Content marketing is recognized as a powerful tool in today’s business world. Everyone from major corporations to local businesses can use the power of the written word, photographs and video to bring new eyes (and clicks) to their website.

These results are demonstrable, in fact. Let us show you…

Consider this case study of two businesses: one a chocolate and confectionary shop in a tourist town of New England, the other a medicine clinic in Chicagoland. The two are far apart regarding industry and geography, but they have one thing in common: A consistent and integrated promotional campaign involving both their social media profiles and websites. Both of which are produced and maintained by Mystic Waters Media. 

Prior to the adoption of regular social media campaigns, their brand’s reach - website traffic, audience reached, likes (or other social media interactions) and page visits - was stagnant. After adopting a regular social media schedule with Mystic Waters, however, it was another story entirely.

As soon as one’s social media outreach started, their page views, likes, and shares rose considerably. Now, nearly 18 months later, their regular views have remained steadily in this high range, increasing incrementally and jumping during major events.

The second company enlisted the same services with Mystic Waters in October 2015. Almost immediately, page visits and social media interactions of all kinds doubled or even tripled. Additionally, these social media campaigns lead to increased website visitor statistics as well. You can see below the correlation between the activity in the above image and what occurs on their website quite clearly. 

What do these results mean? Well, social media is vital today if you want to compete for people’s eyeballs and screen time in the attention economy. Turning it into an effective marketing tool, however, takes more time and work than spontaneously sending a tweet or sharing a post whenever you get around to it.

Generating consistent traffic to your site requires frequent and fresh content. Part of it is simply volume; sending more posts regularly will reach more people than infrequently posting. And while a single post could conceivably be overlooked, it is less likely that a series will be. But beyond sheer volume, regularly posting establishes patterns showing when more users are reached or engaged. Future posts and series can take those patterns into account in scheduling to reach more people, leading to greater visibility and more traffic to your site.

Generating effective posts also takes an understanding of the platforms that are being utilized. Foremost, users should be able to access your site directly from the post. To entice them to click on that link, each post needs to display a concise and engaging message or image. Using keywords (such as Hashtags) can help your posts gain visibility in users’ feeds. Embedding them organically works best to reduce clutter and save space, which can be another factor on certain social media platforms such as Twitter or Instagram.

We at Mystic Waters have become adept at creating regular social media posts for our clients, so they can focus on running their business. We also develop schedules for our clients’ social media that are proven to increase exposure and traffic. If you’re looking to turn your social media presence into a magnet for more users, contact us.

Building a brand is not a matter of simply selling your product or service. An effective and long-lasting strategy is to build a loyal following for your brand. Or to put it another way, a community.

Brand community means reaching out and interacting with customers to keep your message at the front of their mind. It’s not an entirely new concept; you probably know someone with a loyalty to a certain carmaker, a certain food or drink, or a certain technology producer. However, it’s possible for any industry player to build an audience.

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs can give customers incentive to promote your brand. Incentivize your existing community with rewards for bringing in new members.  Or create a promotion where newsletter or social media subscribers get an insider deal. For example, if a member of the community brings in a certain number of users or followers, they get a reward or next-level privilege.

Events

Another way to press the flesh. Meeting and communicating in the physical realm can go a long way to increase and improve the face of your brand, and improve brand awareness and community. Holding promotional events can get your name out, and give you the opportunity to meet and greet with people on the edge of your professional network. Invite existing customers and relationships to bring a guest or client. Making a good impression in person will convince members of your community to share your name through word of mouth.

Identity

Your brand can even become part of a person’s identity. In the real world, the first thing you notice about a person is what you see them wearing. It’s a part of their identity that they like that brand, or whatever their clothing advertises (be it a person, organization, artist, or sports team). In the digital realm, things like backgrounds, wallpapers, or other social media elements provide the same opportunity. By producing effects in both the physical and digital spaces, your brand can be a part of their identity, and them part of your brand community.

Every possible tool at your disposal can not only extend your brand’s reach, but also build a brand community of loyal customers. This will, in turn, expand your brand’s reach even further through word-of-mouth. Let’s develop a strategy to help your brand create just such a community.

In business, media exposure is a wonderful tool to have in your marketing pouch. However, it is often one in which total control rests not with the businessperson, but in the hands of said media producer. They control the message, when (or even if) it is released and for how long it is disseminated.

Fortunately for enterprising persons, they need not rely on outside media for greater exposure in today’s world. Every business-owned channel such as websites or social media acts as a publishing outlet, but with total in-house control.

This is advantageous for several reasons. For one, in-house channels can publish whatever and whenever they choose, whereas an outside source might only publish a piece once or a few times. Also, if an outlet were to cease publishing, all media exposure from that source could be lost, and there could be nothing done about it. In-house media, however, remains in ownership of the business and can be posted or shared at will on any channels.

Control over the message itself is also advantageous, you can be promotional when producing content. While third-party publishers might be rigidly objective or journalistic. Also, while outside media can possibly extend one’s reach, the business itself can do little more than hope it connects with a larger audience. In-house media, however, can interact directly with the audience through social media or comments sections. In doing so, one can develop a strategy through experience to determine what schedule receives the most traffic, and most response.

The ubiquity of smartphones and tablets has forced website designers to tailor sites for mobile devices. Why create multiple versions of a website just to accommodate smartphones? The optimal approach is to utilize a responsive design from the beginning of the wed development process.

This type of site is designed to conform to the dimensions of a user's device, without lose any functionality or usability. That is far more convenient than having to pinch-to-zoom on a site designed for desktop users. Who wants to look at tiny content on your phone screen? When it comes to a user-friendly interface for your customers, the results are worth it.

As previously mentioned, responsive design means that, rather than making separate sites for different devices, one will do. In the past, websites needed to be launched for desktop and mobile, that meant twice the cost. Additionally, it means a different experience for your clients. Navigation and appearance can now be unified under a single design.

Creating an eye-catching and memorable design is important to spread your message to those you want to see it. Ensuring that a design is attractive on any screen size is the best way to consistently deliver it to them. It’s a challenge, however, that we welcome, and one that we’ve become adept at facing.

Let us help you give your customers and users a responsive site that looks good and is easy to use on all devices.