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January 11, 2017

The New Year is now upon us, our holiday heads have recovered and many look to either strategize their marketing efforts for their year ahead; or are putting finishing touches on what they already started in the Fall.

Although the basic principles of marketing have remained constant, the channels and methodologies are continually evolving and shifting based on consumer behavior and changes in technology.

Marketing is not a single silo effort; it is a toolkit of marketing tools that, when used effectively, complete the effort. A few basic tools in this toolkit include your social media channels, use of a press release service (24-7 Press Release Newswire services) and content marketing. Content marketing can incorporate your social media and press distribution and it can also include articles you post on your website or blog posts and newsletters.

Using just one of these tools is like trying to use a hammer to nail in a screw, or twist the nut off a bolt that is stuck. It is not very effective. So what do we recommend? Let's get started.

SOCIAL MEDIA
At the very basics of your social media, you should have a presence with Google Plus, Facebook and Twitter. A more in depth approach would include Pinterest and Instagram, particularly if you have a service or product where photos help describe it.

We mention Google Plus as a starting point, because let's face it, it is a Google product and works in consort with the Google search engine. With Google Plus, you can create your own G+ Page where you can post information and updates about your product and or service. The nice option about Google Plus is the ability to tap into Google Communities, some of which have over 100,000 members! Look for a community that supports the basic interests of your business or service and contribute meaningful information to those communities. Your content can even include links to useful resources that don't even necessarily need to be your own website! If you do include information back to your own website, for instance to an article or blog post, ensure that the information to which you are referring people is going to be of value.

Facebook may be used in a couple of different ways. Not only can you build a following on Facebook, but you can also boost posts for enhanced visibility at a reasonably low cost. If your information is valued by viewers, your post may become shared, increasing the visibility even further. We recommend that if you are posting to Google Plus and to Facebook that you change the information slightly so that it is not coming across as "duplicate content." Be sure to also include some media with your post (on Facebook or Google Plus), this could be as simple as a single image or multiple images or short video. If you use a video, try to keep it to as close to 30 seconds as possible. When the video plays for more than 30 seconds, you start to lose your viewers' interest.

Twitter allows you to tweet up to 140 characters of information to grab the attention of your audience. This includes your hashtags that are used to categorize your tweets within the Twittersphere. More on hashtags within Twitter may be found here.

For some time now, Twitter has allowed you to also embed images. Choose wisely and select something that will get the attention of your audience. Adding the link of an image will also impact the length of your tweet. Make sure that what you tweet, the hash tags you use and the image you incorporate are strong because according to an article from Ghost Blog Writers the lifespan of a tweet is only about 18 minutes!

Distribution of a press release is something that 24-7 Press Release Newswire knows all too well and should be a staple to any business participating in marketing efforts. A well written press release can garner much media attention if timed perfectly and written well and properly targeting your market. Your press release can also be incorporated within your content marketing strategy and can span across your social media platforms.

Writing a press release requires a bit of skill and knowledge. You want to make sure you include proper attribution, have a couple of quotes from someone within the business and keep to your point while not including any jargon. Tips on writing your press release may be found at 24-7 Press Release Newswire.

Once your press release service has distributed your news, you can use the link to direct people to where the release may be found, and to share it across your social media, including Twitter (create a tweet about your press release), post it on you GooglePlus page for your visitors and of course on your Facebook page. When you create your post on Twitter, sometimes a tool like ow.ly can come in handy for shortening your URL. If you have used an image within your press release, you should certainly use that image within your post. Sometimes when you post to your social media, if you are including the link to your press release, the image used may automatically be imported. Otherwise, just upload a new image to include with your posting.

When you create your post on Facebook or Google plus, don't just post the link. Lead in with a good paragraph of information and use the link to further the information or include it as a part of the information you are posting. This will complete the "circle of information" that can be helpful for increasing your online visibility within the search engines.

Although these tips and information are great to help increase your online visibility, it is only as good as the information you post. It is kind of like taking the exterior shell of a fancy sports car. Under one body, you have the engine of a 1974 Pinto that has not been looked after compared to the engine of a Ferrari. Yes, it will "drive," but how well will it perform?

24-7 Press Release has continually been building a knowledge base with useful information that is regarded by many. In fact, our knowledge base has been shared over 1,200 times on Facebook, perhaps due to the 40+ articles that may be found online. Articles range from "Tips to Using the Right Tone Within Your Press Release" to "Press Releases: Building Blocks for Creating a Brand" and "Tailor Your Content Marketing Strategy to Retain Your Existing Customers".

Feeling motivated and looking to submit your first press release? Check out our packages and information here.