“Make this brochure go viral”

I work with many brands and small businesses including fortune 1000 companies and it amazes me how many of them still don’t have the basics right when it comes to their understanding and prioritization of social media. They treat social different than all forms of marketing and many of them still value traditional platforms over social even when it’s counter productive to their business objectives and budgets. One of my favorite quotes from Vaynermedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk is “don’t fall in love with how you make your money.” This even applies to ad agencies. The consumers attention has shifted. The SMART PHONE is the new TV. Meaning it’s the primary way people stay connected and consume content. Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Youtube are simply the ABC, NBC, MTV on this form of distribution. This shouldn’t scare you. You should embrace the change and learn how reach your consumers where they are NOW focusing their attention. Learn from history. Mass media changes changes and you MUST adapt like our ancestors did when word of mouth went to print, print to radio, and when TV came along marketers learned how to use that for of distribution. Many companies have already paved the way and are creating tactics that should be part of your companies foundational social media strategy. These tactics are tried and true and should be applied as the foundation of your marketing strategy.

1. Social Media Paid Ads — Social media is not a free marketing platform. It costs to staff people to monitor it, or hire an agency, it costs to properly create content and execute strategy and it also cost to get your content in front of the right audience. You wouldn’t pay an agency to design a Billboard and then not spend money to purchase billboard space. The same principal applies to your social media content. Don’t waste time creating social content and than not pay to get your content in-front of the right audience. It’s also important to understand the incredible targeting of these social media platforms. They have incredible data and behavioral mapping that gives you the most efficient and affective way to reach an audience. These ads are efficient and accurate. Of course there is still plenty of value and ways to execute to get strong organic reach and engagement but many of your conversion campaigns or larger efforts will need some for of financial support. For smaller businesses this means you may have to carve out a budget to support your business. Instead of running quarter page ads in the local newspaper, try running Local Awareness ads on Facebook or Instagram.

Take away — Make sure you’re allocating a sufficient portion of your budget to achieve your business objectives with social media ads.

2. Influencer Strategy — Back to my point that Facebook, Instagram and social channels are the new TV networks. That means influencers are the top shows on those networks. They’ve mastered the content and built an audience. Just like buying ads on the top TV shows that own your demographic you want to work with the influencers who own your audience. They don’t have to be the largest … working with 20 mid ranged or smaller influencers that own your audience vs. 1 HUGE influencer may actually give you better ROI or campaign results. Be flexible. Test and learn but understand this is now a foundational strategy your company should be practicing.

Influencer marketing is the best weapon of any sophistical social media marketer. Right now it’s undervalued and converting for those of us in the know. If you’re in the B to C space especially E-commerce you better act fast because this strategy can literally turn your brand into a player in a very short time. It’s the true form of word of mouth on steroids. Influencers not only expose your message to their large, highly engaged audiences but they also organically grow your own social media following giving you more opportunities to expose people to your story and content. If your an old school media planner that used to buy a lot of print. People read and follow influencers like they used to read their favorite lifestyle magazines. Now instead of subscribing to the WSJ… they follow Warren Buffet. Instead of buying Muscle and fitness, they follow Brandon Carter. Instead of reading Ad Age, they watch content by Gary Vaynerchuk. It’s a simple but natural evolution of your consumers attention.

Take aways — Influencer strategy should be a foundational element of your overall social media strategy. Don’t over think it. Reach out to an agency that specializes in it. Remember there is no perfect influencer only those who own a percentage of an audience that is relevant to your brand. Quantity and quality both matter.

3. Instagram — “I don’t think my audience is there yet”… COME ON! Instagram is the 2nd largest social network and it’s owned by FACEBOOK! It’s 2017 people and your company should have some presence on Instagram. If your company is trying to reach 12–18, 18–35, 35–55 … you need to be on INSTAGRAM. Social networks age up quickly. Remember when your mom and dad said “they’d never be on Facebook!” Welp they are there and they are the fastest growing demo. 55+ is the best people to market to on Facebook because they actually take their time and go through their feeds and they aren’t as sophisticated with social media so they ACTUALLY click on ads. The point I’m trying to make is that Instagram is here to stay and you need to have a strategy to grow your accounts and reach your demographic. You can even run Instagram ads straight from Facebook’s powerful ad platform. And if your doing tactic number 2, influencer strategy, than Instagram is most likely the best network to execute on. Instagram functions much like print did in 80’s and 90’s. Use it as your companies branding and highlight real. Tell your story and get moving before your to late. Remember it cost more to play catch up with social media than it does to be a first mover on an emerging network. I know you think B2B social marketing is happening primarily on linkedIn (sarcasm and eye rolling) but your wrong. People are using direct messaging on Instagram as a primary point of new biz communication.

Take away — Start executing on Instagram right away. Whether your in the B2B game or the B2C game you need to be playing on this platform.

4. Live Video — One of the best Hacks or ways to dominate in 2017 is using Facebook, Instagram or any other form of live video. Right now in Facebook live video is prioritized in the newsfeed. Meaning this is the time to capitalize on the advantages you get from being a first mover in this space. This is a powerful and simple way a brand or local business can market to their audience and tell their story. If you’re a restaurant, you could live stream your chef cooking the special of the day. Barber shops could live stream a cool haircut. The opportunities are endless. You can do this all from your phone in a very informal manner and maximize your results. Once your live stream is over, it can live on the your timeline and you can boost it to your audience like any other video ad. This is a very powerful platform. Here is an example of a local entrepreneur taking full advantage of Facebook live.

Take away — Live video is a key player in your 2017 strategy. Experiment and learn how to best tell your story with this tactic.

5. Community Management — It still amazes me how many businesses still don’t prioritize community management in 2017. This is the ultimate way to earn a touch point on the path to purchase and more importantly to build a REAL emotional connection with your consumers. This is the difference between good social media strategy and GREAT SOCIAL media strategy. I’ve seen so man brands execute incredible buzz worthy social campaigns and than never engage with their followers or people mentioning their brands once the campaign is over. Make sure you search your brand on social and build connections. Ideally your goal should be to try to engage with every single person who mentions your brand. Good or bad their are always honest and caring ways to communicate…at the very least you can use this feedback to make well informed decisions on how people perceive your business.

Take away — Make sure your prioritizing your community management in 2017.

I hope this article truly gave you some things to think about. If you found it helpful in any way please share it. That helps me know you want me to keep creating this type of content.

2017 is going to an exciting year for marketing.

Kip Russell

Back in 2006, I starred in a Lupe Fiasco music video that never was released! Here’s 4 things I learned….

Over 10 years ago, I played the lead in the video The Instrumental off Lupe’s first album “FOOD AND LIQUOR”. This song is more relevant today than ever and if you have time I would recommend a listen. But let me take you back to 2006, the Chicago scene was on FIRE very similar to today’s Hip Hop scene. Kanye had put the city on the map and it seemed like everyone was blowing up, getting signed or finding a way out. Lupe was just getting his moment with his debut album and at the time I was a very green, hardworking, young artist just trying to find some sort of break or connection. I was finishing up my debut album UNTIED (https://goo.gl/ufyCC6), playing various shows around the city trying to make my mark and figure out this crazy business.

I met Chris Adams through a mutual friend. He directed Lupe’s video for Kick Push, which won MTV’s hip hop video of the year. He was one of the biggest parts of the Chicago music scene and I was honored and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this video. The experience was fantastic. I learned an incredible amount while on set, I asked a billion questions, pushed myself and was part of an epic video. I played a media addict. Addicted to the BOX aka TV. If you watch it now (below) it’s basically about how we all look while staring at our smart phones. The song was ahead of its time.

After the video was wrapped a few things crossed my mind. Lupe wasn’t in this video. So, I never had a chance to meet the rapper. At the time, I was pretty bummed about it. As an indie artist looking to build relationships it was a disappointment. A few weeks later I got the word that the video had been shelved because the label didn’t want to pay to promote another single. I was bummed. You have to remember this was pre-YouTube so having the exposure of millions of views on MTV, MTV2, BET could have been big for an artist like me. I could have used that as a chip to open a few doors. At least that was my mind state at the time 🙂 (Remember I was green)

But now as an older artist in the game. A vet. Whose played shows with everyone from The Roots to G Eazy. I look back with nothing but fond memories of moment that propelled my journey. I learned many lessons from that video. Here are 4 of them:

1. NETWORK (BUT DON’T BE A SCUMBAG) — Don’t just target one person to network with. Be genuine or better yet don’t try to use people. Most successful people can sniff that out and will stay away from you. I formed relationships with many people on that set, including Chris who I check in with from time to time but I especially bonded with the DP Courtney Harris. We stayed in touch and a few months later we were talking about how we could work together a shot my first video. In 2007, we shoot a video for my song video Dear Shooter which changed my life, got me enormous press, countless shows, opportunities to work with non-violence nonprofits and it even played on MTV2/MTVJams. The video is on YouTube now if you get a second check it out. It’s a powerful message about GUN VIOLENCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTBStWcv5r0

2. DO IT. EVEN IF IT SCARES THE SH*T OUT OF YOU — I had no real acting experience and to be honest I was scared shitless to do this role. I didn’t want to blow the video. I didn’t want to fail. We all have moments that make us weak in the knees. Have a little faith in yourself and push through it. It’s never as bad as your FEAR makes it in your mind. So, push yourself TODAY so you can live the life you want tomorrow.

3. BE GRATEFUL — While the video was never officially released and I never met Lupe on set to this day I’m eternally grateful to Chris, Courtney and all the people involved in the video. It’s part of my story and lead me to the place I am today. I even saved my outfit from the set as something I can look back on when I’m 80.

4. FORGET BIG BREAKS. ENJOY THE JOURNEY — For anyone perusing your dream. Your career is a series of ups and downs. Big breaks and big busts. Big moments and quiet moments. But the journey is ongoing and all of it is AMAZING! I’ve been signed. Dropped. Broke records that played on the radio. Wrote a TV Theme song. I’ve been on MTV2. I’ve been on almost every major music blog, indie music blog, I’ve seen news casters sing my songs live on TV, I’ve had crazy fan mail, I’ve had some pretty great moments. All these moments feel like your big break and many times they aren’t as BIG as you dreamed. Don’t be discouraged. It all adds up so keep pushing and enjoy the journey.

P.S. — HAPPY ENDING: A few months later I ran into Lupe at the movie theater on Roosevelt. He was right behind me coming up the escalator and we were both with our dates. I quickly turned around, introduced myself as the guy who just starred in his video The Instrumental. He took a hard look, laughed and was like oh yeah man that is you. That’s dope. Thanks for being a part of my video. We shook hands and parted ways. So, there’s that 🙂

If you enjoy this story please share, like or comment and I’ll keep sharing more stories like this.#sweetspotoflife #sweetspotstories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYz_EE7mAdo

It’s 2015 and social media marketing is nearly 11 years old. That means it’s nearly a teenager. You would think by now most companies would have the basics mastered. Unfortunately, I still see so many brands, business and professionals making the same mistakes.

Below is my list of the 15 reason your social media strategy is failing in 2015

Please excuse any harsh language or grammatical errors. I like to type it the way I would say it to you personally. Raw and unfiltered. Thanks.

1. You’re putting to much text in your instagram & twitter images.

• Unless you want to share a powerful quote using text is probably not a good idea in your photos. It makes them look like ads and anything that looks like an ad in social media won’t give you the ROI you’re looking for. Let me put it this way, it’s shitty strategy. Your social media content shouldn’t remind people of crappy newspaper and magazine ads from the 1990's.

2. You have no influencer strategy.

• Having a well thought out influencer strategy is the game changer most brands are missing in 2015. My company has achieved 35% growth each month based on our new influencer strategy. Don’t miss the window because in a few years this will be a very big portion of your marketing budget and you will get less ROI because of natural saturation as other brands enter this space. Besides facebook dark posts and pinterest ads this is your best ROI for your company right now.

3. You still think content is king and you don’t understand how to create context.

• With everyone entering the content game the next level of this strategy is developing the context for people to give a crap about your content. Figure this out and with a proper distribution strategy you can double or triple your web traffic.

4. You don’t respect the psychology of the social network. You don’t understand the psychology of your demo on each social network.

• Each social media platform has it’s own voice. You must learn how to speak properly to your audience on each platform and then you must learn how your demographic uses each platform. Each age group uses each platform differently than the other.

5. You’re still auto posting your instagram to twitter.

• Please stop! This is not 2009. Take the extra few minutes to properly post on each platform.

6. You’re still forwarding you facebook to twitter.

• See above!

7. You’re using 1,000 hashtags on instagram.

• Everything’s better in moderation. Same with the hashtag. Plus it looks desperate and spammy.

8. You’re over thinking your hashtags.

• No one cares about your hashtag. Stop putting hours of debate into what hashtag your going to use for each marketing campaign. Instead see what hashtags are trending and use those to springboard your realtime marketing.

9. You’re to worried about being to perfect.

• It’s okay to to make a mistake on social. Obviously to many can be a problem but the reality is the quality of content trumps everything on social. Including production value and grammar. It’s better to build momentum and content than wait forever trying to compete with people who have already built it. GO FOR IT!

10. Every post is about your brand. OR yourself. (To much push marketing).

• No one gives a shit about your brand that much. Find out how to ad value to your consumers stream and you will the game.

11. You don’t care about your audience and your not adding value to their stream.

• Take the time to figure out what your customers care about. Don’t just shove coupons and crap about your brand with every post. Learn how to use other creative content to hold customers attention and then sprinkle your content marketing material between valuable content.

12. All your content is scheduled and you don’t market in the moment.

• Your content schedule is not that important. This isn’t the day in age when you have to submit your ad to a magazine months in advance so they can meet their production deadlines. Have a general outline and be prepared and leave enough to fill in the gaps.

13. You have a different social media handle for every department of your brand. For every country. For every product!

• WASTE OF TIME! Focus your customers attention! Most people if they want to complain, compliment or find a job will find your main account and comment there. Make it easy for them and you.

14. You’re not mastering the power of facebook dark posts or pinterest ads.

• If you figure out these to powerful ad platforms you may never use google ads again. Especially for ecommerce and fashion brands.

15. You’re not experimenting on emerging platforms.

• If you’re not first you’re last. It’s less expensive to be a first mover on a new hot social network. You can win the land grab cheaply and figure out the voice of the medium ahead of your competition. Read my last article on this here.

Bonus: Your not searching everything related to your brand on twitter (www.twitter.com/search)

If you want to know more about these points or think I missed something comment below. Please share with anyone you think will find this information valuable.

Thanks for reading.

Kip