Bridget Willard | SaaS Marketing Agency

Author: Bridget Willard

  • How I Work — My Twitter Management Process

    I decided to write a bit more about my processes here at Bridget Willard, LLC. I started as a freelancer back in 2017, and now that I have vendors and an LLC, I’m a marketing agency. But I still do the work — one of my mottos. In the last article of this series, I talked about my SEO copywriting services.

    Maybe you heard through the grapevine that Bridget Willard manages Twitter accounts for brands. It’s true. I shed light on my process in this article.

    With all of my being, I believe Twitter to be the best social media platform for driving traffic to your website. I wrote The Definitive Guide to Twitter Marketing which is available as a blog post or a book. I also offer a free course if you want to learn to do it better yourself.

    Do You Discount Your Twitter Packages?

    Aside from businesses in San Antonio, TX getting 20% off automatically, I do not discount my Twitter packages. They’re already competitively priced. 

    Do You Have a Pitch Deck for your Twitter Management?

    The answer, for now, is no. I do have a video though — made a while back while I was blonde and heavier and a Californian.

    Do You Promise Results from Twitter Management?

    Since each client has different marketing budgets and business goals, it’s a challenge to promise results. With that said, my hope is that after three months of the Twitter Pro Plan, there is a 10% lift to website traffic. Together, we can work to promote the right things to the right audience to support your business goals. 

    How Do You Feel About Emjoi?

    It’s controversial but I don’t believe in using emoji as a replacement for a word. Emoji present accessibility issues for low-vision folks as well as aged eyes since they don’t enlarge. Sadly, there are too many tweets with emoji as bullet points. Emoji are great for decoration. GIFs are better for many reasons — one of which is that it adds to the length of the tweet. 

    How Do You Feel About Hashtags?

    Most people think hashtags are more powerful than they are. What they’re good for is discovery. So you’ll want to use keyword-like words. Think about general categories. They’re also good for threading conversations like for a Twitter chat.

    Do You Take Competing Products?

    While I manage your Twitter marketing, I don’t take on competing products.

    What Is the Turnaround Time for Curation?

    I’d rather underpromise and over-deliver. Let’s say seven working days.

    How Is the Client Twitter Calendar Built?

    Both Pro and Basic Plans include the editorial calendar on Google Sheets. Every third tweet goes to your website, so I defer to the copy written on the blog, landing page, or YouTube descriptions and reviews.

    The other two tweets are curated based upon topics adjacent to your business. For example, if your customer base is in Insurance, that will be one of the topics. The third topic across all of my clients is the professional development category. This includes tweets from accounts like Harvard Business Review on leadership, technology, and remote work.

    Do You Write All of the Tweets?

    Yes. I write all of the tweets. The two tweets that come from other accounts are generally RT-style retweets. When writing tweets that lead to your website, I defer to the copy there. Meaning, I find a quote from the words on your website and copy/passte with a link and hashtags. I may slightly edit to create a call to action.

    It’s important that my clients understand they have me personally working on their accounts. When you hire me you get me; you don’t get an intern and you don’t get automation. 

    I use Hootsuite to schedule your tweets and Twitter’s iOS app for monitoring. So I will need access to your account.

    How Many Hours Do You Work On My Twitter Account?

    I don’t charge by the hour because that would be cost-prohibitive. Since I am managing many accounts, I curate at the same time. In my job costing efforts, I know that I spend about two hours a day on each account. Social media isn’t a 9-5 job so I check notifications during my waking hours of 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM Central (Texas) Time. 

    What About Twitter Management Reporting?

    All Twitter clients get basic reporting. It’s a Google Sheet with basic stats that come from Twitter’s internal analytics. I share insights in real-time in Slack/Email/WhatsApp/Discord (however we communicate). This style works best since I’m brought on as another member of the marketing team. Your Marketing Manager will likely put together better-looking reports. 

    What Does Client Onboarding Look Like?

    Once we’ve agreed to bring you on as a Twitter Management client for the Twitter Pro or Basic Package, I’ll send you an invoice. Once the invoice is paid, I’ll begin building the Twitter Editorial Calendar. Twitter Lite clients don’t have an editorial calendar. It’s entirely organic.

    This editorial calendar is in a Google Sheet and each month will be a new tab. One of the benefits of this process is that the Google Sheet provides a history of social posts (aside from organic, in-the-moment Tweets) should you need them for your compliance department.

    The editorial calendar is built in two parts. The first is the first 15 days of the month and the second half is for the balance of the month. As soon as the editorial calendar is finished, and email it to you for review and /or approval. This is generally turned into the client a few days before they should be scheduled. 

    My Twitter Management Onboarding Process

    • Sales Call
    • Invoice
    • First Half of the Editorial Calendar
    • Approval of Tweets
    • Scheduling
    • Monitoring
    • Second Half of the Editorial Calendar
    • Approval of Tweets
    • Scheduling
    • Monitoring
    • Invoice 7 days before the end of the month for the next month.

    Are You Accepting Twitter Management Clients?

    I will always chat with a prospective client to see if we’re a match. In my free 20 min sales call we can talk about your goals and budget. I have time to work on your business, do you?

    “I’ve learned so much having Bridget manage my Twitter account. I was kicking and screaming about hating Twitter for years. Why was I so resistant? I wish I had paid more attention earlier in our working relationship so I could have be so much further ahead. There’s real value in her work, and the greatest value is what she teaches you and me to do with our accounts while she’s doing all the real ‘work’ in them.” Rhonda Negard

  • Moving Marketing Budget From Facebook to Twitter — A Case Study

    Are you frustrated with Instagram? How’s your Facebook Page working out for you? Did you get distracted from blogging by making TikTok videos? It happens to the best of us. 

    In marketing, it’s important to not only know who your audience is but where they spend time. Frankly, I’ve never believed that anyone spends time on Facebook. Facebook has always had a post-and-go culture. This is why commenting as a business is super important. 

    Sometimes, however, that’s not a good enough reason to stay with a channel that is underperforming for your business goals. This was the case with my long-time client, Team Clayton out of Glendale, Arizona.

    Who is the Business?

    Team Clayton is a RE/MAX Professional and has been serving the greater Phoenix area for quite some time. It’s a family business that prides itself on relationships. Their website says, 

    “Each member of Team Clayton brings their own perspective in serving different generations of clients, with 45 years of combined experience. As Tom puts it, ‘You get three for the price of one.’”

    What Was Team Clayton Doing Before?

    I’ve known Kyle Clayton — thanks to Amy Donohue and Twitter — for over ten years. I was lucky enough to have finally met him in person in 2016! Kyle himself is a naturally gifted marketer and entrepreneur. 

    So when Team Clayton got busy in the fall of 2019 and needed to outsource Facebook Page Management with a custom plan, they came to me first.

    We set up a plan to post to their Facebook Page six times a week including native video posts, Facebook Live, virtual home tours, as well as photos and links to listings. We also included sharing other people’s posts that are helpful and relevant including local events and restaurants in Phoenix. 

    Of course, I also commented and liked other local business pages and commented as appropriate.

    We also experimented with $20 boosted posts. This is tricky for real estate because it is a special ad category.

    What Was the Problem?

    Everything was going well with Facebook Page management and strategy until it wasn’t. Our average monthly research (impressions) for Q42019 was 1,919. Q12020-Q42020 was 5,030. (Q42019-Q42020 was 5,968) There’s nothing wrong with those numbers.

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    Then the pandemic hit. It changed how people interacted online. We had an election. We had Zoom fatigue. Facebook Exodus. New Privacy Laws affecting Apple and Facebook. 

    It was a perfect storm that brought our average reach from almost 6,000 to 624. (Six hundred twenty-four. That’s not a typo.) It dropped to 277 in May. What the what??? Not okay.

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    They all came to a point where Kyle and I had a meeting and were like, “hmmm do you like these results? I don’t.” Twinning of course — as marketers do. 

    Across all of my clients, I became very cynical about Facebook results. We looked at the numbers and I said, 

    “What if we shifted some budget to Twitter as an experiment for one month?”

    We tried adding Twitter in March and immediately had 10,300 impressions. March’s reach for our Facebook Page was 389. That was a compelling difference. 

    What Was the Solution?

    We stumbled on something that even I doubted would work for a local realtor. Of course, Team Clayton has an Instagram account and Facebook Page. But I had no idea that the first month would be so dramatic. Of course, it leveled out — numbers always go up when there was such little activity before.

    We reduced the Facebook plan to my Lite plan and added Twitter Lite. We kept Facebook in the mix until June when we realized it wasn’t the best use of our marketing budget.

    Kyle added the native videos from Facebook to YouTube, I had them transcribed, and we started tweeting those out along with more of the same type of content that we used on Twitter. 

    We shifted that Facebook Page budget to creating blog posts from YouTube videos.

    What Were the Results?

    Who doesn’t love almost 593.44% growth?

    Going from 600 to almost 4000? Yes, please!

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    The average impressions for Q12021 is 3,581, Q22021 is 5,298, and Q32021 is 4,107. For this year through September of 2021, the average number of impressions on Twitter is 4,329. Nine months of stability, basically.

    That amount of impressions is a number we can live with and only build upon as we continue a cohesive marketing strategy.

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    What Does Team Clayton’s Marketing Look Like Now?

    Team Clayton hired a great agency for a redesign of their website and advertising. So the Facebook Page and Instagram accounts are completely in their capable hands. And they continue their in-house newsletter and local events as well as the Month of Miracles drive!

    Partnering with Bridget Willard, LLC, Team Clayton and I are using the YouTube library we built over the last year or so for blog posts. Of course, we’re sharing them on Twitter!

    I’m honored to partner with a great client like Team Clayton. Seriously, my heart is full.

    Background Notes for the Team Clayton Case Study

    What are Impressions?

    When you pay for a billboard, you’re paying by the potential number of eyeballs. For the San Antonio Designated Marketing Area (DMA), ClearChannel Outdoor reports that their billboard, “Reaches 87% of the DMA A18+ population weekly (567.2 MM impressions).” In Advertising speak, that’s 567.2 million impressions.

    It’s the same on social media. If you don’t count the other reasons why you should engage with your audience online, impressions is what you’re paying for on social media.

    So, where is your audience? If they’re driving on I-35 daily and you’re a roofing company, maybe the billboard is the best use. If they’re scrolling on Twitter while watching Comedy Central, then Twitter is the best use of your marketing budget. 

    Ideally, you’ll want to use a combination of channels with the primary goal being driving traffic to your website. What happens after that depends upon your sales goals and lead intake process.

    Why is Twitter Important for Business Marketing?

    There are essentially five reasons why Twitter is important for any business.

    • Distributing Content & SEO 
    • Building Relationships
    • Content Curation 
    • Customer Service 
    • Market Insights 

    Are You Ready to Learn Twitter?

    I have a free Twitter course that takes less than ten hours over two days. By watching each video and implementing the steps, you will see a rise in your traffic.

    Are You Ready to Outsource Twitter?

    Awesome, I have three plans that are detailed on my pricing page. Take a look, set aside some budget, and let’s chat. I only take a handful of clients since I personally manage your account.

  • Is Your Business Taking Advantage of Google My Business? Here Are 11 Steps Toward Optimization.

    Is Your Business Taking Advantage of Google My Business? It should be.

    If you haven’t claimed your Google My Business listing, you’re seriously missing out on discoverability and visibility opportunities. Google My Business helps your business get found on Google Maps and in “near me” searches. So, have you claimed your business listing yet?

    Why Should Your Business Info Be Up-To-Date?

    First of all, it’s completely frustrating to a customer to be confused by your hours of operation. This applies to any brick-and-mortar store or retail outlet. Heck, I was even searching for the pool hours for San Pedro Springs Park and couldn’t find them — on their own website. 

    “Right now in our neighbourhood, one of the things that are confusing for people even locally, is that you don’t know if a store is allowed to be open or is it not allowed to be open right now. It’s a little vague if the store is selling items that you need daily, it’s allowed to be open. So I think that would be an important message right on the website to always have up to date.” Warren Laine-Naida

    Google My Business, when it shows up in search, takes up quite a lot of real estate on the entire right-hand side of the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page). The more you fill out, the longer that vertical listing will be. Along with that and visibility in Google Maps, that is a local SEO win in my book. 

    “Local SEO is the practice of optimizing your website for a specific local area. If you have a local business, like a shop, restaurant, or agency, you want your web pages to rank for certain search queries performed by a local audience.” Yoast

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    If you’re surprised about the Tweets showing up in a carousel, read my post about why I think Twitter should be part of your SEO strategy. 

    How Google My Business Brings Customers To You

    Anyone searching on Google either in a browser or in Google Maps with “near me” in the query should care about their Google My Business listing. Going to Rosario’s, by the way, was how I chose my apartment. I was eating there last year and looked up “apartments near me.” Shop local. Live local. Done. 

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    I can’t tell you how often I use the “nearby” search when booking hotels for travel. Recently, I had to travel to Greenville, TX for a funeral. I looked up the address of the funeral home and clicked “nearby” and chose “Marriott.” Otherwise, if I just Googled Marriotts or went to their website, I may have inadvertently chosen one on the west side of Dallas instead of the east side.

    The great thing is that GMB (Google My Business) gives you insight into how people are discovering your business. My listing, for example, shows that 78.6% are discovering my business from a local search! You have to love this. 

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    Without further blather or proselytizing from me, here are my 11 steps to optimizing your Google My Business listing. 

    Step 1 — Claim Your Business

    Google doesn’t know as much about your business as you think they do. So be sure to claim your business on Google My Business.

    business.google.com

    Google will send you a postcard to verify this information. Look for that in the mail and respond to it ASAP (immediately). Your business listing won’t be available until you verify your address.

    Step 2 — Fill Out Your Profile Completely

    Include hours of operation, email, phone, website, logo, cover, and description. Include whether you’re minority-owned and other demographic info. Your hours are super important. If you’re going to be closed on special days, update those as well. If you can claim a profile shortname still, then do it. 

    Changes take some time to appear so search in incognito mode or have a friend search to ensure your listing is 100% correct. 

    By the way, if you work from home you can and should hide your address in search.

    Step 3 — Add Products to Your Google My Business Listing 

    Do you have products you’d like to feature? Even digital downloads or art pieces can be listed on your profile. If you’re an author, list your books. If you’re a restaurant, list your most popular dishes or to-go party packs. You don’t have to have multiples of products either — an original painting is a good example. It’s okay to sell out (scarcity, yo!).

    Don’t forget to use the product categories to your advantage. You can even create your own categories (I made a Launch With Words category).

    Step 4 — Add Photos to Your Google My Business Listing 

    If the interior and exterior of your building will have visitors, then take photos with your mobile device and upload them. Google My Business has a mobile app to make this very easy. You’ll want customers to become familiar with your place. You wouldn’t want to be catfished on a dating site so don’t overly filter or misrepresent your business on Google My Business either. 

    “When a potential customer can see the outside and inside of your business, the products you create, and the team behind it all, they are better able to trust your business and will feel more confident in choosing you.” Thrive Hive

    If you are a freelancer, solopreneur, or consultant, add photos of yourself! People want to know those they work with. Remember, as humans, we connect with our faces. Smiles and eye contact matter. You can even add videos to your Google My Business listing!

    Step 5 — Take Advantage of the Free Website

    So if you don’t have a website, that’s okay. Google My Business allows you to create a free website. It’s true! This is a super easy tip and with one click it’s done. (They use the info in your listing so ensure that info is correct first.) I used mine then switched the listing back to bridgetwillard.com and the GMB Website is still live (and shows in search).

    Step 6 — Ask for Business Reviews 

    Reviews are gold. Asking for reviews is hard. But you only get reviews if you ask. So, yeah. Be sure to ask your clients. I’ve asked in private emails, in a Mailchimp campaign, on LinkedIn, Facebook. It’s hard. The more personal the better. Yes, it takes time. If your customer has emailed you that they are crazy happy, then that is the time to ask. You know the saying, “strike while the iron is hot.”

    “A Google review request should be tailored to both the customer, and to your brand. In the first instance, include the customer’s name and specific details about their order, like the product they purchased or service they received. These small personal touches make them feel like they’re a valued individual, not just a faceless addition to your review portfolio.” Reviews.io

    But also, don’t binge ask. You don’t want a bunch of reviews on the same day. On the flip side, be sure to review business yourself. This is a good way to pay it forward. 

    Step 7 — Add Appointment Links to Google My Business

    Listen, whether you’re using Calendly or something else, you’ll want to put your appointment link(s) in Google My Business. Otherwise, you’re stuck in the purgatory of the back and forth date suggestions. In the meantime, one or both of you could have accepted another appointment. It feels trite to say it but “it be like that sometimes” completely applies here. 

    Hey, I used to be a secretary. Even as efficient as I am on the phone and in email, it’s an annoying roadblock to the actual appointment. You want to make your sales process as frictionless as possible.

    “For appointment-based businesses, this is a great marketing opportunity that makes the process of booking an appointment seamless for customers and clients. If used properly, someone could do a search and then book an appointment right away — after making just one click.” AppToTo

    Step 8 — Complete “From the Business” Section

    You’ll want to also pay attention to “From the Business” and note accommodations and accessibility as well as crowd info. Especially those who fall under ADA will use this as a determining factor when deciding to choose your business. With COVID impacting our lives, “health & safety” is also important.

    If you’re veteran-owned, black-owned, Latinx-owned, or woman-owned, choose those. Some businesses have internal or external incentives (values or tax relief) to engage with specific businesses. 

    Step 9 — Regularly Add Posts

    Most people don’t think of Google My Business as a social network. It is! People add reviews, they want to learn about you. So, regularly publish any new offers, COVID-related updates, or photos to your Google My Business profile. GMB loves photos. 

    Personally, I am using the Pro Version of Revive.Social to post to GMB from my WordPress website on a regular basis. This is another reason why your business should be publishing blog posts regularly. But that’s literally another soapbox of mine (and product).

    Step 10 — Use Your Ad Budget

    Do you ever wonder how your competitors show up in a “near me” search? You can connect your GMB profile to your Google Ads profile. If you’re not comfortable with Google Ads then partner with someone who specializes in Google Ads like Warren Laine-Naida (if he has room) or Google “Google Ad Specialist Near Me.” There are plenty of regular people who know what they’re doing. Not all ad buyers are going to bamboozle you. I promise. 

    Step 11 — Keep Checking Your Profile

    Keeping your GMB profile relevant isn’t a one and done, set it and forget it task. Google My Business is always adding features, so be sure to log in once a week and check those new features. 

    Also, reply to reviews or messages as soon as possible. This is another reason why you should download and use the Google My Business App on your mobile device. Having the app one thumb touch away is a reminder to log in. Yeah, you would play your turn in Candy Crush, but do it after you check on GMB, okay?

    You’ll thank me later. 

    BONUS! Warren Laine-Naida and I Briefly Chat About Google My Business in this Video!

    As Warren’s video description says:

    Technical problems plagued not only Facebook this week, but also my laptop. After twenty minutes it simply refused to get its act together. So this week we did a pod/videocast for you.

    Google My Business is free. Enough said, right? You don’t know about Google My Business? You should! Especially if you like free advertising!

    Go to Google and search for your local baker, tailor, shoemaker, or yoga studio. You will probably see a nice item on the right-hand side with their name, photo, and much, much more! That’s Google My Business. And it’s free!

    https://www.google.com/business

    Free, simple, and personalised information about your business, even if you are a freelancer. 

    You can advertise products and services. 

    You can see your customer reviews. 

    You can post blog posts. 

    You even get a free website that is filled automatically with all the information that Google My Business has.

  • Is Your eCommerce Shop Ready for Cyber Monday?

    Getting your online shop ready for Cyber Monday shouldn’t be as overwhelming as it feels. This is especially true if you start in the summer. My days of being in church leadership taught me one valuable lesson: the holidays descend upon you like an avalanche. Don’t wait to plan these events. 

    What is Black Friday?

    Black Friday is the day that American Consumers live for all year. Even recently, my friend asked me, “Why would you buy a blender today? Wait until November.” Well, because I need a blender today. That’s why. Sure, we can fill up our wishlists and then hit the mall at midnight on Thanksgiving Day and fight over the last Cabbage Patch Doll. Hey, I’m not a Black Friday shopper. I’m too cynical. 

    I know that retail prices are inflated so that the sale can seem large. Besides, I prefer to sleep. And as far as Christmas presents go, if I buy any gifts, it won’t be on Black Friday. The crowds are too much for me. To each their own.

    What is Cyber Monday?

    After Web 2.0 gave us the ability to purchase online — thanks to eBay and Amazon — Cyber Monday began to rise as an alternative to the crowds and fistfights that became Black Friday. Seriously, if you didn’t grow up in the 80’s you don’t know the half of it. And that’s part of what drives the Cyber Monday sales — to keep people out of the crowds. The pandemic helped with that as well. 

    “Since it was inception in 2005, Cyber Monday has grown exponentially. What began as a small sale with a handful of retailers turned into over $2 Billion in sales in 2014. This year is projected to be even bigger.” Duct Tape Marketing 

    Cyber Monday is specifically for online stores, software, and tech. So, why do my WordPress friends have Black Friday sales for their WordPress Plugins? I’m not sure, to tell you the truth. I wish they would use Cyber Monday for the sale — if they really need that promotion. 

    I’m Not a Fan of WordPress Plugins Going on Sale 

    I realize that my views are slightly controversial. But stay with me here. See, if you push your WordPress plugin for sale on Black Friday or Cyber Monday then you will be pushing most of your customers with annual renewals at the same time. 

    If the majority of your customers renew their licenses at the end of November, then the majority of your customers buy at a discount. Can your plugin shop thrive by selling your product at a discounted price? If it cannot, then you must markup or inflate the plugin license cost so that your company can survive on the discount. And this feeds into itself. Since the majority of your customers renew in November, what will your December renewals be? January? February? You can see how that can easily become problematic. 

    I’d rather have a healthy cash flow all year-’round than wait until after Thanksgiving to become profitable. Secondly, you’re training your customers to wait for the sale — as my friend suggested with the blender. Leave Cyber Monday for the gadgets and video games. 

    If you want more of my fantastic marketing advice, you can purchase my book, “How to Market Your Plugin” from Amazon. This book will not be going on sale. 

    Will Launch With Words Premium Content Packs Be Going on Sale?

    No. I will not be hosting a sale on Cyber Monday for Launch With Words, my ebook, or my content planner. Why? Firstly, they’re already priced low to be accessible. To me, retail is all about pricing strategies that have to do with ridiculously high markups. My products are already value-priced. 

    Stop Competing For Black Friday

    Does it really matter which day you do it? Well, sure it matters which day you have the sale. Firstly, if your eCommerce shop is small, to compete with Amazon on Black Friday or Macy’s or Sam’s Club is just insane. Not to mention the fact that after Black Friday is Shop Small Saturday. I’m a firm believer in staying in your own lane for one and not competing with brands that have larger advertising budgets than you do. 

    “Over the years, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have vied for dominance. In 2020, Cyber Monday was the top day consumers planned to shop, with 30% saying they planned to shop Cyber Monday sales, compared to 24% saying the planned to shop on Black Friday. (Source: BlackFriday.com Shopping and Spending Survey 2020).” BlackFriday.com

    How About a WooCommerce Tip?

    I joined Bob Dunn on Do The Woo, among other industry experts including Katie Keith and James Rowland — to name a couple — with some of my best tips.

    Listen to the whole podcast.

    Hi, this is Bridget Willard with bridgetwillard.com. My tips for Black Friday is to leave Black Friday to the brick-and-mortar store. Cyber Monday is our day to celebrate and I would also give you this tip, take an inventory of the top 10 products that will be on sale. If everything is on sale, then nothing is on sale. Make a list of those products and ensure that you have updated photos, reviews, and website copy on all of those products. If you don’t have 10 products, then pick one that’s really going to go on sale. Which one is your loss leader? Think about that. And also a bonus tip is make sure you have one image for your product page that is 1200 by 628 pixels. This is because of open graph, social sharing. You don’t want to look like Amazon with this big old wide field and your book right in the middle. So those are my tips for Black Friday.

    Get Ready for Cyber Monday With a Free To-Do List

    I have a for every working day from October 21 until CyberMonday. Get organized. Get your eCommerce store ready and let Black Friday be what it is — the day for brick-and-mortar stores to become profitable. 

    It’s free, so , and copy the Google Sheet to your own Google Drive. Then get to work on October 21. 

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  • Answering Questions about Social Media for the Social Champ AMA

    I had so much fun earlier this month joining Social Champ’s Ask Me Anything (AMA) about Social Media. I thought it might be fun to offer a recap and a video for these questions for others to benefit outside of the Facebook Group. 

    We cover topics including how to gain organic reach, hashtag research, influence marketing, content planning, and more. Without further ado, here’s the recap video followed by the text. 

    Social Media Questions Answered

    Social Champ AMA Recap

    “In today’s AMA session, we are joined by Bridget Willard. She is a social media marketing expert and has experience in running high ROI campaigns for her clients. Today, she will answer your questions about everything social media.” Fahad Ahmed

    Q Yumna Hafeez: Hello Bridget Willard. What are the best practices to gain organic reach for social media posts?

    A Yumna Hafeez In order to get, you have to give. Make sure your brand is replying to other people’s posts as well as replying to comments on your own. That makes a big difference to people.

    Reciprocity.

    I talk more about it in my book, “.”

    Q Maggie Andrews: Hi Bridget Willard, How should one go about planning content strategy for social media? What things should one consider including in it?

    A Maggie Andrews Great question, Maggie. Content should support your business goals. Start with a marketing brief.

    Specifically content should be helpful. If customers are repeatedly asking you a specific question, answer it in a blog post or video (or both).

    Q Andrew Thompson: Hey Bridget Willard, thanks for being here today. What can a person do on social media to increase following?

    A Andrew Thompson One of the best ways to increase your following on Twitter is to follow people back. Use your Twitter lists. Don’t worry about people “clogging up your feed.” Be generous. Be helpful.

    Q Fahad Ahmed: Bridget Willard, you are a speaker and a marketing consultant; between these two, which one do you enjoy the most and why?

    A Fahad Ahmed I really love consulting. It makes me so happy to help business owners get the most out of their social media efforts by giving them confidence and a strategy that actually works.

    Q Touseef Ullah: Hey Bridget Willard! Can you please let me know how to come up with different ideas for social media campaigns?

    A Touseef Ullah Campaigns should support the overall strategy.

    And the strategy should start with the business goals.

    “It depends” is an annoying answer but yes it does depend.

    However, spending time reading the posts from your audience helps. What questions are they asking in presales or support? What do you want the audience to feel after using your product?

    Gimmicks work for a few minutes. But involving people and building community works for the lifetime of the customer.

    Q Muneeb Syed: First of all, thanks for taking out time from your busy schedule. I would like to know how can one leverage social media to generate leads for business?

    A Muneeb Syed I actually have a video on how to do biz dev on Twitter.

    But the short answer is to spend time reading other people’s posts and being helpful.

    You want to build a relationship; don’t cold call them.

    Q Syed Hamza: Hi Bridget Willard, How should one utilize analytics to plan social media campaigns?

    A Syed Hamza Analytics should indicate that you’re doing the right thing.

    One thing to remember is those analytics are a picture of the past. It shows your behavior and the customer’s behavior.

    It doesn’t show things you don’t measure.

    Q Mark Cooper: Bridget Willard what’s your opinion on influencer marketing? Should brands focus on incorporating them in their social media strategy?

    A Mark Cooper Everyone is an influencer. Paying stars is a waste of marketing budget, IMHO.

    Instead, build and reward the super fans you already have. Put them on special Twitter lists. Ask them to guest blog post. Invite them on a podcast. Send them swag no one else gets.

    Build a community of people, not a group of people following money.

    If they follow you because they love your product, money won’t lure them to the next highest bidder.

    Q Marium Fahim Khan: Heyy! Great session. Here is my question. What’s the best approach to find relevant hashtags for your niche?

    A Marium Fahim Khan Heya!

    Hashtag research is simply that: research. Spend time on Twitter/IG looking at the hashtags people are using in your niche and test.

    Introduce a hashtag and ensure that that tag is relevant to the text of the caption/tweet.

    Especially on IG, the algorithm shadow bans (from what I’ve heard) keyword stuffing so to speak. So you’ll want to be sure the caption is relevant.

    Don’t just put #SATX when it’s not talking about San Antonio, Texas, for example.

    And be sure you’re following back your followers, replying to their comments (not just liking them) and commenting on other people’s posts. This is huge.

    There is no magic in marketing and hashtags are far from a work saver.

    Do the work. 😃

    Q Mustaasam Saleem Ansari: 🙋 Bridget Willard , happy to see you here answering questions. Wondering, what resources you prefer to distribute the repurposed content (other than LinkedIn & YouTube)?

    A Mustaasam Saleem Ansari I’m a huge fan of Twitter.

    Facebook Pages, LinkedIn, YouTube are great ways to repurpose.

    Don’t forget that you can publish articles on LinkedIn as well as Medium to get different audiences. You can publish a teaser and say “read the rest at [link].”

    I also use Revive Old Post (I’m a pro user) to publish on Google My Business. It’s important to distribute content there as well.