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How to Connect with Influencers on Social Media

4/27/2015

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By Hilary Montgomery, Research Associate

One of the best ways to broadcast your presence on social media in an organic way is to find and connect with influencers--people who have a large following and who can direct those followers to you. (Think Alton Brown as a major influencer in the cooking and dining industry.) But how do you make connections with these influencers?

The Basic Research

The first step is to identify who you need to be following to learn more about your customers. Find a handful of people that you would consider your “ideal customers”. Learn who these people are, who and what do they interact with on social media, and what kind of social media do they use. Once you’ve figured this out, start to learn who and what you should be following and on what platform. Your ideal customer use social media in different ways, and you should too. Research the people and pages your ideal customers are following: What are they posting? How frequently do they post? Do they share content from other users? Before you start interacting with those pages, make sure they match your company’s brand. If they do, start reaching out to them.  

Reach Out and Touch Someone

Once you have your influencer research, it might be exciting to jump right into communicating. However, different platforms have different needs, and you don't want to appear as though you're begging for attention from influencers. Here is some advice for Twitter and Facebook: 

Twitter: Retweet and follow: this is advice that you might have heard before, but be sure that you are saying something meaningful when you retweet. A simple “love your posts” will not get you noticed. Twitter is fast paced with lots of content going across the screen so make sure you are keeping up and memorable.  

Facebook: Friend and like: make sure you are friending, not just people who you want to be your customers, but also those who market to the same customers you do.  Try to like at least a few things on those pages so that they will like you back, making more perspective customers see you and like you.   

Keep Going!

It will be thrilling to see a response from influencers--but don’t think of this as a one-time step. You should regularly be looking at what your customers are looking at so that you can be in the loop and target their interests. The more leg work you put in, the better you will understand your audience, the influencers, and how to interact with both.


Have you reached out to influencers? What success have you had, and what tips do you want to share? Leave a comment and let us know!

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Content Creation: Logos, Ethos, Pathos

4/20/2015

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By Jeff van Booven, Production Associate

When creating content, developing credibility is a key aim. There are three main areas for building credibility: logical, ethical, and emotional--or respectively, logos, ethos, and pathos. By attending to all three of these areas, your content will have better viability and engender better trust with your end user. 

Logos

Logos, or logic, is the most important of the three. At a bare minimum, it calls on you to get your facts straight. Nothing will turn off a reader quicker than factual errors. Logos is more than that though. It calls on the author to apply logic properly, avoiding logical fallacies—a simple Google search will introduce you—and to make a fair attempt at both gathering and applying evidence fairly. Showing the reader that other arguments and concerns have been taken into consideration helps to build their trust in you and your product. 

Ethos

Ethos, or ethics, is about building your own credibility. It asks, why should anybody trust you? Developing credibility through logos and pathos helps to build personal credibility, but more than anything, demonstrating a clear grasp on the matter at hand is key. The reader is looking to you to present them with information they don’t have and subsequently desire. For example, if you’re buying a car, do you want a veteran mechanic from an independent shop or the marketing guy for Chrysler? Think for a moment why you might prefer the mechanic over the marketer. For one, the mechanic clearly has better credibility to evaluate the product, but he also is free of conflicts of interest. Lastly, a basic command of the medium is an important step to building your own personal ethos. 

Pathos

Pathos, or emotion, is perhaps the most conflicted forms of credibility when it comes to marketing, particularly as it is practiced today. While good writing and emotional credibility would suggest you avoid using emotional appeals, particularly of the sentimental variety, I assume most of us know the power of the emotional appeal in order to promote a product or cause. Spend enough time watching television and you’ll see the sad puppies set to sad music. You can’t get much more sentimental than that, but most advertising does tend to rely on such tactics of cheap emotional appeals to some degree—what is technically called sentimentality. While I would argue to avoid using sentimentality to manipulate the audience, doing so would be disingenuous when we all clearly can see how effective it is in marketing. However, from time to time, your audience may surprise you with their ability to see through such manipulative attempts, so it may be best to use it sparingly and in tempered manners. 
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Happy Anniversary: Bon Visto Media, One Year Later

4/13/2015

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By Victoria Stoklasa, CEO 

On April 4, 2014, Bon Visto Media gained our first client. I was, admittedly, pretty terrified. As the founder of the company, I had no idea of what success (if any) I would have with a social media management company. But with each new client who hired us, our footing became surer, and our expertise grew deeper. So, where are we one year later? Join us in your preferred method of time travel--TARDIS, Delorean, hot tub--as we look back on the past year.

Our Clients

Between April 2014 and April 2015, we have worked with a grand total of 23 clients. Some hired us for short-term projects, but the majority of them we have retained indefinitely. These clients have come from diverse backgrounds, from business solutions to fitness coaches to a German house music podcast. (I've learned so much about a music genre I would have never listened to otherwise.) However, they’ve all had one thing in common: They were small businesses or “solopreneurs” who have something awesome to offer but needed help developing a presence on social media. We’ve been thrilled to support these clients (some of whom I can now call my friends) with our skills.

Our Team

When I initially set out to start this business, I contacted my longtime friend Jenn Halbhuber to work with me on development and operations. Although she was unable to stay on board due to an intense personal and professional schedule, she was a key figure in the creation of Bon Visto Media, and I am grateful for that. I am also grateful for our current team. Jeff has brough creativity and insight (and sarcasm) to the process of content creation. Hilary’s boots-on-the-ground attitude assures me that she can always handle whatever research task is thrown at her. Don, who originally joined us as an intern, has juggled the hectic task of managing money with effortless grace. And of course, I’ve loved working with and educating our interns: Amanda, Taylor, David, and the aforementioned Don.

Our Vision

You may be wondering, what’s next for Bon Visto Media? (You also might not be wondering that, but I’m going to tell you anyway.) Our goals for our second year, while modest, will form the foundation we need to stay in business for years to come. Along with maintaining the high-quality services we give our current clients, we intend to develop new contracts (either long- or short-term) with businesses that value progress, innovation, and bettering the world. Additionally, we look forward to bringing on a new member to our creative team this year. 
We are excited to see what happens during year two. To keep up to date with our goals and progress, please continue to follow this blog. And, of course, follow us on your favorite social media platform!

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What We Can Learn from Trevor Noah's Twitter Controversy

4/6/2015

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By Victoria Stoklasa, CEO
 
When Trevor Noah was announced as the new host of The Daily Show, replacing the retiring Jon Stewart, the internet erupted. The excitement led to the discovery of some less-than-savory posts on his Twitter account. Arguments fired back and forth: "He's a racist and an anti-semite!" "He was just young and stupid and making jokes that fell flat!" Whichever stance you might take, we can all learn from Noah how to prevent and manage social media fiascos. 
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Start with a clear message

One of Noah's big problems with his Twitter was that he was still developing his comedy--he didn't have a clear idea of his act and message. When a company knows what they want to say to the public, it becomes far easier to develop a content strategy that has little chance of offending. Before getting on any social media platform, sit down and develop your company mission, vision, and goals. Then, ask how social media will foster these. Do you want to deliver bare facts? Create heated conversations? Uplift and inspire? Knowing what you want to say and how you want to say it will help to maintain consistency and show who a company really is.

Approve Before You Tweet

Rather than handing all social media management immediately to a single person or an outside company, it is beneficial to approve any posts that might be scheduled. In his New York Times article on the Trevor Noah controversy, Guy Branum wrote, "The glory of Twitter is that it’s unmediated and direct, but the absence of gatekeepers also means that everyone is free to put their worst work up as easily as their best." Serving as that gatekeeper, at least for the first few weeks or months, ensures that your company image and message will both sound how you want and remain consistent.

If you screw up, own up

Amid the controversy, Noah tweeted, "To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn’t land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian." Comedy Central also came to Noah's defense, saying he "is provocative and spares no one, himself included." Regardless of whether a company stands by its comments or issues an apology, the issues must be addressed. Sweeping it under the rug and hoping the issue will go away all but promises that it will not go away as customers start to demand answers. Remaining silent unintentionally shows that the business doesn't care.
What do you think of Trevor Noah's tweets? Should he and Comedy Central have handled the situation differently? Let us know in the comments!

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