I want to go on record here and say that I believe that every retail location should have a sandwich board for marketing purposes outside their store. I cannot even count how many times signs like the one below have worked on me in person… and even more important, how many times I have shared, or pinned sandwich board marketing signs like this one through my social media channels! Read more
Archive for Social Media Blog
SEO for brides – changing your last name on social media
As someone who has built her personal brand through her name, either as “Shana Ray” like the url of this blog/website, ShanaRay.com or as “Sharayray” on Social Media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. – I was very concerned with the idea that changing my last name from Ray to Bull would negativity impact my SEO ranking online.
The idea of a personal brand is really important to both myself and my new husband (aka Jeff Bull, aka Bullseyebrewco), but so was taking his last name.
Looking through the Google Search for “Shana Bull” is… interesting…. let’s just say I am not a woman from New Jersey who was arrested for forgery.
I did some research on SEO for Brides, only to find there wasn’t much information online about the subject of changing your last name on social media.
I went to my own personal SEO guides — my WIMP group on Facebook and my coworker, Mark Kithcart (Chief Marketing Officer at Resonate Digital) and asked them for some advice:
“The quickest and easiest way to for anyone with a name change to impact their Search Engine Results Pages is to either change their Google authorship profile or create a new one. This feeds the SEO knowledge graph for their name and those who already have a Google authorship profile may see a result and impact with their new information within 24 – 48 hours.” - Mark Kithcart
“I have a pretty substantial separate following under my maiden name in the writing/publishing community. I maintain a writing/pop culture blog, write fiction, and have social media accounts under my maiden name. That was part of the agreement with my husband — it was important to me to keep my maiden name in some context, and it was important to him that we share a name. So professionally and legally, I use my married name. In my personal social media and for my fiction, my maiden name has become my pen name.” – Steph from Zenergy Works.
“Don’t rush into it. Whether you have just got married, just got divorced, or changed your name by deed poll, you’re probably quite excited to be changing your name, and keen to get on and do it. But before you do stop and make a list of all of the places you need to change your name. Chances are there are some out there that you have forgotten, so make sure you go through your emails and check Google for places you’re mentioned.” – Sarah from SEO Chicks.
+ Shana Bull (formerly known as Shana Ray)
Mr. + Mrs. Jeff and Shana Bull
social media relationships.
Social Media for a Social Business, Written by Meg Houston Maker.
“Social media is not a tool for marketing. It is a tool for relationships,” says Shana Ray, a social strategist at Resonate Digital, which counts wine businesses among its clients. “We have made it into a tool for marketing, but at its core, it’s about relationships.”
In other words, in the old days, commerce was based on recommendations by real people. Nowadays, commerce is based on recommendations by real people. The technology has changed, but story remains the same.
facebook marketing – the NEW newsfeed.
Facebook just announced its biggest change to users news feeds since the arrival of the Facebook Timeline. The way people use social media to share images that tell a story about their lives has only become more pronounced.
Images capture a moment in time unlike text can.
According to Facebook they are getting rid of the clutter to make room for “bright, beautiful stories.”
This new newsfeed focus on friendships, stories and having a choice of how YOU want to customize your feed. Sounds great! A newsfeed that is suited to each user.
Okay, what does this mean for brand? That is the question us marketers are thinking! Does this mean our content will not be seen?
We have done our research and have a few ideas for our clients:
1. SHAREABLE CONTENT
- A key part of any social media marketing strategy, and with these new changes – it is even more important. The goal here is to create visual content so compelling that people want to share. Take a look at what posts have worked the best in the past (as well as what hasn’t worked) and find communality. Plan your content ahead and put more of an emphasis — and more time and dollars – on creating content that your fans WANT to share.
2. FOCUS ON YOUR FANS
- These are the people that are your evangelists and will get your content. Social Media Marketing isn’t about shouting your message – it is about having something that others want to shout about and share. It is about creating and cultivating real relationships and a community of fans that want to talk about you. This is a much harder task – it involves analysis of who is already engaging and what makes them tick. We can definitely help guide any brands with this analysis.
3. FACEBOOK ADS
- Social Media Marketing isn’t free anymore. Facebook Advertising is a great way to reach out to new target audiences that share common interests. Though, I am not sure what impact this new newsfeed will have on ads, but my guess is that it will be much more visual!
Who is excited for Facebook’s new newsfeed and the impact it will have on storytelling? I know I am!
foodie beauty – coconut oil.
Marketing studies have shown that it takes multiple touch points for a person to acknowledge a brand.
“33% of transactions made by new customers are influenced by more than one touchpoint, and multiple touchpoints influence 48% of repeat customers according to a recent Forrester study.” via Chief Marketer.
Fashion & beauty editor Alex André pinned an image on Pinterest that caught my eye – it was the image below from the blog “How Does She” that goes into detail about using coconut oil to treat hair.
A day later, Jenna from Eat Live Run blog posted a picture on Instagram of coconut oil from Trader Joes.
This morning, I visited Whole Foods and saw an entire endcap full of coconut oil in the beauty section… Three touchpoints and I knew it was a sign that I had to buy a tub!
I will be trying this out tomorrow morning!
