5 Social Media Marketing Tips To Engage Your Audience

Social media has become a hub for advertising and marketing, brands are receiving mass amounts of engagement as well as being able to directly connect with their audience. The biggest attraction to social media marketing is the open environment that it offers. Brands can interact with their audience daily, on Instagram for example, posts and stories are direct attention grabbers.

Posting on your Instagram daily whether it be posts, reels, or stories, is a portion of their day that your audience dedicates to you every time you post. Think about that, your audience has a moment every day where they focus on you. Who wouldn’t take advantage of that? To get the best out of this opportunity, make sure it is something that will interest them and entice them to look more into what you offer. 

From the perspective of a consumer, brands with a strong social media presence are valuable and will receive the attention they deserve for the volume they produce. To put this statement in perspective, just over 70% of consumers agree that social media is a major driver of brand awareness. This statistic is just in America, social media gives outreach to countries all over the world, you can imagine how much higher this percentage is for that market.

If you want to make your organization appeal more to your audience, then I suggest you look at applying these 5 tips to improve your ability to do so.

Get Active With Responding

Brands always assume that the key to publicity is going viral and generating mass amounts of likes/views. While this is of course a great situation to be in if you’re fortunate, however, social media is a direct access point to engaging with your audience. This means brands tend to use social media as a megaphone when it’s meant to be a walkie-talkie. Get in the comments, respond to direct messages, this is a personal touch that shows the audience you care.

Develop a Personality

Brands engage in Twitter wars occasionally and it is incredibly entertaining. These reflect the personality of the brand, for example, you often see Wendy’s on Twitter being very sassy towards other brands. Or brands responding brutally honest to customer complaints in a funny way. These exchanges bring in a lot of traffic on Twitter and are yet another opportunity for your audience to focus on your brand for free. Now I’m not saying go on Twitter and start bashing other brands, but find a way to incorporate some witty comments that reflect characteristics for how you want to be perceived. 

Use Relevant and Trending Topics

Post about things going on (that are not political) for example if you are a catering service post on National Fettuccine Alfredo Day a picture of some Fettuccine Alfredo and a clever comment. Doing this not only draws attention to your services but also demonstrates that you are fun and in tune with the world. There's always something trending, use your creativity to find a way for these trends to work for you online. 

Use Appropriate Visuals

While you’re keeping up with relevant trends, using images that capture the message you are trying to send drives engagement through the roof. If you utilize your creativity and develop something that gets lots of shares, likes, or retweets, you are putting your brand in the spotlight. Develop something eye-catching or funny, something that will entice someone to say “oh my friends have to see this”. The same rule goes for promotions your brand may be having, if you are a shoe business and you’re having a back-to-school sale, incorporate something on campus. It is the little things that make a big difference, again it’s not about going viral, you simply want to communicate with your audience.

Ask For Feedback 

A sometimes overlooked aspect for brands on social media is being able to ask your audience for reviews and responding to them directly. Believe it or not, you can respond to the negative comments with positivity to show your audience that you care. Furthermore, this will benefit your brand's image by demonstrating that you engage with your audience and value feedback. Getting feedback will allow you to adjust your marketing strategies. You can find new perspectives from your audience and then tailor your approach as you go. 

Conclusion

Social media entails the same principle as the genuine relationships you have day-to-day. You are directly communicating with your audience, engaging in exchanges, and sharing a moment in your day with that individual. From a brand perspective, it is in your best interest to make as much of your audience satisfied as possible. It’s impossible to please everyone and there will be negativity, but you are still representing the brand, respond to situations with that in mind. Social media today creates opportunities that we never had 10-15 years ago. This form of communication and ability to connect with audiences is going to grow more over the coming years. Is your brand prepared to capitalize in this market?

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

Hiring in 2022: Overcoming The Virtual Shift

The past two years have imposed many obstacles for businesses adapting to the online shift of the pandemic. While this has become our new reality, companies are embracing this opportunity of being able to work from different locations. While some have been able to work from home, others have not been as fortunate.

Canada had a spike in unemployment rates at the start of the pandemic, and the country being shut down provided challenges for people to find work. These rates have dropped over recent times, but the shift to remote work may be something that is here to stay, making it worthwhile to learn about the trends of hiring remotely.

With millions of Canadians and over 70% of U.S workers doing their jobs from home, the majority of the North American market is now virtual. For a business to keep up with this shift, they need to ensure they are hiring individuals capable of operating in this new norm. Being unable to operate at the level expected will be detrimental to someone looking for a job in these times. Remote work requires the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively in an online setting. As a leader, you must be able to trust that your employees will be able to do so.

With so many people looking for jobs and some employees leaving their position for opportunities elsewhere or retiring because of the pandemic, your company will inevitably undergo online interviews. Online interviewing is not as formal as an in-person interview, yet remote hiring still requires you to look for all the qualities you would look for in an in-person interview.

Remember that even once you’ve hired someone, the online onboarding process will take time. It is important to use your emotional intelligence to assess the areas in which your employee will need the most coverage and attention. This major shift leads us to a point where we need to consider the hiring trends for this year. What can make your business stand apart in your talent acquisition?

Embrace Working Remotely

To get a sense of just how popular remote work is becoming, statistics show that almost 85% of employees find it extremely beneficial. This same study found more than half to admit they were more productive while working remotely. No matter what industry you’re in, competing this year will require your business to have a strong system for remote work. To operate this effectively, your company must have policies and training for employees to use these online platforms. Again, the onboarding process in this manner will be challenging. This is a major reason to have systems in place which relay the methods of operations to all employees.

When meeting with candidates, ask them their background with remote platforms or if they have any experience with the ones your organization uses. Another important focus point, you should pay attention to candidates' comfort being on camera. Working remotely will require individuals to be on camera for meetings, calls, presentations, whatever it may be, to ensure they can handle themselves on camera. While employees may be working in the comfort of their own domestic spaces, they are still representing the company with how they conduct themselves in the remote workplace.

DEI Initiatives

A workplace that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will not only benefit their public image but also stand out to those looking for jobs. It will be worthwhile to bring this up in an interview to see how the candidate understands DEI in the modern workplace. Someone who shares this support will boost morale in the online environment, making it easier for team members to collaborate.

Keep in mind, even though you may be operating your business online, employee satisfaction needs to be standard practice. Also, while you may be in the power seat of offering someone a job, there needs to be an attraction for candidates to want to join your team. This should entice any company to have DEI efforts, especially considering almost 80% of workers say it is important for them to work in an environment that promotes diversity and inclusion. High-quality employees come for a position that will make them feel comfortable and able to express themselves.

Hybrid Work Opportunities

One method to consider looking into is a hybrid work model, which combines a balance of office days and remote workdays. The benefit to this model is the flexibility it allows employees, contrary to the phrase being “cooped up in the office”. Hybrid work gives freedom to employees to increase their overall well-being which is important in a time when mental health is so commonly talked about.

As an employer, you want to make sure you are offering a position that will make employees feel excited about their jobs and not trapped in a position of discomfort. Many candidates today are looking for positions that promote work-life balance, if this is something your organization can provide, it will be a big driver in applicants. Employers will notice improvements in their teams' productivity as well, this model has shown benefits in employee engagement. 

Conclusion

As we are emerging from times of COVID-19, we are not leaving without changes that the pandemic left us with. Remote work is something that saved our economy, as well as the mental well-being for some. This put in perspective that employees don’t need to commute to an office to do work, they can be just as efficient from home. As a result, organizations can bring in talent from just about anywhere.

People are becoming more creative with what they can accomplish in this digitalized world. With the availability of being able to hire from just about anywhere, job candidates are becoming more in demand. The creativity we’ve seen accompanied by the digital shift is bringing out talent never seen before. If you are looking to hire someone like this, what can you offer?

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

Leadership Methods: Taking Control

Leadership is a privileged position to be in, apart from the day-to-day care that we show ourselves and the work we put in which makes us look good. In a leadership role, this attention is dispersed among the members of your team, you are included, but you have to be far more attentive. Leading people is not something just anyone can do, this is a role that takes mental toughness and real-life experience to carry out tasks based on a vision.

Leadership involves acting in the best interest of the group as a whole and tending to the needs of members of the team. This can be difficult, especially when there are members who aren’t pulling their weight or are falling behind. However, leadership is not a place for blame, you as the leader are responsible for any and everything that goes on within your operation. This is a testing position, it will require you to maintain a high level of emotional intelligence. With that being said, here are seven pieces of advice that can help you lead to the best of your ability.

1. Take Accountability, Don’t Look For Blame

When an issue arises, you need to take accountability for what went wrong. It’s easy to say “well this person didn’t do this” but what you need to say is “I didn’t prepare this person to handle this, let me change that”. If you point fingers at your team, they will start to lose interest in being led by you and the task at hand. Instead, use your emotional intelligence to assess where there is room for improvement and apply action.

2. You Set Your Standard

If an underperforming member remains in a position that is hurting your objective, this is your fault, not theirs. What you allow to happen is your standard, not what you would like to happen. Leaders all have ideals for the way their operation should run and they consider that to be their standard. Their actual standard is evident in the way their operation is running and the efforts they are taking to improve. In short, if you allow mediocrity on your team then your standards for results are mediocre.

3. Everyone Must Be All In

Communication is everything, it is crucial to communicate the reasoning behind tasks so that team members are invested to get it done. It is also important to communicate and handle issues as a team when they arise. When your team knows what is trying to be accomplished, their productivity improves. This all stems from communicating and ensuring that everyone knows what is expected of them. It also means that you must know what is expected of yourself as a leader. Again, you are responsible for the outcome, examine the areas of importance, and review them with your team.

4. The Task Must Be Easy To Understand, But That Doesn’t Make It Easy

It must be made sure that the members understand the plan as straightforward. However, this doesn’t mean that it will be a breeze to conduct. Members must be willing to endure the struggle associated with the task. 

5. Set Your Priorities

The to-do list will get long and stressful situations will arise, handling this properly will determine the productivity of your team. It is best to prioritize the most pressing tasks first and then complete the rest the same way. By doing this, you prevent multi-tasking, which is a killer to productivity and will only create more, unnecessary stress.

6. Give Team Members Responsibility

Over time, after credibility and communication skills have been established, trust your team members to make decisions. This will make them feel valued and demonstrate that you trust their judgment. Decentralizing authority will motivate your team and allow you to focus on other areas more closely. Giving your team members responsibility will allow them to improve and achieve more in their future endeavors. 

7. Build Self-Discipline

Every day is an opportunity to achieve, but every day provides challenges that can inhibit your effectiveness. Start the day with something you don’t want to do, wake up early, and don’t look at your phone for 30 minutes. Take that time to instead get a head start on the day as opposed to checking your socials. An act like this will demonstrate your self-control and allow you to carry that throughout the day. This will translate into your decision-making and productivity as the day progresses. Ultimately, put yourself in uncomfortable situations to grow and make yourself better, then use it to make the people around you better.

Conclusion

Good leaders can create amazing things in this world, more than that they can inspire people to better themselves and achieve. Having this impact is a privilege that is earned, not given, and takes very mentally equipped individuals. So whether you are the CEO of a company, the captain of a team, a teacher, or any sort of role model, you are paving the way for others. The results of which do not come from those you lead, they come from your ability to lead them.

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!