We thought right now would be the right time to introduce ourselves to you! Our team is made up of Janeka, Marketing Director, and Isabelle, Marketing Assistant. We love getting to know our clients and hope you enjoy getting to know us! Isabelle - Marketing AssistantI was born in Mexico, Missouri. I have a background in Education and worked as a teacher for 4+ years. I lived in Columbia, MO, but have since returned to Centralia and bought my first home!
I am a huge animal lover and currently have two dogs, a cat, and fosters dogs in my free time. (I currently have a 3-month-old chihuahua mix!) I also love working on home projects, making crafts, and organizing stuff! I have loved learning about Digital Marketing from Janeka and I have a background in Photoshop. If I am not doing any of the things above, I am eating BBQ food, baking, or hanging out with my fiancé, family, and friends! Fun questions for Isabelle: What would you rate 10/10? Dogs! 100%. Or donuts. What takes up too much of your time? Organizing or cleaning. I spend so much time doing both during the week & it feels like I am never done. How was your life different one year ago? I was living in Columbia, not engaged, and working as a teacher. Basically, it is a whole new life! What city would you most like to live in? A small town in Georgia or St. Augustine, FL. I love small towns and love towns with lots of history to them! If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house be like? It would be a farmhouse with a wrap around porch on acreage. The inside would be decked out with everything I have on my Pinterest board! We thought now would be the best time to introduce ourselves to you! Most of us are home and trying find something to do everyday. Our team is made up of Janeka, Marketing Director, and Isabelle, Marketing Assistant. We love getting to know our clients and hope you enjoy getting to know us! Janeka – Marketing DirectorJaneka was born and raised on a farm in Missouri. She went to school for writing and counseling and worked as a mental health counselor for many years. She moved away from the farm for a while to live in places like Columbia, MO, Ft Lauderdale, FL and Phoenix, AZ.
She has since moved back to the farm and has a husband and son as well as many animals including goats, cats, dog, and rabbit. She has always had a passion for farming, agriculture, and technology. She is currently using my skills in psychology to help businesses achieve best results with advertising online. She is currently interested in human behavior regarding the buying process. In her free time, she loves hanging out with her animals, 70s rock music, reading & writing poetry. I asked Janeka a few fun questions to help you learn more about her! Isabelle: What is something you hope never changes? Janeka: I hope people never stop being kind to those in need! I: What is one thing that you would rate 10/10? J: Coffee! I: What mystery do you wish you knew the answer to? J: Well right now, a vaccine to viruses! I: Where is the most interesting place you have ever been? J: I have spent quite a bit of time on our American Indian reservations, which is very interesting to me! I: What would you be most likely to become famous for? J: Writing? Helping people? The average person spends 144 minutes on Social Media a day. That means they are scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and so many more apps. They are seeing what their high school classmates are up to, learning a new recipe, or looking at items they can purchase. You want to make sure that you are doing your business posts correctly, so you are getting the maximum amount of interactions from it.
Do Pay attention to what your followers interact with. If you get 50 sales, 10,000 views, and 5,000 comments on a video and get 50% less on photos or blogs, then post videos! That is what your followers want to see and what makes the purchase from you. Don’t Post without proofreading. I have written an awesome Instagram caption, posted it, and reread it to see that I forget “the” in a sentence and how to spell “Tuesday.” Your followers see that and might not want to work with you, especially if it’s for a writing job. (i.e. marketing, blog writing, or tutoring) Do Interact with your followers. Respond to messages and comments in a timely manner. People like seeing interactions from the business because it shows that they care. I’m more likely to purchase from a business who responds back to me compared to one I never hear from. *Think about business who are very interactive on Twitter and post funny comments back to people. Don’t Use automation for everything! If your real estate posts look like everyone else’s, why should they purchase from you? What makes your business stand out? You want to make sure you are being real with your followers! Do Use Social Media to keep your followers up to date. Share any sales, new arrivals, or coupons that your followers would like! Don’t Try to be everyone at once. If you have no followers/interactions on Twitter, but have a huge following on Instagram then don’t spend a ton of time on Twitter. Spend your time on sites that your followers want to see you on! Small business owners are always trying to figure out how to get customers in the door or on their website. This ensures they can sell their product or service. Social Media is the best way to reach potential customers.
In order for social media to work for your business, you need to engage! That means commenting back to them, answering questions, and posting what they want to see. If you sell clothing, ask your followers if they want to see a live try on or a try on in your story. They have now given you exactly what they want to see which improves how many people will watch it. Social media is a good way to show current and potential clients information about your business. Why you started, what makes your small business different, and the quality of what you are selling. They can see why they should buy from you instead of buying from a large chain. One thing that is important with social media is not how many followers you have, but what engagement you have. If you have 300 followers, but they don’t interact you aren’t getting anything from that. You don’t learn what your customers like or if they like what you are selling. When you have people commenting, liking, or sending you messages, or sharing your posts then you know how you are doing and gaining interest in your business. Tip: Encourage your followers to share your post with giveaways to gain more followers. I have found three new businesses that way in the last two weeks. Using social media ads allows you to choose the radius in which you want to reach. This keeps you from spending money on ads that won’t give you anything. If you have a small business with no website and you have an ad that reaches someone in a different state, they have no way to buy from you. You have now spent money on someone that can’t purchase from you because they can’t see your products. People really like shopping small because they feel like they get a more personal experience. They like trying something on and hearing the owner say, “That looks great on you!” or “Let’s try the blue on instead.” It makes you feel like they care to have you as a customer. So, having a social media that they learn about you from and see more about who you are helps them to come into your business and purchase. Keep your social media authentic to who you are and don’t try to be like larger chains or businesses that are nothing like you. If you sell clothing that is more focused on business wear, then you don’t want to promote yourself as beach wear because you have seen another person with success. Keep it real to yourself and your business. Social media is such an important thing for your business, so continue to learn how you can build your presence. Check out more blogs about social media: https://www.smsagmarketing.com/blog/how-to-start-a-youtube-channel https://www.smsagmarketing.com/blog/quick-tips-for-each-social-media-platform https://www.smsagmarketing.com/blog/top-4-digital-trends-to-use-in-2019 https://www.smsagmarketing.com/blog/the-best-content-for-each-social-media-platform https://www.smsagmarketing.com/blog/why-you-should-use-ads-in-instagram-stories https://www.smsagmarketing.com/blog/why-you-should-use-ads-in-instagram-stories With all the craziness going on, we have been trying to figure what we can do to help businesses during this time. People aren’t going into stores unless that absolutely must, and they aren’t sure where everything stands. With all that being said, that doesn’t mean businesses should stop everything. People are still on social media, probably now more than ever. You should still be keeping your social media sites up to date, write blogs, and add new content for your current and new followers. To help you do that, we are sharing one of our favorite FREE websites. Mailchimp allows you to create a sign-up form to add to your Facebook or website, so that customers of your business can sign up to get emails from you. Emails are called “campaigns” on mailchimp. You can create a campaign, decorate it, and add whatever you like to it. It can be about a sale going on, adding a new employee to your team, or a new product. Once you’ve sent out your email to people that have given you their information, you can see who opened it, how often, and any of the links they clicked on from your email. It can help show you what people like and want to see. There is a free version, but you can pay for more options. Check out plans here: https://www.emailtooltester.com/en/reviews/mailchimp/pricing Examples of Campaigns: You can use this website to help share information with your customers and to direct them to your website. We tend to forget about a business we signed up for a long time ago, but when we get the email it reminds us to check out their website or learn more about what they have to offer. It is another fun website to create with.
With all the craziness going on, we have been trying to figure what we can do to help businesses during this time. People aren’t going into stores unless that absolutely must, and they aren’t sure where everything stands. With all that being said, that doesn’t mean businesses should stop everything. People are still on social media, probably now more than ever. You should still be keeping your social media sites up to date, write blogs, and add new content for your current and new followers. To help you do that, we are sharing one of our favorite FREE websites. Canva allows you to create lots of things such as; blog art, Instagram and Facebook stories/posts, and so many more things. You can use it for free after creating an account, but can also do a monthly subscription to use more fonts & photos. I have a free account for personal use and it is has everything that I need to create what I want. Examples of Creations: You can create so many fun posts to keep your followers engaged and talking about you, so when this is all done, they will come in for whatever your services/products are. I would highly recommend exploring this website and seeing what you can design. Trust me, you’ll have so much fun it won’t even feel like work.
When most people think of YouTube, they think of people who have had an extremely successful careers because of it. You think of people like PewDiePie, MrBeast, Shane Dawson, Liza Koshy, and JennaMarbles who have 1 million + subscribers. Their YouTube Careers have helped them to branch out and start brands or following their passions in unique ways. We have a client who has found great success with uploading videos online and we thought we’d share the steps in getting started.
Need some help with channel? Heres some help!
As much as starting a YouTube channel can seem like an easy way to make money, there is a lot that goes into it. Following these steps can help get you started in the right direction towards building your YouTube presence. I was a Preschool Teacher for 4+ years, but decided that I needed a change of pace. I went on a search for something new through Indeed.com in hopes of finding something for me to do. After a couple of weeks, I saw a job posted in Centralia, which never happens. I read through the job description and applied for it! I had my interview with Janeka, which I thought went well, and I was hoping to get a call back from her. After a couple of days, she called me back and I was excited to start working for SMS Marketing Group and her. During my first day, Janeka filled me in on everything that she needed help with and what I should be doing. I was going to be calling people, helping organize information, setting up/designing ads and more. I knew I could do all of that, but this is about is what I wish I knew before starting in the field of Digital Marketing. 1) Not everyone knows about Digital Marketing. Yes, everyone knows of Facebook and Google, but not everyone thinks about ads they see on Facebook or other apps. It wasn't until I started Digital Marketing that I paid attention to the ads that are on my social media. You can be scrolling through Instagram and come across a post that looks normal, but it's actually an ad from a company you might of show interest in. Another side of this is people don't understand how important it is. Facebook reaches people from Instagram all the way to The Weather Channel and Google reaches people from Amazon to Spotify. There are so many websites that you don't even think about that will have the ads you shared on the original website. (Facebook or Google) That is so important to small businesses because you are getting a large area to promote your business to! 2) Instagram Posts are difficult. I know how dumb that sounds, but they are! When doing a business Instagram, you must know what to post and when to post it. Certain times of day are better than others because more people are active on social media compared to others. 3) What Digital Marketing Is. I know it seems obvious, but it really isn't. I thought it was going to be just a focus on social media, but it is so much more. We work with social media, google ads, emails, and texting. We spend so much time working to create something the people want to stop, look, and click. 4) Know your clients. You must be willing to get to know your clients, what they do, and help them. You can't look at this job as just a paycheck because no one wants to work with someone who doesn't care about them or their business. You will spend many days talking to someone, who might not yet be a client, getting to know their business, so you can build a relationship and work together well.
5) You must be flexible. Social Media is constantly changing! There are new apps made every single that can quickly change the world of social media. We have Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, but now we have apps like Tik Tok. You have to be able to work with new apps and learn who the audience is on those websites. These are the things that I wish I knew, but like I've learned the world of Digital Marketing is always changing, so you always have to be learning. Read new articles or blogs to keep up with the newest trends and what people are interested in. Since I’m new to the Marketing world, I’ve been trying to do my research on tips, tricks, and who to look up to. There are many people who have taken steps to make digital marketing what it is, and I wanted to share what I learned from them. Kim Garst, named one of the Top 10 Women Social Media Power Influencers by Forbes, is the CEO of BOOM! Social. She is one of the world’s leading digital marketers. She recently wrote a blog with Jeff Sieh about Business Masterminds. In the blog, she talked about how her best advice is to keep gaining knowledge. Continuing to gain knowledge allowed her to be a “hybrid marketer” and have extensive knowledge on social media and digital marketing. Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia and chairman of VaynerX, is one of the most influential marketers in the game. I recently started his book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, and I have really enjoyed it so far. One of Garys’ tips for success is never stop working. No matter how successful you get, you should never forget the importance of hard work once you get to there.
Cultivate meaningful relationships is a tip that Lisa Larter, CEO and founder of Lisa Larter Group, believes is necessary in improving your marketing strategy. You should always be engaging with your followers in a meaningful way. Don’t just like their pictures or try to sell yourself to them, message them and get to know them and their business. Jay Baer, world-renowned marketing specialist, recently did an article with Digital Doughnut with tips for a successful LinkedIn profile. Jay says to stand out, brands should stop random acts of content. You should create content with a consistent topic and make them short. Attention spans are shortening, and it is very important to get information out quickly. Bestselling author and one of the Most Influential Women in Social Media, Ann Handley, shared some tips on writing. Write like you - don’t be who you aren’t. She suggests focus less on what’s new in digital marketing and find your own voice. After looking into these influential people, I’ve learned a couple of things. The number one thing I read from each person was know your customer. You should know what they like, dislike, and love to see when scrolling through your feed. With the start of 2020, I’m ready to put this new information in motion when working on captions, ads, and blog posts. Maybe you're just starting out with social media marketing for business or maybe you think you know every tip and trick out there--either way, I am learning things every day and I have been doing this for many years. Digital media is constantly changing, so the learning never stops. Here are some fast, simple tricks you can do that you might not have thought of before. Go through all the posts on Facebook you’ve done and ads you’ve ran and click to see who liked the post, then go through and “invite” any of those people that haven’t liked your page already to do so. Often times I see people have lots of likes but not all those people have liked their page, that’s an untapped resource of people to invite to your page. Don’t use hashtags that are irrelevant to your post. It might be tempting to just browse popular hashtags and use them in the mix, but this can get your account flagged for spammy content and your posts wont be visible in your niche. Also don’t use the exact same hashtags on every post you make, this is cause for alarm as well. If you want more organic twitter followers, pin your best work to the top of your twitter page, as well as include your twitter handle on all other platforms! Share blog content at least 2x on each platform you distribute to. Studies show that blog posts perform better the second time someone sees them. Have some more tips? Leave us a comment! |
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