Small Biz Success Tips – Since 2012

Tag: social media tips

Top Searches on Social Media Thanksgiving Week

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

Thanksgiving is a very big week on social media in the United States. If you are using social media to promote your online shop, remember, you do not always want to just post your products. It is really not the best way to get seen. Instead, you want to post content people on social media are looking for or care about, to inadvertently get your shop noticed.social media post ideas calendar

Here is the type of content people are currently searching on and will for the next few days (BEFORE Black Friday hits) on the various social media sites, as well as on Google and Yahoo. Use this information wisely when thinking about what to post from now until Thursday:

Top Facebook Searches

  • Thanksgiving pictures
  • Thanksgiving quotes

Top Pinterest Searches

  • Thanksgiving recipes
  • Thanksgiving decorations
  • Thanksgiving desserts
  • Thanksgiving crafts

Top Twitter Searches

  • #ThanksgivingWeek
  • #ThanksgivingCountdown
  • #ThanksgivingFootball
  • #ThanksgivingDayParade

Top Instagram Searches

(Instagram will be most active on the day before and the day of)

  • #ThanksgivingEve
  • #ThanksgivingDinner
  • #ThanksgivingSelfie
  • #Thanksgiving2016

Top YouTube Searches

  • Thanksgiving songs
  • Thanksgiving music
  • Thanksgiving turkey

Top Google Searches

  • Thanksgiving football 2016
  • Thanksgiving food
  • Macys Thanksgiving Day parade
  • The First Thanksgiving
  • Thanksgiving games
  • Thanksgiving side dishes
  • How to cook a turkey

Top Yahoo Searches

As a little bonus, I thought I would mention that Yahoo has added a daily Holiday Search List. Here is what people are searching for today (it changes hourly):

  • Ski bags
  • Christmas tablecloths
  • Pandora bracelets
  • Star Wars gifts
  • Exercise equipment
  • Wireless speakers
  • Personalized aprons

So try to engage on social media over the next few days, rather than just sell, and see if it helps your Black Friday sales. Happy Holidays!

My Social Media Content Calendar is on sale now. If you are having trouble driving traffic and promoting your Etsy shop, this easy to follow plan (includes a social media to do list) is for you!

© 2016 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

13 Things to Post to Social Media This Weekend

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

13 things to post to social media this weekend

There is lots going on this holiday weekend, so if you wish to get your business seen on social media in the next few days, this is the type of content you need to post that will likely get share.:

What to Post to Social Media This July Holiday Weekendsocial media content calendar

  1. Red, White and Blue Recipes
  2. List of Best Summer Festivals in (pick a city, state or country)
  3. Favorite Steven Spielberg Movies (the BFG comes out tomorrow)
  4. Favorite Roald Dahl Books (the BFG is his book)
  5. Amazing Fourth of July Fireworks PhotosBest Online Sales this Weekend
  6. Best Beach Reads Summer 2016
  7. Cool Facts about Canada (July 1st is Canada Day)
  8. Hottest Soccer Players from UEFA Euro 2016
  9. Favorite Country Music Lyric (for #NationalCountryMusicDay July 4th)
  10. Stylish Wimbledon Fashion
  11. The Coolest Celebrity Fourth of July Style
  12. Best Moments from Game of Thrones Episode 11

© 2016 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

4 Easy Tips to Help Your Business Succeed on Social Media

To succeed on social media, it is really all about interaction. So, if you are a business on social media here are four easy ways to make sure you are maximizing your presence there and reaching more customers:

Respond to Comments

On Facebook, Instagram and Twitter you can reply to comments on your posts, photos, tweets, etc., and you should, especially if someone has asked you a question. I know I can forget to do this too, so make a point of setting aside a half hour at the end of the day and go through your notifications and make sure that you respond to every comment as well as if people have even mentioned you on their social media site. If people have retweeted your tweets, say thank you and/or return the favor. You never want to look inactive or that you don’t care, so take the time to respond.

Comment, Like & Share

How good are you are taking the time to comment, like and share on the social media posts that appear in your feed? When you comment, like or share someone’s Facebook post, your name is now seen by their followers. I have actually had people tell me they found me on Facebook based on a comment I made on another site’s Facebook page. Plus, a lot of the time when people see that you liked, shared and/or commented on their content, they will return the favor.

Follow Back

Again, take that half an hour everyday and go through your list of new followers and make sure to follow back. Now, I am not saying you have to follow everyone who follows you because sometimes you will have people follow you that are spammers or maybe not appropriate content, so use your discretion, but if they look like a potential customer, a potential business alliance or someone in the media, follow back.

Analyze What You Are Posting & When

Take some time at the end of the week to go through your social media posts and see which content was the most popular. What was liked the most, commented on the most, shared the most? Now try to analyze if it is the actual content and/or was it a particular day that was popular, or a particular time of day? Both Pinterest and Twitter have pretty good analytics at the ready for you. For Twitter, click on your avatar in the upper right hand corner (for Pinterest, it is the gear icon) and then go to “Analytics” on the menu. You want to stick with the content that is working for you, and then schedule it for the days and times that seem to offer the best chance of sharing.

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About Me

A 20+ year marketing professional, small business consultant, ebook author & blogger, my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012. It really does help to talk to someone who is objective to get a new, but professional, perspective. I have also written publicity pitches for clients that resulted in them being featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

©2020 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Succeed on Social Media

Marketing I Love: 2 Favs of the Week

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

I am always on the lookout for great marketing, so here are a couple of tactics I noticed this week that I hope will inspire your business.

Fav Instagram Account of the Week: Play-doh

Screen shot 2015-04-14 at 1.04.13 PM

I love what Play-doh is doing on Instagram. A lot of shops who use my monthly Marketing Calendar or have read my Ebooks, know that one of the keys to success on social media is taking advantage of what is trending. Play-doh is using its product, but in a playful way, to capitalize on key pop culture events. Look closely and you will see a white dog in honor of the premiere of Games of Thrones that night or an image for the first day of major league baseball or an image to announce the start of April. They find a clever way to capitalize on these trending hash tags.

Fav Promo of the Week: Lands End

Screen shot 2015-04-14 at 1.26.37 PM

Lands End is taking advantage of Mother’s Day by asking its Instagram followers to tell them who in their life is an all around amazing woman, include the hashtag #sheis, and they have a chance to win a gift tote plus their picture could be part of their Mother’s Day page. This is a good way to spark a discussion on social media, get your own hash tag trending and get more comments on your Instagram page.

My New Ebooks are Here!

booksI am very proud of my new ebooks as I have packed them with my very best advice, tactics, tips and secrets for publicity, social media, promotions and more. You will not be disappointed! Available at my Selz Ebook Shop.