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Small business owners wear a lot of hats and lately, they’ve added a new hat to their attire – the “social media” hat. And, as they are finding out slowly, social media can consume a lot of their time. Even though many spend more time on social media now than a year ago, they struggle with the added workload.

This infographic from the people at VerticalResponse highlights how small businesses are using social media, how much time and money they are spending, which social networks they are focusing on and much more.

For instance, 43% of small businesses are spending at least 6 hours per week on social media, focusing mainly on Facebook and Twitter. And, it’s interesting to find out that 55% of small businesses have a blog.

Some small businesses even find value in paying for social media tools to help them with publishing and analytics and 57.5% spend $26 or more per month on social medial related expenditures.

Small businesses have a lot to consider as they strive to grow and social media can be a great tool to help expand their brand if it’s done correctly and consistently. The challenge is figuring out when you can do everything yourself or when it’s time to bring in a professional to help you with your efforts.

If you think it’s time for your company to include social media in your marketing, get in touch with Hadfield Communications at www.hadfield.net. We’ll be glad to analyze your current social media strategy and give you feed back on how to improve on what you already have.

People will read your posts more if they have brief copy, better headlines and attractive visuals.

Did you know that the average shelf life of a Tweet is less than an hour? That doesn’t give you much time to make an impact on your customers. Breaking through all the clutter in all the social media sites and actually reaching your target reader is not an easy task. Whether you’re developing content for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, a blog or other social sites, you should strive to create engaging posts that people want to read and give them useful information they can actually use. Here are a few tips for creating posts with a punch:

Get to the Point

People scan pages rather than read them in their entirety, so be smart about your formatting and content. You can make a post more compelling just by numbering your main points since that makes it easier to read. Make your posts clear and don’t use a lot of marketing mambo jumbo. According to a report by Buddy Media, posts with 80 words or less have, on average, a 27% higher engagement rate.

Headlines Are Key

Your headline is the first impression you make on your readers. Make your headlines pop and use numbers whenever possible. Numbers are an effective way to capture your reader’s attention. But always remember, the title is what’s going to bring a reader in by catching their eye. Once you hook them, it’s more likely that they’ll click on the link to read more.

Insert Visuals in Your Posts

People are drawn to stimulating, informational visuals more than text, so by all means, insert them in your posts. Create a great infographic, add a diagram or find a beautiful picture of what you’re saying. Pictures are indeed worth a…well, you know.

Measure Your Results

See when something is working or not working. By using Google Analytics you can see the search terms people are using to get to your posts. By using this data you will get new post ideas and better rankings by using key words.

There are many social media platforms out there and it’s hard to get reader’s attention. If you use the above tips, you’re sure to get better results when posting. And remember, consistency is key, so post frequently so your readers know you’re out there.

If you think it’s time for your company to get more involved with Social Media, get in touch with Hadfield Communications at www.hadfield.net. We’ll be glad to analyze your current Social Media efforts and give you feed back on how to improve on what you already have.

Sometimes you need a little help to create good content that your readers will like.

The only way you’re going to be successful with your social media efforts is if you give your readers the content they want to read. If you have good content, people will be inclined to share it on their social media networks. And, if people share your content, your social media rankings will improve. Below are five ways for you to find out what your readers really want to read.

Here’s the Obvious One: Ask Them!

Don’t assume you know what content your online community wants to read about. Reach out to your audience and ask them what they want. Do a survey by using SurveyMonkey, Free Online Surveys or Zoomerang. Create a list of topics and ask them to vote “yes” or “no” for each topic or have them rank them in order of interest. Add your survey to your Web site, email newsletters and promote it on Twitter and Facebook to get results.

Check Your Blogs Comments

When you write a post that gets lots of comments, you know that’s a topic people want to hear about. Look at all the comments and see what they liked about the post. Consider doing a series of similar posts and educate yourself on the topic to see where you can expand on it.

Check Websites that Rank Content

There are Websites such as Topsy and Inbound.org that are real time search engines and they rank the most popular content by the hour, day or week. You can find a site that focuses on content relevant to you and check it daily to get ideas. There are sites for relevant news for small businesses ranging from marketing to finance or others with content for SEO, Mobile, Social Media, Analytics and many more.

Check Your Retweets and Facebook

People usually retweet posts they believe are useful and interesting. When you post links or articles people retweet a lot, turn them into articles that you can post. The key is to find a topic people are interested in. Once you know that, creating content about that topic is only a matter or research.

Hire a Ghost Writer

Sometimes even the best of us either run out of time or run out of steam and  need a fresh take on our content. Hiring a ghost writer will give you an influx of fresh ideas and your readers may enjoy the variety in writing styles and topics.

Your take away from this post should be that in order to get people interested in what you post, you have to give them what they want. Don’t assume you know what they want to read. Get engaged and ask them what their interests are. You may be surprised at the response.

If you think it’s time for your company to change gears when it comes to content creation, get in touch with Hadfield Communications at www.hadfield.net. We’ll be glad to analyze your current content and social media efforts and give you feed back on how to improve on what you already have.

Having a more dynamic Website will keep visitors coming back and your Web traffic will increase.

Is your Website in need of a little pick-me-up? It’s easy for businesses to neglect their site once it’s up as they feel all the necessary information is up there for people to see. But the truth is, you need to keep your Website updated and uploading current content is a must if you want people to keep on coming back. If you get into the habit of doing these five simple things on a consistent basis, your customers will appreciate it, you’ll see your Web traffic grow and people will spend more time on your site.

Create Videos

Videos are a great way to keep people engaged. You could create How-To videos to show people how to use your products. Videos entertain and educate people and they’re a great way to personalize your company and your product.

Put up an RSS Feed

By putting an RSS feed on your home page, it will give your visitors the sense of activity. Furthermore, the feed will provide up-to-date content so your visitors will feel like there’s new content all the time. Have news stories or blogs that would be useful to your visitors and that are in your niche. This will grab their attention and it’s content that is targeted to their interests.

Have More Imagery

Pictures, graphs, infographics and other imagery are a great way to keep people interested. Having content that they can download, like a great infographic that explains something, is a good way for people to get engaged. Have a photo gallery of your last product launch or company function.

Create a Blog

As mentioned on our last blog post 5 Ways to Bring People to Your Web Site, a blog is a great way for your business to keep people informed on any new developments, news, articles and ideas related to your company or product. It’s also a good place to answer the questions your customers want to know about. But, make sure your blog provides value to your readers. If you upload good content regularly, this will give your visitors a reason to come back.

Integrate Twitter

Twitter is a great tool to use to bring people to your site and if you use Twitter, why not integrate your Tweets to your blog, making it more dynamic. Your visitors will see the daily activity on Twitter and they’ll see that you’re engaged.

What you ultimately want to do is to create an enjoyable experience for people to keep coming back. The key to keeping people interested is always having fresh content that is relevant and informative.

If you think it’s time for your company to get a more dynamic Website, get in touch with Hadfield Communications at www.hadfield.net. We’ll be glad to analyze your current Website efforts and give you feed back on how to improve on what you already have.

Having fresh content on your site will increase your traffic.

Anyone who has a Website knows that people aren’t going to come to your site just because you put a site up. Getting traffic to your site takes hard work  and dedication. You have to work at it to get people to come back on a consistent basis. Here are 5 ways to help you bring people to your Website more frequently.

Write Fresh Content

Why would people want to come back to your site if your content is stale? If you constantly have good content, people will want to come back for more. The most important thing about content is to keep it fresh and up-to-date.

Create a Blog

A blog is a great way for your business to keep people informed on any new developments, news, articles and ideas related to your company or product. It’s also a good place to answer the questions your customers want to know about. But, make sure your blog provides value to your readers. If you upload good content regularly, this will give your visitors a reason to come back.

Get on Twitter

Using Twitter as a marketing tool is a great way to inform people about your Website and it is a very effective way to get noticed. Follow people that matter to your business and Tweet about interesting articles you think may help others or Tweet about posts on your blog where people can get useful information on the subject you’re writing about. Be cautious about just advertising your company on Twitter though. If you do, you will quickly lose followers.

Monitor How Your Site Is Used

By monitoring how people use your site, you’ll be able to tell what works, what people are interested in and what type of content you should have more of. The analytics on your Website can be a powerful tool and they will show you what to do and what not to do.

Have Dynamic Content on Your Site

It’s all about making a more enjoyable experience for your visitors so they’ll come back to your site. Create a message board, have a picture gallery, have a featured quote of the day, post relevant news items, have a calendar of events. Or, you may even want to engage your visitors on a contest, a fun survey, or something to spark their attention. Get creative and have fun with the people that visit your site.

If you think it’s time for your company to get a more dynamic Website, get in touch with Hadfield Communications at www.hadfield.net. We’ll be glad to analyze your current Website efforts and give you feed back on how to improve on what you already have.

Twitter for Business says if you aren’t using Twitter for your business, you are missing out. Twitter can help you increase brand awareness, connect with customers, increase customer loyalty, increase sales and much more.

On the Ebook Twitter for Business by Shawna Fennell, there are some great tips and resources for businesses that are just starting out. The Ebook walks you through the steps of setting up a Twitter account to customizing your background and setting up some of your preferences. The author goes into detail about what businesses should Tweet about and strategies that have worked for her. If you aren’t really sure what to Tweet about, here are 5 of her top Tweet tips. Be sure to download her Ebook to get the complete list.

1. Link To Blogs - Follow some blogs that you are interested in via an RSS feed to a feed reader such as Google. Start by posting links to interesting posts that you like. If you found it interesting, you can bet other people will like it as well.

2. Quotes – Post inspirational quotes that may help someone or brighten their day. Personal development quotes and quotes by famous people are great. Quotes are frequently retweeted and will help you get more followers. You can find some good quotes at www.brainyquote.com.

3. Coupons – Don’t just be a sales person on Twitter. People don’t want to be sold to, they want engagement, value and a social experience. You can post links to your products or sites, but keep them to a minimum (maybe 5% of your Tweets). In fact, use TwtQpon to help you create coupons for Twitter.

4. Ask Questions - Start conversations by asking simple questions. Ask anything from what they want to accomplish today to what the best tip they have in the market you are in. Also ask them what they think of a new product or service or ask fun questions about their animals, kids, or life as a conversation starter. Get creative and make it fun.

5. Hold Contests - You can gain lots of new followers and customers by holding contests. TwiveAway can help you organize your contest and make sure people are following the rules of your Giveaway to be entered.

The purpose of Tweeting for your business is to remind your customers that you are here and open a dialogue with them so they can get to know you and your brand better. Once people trust you and you give them information that’s useful to them, they will follow you and you will see your list of followers grow. But always remember, Tweeting, like any other social media outlet, takes time and effort in order for you to be successful at it and see results.

If you think it’s time for your company to get started with a Social Media presence, get in touch with Hadfield Communications at www.hadfield.net. We’ll be glad to analyze your current efforts and give you feed back on how to make your Social Media work for you.

There are too many things on a daily basis you have to keep up with. Don’t start your Social Media presence without a Plan.

Having a Social Media Plan is crucial if your business is going to be successful with your online presence. Businesses often fail in their social media efforts because there’s no structure or commitment from the start, leading to poor or no results and frustration.

If this has happened to your business, you’re not alone. That’s the reason you need a Social Media Plan that will help you stay on track with daily maintenance, recurring posts and projects you may want to initiate. Following are five helpful tips for creating a social media plan that will keep you on track.

Create Goals for Your Business

Your social media strategy should be molded by your goals. Are you looking for new sales leads? Are you trying to increase your Web traffic?

Are you trying to raise brand awareness? You can’t do everything at once, so you’ll have to set goals that are attainable and invest time, energy and resources into achieving those goals.

Find Out Where Your Customers Spend Their Time

Recent research has shown that internet users spend anywhere from 16% to 25% of their online time on social newtworks. In comScore’s 2012 U.S. Digital Future in Focus Report, researchers found that customers are spending 1 out of every 6 minutes online on social networks. This is good news if you’re trying to reach customers and start a dialogue with them through social networking sites.

Stay Engaged on a Consistent Basis

You need to think about the ways and frequency which you’re going to engage with your customers. It’s better to have a steady stream of engagement in order to reach your goals. Respond to comments, tweets and posts on a daily basis as this should be part of your maintenance. Do not let this go by the wayside or people are going to think your not interested.

Create Useful Content

Post relevant and current information that your clients will find useful and they will start to see you as the authority on a subject. Your followers don’t want a sales pitch, they already like you. They want conversation that will be useful to them and not just talk about how great your company is. Don’t go more than a couple of days without posting something or you’ll look disengaged.

Delegate Tasks

Once you start growing and your social medial presence is established, you’re going to want to broaden your horizons and keep up the activity by posting videos on YouTube, interacting more frequently on Twitter or creating and installing some custom apps on your Facebook page. To accomplish all this you may need some help. If you become overwhelmed by all the activity, look into adding a team member to help you out. Graphic artists can create impressive infographics, writers can keep your blogs updated and write white papers or you could even consider bringing in an intern to help with the day-to-day conversations and gathering information. A talented team can help you achieve your goals much faster than you could on your own.

Positioning your business for success in social media takes strategizing and time dedication. Monitor your analytics to see where you’re being successful and where you need to make adjustments to your plan. Starting a social media marketing campaign is exciting but it should not be taken lightly. Go into it knowing that it will take time and dedication. You’ll get much better results if you have a well planned social media strategy from the beginning.

If you think it’s time for your company to get a social media plan, get in touch with Hadfield Communications at www.hadfield.net. We’ll be glad to analyze your current social media efforts and give you feed back on how to make it work for your company.

There’s a science to figuring out when the best time is to send messages on Facebook, Twitter and Email.

As with everything else these days, it seems there’s a science on the time you should send Emails, Tweets and Ads. Digital marketers are figuring out that people are working longer hours, logging in at home and on the weekends. This means added opportunity for connecting with customers at different times.

In the post by Tessa Wegert for ClickZ called The Best Time to Send Emails, Tweets and Text Ads, she outlines that when posting to Facebook, usage peaks at 3:00 p.m. ET on weekdays, with Wednesday being the best day. But Sunday can be slow, as can be expected with people spending time with family or resting.

But if you’re posting to Twitter, the weekend may be the best bet for you as customers engage with their brands on weekends much more, specially in the sports and apparel arena. That’s to be expected as most people go shopping during the weekend.

As for sending emails, there’s different timeframes sighted and it really depends on the nature of your message and what makes sense for your brand. And lunchtime seems to be the best time for mobile ads.

At the end of the day, you know your brand and customers best and by taking a look at your analytics, you will determine what the best time is for your brand to send messages. As with everything, there’s no single path to follow to be successful.

If you think it’s time for your company to get started with more aggressive Digital Marketing, get in touch with Hadfield Communications at www.hadfield.net. We’ll be glad to analyze your current efforts and give you feed back on how to make your Digital Marketing more visible.

Twitter is very useful to share thoughts, ask questions, get the news and discover helpful links and information. If you are a new user, finding new people to follow can be difficult. There are a number of ways you can find people on Twitter that have your same likes, hobbies and interests. The possibilities are endless when you’re trying to connect with people.

If you want your efforts to pay off on Twitter, it is crucial you follow relevant people that interest you. Thankfully there are a number of ways to find people on Twitter. Here are a few suggestions that can help you get started.

Directories is one way to go.

Sites like Twellow, WeFollow and Just Tweet It let you search people by location, topic, top tags and other interests. Finding the right people shouldn’t be too difficult. By doing a few directory searches based on your criteria, you should find like-minded people to follow in no time.

Directories are a helpful way to find people with the same interests as you.

Lists are useful to find people with similar interests.

Listorious is a search engine for Twitter lists. You can find anyone by topic, region or profession. If you’re looking for a certain type of person to follow, like people interested in art, just type in the criteria and you’ll get a list of people interested in the same thing. Another source for lists is Twibes, which helps you find people with similar interests by matching keywords of things people Tweet. Once a word is matched, Twibes compiles the list.

Twibes helps with finding lists of people by matching them with key words.

Engage with people.

Another great way to gain find people to follow and to find followers on Twitter is to engage with people. You should follow others whose Tweets are interesting or meaningful to you and be an active contributor to the Twitter community by reading and posting high-quality information. As stated on Is Social Media Worth Your Time?, it takes commitment and a strategy to be on Twitter if you want to get the benefits out of it. Otherwise, Twitter can be a very lonely place.

If you think it’s time for your company to get started on Twitter, get in touch with Hadfield Communications at www.hadfield.net. We’ll be glad to analyze your current efforts and give you feed back on how to make Twitter work for your company.

Make Twitter part of your social media strategy.

The thing about Twitter is that you shouldn’t focus on how many people follow you, but focus on the people that do follow you. Give them content they want to read and retweet.

If you post an articles on your blog or Website and are looking to increase your traffic, Twitter is a great platform to do so but make sure the content you’re sending is something your followers can use.

Spamming is a big no-no though. Try to diversify your links so they create value for the user. Remember this is a 2 way conversation – create value for your followers and your followers will give you value.

Try to keep these 5 tips in mind when Tweeting: 

• Be consistent – Don’t give up after a week. Twitter requires a fair amount of time, patience and interaction with people. Don’t just do ten tweets in one day and then go a week without any activity. Post at least three times a week with substantive materials that people in your network will be interested in.
• Be responsive – Engage with people on a personal level to build relationships. Reply to people that comment on your posts and make direct comments to people whose posts you like. You want to build trust, loyalty and engagement.
• Be entertaining – Provide content, not SPAM. Avoid a tone that is just marketing or selling. If every Tweet you send is about promoting your business, your followers are going to drop you, and fast.
• Use links in your Tweets – 70% of links that are retweeted contain links. But make sure they provide quality information.
• Integrate Twitter into your overall social media strategy. If you intend to use Twitter for anything other than personal use, link it to your other social media networks and your Website.

If you want to get more educated on this subject, there are a growing number of Websites that give advice on how to get the most out of Twitter. A good one is TwiTip, which covers such subjects as “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned from Twitter” and “3 Creative Tools For Power Twitter Users.”

Keep in mind that the goal is to develop a pool of followers who are really interested in what you’re saying and that look forward to your Tweets. For every comment or reply you get, there’s many others who didn’t reply because they don’t have the time to respond, but they may be listening in the conversation and may chime in once in a while.

If you think it’s time for your company to get started on Twitter, get in touch with Hadfield Communications at www.hadfield.net. We’ll be glad to analyze your current efforts and give you feed back on how to make Twitter work for your company.