10 Steps on How to Create an Effective Content Calendar for Social Media

Handing over the ZBM blogging reigns today to the savvy gals at Fox Marketing, to share their thoughts on how to create an effective content calendar for social media.
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Social media marketing can be challenging for marketers and those who are into branding their products and businesses. Social media networking sites are filled with tons of information, therefore, social media strategy needs to be thoroughly planned and carefully executed.

The most common mistake that eager marketers commit is overlooking the significance of two important elements of the strategy: content and timing. Sometimes, they do have the content but the timing is totally out of place. Establishing a clear and concrete social media calendar that contains content and timing is a great tool to make things easier for your social media strategy. Your goal here is to maximize your return on investment and create another revenue generating channel.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create a smart and effective content calendar for your social media management.

Step #1. To establish your editorial calendar, determine first the type of content you want to share on your different social media platforms.

Step #2. Create a spreadsheet where you can put all the details needed for your content. This will serve as your framework for your social media management.

Step #3. In your newly created file be sure to add different sheets for different social media platforms. All the important points should be covered for each platform: topic/themes; type of content; keywords/tags; audience; goal; target dates; status of post; and, time to publish content.

Step #4. Add to your calendarlocal events, holidays, and other relevant activities. It is important that you update these details for each social media platform.

Step #5. Use your calendar to plan your marketing initiatives in advance.Remember, you are building your online presence. Brainstorm and select post ideas whichare more likely to engage with your audience.

Step #6. Incorporate visual effects on your posts to make them more compelling and engaging.  In your content calendar make a note of image locations to find them later.

Step #7. Think about timing. It is crucial for your posts to be effective. Record your preferred time of the day for each social media post.

Step #8. Include freebies and other special incentives or discounts. These help your existing audience stay hooked and can also draw new fans. So, offering these in social networks is a good way to generate more fans or followers. Make sure you add all giveaways to your calendar and prepare for higher engagement levelsfrom your fans.

Step #9. Evaluate how your audience responds to your content when you publish it. You will know which is effective and which needs adjusting or modification. Record all details in your social media calendar. It is very important to keep track of all your findings. This will help you to achieve better results in the future.

Step #10. Plan for interaction. Just because you have published several posts does not immediately mean your audience is now willing to buy something from you. These things do not happen with a snap of your fingers. Engage yourself with your audience, answer their queries, and acknowledge their comments. In other words, interact with them. They’ll get that picture that you and your brand or products have credibility.

With proper social media calendar, your business will have the boost it needs. This is your gateway to level up your brand on social media. Be consistent, persistent, and look for ways to fine-tune your marketing strategies when necessary.  

Today's post by Fox Marketing:
Fox Marketing is a young vibrant Marketing Agency. From user friendly website design to innovative search engine marketing and social media, it provides end-to-end digital marketing services that can deliver results. Fox Marketing website: www.foxmarketing.com.au

Why email is still the 'killer app'

In the marketing space all we seem to hear about is social media. And social media is great - for spreading the word, spreading awareness, getting engagement, sharing information.

But when it comes to conversions, email is still the killer app.

I experience it time and again when marketing for clients. So I wasn't surprised when I came across this research recently, that showed the conversion rate for email marketing was three times that of social media.

There are other reasons I still heart email as a marketing tool:


- YOU own the list
- It goes to an inbox (and stays there till deleted)
- You can be much more flexible with content
- You can segment your list
- You can do do some fancy (but easy) automation these days– like RSS to email so that updating your blog sends an email too.
- It's cheap (dear to a zero budget marketing heart)

What I was a little surprised about was how many emails are now read on mobile devices -


Nearly 38% of all email opens occurring in mobile devices.

In the last year, emails opened on mobile devices more than doubled, and have increased 80% in the last six months alone. And they are only being opened once, not scanned on the phone/tablet and answered later on a computer.

This has big implications for you email design and testing.

For me it meant that you should stick to one column design, have multiple calls to actions that are easy to spot on a small screen, send tests to your phone too, keep images down to a minimum...and make sure the links are going to your mobile friendly site.

Do you see any other implications?

How to Tuesday: Networking tips for business events

Networking is the NUMBER ONE "zero budget marketing" tool.

I have been "teaching" people how to network for many, many years. It was a weird concept for me initially - I was a good networker, but breaking down what I did was difficult. Can something that comes naturally to some be taught to others? The answer is...of course! But it just means some of us will have to try a little harder to master it than others.

It also felt a little "dirty", the whole "networking" thing, until I distilled it down to what I REALLY think good networking is about:

Look for a chance to GIVE before you RECEIVE ... thereby earning the right to ask a favour (at some point in the future).

Giving before receiving isn't as hard as it sounds - it can be small things - from talking to the shy person at an event, to giving a compliment, sharing information you come across, passing on a lead, or even suggesting a great book/article/blog.

So once you approach networking with this mindset, it feels a lot more natural. If you go in desperately 'wanting', you'll put people off - desperation and need is as large a put-off as a blatant sales pitch.

Once you get to a networking event though, what should you actually do? And almost as importantly, what shouldn't you do?

DOs

• Get there a little early-and stay right to the end. Introduce yourself to the host if you can. And if you have the opportunity, explain why you're there. They can often point you in the right direction.

• Go with a plan. How many people are you going to try to speak to? One or several? Are you just going to try and meet the presenter perhaps? Or the event organiser? Are you going to see how others network? Would you like to connect with potential collaborators? (Note: In a half hour time allocation for networking, you would only expect to speak PROPERLY to 2-3 people.)

• Listen for commonality in conversations, and give some information about yourself when you speak. Networking, like any social interaction, is about finding some common ground to help drive the conversation or connection. Networking events are not the time to be quiet or hold back! Similarly, they are not the time to only talk about yourself. Ask a LOT of questions and you'll find networking a lot easier, and more revealing.

• Have business cards - and a pen handy. The pen is to write on the cards you receive, to remind yourself of how you met them or any relevant follow up. The business cards are to hand out IF you want to communicate with the person again. Don't hand them out unless you're prepared to be contacted.

DON'Ts

• Don't hide in a corner, or surf Facebook, or text. Stand somewhere central, be open, catch people's eyes. At business events people are there to speak, there to connect. Make it easy for them to connect with you.

• Don't only speak about work. Unless you're a super -engaged, super-excited entrepreneur, most people's key passion isn't their work. They much prefer to speak about their weekends, hobbies, travel, families, what they really want to do for work, etc. If you're looking for faster connections, don't open with "what do you do?". Instead ask what they're hoping to get out of the event or what they did/plan to do on the weekend. You can get to the work part eventually, but it's not the ideal conversation starter.

• Don't come unprepared to describe what you do if someone asks, or it does come up. You should have ready a means to explain your business/job in 2-3 sentences, without a bunch of jargon. Most people, on the spot, are AWFUL at explaining what they do. They give you very little - for example, a title only - or  waffle on and yet still leaves you wondering what they do / what's special about what they do and how you can possibly say anything interesting about it.

• Don't forget to follow up. If you've taken a card, or have a name, send a quick follow up email, or a LinkedIn connection request. The whole point of networking is that it's a LONG TERM proposition. 

Now...go forth and network!

PS. For the keen eyes, I know it's not Tuesday. But I wanted to get this published for a friend that's off to her first networking event tonight!

Zero budget sign writing - no budget is no excuse

I always maintain that creativity can overcome the challenges of a low - or zero - marketing budget.

This little sign (that I recently spotted at a market) is such a perfect example of this.

It's compelling, it makes you smile, it makes you stop and notice it - and importantly: it makes you really want to buy that cake.

A hugely powerful marketing tool - that would have cost around 5 cents.

Whilst someone was pretty handy with their black marker, what is really clever about this sign is the copy-writing. "Shipped down from heaven early this morning" is a visual, new and emotive means of saying "baked fresh".

So what inspiration can you take from this? What copy can you re-write in a more meaningful, clever, funny, intriguing, engaging, smile-educing way?

Niche businesses are easier to market

For anyone who's been in business, you know the temptation of wanting to do anything to bring in the dollars. Yet there is real value in being "niche" - carving out a segment that's just yours.

I saw a great example of this recently, with publisher "A Book Apart". Their business produces "Brief books for people who make websites". It's very specific - but also very easy to market. It is PR friendly, it's easy to find the target market, it ha got built in repeat business (if someone finds one book useful, they'll buy more) and it's easy to talk about and spread the word.

This last point is so critical. I've never been involved in marketing anything where word of mouth wasn't critical. In fact, for most businesses, it's the number one source of new business. So if your business is hard to describe, hard to pin down, it's hard for others to spread the word about.

Niche is scary. But less that it used to be, thanks to the Internet. So if you're pondering starting a business, and you've got a cool enough idea, there's a lot to be said for finding your niche and sticking to it.

How to cut your marketing costs in 2013

Not all businesses have an allocated marketing budget. Some people just spend when 'something' comes up (ie. distressed ad space), some have no money to spend at all, while the budget of others are allocated an amount of percentage of sales.

If you do have some money to spend, odds are the amount is never quite enough. You may even find that the financial peeps are allocating you less this year in response to slow sales last year.

So what "zero budget" thinking can you apply to your budget this year, to make sure you get the absolute most from it?

1. Work out what you're spending the most "time" on - and if it's working, see if you can automate it.

The key to 'zero budget' is usually spending time over cash. So with time your most valuable resource, it's something to be protected.

When I first starting working with carsharing business Flexicar, all new member 'inductions" were done face-to-face. Whilst it was necessary to teach people how the service worked, it wasn't sustainable to keep doing this. So instead we made a fun and useful video that "automatically" did the same job, and was actually more convenient for members. It instantly saved MANY hours, and that time could be spent in other ways to help grow the business.

2.  Work out what you're spending the most "time" on - and if it's not working, stop doing it. Make the tough call.

We all have our pet projects, or things we feel we "should" be doing. But if you are really not sure you're getting a result, then it's time to allocate that valuable time elsewhere.

For more thoughts, you can check out what I said in this recent Sydney Morning Herald / Age article.

You can always spend more money...

Let's face it - in marketing, more money is always wanted, no matter the size of your budget.

The 'Shop a docket' founder was recently quoted in this interview when he was asked this question:

"If someone gave you $100,000 and said, “Invest this in your business by the end of the week – or lose it” what would you do?

His response was:  
"I’m sure I could use it, particularly as we have a bottomless marketing budget."

It struck me that the immediate response to the $100k question was (mentally) allocating it to his marketing budget...rather than his marketing team.

Funnily enough, $100k doesn't go that far in marketing - unless you spend it on PEOPLE or course.

$100k could THEN get you two great part time, marketing-related people that have some specialist skills - they could action everything from social media to list generation to great articles to lead generation events to fostering partnerships. I'm sure you have a LOT of things you'd like to get done, if only you had the resources.

So whilst it's pretty rare that a lump of $$ drops in your lap, if spare funds do come your way, don't just spend it in the obvious way. Really think about the BEST possible investment of your funds, which will be, more often than not, people over advertising.