Tag: social media marketing

Social

The 6 Most Common FAQ About Local Social Media, Answered

Post author By Rallio
Post date August 20, 2020

You may have heard of local social media, but perhaps you’re not clear on what that is or why you should care.

Well, we’re glad you’re here!

This article will answer some of the most common questions we get about local social media — questions that you may have pondered yourself if you own a business. In this post, we’ll cover the following FAQ:

What is local social media?
Why is local social media important?
How do I get started?
What about my promotions and special offers? Can I post those?
So I can set it and forget it, right?
How can local social media help during the pandemic — or during any kind of business interruption?

What is local social media?

In our world, the term “local social media” largely refers to franchisees who are part of a franchise organization. The franchisor has their national page, and franchisees have local pages. Whereas the franchisor mostly publishes social media posts that are relevant systemwide, the local pages should be posting local social media that’s specifically relevant to their location.

We developed our Rallio Local division here at Rallio to address this very need within franchise organizations. What often happens is that franchisees only post the content that’s getting syndicated by the franchisor. They aren’t posting anything that differentiates the individual location from the franchisor. As a result, it’s harder to make an impact and draw in customers from the local community.

The term also applies to small businesses that aren’t part of a larger organization, however (and at Rallio, we also serve small businesses in need of local social media). In this case, they may be posting just a slew of sales offers or stock imagery that, again, doesn’t allow the business to stand out from every other business posting on social media or connect with a local audience.

The key element that makes local social media, well, local, is that it shows the real side of your business. These posts are usually 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.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1459606934429303&id=541879122868760

Why is local social media important?

The nature of social media is that these are fundamentally social platforms. Your followers come to social media to engage with their communities and the brands they love.

Getting to the point where a follower loves your brand takes time. They don’t follow your page and fall in love with you overnight. There’s a courting process, and you’ll need to do the work to take people from “follower” to “fan.”

With local social media, you’re better able to build a relationship with your audience. As you entertain, inform and inspire your audience with local posts, they’ll slowly gain trust and confidence in you.

How do I get started?

We’ve written tons of different articles with content ideas, and we recommend giving those a read:

In addition, oftentimes you can simply open up your photos app and take a look at the different pictures and videos you’ve captured — both recently and in the past. That picture of your dog enjoying a birthday ice cream cone? Or that video of your team gathered around for a baby shower? Those are perfect local social media ideas.

Try it right now. We’d bet there’s some local social media potential just sitting inside your phone, there for the taking.

https://www.facebook.com/RubberOnWheelsMobileTireShop/posts/2796910650409727

What about my promotions and special offers? Can I post those?

Yes, but proceed with caution. As you’re posting local social media and gaining your followers’ trust, your audience will be more receptive to occasional promotions and special offers.

The general rule of thumb is that 80 percent of your content should be non-promotional, and the other 20 percent can be more promotional. Adjust your own numbers according to your goals to find the right mix.

You can also boost your content, including promotions, to get your content in front of new followers and their friends. Spending even a modest amount of $50 per month will help you broaden your reach. Our Rallio Local program includes $50 of ad spend in your monthly budget, which our Social Strategists allocate toward different posts throughout the month.

If you can budget for ad spend but don’t want to have to think about how to spend it, our Rallio Local program could be a good fit for you.

So I can set it and forget it, right?

Sorry, no. You still need to be engaged and listening on social media.

As Social Media Today puts it, “It’s possible to have thousands of followers who never read your posts or click on your links. The key is to build a thriving online community of your ideal fans, the ones who’ll actively engage with your content, share it with their networks, and ultimately, become paying customers. It takes work to establish such, but that effort can pay off, big time.”

Just like in the real world, you must follow up with customers and prospects. You have to put in effort to retain existing customers (or followers, on social media). So even when you publish a local social media post and advertise it, your work is not done.

If you’ve done the steps we recommend — post local social media and boost your content — your posts should start to get some good engagement. That means people will be commenting on your posts, asking questions and maybe submitting online reviews.

The way you handle those engagements will dictate your ability to:

Keep the followers you have
Obtain new followers
Maintain stellar customer service
Build brand awareness
Practice reputation management

You’ll want to either have a dedicated social media manager on staff, or outsource the work to an agency like Rallio. The nominal expenses you incur from in-house or outsourced social media management is nothing compared to the costs of losing followers (who can become leads, who can become sales, if you move them through the social media marketing funnel).

How can local social media help during the pandemic — or during any kind of business interruption?

We’ve discussed before that the COVID-19 crisis has presented both challenges and opportunities for businesses. The challenge is obviously that many businesses have had to close or adjust their usual course of business due to the pandemic. The opportunity lies in local social media.

As more and more people are going online for everything from online shopping to ordering food or finding social interaction, local social media has proved to be more important than ever. Consider the many ways you can take advantage of local social media right now:

Offering virtual classes and events
Communicating the ways people can continue shopping with you, such as curbside pickup, free delivery, and safe in-store shopping experiences
Entertaining your followers if they’re stuck at home
Letting your followers know if you have adjusted your hours of operation (see Why You Need Your Social Media Company to Do Directory Listings, Too)
Responding to customer service inquiries that may happen on your social media posts, via online reviews or through direct messages on social media

Pandemic or no pandemic, many of the new practices you’ve implemented are worth keeping. Many businesses have discovered a new kind of business continuity planning through social media — one they might not have had before.

In effect, social media can help you quickly pivot in the event of not only health crises, but also any type of emergency or disaster.

How’s that for a silver lining?

If you have more questions about local social media, we’re always happy to help. Head over to rallio.com to explore our solutions or contact us today.

Tags franchise social media, social media marketing

Social

7 Proven Video Content Ideas Guaranteed to Liven Up Your Social Media

Post author By Rallio
Post date August 18, 2020

Video content is bigger than ever — and the trend is only getting more popular. Yet not everyone can come up with video content ideas at the drop of a hat. Can you relate?

According to Social Media Today, 66% of people prefer short videos of products or services. In addition, 85% of businesses use video marketing. If you’re not already employing video content ideas in your business, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with your audience.

Plus, you have so many different quick and easy options for sharing video content, there’s no reason not to use this format. In addition to simply filming something from your smartphone and posting it to social media, you can create live videos. And, now you have Instagram Reels — Instagram’s answer to TikTok — to create short-form video content.

Never fear if you’re feeling stumped in the video content ideas department. We’ve got seven video content ideas below to help you get started. Repeat these ideas using different content, and you’ll never run out of video content ideas again.

Learn more: How to Improve Your Social Video Content: 10 Tips From the Pros

Idea #1: Explain How to Do Something

What is something your customers are always asking about? What are some ways to use your products that customers might not be aware of? Think about the things you could potentially teach to your audience. Then get the camera rolling!

Sometimes, it seems counterintuitive to “give away the secrets,” so to speak. If you’re a cleaning business, for instance, why would you want to tell your customers how to clean their stovetop? Don’t you want them to hire you instead?

Yes, the ultimate goal is for your followers to become customers. However, social media shouldn’t be viewed simply as a sales platform. The majority of your time on social media should be spent building rapport with your audience, not trying to make a sale.

So when you share a secret with them or teach them how to do something, you’re building trust and confidence. You telling them how to clean their stove isn’t going to prevent them from ultimately hiring you, if that’s what they’re looking to do.

People don’t hire a cleaning business because they can’t figure out how to clean — and likewise, they don’t not hire one just because they saw a short “how to” video on Facebook. If and when they hire, it’s because they don’t want to clean their house themselves — and they’ve found a company they believe they can trust to get the job done. That could be you!

https://www.facebook.com/TutorDoctorSugarLandSouth/posts/676330072958961

Idea #2: Describe a Popular Product or Service You Offer

As a business owner, you likely use the products or services you offer. Your employees probably do, too. What are some of your personal favorites and why? Tell your followers all about them!

This is the equivalent of the “staff picks” wall you might see in a bookstore or music store. You might not know these people personally, but don’t you feel more confident buying a book that someone else has recommended?

You can string together these “staff picks” into one video or create a series of videos to share over time. Invite user engagement by asking your followers to share their own favorites in the comments.

For example: Cartridge World Vestavia Hills explains popular back-to-school printer options

Idea #3: Share a Customer Testimonial

Along the same lines, you can ask your customers to share about their positive experiences with your company. Have you received any notes or words of appreciation from your customers, or online reviews from customers you know? How about sharing them in a quick video?

If you have a physical location with customers who are “regulars,” you can simply ask them if they’d be willing to be filmed. You can also reach out to customers directly and invite them to submit a video testimonial themselves.

Like that “staff picks” wall we mentioned above, a “customer pick” is another great way to build trust and confidence in your brand.

https://www.facebook.com/psporlando/posts/182003340107855

Idea #4: Share the Personal Side of Your Business

Especially right now during the pandemic, many of us are spending more time at home, taking up new hobbies and finding different ways to stay busy. Show your followers some of the ways you’re making the best of these strange times!

When you share a video of you gardening, baking, playing with your kids or pets, or working on a home-improvement project, you show the human side of your business. You’re not all about making money and selling things. You have a real life, and your followers can relate to you.

After all, who hasn’t tried baking a banana bread or converting their garage into a gym these past few months? These posts will hit home with the “we’re all in this together” crowd.

Idea #5: Film a Quick Clip of Something Bigger

Maybe you have a fitness business and you’re doing online classes. Or you’re a tutor offering virtual lessons. Try sharing a short clip from one of your full videos to give your followers a taste of what to expect.

If you continue sharing these clips, in time your audience will start gravitating to them. Invite your audience to turn on notifications for your posts so they get alerted when you drop a new video!

Again, you’re not giving away the entire farm. You’re building trust and rapport. You’re increasing the likelihood of followers converting into customers without going in for the “hard sell.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEANKtygXdg/

Idea #6: Share a Testimonial of Your Own

Do you have any favorite local businesses you can shout-out? Film a video testimonial of your go-to restaurants, markets, boutiques or service businesses.

When you post the video, be sure to tag the business in the post. Doing so increases the likelihood of them sharing the testimonial to their own audiences. And just like that, you increase your reach!

You can also invite engagement from your audience by asking them to drop a comment in the caption tagging their favorite businesses. You’d be surprised how much traction you can get from a post when you show some love to a fellow business owner!

Idea #7: Go Back in Time

Do you have any videos from when you first started your business? Or any other videos that take a page out of history? Share them with your followers for a “Throwback Thursday”!

People enjoy seeing what your business was like when you were first getting started. Caption your video with a few fun facts about your startup days. Ask your followers if they remember what the times were like back when you opened your doors.

Maybe they remember when you first opened, or they’ve lived in your town since before you got started. They can share about their own experiences from “back in the day.”

https://www.facebook.com/rallio/videos/1681365468683285/

Video Content Ideas Don’t Have to Be Complicated

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the idea of coming up with video content ideas, pause and take a breath. Think about the videos you like to watch on social media. How can you mimic what others have done successfully?

As you get started, keep the following quick tips in mind to improve the quality of your videos:

Record videos in landscape orientation, not portrait.
Position yourself in a quiet space with no background noise, including TV, music, voices or even a noisy appliance.
Make sure that the light is shining in front of you, not behind. Filming while facing a window usually does the trick.
Speak slowly so you’re easy to understand.
Make sure your front-facing camera is clean!
Keep your video fairly short for social media. A minute or less is ideal for quick clips.

Each week at Rallio, we send many of our clients video content ideas and other social media ideas to help them keep their pages fresh. Get in touch with us via rallio.com if you could use some help filling up an idea bank of your own.

Learn more: 6 Ways to Create Memorable Content for Your Business

Tags social media marketing

Social

31 Days of Social Media Content Ideas

Post author By Rallio
Post date August 12, 2020

When it comes to posting regularly on social media, sometimes that’s easier said than done for busy small-business owners. Oftentimes when we talk to franchisees or independent operators, they tell us they’re stumped on content ideas. And getting stumped can mean not posting anything at all.

To help you avoid the dreaded writer’s block and a page with outdated content, we’ve put together an entire month’s worth of content ideas below. You’ll still need to put in a little effort to bring these content ideas to life. However, keeping this list of content ideas handy will take away at least some of the struggle associated with posting to social media.

Keep in mind, your work is not done once you post something to your social profiles. All the content ideas and social media posts in the world won’t mean much if you don’t engage with your followers. By engaging, we mean:

Replying back to their social media comments, direct messages and reviews
Boosting your content to make it more visible to followers and their friends
Handling any customer service inquiries in a timely fashion (yes, social media is a customer service medium)
Responding to job applications if you have an active recruiting campaign
Basically staying on top of your social media 24/7

If all of the above sounds exhausting, and if even these content ideas seem overwhelming, feel free to schedule some time with us. We’d be happy to throw some ideas around of how Rallio can assist with your social media management.

31 Days of Content Ideas You Can Start Using Today

1. Are you hiring right now? Film a video of yourself or a manager explaining the benefits of working for you. Let your followers know how to apply — you can even create a job posting on Facebook and link over to it to help streamline the process.

2. Team member Tuesday! Snap a photo of a star employee and tell your followers what’s so great about them. Ask your followers to comment with their own shoutouts if they’ve interacted with your employee before.

3. What’s your top-selling product or service? Take a video explaining its benefits and why your followers should give it a try!

4. Throwback Thursday! Share a special photo from the past — whether from the first days of your grand opening or a team event last month. Add the #tbt hashtag and a few details about this momentous occasion!

5. Have you received any new reviews or thank-you messages from customers? Create a post with their testimonial! Canva.com has some great tools for creating posts that are perfectly sized for different social media platforms.

https://www.facebook.com/MassageHeightsRanchoPenasquitos/photos/a.1067432076620442/3521543011209324?type=3

6. Do you have any special promotions right now? Create a post highlighting your sales or unique offers, and boost it to extend your reach!

7. Meet the team Monday! Share a photo of your entire team or just one or two individuals. Thank them for all their hard work, especially if they’re putting in extra effort during the pandemic.

8. What are the holidays or “national” days, weeks or months happening right now? Check out the National Day Calendar or Days of the Year for ideas of what you can post! Look for opportunities to tie these days into your business, too. For instance, Relaxation Day on Aug. 15 is perfect for massage businesses or other companies focused on self-care.

9. New employee spotlight! Highlight any new team members with a photo and any fun facts about them.

10. You can also do an owner spotlight to share your own background story on how you started your business and why you love what you do.

https://www.facebook.com/MerryMaidsTorranceSouthBay/photos/a.154956595229959/661943894531224?type=3

11. How have you been helping your local community during the pandemic? Share some details on any special services you’re offering or the protocols you’re following to keep your community safe.

12. Have any employee testimonials to share? Snap a photo of your employee, and caption it with a few words on why they love working at your business.

13. Have you seen any good brain teasers or riddles on social media lately? Share it with your followers and ask them to comment with their answers!

14. Do you have any routines or tips that have helped you during the pandemic? Share a few words of advice on anything you’ve done to stay active, stay in touch with loved ones or stay sane in these uncertain times!

15. What’s it like to run your business day-to-day? Describe a typical “day in the life” for your followers, and share a photo showing a glimpse behind the scenes!

16. Do you have any recent jobs or customer orders you’ve completed that were particularly successful? Share a photo or video with some details! If it makes sense for your business, you could include before-and-after photos or any other visuals that show a job well-done.

https://www.facebook.com/907184876090076/videos/2688934258044787

17. Have you taken any “staycations” or local trips recently? Share a photo of how you like to enjoy your time off! Ask your followers to share similar photos in the comments.

18. What’s a fun fact about your business or something unique about your business that not many people know? Tell your followers about it!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=4735102989848856&id=2812008105491697

19. How do you start your day? Tell your followers about your morning routine and how it sets you up for a successful day.

20. Ever had any celebrity customers or encounters? Or memorable customer experiences? Share a throwback telling your followers about it!

21. What were you doing before starting your business? Tell your followers about the moment you decided to go into business for yourself.

22. What is the biggest project you’ve ever taken on? Let your followers know what went into getting the job done!

23. Who’s your mentor — the person who helped shape your path and inspires you every day? Share a photo and some details about why they’re so awesome!

24. Share some Wednesday wisdom! Pick out a favorite quote and use Canva.com to create an image with it. Or create a video with expert tips. Use the hashtag #wednesdaywisdom.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1390319111168336&id=246572875542971

25. What’s your favorite thing to do on the weekend? Share a photo of you enjoying Sunday brunch, an outdoor adventure or a hidden gem in your town.

26. Do you have kids or pets? Snap a photo with your “baby” in all their cuteness!

27. Any birthdays coming up on your team? Send out a birthday greeting on their special day — maybe throw in a delivery of flowers or edible treats!

https://www.facebook.com/323440977780227/photos/a.422434707880853/1911601905630785?type=3

28. What hobbies do you enjoy? Share a photo or video of you in your element — whether you like painting, hiking or working on cars.

29. Have any new recipes you’ve tried out during the pandemic? Share a photo of your favorite dish and caption it with cooking instructions!

30. Where did you grow up? Share a childhood photo and a favorite memory with your followers.

31. What’s your best tip for people who want to go into business for themselves? Offer a few words of advice to your followers!

Keep Your Content Ideas Fresh

You can recycle any of the content ideas above from month to month and keep your page updated, interesting, entertaining and informative. But don’t be afraid to come up with content ideas of your own!

Once you get in a groove posting to your pages, you’ll likely start coming up with even more ideas. You can even invite your employees to get in on the fun by snapping photos in and around your location.

As always, reach out to us via sales@rallio.com with any questions or to schedule a demo. Happy posting!

Tags social media marketing

Social

What’s Next for Small Business? Focus on the Things You Can Control

Post author By Rallio
Post date August 6, 2020

Undoubtedly, many small businesses have had numerous challenges to tackle over the past several months. To say these are unprecedented times is now an enormous understatement. Rather than dwell on the impacts of COVID-19, however, it might be useful to look at what’s next for small businesses.

In business, as in life, planning ahead is always a good idea. Even as you tackle the current mountain in front of you, be sure you’re taking steps to manage any future disruptions to business.

Nobody can promise an easy road ahead. However, taking action is better than waiting around and hoping for a vaccine, a stimulus check or anything else that isn’t within your control. Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t, and you’ll feel more prepared for any roadblocks ahead while preparing for what’s next in small business.

https://www.facebook.com/rallio/posts/1571857962967370

The Current Outlook

Businesses of all sizes have already had to pivot as a result of COVID-19. They’ve taken business outdoors, switched to online formats, and implemented stringent safety and cleaning protocols, all while trying to keep employees on payroll and keep their customers happy.

Unfortunately, not all businesses have survived these trying times. There will likely be others that don’t as well, in the months ahead. Yet at the same time, there will be many that will do whatever it takes to make it through to the other side. In many cases, doing “whatever it takes” will mean a complete upheaval in the way they do business.

“Many small businesses in the United States will need to make extreme changes to survive,” states business consulting firm McKinsey & Company. “The broad themes are, by now, familiar and generally the same as with most large businesses: protecting the health and safety of employees and customers, adapting business models, investing in talent and technology, and adjusting staffing models and labor practices.”

https://www.facebook.com/rallio/posts/1566052713547895

What’s In Your Control?

Smaller businesses that lack the deep pockets of well-funded companies will naturally have to make all these changes with less working capital. Faced with slim margins, many of these small businesses will be tempted to cut corners and slash budgets on anything that’s viewed as an unnecessary expenditure. They may be unwilling to invest in the proper resources required to survive the pandemic throughout 2020 and beyond.

Here at Rallio, we’ve seen firsthand what’s happened when businesses decide that marketing and technology aren’t worth the investment. Whereas they may have had a robust social media following and high levels of engagement on social media, their numbers quickly plummeted when they stopped investing in social media marketing.

On the flip side, the businesses that put marketing and technology at the top of their list of budgetary priorities have seen their numbers grow. We cannot stress enough how important it is to keep marketing yourself amid the pandemic. With social media usage at an all-time high, you can’t afford to hit “pause” on this area of your business.

While we can’t predict exactly what’s next for small business, we can say with certainty that social media and technology will continue to play important roles. If you make the necessary investments in those areas — along with other areas mentioned above — you’ll be better prepared and also feel like you’re taking back some control in your business.

Social media marketing and the technology used to manage your online presence are both within your reach as a small-business owner. While it might feel overwhelming to think about how to approach your social media marketing, fear not. We’ve got answers for you, straight from one of our Rallio Local experts, Eric Mitchell, who talks to small businesses and franchisees every day.

We filmed a short video with Eric to get his take on how small businesses can address the current challenges while planning ahead what’s next for small businesses.

A few key takeaways:

The most pressing need for small business right now is the need for genuine content. Social media is the most powerful way to publish that genuine content and connect with your audience.
Outsourcing your social media makes sense for small-business owners, who are often wearing many hats and lack the time needed to properly make an impact on social media.
Now is the time to prepare for 2021. Your best bet? Stay engaged.

For more details on what’s next for small business, watch the full video below.

Tags small business, social media marketing

Social

Top 5 Social Media Myths, Debunked

Post author By Rallio
Post date August 5, 2020

Weeding out the social media truths from social media myths can be a daunting task. With so much information — and sometimes misinformation — out there, you might not immediately know what to believe when it comes to marketing your business on social media.

To help you separate fact from fiction, we’ve rounded up some of our best tips — in the form of social media myths, debunked. Prepare to leave behind some of the most common myths and feel better prepared to tackle your social media marketing.

Myth #1: My Customers Don’t Use Social Media

To say your customers don’t use social media is like saying they live under a rock. According to Statista, an estimated 3.6 billion people use social media worldwide. That number is projected to increase to 4.41 billion by 2025. It’s safe to say your audience is using social media in some form.

That’s especially true during the current pandemic. With fewer options to go outside the home and socialize, people are online all throughout the day. And if you’re not busy connecting with them, guaranteed you’ve got competitors who are already doing so.

Keep in mind, too, that your social media marketing does not operate in a silo. It’s just one part of your overall marketing. As your customers are using email and browsing online, you have an opportunity to tie all your marketing together and drive traffic to different mediums.

https://www.facebook.com/rallio/posts/1675148132638352

Myth #2: My Follower Count Is the Only Metric Worth Tracking

Of all the social media myths, this one tends to come up with a high frequency. Many businesses focus on collecting followers like they’re collecting stamps — tucked away in a book and rarely seen.

The truth is, the real value in having followers is what you do with them once you have them. You have to be constantly producing fresh content for them that’s engaging, local, authentic and non-salesy.

This type of content is more likely to get liked, shared and commented on. You thereby extend your reach to even more followers, especially when you include paid advertising in your social media marketing strategy.

For a better understanding of metrics you should be tracking, check out our article The 6 Most Important Social Media Metrics to Track for ROI.

https://www.facebook.com/rallio/posts/1613056752180824

Myth #3: The More Hashtags, The Better

Hashtags can be useful to brand a certain phrase for your company, make you discoverable in search, and associate your brand with certain conversations and topics on social media. But going overboard on them can make your content unreadable and may even annoy your audience.

To avoid any hashtag missteps, keep the following key points in mind:

Avoid using too many hashtags within the body of your caption. When you insert a #hashtag every other #word, your #sentence becomes #clunky, don’t you #think? Instead, group your hashtags together at the end of your post. On Instagram, many people will insert their hashtags into the comments section to keep the caption looking clean.
Know your platform. You’ll be more likely to see a longer list of hashtags on Instagram than on LinkedIn and Facebook. A few well-placed hashtags can work well on those platforms. Twitter hashtags tend to center on trending topics and news; check the Explore tab to find out the latest and see if you can capitalize on a popular hashtag. Visit popular accounts, as well your competitors, on different platforms to study how they use hashtags in different ways.
Be thoughtful about your hashtag use. Research which hashtags are trending and the context around the trend. That way, you’ll avoid inserting yourself in irrelevant conversations or those you wouldn’t want to be associated with.

Myth #4: Social Media Marketing Isn’t Worth My Time

This is one of the more complex social media myths, because there are so many different layers of it to unravel.

As we mention in myth #1, your customers are already using social media. So are your competitors.

So if you decide that social media marketing isn’t worth your time, you’re basically missing out on a huge opportunity.

It’s true that social media marketing is time-consuming. It requires constant attention to make sure you’re posting local content, engaging with your audience, responding to customer service issues and online reviews, and creating a strong social media presence.

It’s also true that your time might be better spent in other ways, like running your business, recruiting, retaining employees and other activities.

The real truth is that social media might not be worth your time, but it’s undoubtedly worthwhile to your business. Therefore, you need to make it somebody’s job to spend their time managing your social media marketing.

You can hire someone in-house or you can outsource to an agency like Rallio. But guaranteed if you don’t carve out time and space in your budget for social media marketing, you’ll miss out on this very important aspect of your overall marketing.

https://www.facebook.com/rallio/posts/1666251040194728

Myth #5: Social Media Should Be Sales-Focused

Also high up there on the list of most common social media myths, this one is potentially the most dangerous. When you only use social media to try and make sales, you risk getting ignored and losing any followers you have.

Stop looking at your followers as dollar figures and see them as the social, human beings that they are. Interact with them in a friendly way, responding to their comments and concerns. Post behind-the-scenes photos and videos that show the personal side of your brand.

As you build a relationship with your customers in this way, you’ll gain their trust. Then they’ll be more open to any promotional messages you have to say.

When a brand you like has taken the time to get to know you, and has likewise has allowed you to get to know them, they’ll be more receptive to special offers via your social media posts and ads.

Some experts suggest using around 80% of your content to inform, educate or entertain, and the other 20% for self-promotion. However, there is no one magic “percentage” that works for everyone. Every brand is going to be slightly different from the next.

And honestly, every social media post has some element of “promotion” to it, in that it’s relationship marketing. It requires that you be more subtle with your marketing efforts than you might be with an email campaign or a promotion on your website.

The majority of the time, your posts should not be overly salesy. Most of your posts should focus on that relationship building, even if they have an undertone of marketing your business. So whether that’s 80/20 or 70/30 or 60/40 — and maybe some months are different than others — just keep that guideline in mind as you create content.

Leave Social Media Myths Behind

We love a good myth-busting article, and hopefully you do as well. Leaving these social media myths in the dust will help you market yourself more effectively, both now and in the long term.

Tags social media marketing

Social Uncategorized

The Best Social Media Tips, Straight From Social Media Strategists

Post author By Rallio
Post date July 31, 2020

Sometimes, the simplest social media tips are the very best social media tips. There’s no need to complicate matters when you’re trying to figure out how to be impactful on social media for your brand.

In keeping with that idea, today’s blog article features social media tips from our very own Rallio Local Social Media Strategists. They are the people who work directly with individual businesses to post social media content, reply to reviews and social media engagements, and manage and monitor their social media presence.

When our Strategists speak with business owners, they tend to offer the same simple social media tips over and over again. Those tips are outlined below, followed by a brief video from our Strategists with further details.

Showcase the People Behind Your Brand

This is one of the best social media tips because it’s so easy to accomplish. You probably have content ideas right in the palm of your hand if you’ve taken any photos at your business lately.

People like to see who’s behind the awesome products or services you have to offer. From the owners to employees and even customers, it’s the people who really bring a business to life on social media. You’re passionate about your business, and that passion should shine through on your social media posts.

As noted in 6 Powerful Content Ideas for Your Small Business:

“Working on your storytelling skills is one of the best ways to improve your social media. Whenever you have something to post, think about the story of how it came to be. Share those stories with your followers. You’ll be amazed at how much they love them and how much engagement you get, especially with boosted content!”

Think about the people and customers who frequent your business, the history behind your location, the employees who have worked with you from the beginning, new employees, or new products and what makes them great. Snap a candid photo or video and put your stories out there!

Be Authentic

Why be someone else when you can be yourself? Your audience can tell when you’re being authentic versus when you’re trying to sell them something. Authenticity wins over salesy every time. It’s also the best way to differentiate yourself in a crowded online world.

“Brands with inauthentic messaging distance themselves from their audiences and open the door for more down-to-earth competitors to steal their customers,” writes Convince & Convert. “People ally with brands because they see their own personalities and values reflected, but most people don’t want to describe themselves as insincere, foolish, or untrustworthy. When brands step outside their identities and try to latch on to unrelated trends, customers notice—and the results are rarely positive.”

Engage With Your Customers

As people comment, share, like and interact with your posts, be sure to engage back with them. Let them know you’re listening and that you appreciate them as customers and followers. Being engaged means more opportunities to solidify relationships and expand your reach.

As we write in Top 5 Social Media Growth Hacks for 2020, “When you post something, don’t think of it as a “mic drop” moment where you walk away and never have to return to that post again. Monitoring comments and interacting with your audience as they post is one of the simplest growth hacks — and you might actually enjoy it!”

Be Relatable

What topics tend to resonate the most with your customers and target audience? That’s what you should be posting about on social media. Doing so makes you more relatable and memorable, and people will be more likely to stick around to see what you have to say.

Pair those topics with a defined tone of voice, and you become much more interesting to your target audience and followers.

Convince & Convert writes, “Whether you want to be quirky, shocking, unconventional, or just plain friendly, the choice is yours. Just don’t be boring. That’s the quickest way to be forgotten, or not even being noticed in the first place.”

Something is wrong if this sound isn’t familiar to you 🙃 pic.twitter.com/hD3PjTf34z

— OREO Cookie (@Oreo) July 15, 2020

The Best Social Media Tips, in Our Strategists’ Words

You’ve read the tips, and now it’s our Strategists’ turn to explain their best social media tips in their own words. In less than three minutes, you’ll have a few brand-new tools in your social media toolbox.

As always, reach out to us if you could use a helping hand or two establishing a strong social media presence.

Tags social media marketing

Social

6 Powerful Content Ideas for Your Small Business

Post author By Rallio
Post date July 30, 2020

When your brand is social-media-friendly, your content ideas might come easily to you. For instance, if you are in the pet industry, that’s a no-brainer. Nobody ever tires of seeing cute animals on social media doing even the most mundane of tasks, like sitting on the couch or staring out the window at a delivery person.

For some brands, it takes a little more digging to create social-media-worthy posts. Rest assured, though, with the right content ideas, any brand can become fun and exciting on social media!

All it takes is a little creativity — and the content ideas below can help you knock your content out of the park. Above all, remember that social media is supposed to be social, not boring or salesy.

It’s like if you were sitting down with a friend you haven’t seen in a while. It’s going to be a much more pleasant visit if you show them the photos you took on your last vacation — not your encyclopedia of common household pests, don’t you think?

https://www.facebook.com/541879122868760/photos/a.597667927289879/1427933680929962?type=3

Show the People (and Pets) Behind Your Brand

One of the simplest ways to connect with your audience is by showing the living, breathing beings at your company. This method works no matter what kind of business you have.

You can make a seemingly boring topic much more interesting by showing the personality behind your brand. Do you have an employee who loves to rollerskate? A co-owner who grows his own vegetables and runs a YouTube cooking channel? An office dog who brightens up everyone’s day?

These are all perfect content ideas for social media!

Think back to that friend you haven’t seen in a while. What pictures would you show them from your phone? Hopefully, you gravitate to the photo of you standing in front of the Grand Canyon, not the screenshot of a coupon you snapped before grabbing a sandwich for lunch.

Put On Your Teacher Hat

You have something to teach, so share your knowledge! Sometimes just explaining your product or service is enough to capture your audience’s attention. Examples of sharing your expertise might include:

How-to videos showing various ways to use your product
The history behind your product or service
A live video with insider tips
Little-known secrets you’re willing to share
Before-and-after photos showing the benefits of your services

Think about the FAQ you get all the time. Turn those questions into answers with engaging photos, captions and videos that your audience will appreciate!

Partner With Micro-Influencers

If you can locate micro-influencers — people aren’t necessarily celebrities but have an established social media following — you can ask them to share your story in their own words. Because micro-influencers already have followers who trust their recommendations, they’ll be more likely to want to buy the products and services those people are using.

These micro-influencers have the potential to expand your reach because they’ll be posting content to their own group of friends and followers. By simply talking about why they love your brand, they’ll help you spread the word and engage with new customers.

Be Edgy

Give your brand a sassier tone of voice, and you instantly become more interesting. One brand that comes to mind is Merriam-Webster.

While a dictionary might not be the most exciting product for some — and yes, every English major and editor out there is saying, “Huh? I LOVE the dictionary!” — the brand has become noteworthy for its quippy captions and retorts on social media.

If you start studying now, you might have a full command of these words by 2021. https://t.co/FINAScT6L4

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) July 28, 2020

You’ll need a good writer to sassify your content, so don’t be afraid to hire someone or outsource the work if needed. Rallio has a whole division of dedicated social media strategists who would be more than happy to get edgy on your brand’s page. (We live for this stuff.)

Need more inspiration for edgy content ideas? Check out a few accounts mentioned in this list from Time.com. Notably missing: Wendy’s.

Sorry, Nick. No dice. https://t.co/bExfIVSyFH

— Wendy’s (@Wendys) July 16, 2020

Put Culture First

Particularly in this day and age, people care about how you treat your employees. We’ve seen brands crumble before our eyes because their workers took to social media to air their complaints — whether about their pay, working conditions or other matters. To avoid this kind of public shaming, you need to:

Take care of your employees. Make sure they feel supported, heard and recognized for their contributions. A great form of recognition is highlighting them on social media!
Create the kind of culture where people want to come to work. The details of doing so are beyond the scope of this article. (Again, outsource if you need additional support to create change.) But bear in mind that with a positive employee culture, employees will naturally want to post about your company on social media (more on that below).
Implement a formal employee advocacy program. Create both a means and incentives for your employees to post about your brand on their own social media pages. Rallio can help you create this program, whether you have one employee or hundreds.

Be a Storyteller

Working on your storytelling skills is one of the best ways to improve your social media. Whenever you have something to post, think about the story of how it came to be. Share those stories with your followers. You’ll be amazed at how much they love them and how much engagement you get, especially with boosted content! Examples of “storytelling” content ideas might include:

The story behind the 90-year-old grandma who has visited your hair salon every two weeks for 20 years
The story behind the family heirloom you keep on your desk
A series of stories highlighting your employees
The story behind how your company came to be

Content Ideas Don’t Have to Be Boring

As you can see, it just takes a little creativity to take your social media content from ho-hum to exciting. You don’t have to look much farther than your own camera roll to find content ideas worthy of posting on social media.

Of course, we’re here to help if you could use some assistance breathing life into your social media. We’ve performed triage on many different pages before to help them grow their following, engagement and “fun” factor on social media. To learn more, see rallio.com.

Tags content marketing, social media marketing

Social

Top 5 Social Media Growth Hacks for 2020

Post author By Rallio
Post date July 28, 2020

So you took the time to set up your social media pages for your business. Great work! What happens next is critical to your social media success, and you’ll need the right growth hacks to make an impact.

Keep in mind, the single most important factors for your social media success are still:

Posting local content
Boosting content

You’ll need to keep doing both of those things even as you implement the growth hacks we suggest below. Essentially, all of these hacks should circle back to local content and boosted posts.

Obviously, there’s a lot more to talk about as far as local content and boosting. We suggest you read some of our other articles on these topics as well, such as:

In the meantime, try out the growth hacks below to take your social media presence from “meh” to great.

Growth Hack #1: Activate Employees and Micro-Influencers

The trends don’t lie: Nowadays, you have to get employees and micro-influencers involved with promoting your brand. Social media audiences are more likely to trust content and recommendations that don’t come directly from the brand itself.

You can activate these brand advocates in several different ways:

Partner with micro-influencers who have an established social media following. It doesn’t need to be huge, and they don’t need to be celebrities. In fact, content coming from “regular” people who have a moderate following will tend to be viewed as more trustworthy. When they promote your brand, they reach all of their followers — people you might not have reached if you tried to promote to them directly.
The same principle applies to your employee advocates. When they post about your brand, they reach all of their own personal friends and followers — again, people you otherwise might not have been able to access.
Formalize an advocacy program that enables your advocates to either share brand-approved assets or post about your brand. Rallio’s leaderboard and advocacy tools make it easy to track progress and reward your advocates.

Learn more: rallio.com

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDKV80mg47y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Growth Hack #2: Go Live

While Facebook and Instagram “live” features have been around for some time, they’ve become even more important and useful during the pandemic. This trend isn’t going away, and the sooner you take advantage, the quicker you can grow. Consider the following:

Businesses that have had to close their physical doors have been able to maintain or grow by going live. In-person classes, concerts and other happenings became virtual events with captive audiences that are using social media all day long.
Live video had already been growing in popularity before the pandemic, and the trend is only going to accelerate. Entrepreneur reports, “Go Globe estimates that as much as 82 percent of online traffic will be dedicated to live video by the end of 2020.”
Getting your live video strategy up and running will help you immediately start appealing to your audience while also setting you up for success going forward. Even if and when COVID-19 is no longer a global and local threat, you will want to prepare for the possibility of future disruptions to business — it’s not out of the realm of possibility, as this pandemic has taught us.

Learn more: 25 Live Video Stats Marketers Need to Know in 2020

Growth Hack #3: Mention Other Accounts

When you post, tag and mention other accounts and influencers whenever possible. When you employ this strategy correctly, you’ll strengthen relationships with key accounts and foster new connections. Keep the following points in mind to avoid any missteps:

Don’t simply mention a brand out of the blue just to try and get attention. Your mentions should be authentic. The simplest method is to mention your employee and brand advocates anytime they mention you. Repost their content in stories, highlight them in posts, basically return the favor when they post about your brand. This reciprocity helps you build a relationship and builds confidence among your influencers by rewarding them for their mentions.
You can also mention other non-competing brands when it’s a product or service you actually use and swear by. Again, don’t just mention for the sake of mentioning.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9fz_Vun9Wu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Growth Hack #4: Get Involved in Conversations

When you post something, don’t think of it as a “mic drop” moment where you walk away and never have to return to that post again. Monitoring comments and interacting with your audience as they post is one of the simplest growth hacks — and you might actually enjoy it! Things to think about:

When someone comments and you comment back, not only does it help to build relationships, but it also improves your engagement on the account. When there’s an increase in engagement on posts for a page, your posts will get more visibility, particularly if you’re boosting content.
As a busy business owner, you might not have the time to dedicate to social media conversations. Rallio has Social Strategists who are dedicated to this very task, so you can always outsource to us if you want to make sure those important conversations don’t get missed.

Growth Hack #5: Check Up on Your Competitors

Your competitors presumably have social media pages — if they don’t, well, then you’re the one staying ahead of the game. Find out what they’re doing on social media so you can use that intel to inform your own strategy:

Navigate to Facebook’s Ad Library and search your competitors by name. You can also access a page’s ad history by navigating directly to their Facebook page; look for the Page Transparency link. Facebook will show you what ads they have running currently or ran in the past, the amount spent, impressions, demographics and other information about the ads. While you won’t know the results of these ads, you can at least get an idea of their advertising strategy.
Bear in mind that you don’t have to do things exactly the way your competitors are. You might see their ads and think, “Hmm, I can do that better” (you probably can!). You might even see that they’re not running any ads at all (it does happen)! The goal is not necessarily to duplicate your competitors, but to discover your competitive advantage and differentiators.

Bonus Hack #6: Think Bigger

Your social media pages have the potential to help you grow your business if you maximize their potential.

The growth hacks above will help you step outside your comfort zone and try things a little bit differently. It might just be the little extra push needed to help you grow your business the way you want it to.

Tags social media marketing, social media strategies

Social

5 Easy Ways to Power Up Your Social Media Presence in One Hour or Less

Post author By Rallio
Post date July 22, 2020

When you think about tidying up your social media pages, you might immediately think it’s going to take exorbitant amounts of time. Well, we’ve got some good news for you. Improving your social media presence can happen in minutes, not hours.

In fact, we’d bet you can perform some light housekeeping without a ton of time or effort. Making even a few small tweaks will instantly help you start making a bigger impact online.

Granted, if you invest a little more time on your social media presence — or pay an agency like Rallio to help — your results will be exponential. Rather than get overwhelmed with the idea of tearing yourself away from your business for a day, however, simply get started with the five power moves below.

Size Your Images Correctly

Every platform has its own image size requirements. For instance, on Facebook, you have a profile image, a cover photo and shared images — each with its own set of image guidelines. Your images will also look different depending on the placement and the device used to view them.

Knowing the ideal dimensions, file sizes and file types will help you optimize images for each platform. It’ll also help you avoid having any part of your image cut off or uploading low-resolution photos that don’t display properly.

Rallio also offers a simple image editing tool if you need to crop an image or touch it up before uploading it.

The link below has complete guidelines on image sizes for the different platforms. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with them, download the Rallio app to start posting! We offer both mobile and desktop technology to make it easy to post to your pages.

Brand Yourself Across Platforms

Nothing says “branded” for your social media presence like having the same profile images across social media platforms. Whether it’s your logo or a branded image, make sure you’re using the most updated version on all your pages.

That goes for franchises, too. Keeping a consistent social media image across all your locations builds brand awareness and makes you look more professional for your followers.

If possible, you should also keep your social media handles the same across platforms — like @rallio does on Facebook and Instagram. Even better, make sure it matches your website URL. This makes you easier to find and prevents anyone confusing you with a similar-sounding handle.

If someone already owns the handle you want, you can try reaching out directly to that account owner and see if they’ll let you take it over. To learn more, check out this article, “The Importance of Having Consistent Social Media Handles.”

For individual locations, keep a consistent pattern. For instance, if Rallio had individual franchisees (we don’t, but we work with a lot of them from other companies!), we might want them to use something like @ralliolosangeles or whatever the city name is.

Rallio makes this process easier for franchises because you can control everything from one dashboard. Need to update the cover photo for corporate, plus 400 franchisees? Do it in just a few clicks. Everything is centralized.

We also encourage brands to develop social media brand guidelines for themselves and their locations. Tell everyone what they can and cannot do on social media so everyone gets (and stays) on the same page.

Improve Your Profile

Your profile description and business information are some of the first things people see when they land on your page. Make sure it’s not only accurate, but also fully optimized to work hard for you as people are searching for businesses like yours.

Here are a few quick upgrades you can make:

Update your directory listings. Your hours, contact information and location need to be consistent everywhere your business information appears online. Using a directory listings service like Rallio’s will help you get this done in a few clicks.
Update your bio. Add keywords to make you more discoverable — a keyword planner like Google’s will help you choose the right ones. Work these keywords naturally into the text; don’t just stuff them in there, hoping something will stick.
Fill in every field. Don’t skip over anything — it might take more effort, but you’ll appear more professional and “on the ball” if you provide helpful details about your business.
Get creative with your bio, too. Your bio should represent who you are and what you’re all about in a fun, memorable way. Hootsuite’s guide gives you templates to get you started.

Highlight Important Content

Take advantage of opportunities to highlight content at the top of pages. On Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, you can “pin” important posts up at the top. This could be a special offer or updates about your business. Maybe it’s an invitation to join your subscriber list.

On Instagram, you can add content to Story Highlights after you post to your Stories. Create a fun Highlight Cover image for different sections (you can download an app or use Canva.com), and generate interest for people who visit your profile.

For example, a fitness trainer who posts workouts to their Stories could create a Story Highlight called Workouts. This way, your Stories — which disappear from feeds after 24 hours — will still live on and potentially attract new business.

You can also update your website URL on Instagram to point to different types of content. If you have a new blog post up, add a link in your bio and point to that content in your Stories or in a post.

Automate Where You Can

Do the work to automate upfront, and then you won’t have as much upkeep to do over time. Facebook autoresponses to direct messages are one example. In Messenger, you can set up answers to frequently asked questions.

Make sure you provide customer service contact information even if you have autoreponses set up. Give people a way to contact you if their question isn’t addressed properly by an FAQ.

Reviews are another opportunity for automation, but proceed with caution. Rallio lets you set up pre-approved messages you might want to send out if someone leaves a five-star review, for instance — maybe a simple “Thanks for the great review!”

However, you always want to be sure a real human is monitoring these conversations. If someone leaves a one-star review and includes details about their experience, it’s not enough to say “We’re sorry you had a bad experience.” You’ll want someone — either on your staff or from our Rallio Local division — to craft up a response that helps to ease tensions with the customer.

Start Improving Your Social Media Presence Today

Do a little light housekeeping on your social media pages, and you’ll find they start working harder for you. Especially when you add great content to those pages, your social media presence has the ability to go from “meh” to “wow!” within a short period of time.

Tags branding, social media marketing

Social

Facebook Boosting 101: How to Boost Content for Better Results

Post author By Rallio
Post date July 15, 2020

So you took the time to create a post on Facebook, and now you’re waiting for the engagements to start rolling in — reactions, comments, shares, maybe even clicks over to your website. Unless you used Facebook boosting, you might be waiting awhile.

Why, you ask? Welcome to Facebook Boosting 101, our breakdown of all things boosting-related.

In this article, we’ll cover:

The concept of Facebook boosting (and why you should even care about it)
What types of content to boost
How to boost for the best results

Facebook boosting puts some muscle behind your content — which, while free to publish, won’t get seen by your followers or anyone else without paid advertising. Consider it the protein shake that follows your great workout, allowing your page to grow and capture the attention of existing and new audiences.

Let’s start with a basic understanding of what Facebook boosting entails and why it should even be a part of your social media marketing strategy.

What Is Facebook Boosting?

When you have a business Facebook page, the content you publish doesn’t necessarily get seen by all your followers. Even people who have chosen to follow your page might initially see your content organically, but they won’t continue to see it unless:

You regularly post engaging content that interests them and inspires them to interact with it; and
You pay to get it seen. Yes, Facebook is a “pay to play” platform.

This winning combination of great content and boosting increases the likelihood of making your content visible in newsfeeds. Read that again and again until it sinks in, because it’s an incredibly important concept to grasp as a business Facebook page owner.

The good news is that boosting is a relatively simple tool. Even without having advanced knowledge of the full gamut of Facebook advertising options, you can jump into boosting and start seeing results fairly quickly. While using those more advanced options is also a great way to expand your reach on Facebook, boosting is the easiest way to get started as soon as you launch a business Facebook page.

Once you set up an associated ad account for the page, you can simply choose a post from your timeline and click on the Boost Post button. Facebook will then walk you through your boosting options, such as choosing your audience, budget, placement and duration of the boost.

As your boosted posts reach newsfeeds, ideally your audience will engage with the content. The more they like, comment and share your boosted posts, the more relevant your page becomes — meaning your content will be more visible to your followers as well as their friends and people who aren’t following you yet.

Types of Content to Boost

There are a few different ways to choose the content you want to boost depending on your objectives. Here are a few examples of content you might want to boost:

Posts that are already performing well on your page or that are likely to get good engagement. Oftentimes, your best candidates for boosted posts are real photos or videos from your location, including the owners, employees or customers, as well as snapshots of anything new and exciting at your location.
Job postings, if you’re looking to hire. You can create and boost these posts right from your business page.
Events you’re holding. Again, you can create these posts from your business page and boost them.

Choose your boosted posts carefully, because you cannot edit the text, image or video once you’ve boosted a post. If you end up wanting to change the creative, you would have to create a new post and boost it. You can, however, edit certain components if needed, such as your budget or the duration of the ad.

How to Boost to Amplify Your Results

Choosing the best types of content to boost is the first step in making sure you see good results from your campaign — as in, reactions, comments, shares and clicks. You can further amplify your results by following these guidelines:

Avoid posts with a lot of text in them. Facebook may limit the exposure of your ad or even reject text-heavy posts. (See this article for more about text in ad images.)
Choose your audience carefully. (See this article for potential restrictions, such as age.) While you can choose to target your followers and their friends, you can also create a custom audience that specifies location, gender, age or interests. Being as specific as possible will help you avoid targeting too broad of an audience — that is, people who may not be interested in what you have to offer.
Limit the length of time you boost a post. Around five to seven days is probably your sweet spot to avoid having your post decline in performance.
Monitor the performance of your boosts throughout your campaigns. You don’t have to wait for the ad to finish running! Check to see what’s working and what’s not. As mentioned above, you can adjust certain parameters of an ad to better target the people you want to reach.

If the idea of getting up and running with Facebook boosting is unappealing to you, Rallio can help. Our Rallio Local division works with businesses of all sizes to create and boost content, taking the guesswork out of the process for you. You can be as involved as you like, or not at all, and we’ll partner with you to make sure your Facebook page is successful. Care to learn more? Visit rallio.com and request a demo to view all your options.

Tags social media marketing