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4 Social Media Engagement Tips to Know

Posted: 16 May 2020 08:00 PM PDT

Social media is one of the biggest marketing game-changers we've encountered since the early 2000s when MySpace took the world by storm. The appeal of reaching consumers through social platforms sparked innovation, and now, in 2020, social media marketing is necessary to grow your business exponentially. 

When you consider that 63% of marketers struggle with driving traffic and generating leads, you can see why social media marketing is one of the best ways to connect with potential customers. You can reach your target audience, boost website traffic, and get more brand interactions across social sites if you're implementing the right engagement techniques. 

The more people engage with your brand on social media, the better chance you will have to secure new email leads, customers, and followers. Today we are going to help by showing you four expert level social media engagement tips you can implement today. 

Pose a question

One of the best ways to start a conversation is by asking a question. People love voicing their opinions, and if you are willing to ask the right questions, you can see a significant boost in engagement. 

The more important thing you need to remember when asking questions is your post has to resonate with your target audience. If your question doesn't click with potential leads, you won't see as much engagement on your post. 

Makes sense, right? 

People are generally not interested in taking part in a conversation if they are not invested in the topic. 

There are several ways you can creatively ask questions across your various social media accounts. Start by posting polls that relate to your products, brand, or industry as a whole. Not only will you see engagement from people interested in what you are offering, but you'll also obtain actionable data that you can use to improve your marketing campaign. 

For instance, if you own an email marketing firm, you might want to ask your followers what kind of problems they are facing with a list of options. If a majority of people say they struggle to generate leads, you can start brainstorming topic ideas for your blog. Don't forget to ask followers to leave responses in the comments section of the poll for even more engagement.

Host an online giveaway

Online contests are an excellent way to grow your business by increasing brand awareness and interactions. The most significant appeal to social media is the fact that almost everyone has an account. In fact, a staggering 80% of internet users have at least one social media account. 

You can host an online contest on your website, and create various marketing campaigns on social media where you allow people to enter. The best way to secure plenty of entries is by including several ways for people to participate. Allowing followers to enter by referring friends, following your brand, and subscribing to your email list will not only encourage folks to interact with your profile, but it will also improve your lead generation efforts across all channels. 

Another crucial piece of your giveaway strategy is the prize. The type of prize you pick is determined by your goals. If you want to see as much engagement as possible, you may want to consider a prize that everyone can use, like a gift card for Amazon or a popular chain restaurant. 

On the other hand, prizes from your online store will generate more targeted leads to engage with your brand and go to your website. It is up to you to choose the prize that fits your needs. 

Use features offered by each platform 

Each social media website has a slew of custom features that you can use to increase interactions with your brand. For instance, Twitter popularized the use of hashtags when posting on their site. As a result of using hashtags, tweets generally see 100% more engagement when compared to brands that don't use hashtags. 

Similarly, Instagram offers a feature called Instagram Stories, where users can upload pieces of content that temporarily stay at the top of their profile before disappearing. Marketers use stories to hold flash sales, announce events, and generally encourage followers to take action on their site. 

These tools are excellent for engagement because they make use of custom features and encourage more conversations to take place across individual platforms. It is now easier than ever before for business owners to use separate teams for different platforms to keep a consistent brand voice and knowledgeable team. 

When you hire one social media marketer to take care of all your channels, there's a chance they won't know how to make use of these features. Diversifying your team and exploring the different features on each platform will result in more people engaging with your brand. 

Make strategic offers

Strategic offers are important across all marketing channels, but it is particularly essential when you want to reach your audience on social media. The truth is, hundreds, more likely thousands, of companies are offering the same exact product and service that you have available. Competition is fierce, and making the right offer will generate more traffic, sign-ups, and sales. 

You can offer a free lead magnet in exchange for an email subscription, or put your latest product on display with a discount just to sweeten the pot. Whether you choose one of these options or both, your next step is to start creating your marketing material. 

The content you use to drive sales, including your offers, should educate and inspire your followers to take action. Let's say you have a massive deal; putting a time limit on screen can encourage more people to go to your website. This trick is useful if you're trying to attract people with FOMO marketing.

FOMO, or fear of missing out, is a term used to describe a condition where people make buying decisions because they are afraid that they will miss out on an item or offer. When you consider that 56% of social media users experience FOMO, you can see why this is such a significant marketing opportunity. 

Once you start distributing your content, it's vital that you check your analytics and look for identifiable patterns. If you see little to no engagement, it might be time to start rethinking your strategy or adding a split test to see if you can generate more traction by making small changes. 

There are countless ways to increase engagement across your social media profiles. The fact is, every business and industry differs. Experimentation is essential for growing your business and reaching your target audience. 

The tips we provided today will help you improve your existing social media marketing campaign by giving you additional options and ways to connect with your followers. As your business grows, you may have to make changes to your strategy to account for new products, scaling, staff changes, new profiles, and more. 

Most importantly, consistency when working on social engagement is critical. You can't be a social butterfly one week, and then not say anything at all for three weeks and expect results. Spend plenty of time talking to your followers, ask questions, and build a brand that they actively visit because they love the conversations they have and the people they meet. 

 

10 Tax Saving Tips to Not Forget

Posted: 16 May 2020 06:00 PM PDT

Small business owners frequently find themselves forced out of the marketplace due to exuberant tax rates which are impossible to keep up with. While there's relatively little that the average Joe can do to impact the overall tax rate they're going to pay, there are a number of helpful tips that can help entrepreneurs mitigate their overall tax burden. A number of tips related to writing off certain equipment on your taxes and seeking out special tax loopholes are regularly missed by small business owners. 

From carefully writing off certain equipment to more carefully regulating your receipts, here are 10 tax-saving tips that many small businesses always miss. 

Bolster your expense tracking

Far too many business owners are getting a bad deal on their taxes because they're failing to keep an accurate or comprehensive track record of their expenses. In the digital era, it's become all too common for business owners to maintain shoddy digital records which can be a nightmare to sort through. Rather than hiring an expert to pour over your voluminous records, you should be taking steps to make your expense tracking as easy and simple as possible. In doing so, you'll end up reaping huge tax savings in the long run.

There are many different expense trackers you can use, as digital software is now easier and more affordable than ever before. Small business owners who fail to invest in good expense tracking are shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to paying taxes.

Target easy tax deductions

Many entrepreneurs are entirely unfamiliar with easy-to-obtain tax deductions that could end up saving them huge sums of money as time goes on. Certain high-tech gadgets, such as your smartphone, computers, and even certain software, can be written off to help save your company the money it so desperately needs. 

If you have expensive hardware that you use for multiple years and can term a business asset, you could potentially save yourself some money by using it to claim a tax deduction. Do this across your entire company, and you'll find that your previous investments in hardware and software don't have to come at an immense cost to your business' longevity. 

Know what to deduct if you work from home

Now that everyone is working from home in greater numbers than ever before, it's important for small business owners and working professionals to know that you can deduct certain things which are essential toward your working from home. Expenses relating to your home office, including insurance or utilities like your internet service, can be written off in many instances. 

Consider your travel

If you've been traveling for commercial purposes, take steps to ensure you're receiving the tax deductions you may be eligible for. Knowing how to deduct business travel expenses entails keeping very careful records of what you spent your money on. It's easy to recall purchasing a plane ticket, but also ensure you're keeping receipts from the restaurants and gas stations you visit as you travel, too. 

Save money by becoming energy efficient

Did you know that there are tax credits for businesses and individuals who strive to become more energy efficient? Getting an HVAC rebate can help your business during this time of financial turmoil, and in doing so you'll be confident that you're helping the environment, too. Businesses that strive to go green can also leverage this in their marketing materials to appeal to eco-conscious consumers who want to support companies that care about the planet.

Besides paying attention to how you consume energy, you should also focus on your vehicles.

Writing off business vehicles

Writing off certain vehicle payments as a business expense could be the thing that allows your small business to expand its fleet. For many companies, delivery vehicles are more important in the era of social distancing than ever before. Knowing how to write off your mileage could end up being crucial for the overall commercial vibrancy of your business, so don't ignore this helpful tip if you want to save as much as you can.

Provide adequate facilities for the handicapped

Small business owners should strive to ensure their facilities are handicap-accessible. In doing so, they'll bring in new customers and show their local community that they care about those who they do business with. Additionally, providing adequate facilities for the handicapped can enable you to lay claim to certain tax credits which were created with the hope of getting more businesses to become handicap-accessible.

The disabled access credit is a helpful bit of tax relief for those considerate companies that care about all consumers. If you haven't made your facilities accessible, race to do so as quickly as possible.

Know about disaster scenarios

Has your business recently been involved in a disaster scenario? If so, you could be eligible for unique tax credits that are exclusively made available to commercial entities that are struggling to recover from recent flooding, fires, or other natural calamities. The IRS offers special tax help to businesses that have been swamped by a natural disaster, so be sure to visit their official web page to learn more about how you can claim these credits.

Don't let a natural disaster be the end of your commercial prosperity - take advantage of the IRS' disaster assistance program, and you'll be better off for it.

Be sure to hire veterans

Companies that hire veterans are making the right choice. Individuals who have proven experience in the military are good at following orders, know the importance of discipline and professionalism, and have demonstrated that they can coordinate their efforts with others in a team setting. In addition to making great employees, veterans also offer business owners access to unique tax credits which could save them huge sums of money in the long haul.

Hiring certain eligible, unemployed veterans will enable your business to lay claim to a Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), as you've helped someone in need get themselves back on their feet. There are specific tax credits for hiring veterans with disabilities related to their service, too. Business owners who hire veterans should ensure they're claiming the tax credits that their companies are entitled to, as this money can eventually go back into the local community and help make your business even better.

Deduct your business insurance expenses

Finally, clever entrepreneurs will have realized the value of getting business insurance years ago, but they may be unaware that they can actually deduct business insurance expenses in many instances. Having business insurance is a great idea because it enables your company to keep its doors open even after a crisis has hit. Even better than that is the fact that certain small business insurance plans can be written off, as the government wants to encourage entrepreneurs everywhere to take steps to safeguard their own prosperity and the jobs of their employees.

Look into writing off business insurance expenses if you haven't already done so, and your business will be able to put that money to good use elsewhere. Fail to take advantage of this, and your company may never grow into its true potential. Keep all of these tips in mind, and your small business will soon be saving more money than ever before when it comes to your tax obligations.
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