Facebook Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

With more than 900 million people utilizing Facebook, it’s crucial to implement marketing ideas to the best of your benefit. Most companies have no problem figuring out best practices and trends, but along with this comes things you absolutely shouldn’t do. Here are a few tips on how to not make these mistakes:

1. Not completely filling out the page
Although this may seem obvious, many companies still forget to fill out the page completely. Be sure to include hours, address, phone number, and pictures to get the most out of your page.

2. Not following Facebooks rules for cover photos
Cover photos are not allowed to include information such as pricing, a call to action, or contact information. This is a simple mistake a company can make when trying to promote their business. Instead, post a picture that represents your brand.

3. Refrain from Facebook contests
Although it’s somewhat of a grey area, any type of contest run on Facebook is illegal. All contests and giveaways  must be administered through Apps within Facebook.

4. Over posting
When it comes to Facebook, less is more. Consumers don’t want to be bombarded with posts and information. Start out with two posts a week, and customize a schedule to see what works best for you.

5. Too much text
Keep it short and sweet! Research shows that consumers are most responsive to posts between 100 and 250 characters, or one to two lines of text. 

Powerhouse USA Adds 3 New Team Members

We’re very excited to announce three new hires to our growing team here at Powerhouse USA!

Jenn Allen is now the company’s Creative Services Manager. “Art has always been my passion and I love working in the fast paced environment at Powerhouse USA and being able to bring agency and client ideas to life,” said Ms. Allen about her new position. She will be overseeing all graphic content elements of online and print campaigns.

Andrea Rodrigues has been added as the company’s Marketing Coordinator. “I’m thrilled to be at Powerhouse USA and working with their diverse roster of clients.” Her responsibilities include client relations, budgets, presentations, and research.

Megan Neuner is the company’s newest Internet Marketing Coordinator. “Internet marketing is such an exciting area and working at Powerhouse USA provides me with the opportunity to help with their existing client base as well as grow future business.” Ms. Neuner is responsible for client web presents and develops online marketing and advertising campaigns as well as social media.

5 Ways to Monitor Your Brand’s Effectiveness

In today’s world, branding isn’t entirely about numbers anymore. Now we have to take generating a fan base into account. Here are 5 ways to measure how well your brand is doing online:

            1.   Are you engaging your fans?

Effective marketing is about building relationships with fans and customers, not about yelling out information in a busy marketplace. Social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter allow us to see how responsive and active we are with our customers.

A French telecommunications company named Orange asked their followers to tweet summer plans with hashtag #thissummer. The company was able to record the responses and generate traffic which allowed the followers to identify with the company’s branding.

2. Are you adding value to the conversation?

It’s a great idea to post content that other people will want to see and share with others. Healthy Choice posted a 75 cent coupon on Facebook which would increase in value as the site grew more followers. The company gained 10,000 fans in just a few weeks. This is a good example of how a company can bring value to its customers by increasing engagement.

3. Are you practicing the 20-to-1 rule?

The 20-to-1 rule means that you have to make 20 relational posts for every 1 marketing posts. In order to be successful, you need to be a giver instead of a taker. Companies need to be generous with their fans, so when you do need something, your fans respond.

4. Are you monitoring feedback?

If you want to be effective, you have to know what works and what doesn’t. A blogger with a large amount of followers tweeted about a negative experience he had with U-Haul. In no time, U-Haul lost thousands of dollars and long-term damage to their brand, solely because the company didn’t understand how much power the consumer has in today’s world. Creating an outpost where you can monitor what people are saying will allow you to address the consumer’s concerns, receive immediate market feedback, and show your customer’s you’re listening.

5. Are you engaging through your blog or website?

Most people believe you need a website with flashy graphics and a fancy design in order to generate higher traffic. However, this is not the case. Customers mainly want to feel like someone cares and is listening, not so much about how appealing the site looks. Try ending your blog with a question so readers feel like they can engage.