Tuesday 27 August 2013

4 Tips to Avoid Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes

Social media marketing is becoming more and more of a rising trend each day that goes by. If you know how to use it right you can build a solid and successful social media marketing strategy that will result in engaging target users and thus stretching further the reach of your brand voice. However, not every business has been able to make social media work for them. Like every other form of marketing, social media marketing can do more harm than good if it is not properly planned and executed.

Here are a number of social media mistakes that you should try to avoid.

Don’t be overzealous. 

Newcomers usually think that the best way to attract customers is to bombard them non-stop with offers, sales and promotional messages. This isn’t the way social media are meant to be used. You have to enhance the position of your brand and create its unique voice by making honest relationships and connections through real conversations and commentary..
  • Respond to all questions, comments, and engagement that your users create -just beware of spam-.
  • Manage a “bad” situation. Response to a negative comment, never delete it and admit your mistakes.
  • Connect and engage as many “gurus” of your field as possible, follow them, comment on their activity and make sure you get noticed, their engagement can be invaluable.

Go for quality not quantity.

Another interesting pitfall that a lot of “newbies” fall into is that of the fake followers and fans.  For a struggling starting company it may seem a good idea to “buy” fake followers for a small fee. This is a huge misconception; not only will this method not benefit you but it can harm your business. None of these fake followers is truly interested in your business, none will spread the word, none will reshare your thoughts and comments and none will appreciate your efforts. Also potential customers that will see through that will turn around and leave.

Be consistent.

There are days when you simply have so much to do that being consistent and posting that “small” tweet in your twitter page doesn’t seem important; yet it is. Consistency is the key to a successful social media presence, no matter what, no matter how you have to be there, you have to be consistent. If you are drowning in obligations and stuff to do, try this:

  • Create and outline – a list of daily tasks if you prefer – that pinpoint the daily priorities and the actions that need to be done on a daily basis on your social media channels, stick to it and manage your time in a way that this list is followed every day.
  • Take some time and create a small plan with goals. For example set a weekly goal you want to reach, a specific number of followers or likes, check your progress every week, see if you have reached your numbers or not. If this is the case then you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. If not then you have to review your strategy, the steps you took the past week.

Pay attention to what you are posting.

Many times people posted the wrong thing because they didn’t proofread it before posting. Review what you want to post, then review it once more, then again, then show it to a colleague who has a clear mind and then review it one more time. Better safe than sorry…!





Thursday 15 August 2013

social media tips & a bonus feature for you to generate engagement on your MISI shop


Have you introduced your misi shop in social media? If you haven't we strongly suggest that you do. Social media is a communication channel that is free and you should use it in order to promote your MISI handcrafter's shop.
Engagement is the first goal and most probably sales will follow. Remember that the key is to make your audience to love your brand, so be pleasant, share valuable info about your products, and follow these tips.

1. Blog
Your blog can help you sell your items by driving traffic to your shop. It can also help your customers connect with you and know you better. Write about your items and your work, but don’t stay there! For example, if you sell jewellery, you can write about fashion news or tips on what accessory to wear with a summer dress. Just try to be yourself and pick topics that interest you and your customer. 

2. Facebook
Facebook is very popular among the other social media networks for online retailers to get more sales online. Create your Facebook page and list all your products that are for sale. Keep your page active by regularly posting about your work, business news, offers and share some useful information. Engage with your community with contests, games and surveys. Don't forget to share your work on MISI’s Facebook Page for further engagement.

3. Twitter
Twitter is a great way to broadcast your current specials. Use it to tweet interesting or unusual facts about your business or products and provide a link to that product page on your site. Also, tweet pictures related to you or your business to your Twitter followers. 

4. Pinterest
This social network is great for visual promotion. Pin the things you love and make a pin board just for your own work. Pins are easy to share and sharing will help your work get some wider exposure. Extra tip: Price-tag your items and have them in gifts section as a result, so it makes it clear its about a selling item.

5. Forum
Another good way to attract targeted leads is through online forums. Forums are great because most of them focus on single topics. For instance, if you sell art, it would be a good idea to look for a forum about art. Once you’ve found the forum, you can contribute to the discussion and include your store’s link in the signature of your posts. Just remember to contribute valuable information to the forum because no one likes a spammer. 
MISI has also a great forum with a friendly community that is always willing to help you and chat about interesting topics. Feel free to take part in discussions and of course to show off your products and attract new customers.

Bonus Tip: we have lately introduced a new feauture on Twitter and It's called "Twitter Card. By tweting a url link of any Misi shop product you will have a complete product description and image like the one you see here below