Social media used to be a place for businesses to thrive and increase brand awareness for little to no cost. Unfortunately, all of that has changed over the past several years. As the popularity of social media grows, many of the most popular platforms have quickly become overcrowded. This has left many SMBs writing off social media as a serious marketing tool for their company. Harrison Blum is pleased to share how SMBs can adapt and evolve its social content strategy to reach the modern customer.

1. Social Content That Thrives in an
Overcrowded Market
Harrison Blum, Owner at Z Interactive, LLC
April 12, 2016

2. Topics Covered Today
• Why are we here?
• Building SMART Content Marketing Goals
• Understanding the Customer Journey
• Social Content Immersive
• Custom Audiences Overview
• Resources for Continued Learning & Success

3. Harrison Blum is an accomplished marketing professional and
consultant with broad agency and entrepreneurial experience
with a long history of building remarkable brands. He is the
founder and owner of the Dallas-based integrated marketing
agency, Z Interactive where he's had the pleasure working
with companies SAP, Margaritaville Caribbean, Bowers &
Wilkins and On The Border.
Blum has extensive knowledge of the entertainment industry
where he began his career working with concert promotion
giants AEG Live and Live Nation. He has proven success in
brand development, content marketing and social strategy.
Harrison also contributes as a beer and lifestyle writer for
CentralTrack and also founded Dallas’ first AHA recognized
homebrew club.
Harrison Blum - Consultant - Owner at Z Interactive, LLC

4. Join the conversation on Twitter
@HarrisonBlum #DFWSEO

5. Let’s face it, you could be happier with the
results from your content marketing strategy.

6. You Are Not Alone

7. There are millions of marketers who
share the same anger, disappointment,
and concern over their content’s
performance.

8. Facebook has more than 3 Million
active advertisers.

9. Twitter has 130,000.

10. Instagram now has 400,000
active advertisers.

11. Post engagement on Facebook is
at 0.53% of all page likes.

12. Twitter’s average engagement is
0.04% of total followers.

13. If you’re new to content marketing or
just plodding along with a less-than-
effective content plan…

14. Let’s start from the beginning.

15. Where do my customers spend the most time online?
What type of content do they engage with most often?
What content do they share?
Do you want to expand on your existing target
audience or reach out to build a new one?

16. Specific (It’s attached to a particular need or objective.)
Measurable (You have objective, not subjective, metrics.)
Attainable (You can realistically expect to achieve it.)
Relevant (It furthers an overall business objective.)
Set SMART Content Marketing Goals
Time-bound (Predetermined deadline or end-date.)

17. Avoid vanity metrics such as “likes” and
retweets; in themselves, they aren’t aligned with
your marketing goals.
Instead think in concrete terms like traffic,
leads, conversions, sales—objectives shared
across multiple teams throughout the organization.

18. Increase engagement (time on site, number of pages viewed)
SMART Content Marketing Goals Might Be:
Improve website or landing page conversion rate
Increase the number of repeat visitors or return customers
Reduce average time to close for new customers
Increase revenue from upsell efforts

22. Sooo… what social content
continues to thrive?!

23. Drive Website Traffic
DON’T FORGET THE HARD SELL
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24. •Lists
•“Why” Posts
•Videos
•How-To
•“What” Posts
•Infographics
•Inspirational Stories
•Case Studies

27. Use Visual Content
It sparks emotion, increases retention as well
as engagement (but it has to look good)!
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28. Facebook posts with images see
2.3X more engagement than those
without images.

32. Higher retention of
information and higher
click-through rates are
noticeable when
consumers are exposed to
series of related topics.
Introduce Content Series

33. Improve your imagery. Have your team come together for a
brainstorming session. How can your images make a bigger
impact? Can you think of an interesting concept for your Instagram
profile?
Experiment with Instagram. Switch some of your focus from
Twitter to Instagram. It’s still the platform to beat in terms of
engagement.
Consider Instagram advertising to help you cut through the
noise on the platform. It’s the best way to boost the size of your
audience and the reach of your content.

36. 46% of marketers say photography
is critical to their current marketing
and storytelling strategies.

38. As you have heard before, a picture
is worth a thousand words. This
gives your readers a thousand ways
to interact with your content and
engage with you.

39. “Photography is a high-risk, high-
reward visual element. Make sure to
utilize photos thoughtfully and
meaningfully. Everyone has seen
examples of stock photos that miss
the mark and look inauthentic.”
“
Jon Saquing, Optimizely Communication Designer

41. 65% of senior marketing executives
believe that visual assets, photos,
video, illustrations and
infographics, are part of the core to
how the story of their brand is
communicated

42. Post crisp, beautiful, unique imagery; think of
yourself as a curator; don’t compromise on your
image quality or post just for the sake of posting.
Pick a theme and stick to it.
Think of it as taking your followers on a
journey with you
You want your followers to be invested in your
story whether it’s through a location, activity,
event, etc.

43. There are many fantastic design
resources for non-designers.
Here are a few of my favorites!

44. https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanvaToolBox7DayChallenge/
Not to mention a world of people
available to help you!

45. Shift From Automated to Authentic
Social media is an extension of your brand.
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46. It’s clear that authenticity on social is key
to having an engaged audience.
Whether you’re involved in social
marketing, customer service, community
building or all of the above, being real to
build relationships is where it’s at.
“
Candice Charleton, Manager, Social for Hootsuite

47. •Ninety-two percent of consumers say they trust earned media,
while only half trust paid ads.
•Seventy percent of people want to learn about products through
content vs. through traditional advertisements.
•An authentic strategy works. It may take time but it’s time well
spent.
•Be the tortoise. Slow and steady wins.

48. Be transparent
Know your brand culture
Post in real-time
Hold conversations
Express opinions
Avoid formulaic responses

49. Make Video A Priority
And make it as sticky as possible!
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54. Inspire
Educate
Entertain
Test

55. GIFs are effective and surprisingly easy to create.

56. Keep Videos Short & To-The-Point
Consider How You’re Sharing
Use Tight Editing & Good Lighting
Use a Great Thumbnail
Just Get Started & Learn

57. Here are some of my favorites!
Have others?

58. Hot Videos Are Really Sticky
Not So Hot Videos Are Falling Off Quickly!

59. Boosting Facebook videos that are truly hot (views are 30%+ of impressions), don't
decay over time for CPV (cost per view), in this case at 0.2 cents per view.
Here's a hot video broken out by time zone of the user (impression) as opposed to
time zone of the ads account.
But boosting video that isn't hot leads to rapid decay.
Dennis Yu - Blitzmetrics

60. Adapt & Evolve
Be Where The Action Is By
Integrating New Platforms
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61. It’s all about live streaming in 2016!

62. Millennials, a demographic
marketers are spending 500% more
to reach than all others combined,
account for more than 7 out of 10
Snapchat users (eMarketer).

63. An estimated 200 million
monthly active users send 700
million photos/videos each
day, viewed 500 million times
per day (Business Insider).

64. •Snapchat has gone from being a simple photo and video
sharing app to a marketing tool that can’t be ignored.
•Since the beginning, Snapchat has been an app that encourages
casual communication through the use of videos and photos.
•Between June and November of 2015, Snapchat’s video traffic
more than tripled to 6 billion per day
•As it has attracted more eyeballs, the service has become a more
popular destination for ad dollars

65. Snapchat isn't the next Facebook or
Instagram, but the new TV. Think
appointment-watching, awareness
and buying eyeballs -- not growing
communities, editorial calendars and
real-time marketing.
“
Victor Pineiro - AdAge

66. Teen retailer Wet Seal
handed over its Snapchat
account to a 16-year-old
blogger for two days,
resulting in 9,000 new
followers and 6,000 views of
the “My Story” (a Snapchat
feature that allows all
followers to see a post).

68. Try creating one yourself!

69. This one created on
Freelancer for $30

70. In July 2015, Periscope users
were watching 40 years' worth
of videos every day.

71. Facebook is getting in on the action too.

72. Contests
New Product Sneak Peaks
Coupons
Behind The Scenes
New Team Member Introduction
Targeted Videos

73. Creativity & Innovation Always Wins
Know Your Brand and Don’t Be Afraid of Risk
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75. 432,660,000 social impressions and
4,086,000 plays on SoundCloud in 3 days.

76. "It's just good content. At the end of
the day, it's most important to create
something worthwhile that makes you
want to listen to it and not feel like
you're being sold to.”

77. Brands must strive to be "authentic
and real with their customers."

78. Run Smart Advertising
Using Facebook Custom Audiences.

79. https://www.facebook.com/ads/manage

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84. • DDW Customer List March 2016
• Lookalike (US, 1%) - DDW Customer List March 2016
• Designer Doors MarketSharp Prospects March 2016
• Designer Doors General Interests
• CONVERSION PIXEL - DDW Homepage
• CONVERSION PIXEL - Contact Us Page
• CONVERSION PIXEL - Thank You

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86. And explore all that Facebook
Advertising has to offer!

88. Canvas is an immersive and expressive experience on Facebook for
businesses to tell their stories and showcase their products.
Canvas allows you to build a unique experience with the combination of
text, images, videos, carousels, product feeds and more.

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92. Thank You
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Questions? Autographs?