Social | Rooted Elm | Email Marketing

A Sea of Social Media Marketing

Christina Noll — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 19:43:31 +0000

If you’ve ever had kids or been around kids, then you’ve probably seen Disney’s “Finding Nemo” once or a few hundred times. One of my favorite parts of the movie, and one that resonates with many people is when Dory gives Marlin this priceless advice: “When life gets you down, just keep swimming!” This advice holds especially true when it comes to your long-term social media plan. Perhaps, like us here at RootedElm, you’ve been posting on multiple social media channels for a while now. Maybe your results have been sluggish, or maybe you had notable engagement at first, only to see it drop off later. No matter what, the key to long-term social media success is to stick to your plan and keep posting. In other words: “Just keep swimming!”

The fact is, content marketing takes time—it doesn’t work overnight.

Two years ago, we began an earnest effort to step up our social media game for RootedElm. We started creating memes featuring design and content tips, like the ones below, using Canva and posting them on multiple social channels. At first, we noticed an uptick in audience engagement that inspired us to stay the course. Later, however, that engagement fell flat and we had to experiment with different types of social posts, incorporating links to our blog and reposting content from other experts.

One tool we employed that helped significantly was creating a content calendar. We made it a priority to pre-schedule at least one social media post per day using Buffer, with the option to add in an additional social post if we created something new, or if something relevant came up. If we notice an increase in a specific post’s engagement, we repost it a little more frequently. Our goal is to make sure our social media posts are authentic, make sense and relevant to our audience and when applicable, personal. For example, thanking a vendor for an amazing customer experience we received.

The payoff has taken time, but it’s starting to happen.

This effort to repost what RootedElm has already put out there, along with creating new content for posting has, over time and with consistency, gained more feedback on our posts. It also helps that each of us take time to share the post by RootedElm to expand our audience.

Website engagement is up.

Over the past 28 days, our multi-session users are up 50.3% and our organic traffic is up 2.17% on our website. More importantly, our goal completions increased by a minimum of 10% and as shown below, our social acquisition is growing, with the greatest amount coming from Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Lexington Podiatry

Read another social success story: See how Lexington Podiatry is trying something different with video to their social media to gain attention.

Of course, a successful social media plan doesn’t happen without a little work and a little help.

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Andy Crestodina

We’ve relied on multiple resources for help, including these tips from Content Chemistry by Andy Crestodina:

Connect with the right people: Make a list of prospects, bloggers and influencers in your industry and engage with them online, one-to-one. Share your content directly and comment on their own posts to start conversations.

Find the right channel: post your content on the social networks where your audience spends time.

Share more than once: Schedule each piece of content to post multiple times over days, weeks and months. You never know who missed it.

And of course, the most important thing is perseverance. Remember: just keep swimming!

So, what’s your social goal? Share on @rootedelm your plans to turn the social tide in your favor and how you stay motivated to just keep posting.

To dive deeper into the big blue sea of social media, here’s a blog post from Buffer: Social Media Engagement is the New Social Media Marketing: How To Do It Well

Social Savy: Using Videos to Get Attention

Christina Noll — Thu, 17 May 2018 19:08:12 +0000

Too gross? Or just the thing for grabbing attention?

These are the questions the team at Lexington Podiatry asked themselves when they recently started posting videos of medical procedures on their social media.

Elise Menold Hinchman, Marketing Director at Lexington Podiatry understands that some of the videos might be a little much for her target audience. “I’m hoping that even if they look away, it has enough recall factor,” she says. The goal is that the audience remembers Lexington Podiatry the next time they themselves, or someone they know, has a condition they’ve seen featured in one of the videos.

A New Way to Connect

Prior to the videos, Elise says they weren’t getting much engagement on social media posts. “You feel like you’re screaming into a void,” she says. “You’re doing all this hard work and nothing comes from it.” The idea to post a video was something new to their audience and worth a try.

The first video the team posted was of Dr. Nicole Freels demonstrating a product that looked a little bit like something else–in a humorous way. They named the video, “What the Heck is it?” and the response was outstanding. “People were responding; They thought it was funny. So then we decided to do another one,” Elise says. After that, companies that specialize in products related to podiatry began sending the team products to review on the videos, and the excitement continued to grow.

Stage Fright

Of course, there have been bumps in the road on the way to video stardom. The medical providers in the office struggled at first with giving on-camera explanations, so Elise switched to a question-answer format that seems more natural. And although the videos are edited after filming, there is always the possibility that something unexpected can happen.

“Our fear was always: what if we shoot one of these videos and something goes wrong?,” says Elise. “We’re over that fear now, because it does! One thing I learned recently at a conference, is that if you’re not embarrassed by your videos, you’re not doing them quickly enough. No one is judging you on your videos, they just want the content.”

Success That Shows

Elise and her team follow 30 different doctor’s offices—not all podiatrists—and benchmark Lexington Podiatry’s engagement scores against the others. Although the videos take a lot of time to put together—from filming, editing, making captions, crossposting, etc.—they are succeeding in gaining attention and helping the team to grow their Facebook and social media presence.

Although the number of likes on Lexington Podiatry’s Facebook page had stayed static for about a year, since adding the videos, the numbers have jumped. One reason is that every time the team posts a video, which are getting bigger reach than traditional posts, the team goes in to see who liked the video and invites them to also like the Facebook page if they haven’t previously.

And it’s not just the videos. The team also recently added a social media counter—called Smirrl—in the reception area of their office. Elise made a sign that says “Watch me flip out—like us on Facebook.” Now, when people come into the office and see the sign, they want to like Lexington Podiatry on Facebook so they can watch in real time as the sign flips. “They’ve (Facebook) also made it really easy to share and invite other people to your page now,” explains Elise. “It was shocking to me how many people liked our posts but had not liked our page.” The team invited all of their friends to like the page and that also helped to grow the audience quickly.

Making Google Your Best Friend

Another thing Elise has learned is to use Google to the fullest. She not only cross-posts all her content to Google+ (which is on the rebound) but has also discovered a new promotion through Google Posts. When someone looks up Lexington Podiatry on Google, in addition to the location of the business and reviews, Google now includes space for an ad with a photo. “It’s been around for six months or longer and there are very few businesses doing it yet,” says Elise. “Google Posts are free and not paid like a display Google Ad…but they look so good, you’d think you’d have to pay for that exposure.”

What’s next? Live From Lexington Podiatry…

Although the edited videos have been a great success, Elise knows that live video is on the horizon. “We’re trying to get over the fear factor of it and pushing ourselves more because the kids getting out of podiatry school right now were born with a phone in their hands and are not afraid to do live videos,” she says. In addition, it’s easier to get a video in front of an audience if it’s shown live on Facebook.

The same holds true for static Instagram posts. “I read an article the other day that said you can basically forget about it being seen if it’s not in the “stories” on Instagram and you’re targeting millennials,” explains Elise. “We’re giving ourselves a little bit of grace, though. We don’t have to be the first, we just have to eventually get there.”

We think the team at Lexington Podiatry is already leading the way! What about you? — Have you tried posting edited or live video on social media? How did it affect your engagement? Let us know!

Writing Strong Social

Christina Noll — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 17:32:26 +0000

Every day, marketers push out information on social channels with the intention of reaching and engaging their audience. But what makes some messages hit the mark more than others? It turns out there’s a simple formula for writing social media posts.

First, provide the relevant information. Example: “Bird by bird, or step by step, intentional email design = better design.”

Add a strong call to action: Example: “See how a template helps:”

Next, include your link to additional information, such as a blog post, article, or web page. Example: “https://rootedelm.com/blog/intentional-email-design”

Tip: use the url shortener in your social media management tool (Buffer, Hootsuite, etc.) to shorten the link and save on valuable character length

Then, add a hashtag to help your audience find and share your post. Example: “#emailmktgdesign”

Finally, add an image. We use a friendly app called Canva to create the social media images for RootedELM.

Your finished product should look something like this:

Even if your social media message contains all the necessary elements, it might still get lost in the fray. But ensuring it contains the above elements, along with re-posting to achieve frequency, can help ensure your message is heard.

RESOURCES:

MarketingProfs: Which Types of Facebook Posts Get the Most Likes, Comments, and Shares? [Infographic]

Content Marketing Institute: 58 Social Media Tips for Content Marketing

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There’s an App for That

An Email Campaign that Caused Great Shopping Havoc

Lisa Wester — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 21:41:45 +0000

In the email marketing world, there is nothing greater than when an email campaign hits the sweet spot. As a consumer of Lilly Pulitzer clothing, I am aware that they hold a massive final sale in July. What I wasn’t aware of is they do the same thing in January! Thanks to a perfectly executed email campaign, now I do. Over three days I received eight unifying emails as part of the same “After Party Sale” campaign which caused me to spend a small fortune. Because Lilly only goes on sale twice a year, when you have two teenage girls that love their Lilly…you stock up!

The first email came in the night before the “After Party Sale” (below left). Somehow I missed it but the second email (below right) with the subject line: Just released sale styles have landed! sure caught my attention. I did just what the email said to do: “Freak Out!” After a brief wait in the online line for my turn to shop – I was glued to lillypulitzer.com for the next hour (well maybe a little more), but luckily it was toward the end of the day! I sent my oldest daughter a text to call me immediately when she was free. She was in her study hour and wanted to know what was so urgent; My reply was “the Lilly sale is going on now!” She had the same response I did and headed to the Lilly website, sending me her favorite choices. Needless to say, her friends just rolled their eyes at her when she told them what was going on. By now, my shopping cart was full of beautiful dresses for upcoming formals, spring break and graduation and I had to make a decision fast on what I was going to purchase. I had already lost out on two perfect dresses as they were selling fast! Now do you understand the havoc? Back to email marketing.

After feeling success with combing the Lilly website, I made my purchase. My girls were excited and so was I because this time, I was able to purchase a few items for myself. The excitement was contagious, and during a project call, I informed Christina Noll of the sale and she also jumped right on the website and was able to purchase a few items as well. I went to tweet my findings and discovered others were in a frenzy just like myself. An entire community of Lilly aficionados were on a mission to get these great deals! This led to me following @LillyPulitzer now on Twitter and Facebook, so I could be even more a part of this community. I even found a resale community on Facebook to sell our gently used items now.

But here’s where the story gets juicier. That evening just before nine, I received the email below (on the left) with the subject line: What?! New styles added to SALE, which caused me to go back and make another purchase! Twelve hours later another email came with the subject line: Just dropped: new to SALE with even more sale items added to the website. Then the countdown began two hours later with: Don’t miss out! Sale ends soon.

Lilly had done it right. Each of the emails had animation, rotating photos of the new items that had been added (shown below) to peak my interest even more. The voice and tone used in the copy matched just what I was saying to myself in my head. My attention span was in their hands for two days now. I had emailed, tweeted and posted the sale to my friends and colleagues. I had spread the word and so had others. The campaign was a huge success.

The next morning Lilly sent one last email just in case I wasn’t done shopping. This was sent just before 11 am with the subject line: Don’t miss out! Sale ends soon…And finally the following evening, I received this animated Thank You email with photos of other shoppers showing their excitement. This had the best subject line yet to sum up the experience: What. A. Wild. Ride.

When my purchases did arrive in the Lilly signature pink palm packages, I opened to find a note saying “You Have the Best Taste. You Ordered….”

I received my final email asking to review one of my purchases. This is a campaign that is all too often missed by companies, but probably one of the most important and easy ways to obtain feedback directly from your customer. Well done Lilly Pulitzer! I’ll see you in July.

There’s an app for that

Christina Noll — Tue, 03 Jan 2017 17:31:02 +0000

If you’ve been following RootedELM on Facebook, Twitter or received our email newsletter, you’ve probably noticed our Email Design Tips each Tuesday, and our Content Marketing Tips each Thursday. After talking to our audience, we discovered the bite-size information is just what they needed to keep them up to speed on the latest best practices, but give them the option to take a deeper dive through a supporting blog post.

Although these may look like they are crafted by a graphic design expert, believe it or not, they are so easy to make that even the graphically challenged, like myself, can make clean, eye-catching graphic in no time at all! The trick is using an app like Canva to create your masterpieces.

We started using Canva to create the banners for our blog posts, but quickly branched out to using them for social media posts and even proposals. I admit to being slightly intimidated the first time, but I quickly learned how easy and intuitive the process is, and can now make a image for social media posts in less than 15 minutes. No joke!

Here’s how it works:

Sign up for a Canva account. There are free and paid versions. We chose a modest paid subscription to Canva for Work that allows us to share our designs as a team and upload our own logos for use.

At the top you can choose to create whatever you need: a poster, blog graphic, presentation, etc. For social media posts choose, “social media.”

On the left hand side, you have options for changing the layout, background, text and adding additional elements. Start by choosing one of the free or low cost layouts. I almost always find a free layout I like for my project.

Next, click on the supplied text boxes and simply type in your own message. You can also delete the text boxes you don’t want or add your own new ones. At the top of your project, you’ll see pull down options where you can change the font, size and even line spacing of your text.

Using the tabs to your left, you can also add elements including shapes, photos and graphics. You can use the toolbar at the top of your project to change the colors of the background and any elements you apply.

When you are happy with your design, simply save and download as a jpg, png or pdf file. You can also share your design with others via email by clicking the share button at the top. I do this after every creation so I can gather feedback from my team members before I post to social media.

Viola! Just like that you’ve created an eye-catching graphic that you can use on all your social media channels.

Remember, when you post to social media, use this order:
content + link to resource/blog + #hashtag + graphic

Have questions? Give us a call! We consider ourselves old pros at this point (wink, wink) and we’d be happy to walk you through your first design. You can also learn more here.

Content Synchronicity

Christina Noll — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 19:41:28 +0000

Fact: compelling content must be both strategic and creative. Sometimes, okay rarely, one person can deliver both. More often, it takes two or more people working together to make great content come alive. Synchronicity.

The best creative content in the world means nothing if it’s not presented in a way that the reader will read it–that’s why content strategy is vital.

Content strategy means the following:

identifying goals to meet the needs of your audience
bringing people on your team together to brainstorm and achieve these goals
keeping a place to store ideas for future content (we use a system called Flow)
listening to your audience through behavior metrics and simply asking
determining where, when and how your audience will consume the content
ensuring your audience can easily access the content
portraying a consistent brand and voice – don’t confuse your audience
giving action to take the next step
reassessing your strategy by evaluating results with your entire team

However, you can have the best strategy in the world and lead the reader right to your content, but if the creative isn’t good, they won’t stay. That’s why creative content is essential.

Creative content draws the reader in and captivates them. It bonds them to your message and delivers your brand voice consistently, on target. It delivers an enticing CTA, so your customers want to take that next step.

A company we refer to often and see doing this well is Litmus. They offer relevant content that can be consumed in a variety of ways – blogs, videos, infographics, podcasts, webinars and conferences. For email marketers, Litmus makes it easy to search for content for ideas, grow your talents and troubleshoot common issues.

So how can you incorporate a creative content strategy to improve your email marketing program?

Bring a team of people together who are involved with the following:

any form of content
sales
management
valued customer

Look at your most recent email campaigns

tracking
engagement
goals of email campaign
conversion
all marketing material – supporting or other

and talk.

what percentage reached your goal for the campaign?
is the email design clean and consistent with your brand?
is it engaging?
what about the content?
could you have done something different to get the message out in a better way?
what do you want your audience to do next?

It’s work, but it’s important work.

RootedELM can help identify and provide many of the resources and metrics mentioned to get your team talking. For example, by using Flow we’re able to manage tasks, collaborate and keep the lines of communication open. Below is a snapshot of Flow and an example of our team sharing ideas to keep the content flowing.

Sorting Through Social Media Channels

Christina Noll — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:58:09 +0000

Which Social Media Channels Are You On?

By now, most companies are on Facebook and probably Twitter. But what about those other social media channels? Should you be filtering photos on Instagram? Pinning to boards on Pinterest? Tumbling on Tumblr? Here we’ll provide a snapshot of alternate social media channels and how they could be used to provide good PR for your business:

Instagram

Instagram lets you connect with customers in a unique way that tells your brand’s story in the most real way possible: through candid photos. In addition, this photo sharing site makes it easy to share through all your other social media channels, like Twitter and Facebook. Play amateur photographer and use the vast array of filters to give your image interest and offer followers a behind the scene look at your brand. JCrew and Starbucks are just two of the big brands using Instagram in clever ways to further engage customers.

Instagram is a great venue for letting customers in on what happens “behind the scenes,” as shown in this post by JCrew. Using hash tags (#), much like on Twitter, allows followers to search by topic.

Pinterest, the virtual pin board, allows users to collect a virtual scrapbook of ideas. The site is growing in popularity and driving traffic to company websites in record numbers. Companies can use Pinterest to showcase relevant news or tips your audience will find interesting. Those in the know recommend putting a “Pin It” button on your website, so Pinterest users can pin your items straight to their boards. Many big brands are already on Pinterest.

Pinterest allows companies to organize posts into “boards” by topic and allows followers to “pin” images they like for possible later purchase. JCrew takes advantage of this venue, offering boards featuring color, pattern and new items.

Tumblr

Tumblr is a blogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their own personal platform. Although it has a reputation for being something of a teenage obsession, many large companies are using Tumblr successfully. Probably the number one reason is the ability to spread information at lightening speed, due to the platform’s “reblogging” feature. Photos, videos and anything shiny and new–ie: won’t get lost in the crowd–do best on this social media site.

JCrew utilizes Tumblr’s natural capacity for photos and videos in a blog like setting, offering followers a little more story behind their newest collection.

Are you using Instagram, Pinterest or Tumblr to connect with your audience? Do you plan to? Let us know!

Responding to social media

Christina Noll — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:09:27 +0000

These days, effective marketing communications means using social media to engage your audience. And if you’re using social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, correctly, that means the conversation is most definitely two-way. Engagement means listening to what your customers across platforms to find out what they really want, and then responding to those messages in a personal and timely manner. But what happens when social media goes all wrong? Perhaps an employee inadvertantly posts something inappropriate, or a customer posts a scathing review on your Facebook wall. At times like this, it’s important to already have a social media marketing crisis response plan already on hand.

Here at RootedELM we’ve been thinking a lot about our own social media crisis response plan, and doing some research on what that might look like. As a new company building a social media presence, we know the importance of best practices. We also realize many of our customers probably have the same intentions, so we invite you to share in our process as we develop a plan. Here’s what we’ve learned so far:

Having a crisis response plan on hand enables fast and correct response, regardless of the social media platform, or type of problem.
Talking honestly with customers goes a long way in helping to diffuse tense situations, whether in person or through Twitter.
Monitor social media sites constantly. It helps to have one or two staff members dedicated to monitoring and dispensing social media.
Practice follow-through with customers.

For more great tips, read Marketing Profs Five Rules on How Not to Use Social Media. Check in soon to see a draft of our own social media crisis response plan!

Christina Noll is a content specialist working as a strategic partner with RootedELM.