Author: Sam Silvey

Categories
Marketing

Best times to post on social media: Based on new research

Figuring out the best times to post on social media is never easy. People browse at different days and times depending on the platform. The ideal time to post on each social network is when your audience is most likely to see and engage with your content. But, how do you figure out those perfect times? In reality, there are no exact magical times to place every post in front of your whole audience. But, based on research, some posting times are proven to be more effective than others. Sprout Social also furthered this specific topic and researched best posting times for different industries.

Thankfully, there is a handful of secondary research available to use as a resource. In fact, CoSchedule recently combined its data with more than twenty other studies on this specific topic that claims its findings will help you get more traffic, more engagement, and more followers.

Before diving into the best times it’s important to consider audience location. Eighty percent of the U.S. population is in Central and Eastern time zones. So, these time zones would be ideal for a United States audience. If you’re trying to reach a global audience, it’s recommended to create different social handles for different regions. Or, you can target their time zones according to demographic research from Google Analytics.

 

 

Instagram

 

Audiences are engaged throughout the week, thanks to our mobile devices.

Best days: Monday and Thursday.

Best times: Between 8-9 a.m., 2 a.m., and 5 p.m. Avoid posting from 3-4 p.m.

Sunday is found to be the least engaging day.

 

Facebook

 

Facebook is still dominating social media with 1.4 billion daily active users. The best days to post is during the workweek because users are known to be active on their computers and mobile devices. Use Facebook analytics and Fanpage Karma(free) to track data and find best times based on engagements. Analyze every detail of your Facebook’s posts and determine best posting times with Fanpage Karma, a free analytics platform.

Best days: Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Best times: 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.

Posting at 3 p.m. will increase clicks, while 1 p.m. will increase shares.

 

Twitter

 

Users are often online scrolling through their feed during their downtime. Use Twitter Analytics and Followerwonk to track and determine best times to tweet.

Best day: Wednesday.

Best times: 12 p.m., 3 p.m., 5-6 p.m.

B2B performs 16% better during business hours.

B2C performs 17 % better on weekends.

 

LinkedIn

 

LinkedIn is used by 25% of U.S. adults, mainly for professionals during work hours.

Best day: Aim for the middle of the week: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Best times: 5-6 p.m., 5-6 p.m., and 12 p.m.

Best time to post if midweek from 5-6 p.m.

 

How do find the best time to post?

 

Know your key audience

Research and build a profile for your audience based on demographic and psychographic information. What social networks do they check frequently? Where do they get their information? What websites do they visit?

Test different posting times

Figure out best times to post based on previous post engagements.

Consider audience location

Watch competitors

See when your competition receives high engagements and what type of content they are posting.

Continue to monitor and tack

While monitoring the results of your social media marketing campaign is essential, it’s also important to see who is saying what about your business. This provides an opportunity to respond with answers and be aware of what’s circulating.  

 

 

Categories
Business

The Great and Mighty S.M.A.R.T Goals

First, let’s do a brief history lesson on the findings of SMART goals. In the 60’s, researchers began examining the power of goal setting and the first published paper appeared in 1968 by Dr. Edwin Locke. “Toward a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentives” confirmed that set goals do in fact result in superior organizational performance. Later in 1981, George T. Doran furthered Dr. Locke’s findings and laid out the main principles of SMART goals in, “There’s a S.M.A.R.T way to write management’ goals and objective.” His simple, yet mighty formulation consist of:                                                              

 

Choosing goals for marketers can sometimes be a hit or miss because you have to play the guessing game at picking the right goal. Incorporating these five areas into your marketing goal will allow your team to hit realistic achievable numbers. Here is how you set it:

 

Specific: Set each particular metric you seek to improve. This includes specifying real numbers, deadlines, and team members assigned. Focused metrics can be coverage, visitors, news flow, number of social media posts, Facebook likes, etc. For example, one of my previous campaigns included, “Increase attendance of University of South Carolina students at the April 27th event by five percent.” Which leads to the next target…

 

Measurable: As shown in my example above, you need to state a measurable objective outcome. Like achieving an X percentage increase or gain at least X positive news stories. Objectives should always be clearly defined and concrete instead of vague like “I want to improve my social media channels.” This is crucial in your planning because not only will it show you where to spend your time and money, but also is the only way to prove it was worth doing. The more specific, and quantifiable they are, the easier they will be to evaluate.

 

Attainable: Well thought-out objectives are realistic. It should be attainable, yet challenging. Your goal objectives should not seem unreasonably high because this might result in failure. Start with your own analytics and based on that starting point, set your objective(s) in small increments towards reaching your overarching goal.

 

Relevant: Each goal and objective placed should move you towards your company’s general marketing plan goal. As well as, remaining consistent with current industry trends. When drafting your goals seek input from management, refrain from lengthy time frames and get a second professional opinion.

 

Time-bound: Creating tangible deadlines will help you and your team defeat procrastination. This builds consistency and enhances productivity.

 

Over time, as you monitor and track your SMART goals, you will start to see your company or organization rise to the top internally and externally. Good luck!

 

Categories
Marketing

Secrets to Getting Your Email Blasts Opened

 

Learn how you can increase the open rates in your emails.

 

 

  1. Appealing subject line

 

To make sure your hard work doesn’t immediately get tossed into the trash, your subject line needs to convince people that your email is worth opening. Introducing the email’s call to action with a short and sweet phrase does this. The subject line needs to make audiences feel special, so use personalized phrases.. Including the words “thank you” have the highest above-average engagement levels (Adestra, 2015). Another way to grab attention is by using numbers and compelling questions, especially if you know it’s relevant to the recipient.

 

  1. Use customized content

 

People are drawn to content that is intended for them. The open rate for emails with a personalized message was 17.6% compared to 11.4% without (Statista, 2014). Hence, do your research and have an understanding of who your different target audiences are and their wants. Then, Segment your subscribers into lists by demographic and psychographic information, to increase relevance. According to the Direct Marketing Association, segmented and targeted emails generate 58% of all revenue. It’s  important to avoid incorporating spam words like: “Free access”, “Get it Now”, or “Winner” that may make the email appear in the junk mail. Also, build organic SEO by including keywords and phrases into your email’s content to create an opportunity for click-throughs to your website.

 

  1. Valuable content builds trust

 

Emails should offer something of value. Whether it’s an exclusive value (offers), valuable information (tips), or emotional value (inspirational), if subscribers receive value from what you, they will start to build trust and continue to open your emails. Keep in mind the frequency of your sent emails. Hubspot reported that 78% of consumers have unsubscribed from emails because a brand was sending too many emails. Eighty six percent of consumers would like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with at least monthly, and 15% would like to get them daily (Statista, 2015).

 

  1. Land email at the perfect time

 

If your first email does not receive your desired open rate, it’s ok because you can use it as an opportunity to test the best delivery time. You want to schedule the delivery time when a majority of your subscribers are actively looking through their inbox. So, once you send a test, analyze and choose the distribution times that produce higher open rates. Hubspot reports that 11 a.m. ET has the highest click-through rate for email sends. Another noteworthy time finding from Tomasz Tunguz is, 66% of unsubscribers occur between 5 and 10 p.m.

 

Categories
Marketing

Don’t Hold Back Your E-Commerce

Take a risk. Increase your e-commerce business to new levels.

 

If you follow these steps, the payoff will be well worth the hard work:

 

Research the Current Competitors in Your Marketplace

Knowing where your business stands among competitors is the most important step to take. Why? Because there are numerous choices online for consumers to choose from. In order to ensure your business is attracting the most attention, it is imperative to see what your competitors are doing well and capitalize on what they are not.

 

Use Google Adwords

With Google Adwords, there are two networks to use in hopes of achieving the highest position possible on SEO:

Search Network

When you advertise on the Search Network, your ad can show next to search results, on other Google sites like Maps and Shopping.

Acquiring the perfect list of keywords is vital to the success of all search campaigns. Fortunately, there is a tool called Keyword Planner that sorts through all past searches for specific words and gives ideas for other words that might work best within the campaign.

Display Network

Advertising on the Display Network allows you to capture potential consumers on their favorite websites, YouTube, Gmail accounts, mobile devices and apps, through different types of ads.

Four different types of ads on the Display Network: 

Responsive Ads

Uploaded Image Ads

Engagement Ads

Gmail Ads

The Display Network gives the opportunity to grab the customers’ attention earlier in the buying cycle. Everyone knows that ads can be very boring and repetitive but by creating ads that are appealing to the eye, consumers’ attention can be caught quickly and efficiently.

 

REMARKETING IS ESSENTIAL

Remarketing ads on both the search and display networks helps potential customers remember your business.

Tip: Tag your site for remarketing – Add the remarketing global site tag and event snippets to your website to show ads to people who have visited your desktop, mobile website, or app.

 

Create Ads to Run on Social Media Platforms

Running ads on social media platforms helps:

Raise brand awareness

Gain bigger followings on social media channels

 

Rigorously Post on All Social Media Platforms

Ideas for potential posts:

Introduce new products

Run promotions

Discuss current social topics

 

Send Email Campaigns

Promote new things happening within the company

Give information about upcoming promotions

 

Applying these steps to your e-commerce business model could help your business reach new heights you never thought possible.

 

Categories
Marketing

The Perfect Formula for Your Social Media Strategy: 70/20/10 Rule

Messaging for a social media strategy is the number one way to gain public favor and increase brand integrity. It’s important to balance your content production of frequency and quality. While sales are important, it shouldn’t be the primary focus of all your content. No one wants to follow an account that feels forced. So, when drafting your next content calendar, add the 70/20/10 rule:

 

70 percent of your content build brand awareness.

This content should focus on your brand story in a fun and engaging manner. Use it as an opportunity to create your brand voice and differentiate yourself from others. Aim to make your posts become shareable.

A few examples are:

  • Sharing an inspirational story

  • Posting videos

  • Giving shout-outs

  • Sharing interesting articles

  • Posting funny memes

 

20 percent of content should be other people’s content- shares and reactions

Here is where you share the love and build your network. It’s a perfect opportunity for relationship-building with other brands, influencers, and followers. Make sure the content is still consistent with the mission and culture of your business

because you don’t want to confuse your audience. Your brand should genuinely believe in what’s being shared.

 

10 percent of content should be promotional

The smallest portion of your content should be self-promotions. Your sales pitch should remain just as seamless as the other weekly posts. Remember, social media is communicating with your audience, not at. Each post doesn’t  have to be completely straightforward like, “Buy now!” or “Partner now!”. Sharing your success stories or case studies is a more subtle way of communication your call-to-action.      

 

Categories
Events

Chattanooga, New Home of Moon River Music Festival

Love Live Music? Chattanooga’s Got You Covered

We may not be Nashville or Memphis, but don’t count Chattanooga out for great music. If you just can’t live without great live music, you’ve come to the right place.

Not only does Chattanooga have a vibrant music scene, but it’s always growing and getting better.

 

Moon River Music Festival

Four years into Moon River, Drew Holcomb, founder of the Music Festival, decided to branch out of showcasing his hometown of Memphis to explore other beautiful cities in Tennessee. Once Drew laid his eyes on Coolidge Park, he knew it was the perfect spot to bring people together to listen to incredible music.

The festival will be held September 8-9 at Coolidge Park in Chattanooga, TN. It will be the first year Chattanooga has held the Moon River Festival.

To find out more information, check out https://moonriverfestival.com

 

Chattanooga is a city that loves sharing new music all-year round. Here’s a list of some of the top-rated places for live music in the Scenic City:

 

Memorial Auditorium/Walker Theatre

This 3,866-seat auditorium has been around since 1921 and has hosted acts such as James Brown, Phish and Alice in Chains and Shooter Jennings.

Upstairs from the main hall of Memorial Auditorium is the Walker Theatre, a more intimate setting that seats 851 people. This area may be smaller, but the acts are just as big in notoriety.

The Signal

Chattanooga’s newest music venue, this place can has a standing-room capacity of 1,300 and is located on Chestnut Street in the Southside, conveniently located near Finley Stadium, Chattanooga Brewing Company and Southside Social.

Tivoli Theatre

Known as the Jewel of the South, this beautiful historic theater has been entertaining Chattanoogans for more than 90 years. Located in the heart of downtown on Broad Street, the interior boasts the a high-domed ceiling, a grand lobby, crystal chandeliers and an elegant foyer, and hosts some of the most famous musicians in history, including The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, John Prine and Lucinda Williams.

Revelry Room

Located downtown at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, this intimate venue opened in 2015 and is one of Chattanooga’s most popular places to see live music. Adjoining the venue is Hush Lounge, where those who want a quieter place to talk and have drinks are welcome. Nearby is Passenger Street, Songbirds Guitar Museum, and  luxury apartments. Also, there are plenty of restaurants and shops within walking distance on Main Street.

JJ’s Bohemia

JJs Bohemia is on MLK Blvd., what used to be known as Ninth Street, or The Big Nine, as locals used to say. At one time, music clubs lined the street, filling downtown Chattanooga with the sounds of jazz, blues, and R&B. That time has passed, but JJ’s Bohemia keeps the the music alive. The place is small and funky, but the shows are amazing. If you go, you’ll see some of the best up-and-coming national acts and the best bands from around the city. The beer is cheap, the place is small, the shows start late, and it can get crowded, but JJ’s is known for consistently great music.

The Honest Pint

This neighborhood Irish Pub is located in Chattanooga’s downtown Patten Parkway. Not only is it known for its live music, which ranges from rock and roll to traditional Irish music, but it’s also known for its delicious food and outstanding beer selection. The tater tots, which are cooked in duck fat, are are to die for. The pub also features plenty of pool tables and dart boards upstairs.

Songbirds Guitar Museum

Not only is this the home to what many consider the premier guitar private guitar collection in the world, with a around 1,700 historic guitars from the 1930s to the 1970s, but it’s also becoming known for its impressive live music shows, where nationally-known guitarists show off their skills.

 

If free live music is your thing, then the Nightfall Music Series and Riverfront Nights are for you. 

 

Want more? Check out this list of even more great places to catch Chattanooga’s live music scene. 

 

Categories
Marketing

Why SEO is Essential in Every Business

Benefits of Organic SEO

Eighty percent of organic SEO attracts search traffic. Why? Because organic search engine optimization does not feel forced or unnatural. In fact, it is known as natural SEO because it focuses on unpaid methods like high-quality content creation, link-building, and keyword enhancement which greatly increases a site’s page rank. Think of organic SEO as organisms, meaning they will grow, expand, and adapt over time in response to readers’ desire.

In present-day SEO, you can not include as many keywords as possible to reach the people who are searching for you. It actually does the opposite. Loading your webpage with keywords to manipulate a site’s ranking can be recognized as “keyword stuffing”, harming your site’s ranking. So, although producing organic SEO is time-consuming, it is a valuable asset in increasing your websites’ traffic.

 

Benefits:

1. Low-cost investment.

While pay-per-click ads are guaranteed to be placed in front of potential website viewers, the cost adds up over time and only ends up reaching a smaller audience. With organic SEO, you are spending significantly less and building long-term ROI.

2. Credibility.

Seventy percent of the links search users click on are organic. Why? Because people can tell the difference between forced content and natural. Organic SEO builds your company’s credibility, creating long-lasting relationships.

3. Gain domain authority.

Using organic SEO increases your domain authority and increases your search rankings, pushing competitors down the list.

4. Long-term optimized search presence.

Organic SEO will forever remain on your site and Google will continue to give you more credit for links that have been linking to you. Meaning it will continue to increase rankings and long-term ROI.

Categories
Business

Spectruss client, CISTECH, Inc. Joins Infor Partner Network

CISTECH’s Passion leads to Innovation

Our client CISTECH, INC., an XA service company, is excited to join the next generation of business technology leaders at Infor Partner Network (IPN). The company’s dedication to excellence within this industry directed them towards Infor’s XA and Birst solutions to gain a competitive edge in today’s manufacturing environment.

IPN’s mission is to provide partners, like CISTECH, with world-class solutions to sell, the highest level of individual service, and a rich enablement program that serves as a foundation for building a profitable, predictable, and growing business. With Infor XA, CISTECH will access its discrete manufacturing system that covers every type of manufacturing, including engineer to order, configure to order, and high volume repetitive manufacturing.

With the partnership investment and the company’s well-established reputation of experts and quality service, CISTECH has a promising future. As well as, positioning the company to surpass its goal of providing their customers significant benefits and success across the manufacturing industry in North America.

For more information, click the link below to read the full press release from CISTECH:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cistech-inc-joins-infor-partner-network-300618236.html

Categories
Marketing

The Power of Local Search Optimization – Case Study of Southeastern Endodontics

Get More Customer Reviews

According to a survey by Search Engine Land, 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from real people. That means positive customer reviews may be the single most effective marketing tool out there for your business.

 

But how do you do it?

 

At Spectruss, we provide services that get your customers spreading the good word about your business on the sites that matter. Our solution helps you tactfully ask and remind customers for feedback, guides them through the online review process, and gives you a chance to reach dissatisfied customers before they write a negative review.

The Review Management & Automation service we offer allows your business to increase local search visibility and catch potential negative reviews before they get published.

 

Take a look to see how Spectruss established a successful review management campaign for Southeastern Endodontics.

 

Before Spectruss, Southeastern Endodontics had a total of 5 customer reviews. Since adopting our services in March 2017, the dentistry practice has seen an immense amount of improvement.

Total New Reviews: 22

Average Review Rating: 4.82

Effected an increase of 1.02 star

33% increase in Overall Star Rating

157% increase in Total Review Count

Increase in Social Likes & Checkins 

 

 

Matthew Brock, DDS, MSD

 

Dr. Matthew Brock is a graduate of University of Tennessee College of Dentistry and Boston University. He received his Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies and Masters of Science in Dentistry at Boston University School of Dental Medicine (BUSDM). He is one of a distinguished few in the region that have achieved a Master’s degree in the science of endodontics.

Dr. Brock is a member of the American Dental Association, a Specialist Member of the American Association of Endodontists, and a member of the Tennessee Dental Association, Chattanooga Dental Society, Tennessee Association of Endodontists, and Georgia Association of Endodontists.

“A little over a year ago I was looking into revamping our website and running an SEO on the site to keep everything up to speed.  I knew of a few places to call and ran across Spectruss when they were one of the sponsors for an event at the Hunter Art Museum.  I contacted Sam Silvey, President of Spectruss, and set up a meeting for my partner and I to meet with him and brainstorm about some ways to improve our online presence.  Sam was great at listening to our perspective and concerns.  In health care my partner and I have chosen to not really advertise much, but we do want a strong online presence as so many people use the internet to research and look for health care providers, even an address while they are on their way to the appointment.  After listening to us, Sam had some great ideas of how to improve our site & get feedback from our patients so that we could grow the practice and offer the best possible care to our patients.  Sam has truly been great for my partner and I to work with through this process.”  -Matthew Brock DDS, MSD

 

What are your customers saying?

 

Get your free report using our online review analysis system.

Click Here to Receive a Free Review Analysis

 

Categories
Marketing

The Future is Listening – Voice Recordings

Have you ever wondered if your phone or electronics are listening to your conversations? You talk about something new, for the first time, and then suddenly the ads on Facebook mobile are for what you just talked about? Maybe you plan an event and without scheduling it your phone already knows about it?

Voice Recordings and Software Listen to your Conversations

The digital age has introduced a new world of personal voice listening devices currently ranging from ones Xbox, Amazon Echo, smartphone, and even your Samsung smart TV. Most recently, in November of 2015, police began investigating a death where incriminating evidence was possible to be found near the crime via an Amazon Echo located inside the house. The Echo could have possibly picked up key information as it recorded. The police filed a warrant, but Amazon fired back with a motion which stopped them from using Amazon recordings on the ground that is going agents the first amendment and broke privacy laws.

The Amazon Echo is like a personal assistant and is constantly tuning into surrounding conversations which can spark the question of where all that personal information is stored. With this information, if you are in the privacy of your own home, is your voice recordings on the Echo protected by the first amendment? Could the device be impacting free expression and what ones says out loud in private? These are the kinds of questions that are coming up more frequently as listening devices enter in as evidence in a courtroom.

While it’s very possible that our devices are listening into conversations and making advertisements on the web related to those subjects, companies such as Google and Facebook deny giving information out to third parties. It could be from other methods such as when you download a new app and it asks for microphone privileges or the idea that we are searching for connections when we see advertisements. Looking for connections in everyday life is a human trait that could be making the digital generation more paranoid of possible coincidences.

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