How to

Actionable ideas to boost your company’s social media presence

January 22, 2019 by Felicia Qvarfordt

Today social media is a big part of most companies marketing strategy, and to be inactive on social media as a company is not even an option anymore. But with all the social media platforms we have today, it can be hard to know on which platforms you should be active, and how you use them in the best possible way.

You should use different platforms in different ways, but there are some general tips that apply to all social media platforms. This short article where I share some general tips, is a good starting point.

In this article I will share some tips on how to use 4 of the most commonly used social media platforms that we have today.

Twitter:
There are a lot of benefits for a company to be active on Twitter, so the question to ask yourself is not if you should use Twitter, but how to use it. If you have no clue on how to use Twitter in the best way, or if you get confused by all retweeting and hashtagging, this should be helpful!

Twitter is a microblogging service that allows you to write short posts with a maximum 280 characters. Compared to other social media, Twitter is a very “relaxed” platform. By relaxed, I mean that you should be open and have a personal tone.

Another thing that is important on Twitter is to lay off the sales talk, Twitter is not the right platform for this, which means that you should not share a lot of tweets about how awesome your product/service is. People get tired of such accounts quickly and tend to tune out your tweets.

Twitter is not for one-sided communication, but excellent for discussions. Start off by participating in discussions about topics you have expertise in and where you can contribute. If you provide good and relevant tips you will build credibility with other followers, which will make you a valuable contact for them.

Twitter is probably the platform where you should put the most focus on hashtags (a # followed by a word – categorize your tweet and make it searchable), which hashtags are trending right now? Which hashtags are trending in your industry? Be creative with your hashtags, maybe start your own hashtag trend? However, studies have shown that you should not use more than two hashtags per tweet. So don’t go overboard.

Something I love with Twitter is the ability to retweet. Retweeting means sharing someone else’s tweet, which is perfect if you want to give your followers good and valuable content often, but do not have enough content yourself. I mean, just look at this guy! He retweets A LOT, and has 245K followers. It’s not a company page, but it still shows that retweeting works!

Also as this article says, “people who send out more retweets tend to receive more retweets”. So give and you shall receive – remember to retweet!

If someone writes something positive about you, you should also retweet it, to show your appreciation. Twitter is often used as a fast and public customer service, so make sure to always answer questions or comments as soon as possible. This is very important since quick responses are expected on Twitter.

Instagram:
Instagram was launched in 2010 as a new platform where users could share their photos quickly and easily. Thanks to its simplicity, Instagram grew fast, and after only 2 years, Facebook bought Instagram for a record price.

Today, Instagram has millions of active users, and is a meeting place for both individuals and businesses. So of course your company should be on Instagram! But what do you have to do to stand out on Instagram?

Since Instagram is all about pictures, you need to put some extra effort to the pictures you post. Make sure to always publish high quality images.

Instagram users sees loads of photos every day on Instagram, so you have to post photos that stands out to catch attention, and that makes your followers feel something. Show your products or services in a creative way.

One example of a company who is successful on instagram, with 83.6 MN followers, is Nike. You might think that most of their photos would be of their sneakers or clothes, but it’s not.

You’ll find heartwarming and inspiring posts about athletes and their stories, record breaking sports highlights and influential moments in sport. They are creative and good at evoking feelings with their posts.

Instagram is also often used to show what happens behind the scenes of the company. Share pictures of what’s happening during your work days. Is it someone’s birthday? Did someone bring his dog to the office? Do you play pool during lunch breaks? Let your followers be a part of your days! This way you build a more personal and human relationship with your followers.

Instagram gives you the opportunity to provide quick updates that show what’s happening right now. Use stories to show what you are doing, have polls or let your followers ask you questions.  Use the live stream feature to allow your followers to participate in real-time events, see new releases or something else that may be of interest to them.

LinkedIn:
LinkedIn is the absolute largest network for B2B relationships, so it’s very likely that many of your customers, potential customers and competitors are there, which means that you should also be there. But in order to succeed well on LinkedIn, there are a few things to keep in mind.

One thing that is very important when it comes to LinkedIn is your company page. Since the first thing people see when they are searching for your company is the company page, it is very important to spend some time and give it some love. Make sure that it clearly and easily tells you what you are doing and how to contact you, and that it is always up to date with the correct information. The first impression means a lot.

It is also important that you show your expertise on LinkedIn. Participate in discussions about topics where you have good knowledge. If people see that you are have good knowledge and that you are great at what you do, it will build confidence in you and your business.
LinkedIn is perfect place for recruiting. Fill your network with people in your industry and start looking for talented potential employees.
There are lots of industry-specific groups on LinkedIn, so make sure to be active in groups in your industry. Here you can share knowledge and create new valuable contacts.

If someone interacts with your posts on LinkedIn (likes or comments) the post will be visible to their followers too. This means that sharing content that people interact with makes it easy to spread widely, so think about what content your followers want to see.

Facebook:
Having a company page on Facebook is a no-brainer for most organisations, and there’s a lot of perks of having one. But even on Facebook there is a few things to consider in order to stand out.

Something to think about when using Facebook is that content is king! Share content your followers wants to see. In order for your followers to engage with your content you need to give them something they value. What advice can you give them? What are they interested in seeing?
If you provide content that your followers appreciate, they will like/comment/share it, which makes you reach more people.

I usually look at Facebook as a mix between LinkedIn and Twitter. You can be relaxed, open and personal, but also share content that markets your company. Make sure to have a mix between relaxed and more professional content.

Another great part of Facebook is the targeted marketing platform it offers. You can choose to market your posts, and you can choose to target your exact target market. Target your marketing to the correct people and there is a big chance that your potential clients will see it.
Facebook is also a great place to hold contests! Create contests where your followers have a chance to win your products or services in exchange for them to comment/share/like the post. When your followers comments on or shares the contest, the reach of your post increases which means you reach more people and potential clients.

The company Diamond Candles managed to get over 30,000 new fans in less than 6 weeks by having contest where you could win their product – candles, if you liked their Facebook page.

If you want to read more about successful Facebook contests, you can do that here.

So there you have it. A few ideas that you can implement immediately for boosting your company’s performance on social media. Let us know if you’ve already tried any of these out and how they’ve worked for you, in the comments!

How toOpinion

How can services companies stand out on social media?

January 19, 2019 by Felicia Qvarfordt

It’s not a secret that social media is an important part of any company’s marketing today. But how do you make best use of it as a services company? Because let’s be real; services are not as sexy and easy to show off on social media as beautiful products. So how can services companies use social media in a successful way?

This is something we’ve been thinking about a lot lately at Calcey – and here’s a few ideas that we found useful.
Less is more..

In this’ day and age there are a lot of different social media platforms, but you shouldn’t be seen on all of them.
As a services company, where you don’t have a product to showcase, it’s even more important to choose the right platforms to reach the right people. Choose the networks where you target audience has a strong presence and focus on those.

Understanding and providing value to your target Audience
In order to maximize your reach and impact, you need to be able to identify where your target audience spends their time and focus on these networks. Get an understanding of what kind of content your audience is interested in, and share yours with that in mind. Creating and sharing the right content will generate a wider reach through likes, comments and shares from your followers.
Give your audience valuable content they appreciate and you will generate buzz that translates back to your organisation; a win-win!

The Purpose
Start off by considering the purpose of your presence on social media (and of course there can be a different purpose for different networks). Is it to reach out to potential clients? Is it to recruit for your company? Improve your corporate image? Forge relationships with your current clients? The purpose you set down (maybe for each social media platform) will determine the kind of content you should share.
If you choose a network to recruit personnel for your organisation, a good place to start is to share content and stories that showcases everyday life and fun activities that takes place at your workplace, or stories covering what great experiences your co-workers have every day at the office, a “behind the scenes” segment for an example. This creates a positive first impression which encourages prospective employees to find out more about the company.

Be active and share knowledge
It is important to be consistently active and contribute to discussions social media. This isn’t limited to posting own-content (which in itself is very important), but you should also engage with other people’s content. Like, comment and answer questions posted by others. When you engage in other people’s content you generate a greater reach for your brand.

As a services company, you don’t have a tangible ‘product’ that you can show-off in straightforward manner, so you’ll have to earn people’s trust in other ways. Sharing your knowledge and expertise is a good way to do that, and social media is the best place for it. If you see someone asking a question in your area of expertise, make sure to always answer. This will help you show people that you are an expert at what you do. Blog posts, videos showing your company culture, infrastructure etc. are also good for building credibility.

Provide your audience with what they want to see
Way too many organisations use their social media too directly to market their services. Using it solely to promote your “amazing and outstanding” services is not necessarily positive. Your audience might grow tired of your endless spam promotional content; don’t become one of THOSE organisations.

Publish content that has value to your audience. Give advice and inspire! This creates a sense of trust in you and your organisation, and as mentioned before – your content will have far greater reach through likes, comments, and shares if your content speaks to your audience.

Analyse and be patient!
A crucial part of social media is to analyse the data from your content. There are a lot of tools out there for this. However, you can simply use the analytics tools/dashboard provided by the social media platforms themselves, and they are usually the best way to go, when you’re starting out!

Analyse what content generates buzz and what does not, which should guide you towards creating the content that your audience appreciates (sounds easy right?). But be patient! It may take a while in order to recognise patterns of what works and what doesn’t.
These are just a few ideas we are trying to implement right now with our social media strategy. Comment and let us know what has worked for you!

Startups

6 Highlights From Calcey’s Deep Dive Into London

January 14, 2019 by Craig Ryder

In June 2018, we started our first deep dive into London’s startup ecosystem. Our goal was to keep up on the latest trends, meet some of the main players and, of course, introduce Calcey to the crazy amount of new startups literally exploding in London right now. And we’ve seven UK startups confirmed as clients, we are delighted with the progress so far.
Here’s our six highlights from six epic months.

#1 Staying Ahead Of The Curve
Unsurprisingly, AI was the most consistently dazzling trend happening in London. The sheer breath of industry that the most exciting technology in human history is disrupting is astounding. We caught up with the Five AI Startups You Need To Know About, including autonomous vehicles that can drive on other planets, a NLP algorithm that could save us from fake news, and a voice activated communication tool for people with disabilities.
Voice Activation promises to be a monumental leap forward for our ability to communicate with AI in 2019. We heard from Bret Kinsella, one the world’s foremost figures in the voice industry, who suggested Smart Speakers Are The Gateway Drugs to more meaningful conversations with machines.

#2 Gender and Tech
We believe increasing gender parity gap is a crucial next step for the progress of the global tech industry. In the UK, only 17% of the tech industry is populated by women, with only 5% in senior management in positions. That’s why we featured Head of Analytics, Maria Koukou’s 5 Strategies for Success speech at Facebook’s new London HQ.
We also published this thought-provoking piece, Can you name five famous women in tech?
But we were sure to provide the answers, because, unfortunately, it’s a very tricky question.

#3 CEO Stories
1-2-1 Interviews with CEOs really get under the skin of what it means to run a startup. We love learning about what makes a strong leader tick and what makes young startups become fully fledged successful businesses. One of current client’s, Alex Crockford from CrockfitApp, revealed all in his How to Get 150,000+ Instagram Followers interview, while chef-turned-CEO, Caspar Rose of Fresh Fitness Food, told us how he is helping change the home-eating habits of the UK. The CEO of Doordeck—the world’s first keyless security platform—told us Why the transformation from IoT to SaaS is the pivot that matters.

#4 Green Tech
After Green Tech gathering great momentum last year last year, we’d love to see this really push-on in 2019. We interviewed IoT expert, Pilgrim Beart, who explained How IoT Is Driving Sustainable Change. We were also super impressed with mojeek, an ethical search engine, and the inspiring food waste co-operative, OLIO. They already have 700,000 users and a whopping 22,000 volunteers so they have clearly captured the UK’s public’s imagination in a big way.

#5 Pitch, Pitch, Pitch
Pitch events where boxfresh startups pitch for the hearts, minds and financial support of The Crowd are happening every week in London. They are free, fun and the best way to learn about what startups to watch out for… At the The Future Fin-Tech we heard from 11 eleven startups who have Unicorn-potential. We loved seeing 4 Startups Finally Delivering On IoT’s Promise, including a solution for single use plastic usage in the cosmetics industry. And as UK’s broken house market becomes ripe for disruption, PropTech revealed itself to one of the most competitive industries (and surprising biggest trends) in 2018.

#6 Blockchain – In or Out
We began in London in June and Blockchain was everywhere. The City was still super excited about ICO’s and in our video interview with blockchain evangelist Arfia Khan, she explained why 2018 is The Year of the Security Tokens. But since, blockchain seems to fallen off the map a little bit. Is it a conspiracy? Let’s find out in 2019.
It’s Been Epic

There’s our six highlights from six epic months. And honestly there’s so much we didn’t include. Here’s to another six…