee shop? The barista behind the counter will resonate more with your audience than a branded photo of coffee beans. It’s that simple. No matter what type of business you have, you need hyper-local content of your team members and their typical “day in the life” photos at work.

As employees post about your company on their personal pages, they’re doing more than just generating greater engagement for your accounts. They’re also actively contributing to the building of positive sentiment about your brand. The more that prospective customers and future team members see this content, the more they begin to view your company as likeable, trustworthy, and even socially and environmentally responsible under the right circumstances.

Related: 4 Types of Social Media Influencers to Power Up Your Brand

Events In and Out of the Office

Along with day-to-day photos, employees can also share photos and videos from special occasions or events both in and out of the office. Remind them to snap photos of birthdays at the office, team building events, and “national day” holidays (see calendar here) like National Hot Chocolate Day. 

Again, you have opportunities to build culture as you’re building awareness. Host “bring your dog to work day” if you’re a pet-friendly company, or host a team lunch on the last Friday of the month. When you find ways to infuse fun into your company, your employees will naturally be more inclined to capture these moments on film and post them to social media.

The coolest part about these types of content — both candid moments and organized events — is that employees’ posts have a way of informing a company’s core values and culture. If employees are happy at work and posting about it, it’s a great indicator that you’re doing something right. If they’re not, and they don’t, it’s an opportunity to right the ship and make sure yours is a company that employees are proud to post about.

Answers to FAQ

Somewhere on your website, you might have a list of FAQ about your company. These FAQ can serve as ideas for the types of content your audience wants to see. Have an employee answer these FAQ, and the questions instantly become more interesting and engaging.

Any kind of company has certain FAQ that customers tend to ask. However, answers to FAQ work especially well for companies that have products or services that require explaining or step-by-step instructions.

If you have a furniture store that sells items requiring assembly, you can have employees be the experts and share their how-to instructions. Not only can your employees upload these videos to their own pages, but you can also use them on your corporate accounts.

Make sure you have clear answers to all your FAQ handy for employees so they’re giving “official” instructions. They’ll be more confident filming answers to FAQ if they have the correct tone and verbiage you want used for various situations. At the same time, encourage employees to use their own words and speak authentically to avoid sounding canned.

What Types of Content Should Your Employees Post?

Although each company is unique in the types of content they want employees to share, the common thread is authenticity. As long as your employees speak and write from the heart, and as long as they’re not sharing information you want kept private about your company, they should be successful as employee advocates. 

A few final takeaways:

• Create social media guidelines about what employees can and cannot post about
• Have a social media policy that states when and how employees may use social media at work
• Create a culture of advocacy by partnering with your employees and incentivizing them with rewards for promoting your brand
• Use Rallio Activate technology to organize and streamline posting and collecting assets from employees that you otherwise wouldn’t have

The little moments at work are often the most meaningful for your employees. They spend a large part of their day working for you, and employee advocacy allows them to feel recognized, valued and heard.

The concept behind social media influencers isn’t exactly new, as brands have long used influential figures to promote their products. Look back into the previous century, and you’ll see Coco Chanel as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people, or even Santa back in the 1930s getting his caffeine fix with a bottle of Coca-Cola in his hand.

As far as modern-day social media influencers, Instagram as well as TikTok have been largely responsible for their rise in popularity. You can’t open these apps without seeing both familiar and not-so-familiar faces promoting brands’ products and services. 

Influencer programs are a cost-effective way to spread brand awareness and increase your engagement, reach and followers on social media. In exchange for their promotional posts, these influencers may be given product, gift cards, affiliate commissions, direct compensation or other rewards, depending on how a company sets up its program. 

With visual imagery, short videos and Reels, Stories and Live features, today’s social media apps allow multiple ways to help these social media influencers engage with their audiences. Keep in mind, your influencers can be people not affiliated with the company, or they could be employees who act as brand ambassadors. Rallio has specific technology (Rallio Activate) that helps you activate employees to post branded content on their personal pages, as well as build an image database to pull from.

If you’re wondering what type of influencer you need for your brand, check out the quick rundown below to find the right fit for your goals and budget.

Social Media Influencer 1: Nano

Follower count: 1K to 10K

Who they are: Nano influencers tend to have a highly engaged social media following, and they are vocal advocates for the brands and products they’re promoting. Given their smaller following, they have an opportunity to get to know their followers on a more personal level. Their authentic content and recommendations resonate with their small community, who appreciates nano influencers’ genuine tips and transparency. 

Who should use them: Small and midsize businesses are a good fit for these social media influencers. Start with your own network of followers and even employees to identify possible nano influencers who would be willing to work with you.

Related: 5 Big Reasons You Need an Employee Advocacy Program

Social Media Influencer 2: Micro

Follower count: 10K to 100K

Who they are: With 10K to 100K followers, micro influencers have a larger network but are still viewed as relatable, authentic and genuine with their audience, who enjoys engaging with and sharing their content. They tend to have a specialized audience base that’s open to hearing marketing messages about the products and services used by these micro influencers. 

Who should use them: Micro influencers work well for specific niches and a highly targeted audience. If you’re looking to create special promotions and sponsorships with your influencers, a micro influencer can be a good fit. Their high engagement rates mean more eyeballs on your content and more opportunities to convert casual followers into loyal customers. To find them, you can again look to your own followers who are already fans of yours, as well as search for certain hashtags related to your brand or niche.

Social Media Influencer 3: Macro

Follower count: 100K to 1M

Who they are: Macro influencers have a much larger network, with anywhere from 100K to 1 million followers. They appeal to a broader audience than micro influencers and may be established bloggers, vloggers, podcasters or social media celebrities who have made a name for themselves. They may also be more disconnected from their audience and won’t have the same personal relationships with their community as someone with a smaller following.

Who should use them: You may have a harder time getting your foot in the door with a macro influencer, who likely gets pitched every day from brands asking for representation. If your brand is more well-established and you’re prepared to meet a potential influx of new orders, then a macro influencer could be right for you. In other words, if you successfully land a macro influencer and they agree to promote your brand, you need to be prepared to meet the demand from new customers.

Related: 4 Major Instagram Trends to Watch in 2021

Social Media Influencer 4: Mega

Follower count: 1M and up

Who they are: Like macro influencers, mega influencers also have a much larger network of 1 million followers or more. They’ve worked to establish their name — they’re either big-time celebs that are household names, or celebrities within a certain niche, like the fitness community. Again, they may be more disconnected from their audience than someone with a smaller following.

Who should use them: You’ll need to have a large budget and an established brand with locked-down distribution to work with a mega influencer. If you’re set on going with a mega influencer, and you’re looking to cast a wider net with your audience, a mega influencer can help you get in front of a lot of potential followers. For small brands just starting out, however, smaller may be better.

Which Type of Social Media Influencer Is Right for You?

For the majority of brands we work with at Rallio, we recommend working with influencers and employee advocates who have a smaller, focused following. Although it can be tempting to dive in and try to work with a macro or mega influencer, you might want to “think small” when you’re just getting started. There will be fewer barriers if you contact people who are eager to represent you and will have a greater influence within their networks right out of the gate.

Rallio Activate provides the perfect platform to create an employee advocacy and influencer program for your brand. We also have a new affiliate program with unlimited earning potential for those looking to earn one-time or recurring commissions off referrals. For more information about either of these options, click here to learn about Rallio Activate, and here to learn about our affiliate program.

This is it, folks. We’re in the holiday home stretch. Now is the time to post local content and reach your followers with the 12 days of Christmas captions below.

We’ve taken the guesswork out of caption writing to help you get this content done quickly. For many businesses, that’s half the battle — creating a caption that makes sense and engages your audience. 

The other half is snapping photos or videos, but don’t worry. We’ve got that covered, too.

In a future post, we’ll break down how to write captions in more detail. For now, grab your camera, customize the Christmas captions below to your business, and start posting.

Christmas Captions, Day 1: Post a Favorite Holiday Meal

Somewhere in your phone, there’s got to be a picture of an Insta-worthy holiday meal you made or someone else did. Pull it up. Or order takeout from your favorite local business and snap a photo of your dinner tonight. In your caption, you can give the business credit and tag them, and invite engagement from your followers:

“One of my favorite dishes from [insert name of restaurant]. Post a photo of your best delicious dishes in the comments! One random winner will be selected to receive a 20% discount voucher on a future purchase!”

Fill in the blanks above with the tagged restaurant name and your discount or offer of choice.

Related: 15 Holiday Content Ideas Every Marketer Needs in 2020 

Christmas Captions, Day 2: Post a Gift Guide

What products do you sell that you can suggest as gifts? Snap some photos! If you have a service-based business, take photos of the results of your work, or you heading out on a job, or a before-and-after shot. 

If you offer gift cards, create a fun display showing a gift card surrounded by holiday decorations. Here’s a sample caption for a product-based business:

“Still looking for that special gift for your mom, brother or bestie? A gift card is the perfect way to let your loved ones choose their own surprise. Grab yours online at [web address], or order through our app for quick curbside pickup.”

Customize the above according to your usual ordering options. If you don’t offer curbside pickup currently, consider offering it.

Christmas Captions, Day 3: Share a Christmas Memory

Dig up a photo of holidays past. Go back as far as your childhood if you like. Describe what’s going on in the photo. Here’s an option:

“Here I am at age 5 in 1987 paying Santa a visit. What do you think I asked for that year?”

Simple as that. If you like, you can pick a winner if anyone guesses correctly.

Christmas Captions, Day 4: Share a Tradition

What’s one of your holiday traditions? Making homemade cocoa and watching Christmas movies? Baking cookies? Looking at Christmas lights? Tell your followers about it!

“One of my favorite holiday traditions is baking Christmas cookies with my family. Here’s this year’s creations! Post your own photos of your favorite traditions in the comments.”

Christmas Captions, Day 5: Give to Charity

At this time of year, there are many local organizations collecting food, toys or essential goods for those in need. Pool your resources and see if you can make a big impact on one of these groups. Take a photo of something you plan to donate, and add a caption such as the following:

“We are currently collecting new, unused toys for [name of charity]. These toys will go directly to local families in need.”

Be sure to post any other details such as the specifications for types of toys and deadlines for donating. Take some photos on the day of your donation as well!

Related: Brainstorming 101: 6 Quick Tips to Spur Content Creation

Christmas Captions, Day 6: Take a Team Photo

Gather together with your team and take a photo in front of your location, or inside by your holiday decorations. If gathering is not possible, post a throwback photo instead. Here’s a caption:

“We’re so grateful for our dedicated team members, who work tirelessly every day to serve our valued customers. Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season from all of us at [your company name].” 

Christmas Captions, Day 7: Post a Challenge

Pick a favorite Christmas movie of yours and a quote from the movie. Turn it into a fun graphic design using a free tool like Canva.com or your graphic design program of choice. Don’t include the movie title — instead, have your followers guess the movie!

“Name that movie! The first person to guess correctly wins [your choice of freebie or discount].” 

If you prefer, you can pick a riddle and have your followers try to guess the answer. Check out a few ideas here.

Christmas Captions, Day 8: Post Your New Year’s Resolutions

Are you hoping to run a marathon in 2021? Or learn to cook? Or volunteer more? Snap a selfie and tell your followers all about your resolutions!

“In 2021, I’d like to run my first marathon — even if it means running it on my own in my hometown! What are your New Year’s resolutions? Post them in the comments!”

Christmas Captions, Day 9: Post a Travel Memory

Have a favorite travel photo from holidays past? Tell your followers about a travel destination you can’t wait to visit again.

“Paris, circa 1998. Looking forward to traveling again soon! What’s on your travel bucket list?”

Related: Quick Guide to Holiday Marketing on Social Media

Christmas Captions, Day 10: Film a Video

Record a Christmas greeting for your followers! Send them some goodwill and cheer for the holidays. Pair it with a caption that will encourage them to click and watch, such as:

“My Christmas wish for all of you — plus a surprise coming in 2021!”

For that “surprise,” it could be a hint at a new product launch, or any kind of fun announcement you’re willing to share.

Christmas Captions, Day 11: Post a Last-Minute Offer

Snap a photo of a few more gift ideas for last-minute shoppers! Tell them your hours and how to purchase — again, consider contactless options such as curbside pickup or local doorstep delivery.

“Still have a few more gifts to buy? We’ve got something for everyone on your list, and we’ll be open today until 8 p.m. Order online for curbside pickup, or pick up an e-gift card in the link. Local delivery available for an additional fee.”

Christmas Captions, Day 12: Relax and Enjoy the Holidays

When the time comes to close your doors and enjoy your holiday, be sure to take a photo or two as you’re relaxing at home. Try a fireside selfie, a glass of wine to say cheers, or a simple picture of your decorations or gifts.

“From my home to yours, Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!”

Customize Your Captions

The above captions and ideas are a starting point to help you fill your page with engaging content this holiday season. Feel free to tweak them as needed to suit your business and preferences.

And from all of us at Rallio, we wish you the happiest of holidays.

Social media stats are useful to review as you’re preparing to fine-tune your social media for the new year. If you look at the jaw-dropping social media stats below, however, we’d bet you’ll be inspired to do something about them.

The past year has shown us, more than ever, how important social media is as a marketing medium. In our work with clients at Rallio, we’ve also helped them gain a competitive advantage by optimizing their use of social platforms.

As you read these social media stats, be sure to put the action items into practice. Knowledge is power, but only if you use the knowledge to advance your goals.

General Social Media Stats

Browse the most noteworthy social media stats, and you’ll see that nearly half the world’s population is on social media. That’s over 3.6 billion people worldwide, notes Statista — a number that will grow to over 4.4 billion by 2025. (Some estimates put that figure even higher.)

Those are numbers you simply can’t afford to ignore. Your audience is already on social media, and it’s up to you to capitalize on the opportunity.

Action item: If you lack a social media presence entirely or haven’t put much effort into it, make social media a priority in 2021. Start by posting local content such as real photos and videos, engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages, and make sure you’re responding to online reviews.

Related: The Year in Review: Our Most Popular Blog Posts of 2020

Social Media and the Pandemic

Some 93% of U.S. adults say that a major interruption to their internet or cell phone service amid the pandemic would be problematic in their daily lives, according to the Pew Research Center. Although the majority do not see technology as a replacement for in-person contact, they see digital options as an aid during these times.

We’ve seen these statistics play out on social media as people turn to their feeds for the latest updates, inspiration and information from their favorite brands. We’ve encouraged companies to keep marketing themselves with the help of social media. 

Action item: When times get tough, that’s not the time to throw in the towel on your marketing. Ramp it up instead to make sure you’re still getting your message out to your followers.

Employee Advocacy

The use of employees and influencers to promote brands continues to be on the rise. Weber Shandwick reports these jaw-dropping social media stats: 98% of employees use at least one social media network for personal use, and of those, half of them are already posting about their company. 

These third-party endorsements, so to speak, impact buying behavior. Convince & Convert notes that 83% of Americans are more likely to purchase a product or service that’s recommended by a friend or family member.

Forbes further reports that brand messages shared by employees on social media reach 561 more people than those shared on a brand’s social media channels. They also earn eight times more engagement.

Need some dollar figures to wrap your head around? One November 2020 study in Public Relations Review found a correlation between employee advocacy and sales. “When people are talking about your organization, it helps elevate brand recognition, especially for companies that are in the sales realm and have growing goals,” states one study participant.

Gartner adds that a lead generated through employee advocacy or social selling is seven times more likely to close than those originating from other lead-gen tactics.

Bottom line: The evidence speaks volumes, and the stats above are just a fraction of the research showing the effectiveness of employee advocacy. 

Action item: Formalize an employee advocacy program that encourages employees to post brand-approved assets about your business. Gamify the process with leaderboards and rewards. Rallio has technology and tools to help you get it done.

Social Media Advertising

Marketers have tuned in to the effectiveness of social media advertising, something we coach our clients through regularly. Status Brew reports that the total percentage of marketing budgets devoted to social media ads is expected to nearly double by 2023. Moreover, 26% of people who click on Facebook ads end up making a purchase.

Read that again. Twenty. Six. Percent.

That figure doesn’t even account for the percentage of people who end up making a purchase after the fact. That is, ads are just one part of the overall marketing ecosystem that contributes to your lead gen and sales. They might become aware of your company through an ad, see it mentioned by a friend on social media, or come across one of your boosted local posts. 

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

Action item: Define your audience — their demographics, geographic location, interests and other characteristics. Boost high-performing content and local posts, targeted at that audience, to ensure more of your content gets seen than it would with organic reach alone. 

Social Media as a Customer Service Channel

In a case of social media hubris, some 80% of companies online believe they deliver exceptional social media service, according to Smart Insights. Only 8% of their customers agree with them.

Smart Insights adds that 21% of consumers prefer to message a brand on social media rather than pick up the phone. And 49% of consumers are likely to unfollow a brand if they experience poor customer service, says Influencer Marketing Hub.

Action item: Use the above social media stats to fuel your customer service on social media. When customers leave online reviews, send direct messages or interact with your content, make sure you respond quickly — ideally, within the hour, but no more than 24. To streamline the process, use technology like Rallio to pull all your engagements into one inbox. 

Handle any negative reviews with professionalism — a rude reply will get you unfollowed, too, and could have lasting repercussions. Your remarks could wind up living on indefinitely if your customer shares your response with their network, or if future customers see the interaction.

Social Media Stats on Stats on Stats

There are too many social media stats to mention in this article. If you want to go down a rabbit hole, by all means, don’t let us stop you. 

This post needs to stop somewhere, though, so we’ll leave you with a handful of extra social media stats mentioned by Influencer Marketing Hub:

• Of the internet users aged 16 to 64, 98% of them had visited or used a social network or messaging app in the past month. 
• In fact, those same 16- to 64-year-olds are on social media for roughly 2.5 hours a day.
• Facebook remains the most popular social network, with 2.7 billion monthly active users. 
• The top four mobile apps are Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram.

When all is said and done, the social media stats above show that opportunities abound for social media marketers. When you partner with Rallio for your social media technology and marketing needs, you can create some jaw-dropping social media stats of your own.

As you look back at your social analytics from 2020, you’ll likely see a few social media marketing lessons emerge. You’ll see the types of content that performed the best — and the types that should head back to the drawing board. 

With the pandemic thrown into the equation this year, the social media marketing lessons may have revolved around pivoting quickly. In the face of adversity, your social media content needed to shine — and it still does. We’re still in this thing.

Look to the Social Media Marketing Lessons Learned in 2020

Lesson 1: You Need a Balance Between Promotional and Non-Promotional Content

As lockdowns began and people increasingly turned to social media at all hours of the day, your social media pages became lifelines to your brand. You’ve likely been communicating logistical information such as store hours, in-person shopping policies and any shipping delays. You’ve also hopefully been sharing inspirational content like pictures of your staff and customers.

At the same time, you may have learned the importance of communicating special sales and offers. Without the ability or desire to go into stores as frequently, social media has become a resource for new product and service announcements. 

Just introduced a cool new gadget? Your social feed is the perfect place to let your followers know about it. In the days leading up to the announcement, you can build excitement. With ad funding to boost your content, your announcements go even farther.

When the majority of your page contains local content, and when you take the time to build relationships with your followers, then your promos will be well-received. Ad funding helps you boost both non-promotional and promotional content to extend your reach.

Social media marketing lessons learned: Keep using your social pages to communicate with, inspire, entertain and inform your audience. Continue dedicating part of your overall marketing budget to social ads.

Related: 7 Habits of Highly Successful Social Media Marketers

Lesson 2: Good Customer Service Is Essential

This is one of the most impactful social media marketing lessons you could learn from 2020. As people started turning to social media more frequently amid the pandemic, they also increasingly took to social to air concerns. Online reviews, comments on your page and direct messages with customer service inquiries have become commonplace.

The cost of ignoring these customer service issues can be huge. Nothing will tarnish your online reputation faster than reviews without responses from the brand, comments and messages that get ignored, and poorly crafted responses to customer questions or complaints. 

Your response time matters, too. Consumers expect rapid answers — just as rapid as if they picked up the phone and called. Within minutes is ideal if you have the bandwidth, but you should at least be responding within 24 hours.

With a system for responding to customer inquiries, you can handle their requests quickly and build customer loyalty. You’ll also make it known that you’re a trustworthy brand when you post public responses to reviews, questions or complaints.

Social media marketing lessons learned: With more and more customer service matters brought to social media nowadays, you need a clear process for handling these issues. Otherwise, you risk having things fall through the cracks.

The Rallio Dashboard gives you one central inbox pulling in your social comments, questions and reviews. We also have an entire Rallio Local division dedicated to responding to brands’ online reviews, comments and messages. 

With both the technology and the team to help you manage your online reputation, Rallio helps you take control of your brand. Contact us to get more information.

Related: How to Handle Negative Online Reviews

Lesson 3: Activating Employees and Influencers Expands Your Reach

Among the social media marketing lessons learned: We’re all in this together, and that includes your employees and influencers working on your behalf. 

The past year has seen the exponential growth of employee and influencer content. With employees and influencers posting brand-approved assets, there’s an element of confidence established. People are more likely to trust the recommendation of a third party over the brand itself. Social Media Today reports that content shared by employees receives eight times more engagement than content shared by brands.

When you activate and incentivize employees and influencers, you can build an entire army of content creators. They’ll be able to introduce your brand to new followers — their own friends and an endless list of friends of friends — who otherwise might not ever come across your brand.

Social media marketing lessons learned: Again, you need a system and process for activating employees and influencers, as well as rewarding them for posting. The Rallio Activate platform gives you just that. Schedule a no-obligation demo with us to find out how it works, and be sure to mention this blog post for a special promotional offer for your 2021 marketing budget.

Lesson 4: Social Media Tools Are There for a Reason

Throughout the past year, many brands have moved beyond simple image-based posts to incorporate video, Stories, Reels and other animated content. The reason is simple: As more people have turned to social media, the challenge has become even greater to capture their attention.

In a sea of other content creators, social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook provide a variety of tools to help you get creative and differentiate yourself. What might otherwise be a ho-hum post with little to no engagement can become instantly more interesting if you put a little effort into making it come to life. 

Social media marketing lessons learned: Video content allows you to put a voice to your message and really show off your brand’s personality. Make an effort to liven up your page with a wide variety of content that includes both images and videos.

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

Take These Social Media Marketing Lessons Into 2021

The social media marketing lessons of the past year will help you prepare a 2021 strategy that gets results. There’s no need to guess what works and what doesn’t, because you have the analytics and insights needed to make informed decisions.

With newly established relationships with your customers and followers, aim to continue building loyalty among your customer base. The people who have followed your page, purchased from your business, and given you their support in this tumultuous year deserve your recognition and thanks. 

They’ll gladly give you theirs in return if you keep the focus on them and not you.

The holiday shopping season has already begun, as marketers cater to early-bird shoppers looking for bargains. Holiday marketing efforts are well underway as brands create early Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday specials and other holiday sales blitzes. 

Meanwhile, shoppers are ready to pull out their holiday decorations early, string up the outdoor lights, and start putting gifts under the tree. No, we’re not skipping Thanksgiving — but you can expect the next six weeks to be one giant holiday as people seek out joyful experiences amid the pandemic.

The Current Situation

Not only are people shopping early, but COVID-19 has also driven many shoppers online, whether due to store closures or the desire for socially distanced shopping. Even those who shop in-store want the convenience of curbside pickup, touch-free payment and other safe shopping options.

As we discuss in this article: “We’ll continue to see a rise in contact-free options for making reservations, ordering food, checking in, shopping for goods and services, and earning loyalty rewards. By eliminating common touchpoints, businesses are providing a clean, safe, convenient way to carry out tasks that previously required much more hands-on interaction.”

It’s not just your holiday marketing that should address COVID-19 changes, but also the marketing plans you put in place next year. While there may be initial costs associated with making these changes, there’s no real way to avoid it if you want to stay relevant in 2021. 

“The cost of implementing these new technologies is an upfront expense that may prove to be a burden for some businesses. However, this is a necessary expenditure if you want to survive and thrive in 2021,” the article continues. “Consumers now expect there to be contact-free and ecommerce options if they’re going to give you their business.

This holiday season, you have an opportunity to shift your holiday marketing to address the current shopping trends. To make sure your holiday marketing is on point, we’ve put together this guide to optimizing your social media pages.

Create Gift Guides

Focus your holiday marketing on helping people find the right gifts for friends and family. Start by creating a downloadable gift guide where you highlight various gift recommendations for your followers.

You can then repurpose different elements of your gift guide on different platforms. Carousel posts, Stories, Reels, Live broadcasts and shoppable posts are just a few of the ways you can optimize your holiday marketing for your gift guide.

Instagram, for one, has rolled out new features that make it easier than ever for consumers to discover new products and buy directly from the platform. The shopping tab includes a Shops Directory, Guides, shoppable posts that let people buy without visiting a website, Editor’s Picks, and Brand Collections.

On Facebook, you could publish photos and videos of different gift-guide offerings. You can also link directly to your website with unique offers for your Facebook fans. 

Take advantage of each platform’s unique features to amplify your results. Be sure to advertise to further your reach, and pair your strategy with email marketing to reach customers through multiple channels.

Learn more: Holiday Marketing on Instagram: 6 Tips for Marketers

Create Limited-Time Offers

Fear of missing out is real when it comes to grab-worthy social media deals. Along with your gift guide, create exclusive deals that are only available for a limited time.

You can approach these offers in various ways:

• Create a “12 Days of Deals” type of campaign. Roll out something new on each of those 12 days. Each deal is good on that day only.
• Offer seasonal products. They’re only available during the holiday season, and after that, they’re gone (until next year).
• Word your content to inspire urgency. For example: “Buy yours before we sell out again!” and “Limited quantities available!”
• Announce your limited-time offerings in advance on Facebook and Instagram as well as via email campaigns.
• Create contests with deadlines that encourage user-generated content and also expose your brand to new users via tagging and sharing.
• Include a link in your bio to your website.
• Use ads to roll out and publicize your limited-time offers.

The goal with this “scarcity factor” type of holiday marketing is not to generate hysteria — we’re not trying to encourage people to run out and hoard toilet paper and cleaning products. Rather, it’s to generate buzz and positive energy around your brand. It’s also the call to action you need to meet holiday sales goals.

Activate Your Employees and Influencers

Even if it’s a complete stranger, people tend to trust the recommendations of a third party. There’s just something so convincing about a real person describing why they love a product or service — versus the brand itself tooting its own horn.

That’s true whether it’s a micro-influencer or an employee. In recent years, partnering with these types of influencers has proved to be an effective strategy. 

For your holiday marketing, it can help you spread your message to a wider audience. Moreover, it can save you valuable time and resources that you won’t have to spend promoting yourself.

Consider the following statistics from the Digital Marketing Institute:

• 70% of teens trust influencers over celebrities
• 86% of women turn to social media for purchasing advice
• Nearly half of consumers rely on influencers for purchasing recommendations
• Influencer marketing is the fastest-growing method of online customer acquisition

Our Rallio Activate product is designed to help brands activate these influencers and employees on social media. Our technology streamlines the process so these influencers can easily spread the word about your brand. You can also share their posts to make the most of influencer content.

Don’t Delay With Your Holiday Marketing

With consumers already breaking out their shopping lists, don’t waste any time getting your holiday marketing plans in order. Rallio is here to help you make the most of your marketing efforts so you can head into 2021 feeling confident, accomplished and ready for a new year.