How To Use Social Media To Recruit The Best Employees

Employee recruiting has certainly hit the digital age.  With online sites such as Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and Google out there, employers have a tremendous opportunity to reach qualified candidates for positions with low marketing budgets.  Linkedin in particular is a strong flatform for finding experienced candidates.  With a membership of close to 500 million, it is the go to place of finding like minded professionalsthat may want to transition into a new business culture.  So how do you make your business attractive to these candidates?  Here are some tips that we have seen through time that have worked.

1. Participate in groups that share your company’s goals-  Being active and engaged in groups will spark communication with people who are in your field and may be highly qualified.  By being constantly in the medium, your company will be a thought leader and once you do have an available opening candidates will be inclined to apply for positions with your organization.

2. Engage with current employees to gain trust- it is always a great idea to communicate and have communication with current employees.  Current employees are a tremendous way of finding good candidates as they have their own networks of school chums and colleagues from previous employment that they still communicate with.  Showing that there is a culture promoted by employees makes your business look like it has a great work environment that some candidates covet.

3. Share content that shows that your business is a thought leader- finding a great candidate is one thing.  Most people would like to know whether your business is reputable enough to join.  Creating and sharing interesting and relevant content through your social media platforms may be the tipping of the scale in having a potential employee join your organization.  It is also a positive idea to share posts that embodies your company’s culture.  Not only will that breed goodwill but also promotes employee engagement.

4.  Create an attractive company page on Linkedin- once you have completed a page, it can be found on the search results.  It will thereafter be the easiest way for candidates to see your page, culture and job openings that are available.  It is important to highlight your company’s values and goals.

5.  Be proactive- many experienced people are contacted by staffing professionals and other businesses via social media.  It is important to stand out of the crowd.  The best way of doing this is by being personal.  Try not using template emails to prospective recruits.  Instead be as personable as you would like your company to be.  Most people engage when they believe they are not being hit with a generic sales pitch and it is important for you to stand out from the crowd.

Social media is becoming the pre-eminent way of finding new talent.  However it is not the only strategy that you should be using. Some businesses may find it easier and efficient to use traditional media as well as online job posting boards such as Craigslist and Monster.  The key is finding the right balance that will assist you in attracting the best candidates for your position.  Don’t cut off all of your options when looking for your next star employee.

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Which Social Media Platform Fits Your Business?

For most marketing execs, it is important to stay in touch with your customers and engage new ones.   It is important to do so for many reasons but the two most important that seem to come to mind is for branding and customer service purposes.  The best way to do is through using your options via social media.  Social media networks are tremendous resources for all size businesses looking to enhance their image.

All of the social media platforms are free to use however, they also have a paid advertising function.  This becomes important for businesses that want to spread more awareness of their brand or are running a new marketing campaign that may or may not have some sort of discount or promotion attached to it. One important aspect that every marketing specialist should look into is what social media platform they should invest their time with.  It is not always the best idea to sacrifice your time and money in some social media platforms that will not get you the results that you are anticipating.  Therefore, in order to be successful you should become familiar with the social media platforms that are available to your company.  By understanding the medium, you can decide on whether the audience fits your company’s culture and whether you would like to proceed in spending time nurturing an online presence with the specific network.

You have to decide what type of exposure and how many clicks you will receive on the particular platforms.  At the end of the day, you are trying to reach the most amount of prospective customers with the least amount of advertising dollars.  The exposure you will potentially achieve will result in customer knowledge and retention.  This “branding” exposure will also lead to longevity of your company in the long run.

Once you have decided on the particular platforms that you will engage in, it is important to post at optimal times.  Let’s face it.  There is alot of content out there.  In order to get the most exposure it is important to post at the right time.  With a platform such as Facebook and its 1.8 billion followers, it can be easy to not stand out in the pack.  We have seen that posting between 1-3 p.m. is generally a good starting point.  It has also been researched that the most optimal time to post is Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m.

Another consideration that should be taken into account is who you are targeting with your posts.  It is important that you are engaging with a targeted audience instead of a non-specific general audience. This is important because advertising to a targeted audience will allow your business to grow with customers who are more likely to purchase your product or service.  It is important that your marketing team has done research into the demographics of your clientele and then attempt to reach them.  Choosing the right platform is certainly part of the research that your team should do as different social networks cater towards certain demographics more than others.

If you are not sure where to start go to the ones that you are most familiar with.  In the event that you are in need of assistance, you should look for assistance by choosing a digital marketing agency that can fulfill your goals.  Falcon Consulting & Marketing is a digital marketing agency headquartered in New York City that can assist any business reach their full potential.  We work with one client at a time reach their revenue goals.

https://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/social-media-platform-fits-business/

What is the Correct Amount of Times to Post on Social Media?

Many businesses decide early on that they want to develop their brand by themselves and want to post as much as possible online via social media.   Also, most are aware that your social media presence affects your ongoing SEO campaigns.   The ability to post at the right time and the frequency is important.  If you post too much, you may agitate some of your followers and you might lose them as a follower.  If you post sparingly, followers might believe that you are not engaged to your customers drawing a direct correlation from your posting frequency.

Every social media platform is different and are should be handled accordingly.  One of the main focus of your postings should be to anticipate what your followers are looking for and post pursuant to that guideline.  With all that said, here is what we at Falcon Consulting & Marketinghave come up with the optimal amount of posts per day via several different social media platforms.:

Frequency of Facebook posts:  6- 10 times per week

Best Time: You should at least post once per day.  If you do not have the capability to do so or your business is of a technical nature than you should post at least twice per week.  The most advantageous days to post are Thursdays and Fridays between 1-3 p.m.

Frequency of Twitter tweets:  2-4 times per day

Best Time: From our research it appears that 2-4 times per day works the best for most companies.  It is always best to attempt to tweet at least once per day to show your audience that you are engaged if you do not have the time to invest in long thoughtful tweets during the day.  The most beneficial time to tweet like in Facebook is between 1-3 p.m.

Frequency of Instagram Posts: Once per day is sufficient

Best Time: We have found that once per day is sufficient in Instagram.  The only difference is the best time period to post is between 3-6 p.m.

Frequency of Pinterest Pins: 6-10 pins per day

Best Time: Some of our clients love Pinterest.  Enough that they pin 20-30 posts per day.  Although it is great to show the engage it is certainly not necessary.  Pins of between 6-10 per day we find to be the sweet spot.  The best period to post is between 5-10 p.m.

Here at Falcon Consulting & Marketing, we have come to these conclusions through trial and error with many businesses we have worked with over the years.  We have found that certain businesses need customization in their social media engagement more than others as well.  If you need help with your social media engagement and are looking to build your brand online we can help.  We are a NYC based digital marketing agency that assists businesses one at a time.  Contact us at 855-445-9530 for a free consultation.

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Tips on Preparing Your E-Commerce Website for Cyber Monday 2016

Cyber Monday falls on November 28th this year. it has become the biggest online shopping day of the year. According to comScore and IBM, total digital sales were $3.19 billion up from $2.59 billion in 2014.  Furthermore Desktop online sales were up 12% from 2014 totaling $2.28 billion and mobile sales were up 53% consumers from 2014 to $838 million.  According to Forbes, there will be a 9.4% increase in sales for Cyber Monday with sales overall being higher than 2015.  You can review the Forbes article here.

Small and medium sized businesses should be prepared for their biggest sales day of the year.  If you’re an e-commerce site, you are fully aware of this and rest assured that you’ve already prepared and stocked with merchandise to handle the traffic.  Here is a list of last minute tips to ensure that Cyber Monday runs efficiently and without a hitch for your business.

• Inventory: Make sure you can handle the severe traffic. Don’t over-promote items if you don’t have it in stock. If you’ve run out of an item, make sure your website is updated as soon as possible.  Use social media to advise customers of any changes to your inventory.  Social media is becoming an important avenue for companies and it only takes a quick tweet to inform your base that an item is out of stock.  It will promote goodwill with your customer on a long-term basis.
• Have your logistics department prepared: Get your shipping department prepared.  A meeting should be conducted prior to this all important day to ensure that products will be shipped and make it to customers prior to Christmas.  Always make sure that you give your customers the option for express shipping as some customers need to receive the time to customize to re-ship it out to final destination.  Troubleshoot any problems beforehand and have back-ups for employees that are absent due to unforeseen circumstances.
• Buy ads on Social Media-  Buy online ads. Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers are going to be looking for sales and discounts. In many cases, they will search for those deals on search engines or on social media.  You should offer serious discounts to items that you will have difficulties selling after Christmas.  Offers should be given to customers as well for these items.  For instance giving gift cards along with items that you are aware that there will be difficulties selling.  Gift cards could be as low as $5.  The consumer will appreciate the rebate and will use it on your website on another item if they find something that piques their interest.

These tips will potentially snare some sales for your business.  If you are on top of your game you can make the most out of this years Cyber Monday.  Good luck and Happy Holidays from Falcon Consulting & Marketing!!

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Why Social Media Marketing is a Tremendous Tool to Generate Business

Businesses today are realizing that it is not enough to have a beautiful interactive website. You need a social media presence in order to keep engaged with your customers and prospects. Social Media is a group of mediated tools that allow people, organizations, groups, and businesses to communicate with one another through the exchange of information, interests, ideas, and pictures.

Social media works in two great ways for your business.  For one, it has now become the go-to word of mouth tool.  In fact, a business’s reputation can be directly affected by what is being said of them by people following them online.  Because of the anonymity of posts, companies are either getting honest opinions or are being stalked by people that have an agenda.  If is important to monitor what is being said and respond to negative comments being said of your company.  It is always a good idea to show that your company is responsive to complaints or suggestions.  Your brand will only become more familiar and friendly once you implement this strategy online.

Social media is often an exact reflection of what people are thinking in the real world as well.  The reason this is the way is because a large majority of people are now spending time on social media and it has become the fabric of our culture.  Because of this, businesses need to be responsive to what is going on there.  It is how we will be connecting with people for some time.

Social media is also terrific for improving your SEO. This is because Google searches for signs of authority.  Google looks at social shares, comments, likes and traffic. Being higher on the google searches and providing people alternative ways to find your business besides your website will bring more people asking for your services. A social media presence gives you another way to engage with your audience and build relationships. You’re not only more available to them through messages but also through posts, reviews, and tweets.

Engaging with your followers brings you a whole new light to your market. You will grow a better understanding of who your customers are and what they want. Even large corporations are taking advantage of social media.  That is because they appreciate the immediate feedback from their customers and can respond quicker to complaints.  Large corporations have hired an entire digital marketing staff to not only market their products but to also respond to their customers and troubleshoot problems with products immediately.

Building your social media presence should be done intuitively and straightforward.  It should reflect the values of your company and brand.  By being authentic it will not only help you in your ranking and SEO but also will allow you to build long term relationship with your clients that will generate business for you on a recurring basis.

Building a social media presence takes time and effort.  If you or your company do not have the resources or manpower to work on your social media then hiring a digital marketing agency would be a great idea.  Falcon Consulting & Marketing is a digital marketing agency located in New York City that can assist.  We help small and medium sized businesses with not only putting up post but also engaging your customers with content that will be SEO friendly.

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Hashtags in your Social Media Marketing Campaign and Tips on How to Use Them

Hashtags are labels for content. They are a way to track topics on your social media platforms. Anyone sharing content can add one to their messages and posts, and they help people quickly find information on that same topic. When someone clicks on a hashtag on any of these social networks, they’ll automatically be shown all other public posts that include the same hashtag. This is incredibly valuable for a small business because it can expose your content to a wider audience, and help your business get found.  Our digital marketing agency has helped many businesses understand the importance of the hashtag and helped them use it correctly increasing engagement.  As such, we have tested hashtags and found techniques to assist with meeting the company’s goals.

Here are tips you should take into consideration when making one.

1. Keep Your Message Short and Simple- Hashtags should be straightforward and easy to remember. Shorter phrases or words are more discoverable and easier for your audience to find. Phrases or words should be relevant to your audience and should be tied up with your brand architecture.
2. Try to use hashtags that already exists- Rather than creating your own hashtag, sometimes you want to enter a discussion around a topic where a hashtag already exists. You can add the hashtag somewhere in your social media update.  By doing so, you are sharing your content related to that same topic and others interested in that topic will see your content.
3. Research your hashtag before using it- Before using a trending hashtag, make sure to research it first. You don’t want to make a bad impression on your followers or attract the wrong audience.  Sometimes using a hashtag can create a backlash from your audience and it is important to understand them therefore.
4. Try to not use too many hashtags- Overusing hashtags defeats the purpose of trying to find the exact audience that you want. Having too many hashtags in one post is excessive. If you continue using many hashtags in a single post, it will make you followers and gain irrelevant ones who might just create distractions instead of adding value to your conversations.

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