Posted on

Friends or Enemies? Bad Social Media Strategies Could Turn Customers Against You

Bad-Service-300x199“NO I would not like to speak to another representative and NO I will not stay on HOLD!” Sounds familiar? Hey, we’ve all been there and we have all encountered the famous runaround from customer service representatives who seem to love making our day miserable. Most of us have even taken to social media to share our grievances about a horrible customer experience.  And don’t worry you’re not the only one who’s fed up with bad customer service. In fact, 60 percent of customers believe that companies have not taken steps to improve their customer service. Whatever happened to the customer is always right?

Continue reading “Friends or Enemies? Bad Social Media Strategies Could Turn Customers Against You”

Posted on

Facebook Graph Search Has Arrived

You may have heard that Facebook has rolled out Graph Search early this week for all English-speaking users in the United States. So what’s Graph Search, you may be asking.

Graph Search adds dimension to your Facebook searches, allowing you to search in a more “natural” way. Want to know what restaurants your friends like in the area? Simply type in “Restaurants in Connecticut that my friends like.” Want to see older photos of your friends? Type “Photos of Jane Doe before 2009” into the search bar.

Capture

Continue reading “Facebook Graph Search Has Arrived”

Posted on

Statistics Show that SMS is an Underrated Marketing Tool

SMS marketingWhen one thinks of newer marketing strategies in the 21st century, Facebook and Twitter instantly come to mind, alongside podcasts, webinars, blogs and infographics. Yet among an ever-widening landscape full of marketing tools and techniques, there currently remains a content marketing strategy filled to the brim with untapped potential. What is this secret marketing tool that has been so subtly stashed away? Short Message Service (SMS), or text messaging.

Continue reading “Statistics Show that SMS is an Underrated Marketing Tool”

Posted on

From the Website to the Check: Why Your Restaurant Needs Content Marketing

Every hamburger lover has heard of California’s In-N-Out burger. Its greasy, delicious legend has managed to traverse land, sea and air—has traveled thousands of miles—to reach the salivating mouths of consumers from San Francisco to New York City.

And while I’ll admit they make a pretty decent burger, and have withstood the test of time—In-N-Out has been in business since 1948—it’s not the restaurant’s meat that interests me so much as it is In-N-Out’s marketing strategy. And it’s one that restaurants everywhere should be paying attention to.

What makes In-N-Out so great is that it has a secret menu, which only exists online. And while the secret has gotten out at this point, and is in fact now referred to as the Not-So-Secret menu, the concept is simple: it is a brilliant marketing gimmick that drives users to the website, and from the website to the food company’s store.

 

2008-0614-In-N-Out-burgsfries

 

Continue reading “From the Website to the Check: Why Your Restaurant Needs Content Marketing”

Posted on

How to Bring Social to Your Business Model

Have you ever noticed that many of your favorite TV shows—especially reality-based ones—have a new reoccurring character each episode? Its name is Twitter. From regular series promoting show-specific hashtags to reality TV programs displaying live tweets, there are very few shows on prime-time television that have not made a main character out of Twitter. The Bachelorette, America’s Got Talent, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, So You Think You Can Dance… the list goes on and on.

twitter stream

We have become so accustomed to Twitter on TV – whether it’s  live Twitter streams at the bottom of the screen  or the redundant plea of TV hosts to follow or vote for contestants,  – that in just a few short years, this type of social behavior has become commonplace.

Continue reading “How to Bring Social to Your Business Model”

Posted on

Facebook Leaks Shadow Profiles

After last week’s Facebook security breach which leaked contact information for approximately six million users, many are outraged. The leaking of confidential data seems to be just a small part of this story. What has people furious is Facebook’s collection of data that you didn’t even know they had – your “shadow profile.”

What’s a shadow profile anyway?

By now, you probably know—and have accepted—that Facebook tracks certain data about you. But the social networking giant may also have information that you’ve never shared with it before like your phone number and additional email addresses for example. This information is now included in your shadow profile.

Through Facebook features such as “Find Friends,” which grants access to address books, the network sifts through contacts listed in your friend’s phone to make it easy to find people on Facebook. When a friend does this, Facebook saves information about you including your phone number and email address. Continue reading “Facebook Leaks Shadow Profiles”

Posted on

Foursquare’s ‘Time Machine’: A Content Marketer’s New Best Friend

When the commanding forces of social and mobile combined – widely known as the “social revolution” – companies were pushed to accelerate content marketing strategies to further engage existing customers, to pique the interest of those uninterested and to keep their brand at the forefront of as many churning minds as possible.

Having said that, we’ve read countless articles jam-packed with pieces of advice about how Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram can help secure leads, increase traffic and establish companies as thought leaders in their respective spaces. I don’t know about you, but it’s all beginning to morph into one giant, redundant social marketing entity. Where’s the splash of uniqueness that keeps these words of wisdom fresh? That’s exactly what sparked the light bulb above my head when I caught wind of a new tool, Foursquare Time Machine.

Continue reading “Foursquare’s ‘Time Machine’: A Content Marketer’s New Best Friend”

Posted on

A Brand Above the Rest?

Here at Content Boost we are constantly lending our best tips and tricks to our clients, giving them the fuel they need for their engines to drive their content marketing strategies down unprecedented paths.  One tidbit we share often? Not only do you need to leverage social media, but you need to do so  wisely.

This can mean a few things. First, it can mean choosing the right platform to share your story. No, Twitter is not for everyone. Nor is Pinterest. The key is to determine your audience, figure out what social platforms they utilize and then adopt a social presence in these areas.

Continue reading “A Brand Above the Rest?”

Posted on

#Facebook Rolls Out Hashtags – How Can Your Business Take Advantage?

facebookhashtagFacebook has taken a page out of the Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest book and has introduced searchable hashtags to its platform. If you aren’t familiar with hashatags, they allow users to put the “#” symbol in front of a word or phrase in order to categorize it and make it easier for users of similar interests to find. The goal: to drive more engagement and conversation within the platform… and, of course, there is probably a revenue model in there for the social network.

Continue reading “#Facebook Rolls Out Hashtags – How Can Your Business Take Advantage?”

Posted on

Don’t Forget The Sauce!

You have your shiny shoes on, crisp shirt freshly pressed, nice slacks and funky belt. She has on her silky dress, her shiny shoes and her swanky purse. You heard about a great new Italian restaurant owned by that famous TV chef and are anticipating experiencing what everyone is talking about. The talk of the town is their special; a must-have on the menu.  The critics have raved about it all week. As you walk up to the restaurant it is pulsing with energy.

Continue reading “Don’t Forget The Sauce!”