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Tag: social media marketing

5 Medical Professionals Who Use Twitter Effectively and What You Can Learn from Them

With 319 million people on Twitter and 100 million daily users, it’s clear that this social media platform offers huge potential for growing a medical practice. For doctors striving to attract more patients, 42% of individuals viewing health information on social media look at consumer reviews to guide their medical decision-making. For doctors aiming to spread medical knowledge online, 60% of consumers say they trust the information in doctor’s posts—almost twice the number of people who trust information from pharmaceutical companies. And these numbers are expected to grow, as 18–24-year-olds are over two times as likely as 45–50-year-olds to use social media for health-related discussions.

Yet, in spite of Twitter’s huge potential, it can be difficult for physicians to justify taking time away from patient care to focus on social media. In the medical industry, it’s especially important for tweets to reach the most people possible in as little time as possible so that doctors can spend less time on marketing and more time on medicine.

Check out five of the most successful doctors on Twitter for some great inspiration and examples.

1. Dr. Mehmet Oz

Today, learn why potatoes are a nutritional powerhouse that should be on your daily menu: https://t.co/LA1n6ygf6g

— Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) March 23, 2017

Handle: @DrOz

Followers: 4.05 million

Before you write off Dr. Oz as more television host than medical professional, consider this: He has more followers than any other doctor on Twitter. While Oprah certainly helped him gain this following, he couldn’t keep it if he wasn’t engaging his followers with the media they find valuable. Dr. Oz knows what his audience wants to read, and he regularly posts health tips, news, and advice catered to this demographic. Check out Dr. Oz’s tweets for examples of medical articles you can share to engage your own following.

2. Dr. Kevin Pho

Angry? Welcome to being a doctor. And here’s how to fix it. https://t.co/mrNT6CwhlW via @kevinmd

— Kevin Pho, M.D. (@kevinmd) March 23, 2017

Handle: @kevinmd

Followers: 151,000

Unlike Dr. Oz, Dr. Pho rose to social media stardom largely through his own savvy use of integrated digital marketing. While he also regularly posts engaging articles, with topics ranging from science to politics to personal health journeys, much of this media comes from his own blog. Dr. Pho also publishes many posts written by guest bloggers, which not only cuts down the time required to maintain an active social media presence but also offers a great opportunity to collaborate and network with other doctors online. Visit Dr. Pho’s Twitter and blog for a great example of an integrated marketing plan.

3. Dr. Joseph Kim

AMP Issues Best Practice Guidelines for
Next-Generation Sequencing-based Oncology Panel Validation https://t.co/AhITFnr54e

— Joseph Kim, MD, MPH, MBA, FACHE (@DrJosephKim) March 23, 2017

Handle: @DrJosephKim

Followers: 31,000

If you’re worrying because Dr. Oz and Dr. Pho share a lot more personal stories than cold, hard science, never fear! Dr. Kim proves that you can take a largely academic approach to social media and still become a Twitter star. His posts strike the perfect balance of career resources and medical studies, appealing to both doctors and patients. Check out Dr. Kim’s twitter feed for strong examples of how to post academic information while still keeping your following engaged.

4. Dr. Mike Sevilla

Kissing the Blarney….. Doughnut? lol Happy St Patrick's Day! #JustBeingSilly 🍩 🍩 🍩 pic.twitter.com/DV0jLs7bpa

— Mike Sevilla, MD | SalemFamilyCare.com (@drmikesevilla) March 17, 2017

Handle: @DrMikeSevilla

Followers: 26,000

Much more than the other doctors on this list, Dr. Sevilla projects a goofy, jovial personality into his tweets. He makes Family Medicine seem friendly and approachable, posting kooky holiday selfies and words of encouragement for residents going through the stressful match process. He is also a generous re-tweeter, interacting not only with other online physicians but also with local news and fundraising organizations. Scroll through Dr. Sevilla’s posts to see how to have fun with social media while still maintaining the knowledgeable persona of a physician.

5. Dr. Val Jones

Today is #WorldCancerDay Do you know the role of rehabilitation medicine in cancer care and recovery? https://t.co/yxJxYd0Qnj @AAPMR @ABPMR

— Val Jones, MD (@drval) February 4, 2017

Handle: @drval

Followers: 25,800

Women make up roughly 1/3 of all physicians in the United States, but they are underrepresented among the top doctors on Twitter. Nevertheless, Dr. Jones has fought her way to the top as a prolific author and lecturer, as well as the founder of Better Health, LLC, one of the largest networks of medical bloggers. Like Dr. Pho, she offers a great example of an effective integrated marketing plan, using her tweets to drive traffic to her blog and other writings, and her writings to provide engaging content for her Twitter following. Check out Dr. Jones’s Twitter feed and blog for examples of how to use social media to build on your professional accomplishments.

Top Takeaway

While these five physicians are great sources of inspiration, it can seem daunting to apply their successes to your own practice. If Oprah doesn’t introduce you to daytime television, where do you start?

One main takeaway from successful physicians on Twitter is targeting the right demographic. Dr. Sevilla runs a Family Medicine practice, so his ideal audience includes parents and young children. Therefore, a friendly, goofy personality is appealing. No parent wants to bring her kids to a stern, intimidating doctor. Dr. Oz, on the other hand, is more interested in an audience that watches his daytime television show. Thus, his posts feature more “popular science” topics, such as popular diets or healthy recipes.

The good news is you can easily apply this strategy to your own practice. As an expert in your field, you know what topics would interest your target demographic, be it low-sodium snack suggestions for dialysis patients or skin care tips for dermatology patients. So, post about it!

With your target demographic in place, you are well equipped to take the next steps in growing and maintaining your Twitter following. Like the successful physicians in this post, you can collaborate online with other medical professionals, or write relevant, engaging blog posts to share on Twitter as part of an integrated social media marketing campaign.

If you don’t want to go through this process alone, we can help you there as well! For a do-it-yourself approach, download “Up Your Social Media Game With This Handy Reference Guide.” It’s an infographic to equip you with insights into which social media platform and what time of day would be most effective for targeting your ideal demographic. For a more assisted approach, see how our social media services can help you.

Happy tweeting!

If you don’t want to go through this process alone, we can help you there as well! Contact an expert from our team today.

April 4, 2017
Lost about LinkedIn? Here Are 7 Tips for Legal Professionals
LinkedIn was used by 467 million users in 2016. A simple search in LinkedIn showed 384,071 lawyers. Not only are these numbers worth giving LinkedIn some notice, but the B2B and B2C client acquisitions are increasing at rates over 100% each year as well. There is no longer a reason to put off establishing yourself and your law firm on LinkedIn. If you are lost on where to start, here are seven simple tips to improve your LinkedIn presence.

1. Know the Laws and Ethical Guidelines for Your Area

This is the legal profession after all, so there are very particular rules to follow when marketing yourself. Depending on the state in which you practice, the words “specialist” and “expert” may be against ethical guidelines. The New York City Bar came out with a formal opinion on the matter in late 2015, which applied general advertising rules to social media explicitly. Though this is a great platform to reach out to colleagues and clients, make sure to follow the guidelines.

2. Create Your Profile

If you have already done this step, you are already ahead of the game. If not, signing up for a free profile is the easiest way to start. This will open the wide world of LinkedIn to you. You can also associate yourself with a firm profile. If your firm does not already have a profile, you can check to see if it meets LinkedIn requirements for company profiles and follow the steps to get one created yourself.

3. Optimize Your Profile

Once you have created your profile, there are some things that you should add to your personal profile to help you stand out. These include:
- A professional photo
- A headline
- Title and description of your legal experience
- Skills sections
- Interest section
- Education section
- Volunteer experience & causes
These sections have varying character counts, ranging from 100 to 1000 characters. All of these sections need to be unique and targeted to give clients a good view of the kind of attorney you are. However, these sections, especially skills, can lead to ethical issues so make sure to follow guidelines.

4. Make Connections on LinkedIn

After making and optimizing your profile, it’s time to make connections. These can easily be drawn from your already existing email connections through some simple downloading steps. This will automatically give you instant connections to people that you already interact with, both colleagues and clients. Adding yourself to your firm’s page will also allow other attorneys at your firm to find you easily.

Continually adding more connections from outside of LinkedIn and through LinkedIn will build a network to interact with, share information with, and get new clients from.

5. Join LinkedIn Groups

Groups on LinkedIn are a great place to find pertinent information to share with your colleagues and clients. You should join your local Bar Association page, your former law school, and other ABA organizations that apply to your practice areas. Those can just be a jumping off point for what groups you should join. The possibilities are endless.

6. Engage with Other Users

Engaging with users on LinkedIn can be done in a large variety of ways. Just made a new connection? Message them and remind them how you know each other. See an excellent article? Comment on it. Know a fellow attorney you have seen in action? Verify one of their skills. Not only will this build the strength of your connection but it will also get others to interact with you. 50% of LinkedIn members said they are more likely to buy from a business they interact with on the site.

Another good way to keep up to date is, if you have a smartphone, download the LinkedIn app to keep up to date without your computer.

7. Post Content

This is the last tip on the list, but it just might be the biggest. LinkedIn is a professional network that connects professionals with each other. This is a perfect place to share industry specific news. If you already run a blog, make sure to share the content on your profile. Found an article that pertains to your practice area? Share it on your page with your take on the information. Have some information to share about a case? Share that on your page. The more content you post with your unique voice, the more you build your authority on LinkedIn on the topic. However, make sure to include proper disclaimers with any content you share that could be construed as legal advice.

Great content on LinkedIn can grow your connections with those within the industry and those that need the help of attorneys. By following these tips and making your presence known on LinkedIn, you can increase your impact online and offline. For more strategic advice about LinkedIn, contact an expert from our team.
March 21, 2017
What You Can’t Do On LinkedIn: Hacking LinkedIn and Getting Results
Hypertargeting. Automated bid management. Ad scheduling. We take for granted these social media advertising features available on platforms like Facebook. But, what do you do when these “advantages” are not available on other sites, like LinkedIn? Here at Search Influence, we decided to design some experiments to see if we could manually hack these features within the LinkedIn advertising platform.

Targeting Options

We all know how great Facebook’s targeting is with purchase behaviors and in-market audiences backed up by actual third-party data. There’s no way that LinkedIn can touch Facebook in this realm, right?

According to Business Insider, LinkedIn is gradually increasing its user base, even as other platforms like Facebook and Twitter have seen decelerating growth. What LinkedIn has to offer is the opportunity to reach one of the fastest-growing groups of business-minded professionals when they are in “work-mode,” browsing for new career opportunities, exploring professional affiliation groups, and researching industry-specific content. In fact, Buffer reports that 60% of LinkedIn users are interested in seeing industry-related content with company news as a close second. So how can you capitalize on this information-hungry audience?

LinkedIn offers the opportunity to target all levels of the professional hierarchy, from young company influencers, performing research and reporting on their findings, to higher-level corporate decision-makers looking for their next business partnership. The targeting opportunities on this platform are specifically geared towards a professional audience. With these options, you can:
- Target specific Companies by name and narrow in your Job Titles to reach the exact people you want to hear your message,
- Use specific Degrees or Skills to seek out only the users who meet your qualifications or
- Sift through Member Groups to find people with similar or desirable professional or educational affiliations.
With all of these occupation-oriented targeting options, LinkedIn offers advertisers the ability to closely align your social engagement goals with your company’s brand and mission to reach users who are demanding industry-relevant content.

Ad Scheduling

Facebook offers ad scheduling, and while it’s not as granular as other platforms, such as AdWords, which allows you to schedule your ads in 15-minute increments, it still provides a heightened level of control over when your ads are shown.

Unfortunately, LinkedIn does not afford advertisers these same features, so we took it upon ourselves to apply manual ad scheduling to see if the benefit was worth the time. Research has shown that the best time to publish content on the LinkedIn platform is Mondays through Fridays, during business hours. Makes sense, right? Target working individuals with work-related content during work hours.

Our online advertising team put this premise to the test. Many of our clients suffer from budgets that are too small to run ads for the duration of the month. When you factor in LinkedIn’s $10 daily minimum and the fact that the platform allows you to spend up to 20% more than your daily budget on any given day, and you most often will, this effectively makes the minimum daily spend $12. If we extrapolate that figure across a 31-day month, an individual campaign needs AT LEAST $372 to run. To be most effective with our clients’ monthly spends, we wanted to capitalize on the users who are most likely to engage with the content, i.e. people who are on LinkedIn during the weekdays.

We implemented a “Weekend Pausing” test for a few of our clients. This test included Sponsored Updates campaigns, and we ran our test from November of 2016 through December 2016, pausing on weekends and holidays when users are least likely to be browsing the platform with intent.

We began by establishing baseline performance for each of the clients and decided that our main metrics for measurement would be engagement and cost per engagement.

So, what did we find? One client saw a 28% decrease in cost per social action and an 18% overall decrease in spend for a 14% overall social action increase. One client spent 23% less budget and received 63% more social actions for a cost per social action that was 53% less than the baseline. However, when we looked at overall engagement, which includes clicks as well as social actions, we saw an overall engagement decrease of 13% and a 39% decrease in engagement rate, refuting the idea that LinkedIn users are most active during weekdays. An extended period of testing would be required to investigate the full impact of weekend pausing on LinkedIn engagement rates.

Bid Management

Other platforms offer automatic bidding options to get you the lowest cost per result. Facebook does this across all of its placements, including Instagram and the Audience Network, to achieve the lowest average cost per result. There are also manual bidding options on the Facebook platform for those advertisers who want a little more control.

Luckily, LinkedIn does provide some competitor bidding data so that you can make an informed decision when setting your manual bids, which is the only option available on this platform. Previously, the consensus for LinkedIn bidding best practices was to bid as high to the top of the bidding range provided by LinkedIn in the Bid & Budget tabs of the campaign manager as the client’s budget allows.

What we were curious to test was whether we could maximize clicks and decrease overall cost per click by strategically bidding down, towards the middle of the bidding range. Our online advertising team devised a test across multiple clients in various industries with different budgets. Since our goal was to maximize clicks and engagement, we chose clients with Sponsored Updates campaigns. We established baseline metrics for each of our client’s prior performance and began strategically lowering and raising our bids from the top of LinkedIn’s provided range to the bottom in predetermined increments each day.

Once our bids were set towards the lower bound of the range, clicks and impressions significantly decreased. After moving up and down the range a couple of times, we hit a “sweet spot” right around the middle of LinkedIn’s bidding range where performance was optimized. We discovered that bidding around the middle of LinkedIn’s bidding range resulted in an average click increase of 39%, an average CTR increase of 14%, and an average CPC decrease of 30%. Through the manual manipulation of our bids, we were able to generate more engagement for our clients at a lower price!

What Can You Do With LinkedIn?

While many advertisers might suggest channeling efforts from LinkedIn to Facebook, I suggest rethinking the platform’s purpose. What our experiments have revealed is that if you can devise a strategy that considers the platform’s utility as a connector of business-minded individuals, and you’re willing to put in the effort to manually optimize your campaigns for the highest level of budget efficacy, you can churn out excellent results.

If you have strategic questions about using Linkedin or need support getting started with Linkedin advertising, contact a member of our team.
March 7, 2017
Up Your Social Media Game With This Handy Reference Guide: The When, How, and Where of Social Posting

Another year, another seemingly endless parade of social media posts gone by. If you haven’t jumped on the social marketing bandwagon yet, 2017 is the year to begin because things are continuing to go up and up. Here are some highlights.

79% of Online Adults Use Facebook

The Pew Research Center has done a lot of work tracking the social media usage of American adults. Of all platforms, Facebook has a staggering reach among adults across demographics.

Of these Facebook users, 76% check in every day and use Facebook as a way to learn about the news, local businesses, trending topics, and more. Facebook is truly on the way to becoming all pervasive, even among adults aged 65 and older.

57% of Consumers Are Influenced by Online Information

More than half of internet users surveyed said that they are influenced to think more positively of a business after reading positive reviews or comments about the business online. This means that creating a space for customers to give reviews and interacting with these reviews has tangible benefits and can convert potential customers that are lurking in the background of your social media.

Social Media Ad Spending Has Hit $35.98 Billion – and Keeps Climbing

Businesses are learning the advantages of using social media to market to their customers and using that knowledge to their advantage. Social media advertising is becoming the new normal, and we have abundant experience creating campaigns that convert. Contact us if you are ready to get started with paid ad campaigns for your institution or business.

Sources:

http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/

http://webbiquity.com/social-media-marketing/47-superb-social-media-marketing-stats-and-facts/

http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/

http://coschedule.com/blog/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/

https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Social-Network-Ad-Spending-Hit-2368-Billion-Worldwide-2015/1012357#sthash.eESedQLL.dpuf

https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Facebook-Twitter-Will-Take-33-Share-of-US-Digital-Display-Market-by-2017/1012274#sthash.0WToy3rM.dpuf

February 14, 2017
Want to Grow Your Medical Practice? Here’s 4 Ways Facebook Ads Can Help

The world is filled with many ways to advertise a product or service. Simply hoping that your message makes its way to the perfect target audience certainly isn’t the best practice to ensure that your medical advertising efforts are a success. For medical professionals, it may be particularly tricky to target those individuals in your practice’s geographic reach, specialty area, or even other physicians looking to refer their patients to another trusted healthcare provider. Though it can seem nearly impossible to reach the perfect audience through traditional mediums like television or radio, Facebook is continuing to provide proven results for advertisers in the medical realm. A rich and unique resource of user personal interests and behaviors, Facebook is truly a health care advertiser’s dream!

Whether you’re a specialist or a general family doctor, Facebook has the right tools to not only narrow down your ideal patient but also present your service in a way that truly connects these individuals with the personalized healthcare you can provide them.

Here are 4 ways to use Facebook ads to your advantage:

1. Use Facebook Display Ads to portray real people and satisfied patients in your ads.

Facebook Display Ads can be the perfect way to send your audience to important areas of your website using striking images and creative calls to action. When using these types of ads, appealing to more potential patients is key. Using photos of real people and happy patients not only shows the success of your practice but makes ads more relatable to the audience. Finally, Facebook allows you to utilize their call-to-action buttons to tell users exactly what you want them to do when they see your ad. Consider using “Contact Us” or “Learn More” to drive potential patients to convert to actual patients!

2. Use Facebook’s ‘Detailed Targeting’ to your benefit.

Facebook comes equipped with a number of targeting options that can be extremely helpful in identifying individuals that fit your target demographic. Everyone needs to see a doctor at some point, right? How about targeting people who have recently moved into your geographic area who might be looking for a new physician? You could also try targeting women who have recently become pregnant or seniors who might make more regular trips to the doctor.

3. Referrals are your friend.

Targeting other healthcare practitioners might not seem like the most effective idea at first, but using Facebook’s ‘Detailed Targeting’ to show your ads to other physicians or important referral sources always helps to keep your name at the tip of their tongue when talking to their staff and patients. Likewise, we all know that people seek advice on health care providers from their friends and family. It might be beneficial to target the connections of people who currently follow or Like your page. These tactics can only help drive more business!

4. Don’t forget about HIPAA!

It is always important to remember to follow HIPAA rules and regulations. When writing Facebook ad copy, never imply that you have knowledge about a sensitive health condition. Also, never collect or share personal information such as phone numbers or addresses. There are many successful ways to use Facebook ads to grow your practice that still align with HIPAA’s guidelines.

January 26, 2017
Three Simple Tips for Optimizing Your Facebook Page

For developing a meaningful online presence, proper management of your social media profiles is essential to any successful marketing effort. There are some very obvious, and important, actions to take: have a snazzy profile and cover photo, publish meaningful content, and engage with potential clients. However, beneath the surface, there are measures you should take to ensure your Facebook page is helping you reach your audience.

1. Ensure You Have Accurate Categories and Subcategories

Often, businesses have neglected to fully flesh out this portion of their business page. This section is important because the category will indicate that you are, in fact, a local business trying to market a product or service while the subcategories will better define your products and services. In a crowded market, you want to make sure your page is helping guide potential customers directly to the goods and services they need. Facebook allows up to three subcategories, so if possible, find three that best fit the description of your business and the products or services you are marketing. This is editable in the “About” section of your page.

2. Use a Custom URL and @Username

Facebook allows businesses to edit their Facebook URL and use an @username to reflect their business name. First, this makes it much easier for new or repeat customers to find your information on Facebook. Additionally, it adds authority to your page because it reflects your business name rather than a random string of numbers and letters. Lastly, from a purely visual perspective, it just looks better. This is also editable in the “About” section of your page.

3. Add a Call to Action Button

Facebook makes it easy for your potential customers to reach you by allowing you to have a Call to Action button right there on the cover photo. You want to ensure that you optimize this button so that customers can recognize it and that you get a response if it is used. Book Now, Contact Us, Use App, Play Game, Shop Now, Sign Up, and Watch Video are all options you can use to help boost a product, service, or special promotion your business may be running. You can easily find this where it says, “Add a Button.”

While it’s easy to focus on the cosmetic and social aspects of your Facebook, it is important to remember that your Facebook can work for you without a great deal of effort from you. Creating accurate, well-written descriptions is another thing you can do to help with your page’s search value. In many cases, having a marketing business that understands how to make Facebook work for you can help you attract customers you would not have reached otherwise.

January 18, 2017
Don’t Feed the Trolls Part II: Facebook

Search Influence’s resident troll has returned with the next installment of troll defense lessons. This edition will focus on the Facebook social media platform. Trolls inhabit every single corner of the infinitely expanded world wide web. Social media, forums, news articles, emails, Amazon reviews, and even online video games. The main strength that trolls have in most of these platforms is that they don’t have to expose their identity. But, what happens when someone trolls you on Facebook? Show me a person who trolls with their own identity, and I’ll show you a person who has nothing to lose. Though there is no surefire way to completely stop someone from trolling you into infinity, there are some pretty hard and fast rules that apply to all troll defense tactics.

Don’t Feed the Trolls

Does this statement sound familiar? If it does, it means that you either read the previous entry into the troll stomping anthology, or you are a seasoned internet veteran. This is perhaps the easiest and simplest way to deter a troll from taking up residence on your business page. Though the easiest way to deal with a troll is to confront them face first, an excessive number of responses and back and forth will eventually cause you to devolve into the troll that you are trying to destroy.

Don’t Assume Everyone Is a Troll

The main reason that your business page exists is to connect with your customers and fans. It needs to be understood that a complaint is not always a troll setting up shop. Whether you have 50 followers or 50,000,000 followers, each and every one of them made the conscious decision to click the “like” button on your page because they like your product or service. Give users the benefit of the doubt and make an earnest attempt to make peace with them.

Keep Your Cool

When you’ve definitively identified that someone is actually trolling you, remember that you are a professional and a troll is a professional at making professionals profess professions unprofessionally. Your responses will be visible to everyone who follows your page and even some passersby as well. Those viewing your argument won’t necessarily feel the same rage that you do and may think you treat all customers in the same fashion. Not only that, but raging at a troll makes them seem like the victim, and the last thing that you want your fans and strangers to do is to sympathize with a troll living on your business page.

Use All Provided Tools Available

Similar to Twitter, Facebook has a few built-in tools to deal with users that attempt to interact with you in bad faith. First and foremost, you have the ability to delete comments. This should be used VERY carefully. A legitimate negative comment should not be deleted; that issue should be addressed directly and publicly. The only comments that should ever be deleted are deliberate and dishonest attacks made toward your business. Specific users can also be blocked on Facebook as well. If you do have to delete a user’s comment for legitimately trolling you, blocking them is probably a good idea as well. Facebook also has a direct messaging system that can be used to reach out to users in case they need to share private information.

Sounds Tough

With a whopping 1.79 billion users (that’s 25% of the entire world population) and not even plateauing quite yet, Facebook can be a challenge to navigate. Here at Search Influence, we offer a full suite of Social Media Management services to offer with a team of professionals to deal with the trolls for you.

January 12, 2017
Get More Views on Your Company’s #Facebook Page

The term “pound sign” has become obsolete and even deserving of ironic quotes these days. The “#,” now the almighty hashtag, is generally associated with where it originated: Twitter. The hashtag’s aim was to unify groups of individuals discussing similar topics across the social media platform. However, hashtag usage has now expanded to Facebook, and using them properly can guide more traffic to your business’s page.

How Do Hashtags Work?

The popularity of hashtags is still on the rise, and more and more Facebook users are typing in “#[insert topic]” to seek common ground with others online. Want to promote your nonprofit organization? When typed into a Facebook search bar, hashtags such as #nonprofit and #donate will lead to news articles, Instagram posts, and more that discuss these topics. Used appropriately, your hashtag can generate engagement among social media users who are browsing for a service that your company offers.

#Don’t #Get #Carried #Away

When deciding what hashtag seems the most appropriate, using a trending topic just for the sake of site traffic is a bad idea. If you’re looking to promote your law firm, adding #KanyeWest to a post would probably generate views, but ultimately would make your page look spammy —and desperate. Plus, doing so could result in ruining your online reputation. It’s also important to keep it short and sweet. Will Facebook users be typing in “#IneedatriallawyerinNewJersey”? Probably not. But #NewJersey and #TrialLawyer could certainly yield some positive engagement while sounding natural.

Facebook as a Search Engine?

With Facebook generating around 1.5 billion searches per day, it’s easy to say that the platform is getting used as a search engine. With the proper use, hashtags can be excellent in online promotions and business news. However, too many hashtags can generate less traffic, so choose no more than two relevant tags per post. Once you’ve gotten a couple of trial runs with your hashtags, watch your analytics and see where the strengths lie. If a post’s views are going down as a result of your tags, try different ones!

Being clever with Facebook hashtags can enhance your business’s discoverability. Try inserting them into posts and let the results speak for themselves.

January 11, 2017
Top 10 Search Influence Blogs of 2016

The year 2016 was filled with memes, the Olympics, superhero movies, and the election. You can bet, with over 46% of people now online worldwide, there were plenty of changes to online marketing, too. If you haven’t kept up, here are the top 10 blogs of 2016 to make sure your business is poised for the #bestyearever.

1. What Happened to Facebook’s 20% Text Grid Tool?

Our Internet Marketing Team Lead, Michelle Neuhoff Boyd, created this informative blog post that eased the confusion of Facebook’s 20% text grid tool. Find out how this new rule may affect your business.

2. An Update: How to Get Rich (Answers, That Is) with Google

Not rich with money, but with Google. Over the years, Google has changed their algorithm, and our team at Search Influence is making sure to stay on top of every change. Read this post from 2015 to learn more about rich answers.

3. Getting Hands on With the New Google My Business

Having a hard time understanding the new Google My Business? This engaging blog post can clear up any confusion on listings, editing, and more.

4. Three Top Picks for The Big Idea at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week

During New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, The Big Idea picked 10 entrepreneurs’ ideas in front of a large crowd, and everyone got to vote their favorite. See the top three picks that Paula Keller, our director of sales and marketing, enjoyed the most by reading this post.

5. Email Marketing for Small Business: 9 Things Not to Do

Find out how not to email your customers when just starting your business. Originally published in 2010 by a Search Influence Alumni, read all about effective email marketing.

6. A Dentist’s Guide for Choosing Target Audiences on Facebook

Ever wondered how to market your dentistry on Facebook? This guide will help you understand the most successful dental campaigns in the industry. You’ll know what age group and interests to target.

7. Should You Be Using Google’s URL Shortener in Your Social Media Campaigns?

Are you still unsure if you should use Google’s URL shortener? This blog post talks about the benefits of using their shortener, such as the URL analytics, redirects, ease-of-use, and more.

8. Barnacle SEO – Local Search Engine Optimization for the Sam’s Club Crowd

Will Scott, CEO and co-founder at Search Influence, published this post back in 2011. Learn more about the term Barnacle SEO and which sites to trust for small businesses.

9. Nix the Wix SEO Challenge: Tips & Tricks

This post from 2015 helps you make the most out of your Wix website by guiding you on the meta tags updates, sharing your site on social media, making your site visual, and more.

10. 10 SEO Blogs You Should Be Following

Do you want to read reliable SEO blogs? Here’s a list of the most informative SEO blogs that Monica Shariffskul put together. Many of these are on my top list, too.

Be sure to subscribe to our Search Influence blog, and you’ll be the first to know when a new blog has been posted. Also, Happy New Year!

January 3, 2017
Search Influence Year in Review: Our Top 10 SEO Blog Posts of 2016

With this year drawing to a close, now is the time to reflect on the year and prepare for a successful and productive 2017. In keeping with this, we’ve highlighted our top SEO blog posts of 2016 to get you extra pumped for your New Year’s re-SEO-lutions.

1. An Update: How to Get Rich (Answers, That Is) With Google

In 2016, it’s estimated that approximately 40 percent of queries on Google resulted in “Rich Answers.” So what are these Rich Answers, and how can your website get selected for a Rich Answer on Google’s search engine results page (SERP)? This updated post gives you all the details.

2. Barnacle SEO – Local Search Engine Optimization for the Sam’s Club Crowd

For small businesses with small budgets, the “Barnacle SEO” approach may have big payoffs. Learn how attaching yourself to the white whales of the SEO world can expose you to new markets and customers.

3. Nix the Wix SEO Challenge: Tips & Tricks

Sure, Wix is the uber-easy-to-use, code-free web developing platform for dummies, but just how well do Wix sites get along with search engine optimization? Thanks to these quick tips and tricks, it’s easier than you may think for Wix sites to play nice with SEO.

4. 10 SEO Blogs You Should Be Following

Fancy yourself a true SEO connoisseur? This list outlines all the insider blogs you should be reading to stay up to date on the constantly changing world of search engine optimization. Hey, even if you’re new to the game, resources like the Google Blog and MOZ Blog provide a plethora of information to get started.

5. These 10 Expert Tips Will Drive Traffic to Your Business’s Website

Driving traffic to your website means driving sales for your business. Our in-house experts share their insights when it comes to getting people in the online door. Hint: If you’re promoting on Facebook and publishing press releases, then you’re off to a good start.

6. 5 Tips to Improve Local Search Rankings Even If You Don’t Have a Physical Location

Many businesses are opting for prime real estate on the interweb instead of brick and mortar locations, but that doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice website optimization. Check out these five tips for increasing your ranking.

7. Google My Business for Doctors: Visibility, Authority, & SEO

Claiming or creating a Google My Business listing can have big search impacts for medical practices. Follow this step-by-step guide for single practitioner practices, multi-practitioner practices, and multi-location practices.

8. Local SEO: How to Clean up Citations for Better SERP Visibility

A citation is the presence of a business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) on any website. The consistency and accuracy of your NAP across sites will improve your local SEO rankings. Learn the four basic steps to complete an effective citation cleanup.

9. 12 Things You May Not Know About Online Marketing

Are you ready to be shocked and awed by the amazing (and hard to predict) world of online marketing? Here’s a list of some of the things that caught our Search Influence team members by surprise when they were rookies in the game.

10. The Importance of Content Marketing to Your SEO Strategy

Content marketing is the bread and butter of your SEO strategy and, in many ways, the success of your brand. Are you telling a relevant and compelling story about your business? Are you targeting the right audiences? This post will help you answer these important questions.

What better way to bring in the new year than with a new online marketing strategy? We hope these posts offer some helpful insights and maybe even a little motivation for a productive and optimized 2017.

December 21, 2016