Rant Alert! :)

The Social Movement has compiled a small rant list of things that we find annoying about Social Media. I think a lot of you can relate…

1. Oversharing. Whether it’s personal or business related, oversharing is a quick way to get unfriended. Your friends do not want to hear the endless rants about your job, relationship, and overall life. And your followers definitely do not want to hear about your business’ daily specials in 30 minute post intervals. If you cant say what you need to say in a maximum of 3 posts a day, maybe it’s not important.
2. Invitations. We’re mostly talking about game invitations, but an excessive use of any invitation can get irritating. Luckily, Facebook has a feature of how you can block such invitations from reaching you, but who wants to put in the 4 step effort? On the other hand, do we mind if you send all of your friends a suggestion to “like” their page? Of course not, we do it all the time. But if not all of your friends jump at your suggestion, it’s safe to say they don’t want to, so sending it again and again and again is just being pushy. Instead, give your page a shout out using your status…just don’t overshare.
3. Grammatical Errors. In a world where we have automatic grammatical corrections, why are there still misspelled words in posts? We just wish people would consider taking a quick test to learn the proper usage of there, their, and they’re. 
4. Constant Updates. Facebook, especially, changes CONSTANTLY. We’re not the type of Company that’s afraid of change, but when FB makes a change and a few weeks later makes another change to fix the change because people didn't like the first change… we’re just as confused as you are. 
5. Math Problems. We are calling you out Instagram! Why are pictures dated in weeks? It isabsolutely frustrating to have to pull out a calendar to remember when a specific picture was taken. Just why?
6. Repetition. The same selfie pose, the same picture of your baby as yesterday, the same status update about your life woes, the same desperate attempt for attention. We got it the first day and we don't need a repeat.
7. Hashtag Abuse. When hashtags first became a “thing,” they were intended for pointing out a keyword or trend to ultimately be used by others searching the same hashtag. This means, it is unacceptable to insert a hashtag in front of a sentence. Enough said.
8. Just Complicated. We genuinely feel bad for newbies in the Social Media world because if we didn't make it our career to specialize in all the cracks and crevices of Social Media, we would be lost. Exhibit A: Twitter. Taking a first look at Twitter, it is overloaded with keyboard symbols, highlighted words, and links.  It takes time to train your brain to read through a post without having to stop and decipher what something means. Remember, you will get used to it after a while!

To be fair, we are probably guilty of more than one of these Social Media infractions and in hindsight, we all mean well. Everyone needs to rant sometimes :)

Happy Friday!!!

Putting a Price on Marketing

How to Put a Price on Marketing…

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that when you have a business, no matter what it is, advertising your business is important and a key factor in keeping a business alive.

There are over 101 ways to market your business and to do it successfully is, no doubt, a full time job. By now, whether you have just started your company or have been in the industry for years, you have realized that the “monster of all marketing” in today’s world is Social Media.

Social Media Marketing is not only important, it’s necessary. And if you haven’t been to our website yet, it can (and in most cases should be) outsourced. Isn’t it also the wave of the future to outsource everything anyways… that’s another post for another day.

But we have already gone over what you should be doing on your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and how The Social Movement can help. But how much should it cost? How much should you pay for Social Media Marketing?

I will start with what you “shouldn’t” pay for. I say “shouldn’t” because if this is what you focus on and think that the more money you throw at it, the more successful it will be, you may be very disappointed. Im talking about SEO: Search Engine Optimization. You can pay a large amount of money for SEO but guess what? So does everyone else. Explain this- if you and 5 million of your competitors are paying the same amount of money to be at the top of Google, when anyone searches for something relevant to your business, who will really be on top? Who will even really be in the top 10? I don’t have an answer for you, nor do I have the secret to being an SEO master. What I do have is my proven observation of how having a successful, complete, and consistent Facebook page improves SEO. Using trending hashtags improves SEO. Being a Social Media master improves SEO. I’m not saying that SEO isn’t important to a business, just be careful of what you are paying for vs. what you expect your results to be.

And that holds true in all aspects of marketing; what you are paying for vs. what you expect the results to be. The second piece to this math problem; how much you pay for outsourcing vs. what you would pay a full time employee. For example, The Social Movement (the outsource) is $500.00 per month. That breaks down to roughly $100.00 per week. Divide that by 5 working days, that’s $20.00 per day. Divide that by an 8 hour work day, that’s $2.50 per hour. Obviously you can’t hire a full time employee to manage your Facebook for $2.50 an hour. That’s illegal. 

“If I outsource, what will the quality of work be?” “Is The Social Movement really going to increase my Social Media presence?” With marketing, it’s important to remember, quantity does not always equal quality. To feel comfortable with hiring a Marketing company, you need to analyze what they are promising and what is really realistic. It would be hard for an SEO Company to promise your business one of the top 3 spots on Google and actually deliver. But know this, anything Social Media related can be tracked, and analytic reports are crucial in looking at where your business was and how far it has come. Any marketing company that is confident in their service, will have no problem showing you the results of hiring them. At least, The Social Movement has no problem doing that ;)

So how do you put a price on Marketing? Just like any other business decision. You look at the benefits and the cost. You research what you will be paying for. You feel confident with the choice you made by analyzing the results. And just like The Social Movement’s clients, you realize how necessary Social Media Marketing is and how reassuring it is that you have a company that will take care of it for you.

Happy Birthday America!

On July 4th, 1776, America claimed their independence from Britain and it would forever be a day where Americans nationwide would celebrate! From parades and BBQ’s, to grand firework displays and epic light shows, America knows how to throw a party.  Of course, in the grand scheme of things, we are all lucky to live in the land of the free, but what about how lucky we are to live in one of the best states ever, Colorado.

Colorado is never short on festivity options and with one short weekend so jammed packed with events, parades, and scenic camping, its never easy to make a decision on what to do and where to do it. 

Denver, for example, not only has a great bar scene, but a couple huge firework displays that you can enjoy without paying for the ticket to Coors Field or Sports Authority Field. If you're the type that would rather spend their money on a bar tab, this will require a little more placement strategy, as the best views from the bars and restaurants fill up fast hours prior to the sun going down. 

Mountain getaways are always a popular choice for the Fourth of July weekend and a great way to escape the busy social crowds. Similar to the best bar views, campsites also go quickly and are primarily booked months in advance. If you can find a nice spot, near a lake, that puts on a great firework show, than I am envious of you and you should make it the best weekend of your life.

Now, maybe you don’t have the skills or knowledge to go on an adventurous camping trip. Maybe you would rather not deal with the extremely “lively” bunch of Denver bar hoppers. No need to be discouraged of the overcrowded “hot spots” in this beautiful state. There is a long list of “in between” activities for you to take advantage of. The Greeley Stampede, Bandimere Speedway, or an old fashioned neighborhood block party are all very low key options to show off your patriotism. 

Whatever you decide to do, it’s important to stay safe and of course, stay social. We cant wait to see all of the great firework pictures, the friends and family posts, and overall marketing of America and how great it is! 

Happy Birthday America from The Social Movement!