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Marketing Blog | Addison Clark | Richmond, VA

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We recently came across a stat that shocked us a little bit. 

According to a marketing study, a whopping 84% of marketers indicated they could not measure and report on the contribution of their programs to the business. That's a whole lot of work and effort that is not being accounted for and a lot of vagueness in terms of tracking results. 

At Addison Clark, an analytic mindset is one of the most important differentiators that sets us apart from other marketing agencies that offer the same services. Maybe it's because we're a bunch of data nerds, but at the end of the day we want hard numbers to measure the impact of our marketing efforts. Our tagline expresses it well: "Measurably different".

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Facebook business pages have been around for years now. As of last year, there were over 60 million Facebook business pages and over 41% of U.S. small businesses on the platform. It's easy to see how Facebook can start to feel like old hat. 

Most businesses are fairly savvy when it comes to Facebook -- posting regularly on their pages, responding to customers, and running ad campaigns. While some things may switch up every now and then, the basic principles of the platform stay the same. But before you become too relaxed with the platform, consider these 3 things that could take your Facebook business page to the next level. 

hashtags

Hashtags can be complicated. They're effective on Instagram, but a flop on Facebook. They're usable on Twitter, but don't function on LinkedIn. Some make sense, others don't. Some have massive followings, while others simply die.

It can get confusing.

Before you forsake using hashtags altogether, though, consider these stats:

Choosing an effective font and color combination for a project is more important than you might think — especially if that project is representing your brand. There is a reason why some graphic design projects work, and some don’t. Striking the right balance between elements, images, and font choices can make or break a project. That’s one way a graphic designer can make your business look its best. Just as you have dedicated your time and money to learn what you practice, you can be sure that graphic designers have dug deep into their practice as well.

The number of small businesses on Facebook is continuing to grow at rapid rates. As of April last year, Facebook announced the number of active small business Pages on the platform was up to 40 million. For all of these small businesses on Facebook, limited reach due to Facebook’s algorithm is an ever-present frustration.

With crisp fall days on the horizon, we asked the Addison Clark team members what they're looking forward to the most about this new season. Here's what they had to say:

Cooler weather and football — Jeff Allen, managing partner

My birthday, chili, and sweaters — Anne-Stuart Teter, account manager

Halloween, because I get to go trick or treating with my kids — Jocy Vuiller, account manager

Instagram Stories, a strikingly similar concept to Snapchat, was launched this month with much fanfare. While the format is new to Instagram, the concept itself has been around since the launch of Snapchat Stories in October 2013. The idea is that users can create a chain of content that can be viewed an unlimited number of times over the course of 24 hours. Now, in addition to the Instagram feed we all know and love, there also exists Stories – a place to post goofy, off-the-cuff   “Snapchat-style” content.

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I recently had an encounter with two people who were working with a LinkedIn trainer to learn how to use the platform, complete their profiles, and make connections. I asked, “How many leads have you gotten so far?” To my surprise (I assumed everyone learning LinkedIn was doing so for business development purposes), their answer was, “We are not sure how to do that.”

Strategy is the biggest difference between a B2B sales and marketing team that enjoy consistent sales leads and revenue opportunities on LinkedIn and one that just has a presence with lots of connections. Learning the tactics of the platform is one thing. Learning how to generate leads is another. That’s where social selling comes in.

Social media is one of our favorite subjects. Here's a run-down of what's new in the land of hashtags, memes, and marketing.

Facebook The days of simply liking a post are over. Facebook rolled out "reactions" last week, giving users the option of choosing from a range of emotions instead. "Love", "wow", "sad", and "angry" are some of the reactions that users can choose from. It is expected that brands and small businesses will see an uptick in user engagement on their posts, since choosing a Reaction is much simpler and faster than leaving a comment. It will also give a lot more insight into how an audience views content. Read more about Facebook's "reactions" here.

Sometimes social media marketing can seem like a stab in the dark. Are those Facebook likes really sending customers to your website? Like any marketing strategy, you need to analyze the data in order to see if something is really working. In the past few years, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become much better about sharing meaningful stats. Now is a great time to analyze that information in order to see what has worked and what hasn't. Armed with this data, you'll be ready to craft a strategy that will take your social media marketing to the next level. Although there are various details you can see in your social media analytics, we recommend paying close attention to the following metrics.  

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