Tag: Social Media Tips

A Business Owners Guide to Taming Trolls on Social Media | Entrepreneur

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Working in an online space or being a public figure means you will be dealing with trolls. Even the most beloved public figures have people who inexplicably harass them. A Pew survey from a few years ago shows that 41% of Americans have experienced online harassment. I’d be willing to bet that when you talk about public figures, that number goes up to around 100%, as trolling has become so common in online culture.

As somebody who talks openly about turning $583 into over $10 million to over one million subscribers on YouTube, and as the owner of Warrior Trading, I’m enough of a public figure that I’ve dealt with my fair share of trolls. I’d like to share with you what I’ve found is the best way to disarm the trolls. But first, I think it’s essential to establish some baseline assumptions.

Related: 3 Options for Dealing With Internet Trolls

Who are the trolls?

My definition of a troll is someone who posts/comments/ or otherwise publicly communicates hateful, derogatory or defamatory messages on social media pages in a persistent and harassing way.

To understand how to respond to trolling, we must understand the mindset of a troll. Trolling is so pervasive there have been numerous studies on the topic. Studies show that individuals who regularly engage in this type of behavior online are maladjusted and often suffer from various personality disorders in their real lives.

Looking at the behavior of trolling through this lens, that it is a symptom of a deeper psychological struggle that somebody is experiencing, has helped me take the comments a bit less personally.

Naturally, some comments will be easier to brush off than others, but trolling can be deeply triggering and painful for anybody who grew up with self-esteem issues. So much so that we routinely hear about influences saying they must take mental health breaks from social media. I recognize that I don’t have it nearly as bad as others, but as a small business owner, I also can’t afford to take breaks.

Here’s how I’ve handled trolling:

Don’t feed the trolls

We must remember that the goal of a troll is to elicit a reaction and a response. The moment you start engaging, they’ve won. I would say 99.9% of trolling doesn’t warrant a response. The best practice with most trolling is to mute, block and delete.

For business owners, it’s essential to know that up-and-coming businesses in your space may try to leverage your name to amplify their own voice. It’s called “trend jacking”. For example, Mr. Beast is the #1 content creator on YouTube. I often see new content creators struggling to gain an audience using “Mr. Beast’s” name or his picture to try to piggyback off his audience. If you make a salacious post about Mr. Beast, it will probably get a lot of views, right? In fact, one of the easiest ways for anyone to spur engagement on social media is to trigger emotion with divisive, exaggerated, salacious and triggering content. Tabloids still sell copies in the grocery store, right? Even though most people know it’s not credible, it’s a form of entertainment.

Related: Why the Most Successful People Have the Most Haters

Hire a professional “Troll Patrol” to deal with the most offensive comments

It’s important to engage on social media with your most loyal subscribers. It’s not only good for the algorithm; it’s what creates that brand loyalty. It’s also worth noting that these subscribers will come to your rescue and be some of your fiercest defenders when you become the victim of trolling. As my business has grown, I have hired people to clear trolls/spam comments before I sit down to answer comments.

That way, I can spend my time responding to the good comments and engaging with my fans without losing any mental bandwidth to negativity. It took me a long time to figure out that I needed to do this, but it is necessary. If you are the face of your business or it’s something you’ve put your blood, sweat, and tears into, it’s hard to have a level head when it comes to responding to trolls.

Have an easy and nonpublic way for customers to give you feedback

There are certainly people who exhibit trolling behavior who are not malicious but merely frustrated. For businesses, you need to have a way for your customers to obtain (good) customer service and also give feedback. When customers feel ignored, they often take their grievances to social media to make themselves heard. I’ve invested heavily in customer service for my business, and I think it is enormously important. My team is also trained to take public grievances offline ASAP and find a solution for the customer via email if possible. The saying “the customer is always right” is good to remember.

Have a good lawyer on standby when things cross the line

There is a fine line between trash-talking, trolling, harassment and defamation. As your business grows, or as your personal influence grows, you will likely face a troll that crosses the line. Now, the question is whether you respond publicly or privately. A public response gives the troll exactly what they want. A private direct response is how I respond. And I do it via legal counsel.

When faced with a cease and desist letter written by your attorney, most trolls will realize the anonymity of the internet has not protected them from potential liability. This usually will stop the behavior. In the rare case it doesn’t, the legal system offers court-ordered restraining orders and permanent injunctions. Sadly, I’ve had to use these remedies at Warrior Trading. Most other large businesses do, too.

I believe when somebody crosses the line, it’s better to be known for being aggressive than to be known as a pushover. But when considering this step, it’s essential to consider the time, effort and cost it will take and if it is worth it to your business. Luckily, my wife, Lauren Cameron, is meticulous about getting our lawyers what they need to do the job, and I do not have to waste my time on the craziness.

The choice is yours

Public figures, including entrepreneurs and business owners, will have detractors that create persistent, derogatory, misleading, false, nasty and malicious content on social media. To a certain extent, consider it a badge of honor that you have become significant enough to attract trolls. However, how an individual or business deals with these trolls, either engaging with them or ignoring them, will impact public perception of your brand and your personal image. This choice is yours to make and must be carefully calculated.

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Ross Cameron

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October 26, 2023
How Entrepreneurs Benefit From Being Verified on Instagram | Entrepreneur

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If you have an Instagram account, you’ve probably always dreamed of having a blue checkmark next to your name. There’s just something about it that lets people know that you’re important.

I recently got verified on Instagram, and to be honest, the chase was more exciting than the catch. But over the past four weeks, I’ve noticed some amazing benefits from being verified on Instagram that I was not expecting.

Here are the top five benefits I noticed and gained from being verified on Instagram.

Related: Want to Get Verified on Instagram? Don’t Fall For These 3 Verification Scams

Benefit #1: It makes it easier to hold up/increase prices

I always encourage business prospects to follow me on social media within my sales process. I specifically like sending people to LinkedIn and Instagram. I love sending prospects to my social media accounts because my personal branding does all of the heavy lifting for me. I set up those accounts so it will leave people eager to attend future meetings and buy.

Prospects being more eager to purchase from me made it easier to increase my prices and charge exactly what I’m worth.

I could still do this without being verified, but the blue badge beside my name made me feel more confident asking for what I’m worth.

Benefit #2: High-profile accounts follow you back

I follow a couple of well-known public figures on social media. This includes athletes, entrepreneurs, journalists and everything else in between. I specifically like reading people’s posts and watching their stories. When a verified account likes a post or watches someone’s stories, it stands out significantly.

This is enough to cause the high-profile account I’m following to check out my page and eventually follow me back. I noticed this benefit by accident after four high-profile verified accounts followed me back out of the blue within the span of a week.

This could be very valuable for networking.

Related: Trying to Get Verified on Social Media? Here’s What You Need to Know.

Benefit #3: Increased credibility and authority

I already had enough credibility on my Instagram account without having the blue checkmark next to my name. I built this credibility through the accumulated press, showcasing my accomplishments and customer case studies. However, having the blue check next to my name was the icing on the cake and helped put everything together. The blue check has a way of causing others to perceive you as someone with both credibility and authority.

Benefit #4: It’s easier to close on high-profile individuals

I recently attended an event where a high-profile, motivational speaker was talking on stage. Halfway through his talk, I got the idea to approach him afterward and offered to help him write his book. At the end of the event, I managed to cross paths with him and speak with him for a bit. At the right moment, I presented my offer of helping him write his book. He was slightly interested, but his interest took off once I showed him my Instagram account and the book I was writing.

Once he saw my page, his excitement went through the roof, and I got a meeting booked through his assistant the next day.

Related: How I Got Verified on Instagram Without Being Famous | Entrepreneur

Benefit #5: Reduced flakes and no-shows

Not only have I noticed this within business, but I have also noticed it within dating — the amount of flakes and no-shows I receive has gone down. I’m unsure if this directly correlates to getting verified on Instagram, but I have noticed that people have started to value me and my time more seriously.

It is a great way to decrease your flakes and no-shows dramatically. Being verified is just the icing on the cake that indicates that you’re in demand.

In reality, being verified on Instagram means nothing. When I first got the blue checkmark, I honestly felt so empty. But when you combine the blue badge with your purpose, it does something to your self-esteem. It can make you feel like you’re already a rockstar or you already have a million or billion-dollar business.

Now, you don’t want this to go to your head to where you’re living delusionally, but I noticed it helps with pushing harder to reach your dreams and reassuring you that you can do hard things.

If you think getting verified on Instagram will be worth it, I’d highly recommend attempting it. You’d be surprised at the opportunities it brings and the doors it opens up.

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Dejon Brooks

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May 11, 2023
Why Social Media Agencies are Still Worth It | Entrepreneur

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Social media is a part of our everyday lives. In the past decade, it has taken over much of our time, from scrolling through the posts of family and friends to meeting new people and engaging with the world around us. But as we all know, social media is also the crux of the evolving online business world. As a business owner and operator, you know that marketing is essential for keeping your business afloat. Combining the two and staying up to date with where social media is going is critical.

Why is social media marketing so important?

Social media marketing is all about imparting your business’s influence on the consumer world. Content sharing, whether through photo, microblogging or video, is paramount to engaging with your current and potential clients. Social media provides a unique opportunity for clients to share your content with others, drawing more people towards your goods and services organically and through targeted advertising. Customer data reports are easier to collect online, meaning you can get more insight into your target audience, purchasing trends in your business and consumer activity at large so your business can stay relevant.

Related: 8 Must-Have Social Media Marketing Tools For 2023

Why do you need a social media marketing agency?

Running social media takes a lot of time, energy and a specific set of skills that might not apply to every business owner. Rather than devote the time you could spend on your own craft set to social media, you can let a social media marketing (SMM) agency handle that for you. This means you and your company will have a more productive and profitable time in the day to work on what you love rather than what needs to be done to promote your business. Social media can also be unwieldy, so getting a professional in the field can help you and your business keep up with the best practices and get the biggest bang for your buck.

What makes a good social media marketing agency?

The baseline of hiring a social media marketing agency is having someone who will manage and post on your company/business’s social media accounts. This already sounds great, but this should not be where their aid ends. It should be where it starts. After all, literally, anyone can post anything online. What is important is catering to their strategy and combining it with other strategies to your business’s unique social media needs to bolster the purchase of your goods and services.

1. Search engine optimization

The social media marketing agency should post your photos, tweets and videos and include keywords to optimize consumer engagement. Agencies prioritizing SEO will be much more effective in getting people to see your content, no matter the social media platform.

Related: 5 Ways to Change SEO Strategies in an AI Search Engine World

2. Content-based engagement

An excellent social media marketing agency should prioritize creating good content that targets a specific audience. SMM (social media marketing) presents the unique opportunity to engage with and create a community around your goods and services in real-time. This means that you need content that engages customers and community members who already follow your business, as well as potential new clients. Your SMM agency should be able to create or collaborate with you to create content that will draw your intended audience in again and again.

3. A great production team

Not every SMM agency will provide you with a production team for graphic and video content. This is inherently troubling, as visual content is the crux of most social media, including TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. If an SMM agency is meant to save you time and money, leaving the creation of visuals up to you or a third party feels entirely unhelpful.

Keeping the ethos of your company in mind while choosing an agency is important. You want to feel like you are seen and appreciated by the agency you choose. Your agency is there to help you and work as a collaborator to further your business, not an entity with complete control over how your business is perceived. Social media marketing should be an extension of your business and, subsequently, your mission!

We hope this has inspired you to take the social media plunge. With the right team behind you, there is nothing you can’t accomplish!

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Morissa Schwartz

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April 3, 2023
3 TikTok Trends Brands Must Pay Attention To | Entrepreneur

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While there are mixed opinions about TikTok, there is no denying that it has earned a place among the top social media channels. Trends on TikTok shift quickly, but agile content creators can make money from their profiles.

Not only was TikTok the most downloaded app in 2022, but also kids spent 62% more time watching TikTok videos than they did YouTube. In addition, it’s noteworthy that Gen Z is the app’s largest demographic, with at least 45 million users in that age range accessing TikTok at least once per month.

At its current growth rate, TikTok has already surpassed Instagram in popularity and will also outstrip Snapchat. This means it’s essential for brands, content creators and marketers to stay on top of TikTok trends to monetize the roughly 95 minutes a day that the average TikTok user spends watching videos.

Here are a few trends to pay attention to:

Related: Looking for New Ecommerce Customers? TikTok Might Be the Best Place to Start.

1. The platform is becoming a sales hub for both brands and influencers

Research from ConvertSocial has found that sales through TikTok’s platform have increased by nearly 400%. One part of this massive surge in sales is because influencers are taking full advantage of advertising and sales opportunities, mainly where affiliate marketing and paid partnerships are concerned.

Additionally, small businesses have also jumped on TikTok as a way to actively establish sales chains that are targeted to younger audiences. These small businesses are creating strong presences, developing their brand identity based on what appeals to these younger users and leveraging that to expand their customer base.

One of the most important factors surrounding this impressive sales growth is that its primary user base has now aged into a bracket where it has considerable spending power. The 10-19 range makes up 32.5% of TikTok’s users, while those aged 20-39 comprise just under 46% of active users. This translates to more purchasing power and a greater interest in products and services with a higher ticket value.

Related: 5 Ways That Gen Z Differs from Millennials That You Must Take Into Account When Promoting Your Business

2. Over half of TikTok’s users are women with substantial purchasing power

In a Statista survey as of January 2023, roughly 54% of the global TikTok user base identifies as female. With over a billion users and 670 million downloads in 2022, this is a huge market that most brands are leaving largely untapped.

Believe it or not, only about 18% of marketers fully utilize TikTok as an advertising channel. However, there is an impressive pool of talented social media influencers on the platform who are willing to collaborate with brands to launch successful marketing campaigns, so marketers need to start taking TikTok more seriously to generate revenue.

When you add that women either control or influence at least 85% of consumer spending and account for about $10 trillion of U.S. financial assets, brands should pay attention to what female TikTok consumers are interested in buying.

3. TikTok monetization has yet to hit the saturation point for influencers

Content creators and influencers are well-versed in using platforms like Instagram and YouTube for affiliate marketing and creating a sales funnel. These monetization methods have been done to death via webinars, blog posts, courses and how-to articles.

However, the same is not true for TikTok, partly because it is still a relatively new phenomenon and partly because influencers’ methods to make money are more complex than those of Instagram or YouTube.

For instance, most creators must either heavily promote their affiliate codes or frequently change a link in their profile to keep up with what they’re selling. On other platforms, there are more opportunities to place a clickable link somewhere, which makes the selling process more manageable.

This dovetails with another trend: brand partnerships. Recent ConvertSocial data shows that TikTok bloggers’ income from brand partnerships has grown by 58% in the past year, which proves that the platform’s influencers are figuring out that utilizing the power of a brand alongside traditional affiliate marketing mechanics is a winning strategy for them.

Related: Taco Bell Just Premiered ‘Mexican Pizza: The Musical’ on Tik Tok, Starring Dolly Parton and Doja Cat

Here’s the forecast for TikTok’s marketing prospects

In 2023, one of the best things a brand can do is take TikTok more seriously regarding its audience’s spending power. Most TikTok users can pay for goods and services they see on the platform, so brands can and should leverage this as a lucrative sales channel.

However, it would also be irresponsible not to mention the concerns about certain regulatory risks that some governments, particularly the United States, have raised because TikTok is a Chinese creation owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance. While this has yet to stop over a billion people worldwide from using the app, it is a good idea for companies to capitalize on TikTok’s popularity with eyes wide open and plenty of protections in place.

Overall, TikTok’s popularity is slated to continue its impressive rise, and the revenue-generating opportunities look pretty positive for the coming year. As the platform releases new advertising tools, influencers gain a stronger grasp of marketing mechanics, and more brands begin entering the space; tremendous opportunities await.

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Ksana Liapkova

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March 3, 2023
5 Lessons to Learn From the Social Media Tactics of Museums | Entrepreneur

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

In the 21^st century, social media is an essential tool that can be used to promote a brand or business and create and foster a community. This is especially true for the art world, which is often accused of being too elitist and out of reach. What if social media — specifically, hashtags and TikTok videos — were the key to making art institutions more widely accessible? And how can entrepreneurs and startups use these tactics to their advantage?

1. Create your own unique thematic hashtag and invite your audience to contribute

Some institutions are ahead of the game regarding social media tactics and generating engagement online. You’ve probably seen the #mygirlwithapearl hashtag floating around. This campaign was created by the Mauritshuis in The Hague when its most famous artwork, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, left for an eight-week exhibit in Amsterdam. The concept is pretty simple: the museum is soliciting new versions of the painting from the public, which will be exhibited as a stand-in for the famed painting. It’s open to everyone, and all materials are permitted. This creative opportunity has attracted over 4900 entries skyrocketing in terms of reach.

The museum cleverly took advantage of a less-than-ideal situation (its most famous painting being absent for two months) and used it to generate engagement and publicity. If they can, so can you.

Related: Learn How to Expand Your Social Media Following with Hashtags

2. Make those videos and make them short, sweet, and fun

Another museum generating tons of engagement on social media is the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Despite being one of the most respected art institutions in the United Kingdom, the museum doesn’t take itself seriously on social media, especially on TikTok. The V&A’s social media team has adopted a daring, hilarious and irreverent approach to its collections, sharing short, informal videos perfectly packaged for the Gen Z sense of humor.

One video is notoriously entitled “Bums of the V&A” and takes viewers through the museum, showcasing the best bums of the institution’s numerous statues. This specific video has almost 40k likes. The museum’s TikTok account has a staggering 81k followers and over 2.3 million likes in total.

3. Maximize your content opportunities: Show behind the scenes!

Similarly, the Prado in Madrid has over 400k followers on TikTok. The museum mostly posts behind-the-scenes videos, as well as short educational clips. It has amassed over 3.8 million likes. Museum staff, such as curators and conservators, appear in videos, answering questions or simply showcasing their skills. The fact that the museum has managed to create such a huge community and generate so much engagement is incredible, especially since its videos are mainly in Spanish. This proves the power of social media when it comes to connecting a museum with its public, and the same for any business.

Related: 9 Tips To Grow Your Small Business With Social Media Marketing

4. Create memes and post more pets (Yes, it works on business accounts too!)

There aren’t that many museums taking advantage of the power of social media. When they do, however, the numbers are incredible. Take the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), for example. The museum launched a #DogsOfLACMA campaign, which features pictures of visitors and their dogs in the museum’s outdoor areas. This has prompted visitors to submit their own pictures by adding the hashtag, generating great engagement for the museum.

LACMA currently has 873k followers on Instagram, and the #DogsOfLACMA hashtag has been used over 1,400 times. The LACMA social media accounts are also notable for using memes featuring artworks housed in the museum. One Instagram post, which reads “me risking my whole career and future for 5 more minutes of sleep” over Mallet’s Venus and a Sleeping Cupid (1810), has amassed over 12k likes. Their “meme” posts are more liked than the more regular photographs featuring works from their collection – by far.

Related: It’s Time to Take Memes Seriously. 5 Strategies To Incorporating Memes in Your Marketing Strategy.

5. Make those reels!

A final example is New York City’s MOMA, the world’s most-followed museum on social media, with over 5 million followers on Instagram alone. This number is rather staggering. However, the MOMA’s engagement rate is actually pretty low. Likes stagnate in the low thousands, which is not much for an account with over 5 million followers. The posts that generate the most engagement tend to be reels. This shows that the more personal your posts are, the more engagement you will have. This goes for any industry or business. Posting sterile color-coded pictures might look great on your feed but will not drive engagement and build a community. To actually start connecting with people on social media, letting your personality, originality, and sense of humor shine through is the way to go.

Perhaps it is controversial for official art institutions like the V&A and LACMA to post art memes, but these tactics work. Memes are relatable, funny and more likely to be reshared than other posts. The best way for museums to create engagement on social media platforms is to adopt an informal tone to become relevant while remaining educational. Similar to those historical institutions, new companies in the cultural field need to try out being more creative and less traditional on social to stay authentic and connected to their audiences.

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Christina Chara Ioannou

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March 3, 2023
How Leaders Should Be Using Social Media in a Downturn | Entrepreneur

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Earlier this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shared a difficult announcement with his team: in response to economic challenges, 5% of Microsoft’s workforce — an estimated 10,000 employees — would be losing their jobs.

Just a few days later, Nadella shared news of a very different kind with his 10 million LinkedIn followers — the revolutionary new AI tool, ChatGPT, would officially be coming to the Microsoft platform. That update went viral, garnering more than 100,000 likes and thousands of reshares as enthusiastic followers celebrated Microsoft’s partnership with the game-changing AI technology.

In the process, Nadella illustrated one of the most important principles of digital leadership in a downturn — whatever you do, don’t go dark. For businesses of all sizes, keeping up a steady flow of news and information on social media can be crucial to sustaining forward momentum.

Related: Why CEOs Need to Embrace Social Media (and How to Do it)

Having a strong digital presence on social media is no longer an option for leaders. Employees, investors, customers and stakeholders increasingly expect to hear from leadership on social media. By a four-to-one ratio, employees prefer to work for a CEO who’s active on social media, according to Brunswick Group’s Connected Leadership report — and financial readers and investors are much more likely to trust a connected leader.

For leaders in crisis mode, however, it’s tempting to recede from the public eye. Mission-critical work and tough decisions demand your attention. Posting on social media risks opening you and your company up to public scrutiny and criticism. But by going silent on digital channels, you’re missing out on the opportunity to demonstrate strong leadership and provide a human face and voice during difficult times.

Granted, navigating the complex and chaotic landscape of social media is no easy feat against the backdrop of a downturn. Here are five tips from recognized leaders who excel at digital communication, to help inspire and guide your social media efforts:

Boost your team up

During periods of economic turbulence, employees aren’t immune to stress. Concerns about job security and economic prospects can conspire to weigh down morale and culture. Recent surveys show that almost the entire workforce has been worried about job security since recession talks started last year. Showing recognition is a tried and true way to keep morale up and has a massive boost on business outcomes.

Brian Scudamore, world-famous founder of trash removal service, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, gets it. In a recent LinkedIn post, he emphatically commends two employees for their positive contributions to the company’s culture. What especially works about the post is that it’s authentic — his words are genuine and caring, and the selfie is an effective personal touch.

It’s not hard to offer some recognition, and it goes a long way toward keeping your team engaged. What’s critical is that the praise be specific and heartfelt, rather than an anonymous pat on the back.

Related: 4 Reasons LinkedIn Has Become Indispensable to Business Leaders

Don’t sugarcoat

It’s natural for leaders to want to convey resilience and steadiness in the face of adversity. But people and employees will see through that if it comes at the cost of honesty and vulnerability. Indeed, research illustrates that most employees don’t trust CEOs, and obscuring the truth can actually be detrimental to morale. Being truthful, even when the news isn’t good, will pay off.

It’s a tricky balance to strike, but PayPal CEO Dan Schulman pulls it off in this New Year post. He’s honest about the challenges his company, like many others, faced last year — inflation, global instability and tensions around how, where and why we work — but he keeps the focus on successes and positive sentiments. The result is a genuine and energizing message.

Keep the lights on

It’s obvious, but worth reiterating: One of the worst ways to communicate is to not communicate at all. In the absence of information from leadership, customers, employees and investors will develop their own narratives and often presume the worst. This effect can be magnified if an otherwise socially active leader abruptly cuts off communication.

Sustaining a line of communication — even (especially) when things are bad — ultimately builds trust. Serial entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den Dragon Michele Romanow illustrated this principle recently in announcing the difficult decision to resign from the CEO role at the company she founded. By sharing this news openly on LinkedIn, Romanow was able to offer a clear explanation for the move and also reassure investors and customers that the company was well-positioned going forward.

Stand for something bigger

The impact of a downturn reverberates beyond just you and your company. Families face challenges making ends meet. Municipalities find their budgets stretched thin. Existing social and economic disparities are magnified.

For leaders, acknowledging these challenges on social media and showing a commitment to making a difference can be critical. Corporate social responsibility shouldn’t recede into the background simply because the economy has slowed. Goldman Sachs’ CEO David Solomon shows this principle in practice, regularly posting about progress in protecting marriage rights, for example, while also advocating for charities to address poverty in the face of a downturn.

Importantly, however, this can’t simply be lip service. In the absence of concrete action, even good-intentioned leaders risk facing blowback from trolls and critics.

Related: How to Become an Authentic Leader in the Digital Era

Find ways to add value

The most effective digital leaders understand a crucial principle of social media: It only works if you give more than you take. You shouldn’t only be sharing updates about yourself and your company. You should be adding value to your feeds, too. During a downturn, when your followers’ time, energy and resources are stretched thin, this is especially important.

Smart digital leaders are experts at sharing engaging and useful content that still relates to their work. For example, founder and CEO of IFundWomen, Karen Cahn, spotlights BIPOC entrepreneurs and women in business for people invested in these communities. She diversifies her content with video, which offers a quick and immersive way to absorb ideas on the go.

Strong leaders know to avoid a communications vacuum — especially during a downturn. Actively sharing your story is the surest way to preempt gossip and misinformation. Ultimately, leaders who avoid the knee-jerk reaction to “go dark” in a crisis are often best positioned to retain trust with employees, customers and key stakeholders over the long haul.

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Remy Scalza

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March 2, 2023
The 5 Steps of Competitive Analysis On Social Media
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Competitive analysis is an analysis of who your potential competitors are, what marketing activities they do and what results their campaigns get. It is a crucial part of the groundwork done by every business hoping to stand out and sell well.

When doing detailed social media competitor analysis, people usually start with the number of followers, content assessment and the level of engagement. After this, they should go deeper into the social listening stats.

With social media competitive analysis tools, you can reveal:
- Competitors’ online visibility and brand recognition 
- Real-user feedback on products and services
- Customer insights
- Influencers and mass media
This is a simplified version of a multi-layer process. Knowing your competition lets you perfect your unique value proposition, develop best-selling products, improve your marketing strategy and identify new market segments when done right.

When done via social listening, competitor analysis is not only doable but also worth doing, even if you’re going for it on top of your daily tasks. 

Let’s walk through competitor analysis with the help of a social media competitive analysis tool, one step at a time.

Related: 3 Reasons Why I Gladly Welcome Competition

Step 1: Pick competitors and start monitoring

While this might seem self-evident, picking the right competitors to benchmark yourself against is a task of its own. If you’re thinking big and want to conduct comprehensive market research, you need every name of the competitive brand on the list. Big and small, well-established and new to your industry. 

For more customizable competitive analysis, you’ll need direct competitors only, preferably a company list of comparable size.  As soon as you are ready with the lineup, jump to a tool. We need to set up mentions in a monitoring tool to start tracking. You’ll need to put in your brand name as well as your competitor brand names; you can use Awario for it or try other similar tools.

When you set up your alerts, give the tool some time, and it’ll pick up recent mentions as well as some historical data — this way you’ll be able to do an initial analysis. The more information you have, the more thorough your competitor analysis will be.

Related: Five Reasons Small Organisations Should Invest in Social Listening

Step 2: Go through basic social listening stats

Once the tool has collected data, you can visit the dashboard and look at the analytics.

Mentions and reach

The mentions and reach metrics will show you how much weight each of your competitors’ accounts has on social media platforms. The buzz a name generates corresponds to brand recognition and overall visibility.

In social listening terms, measuring share of voice — the number of times a brand is mentioned on the web and in social media posts vs. the number of times competitor brands are mentioned — is the closest to measuring market share. 

Countries and languages

The countries and languages sections will give you an idea of the geographical distribution of mentions. Depending on the markets you operate in, you can check specific locations to see if any market segments are overlooked and underserved by business competitors. You can see how the competition spreads and analyze what that means.

Age and gender

These sections show who mentions your brand most and reveal the age of people that post messages on the web about your company. It helps you to meet your target audience.

Sources

Next is sources —the distribution of the buzz among social networks and the web. This is an important metric that shows where the mentions come from, platform by platform. More often than not, there are unexpected insights into how well content competitors create, how their advertising is performing across social networks, and how much buzz is coming from the web and news. 

Related: Don’t Use The Same SEO Playbook As Your Competitors. Use These 3 SEO Tactics Instead.

Step 3: Dive into mentions

The mentions feed is the storage of all the mentions collected by the tool.

Here, you can access raw data and filter it in the way that serves you best. Say you noticed a spike in mentions of your competitor, and you know that most of them appeared on Twitter. Therefore, you want to do Twitter analytics and pull the influencers who have talked about the brand in the last month. Go ahead and apply the filters.

Meet the influencers

Influencers are the biggest drivers of brand visibility. When applied wisely in social media management, influencer marketing is an effective and often free tool used to generate engagement and build that genuine brand-to-customer connection other forms of marketing may fail at.

Exploring influencers working with your competitors is made easy with competitive analysis tools. First, you can filter mentions by reach to find the most influential people who’ve talked about competitor brands. This way, you discover significant and minor influencers as you go through the mentions sorted by Reach. 

Related: Influencer Marketing 101: A Blueprint for Running a Successful Campaign

Step 4: Explore social listening reports 

It’s a shortcut to the insights social media competitor analysis tools uncovered. For a marketer, reports offer an overview of all the metrics discussed in this guide. With them, you can measure competitive performance on social media in detail.

Compare brands and get back-to-back performance reviews by:
1. Share of voice
2. Counties and languages
3. Sentiment
4. Topic Cloud
5. Top mentions
6. Age and gender
7. Influencers
8. Sources
Step 5: Sit back and feel proud of the work well done!

Good job! We’ve come a long 5-step way, having reviewed primary social listening stats and analytics.

You can try various solutions for analyzing your competitors. The metrics I mentioned are available in most of them. Some social media competitive analysis tools provide integrations with other marketing apps like scheduling posts or template-creating ones.

Please use this guide as a roadmap for future social media competitive analysis. Remember: the longer you track mentions, the more insightful and comprehensive your analysis gets. 
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Aleh Barysevich

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December 22, 2022
3 Ways to Build an Online Presence With Social Media

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The internet has changed business almost beyond recognition. Gone are the days when business cards, a listing in the yellow pages and well-considered display advertising were needed to establish a presence with potential customers. In the 21st century, digital marketing has replaced many traditional marketing activities. Social media networks are among the most effective channels for establishing an online presence.

The importance of social media for your company’s online presence

Since the advent of the world wide web in the 1990s, having an online presence has become all but a requirement for successful businesses. Customers look for products and services online, and many have become accustomed to online shopping. Granted, there may be some local businesses that manage to attract customers by word-of-mouth only, but most companies rely on online connections.

For the first decade and a half of the internet’s existence for the public, building an online presence relied on creating a company website and perhaps using email marketing. Since then, digital marketing has grown and diversified, with social media networks becoming one of the most important marketing tools. Being visible on social media allows brands to connect directly to consumers and establish trust between a business and its potential customers.

In addition, leading social media networks offer marketing tools explicitly designed to help brands connect to their audiences. By 2021, more than 90% of U.S. businesses with more than 100 employees were using these tools for social media marketing. However, your brand can be small to benefit from an online presence. Most social media marketing tools will scale up or down to accommodate companies of all sizes.

Related: How to Make Social Media Marketing Effective for Your Brand

Building a successful online presence

Building a successful, effective online presence on social media requires a strategic approach [perhaps link to the previous article here]. Before going into detail, it is worth defining what we mean by social media presence. The term refers to a brand’s social media visibility and its audience connections.

Three main pillars to help establish this presence are branding, public relations (PR) and digital marketing. For all three, a strategic, well-planned approach delivers the best results. Simply adding a post now and then is not enough to establish a recognizable presence or build lasting connections with your target audiences.

Related: Why Effective Content Marketing Will Transform Your Social Media

1. Branding for social media presence

By the time they start building their online presence, most businesses have created a brand identity and developed a strategy for branding. If that is the case for your business, your brand must remain recognizable on social media.

The company’s brand voice and aesthetic should be easily identifiable across all digital and analog marketing channels. In practice, that means a social media user scrolling through their feed should be able to recognize your posts without seeing your brand logo or your account handle.

Aligning brand messages between all channels helps reinforce and strengthen them. Alignment also helps build trust and credibility with potential consumers. On the other hand, if your brand voice, messages and visual presentation differ between outlets, the differences will create confusion. They dilute the brand’s messaging and damage the credibility you are trying to build online.

2. Public relations (PR)

Strategic PR is another channel brands can use to engage their audiences. Public relations has traditionally relied on media outlets to disseminate brand messages.

However, by using social media, brands can reach audiences — including journalists — directly and start a conversation. If the conversation is relevant to other audiences, social media platforms make sharing content easy and increase its reach. As a result, new audiences become aware of the brand, leading to a greater social media presence.

Another way of leveraging PR to increase a brand’s online presence is by contributing to other media outlets as an expert guest or regular contributor and linking to your brand’s social media channels.

Related: What’s Hot and What’s Not in Public Relations for 2023

3. Using digital marketing to increase your social media presence

Brands with a successful social network presence utilize all their digital marketing channels to build that presence. These synergies between marketing activities do not happen automatically. They must be written into your digital marketing and social media marketing strategy.

In practice, your marketing and brand team must actively pursue opportunities to highlight your social media presence and drive engagement. Here is an example: if your brand has been using email marketing successfully to connect to consumers, encourage readers to connect to you on social media. They benefit by establishing a more immediate and direct connection if they need support — your brand benefits by being able to connect more frequently.

Other digital marketing channels like blogs can elaborate on a topic introduced on social media and encourage readers to join your brand’s community on a specific channel. The key to using other digital marketing channels to support your social network presence is to create connections between your brand’s channels.

Related: How to Build on Your Digital Marketing Momentum in 2023

Consistency matters

Building a successful online presence through social media networks requires a consistent and strategic approach. Utilizing existing digital marketing channels and ensuring close alignment with the company’s overall branding supports a growing social media presence. In addition, strategic PR activities can also increase a brand’s social media presence across all its channels. Delivering consistent, relevant content that aligns with overall brand objectives is the key to growing and maintaining an engaged social network audience.

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Jessica Wong

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December 22, 2022
How Online Journaling Helped Me Get 10k Instagram Followers

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Growing up, I always loved writing. Writing allowed me to express my thoughts and ideas. It was also a great avenue to vent my frustrations. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve always kept a private journal. I struggle with journaling on a daily basis, so I would always update my private journal every six months. It wasn’t until I started my software company, Trend Watchers, that I decided to hop on the #buildinginpublic trend.

Building in public is where you document yourself starting a company from scratch. When documenting your journey, you are supposed to showcase the good, bad and ugly days.
Most people build in public on Twitter, but I decided to do it on Instagram. To start, I decided to delete my account and start from scratch.

Related: How Journaling Can Make You a Better Entrepreneur and Leader

How journaling online grew my Instagram following

At first, I documented my journey through Instagram posts only. I would create a minimalistic graphic on Canva and would max out my Instagram caption, sharing whatever lesson I learned that week.

The thing that makes my Instagram posts so unique is my wide variety of topics.
One week, I’ll write about a lesson I learned from conducting business, another week I’ll write about a lesson I learned from dating, and so forth. There is no way to predict what I will write next. Even I have no idea what topic I’m going to be writing about beforehand.

My posts are 100% based on inspiration. This makes my posts even more unique to where people want to share and read my posts. I started seeing growth on my page after I started posting pictures of myself to go along with the maxed-out caption.

Growing up, I never took photos of myself. When I try to look back, I can only find the photos my parents took of me. I never took any of myself. To change this, I decided to post high-quality pictures of myself with each post that goes up. After doing this for over a year, I’m able to look back at my life with gratitude and can tell you exactly what was going on based on the photo I’m looking at.

Instagram also likes it when you show your face. It makes you appear more human. I noticed my engagement jump up by 50% when I started adding photos of myself. This organic engagement boost combined with sharing my story with the Trend Watchers customer list helped me make my way to 10,000+ followers. When I first started the page, I had no idea it would make it this far, but by building in public, I have earned the following:

Related: 7 Ways to Grow Your Instagram Without Buying Followers

1. Networking opportunities

To get the most out of networking online, it is important to have your profile well put together. Once it is well optimized, start following key people within your industry.

One of my favorite tactics is to follow professionals I meet in person and have them follow me back. I also keep my Instagram stories up showcasing my life, and usually by doing this, they will remember me. Some of these relationships go nowhere, but now and then, an opportunity will come through.

2. Dating opportunities

About 2-3 times a month, someone will slide in my DMs. Most of the time, I’ll take these girls out on a first get-to-know-you date, and the conversations are just amazing. Most of the time, they have the same energy as me, and it’s refreshing to be around someone that has a growth mindset. Whether your intention is dating or not, building an Instagram following the way that I have can help you meet new people and build meaningful relationships.

3. Customer acquisition channels

My Instagram page also serves as a way for me to acquire new customers. If I’m selling high-ticket, I’ll have them follow me on Instagram to further build trust. They can scroll through my posts, learn more about me and see that I am authentic and credible. This often makes closing the sale a breeze.

4. Amazing friendships

Women are not the only ones sliding in my DMS. Every once in a while, guys will as well. Most of these people are not serious, but now and then I’ll come across someone who is. We’ll end up talking, and before you know it, we are great friends talking about issues both in our business and personal life. This is probably one of my favorite benefits of documenting my journey online.

When I decided to start documenting my journey on Instagram, I did it for fun. I love having my own personal databases/journals that I can always look back on and go through. Little did I know, my public journal would gain momentum and start touching lives all over the world. Not only is it touching lives, but it is starting to open up doors in all directions that I could have never imagined.

Related: 4 Ways Documenting the Journey Has Become More Popular Than Celebrating the Outcome

If you are passionate about writing or keeping a journal, I’d highly recommend documenting your journey online. You’d be surprised by the people you’ll touch and the opportunities that will come your way.

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Dejon Brooks

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November 4, 2022
Hesitant to Use Social Media for Your Business? Here’s What You’re Missing Out On.

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Building an authentic brand through attractive marketing is essential to the success of any business. Social media plays an important role in your marketing strategy. It is one of my favorite topics to talk to business owners about because it is a simple way to step into the life you’ve been dreaming of.

As an entrepreneur bootstrapping your way to success, your resources are limited. You can funnel time and money into old-school marketing, with its one-dimensional message and limited reach, or you can showcase your dynamic personality in front of your target audience by building an online presence. A world of opportunities suddenly becomes closer than you imagined possible.

You might be hesitant to use social media for your business. The thought of making videos or dancing to the latest trending song makes you roll your eyes a little. There’s already a lot on your plate, and you can’t imagine how adding this to your growing to-do list will benefit you. Besides, isn’t social media just meant for entertainment?

The answer is yes … but that’s perfect for your business.

Related: The Business of Harnessing the Power of Social Media

Connect with your audience

Most people run to social media to escape life for a hot second and dive into a world that’s a little more fun. The great news is that you can leverage the users’ intent for your own brand benefit by creating content that is fun and exciting to watch. The content should be on-brand for your company but also infuse an energy that captivates the audience in a fun way so they can get educated on what it is you do without getting bored and scrolling away forever.

Just as with any other aspect of your business, to be successful on social media you must be genuine. It’s not about making up a phony persona based on what you think people what to see. Trending dances make quick entertainment, but if that doesn’t speak of your brand message and showcase your true self, then don’t waste your time. People want to connect with people they know, like and trust. Build that first, and the business opportunities will follow. That’s where the gold lies for entrepreneurs.

Related: 3 Tips for Building Your Personal Brand on Social Media

What kind of content should you post?

Be intentional with your message on social platforms. Take the time to really build out content that is thoughtful and aligns with your brand values. Even thread some personal content in about your goals, mistakes and life behind the scenes to help your audience see who you really are and what you (and therefore your brand) stand for.

If the thought of making a plan seems overwhelming, just know this: I didn’t have a plan when I first started posting on social media, I just got started. Imperfect action is better than no action at all. I did what felt right, wrote from the heart each morning and started out just posting more about my personal life until my brand message became more dialed in. I shared my yoga journey and wasn’t afraid to get a little silly sometimes. Then I threaded in some messaging about my new business ventures. I was surprised at the positive response. People were interested in what I was doing and began asking questions about how they could work with me.

My followers connected with me because they recognized similarities to their own lives or watched me achieve goals they also wanted for themselves. They began cheering me on, thanking me for sharing my knowledge and wanting to know how they could achieve their own goals. My confidence grew as I got more dialed in on my path. It lit me up to have such a positive impact on people by showing up as myself.

Related: Social Media Engagement Is Where the Magic Happens for Your Business

Be yourself

Energy is contagious! When people see you doing what you love, they want to be a part of it. Let them lean into you by seeing who you are and understanding what you do. Be you. Talk about what you do and who you are. Keep in mind that it’s not all about making a sale or getting a client. Connect with others without pitching to them. Don’t be afraid to share your genius, it could spark something amazing in yourself and others. The more you lean into people, the more they will lean into you. So, share who you are and what you know without the expectation of a sale, and I guarantee that is exactly how you’ll get more of what you are looking for: Customers who are really excited about and aligned with your brand!

One last thing: When you start your posting journey on social media, don’t get caught up in the popularity contest. You aren’t there to be popular; you are there to build brand awareness. There are always eyes on you even if your posts aren’t racking up likes or comments, so lead by example. Inspire people by showing them the possibilities. But don’t be afraid to post about the “messy middle,” too. Showing your low moments gives others hope because they see that winners face challenges too. You’ll make connections and open yourself to new opportunities with your willingness to show your vulnerability.

It’s a big world out there. Seizing opportunities created by the aligned connections I’ve developed through social media has allowed me to expand beyond what I thought was possible. Not just in my business, but in my life!

You’re not going to go from zero posts to a viral or verified (blue tik) account in a month. Building a personal brand takes time, but it won’t happen until you get started. If you’re hesitant to use social platforms to build your business, go slowly at first to establish a habit. Think about what excites you. Commit to posting once a day about something that really lights your fire. Once you’ve gained traction, keep expanding.

Show up as your genuine self to cut through the marketing noise. Your unique energy is the foundation to create a brand with the most meaningful impact. Give yourself the chance to shine, and watch the magic happen!

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Jessica Dennehy

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November 3, 2022
Transform Your Social Media Will These Content Marketing Practices

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Content marketing has become one of the mainstays of most brands’ digital marketing strategies. Relevant, relatable content draws users in and persuades them to visit a website, download an eBook or share their personal details. Social media channels are among the most popular outlets for content marketing across the U.S. But is your brand maximizing the power of your social media pages?

The rise of social media marketing

Over the last two decades, social media channels have transformed from platforms designed purely for entertainment and personal connections to powerful marketing tools. According to Statista, more than 90% of marketers in United States-based companies with 100 or more employees use social media as part of their content marketing strategy.

While the platforms had been designed to connect people to others, marketers quickly realized they were the perfect places to connect people to brands. At this time, more than 80% of the entire population of the United States has at least one social media networking profile, and social media usage continues to grow. Worldwide, more than four billion people are using social media channels.

Related: 10 Social-Media Marketing Strategies for Companies

As a result, content marketers cannot afford to ignore social media channels. The importance of this outlet is reflected in the marketing spend associated with social media. In 2021, U.S. marketers were expected to spend $17 billion on social media marketing. This marks an increase of ten billion compared to 2014.

This increase is a clear indicator of the growing importance of social media marketing. However, these digital marketing channels are not without challenges. Judging the effectiveness of content marketing on social media pages remains a concern for brands.

What makes social media content marketing effective?

Whether on social media or other channels, high-quality content marketing works by drawing an audience toward a brand. Rather than interrupting potential customers, as an advert would, great pieces of content solve a problem, offer users information they were looking for in a search query, or are otherwise helpful and relevant.

What effective content marketing on social media means in practice can vary from brand to brand. A compelling piece of content helps the brand achieve the goals set out in its content marketing strategy. Goals could include growing the subscriber numbers for a YouTube channel, generating white paper downloads, or increasing website traffic. If a brand’s content marketing helps achieve these targets, it is effective.

Related: 10 Laws of Social Media Marketing

Measuring effectiveness

Clearly defined, smart goals are a prerequisite of effective content marketing, but measuring effectiveness is equally important. For marketers, that means connecting pieces of content with outcomes and starting to isolate the factors that influence these outcomes.

Regarding social media marketing, many brands find that releasing content on specific days of the week or at set times influences their results. The reason is simple — consumers have preferred times for engaging with social media content. Without knowing what these times are, it is impossible to optimize campaigns for effectiveness. Measuring and reviewing the performance of each piece of content is critical.

How to improve the effectiveness of your social media content marketing

Timing content launches correctly is one aspect of improving the effectiveness of content marketing on social media. But there are several other factors that marketers can use to enhance the performance of their content marketing campaigns.

First and foremost, brands need to provide engaging content. Storytelling is one of the most effective ways of connecting with users and potential customers. Authentic stories touch their audience emotionally and build a deeper connection between brands and audiences than a simple list of facts can do. They also have the potential to inspire long-term customer loyalty.

The power of stories has been proven scientifically. By using storytelling to share a brand’s story, marketers are using one of humanity’s oldest traditions. Look closely, and it becomes obvious that the entire network of social media is built on the attraction between people and stories. Utilizing storytelling for content marketing is extremely useful to make a brand’s content marketing more effective.

Second, avoid focusing on your brand. This may sound wrong, but content marketing is not about what brand marketers try to promote. Instead, it is all about providing value for the audience. Marketers can provide value by sharing expertise or insights through their content. Focus on content only this brand can provide, and do not shy away from sharing opinions or viewpoints.

Related: 5 Steps to Creating a Killer Marketing Strategy

Third, it is important to be consistent in any content marketing efforts. When consumers or users choose to follow a brand, they are investing emotionally in that brand. With investment comes an expectation of a return on investment (ROI). Regular, relevant, helpful content that provides information not available anywhere else provides this kind of ROI.

Consistency applies to the regularity with which a brand publishes its content. Marketers must ensure their content creates a consistent image to establish a brand’s voice and values. Most brands have clearly defined brand values. The audiences of your content marketing should be able to recognize those principles through your content marketing on social media.

Fourth, remember that content includes more than words. Images, links, and videos are only three examples of media that can enrich a brand’s social media content marketing strategy and deliver stronger results.

Social media channels lend themselves to content marketing. These channels are excellent places to share brand stories, offer expertise and insights, and create a deeper connection with audiences. Measuring the effectiveness of existing social media content marketing is the first step toward increasing it through storytelling, focusing on the audience, being consistent, and enriching content.

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Jessica Wong

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October 13, 2022