Instagram Has Helped Make Shopping Easier

If you are like me, you spend half of your days scrolling through your Instagram feed double tapping on different posts and watching funny videos or memes. Again if you are anything like me, we also follow way too many clothing brands and cosmetic companies that continuously post new items. When I first had Instagram, you would have to write down what the item was you were interested in and look it up separately on the internet. Now? You can just tap once on the post and a link pops up that you can click on and it will take you directly to the product page and website. How convenient is this?!

Being able to shop on Instagram makes it much easier for shoppers the buy items. Shoppers like me who have no will power when it comes to online shopping! It is also gives companies an opportunity to grow their brand awareness and open up areas for more revenue. If you are advertising the product you might as well sell the product in the same place right?

Instagram is still for watching fun videos and seeing cute posts of your friends, but branching out into a new area can be a big step in a new direction. What do you think social medias will do next to make shopping even easier for the consumer??

Written by LeAnn Frank - Intern at Rebecca Adele PR and Events

5 Mistakes Companies Make When Using Social Media

Social media is a very powerful tool for companies to use, but only if it’s used correctly. Having a great social media presence can be a great advantage for companies not only with building brand equity but also with helping to boost sales. Here are 5 common mistakes that business make when using social media. If you avoid these mistakes then your company will be on its way to using social media to it’s full potential!

1.) Just using a platform because you think it’s the most popular or feel like you have to utilize it. Only create a social media profile on the platforms that are going to be the most useful for your business. Make sure the platforms are aligned with the marketing goals of the company and their initiatives and are going to reach the correct customer demographics and cater to their needs.

2) Forgetting to plan. Having a schedule and social media plan is critical to the success of your social media campaign. If you don’t plan ahead, you will feel overwhelmed when busy season comes and you’ll be scrambling to figure out what to post. Also trying to just “wing it” will not turn out well in the end. By developing a plan beforehand, it will make the campaign easier to manage as well as keeping consistent across platforms. Some helpful sites that can help you organize your social media plans are SproutSocial (https://sproutsocial.com/ ) and HootSuite. (https://hootsuite.com/ ).

3) Not catering the post to the platform. Social media sites are all used in different ways and they all have their own specific “language.” When you are posting on each of the platforms, make sure that the information you are writing in is in the specific language of that social media site. For example, you wouldn’t use Facebook and Instagram to necessarily convey the same message. All of the platforms have different features to them that can be used to reach different audiences.

4) Talking @ people instead of talking with them. The main reason social media is so great is because it’s interactive and you can really engage with your audience instead of just telling them information. By having conversations on social media, you are able to ask questions and are able to learn more about your demographics’ needs and wants. Asking questions on social media is a great way to generate conversation.

5) Forgetting to proofread. The worst mistake a company can do is to forget to proofread their posts and information that they put out there in the social media world. It looks unprofessional and puts a damper on the company’s reputation, which no one wants! Remember to have more than just one person proofread the post before it’s put on out there on your profiles.

Written by Kathleen Lawson of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

How I Learned that I Don't Know Everything

Spring is a time for growth and new beginnings, and an especially exciting time for Rebecca Adele PR & Events. My boss, Becki, recently celebrated her one-year anniversary of being in business, which has caused me to reflect on these past 5 months as an intern. To say that I learned a lot would be an understatement. Becki has been a true mentor to me in both personal and professional settings, and treated all of us interns as an integral part of the Rebecca Adele team.

Over the semester I had the opportunity to participate in many aspects of public relations and event planning. From learning how to write strong press releases, to using PR software to build media lists for clients, I have learned quite a bit about what it takes to have a career in public relations. My favorite subject that I got to focus on with Becki was the topic of social media.

As most young people do, I came into the internship thinking that there was little Becki could teach me about social media. I had a Twitter and Facebook account, so I must know everything right? WRONG. The art of social media marketing and management actually takes time and strategy. I started my internship tweeting about my friends and finished it with the skills to run a social media campaign for a multitude of clients.

At its core, social media is really just traditional concepts of word-of-mouth marketing powered by technology. Not every social network is right for every company. It is important to identify what your social media goals are. You can then tailor your content to accomplish these goals. Possible goals to consider are: offer customer support, increase sales, increase your audience, and gain repeat customers through brand recognition.

Content must be original and interesting, keeping in line with buyer persona. Buyer persona is just an understanding of who your audience is, and whom you want to reach. What kind of content would appeal to your buyers? Encourage customer interaction with your brand and always respond to customer feedback.

I have really enjoyed the responsibility of creating social media plans for Rebecca Adele PR & Events clients. Collaborating with them and Becki has ignited a passion I never knew I had for social media. As I start my senior year of college this fall, I will cherish this opportunity and greatly miss Becki, the other interns, and our clients.