Social Media Marketing

​What's up bosses? Today I want to talk to you guys about something we usually use every day but never use to benefit our businesses which is social media marketing. Every post we make or share is an opportunity to make a sale. Every time we're on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, you're missing out the opportunity to make people aware of our products and services. I didn't start off doing social media marketing, my goal was to make movies but it was through social media I begin to build my audience. I originally started Carlemile.com as an online portfolio to get video production work but then it grew into a lifestyle and entertainment site with original articles, videos and podcasts that allow me to build a relationship with my audience in between film projects.

​When I don't have a new film to promote, I continue to build my audience and practice my skills with original content like music videos, short films, sketch comedy, vlogs and reviews or social commentary on pop culture, tech, current events, food as well share personal and original short stories. Now when I do have a film, a digital course, ebook or new flavors of our beverage Natural Gifts to promote, I have a built in audience of a thousand people who visit my site weekly who will be first in line to buy it. I also earn from Affiliate marketing from the site but thats for a whole other video. I have gotten a lot of views on my videos that I uploaded to social media which allowed me to get a lot of Video production work. One of the recurring thing I notice when I got video production gigs was the request to put the videos on my clients social media profiles.

​Now I was already posting videos on my own YouTube, twitter, Instagram, tumblr and through my blogs but when I begin doing it for others, I realized what business I was in. It wasn't just filmmaking and freelance video production for hire but video production and social media marketing. I also learned what worked and what didn't work in real time. Like the fact you can’t just reuse old material created for Instagram, then put it on tumblr. Every social media platform has its own language. I learn that social media isn't TV. You don't create 100 commericals and upload them to social media. You got to create content that makes your customers feel like they benefiting watching you. If you can make them laugh, giggle, think, feel, play, escape or make them feel acknowledged, that they aren't alone in this world with the thoughts and experiences we share. It's only content like that, that builds a real connection with your customers.

​Doing YouTube videos I learned we had to use calls to action to get a response. Asking them to like, subscribe and share really helped engagement but only after I provided good content that started a conversation. There is no sale without the convo. Social media is another form of communication. A good convo creates an emotion that help your customers do what you ask them to do. If Facebook’s is about friendship, Twitter’s is about news and information.
Instead of just saying here's a review of the new tupac movie, I'll say the new tupac biopic suck and heres 3 reasons why then add the link.

You dont have to tweet to the world you're sitting on the toilet or what you're eating for lunch unless you're promoting a product, telling a story or trying to make a statement, proving you're authentic source when it comes to several topics. Trending topics can be names of people or things going on in current events, as well as memes, words and phrases that have gone viral in. It's the best way differentiate themselves from their competitor.

​Don't worry about how old you are, social media isn't just for young people . It has to do with how secure you are with your identity. That you're a real person, not a sales person or an actor trying to sell a product. They love it when you show your humanity and that you can be vulnerable too. Tell jokes, retweets and engages, responding to and talking to people and letting them know that you're paying attention and appreciating the time they take to let you know what they think. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not focus on building community, and just post things for fund-raising and trying to go viral. When it comes to social media Content, ask yourself.. Is there a point to the post? Is the hashtag relevant or authenic? Is the image attached appeling? Is it appealing to anyone?

​What I found appealing was a type of marketing that involves videos, blogs, and social media posts that does not focused on promoting a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services. Im talking about Content Marketing. A year ago, I went to ATL and visited the world of coca cola and Coca cola is the king of content marketing.They literally had a theaters playing short films that wasn't about coca cola but the experiences you have while you're drinking a coke. Even online they post recipe videos that has nothing to do with coke but they know you may have that meal with a coke now after seeing it. Restaurants like Chipotle and subway have web series online that's not focus on the brand but built around it. Looking at what proctor and gamble been doing for years with content marketing, using soap operas to sell actual soap, I decided to do the same on social media.

​To promote GB sneakers, a sneaker store here in Queens, I produced "Flicks N Kicks", a series discussing classic films and the latest sneakers related to the film like the film space jam and Air Jordans space jam 11. Or a reality show detailing the everyday behind the scene of a mom and pop music store in Queens at a time where Circuit city and Tower Records were closing everywhere like I did with Hall Of Fame to help sell magazines, music and DVDs sold in their store. ​​As well as a DIY network/HGTV style tv show about the process of fixing and flipping homes to promote the services Real estate agent David CampbellOr my own series Natural  ifts which features different artists discussing their natural gifts as they drink natural gifts.

​Content marketing don't stop with video. Photos plays a huge part in social media marketing. I looked at The ads of Coca Cola and even Newports ad and notice the similarity of ads promoting a lifestyle and selling an emotion so to promote our line alkaline water, element water I've taken several photos to promote a healthy lifestyle. A lifestyle where someone exercise and enjoy a good laugh with friends, creating memories over our beverage. We also experimented with it on video, creating content built around events like the super bowl or holidays like Valentine's Day. Great content creates More exposure. More exposure= More Leads. More Leads= More customers. More customers = More Revenue. 

​I've also done product placement in my videos promoting our water through skits and tutorials (Like our amazon go skit and how to talk to women video) One thing that defiantly works is cross promotion. A friend of mine hosts a series of Open Mics and speed dating events under the brand Urban Poets Movement. So to promote his event and our water, I created three 30 second ads about men who have trouble talking to women to come to the event for practice with our water in every shot, as well as used extended footage of those skits in a video teaching guys how to approach women appropriately and created a specific commercial telling guys not to be thirsty chasing women with one of the hosts of the speed dating event.

The 30 second skits were uploaded to Instagram and Facebook while the full length video was featured on youtube. Each social media platform allowed me to highlight different sides of our brand identity, you don't have to have the same tone on each platform. One of my friends is a freelance barber so to help him promote his services, I featured him in one of my vlogs and Im helping him produce content for his social media marketing including commericals, tutorials, tips, behind the scenes, hair product review, vlogs, motivational/inspiring quotes and portfolio of his previous work. To know your audience, You must know your niche, become an expert in the niche you are marketing too. Whatever convo you're engaging in, whatever story you're telling, you gotta remain true to your brand. I try to create content that is visually compelling, story-driven, and entertaining. Content is king, but context is the kingdom. People are there for value in all forms, to help ease from the pain of a stressful day, to get their daily fix of entertainment, information, news, celebrity gossip, a chance to brag, a opportunity to feel popular or feel a a sense of connection and friendship.

​Marketing online with web banners is played out, no one is looking at them anymore. You got to create content to make consumers feel something and then act on that feeling. Make it memorable, simple, fun and inviting.  Make it for your customers who is your main audience. Share info. Tell jokes and words of motivation. If you move people’s spirits and build their goodwill, when you finally do ask them to buy from you, they feel like it would be almost rude to refuse because you’ve given them so much. Keep your content simple, immediate, and relevant. Build a connection with the world. Talk about what they’re talking about.  It's your goal to reach consumers at the moment when they’re most influenced to buy. To do that, you need know where they are.

​Through my youtube creator studio app, Instagram and twitter analytics Im able to see Im able to see where people. I see when they stop watching the video, if one image gets more i view views than the other, if the same image work with different taglines?Which hastag was more popular or If there was an increase in engagement when we put out animated GIFs? The information is there. The best place to do social media marketing is on Facebook. Through Facebook you can reach anyone around the world. With Like Ads - Instead of trying to get a customer to subscribe to another site, create an ad to directly influence your customer to like your Facebook business page. I did this promoting the Facebook fan page of Real estate David Campbell. 

Giveaways and Contests also create the most engagement spread more as well. I did this promoting my ebook "Game over" Video Ads get more organic and paid engagement for the advertising dollar.  I did this to promote my first film "New York Shorties" Over 40k people saw the trailer  Facebook allows you to target exactly who you want to see you ad. As long as they are on Facebook, they could be reached. 

I also sponsored one of my articles on Facebook, sharing my review on the new Star Wars. A high number of people don't follow my page will see it in their News Feed. Now they know about me and if they like my page, Now the next time I post a new piece of content, many more of those people will be likely to see it but now I don't have to pay any more money to get those impressions. And if it continues, my initial costs will diminish as my impressions rise.

​Facebook Offers for tractable deals – This is a way to integrate a discount offer directly into a Facebook post and then track the usage of that offer over time. You can Track actions to your website By setting up a conversion tracking and JavaScript code to place on a thank you or conversion page of your website when costumers download a menu, schedule a reservation, buy a gift card or sign up for your email list among many others. You can also Use giveaways, Email Marketing Offers, Coupon Codes or Password Marketing. When the codes are redeemed, you can analyze results and optimize in real time. I created a giveaway, giving out two of my ebooks for free one romance, the other a thriller to promote the release of my 3rd book. That 1 ad lead to over 1,000 people downloading my ebooks. There's many ways to market your business and services on social media without screaming give me your money! Just gotta pay attention to your demographic.