Bridget Willard

  • Pricing
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • 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

    November 27, 2021
  • 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. 

    + 1,000 @KyleClaytonGore: I finally met @YouTooCanBeGuru in person! Social media is what you make it. Be a friend! pic.twitter.com/zqRbhFcTio

    — Bridget Willard (@BridgetMWillard) July 12, 2016

    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.

    XmQrVxMQhwEdCXEo1QID5xXLPqF7IXWL GZxkaoBgbGWcpT40HmzZYvZ9djxklPfG2pM8mKu5IaEtPqCNr3bsY1k0UeAQdcNNF5DkFJUoD9K tVCyFXNN J83VsLZvcDTj1AhGz3

    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.

    rCX4cqmHtetF18vvvgBbaAHvhDj2y2WlGTDABil 5KG MQbY9WSFOKtQzh3GpL5KuHtYiQs3KBtdCJePBWUoNHaWnw5YF2k3DT77r62HPsYNCILQe9nTzAkFVdWDbwcRfMTN1OVg

    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!

    3 b0rQFYOro ZhvjUvy8OSUx4XPwXwgd4yCNGCOjhiutGUpV b8T0BXNHwvKDzZwYXqOtxfnFEW0g0Ofd51u3qMPvbf9AjpvfILSAioav1nj8K5jOPifB28NWiq VE6bo6zW 8h2

    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.

    EVGHioU dbTBnv1k jogRPv Ud499F3KgmUxCSAzCQXnz7B3a3KekLs

    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!

    RT @REMAXProsAZ: Why do we choose to help @PhxChildrens?! Besides the obvious, let’s look at the numbers! Your money can directly help at the link below: https://t.co/DHGZc2wlTs @remax #REMAX4Kids #MonthofMiracles pic.twitter.com/NDYxQCaEXs

    — Team Clayton Real Estate (@TeamClayton) August 9, 2021

    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.

    October 29, 2021
  • 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

    kgo ra7podR4IZ7hAotmcTwjO7TLouSy0sVHETmLwJ8BEr EzwotsmgJizNCA8yvkTO NxAkMX6U93OscXK4LvFh1PW4f DHSrOnFG1koH6nmxv n bAPiyvgO WeFwvNkNhPw6a=s1600

    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. 

    n7Lq5VbQaNyfvPoypFof9z2gBcpL6 APgdrUosdT97UvZJyOwztkX9SrLvZBL0mNUpsoJ89tjNNMpAEn0hIS TbYaVnyGpnspm1fJ2tAQOim3DiDOQngVHe9rIcn7vj4DzyRnKK0=s1600

    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. 

    LxoImz5lj 96YYE4h3va9nOIHBt5EBMiAOaHjnU6yeaUUOeOd

    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.

    Hi Bridget! If you work from home, you should definitely hide your address. Find out how to do that here → https://t.co/ODRK2Kq5X1. -Leo

    — Google Business Profile (@GoogleMyBiz) October 22, 2021

    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).

    ✔ Day 8 SEO Class Takeaway:

    Off-page SEO. Creating great content people look for and want to share.

    "How come no one ever told us this stuff was free?!"
    "I'm telling you now."
    👨‍🏫👩🏾‍💻👨🏼‍💻👨‍💻👨🏻‍💻👨🏽‍💻@canva @GoogleMyBiz#SEO#SocialMedia#ContentMarketing#TeachersofTwitter

    — Warren Laine-Naida (@WarrenLNaida) September 29, 2021

    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.

    October 22, 2021
←Previous Page
1 … 8 9 10 11 12 … 69
Next Page→