It’s no secret that social media is here to stay, and franchise brands that embrace the medium are seeing significant results. If you’re a marketing manager or otherwise responsible for your brand’s social media marketing, today’s roundup of our 12 best tips will help you jump-start your social outreach efforts.
Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.
If you’re new to posting on Instagram, you might be a little overwhelmed at the prospect of growing your following, creating great content, converting followers to customers and making the best use of your sponsored-ad dollars. This article roundup is your starting point to making a real impact on this popular social platform. So without further adieu, let’s dive in to the top tips and tricks!
The Instagram Rules: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Boring
This one’s about Instagram-worthy pictures, frequency of posting, filters, hashtags, likes, selfies and more. Is it beautiful, awesome, hilarious, amazing, inspiring? That’s your first question. Now stick to the rest of these rules, and you’ll instantly step up your Instagram game.
Take a cue from The Rock, and get a little long-winded in your Instagram captions. It might seem counter-intuitive to tell all on a platform that’s seemingly minimalist and mobile-focused on the surface. But ‘grammers are increasingly turning to Instagram as a place not only for their filtered selfies, but also their deepest musings. Note: Some of the original photos highlighted in this article have been removed from Instagram (and, therefore, this article), but the premise is still intact.
18 Times Blake Lively’s Instagram Captions Were Borderline Genius
When you find a celebrity crushing it on Instagram, sit up and take notice. Take Blake Lively, for instance. Her captions are consistently funny, likable and authentic … in other words, everything you want in a social media post. Inspire your inner genius by reading through some of her very best work.
25 Funny Captions to Use For Your Selfies That Will Make Your Followers LOL
“Selfie” is now officially a word in the dictionary, and it’s no wonder: Scroll through your Instagram feed, and you’ll find dozens of them. The key to standing out among a sea of brunchin’, flexin’, yoga-posin’ peeps? Add a funny caption, of course. Get some inspiration from the quotes in this article, but remember to add your own unique flair so it doesn’t sound canned.
How to Write Good Instagram Captions: 8 Bookmarkable Tips for Perfecting Your Copy
As you know, the hard work doesn’t end once you’ve taken that beautiful photo and added your favorite filter. Your caption gives a voice to your content, and it’s also a place where you can include a call to action, memorable quips, and just the right verbiage that delights your followers and inspires them to double-tap. These go-to tips will keep you on the right track as you craft an awesome caption for that perfectly staged and edited photo.
Introduced in August 2016, Instagram Stories allow you to tell your story in multiple frames using a combination of photos, videos, captions, gifs, music and more. These stories stay on your profile for 24 hours at a time and appear at the top of users’ Instagram feeds, making them ideal for highlighting a snapshot of your day that you don’t necessarily want to live on your profile page. Like telling a story in real life, these Stories are fresh, hyper-relevant to your current goals, and fun to watch. Here’s your definitive guide to getting it done like a true storytelling pro.
Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.
With Rallio’s recent launch of the Rallio Local division, we’ve created an in-house agency that helps our clients create and execute a local content strategy on Facebook and other social media platforms. One question that comes up frequently is what exactly local content is and why it matters. If you’re asking that question for your own business, today’s post will help you learn what types of content will get you the best results on social media.
The algorithm
Social media is increasingly shifting its focus in favor of local businesses, with Facebook leading the way in terms of how its algorithm serves up content to various audiences. The right type of content, combined with targeted ads, allows businesses to reach customers in their local area, especially those who are using their mobile devices to find businesses in their communities. In addition, the rise of platforms such as Yelp and Google reviews has made it essential that businesses have a local content strategy to reach the people who are likely to do business with them or buy their products or services.
So what is the right type of content? Encourage your visitors and followers to stick around and become a part of your online community by including the following in your social media posts.
Real-life photos from your office and staff
Include not only special events such as birthdays and holiday celebrations, but also simple “day in the life” photos showing what happens in your office. Here’s a post from one of our Rallio Local clients, Pet Supplies Plus Greenfield, with a cute picture of a dog and a great caption:
Spotlights about a star employee or customer
Give props to an employee of the month. Include a photo along with a caption explaining why they rock! You can also highlight customer testimonials and thank customers for their business, feature before and after photos if that makes sense for your business, or simply feature a repeat customer who brightens your day. Here’s a post one of local clients, Pure Barre Anaheim Hills, created to feature a customer testimonial and which we boosted with ad dollars. To date, the post has reached 645 people and has earned 28 likes and loves.
Pointed questions that elicit comments, likes and shares
A question like “Would you rather sleep in on a Saturday or get up and go for a hike?” will get more responses than “Do you like hiking?” You know how they say you have to ask for the sale? The same is true for comments. Quite literally, you can say “Comment below with your response” and it will be more likely to earn engagement.
Videos
Explain a how-to topic, offer helpful information, or feature an interesting aspect of your business or the people behind it. People love to watch short videos and often will watch those as opposed to reading a lengthy post on a topic.
Meat and potatoes
Infographics, blog posts and guides on topics your audience wants to know about are the backbone of your business, the “meat and potatoes” if you will. Prove you’re the guru in your field by creating assets that show off your expertise.
Promotions
Include only occasional posts about current promotions and contests. Stick to the 80/20 formula where just 20 percent of your content promotes your brand and the other 80 percent is dedicated to topics that interest your audience and engage them in conversations. Here’s an example from the same Pure Barre client where they do a nice job of including promotional details within the caption of an inspirational post describing the studio’s “20 in 31 class challenge.”
In general, posts that include more personalized information about your location tend to perform better than general posts. They are more aligned with Facebook’s current algorithm, thus improving your overall reach. If you need a hand creating your local content strategy, click over to Rallio Local.
To learn more about the recent Facebook algorithm change, see this article.
Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.
Welcome to the first edition of the Friday 5, a weekly look at important things to know in the world of social media marketing. Today, our Director of Business Development, Avery McCaslin, offers deeper insight into how different marketing channels work in conjunction to improve your overall return on marketing investment. Happy Friday, all!
Social ROI and the Marketing Ecosystem
What are your favorite marketing mediums, and how do you use them together for the greatest return?
Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.
Facebook is an extremely powerful tool that can help your business grow by expanding your customer base, boosting your reputation and developing brand awareness. Setting up a Facebook business page is too easy a task to pass up, so let’s get started!
Step 1: Create a Business Page
If you do not already have your business page created, head over here and click “Create a Page.” A business page is different than a personal page, though your two pages will be connected. That being said, you will also need to have a personal page in order to continue creating your business page. This business page will be attached to your personal profile on the backend, so it will ask you to log in to your personal account before continuing.
Next, choose your business’s category. If you own a sandwich shop, you would select “Local Business or Place,” but if you were to create a page for a marketing agency, you would select “Company, Organization or Institution.”
Step 2: Add Imagery
Add your profile picture and cover photo. These pictures should be of good quality, so be sure they are clear and representative of your business. While you may find beautiful, artistic imagery, if it does not represent your business, it is not a good idea to make it a profile picture. Profile pictures can include company logos, company products, the company name and more.
[bctt tweet=”Adding a #calltoaction button on your FB page is an easy way to boost business. #smm” username=”rallioHQ”]
Step 3: Add a Call to Action Button
Adding this call to action button on your Facebook page is an easy way to direct customers to your business, increase revenue and grow your customer base. Link this button to coupons, appointment bookings, games or your website. For example, businesses such as salons, cosmetic dentistry or pottery painting may add a button to book appointments, whereas a coffee shop or a store may add a button for a coupon.
Step 4: Edit Your Page Information
It is important to have correct information about your business on the page, including store hours, services, menu items and your location. You may also create a username to make it easier for happy customers to tag your business page in one of their posts! The more time you take to fill out the page information, the better your business page will be at attracting and retaining customers.
Step 5: Promote Your Business
By clicking “Promote,” you can choose how you wish to attract new customers. You can set up an ongoing promotion or promote your business locally. If you choose to promote your business locally, you can choose a specific area to target for your promotion. If you are enjoying the publicity you are gaining from your business page, you may want to promote your page!
Setting up your business page is just the first step in making a splash on Facebook. The real work begins once you start creating offers, engaging with followers and creating a trustworthy brand. You’ll need to keep a close eye on your analytics, continually test different strategies to see what works best for you, and always work to build and maintain a positive reputation.
To learn more about growing your following, see our post here about reaching more people on Facebook, as well as this post about improving your offers for better results.
Have you grown your following after setting up a Facebook page for your business or brand? Let us know in the comments how you did it, and we may feature you in an upcoming post.
Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.
There’s a lot to learn when you’re first getting started with social media marketing, and even when you’ve been doing it a while, there’s still more to discover. Rather than get overwhelmed with the things you don’t know, try choosing one or two new ideas to explore each week. Over time, you’ll strengthen your skills, build engagement with your customers, and hopefully boost sales and profits, too!
The following roundup includes some of our best tips on social media, online reviews, and local and online marketing. Start at the top, and work your way down the list until you’ve tried everything! And then lather, rinse, repeat, and try some ideas of your own.
Be a Great Storyteller
When it comes to your content marketing strategy, nothing beats a great story that intrigues readers and connects emotionally with them. When content lacks intrigue and fails to spark an emotion, it becomes lifeless, dull and easily forgotten.
You’ll lose followers and certainly won’t gain new ones if your social media conversations are boring, stale, sales-focused and “me”-centric … exactly the type of person you would avoid at a cocktail party. On the flip side, great stories leave readers feeling like they’ve connected with you. At that proverbial cocktail party, they’ll be on the edge of their seats as you draw them in with conversation. They’ll walk away with a positive impression of your brand and will come back again and again.
How can you become a great storyteller? In short, be yourself. Let your personality, your life experiences and your opinions shine through in your content. See this post for a complete breakdown on telling stories through your content and solidifying your brand with customers.
[bctt tweet=”How can you become a great storyteller? In short, be yourself. #contentmarketing” username=”rallioHQ”]
Create Online Offers (and Make Sure They’re Working)
Online offers get your business in front of more customers and, if done right, get them shopping in your establishment. The key here is making sure your coupons are functioning properly so people don’t get frustrated trying to redeem them. Also, you need to be able to track the redemptions and learn whether your offer is producing growth for your business.
If you’ve tried coupons and haven’t experienced good returns, you might need to take a close look at your coupon process. There can be many reasons a coupon isn’t doing its job, including:
You’re overdoing them
You’re using the same, repeatable coupon code
You’re making them difficult to save
You’re making them frustrating to redeem
You’re making it hard to find a location near your customers to use the coupon
You’re not calculating the return on ad spend (ROAS)
See this post to learn more about each of the scenarios above, and then tweak your process as necessary to improve your offer results. If you’re interested in seeing how our coupons work at a brand and local level, send us an email at sales@www.rallio.com.
An example of a coupon with one too many restrictions
Create Shareable Content
It’s the question every franchisee and brand marketer has been asking for the last few years, ever since Facebook diminished the reach of page posts to 1 to 4 percent of all page followers: How do I get more people to see my content?
Bottom line, you need to create more content that people want to share. Firstly, because Facebook now focuses page posts’ organic reach on the number of shares it receives. And secondly, because when a person shares a post, they can write their own comment about the post before they share it. In a way that gives the page post new life from the perspective of the person, personalizing it to their friends.
We outline six ways to get more shares on your Facebook posts in this post. For instance, you can create how-to videos like the one below.
Get to Know Your Analytics
The amount of data available to review related to your social pages can appear overwhelming. And unless it’s your full-time profession to review and analyze trends and changes over time, you only have time for the numbers that will actually make a difference to your business.
For some, all you’re thinking about is your bottom line: Did I make another sale from this social media post? But think a bit larger than that. Not everything will result in a direct sale, but that doesn’t mean it’s not valuable.
The most important analytics to know include:
Follower growth. Look at the data over time, assess where your audience grows the most and the least, and see how you look next to similar local businesses.
Engagement. Likes, retweets, comments and shares make up some of the most common uses of the word engagement. However, people can connect with your business in less obvious ways, too, such as with geo-tagged photos at your location. Pay attention to the positive and the negative comments and feedback so you can successfully address both and keep your reputation intact.
Reputation. Go deeper than simply customer comments; you need to learn how your business is faring on the top review platforms, such as Yelp. What customers report about you can build your business or greatly hinder its growth. With 67 percent of consumers affected by online reviews, the ratings you have and how you respond to them will impact your brand, trustworthiness and sales.
More advanced analytics cover website analytics, directory listings and conversion rates. We delve into all of the above and more analytics best practices in this post.
[bctt tweet=”The most important #analytics to know include follower growth, engagement and reputation.” username=”rallioHQ”]
Become a Hashtag Expert
A hashtag is a word, a phrase or an acronym after the pound symbol (#). No spaces or other characters (!, ?, -, %, @, ., $, etc.) are allowed in a hashtag (with a few exceptions).
Hashtags are used to connect people to a topic, primarily on Twitter and Instagram. They are public and searchable, and when people look for a specific hashtag, they see the conversation related to that topic. People, brands, businesses, sports teams and nonprofit groups use hashtags to build an easily findable and joinable conversation around a subject matter. And in some cases, hashtags make for great comedy:
It’s critical that you know how to use hashtags correctly so you’re not tagging random words and, more importantly, you’re not jumping into a conversation you didn’t intend to. If you use a popular hashtag out of context, for example, it can become irrelevant or even offensive. Our post about becoming a hashtag expert gives you all the do’s and don’ts for creating appropriate hashtags around your brand.
Improve Your Writing
Because much of my life takes place in the world of social media, I am always on the lookout for well-written social media posts. You know the ones: the posts that cause you to smile, laugh, like and share. These posts not only pass the grammar test, but they also work hard to convey messages that connect with the intended audience. Those are the kinds of posts you want for your brand.
If you want to take your posts from “meh” to great, there are several simple ways to start flexing and strengthening your writing muscle. The most important strategy is to find a friendly, conversational voice that connects with your audience. Save your corporate-ese for white papers, because it has no place on social media. I’ve got a few other simple content strategies in this post, such as using action verbs, being concise and proofreading ad nauseam. You’ll improve your writing in no time!
[bctt tweet=”#socialmediatip: Find a friendly, conversational voice that connects with your audience. ” username=”rallioHQ”]
Brainstorm Ideas
You might already know that it’s important to publish new content regularly on social media. What might not be quite so clear? Knowing what to publish. If you’re running low on ideas for your content calendar, this two-part blog series should help you get the creative juices flowing again. From sharing a “day in the life” to posting your Pinterest boards, it includes 31 days of social media ideas you can use and tweak over and over again, and never run out of ideas!
On some level, if you’re paying attention to your social media pages (which you should be), you already know what types of content work best for you. Let us know in the comments what you’ve seen work and not work for your business.
Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.
If you read my last post on Social Media Terms Your Company Should Know, you learned about the most common terms on the major platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. (I also included a roundup of terms that are common across platforms.)
In case you didn’t quite get your fill, today I’ll break down Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr and Reddit. I’ve included a quick explanation with each as well in case you’re not already familiar with these platforms. Here we go!
Snapchat Terms
What it is: A mobile app that lets you send videos and pictures to friends. While these “snaps,” as they’re called, have a limited life span, users also can add snaps to a “story,” which lasts a full day and is viewable either publicly or just by your followers. Snapchat has gained popularity among business users as a way to connect with younger audiences.
Chat: A conversation between two Snapchat users within the app.
Filters: The fun overlays that let you customize snaps with face swaps, lenses, text, emoji stickers and more.
Friends: Your connections within the app with whom you can send chats, snaps (described below) and even cash.
Geofilters: Overlays that communicate the “where and when” of a Snap. Use On-Demand Geofilters to promote your brand in a particular geolocation.
Snap: A photo or video that disappears after three to 10 seconds. Users can choose to add filters, captions and drawings to their snaps before sending them to their friends.
Stories: As with the other platforms, Stories let you post a snap that’s viewable for 24 hours before disappearing.
World Lenses: Adds augmented reality into the mix, letting users place 3D objects within any scene they can walk around with their smartphone camera in hand. Confused? See this TechCrunch article for a complete breakdown of this new feature.
[bctt tweet=”Use On-Demand Geofilters to promote your brand in a particular geolocation. #Snapchat #socialmediatips” username=”rallioHQ”]
Pinterest Terms
What it is: A visually driven social platform that allows users to create collections, aka “boards,” of images and videos around topics, as well as browse what other users have added to their own boards. Because users can be just a click or two away from for-sale items or information, more and more businesses are using Pinterest to drive traffic, leads and sales.
Boards: Just like your cork board or bulletin board at home, Pinterest Boards are user-created, virtual spaces around any kind of topic. I’ve got Boards set up for “Food & Drink,” “My Style,” “Money Matters” and more. These boards can be public or private. As you browse the web, add photos and links to your boards either by copying and pasting the link or by using Pinterest’s browser plug-in. And then the real fun begins when people follow each other’s boards for ideas and inspiration.
Business Account: When you create a business account on Pinterest, you gain access to Pinterest Analytics, Promoted Pins and Videos, and Rich Pins. You’ll also be able to add your business logo to any pin that comes from your website.
Buyable Pins: Pins that allow people to find and buy your products on Pinterest. Per Pinterest, “Right now, they’re only available to a select group of retail partners and U.S. merchants with Pinterest business accounts.” See the example pin below with the “Add to bag” button; after adding an item to your bag, the bag is viewable via the shopping bag icon at the top right of the screen.
Like: When you see a pin you like (see “Pin” below), hover over it and click on the heart button to save it as a favorite. The original pinner gets notified of the like, thus increasing your reach.
Notifications and Inbox: Click on the bubble with three dots (top right) to view notifications about other pinners you follow, as well as your inbox where you can send and receive direct messages.
Pin: Images and links saved to boards are known as pins. Also used as a verb, as in, “I pinned a photo of a rose bouquet to my Flowers Board.”
Promoted Pins: Businesses can advertise their content via Promoted Pins and get their pins in front of customers who are ready to buy.
Rich Pins: Pins that include more context about the post itself. There are currently four types of rich pins: app pins (install an app without leaving Pinterest), recipe pins (includes ingredients, cooking times and serving sizes), article pins (includes headline, author and a brief description), and product pins (with real-time pricing, availability and where to buy).
Save: To save a pin to one or more of your boards, hover over it and click on the “Save” button. Again, the pinner gets notified of the save.
Trending: Click on the “Discover” icon at the top right of your screen (located to the left of your profile icon) to see the top trending pins across all categories.
Tumblr Terms
What it is: Tumblr is a microblogging and social networking platform well-suited for visual content and campaigns. In addition to visuals, the site supports short-form content, audio, video, quotes, links and chats, and it’s got a largely millennial user base.
Asks: This tab features user questions that you can choose to answer on your own blog. To enable it, go to your blog’s Customize area and click on the Community tab.
Dashboard: Your command central where you can view your feed of the Tumblr pages you follow, recommended blogs, your inbox and more, as well as initiate new posts of your own.
Follow: Follow the Tumblr pages you like, and you become a follower! As you follow new blogs, you’ll increase your reach and attract new followers of your own.
Message: Within a post, click on the Message tab to send a direct message to the Tumblr page’s owner.
Notes: The activity associated with a post, including likes and reblogs. You’ll find them underneath every post.
Reblog: See something you want to share with your followers? The double arrows down at the bottom of the screen will let you reblog (repost) it with a caption of your own, much like a Retweet on Twitter. Reblogging is a great way to hat-tip the people you follow and build engagement.
[bctt tweet=”#Reblogging on @tumblr is a great way to h/t the people you follow and build engagement.” #socialmediatips username=”rallioHQ”]
Recommended for you: This tab suggests content tailored just for you, such as trending blogs, staff picks, GIFs, quotes, chats, asks and more. Use it to discover new blogs to follow, like, share and reblog.
Sponsored Ads: You guessed it. Throw some ad dollars behind a post to target toward your desired audience.
Theme: The design of your Tumblr page. Choose from various free themes available, such as these, or design your own. The ability to customize your theme is what sets Tumblr apart from other platforms. For example, on Facebook and Twitter, you’re limited to changing the cover and profile photos, but Tumblr lets you fully customize your page. Take a look at the clean lines and eye-catching photos on Adidas’ page for inspiration.
Reddit Terms
What it is: The self-proclaimed Front Page of the Internet relies on user votes and includes a mixture of news, links, social commentary, content ratings and discussion. Reddit’s registered community members can submit text posts, photos, videos, direct links and other content, as well as ask for help or suggestions.
To get the most out of the site, be aware of the “Rediquette” you’ll need to follow, so you’ll get targeted traffic, your content will get “upvoted” to the top of the list, and you’ll avoid getting “downvoted” into oblivion. Also, there are lots of acronyms and terms to know, some of which I’ve included below. You can view a more comprehensive glossary here.
AMA: Ask me anything. Great for showcasing your expertise in a particular subject matter.
Cakeday: Your Reddit birthday, or the day you registered your account. A small cake icon next to your username lets other Redditors know it’s your cakeday so they can gift you with upvotes and well wishes.
CCW: Comments and criticism welcome. Be prepared for both the constructive and unconstructive!
DAE: Does anyone else. Use the acronym to locate other Redditors who share your opinion or viewpoint on a matter.
Downvote: Downvote things you dislike or disagree with, and work to avoid having your content downvoted by other Redditors. Successful downvotes are displayed in blue.
ELI5: Explain it like I’m 5. Ask questions for which you want the simplest, most straightforward responses!
[bctt tweet=”To get the most out of Reddit, be aware of the #Rediquette you’ll need to follow. #socialmediatips” username=”rallioHQ”]
OC: Original content, posted by an OP (see below).
OP: Original poster, the person who started a thread or comment.
Redditor: A frequent Reddit user.
Repost: Links that have been previously shared, a highly frowned-upon practice, as most people visit Reddit looking for original content (OC).
Subreddit: The small communities that comprise Reddit. They can be public or private, and they cover a variety of topics, from niche communities such as r/CatAdvice to broader topics such as r/Music. If you don’t find a niche appropriate to your product or service, you can start a subreddit of your own and invite others to join.
Upvote: Having your content upvoted means it shows up higher on the page. Successful upvotes are displayed in orange.
Username: The name associated with your Reddit account. Choose it wisely, as you cannot change it once you’ve registered it.
Do you use the platforms above? What are some other terms you think are important to know for these platforms in particular?
Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.
As you may already know, hashtags are conversation starters. You can use them on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest (less so on Facebook) to connect with your target audience around topics of relevance to your brand.
You can also create brand-specific hashtags for various purposes. For example, as Becca Edwards notes in this post, Rita’s Italian Ice offers free Italian ice on the first day of spring and uses the hashtag #ritasfirstdayofspring to promote the offer.
In that post, you learned all about how to be a hashtag expert, and you’ll want to read that post first before reading mine. Today, I’ll share with you some specifics on creating a hashtag just for your brand.
When to create a brand-specific hashtag? Wait until you’ve used other hashtags to connect with members of your target audience. That way, you’ll have a following that’ll connect with the brand-specific hashtag and it won’t drift off into the great online abyss, never to be seen again.
Brand-specific hashtags work well when you want to promote a specific offer, event or trending topic. Now for some basics on creating one.
Keep It Short, Unique and Memorable
Although there are always exceptions, shorter hashtags are easier to remember and retype. It can be a single word or a phrase, just as long as it isn’t currently in use.
That is, always conduct a search to see that any hashtag you wish to use isn’t already in circulation with a different meaning. Not only would that make it not unique, but it also could spell disaster if you take the current hashtag out of context and try to apply it to your brand. (We discussed this matter in How to Be a Hashtag Expert; see the DiGiorno Pizza #WhyIStayed section as an example.)
Having a memorable hashtag helps keep the conversation about you and your brand. That way, as people use the hashtag, all roads will lead back to you, and you’ll leave people with a positive impression of your brand.
Tug at Their Heart Strings
When Make a Wish Foundation used the hashtag #SFBatKid, they were promoting a documentary about a boy whose wish was to dress up as Batman and save the day. The hashtag was well-received, with even President Obama getting in on the trend. His message to #SFBatKid via Vine? “Way to go, Miles. Way to save Gotham!”
When you jam a bunch of words together, you have to be sure the words don’t also spell something else. One misused capital letter, and your hashtag could become a different animal altogether.
Consider the trending hashtag of a few years ago #NowThatchersDead in response to Margaret Thatcher’s passing. Guess what it turned into? #NowThatChersDead, followed quickly by a hailstorm of rumors that the singer had died when, in fact, she was very much alive.
Proofread, and proofread some more. Look for any possible misspellings that could ensue. And change the hashtag if there’s even a remote possibility of it getting morphed into something different and unintended.
Hashtags offer an opportunity to show your brand’s personality. Make sure your hashtags stay consistent with the kind of personality and social-media tone your brand already has.
Consider Red Bull’s #PutACanOnIt hashtag, inspired by a photo posted on Twitter in which the photographer positioned a can above a Mini Cooper in such a way that it looked like a branded Red Bull car.
People around the world began creating their own #PutACanOnIt images with Red Bull cans positioned uniquely. Moreover, the hashtag earned the company a “Best Use of A Hashtag” Shorty Award. And best of all, the hashtag aligned perfectly with Red Bull’s playful, high-energy personality on social media.
Create Hashtags for Promotions (or Let Your Audience Do It!)
Don’t forget to use branded hashtags for your events and promotions! The rules above apply of course. You can create a hashtag inviting users to tweet about their experiences, post photos and more.
One of the most successful campaigns of all time is Audi’s #WantAnR8 campaign. The tweet originated with a user who tweeted out the hashtag to express a desire to own an Audi R8. Audi then created a contest inviting users to tweet using the hashtag for a chance to win an R8 for a day:
As you can see, there are many ways to create a branded hashtag once you have a solid follower base. Your followers will become instant brand champions who not only cast your company in a good light, but also provide the social proof needed to attract new fans.
What are some other great examples of branded hashtags you’ve seen? How about the fails?
[bctt tweet=”Hashtags offer an opportunity to show your brand’s personality. #howtohashtag” username=”rallioHQ”]
Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.
When you’re looking to boost your Twitter following, it’s tempting to want to make it happen overnight. Nobody wants to have 43 followers when you could buy thousands all at once, right?
However, buying followers or resorting to other black-hat tactics simply won’t get you the kind of long-term engagement you need to maintain a consistently strong Twitter profile. In fact, as this article notes, black-hat social media can do serious damage to your brand.
That’s why when I recently set out to boost our own following on Rallio, I started by focusing on quality over quantity. (There’s a place, of sorts, for quantity as well, but more on that in tip #3.)
Today, I’ll share with you a few things I’ve learned about boosting your Twitter following organically. I welcome additional insight from those of you who have gone through this process, too.
#1: Like and Retweet
The simplest way to begin attracting new followers is by liking and retweeting posts. The more engaged you are with other profiles, the more you’ll be seen, and the more you’ll gain new followers yourself. As a general rule of thumb, aim to retweet at least one or two new people daily.
When retweeting, make an effort to add insight of your own or call out what you like about the post or article you’re retweeting. You can, of course, simply retweet without commentary, but also add your own 2 cents from time to time. This makes it clear you put thought into the retweet and didn’t simply click a button.
[bctt tweet=”The simplest way to begin attracting new followers is by liking and retweeting posts. #findfollowers” username=”rallioHQ”]
#2: Fit It In When You Can
You don’t have to overwhelm yourself spending time on Twitter. Some people like to carve out a chunk of time every day or so, and others will hop on there throughout the day. Or maybe you alternate between these approaches like I do.
Sometimes I’ll devote focused time, and other times I might just need a break from what I’m doing, or might be waiting at the doctor’s office, or … you get the idea. I like this strategy because it allows me to get on Twitter at different points in the day rather than one specific time when I won’t necessarily find anything or anyone worth tweeting about. Also, it prevents me from exhausting myself thinking I have to get on Twitter at 11 a.m. each day.
Try out both strategies and see what works for you. The point is to make it work!
#3: About That Quantity …
Although it’s imperative to have quality followers with whom you engage regularly, sometimes you have to cast a wide net to find those quality people. Some Twitter users will follow several people initially and then later weed out and unfollow accounts that don’t prove to be worth their time.
Note that once you follow an account, or when someone follows you, you’ll want to make an effort to engage with the account and gauge its value.
[bctt tweet=”Sometimes you have to cast a wide net to find quality #followers.” username=”rallioHQ”]
#4 Thank People … Sparingly
Do not do not thank every single person who likes and retweets your tweets or follows you. That practice will get old fast, and you risk flooding other people’s timelines with your thank-yous.
Instead, thank people for specific reasons. For example, if you found a post to be insightful, mention it along with the user and say why you found it valuable. You’ll show you’re actually reading people’s tweets and you’re willing to recommend those you think are worth a follow. Eventually, others will do the same for you.
Here’s a good list of other ways to thank your followers, say, by visiting their website or commenting on a blog post. I like the following approach as well from @twitrartexhibit thanking an artist for her submission to #TwitterArtExhibit. It’s specific and creatively worded:
— POSTCARD ART EXHIBIT – Art for a Cause 🌏 🎨 (@PAEartforacause) February 14, 2017
#5 Locate Influencers
Who are the thought leaders, the movers and shakers in your industry? Find five or 10 of them, and start engaging with them across multiple platforms. That is, don’t stop at Twitter, but rather engage with them wherever they roam (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. … check out this article for more tips on engaging with influencers).
Once you have a fairly established relationship with influencers, reach out directly. You can start simply by asking if they’d be willing to answer a burning question related to your product or service, and then featuring their responses on your blog.
You can then tweet out your new post and mention your influencers, too, so they’ll (hopefully) share your content with their readers. In time, you’ll gain valuable partnerships through which you share each other’s content, create special offers and always have a rich source of content.
#6 Share More Than Once
By some estimates, the life of a tweet is something like 18 minutes. However, you can extend its lifespan simply by sharing the tweet multiple times.
Here at Rallio, we use Coschedule to manage our blog post creation coupled with social media posts that we schedule out over several days’ time. For example, this blog post will get a lot of mileage once I create social media posts about it for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
You can word your social posts differently each time for the same piece of content, whether it’s a blog post, a press release, a video or an image. It’ll read like a brand-new post, you save yourself some time, and you get the most out of every piece of content.
[bctt tweet=”Extend the life of a tweet by sharing the tweet multiple times. #socialmediatips #twittertips” username=”rallioHQ”]
#7 Use Hashtags
My colleague Becca Edwards wrote an extensive piece, How to Be a Hashtag Expert, that will help you master the hashtag game. She breaks down what a hashtag is, what it can do and how to use hashtags effectively. I recommend giving it a read, as it’s an important part of growing your following.
In addition to using hashtags in your own content, you can search hashtags related to your product or service. When you do, you’ll be able to find and join conversations around pertinent topics.
What other ideas do you have for gaining Twitter followers organically? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.
We often talk about leveraging social media to boost a brand’s reputation, customer base and connection with its audience. But let’s not forget about the importance of building a personal brand as well. People are more likely to buy from people they trust, and social media offers multiple ways to build that trust with your target audience. Let’s look at a few.
1. Identify Influencers
Locate influencers who already have an audience that’s similar to yours. The goal is to establish relationships with them so they’ll be willing to collaborate with you and keep your name top-of-mind among their followers.
Don’t go too over-zealous here; you can’t start following them and then immediately ask for favors. Begin by inserting yourself into conversations, retweeting their posts and mentioning them in your own content. Over time, you’ll build a mutually beneficial relationship while also building your own following.
2. Give Back
As you gain new followers, always remember where you came from and offer to be of help to those who have helped you. This could mean connecting with customers to ask if there’s anything you can help them with. It could mean reaching out to influencers and offering to return the favor if they’ve helped you in some way.
Don’t wait for them to come to you, either. Make it a habit to reach out regularly to your circle. You’re not selling anything, but rather offering your time, your talents and your resources in a way that alleviates a burden or answers a question or a need.
[bctt tweet=”Offer your time, your talents and your resources in a way that alleviates a burden.” username=”rallioHQ”]
3. Join Groups
Both Facebook and LinkedIn have many different types of groups, and chances are there are several that relate to your business. These are places where you can showcase your area of expertise by answering questions, posting your own content and simply being a friendly face among other members.
You don’t just have to join groups specifically related to your business, either. For example, if you are a mom running your own business, you can join various mom-related groups on Facebook. When a need or a question arises, be a voice solving a problem.
4. Be Patient
It takes time to build relationships. You need to be engaged regularly with your target audience, not simply post something once or twice and think people will remember you or care who you are. The key is being a problem solver, not a salesperson butting into conversations. By being of service, you’ll build trust and people will learn that you’re the go-to person for XYZ.
I’ve seen this concept in action in a mom group to which I belong on Facebook. A real estate agent I know makes it a point to answer housing- and mortgage-related questions. Does she shove listings in front of people? No. She just solves a problem.
And people remember her! Anytime someone asks such a question, it seems like at least one or two people tag my friend. Here’s a perfect example in a screenshot taken from that Facebook moms group. I’ve darkened out the names and images to protect their privacy, but my friend is the one who was tagged by another member and replied “Thank you!”:
5. Step Outside Your “Industry” Box
In the case of my real estate agent friend, she doesn’t only engage in conversations that relate directly to her industry. Sometimes she simply responds to kid-related questions or other topics that illustrate who she is as a human being. She’ll also show her capacity for compassion by posting links or comments about human interest stories or fundraising efforts.
What are some interests you have? Hiking, fashion, traveling? Get engaged with posts around these topics. Show people that you’re about much more than just selling products or services.
6. Spark Conversations
You don’t have to wait for other people to strike up a conversation. Try asking a question or posting a poll about something that’s sure to get responses. In our moms group example, you could ask for recommendations of a pediatrician, a school or an extracurricular activity. People love to add their two cents, and you’re sure to get a lot of responses!
Avoid topics that could potentially steer your personal brand down a path you don’t want to be on, such as politics or religion. The last thing you want is to ignite a war among your followers, or worse, with you personally.
[bctt tweet=”Avoid topics that could steer your personal brand down a path you don’t want to be on.” username=”rallioHQ”]
7. Stay Consistent
Above all, present a consistent image of yourself across all social media platforms and media types (text, video, etc.). You can’t be all things to all people, so just define your voice, your image and your target audience, and then stick with it. People will be checking you out across all different platforms, so you want to come across as the same person regardless of where they find you.
What strategies do you use to build your personal brand? Let’s hear your thoughts.
Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.
