In the final fiscal quarter of 2018, Facebook ad revenue was over sixteen billion dollars. But did they earn this money ethically? Despite years of activist pleas, Facebook has done little to address racism and other issues on its platform. In 2019 Facebook said that they would update algorithms to promote avenues for leaving hate groups. Have you ever seen these resources? Time and again, Facebook proves they won’t make meaningful change on their own. So now corporations are pulling advertising for July. Welcome to the Facebook ad boycott.

Reasons To Boycott

 

The Facebook ad boycott started in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the resulting protests. Activists condemned Facebook’s treatment of demonstrations, some even claiming the company directly incited violence, following this major civil rights organizations banded together to take action. But this is not the first time people have spoken directly to Facebook about this issue. For years Facebook pledged to crack down on hate speech. But the results are utterly abysmal.

It becomes clear that the leadership of Facebook places a higher value on daily active users than our community’s health and safety. Allowing the spread of hate speech encourages violence, destruction, and Manny extremely harmful philosophies. The goal of the stop hate for-profit campaign is to force Facebook into action through economic means.

Simply put, boycotting leverages our capitalist system. Facebook wants to be viewed as a wholesome community. But make no mistake, they are a company, and they care about their bottom line. The more companies that boycott the ads, the more significant the campaign’s impact will be. And many corporations have already signed up. So who exactly is stepping up to Facebook?

Who Is Boycotting

 

Stop hate for profit is a coalition of groups like Color Of Change, NAACP, ADL, Sleeping Giants, Free Press, and Common Sense Media, and more. The original idea for the boycott comes from these civil rights groups. Since its inception, many companies have joined on and pledged to stop Facebook advertising. And some of the companies are major brand names.

The boycotters include companies like Ben and Jerry’s, North Face, REI, magnolia pictures, and many more.  Some advertising agencies are even advising clients to boycott. 360i, a significant name in advertising, counseled its clients to join the boycott and pull advertising. 360i represents massive brands like 7-eleven and OREO. But Facebook has been hesitant to make real change when called upon by lawmakers and the community it serves. So what makes this push for change any different?

Why Ad Boycotts

 

Remember Facebook’s fourth-quarter earnings we mentioned earlier? Well, it’s only a small slice of their pie. In 2019 Statista reported that Facebook’s ad revenue was 69.7 billion dollars. In the past, we’ve talked about pay per click ads. These are hugely important for many businesses, but none more than Facebook. Statista also reported that in 2019 over 98 percent of Facebook’s total profits were from these ads. Without the money generated from advertising, Facebook is not economically viable.

This sole reliance on advertising is precisely why an ad boycott is a powerful tool. Mainly this would be like placing an embargo on a country. If Facebook insists on profiting from hate speech, then they will not get any profits. Because of the reliance on these companies, Facebook is vulnerable to anything that disrupts their ad system. By doing precisely that, corporations and civil rights groups hope to shift the core values which Facebook is operating under.

Facebook Ad Boycott

 

Yet again, we see a call for Facebook to put an end to their promotion of hate speech. In the middle of a wave of civil rights protests, activist groups are calling on Facebook to stop this kind of content. A coalition of civil rights groups like the NAACP and Sleeping Giants have called on advertisers to pull their July ads. Many significant companies and marketing firms are behind the movement and have committed to removing their ads.

Facebook has had a long time to change on their own, but they haven’t. It is time to use the power of money to fight for the people. By pulling Facebook advertisements, companies are trying to force action from the social media giant. In the past, efforts to make Facebook address hate speech has failed. But this campaign might be the most significant threat to the bottom line Facebook has faced.

We are happy to announce we will be participating in the stop hate for profit boycott. Kallen media is excited to pull our Facebook ads for July, and we encourage you to join the stop hate for profit movement too. Pledge to remove Facebook advertising for July and use your platform as a company to help your community. If you need help developing an alternative communications plan, please contact Kallen media on our website.

Everyone knows social media is one of the best ways to communicate in the modern world. Social media engagement allows businesses to reach a previously unrealistic number of consumers. But in a situation rife with opportunity, it can be hard to know how to engage the people on the internet. Social media can be confusing, but today its more important than ever to understand.

So how exactly does someone communicate effectively and receive engagement? The rules for this process are relatively simple. By following a few easy guidelines, companies can start to see massive improvements on their social media pages. So, where does someone start when trying to create social media engagement?

 

Step 1: Know Your Audience

 

The first step to building a social media presence people want to interact with is planning. Before you even create accounts, it is helpful to know who you want to reach. Social media can put you in contact with anyone in the world! But it works best for businesses when communication is more targeted than random. Targeting your market segment helps, and knowing your target market makes this process achievable. But how do you talk to your customers?

 

Step 2: Have a Voice

 

Knowing what kind of content you want to post is important. A companies page on social media needs to be a clear representation. Developing this voice can be hard but it helps to have a plan before posting. A company should create a style of posting and regular content which they chose to post. This consistent conversation will help followers of the brand know what to expect from it. Similar to having a coherent voice, your brand should engage regularly.

 

Step 3: Consistent Social Media Engagement

After developing a voice that fits the companies brand, engagement should be done regularly. Regular engagement helps generate new followers and keep old followers loyal. Engagement includes posting, replying, and even viewing other profiles. Consistent engagement will make people rely on your media for content. If you post regularly, people will come to expect it from you, which keeps followers coming back.

 

Step 4: Engage on Multiple Platforms

 

While utilizing all available social media platforms might seem obvious, it is a valuable practice. For example, lots of businesses view Instagram as a less beneficial platform to maintain. But Instagram users average above 20 minutes on the site every day. And there are even platforms that help manage multiple social media pages. Ignoring any platform might cause you to lose out on valuable business. Utilizing all available platforms helps spread out your message, ensuring you can easily target your desired market segments.

 

Step 5: Build a Social Media Community

 

Once you have a following, they have to feel involved in your content. If people feel like they are a part of your brand or the people who support it. Support will form bonds that keep people invested in your community. This support can range from promotion of user-generated content to contests and more. Having a way for people to become a part of the narrative makes it fun to follow company’s social media. However, this content has to be in line with your goals and voice to seem fluid. It’s essential to analyze the impact your posts are making. Mainlining your voice is extremely important when developing your online community.

Step 6: Don’t Flood People with Ads

 

Let’s be honest; if the only thing you post is advertisements, you’re not running an exciting feed. People don’t want to be swamped with promotional information. One way to get around this is to post content you think your target niche is interested in. If your customers happen to be people who like picnics and puppies, sprinkle some in. Having other content helps keep followers from feeling like they are being taken advantage of. Similarly, you can post content that is in line with your companies brand. These posts can help strengthen brand perception as well as promote intended goods or services.

 

Step 7:  Stick with the Engagement

 

Social media can be time-consuming ad stressful at first. The process of gaining initial followers can be hard-fought. Reaching high levels of followers with tons of active engagement takes a long time. Paying for advertising, collaborating with established influencers, and networking can all help build a company. If you don’t see rapid returns from social media stick to the plan. In the long run, utilizing social media to advertise and reach consumers is a valuable practice.

 

Social media engagement

 

The first step to starting an excellent social media presence is having a plan. This plan must include your target markets, your brand goals, a voice for your brand to communicate with. After you have an idea, its important to post regularly and overall platforms of social media. Once all of this is done, make sure you’re not flooding people with advertisements to find a balanced amount to post. The last thing to remember is social media takes time to develop. Don’t be discouraged by the time and stick with the process. If you have any questions about social media engagement, contact Kallen media on our website.

Financial services and their yield are always under a grey area – since they require the audience to consider investing a considerable chunk of their monetary possessions. Most of the time, we, as the audience, witness these financial firms advertising for services where they want us to inject for their company some money. And, also if you have a careful eye for detail, you may notice that their social media marketing strategies for finance fail.

Even when these banks, brokerage houses, and even independent wealth consultants post their other-than-business-stuff, they get criticized publicly for their services. The precise cause behind such a failure is the inefficient way of engaging with their target customers. So, here is this holistic guideline, based on our top 4 tips to market your financial services – the right way.

 

Tip 1 – Choose the right platform

 

While your business may teach you how to manage your funds effectively while playing under the budget, it may not prepare you to face this full social media world. There are hundreds of social media marketing strategies, but it’s not ‘one size fits all’ anymore. In this era, you need to select a platform based on your general niche and your service more precisely. Also, you need to see the channels and media you would want. For example, on a Facebook page with no sponsored posts – you’ll badly fail if you offer a coupon worth $100. For financial services mainly, the best media is LinkedIn.

Remember that social media marketing isn’t only about posting a few updates, or maybe share an infographic or a video on how you can yield a profit of 5500% on an initial investment of $1. It should be a story of how your services can solve your audience’s massive problems. Offer them free financial consultancy – and for that, LinkedIn and Instagram can generate the best leads! Once you know your desired platform, it becomes way more comfortable to start producing content that people would love.

 

Tip 2 – Seek professional help

 

Let’s admit – we are great businessmen. We know how to generate substantial cash flow from a small investment. We know how to solve short-term and long-term liquidity issues faced by commoners or celebrities. But, we are all not what we call as ‘all-rounders. And because of that, our businesses shouldn’t suffer. You know your business; you have spent years studying your products and services, and you have played well with conventional marketing. But because the world is changing, we need to change too. And that’s what these social media marketing agents are working.

The best way towards your significant online media presence is to select a social media marketing agency, after thorough research. These organizations have subject matter experts, teams of SEO bloggers, and social media experts who can skyrocket your financial business on an online platform on a Launchpad. They can provide expert advice on whether you need to go ahead with one platform or two or even a multiple of these platforms.

 

Tip 3 – Engage with people and live your brand

 

If your business is alive, let it live amongst your audience. Your website, your Facebook page cover, your Pinterest, your LinkedIn, and anything else that you use should follow the same colors, styles, and themes as are supported by your brand. There are hundreds of customizable themes available in WordPress, which can transform the complete outlook of your brand’s online presence and would give your business a superior look than its competitors.

 

Tip 4 – Be picky about your content  

 

Don’t just share anything. And don’t share everything. Share stories about your brand – that aren’t directly about your brand. Share behind the scenes, stories of your business dinners, snapshots of a typical day at work, virtual tours of your offices, success stories, philanthropic work, and your work towards corporate social responsibility. Do it in the form of short interviews, memes, jokes from one of the employees, customer of the month, an infographic, a public holiday greeting, or a video. Popular social media marketing companies in Arizona, Tempe suggest to offer a downloadable freebie on your website. It could be a checklist, savings template, a short business plan, or whatsoever. It is a first step towards collecting email ids as well. This way, you are not only telling people how far you go to help them, but it imprints the pictures of your office in the minds of people.

 

 

Remember, your social media marketing platforms for finance and your marketing channels are no less than your business premises or a branch of it. When they look at your website, they should get a feel of standing in your office. Don’t just do business, socialize it!

No matter the company, everyone’s goal is to have a stunning image online.  Businesses want potential clients to see their digital presence and compel customers to spend money.  Creating conversions through social media is key to any successful campaign.  In many cases, the first view a customer gets is a company’s social media channels.  However, what the business believes to be their digital image, is not what the possible consumers see. 

Social networks have become interwoven in everyday life. Companies who lack the resources or information on these channels are suffering from the competition.  Today I am going to show you how you can make sure your company has the best online presence to create conversions through social media in 6 steps.

 

1. Consistency Is Key

 

 

With so many different brands to choose from, keeping up with your online image is essential.  Posting every once and a while will not cut it anymore. Potential customers want to see that your business is active and engaging.  This engagement helps increase customer interactions and frequent organic content. Content can be anything from pictures to informational posts about your products or services.

 

If someone comes to your social media page, and they only see a few posts, this will signal your business is not active.  This behavior is due to there being so many options to choose from. More often than not, if your competition is more active online, people will be driven more to interact with those pages.  Your brand becomes one that takes care of its clients and engages its audience.  In turn, this leads to increases in sales and web traffic for businesses that have consistent social media posts.

 

Create a schedule that you will be able to follow.  I recommend posting at least 2-3 times a week. However, I will always advocate for more content as opposed to less.  You can use software like Hootsuite to manage your social media accounts all in one place. This software allows you to create a schedule for consistent posts.

 

2. Keep Your Information Updated

 

Make it easy for potential clients to give you their business.  Ease of access starts by having accurate information on your different social listings.  Having misinformation can cause search engines and people to become confused. To avoid this, double-check over your address information, phone numbers, and services provided.  

 

 

The older your business is, the higher chance there might be some wrong information on your profiles.  Similarly, if you have moved locations, then you may need to do extra verification on platforms like Google My Business.  Often, businesses may not realize they have misinformation until they have already lost a significant amount of business.

 

3. Pick a Brand Image

 

No matter what your company is, decide what you want your brand to represent.  Are you a happy-go-lucky brand? Or is your product and service more serious? Determining how to place yourself will determine the customer market you attract.

 

It is no longer enough to have a brand image.  You have to prove to your clients that your brand image is who you are.  Try to stick to general themes when you create content. Always choosing unrelated topics to post about makes it harder for your audience to understand what your company is all about.

 

4. Utilize Available Features

 

Within each social media platform, there are a variety of available features.  Many networks allow you to create a bare-bones profile while getting started. While this gets you started, this means your profile is a long way from where it needs to be.  One of the first steps is going to be choosing profile and background pictures. Typically a logo or a shot of your company is a great choice. This is going to be your customer’s first impression.

 

 

Next, you are going to create a clear call to action.  Make it visible what you do and what you want your clients to do when they are on your page.  This behavior can vary from calling your store to signing up for a newsletter. Determine this by what your company values or needs most for creating conversions through social media.

 

Many social networks, like Facebook and LinkedIn, offer very in-depth profiles.  I encourage you to take the time to fill out as many details as possible. The easier it is for the customer to understand you and your company, the more likely they are to spend money.  Alternatively, social networks like Instagram and Twitter keep your content and messages much shorter. This strategy means that material is thought of more carefully, and in a broader sense.

 

5. Be Aware of Paid Avenues

 

Organic posts and traffic are great, but it is typically limited.  Social networks are starting to revert to the paid methods of displaying company information.  In summary, Facebook is now showing your content to less of your subscriber base. To reach your full audience, you need to invest in boosts or Facebook advertising campaigns.  Because of this, it is essential to be aware of the paid digital marketing advertising spaces on different platforms.

 

 

Every platform has both a paid and organic way to reach your niche.  Learning how to use the paid avenues will help you understand ads and your competition better.  Investing in these advertising methods can often be an effective way to reach audiences. I would recommend doing customer analysis and additional research before spending your money on social media advertisements.  This way, you are ensuring your ads will be as effective as possible in the network that will get your brand noticed.

 

6. LinkBack To Your Website

 

Social media networks should act as funnels to your website.  The social media pages get your audience interested, while your website allows them to buy.  There should be multiple product and service links from your social media to your site. These links should be accurate about where they are linking to help potential clients and search engines.

 

 

I would recommend making sure you have Google Analytics tracking codes on your website.  These analytics will allow you to monitor traffic. Social media services also allow you to add tracking pixels to your site.  Similar to Google, they track actions taken from specific buttons or pages. Because of this, campaigns can be tweaked and changed to be as effective as possible in creating conversions through social media.

As a small business, it is tough competing against multi-million dollar companies.  What does your potential client find when they search for your product or service? Does there seem to be an endless stream of options to choose from EXCEPT for your company?  Large companies can have marketing budgets expanding to the millions. This hurdle can make getting seen online feel like a huge task.

 

Don’t fret yet!  There are some strategies small businesses can employ to be seen and stand out in their market.  The first part is going to be identifying the difference between organic and paid traffic. Organic traffic is people who find your website without having to pay.  Corporations or more seasoned veterans may have a large part of the organic market. Building your organic search in these conditions can take years of hard work. The long time commitment is why it is a great idea to start investing in your pay per click campaigns for immediate results.

 

How Do I Start Advertising Digitally?

 

 

Within the digital world, there are tons of different outlets to spend your marketing budget.  Pay per click campaigns should be at the top of your list of investments. These advertisements make you stand out above the organic competition.  This placement is the opportunity to be seen and be above the larger organic pages, which may rank higher otherwise.

 

There are a variety of ways to decide where you invest your budget.  Social media networks are vital components to pay per click advertising.  They are the digital representation of your company that interacts with your clients.  Depending on your niche, there are going to be different networks that are more beneficial than others.

 

If you are spending money on ads, and not paying attention to where your traffic is going, you could be losing crucial data.  The most important part should be tracking conversions A conversion is the desired action you want your customer to take after they click your advertisement.  For some companies, this might be a newsletter signup, page views, or even actual purchase.

 

The first step is going to be identifying the specific niche that you want to target.  For more information, you can read my article “Blogging and Your Niche.” Primarily, you determine as specific a target audience as possible.  This targetting will allow your business to have an accurate customer persona you can market and advertise. It is worth taking the time to create the best model possible for the best results.

 

What Social Media Network Will You Target?

 

Now that you know who is in your niche, it is time to decide what ad network is going to be most effective for your audience.  This network means determining what social network you want to invest your capital. It is worth noting that having active social media accounts much helps your cause.  For this article, we will skim over organic posts and focus primarily on paid advertising. Check out our article on how to run great social media accounts if you have additional questions.  Now it is time to look at each social media and how it may impact various markets.

 

The networks we are featuring are all going to be self-service platforms.  “Self-service” means that anyone can create an account and start advertising on these platforms.  The budget, structure, and content are all at the user’s disposal. However, there are some guidelines to follow for all ad platforms.  These guidelines can also change depending on the type of business you run.  Now let’s dive into pay per click advertising through social media channels starting with Facebook.

 

 Facebook Ads

 

 

Facebook is one of the first modern-day social media platforms.  With its age comes a significant footprint in the digital marketing pay per click world.  Facebook offers a variety of options for business owners to target their direct market.  All in all, Facebook is still primarily business to the consumer world. Companies that sell the business to business products may find a harder time converting potential clients to paying customers.

 

The Facebook business dashboard offers a variety of tools used to target various audiences.  My recommendation would be to use Facebook advertisements for their re-targeting purposes. This tactic can help directly target your niche, and people that have expressed interest in your product or services.

 

Facebook offers courses to help beginners get started with their advertising platform.  Kallen Media also provides services for both setting up and managing paid Facebook ad campaigns.  As we look towards the future of Facebook ads, I believe they will become more vital in the coming years.  The reasoning behind this is the lowered rate of natural posts shown to people who like a page. As organic traffic lessens, Facebook encourages businesses to spend more on ads to make sure companies can reach their actual fan bases.  This strategy goes back to how advertising done before free social media platforms.

 

Instagram Ads

 

 

Facebook, Instagram own the next social media giant.  Instagram is the hub for photos and influencers galore. This avenue is going to be great for lifestyle brands and organizations that can easily visualize their concepts.  Business to business brands will want to showcase their products and services cleanly.

 

Advertising on Instagram can start by making your account a business account.  This type of account allows for additional viewing insights about your profile.  These statistics are essential for finding your audience and creating content to appeal to them.  Now it is time for advertising.

 

There are a few different ways to advertise on Instagram.  The first is going to be through featured posts that will pop up on users’ timelines.  These posts tailored towards specific markets depending on how much data you have on your audience.  Another prevalent method is influencer marketing. This marketing channel is paying Instagram users with a broad audience to promote your product or service.  When taking this approach, you will want to make sure it is someone famous in your niche. There is no reason to waste money on posts for influencers with the wrong audience.

 

LinkedIn Ads

 

 

Shifting from the previous platforms, LinkedIn is a fantastic option for a business to business marketing.  LinkedIn’s purpose is to be a professional networking platform. Content’s purpose is to engage and educate business owners while helping to build each other’s networks.

 

LinkedIn holds its ad format in an auction-type form similar to Google Ads.  You bid against competitors on specific audiences. Once this is complete, it is time to decide whether you are paying per click or per number of views.  Since LinkedIn is self-service, budgeting decisions are entirely up to the business. I would recommend using LinkedIn to connect with people within your industry as well.  This tool is a great way to keep an eye on your competition!

 

Twitter Ads

 

 

Next, we are going to take a look at advertising on Twitter.  Twitter is excellent for targeting specific groups. There are large segments within the platform that create their communities.  Integrating content that relates to them and following similar accounts is an excellent way to get noticed.  

 

Overall, conversions through Twitter have seemed very low from the trials that we have done.  I would recommend taking a look through advertising on Twitter if you already know the hyper segmented target you are targetting.  Twitter also works with third-party advertising platforms allowing ads shown from re-targeting programs like Google’s.

 

Pinterest Ads

 

 

The final social media advertising platform I am going to cover is Pinterest.  This platform may be unfamiliar to some, but it can be great for select markets. Think of Pinterest as a collection of ideas for specific topics.  There are boards based on house decorations, projects, and recipes. There is a strong female audience presence making it worthwhile to look at for lifestyle and home good brands.  

I would recommend that business to business companies do not spend their advertising budget here.  However, the exception may be event hosting companies, as this would be a great place to make a board for each completed project.  Pinterest provides a great 8 step guide to getting started with their ads that I would recommend if you are interested in learning more.  We hope this guide gives you the knowledge you’ll need for pay per click advertising through social media channels.

Social media is how modern companies can communicate directly with their clients.  There are a variety of different channels that are best suited to targeting different audiences. Using these platforms in a way that benefits your business is essential in the growing digital world.  I want to focus on how small businesses and large corporations alike can utilize social media management services. Using these tools will create a company with strong brand recognition and customer loyalty.  When we talk about social media, we are talking about platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, to name just a few.

1. Audience engagement

 

Your company should be active on social media is because it helps gets you recognized.  Take a look at the biggest brands. Every one of them has extremely active social media accounts. These accounts are, especially for consumer-oriented products. Social media management services allow companies to personalize messages and make their clients feel important.  Previously, companies would have to pay hundreds or thousands in advertising dollars to reach their audience. It is easier than ever to enter both your core audience and expand it.

Many of the social media companies like Facebook are pushing paid advertising on their platforms.  Because of this, the number of natural attention posts is getting is lower than ever. This shift is a push from social media marketing giants to encourage advertising and discourage free promotion.  To properly engage audiences going into 2020, I recommend entirely building out your pages with as much information as possible. This will allow potential clients to view all your store’s information at a glance.  Having messaging features open is highly encouraged. Opening a dialogue may be what rights a miserable experience, or what gets you noticed!

2. Brand Loyalty

 

At the heart of most companies is their desire to create brand loyalty with their customers.  This bond creates a lasting connection that will generate significant business for large and small businesses.  Social media marketing services allow for more natural connection and exposure to previous clients. Diving deeper into this, the open channel of communication allows for more interactive programs.  An example of this would be custom deals exclusively available to previous clients.

Offering promotional deals is also a great way to encourage clients to buy.  Advertising channels allow you to get this offer in front of thousands of people without spending more than a few hundred dollars.  Make sure you do your research before you start paid promotional campaigns on any social media outlet. By doing this, you may uncover a different channel may be more optimal.

3. Top-of-mind awareness

 

Clients are more likely to buy from companies that they are familiar with.  Before social media, this meant buying signs or print ads for many to see. The technique was more of a “shotgun” method than a highly specialized one.  With the revolution of in-depth advertising consoles, the limits now are endless. Utilizing tools like Google and Facebook advertising campaigns, you can have ads track both current and previous clients.

These ads encourage similar products that the clients may be interested in.  Alternatively, you can target keywords, groups, and demographics that you believe will be interested in your product or service.  This focusing is another point where I would highly advise in using testing techniques or hiring a professional social media management services provider like us!  Not only will this save you time and money, but it will also allow you to put more time into your actual business.

4. Fantastic Opportunity

 

Currently, there are no fees to join all the largest social media networks.  This non-existent barrier to entry means that the time could not be better to start building your digital empire.  Clients are never going to know your company exists unless you tell them. Seize the opportunity to start building your brand and telling your story.

One of the most critical aspects of social media you should remember is to stay active.  People are much more likely to buy and interact with dynamic pages. If there has been no activity for months, it will signal that you are not active online.  In a world where there is more commerce done online than in person, your business must take control of the aspects you can. If you feel that this is too much extra work, there are many affordable social media management services.

5. Affordable Social Media Management Services

 

There is an easy way to have your social media channels taken care of.  That is hiring an agency like Kallen Media LLC to do your social media. The way we work is that we start by sitting down with our clients to talk about their company and brand.  Once there is a clear picture, we map out the goals of social media.

In some cases, we then put together budgets for how much ad spend clients are looking to spend through various channels.  Similarly, there are also many cases where we provide the content as well.
Our social media management services start as low as $200.  This includes access to our social media dashboard designed to make scheduling easy.  We also offer blogs alongside our content to help boost your website’s ranking. If you are interested in learning how you can get started, you can email [email protected] or call (773)524-1483.