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5 Copywriting Tips for Food Brands

Copywriting ads for food brands involves channeling your imagination, using the right CTAs, and having the perfect combination of a certain amount of words. Crafting exceptional food ad copy on the other hand, involves all of the above AND adding different layers of flavor (every pun intended)! Depending on the type of food brand you’re working with, you may select descriptors that create an image in the customer’s mind, choose words that evoke their sensations, or focus on the nutritional benefits.  

At ChuckJoe, we are passionate about the conscious food space and have created organic and paid evergreen content for many clients. With our expertise in the ever evolving digital landscape mixed with our years of experience, we’ve curated 5 tips to help you write copy for food ads like a pro!

1. Define Your Goals

Determine the most relevant ad objective for your business before you even draft a word! Perhaps you have a new fruit coming out next season, in this case you’ll want to increase brand awareness and reach. Or you have a new cooking demo on your website, instead you’ll need to drive traffic to your page. Knowing your goals can help develop copy that will guide your target audiences to take the specific actions that you want. Ad objectives will also determine which Call-To-Action will be the most appropriate for that ad. Don’t assume the reader will know what action you want them to take, so remember to choose a clear objective-based CTA.

2. Do Your Due Diligence

When you’re starting a new campaign, the best thing you can do as a copywriter is to… research, research, research! There’s no doubt that you’re a skilled and excellent writer, however familiarizing yourself with your client’s brand voice is the key. Research the nutritional facts, the pain points, target audiences, and learn all the minuscule details. Gather enough details to the extent where it feels like you can be their brand ambassador! 

Learn how to adapt your writing style based on the food brand’s tone and personality. This technique will help your copy resonate with your current or potential audiences. This means that you don’t need to completely reinvent the cheese wheel! Chances are, the brand has already done the nitty gritty work of finding keyword differentiators that make them stand out. Take advantage of those keywords and use them as the base of your copy.

3. Avoid Writer’s Block 

Once you’ve done your due diligence, start drafting copy right away! The hardest part about writing ads is starting the first sentence. There’s a famous saying, “write without fear, edit without mercy.” That still holds as great advice today. Don’t get caught up trying to create the perfect copy in the first attempt. Great ads takes writing, reading, more writing, and re-reading a couple more times until it can’t be revised any further.

Some additional steps that you can take to prevent getting stumped on words is to develop copywriting pathways, curate a collection of food adjectives, and focus on food benefits. Pull adjective inspiration from menus you’ve encountered at restaurants. Remember that consumers are attracted to products that can improve their lives. Highlighting benefits that they’ll receive by purchasing your product is the best course to take! 

4. Ditch The Clickbait

Generally, clickbait has been a profitable marketing technique since the beginning of advertising for every industry. Though the times are changing and our millennial consumers are shifting more of their dollars towards conscious brands. You may be tempted to reel readers in with bait, but remember that it can damage your brand image and it can also break trust with consumers. Believe in your clever or out-of-the-box thinking, and you’ll be sure to come up with catchy copy that resonates better with your readers. Additional reasons why you should avoid click bait or engagement bait can be found on Facebook’s tips on how to avoid low-quality ads.

5. Quality Assurance

The last step is the most important of all, review your work! Even if you’ve won first place in your 5th grade spelling bee, it’s a best practice to QA your work. Grammarly is one of the best free tools on the web and can save your brand from losing its credibility. Another tried, true, and trusted tip is to read your copy out loud. If it doesn’t sound natural, there’s still revisions that need to be made.

When all is read out loud and done, your ad copy variations are ready to be tested! Whether you’re testing shorter or longer ads, this benefit or that benefit, there will most likely be a better performer of the bunch. Be sure to optimize towards your best food ad and never stop testing!

 

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Ideas to Make Your Virtual Holiday Party a Success

We are a completely remote company here at ChuckJoe. That means every one of us works on our own – mostly in our own homes – in multiple states across the globe. This is both an amazing opportunity, however it does present a certain set of obstacles.

One of the biggest difficulties working within a remote team is the reduced opportunities to “gather around the water cooler” and connect on our personal lives. Most of our conversations happen via Slack, so many of the day-to-day bonding interactions get lost. We combat this pain point by implementing a “How Are You as a Human?” kick off during our weekly Monday Team Video Meetings via Zoom. We each chat about how our weekend was, any personal achievements, if there were any wins from the week before, and we answer a “question of the week” that is usually humorous in nature. This allows us all to remember that there’s a real person on the other side of that email and lets us all connect in the way we might if we were working in a physical office together.

Holidays however, still presented a particular challenge. How could we all come together for a holiday party? Well, for the last four years, we have thrown a Virtual Holiday Party! Everyone hops on video chat at the same time and we have an end of year celebration. Through trial and error, we have found some sure-fire ways to make a remote holiday party a success. We would like to share them with you in the hopes that you are able to throw your very own party with your team, no matter what time zone they are in!

1. Send a Gift Box

Every year, we send gift boxes to each of our team members that say not to open until the holiday party. Sending this to each person helps build comradery as everyone opens their boxes simultaneously. In addition, this gesture shows that your company cares for its employees.

Some ideas to include in the Gift Box:

2. Include Party Necessities

You can’t have a party without poppers… or other party supplies that would be expected in “real life”. Each of the boxes contain the same items, so it’s like we’re all together celebrating at the same party! Our boxes over the years have included:

  • Cookies and Candy
  • Savory Snacks
  • Party Hats
  • Small Toys
  • Company Gift
  • A Small Bottle of Champagne
  • Christmas Poppers (crackers)
  • Small Holiday Crafts
  • Photo Props

3. Play Games

Games can be a great way to get everyone on the team involved and having fun! For example, within your gift box you can send a couple bingo cards. Someone on your team can share their screen and use a Bingo Number Generator to choose digital Bingo Balls. Have a prize ready to be sent to the winner for a little extra competition.

Bingo is a fun option, but there are all kinds of games you could play online including Charades and Fibbage.


4. Stir Up Conversation

Prepare some questions to ask the “room” and have each person give their answer. Some examples are:

  • What is your favorite holiday tradition?
  • What is a hidden talent of yours?
  • What was your favorite gift you ever received?
  • If you could spend the holidays anywhere in the world, where would it be?
  • Do you have a New Years’ resolution in mind? If yes, what is it?

Just because your team works remotely doesn’t mean you can’t build relationships with co-workers and get into the holiday spirit like other office teams. This holiday season there are plenty of ways to stay connected and bring the festive cheer with remote team celebrations.

How do you celebrate the holidays with your remote team?

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5 Steps to Finding a Brand Voice

A top objective for any social presence is to stand out and be remembered.  This can be accomplished with stellar content, spectacular visuals, spot on formatting, and more. The one aspect that regularly gets overlooked is voice

Finding the right voice for your social avenues can be more complicated for a multitude of reasons, especially on accounts where more than one person curates content and copy.  Not to mention, a tone or voice that works really well for one company may be the completely wrong voice for another. So while you might love how Wendy’s interacts with other fast food restaurants, it might not be the best tactic for your non-profit organization.

It’s important to define and refine your voice.  How do you want your customers to perceive you? Are you a silly company? Funny? Serious? Edgy? Remember, the behavior consumers MOST want from any brand on social is HONESTY.

How do you choose a voice for your brand?

1. Cast a Critical Eye on Your Current Content

Gather together a wide variety of the content you already have.   Videos, web pages, social calendar, email blasts – and take a long look at what you’ve already got. Which of these are so generic they could be from your competitors? The idea is to narrow them down to pieces that are unique to your brand. These are the examples of the brand voice you want to embody.

2. Create a Life for Your Voice

Look over the pieces you singled out in step one, and find the common themes across all the content. 

If your brand was a person, how would you describe its personality? It’s also a good idea to discuss how one would describe your competitors personality as well.  Are they forceful? Jovial or serious? An optimist or realist? President of the pep-squad? Then decide how your brands traits make you different? 

Example:

  • Reliable
  • Unconventional
  • Passionate

Break it down even farther by deciding how these traits show up while communicating with your audience. 

Example Continued:

  • Reliable – Genuine, authentic, engaging, focussed
  • Unconventional – innovative, unexpected, antagonist
  • Passionate – Enthusiastic, eager, ardent 

Go as far as naming this persona! Give it life! This makes it easier to “get into character”  when creating content. A few name suggestions to get you going: Maisy, Annabelle, Blaze, Freya, Gertrude, Darrius, Captain Thunder… 

3. Make a Voice Chart

Now that you have a general definition of your brand’s voice, demonstrate how it will appear in real life branded content. This chart will be an important point of reference to visit over and over as your team changes and as time goes on.

4. Instruct Your Writers

Make sure your team is ready to put your brands defined voice into action by meeting with team members who may be creating content or communicates with the public via social channels. Walk them through your new Voice Chart. 

Create some examples to show them the intentions of the chart, and demonstrate how you would change some other content to better fit the newly defined voice. 

Be sure to give them access to, and encourage them to use the Voice Chart for a quick reference. 

5. Think of the Voice Chart as a Living Document

It is imperative to revisit and revise the brand chart as the company changes over time.  Don’t think that just because you’ve created this chart it has to be this way until the end of time. A company’s voice can change and adjust depending on the growth and direction of the company itself. 

It’s also important to update the chart with common writing problems your team comes across. 

Once the voice chart is established, consider writing a more in depth document that details the specificities of certain situations. Some companies have been known to have voice reference documents that are over 100 pages long! 

Have questions? We’d love to hear them. Reply in the comments below or email us at info@chuckjoe.co

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How to Get a Month’s Worth of Social Media Content in 3 Days

Do you need to put together a social media calendar for your business and don’t know where to start? Perhaps you’ve tried generating content before or maybe it’s your first time giving it a go. Either way, we have a quick and simple 3 day method to help you get your social media content drafted and scheduled. 

Day 1: Map Out Your Content

Content planning may seem overwhelming at first, but it’s easier than you think! Here are a list of questions to help you get started.

  • What is your desired post frequency? In other words, how often do you post (or would like to post) to your social media accounts? Is it 3x per week? 5x per week? As long as you’re able to post on a consistent basis, you’ll be able to establish social proof and maintain a steady social presence. 
  • What types of content do you need for each social media platform? Generally photos and videos perform great on Instagram and SnapChat. Article links and YouTube videos tend to perform better on Facebook and Twitter. Figuring out which types of content you’ll need for each platform can help you determine the rest of your content criteria necessities for content planning.
  • What are your content themes for the month? Depending on your business or brand, you’ll want to source a variety of themes such as lifestyle, product, news, UGC (user generated content), social media holidays, etc.

By the end of day 1, you should have a content plan that resembles something like this:

Let’s say we have a post frequency of 3x posts per week, which totals 12 posts per month. Of those 12 hypothetical posts, the types of content we can select per platform could be a mix of 3 articles for Facebook, 1 blog post for Pinterest, 3 photos for Twitter, 2 videos and 3 photos for Instagram. Then you can apply your content themes to each of those types of content. Perhaps you’d like 1 lifestyle photo and 2 product photos for Instagram and so forth. Voilà! Now you have created a theme for each type of post for your content plan!

Day 2: Establish Your Process

Day 2 is all about spending time researching content and finding your groove. Finding quality content that your users will resonate with is the key to a successful social media strategy. A quick brainstorm of websites and social media accounts that you can source content from can go a long way. 

In most social media schedulers, there is a section dedicated to sourcing content. In Sprout Social, there is a “Find Content” section where you can sort through suggested content provided by the scheduler. In Buffer, they offer a customizable “Buffer Feed” where you can add your go-to websites to generate a big feed of useable content.

Using your scheduler’s content feature can be a huge time saver, but make sure to add a good ole’ Google Search to your research method! Google News and Trends can help you find topical and recent content to keep your social media accounts fresh and relevant. 

The next step of Day 2 will be to establish a research and drafting process that works best for you! Maybe you like to read your content and draft captions right after you read them so you don’t forget. Or maybe you’d like to read your content that you deem worthy and add it to your drafts section to caption it later. Whichever order works best for you, remember to do a combination of the following:

  • Make a checklist of each post you need from your content plan (how many posts, types, and themes) then check them off once you find them. 
  • When researching content, read the full articles, watch the full videos, and inspect the quality of your photos. This will help you determine if the content aligns with your branding efforts and will allow you to write a wholesome caption. 
  • Upload your content to the drafts section, draft your captions, and add hashtags.

Day 3: Review and Schedule

After doing most of the heavy lifting on the first couple of days, day 3 is all about reviewing and scheduling your content. When scheduling your content to the publisher section of your scheduling platform, make sure to review the following:

  • Read your captions out loud and make sure that each message is clear, concise, and easy to read.
  • Look for grammar, spelling, and spacing errors.
  • Review your content plan and make sure the content reflects the exact type of post and theme you planned for.
  • Reevaluate your video quality, double check your links, and make sure photos upload correctly. Select an aesthetically pleasing thumbnail cover for your videos.

Lastly, schedule your perfected drafts based on your post frequency from your plan. Now sit back, relax, and let your scheduler handle the rest!

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Are You Making These 8 Social Media Mistakes?

Social media is constantly evolving and so are the audiences who use it. If you read these mistakes and realize you are guilty of a few, don’t be upset! Your flub will likely be forgotten once you get into the swing of things on social media.

After reading these no-no’s, you’re bound to have a better experience constructing a plan of action moving forward.

1. Thinking Social Marketing Isn’t for You

Social marketing is for everyone. It is a key component to marketing and will be a positive addition to almost every department.

It’s benefits include, but are not limited to:

  • Brand Awareness
  • Website Traffic
  • Lower Marketing Costs
  • Increased Sales
  • Start Conversations
  • Connect with Potential Customers/New Hires
  • Address Questions and Comments Directly
  • Improved Brand Image

There’s not much debate anymore about the importance of social media marketing. If you’re not sure if social media marketing is right for your business, or you are sure and you’re ready to get started, feel free to CONTACT US


2. Thinking All Social Platforms are the Same

There are many social platforms out there, and the more you’re a part of, the better your overall reach. So just post the same exact thing across each social platform, right? WRONG! Every social network is going to have its own customs, language, audience, and type of content. For your posts to be most effective, you need to account for these differences.

3. Not Creating a Social Media Marketing Plan

Your social media marketing plan should build on your presence and not let it dwindle. Decide what your goal is in using social media. Do you hope to gain likes and followers? Are you hoping to create a new source of sales/leads? Are you trying to solidify your brands authority? Without a goal, your social marketing efforts will go nowhere.
Here’s what you need to iron out if you want to succeed:

  • Goals
  • Predetermined and Measurable
  • Target
  • All the effort in the world won’t help if you don’t know where to aim it
  • Audience Tactics
  • Know who you’re talking to and how they communicate
  • Time Investment
  • Set an amount you’re willing to give to social media and adhere to this time frame

Develop your brands very own social media strategy. It is a cornerstone to everything else that follows.

white building with data has a better idea text signage

4. Not Tracking Your Results

Part of setting up your social goals is also making sure you’re able to track those goals. This will allow you to make strategic changes in your campaign and target audiences in real time. This way, you can stop ads or campaigns that aren’t performing and keep you from throwing your money away. Reassess your goals through tracking regularly. No need to continue with something if it’s not working for you. Tracking allows you to try new avenues.

5. Ignoring Your Audience

Being on social media means connecting with your audience on a much more personal level. They will likely ask questions, comment, and interact with your postings. A very common mistake is to ignore or choose not to interact with them.

Your audience is there to interact with your brand. So interact! It will be almost impossible to keep their attention if they are ignored, which means they may not care what you post about in the future.

Comment back! Like back! Answer questions! Engage with their content! It’s that simple. This may seem like a small gesture, but it goes a long way with the relationship with your audience.

person using MacBook

6. Deleting/Avoiding Negative Comments

By opening the door to your audience’s questions and comments, you are also opening the door to some negative comments along the way. Trying to delete them, ignore them, or bury them in positive reviews does not make it go away, really. It also looks like you’re trying to hide something, which in turn, makes your brand seem untrustworthy. And if you’re called out for deleting or hiding comments, it can bring even more negative attention your way.

Instead, address the negativity by:

  • Thanking them for their feedback
  • Let them know you take feedback very seriously (and you really should…)
  • Stay away from getting defensive. This makes you look worse, even if it’s true.
  • Attempt to make it right if possible

Think of negative feedback as a way to improve the quality of your services and to build a trusting relationship with your audience. Take these comments seriously and try to resolve the issue the customer is facing. Engage with them initially on the thread then try to move the conversation to private channels and handle it more discreetly. But remember… Screen shots are easy to take and share, so make sure to adhere to these rules in private channels as well.

gray and white robot illustration

7. Sounding Like a Robot

Social media lets brands and organizations break down the wall between them and their customers. This allows you to get personal and have a human interaction with your audience. Being real and behaving like a human will let you connect in a much stronger way.

Social media is for socializing. Use it to show your audience that your brand is a social creature just like them – it’s an effective way to build trust.

8. Over-Posting/Under Posting

Your audience wants to hear from you and they want updates on what your doing. But don’t bombard them with content. No need to over do it.

That being said, make sure you also don’t under-do it either. Out of sight out of mind is a real thing. Once you start posting consistently, not posting for even one day can affect your impressions and engagement rates and put a wrench in your marketing efforts.

A great solution is to sign up with a management platform that allows you to schedule your posts ahead of time and get posted automatically when they’re supposed to.

Hopefully the above helps you double check your own social accounts or think more about how social can play into your business strategies moving forward.

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Macro or Micro? How to Determine the Right Size Influencer for Your Campaign

Using influencers to help share your product and messaging has proven to be a valuable method for marketing! But you may be asking yourself, which influencers should you be using? Let’s start by defining micro and macro influencers.

Micro Influencers

On a very basic level, micro influencers are a social media presence who has 10,000 to 100,000 followers. They are also usually defined as having higher audience engagement rates than macro-influencers. 

Because of their smaller following, this means that micro influencers are still able to develop personal relationships with their followers, and their followers are genuinely interested in and trust their content.  

Some benefits of collaborating with micro influencers are:

  1. Smaller investment, which makes it accessible to most brands.
  2. Because of the smaller investment, there is a possibility of working with multiple influencers at the same time
  3. Able to generate an increase in sales
  4. Reaching an invested audience 

Using these influencers has its drawbacks as well. A lower following means lower visibility and reach compared to macro influencers. Often, these influencers will also have a less curated page, meaning brands may have less control over a micros content (ie: consistency and quality) 

Macro Influencers

Macro influencers are generally characterized as having a large number of followers (100,000 or more).  Campaigns with macro influencers will very likely involve a significant investment, but this investment will also potentially come with a significant return on investment.

Advantages of working with macro influencers are:

  1. With a wider audience range, you will get more reach for each post
  2. Spend less time micromanaging multiple smaller influencers
  3. A higher level of professionalism

However, using a macro influencer also has its drawbacks.  Using a large influencer will come at a higher price. The price ultimately depends on the status of the influencer, but  Social Media Today reports it can cost anywhere between US $2,000 to US $50,000.  Also, though the reach is high, engagement will very likely be decidedly lower.

 Which to Choose?

This will ultimately come down to your goals. If your goal is to provide authenticity to a group of devoted potential customers, or if you’re limited to a modest budget,  then micro influencers are the way to go. If it’s a matter of gaining reach, macro influencers are right for you.

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7 Tips For Working Remotely

Telecommute, remote work, virtual job, work from home–a few decades ago, these terms may have been a completely foreign concept, but in today’s digital age they’ve become a part of modern culture. Whether you own an online business or picked up a freelance gig from Upwork, the advantageous remote lifestyle is steadily luring employees away from their conventional office jobs. According to the State of the Remote Job Marketplace report from FlexJobs, 3.9 million U.S. employees, or 2.9% of the total U.S. workforce, work from home at least half of the time. Those numbers are expected to rise exponentially in the years to come.

If you’re working remotely, you’ll find that there are unique challenges while acclimating away from an office. As a collective of individuals who pride themselves on exceptional quality work and superb remote culture, we’ve curated 7 tips that can help you successfully transition into the remote workflow.

1. Designate a Workspace

Now let’s start with the basics. Yes, one of the glorified perks of working from home is that you can work from your bed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. Unless you’re feeling under the weather, avoid catching the “work from home blues” and set yourself up with a savvy designated workspace. Having a centralized space can increase your productivity, reduce distractions, help channel your creative energy, and focus.

When decking out your workstation, try to take into consideration an ergonomic layout that will benefit your health in the long run. Enter your height on the Ergotron’s Workspace Planner for tips on the right measurements for your home desk.  

2. Over Communicate

Clear and effective communication is important for any team, but when you enter the realm of virtual coworking, over-communication is essential. There are amazing communication and project management tools out there, but it’s ultimately up to the user to make the most out of it. “Did he read my email?” or “Is she going to make the deadline?” These are some thoughts that may come to mind if questions or tasks go unanswered. Likewise, one of the most damaging setbacks you can commit as a team player is to assume that your co-worker will or will not do something.

When you’re virtually collaborating with team members you must replace assumptions with proactive communication. Some examples may be to ask about upcoming projects before they’re assigned, giving your team a status update, following up on a task, or asking for an extension ahead of time.

Here’s an etiquette pro tip for correspondence: when getting any form of message, be sure to “confirm receipt.” This will notify the sender that you’ve received their message and are aware of its contents. Confirmation also helps build trust and accountability by clearly accepting the transfer of responsibility from the sender.

3. Have a Weekly Check-In

Here at ChuckJoe, our weekly Monday check-in is the one time during the week where the team gets to see each other via Zoom. The meeting consists of each member recapping the previous week with a combination of the following topics.

  • Last Week Wins ­- Project accomplishments, ways that you’ve excelled in a task, or positive client feedback
  • Team Shout Outs – Highlighting a team member for outstanding work or assistance
  • The Weekend – Summarizing weekend activities or anything that’s new in your personal life
  • Question of the Week – Random open-ended ice breakers that helps get the team warmed up and engaged
  • Client Accounts – Reviewing each account’s status, projects, upcoming tasks, and pending account opportunities
  • Internal Housekeeping – General updates, individual schedule changes, and upcoming goals

Trust me when I say, these weekly one hour check-ins make a huge difference! Getting to know your co-worker helps build relationships and improve team chemistry. Instead of wondering what each member is working on, or being unsure about a client’s status, the check-in makes priorities clear and gets the team on the same page. This is not only a time-saver, but provides team synergy to get you through the upcoming week.

4. Be Professional and Human

You may find yourself a little bit more relaxed at home than if you were working at an office. As easy as it is to have a laid-back demeanor, it’s important to remember to be professional when it counts. One of the best ways to express professionalism is to be punctual. We treat our general channel in Slack as an “office door.” We greet each other when our workday begins, provide notices when we go on break, and disclose when we’ve decided to call it a day. Providing transparency through the virtual window works wonders for the team.

If you’re expecting a client call, try to have that conversation in a quiet space. A loud and disruptive coffee shop probably isn’t the best option. Some factors to take into consideration for obvious reasons is the Wi-Fi connection, lighting, background noise, and appearance.  

Last bit of profesh advice is to have a positive attitude and keep communications similar to an office setting. When you have a group of individuals who are all positive thinkers, it’s easier to collaborate and get tasks done with optimism instead of a sour perspective or curt impersonal responses. Positive attitudes are definitely a major contributing factor when striving for a successful team!

5. Dress for Success

Having a zero commute is another terrific benefit of working remote (and it’s more sustainable too)! Your new and improved commute may just be walking to the other room, but having a morning routine is still a priority. Get dressed! Even if you don’t need to make a video conference appearance, don’t work in your pajamas. It may have been one of the shiny attractions on a job post that got you into the remote business, yet in reality working in your pjs may leave you feeling icky and unproductive. You’ll likely be in a better headspace and more effective if you’re dressed and feeling ready for your day.

6. Take Breaks and Know When to Unplug

One of the best ways to recharge is to take frequent breaks, real breaks. The kind where you can completely step away from your computer and take your mind off of work. Going for a walk can be a beneficial way to relax and unwind in the midst of a workday. A short walk can even elevate your mood and boost creativity while also improving your cardiovascular health.

In Buffer’s recent, State of Remote Report, they found that 22% of remote worker’s biggest struggle is unplugging after work. When your work and home space intertwine, it can be difficult to disconnect. Setting boundaries for yourself is crucial when avoiding mental burnout from working throughout the entire day. Let your co-workers know when you’re signing off and don’t respond to non-critical emails to protect your personal time.

7. Take Advantage of the Flexibility

In other words, treat yourself! Remote positions are sought-after for a reason, the perks are phenomenal. You’re given the ability to personalize how, when, and where you work. Spend more time with family or friends, incorporate exercise into your day, or spend a couple of hours on your favorite hobbies. As long as you continue to produce quality work, you have the freedom to create a schedule that best fits your lifestyle!

As technological capabilities continue to accelerate, so will the opportunities in the way remote work is being conducted. Spatial is a new real-time AR collaboration platform that includes lifelike avatars where remote employees can ‘teleport’ into an augmented workplace.

As we’re on the brink of mainstream holographic conferences, our tips for working remotely may evolve in the near future. Stay tuned for what’s to come!

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8 Ways to Maximize Instagram Stories

Are you making the most out of your Instagram Stories? Stories have exceeded over 500 million active users and one-third of the most viewed Stories come from businesses. With countless success stories driving boastful results, it’s no wonder why Instagram continually releases impressive new updates on a monthly basis.

Now let’s be real, when you tap that top left camera button and start weighing this Giphy or that Sticker, your “quick” post turns into 5 minutes… 10 minutes, then 25 minutes and so forth. So how do you curate custom food Stories specific to your brand while also trimming down your post flow?

Answer: Know your food brand’s strengths and Stories potential.

Determining which features, approach or capabilities that work best for your brand requires a ton of exploration and time. That’s where we happily step in. ChuckJoe is here to save you the time and research by bringing forth 8 of the best ways to maximize your Stories and the reasons why they’ll make a difference! 

#1 GO BEHIND THE SCENES

There are a few places within the app where you can really show off your photos and videos–IGTV, Stories, Live, and Feed. It seems as though Feed has become the place where brands publish their highest quality and polished content. Some profiles follow color patterns, themes, and schedules all while maintaining beautifully constructed professional grids.

However, a perfect-looking profile can only show so much and may lack a personable connection. Stories are the perfect place to let your digital guard down by adding some flavor to your brand’s personality through capturing unscripted moments. Pair the content in your Feed with ‘behind the scenes’ Stories, including daily routines and shareable moments, but be sure to keep it real by being yourself throughout the process. Being personable in your Stories will help you achieve the Branded Content 1,2,3’s: being transparent, relevant and authentic.

#2 SHARE THE INSIDE SCOOP

Tease your audiences with exclusive insights on upcoming announcements, events, time-sensitive promotions, and sneak peeks! This will give your following a feeling of exclusivity and will make them want to check back for more revealing posts.

For example, a restaurant could share the dish of the day, conversations with the chefs while cooking with fresh ingredients or capture the atmosphere on a busy afternoon. On the other hand, D2C brands like Imperfect Produce who manage their business solely online can make the most of their Stories by sharing tips and tricks for cooking, deals on their products, or by giving a glimpse into their company culture.

#3 CONSISTENCY IS KEY

Posting consistently on your Stories will keep your followers interested and engaged with your brand. Consistency is the key to maintaining the followers that you’ve worked so hard to gain and will continuously contribute to your growth potential.

Some of the best scheduling tools such as Later and Sprout Social recommend posting on Stories 1-10 times per day, yet other schedulers suggest 1-3 times per week. So with all of these conflicting suggestions, how do you know what frequency is going to work best for you?

Here’s our two cents: post at a frequency that’s realistic for you and stick to that pace! If you get busy and are unable to post for a week or two, you risk the chance of losing your followers and their business. Posting regularly signals to the Instagram algorithm that you have a quality account which can increase your exposure and brand awareness. 

#4 REPOST USER GENERATED CONTENT

Having trouble generating enough creative content for your Stories? We’ve got an easy solution for that. Have your customers do the work for you! Not only will you shine light on your followers, but you’ll also build trust through genuine content.

 

Adweek reports, 93% of consumers find UGC to be helpful when making a purchase decision. When potential consumers experience ZMOT (Zero Moment of Truth), they browse the Internet and social media to research and find social proof through testimonials before buying products and services.

By creating clever branded hashtags for your business, you’ll be able to create a bank of content from your customers. Ask your followers to tag your profile, use a branded hashtag, and tag your location to be able to find UGC associated with your brand. It’s easy for customers to tune out overly branded content so having authentic and voluntary content can really support your branding and sales efforts.

#5 USE FEATURES FOR BRAND AWARENESS

Instagram Stories offers an arenol of tools to create custom content in a way that can emphasize your brand’s personality. Below are some essential tools and necessities that will boost your brand awareness.

  • Use a Filter – With over 70 face filters to choose from, have some fun and don’t be afraid to be a little quirky. Use camera modes such as Super Zoom, Rewind and Boomerang to help keep your content fresh and up to speed.
  • Add a Giphy – Grab your follower’s attention with a GIF or two. Whichever GIFs you choose to use, make sure that they align with your branding’s aesthetic goals.
  • Play Music with Lyrics – It’s no secret that music can set a mood or tone. Select a song to play over your Stories and keep your followers’ eyes on your post by adding Lyrics too!
  • Mentions ­– Tag other accounts when appropriate. This notifies those accounts that you’ve mentioned them allowing them the opportunity to repost to their audiences.
  • Hashtag – As a general rule of thumb, use a relatable and trending Hashtag to increase your reach (unique accounts that have seen your post) and gain potential followers.
  • Swipe Up ­­­– If you have over 10,000 followers on Instagram, congratulations because it’s a pretty big deal! For those who reach the count, they have the option to directly link a website, online store or blog to their Stories. Leverage the “Swipe Up” feature to drive traffic to your website or make your blogs more easily accessible.
  • Location – When you can, use the Location Sticker! Posts with locations result in 79% higher engagement than posts without a location. When you tag your location, not only do you put your account on Instagram’s map, but your post will also show up in that location’s Feed. Users who browse locations are likely to stumble across your post giving you the opportunity to capture a new follow, like, or comment.

#6 USE STICKERS FOR ENGAGEMENT

One of the coolest advantages that Stories has to offer is that it allows businesses to interact with their audience in a unique way that traditional businesses have never been able to do before! What’s especially ingenious is having the option to build a new food brand by leaning on business advice from your audience and vice versa!  

  • Poll – Debating on serving Crispy Potato and Cabbage Tacos or a Spicy Baba Ganoush Veggie Burger for your restaurant’s lunch special? You don’t have to wonder anymore, take a Poll and count your votes in real-time.
  • Questions – Whether you’re thinking about making a business move like discontinuing a flavor or just simply want to see how your audience feels about a topic, post a question. You can also tap a response and share the results for more topical engagement.
  • Quiz – What’s a safe temperature to cook and serve fish? Teach your audience something new by using the Quiz Sticker. (If you’re curious about the answer, the temperature is between 130–135 degrees).
  • Chat  – Build a community for your brand by starting a conversation. The ‘Join Chat’ sticker allows up to 32 users to come together in a group thread. Bring your selected users together where they can meet, converse and collectively provide feedback on product releases, upcoming events, promotions, and more!

#7 ADVERTISE

According to Instagram, 75% of Instagrammers take action after being inspired by a post, like visiting a website, searching, shopping or telling a friend. If you have the budget, Stories Ads could be an efficient way to increase brand awareness, brand recall, drive purchase lift and sales.

#8 PARTNER UP WITH AN INFLUENCER

Generate some momentum and spice up your Stories with occasional influencers. By collaborating with other people, you can tap into their audiences which can give a surge of exposure to your brand!

Influencers can promote your brand by running exclusive offers with influencer discount codes, hosting contests, giveaways or Stories takeovers. They can also help announce a new product, record an unboxing video, etc. When looking for influencers, try searching for ones in relatable industries like in the food, health, or fitness space. That way you can reach followers most similar to your target audience.

Now that you’re more familiar with ways to maximize your Stories, get out there, start recording, and post with confidence! For Stories that had great results or Stories that you simply just love, use the ‘Highlight’ tool on your profile to showcase and categorize your favorite memories to make them last for more than 24 hours. 

Photo Credits:

@imperfectproduce. “Ever wonder what it’s like working at Imperfect?” Instagram Stories. (July 11, 2019). Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/imperfectproduce/

@bentgo “No wrong way to eat a lunch” Instagram Stories. (July 23, 2019). Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/stories/bentgo/

@eatpastry “Treat Yourself” Instagram Stories. (July 23, 2019). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/eatpastry/

Culbertson, Kelsey. (2019, July 11). 8 Tips to Create Share-Worthy Instagram Stories. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.kimptonhotels.com/blog/8-tips-create-share-worthy-instagram-stories/

 

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6 Guidelines for Digital Community Management

Hey, there! I am Erin Harting and I have been managing social communities for half a decade.  In that time, I have learned there are some do’s and don’ts that will keep your customers feel heard, appreciated, loyal and will build social currency for your brand.

What is Community Management?

I assume since you’re reading this article, you have a general idea of what community management is but let’s lay it out in clear terms. Community Management brings a voice and personal touch to the faceless world of social media. This community consists of current customers, potential customers, target audiences, and all those directly and indirectly  interacting with your brand online.

Why Community Management?

Brands that don’t utilize or manage their community miss out on opportunities to:

  • Convert customer complaints into positive, trust building  experiences
  • Connect with influencers and prospective customers
  • Receive product feedback
  • Network and partner with other brands
  • Turn customers into super fans
  • Gain knowledge to improve businesses practices

Maybe you’re thinking community management isn’t important for your company since it’s on such a small scale?  Well that’s just not the case. According to a 2015 study, customer complaints on social media have actually increased by 8 times from 2014 – and that was 4 years ago!

One disgruntled customer has the ability to impact your community whether it’s by  word of mouth or a trail of comment. 3% of unhappy customers will share their complaint with 15 or more people. Furthermore, only 1 in 25 unhappy customers complain directly to you. Seize the opportunity when it arises, because let’s be honest – people will always complain at one point or another. Community Management will nurture the growth of your brand help keep your finger on the pulse of your community.

1. Take Away the “No”

A large portion of managing a social community will consist of answering questions about the product or service, how to order, or issues with the product or service. We of course always want to answer these with a positive response, but sometimes, we have to be the bearer of bad news. “No, we don’t ship to your country” or “No, your product is no longer under warranty” can cause a negative experience and a disgruntled customer.  

Instead of saying “No.” I suggest using a “however,” statement.  It’s very likely you can give the customer a positive twist on the bad news.  “I’m sorry, your product is no longer covered under the warranty, however, I would be happy to provide you with a discount code for your next purchase!” 

2. Thank You Goes a Long Way

You have so many things to be thankful for. Be thankful they contacted you. Be thankful that they showed interest in your product. Be thankful they have already used your product. It feels good to have gratification shown.  They didn’t have to choose your product, but they did. Thank them for that! It helps the mood and sets the tone of the entire conversation. 

3. Keep it Casual

One of the most amazing things about social community management is that you get to have a casual conversation with the public.  You’re not just another advertisement and you’re not a robot. That’s rare in this world and can really make a customer feel special. Here’s your chance to use exclamation points, emojis, and dare I say puns. This is a human conversation – enjoy it! 

4.  Respond in a Timely Manner 

This one is really important.  This is a fast paced world we live in, and social media makes it that much faster.  Not getting a response within a few hours is bordering on torture and won’t make anyone feel like the company cares about them.  Responding to comments or questions quickly will prevent people from spamming your feed with angry comments and will keep everyone happier.  Does a quick response feel daunting? That’s practically being on call 24/7! Well lucky for you, there are companies like ChuckJoe who would be able to manage your community for you!  

In addition to the less favorable comments, also be sure to respond in a timely manner to positive feedback as well. Build on the happiness and joy that people are pouring onto your social media pages. Get them really excited that a company cares about hearing their positive comments. This engagement encourages them to contribute more in the future. 

5. Rise Above and Exceed Expectations

Here’s a scenario.  Frustrated the product we purchased has malfunctioned and we are NOT expecting the company to care about us as the consumer – but we’re outraged! So we reach out to customer support demanding retribution. You start the conversation  salty and you expect them to brush you off. Then the unthinkable happens. They respond to your message with an apology and a quick solution. Hard to stay mad, right?

Well that’s the goal, after all! It is frustrating when things don’t work correctly but you’re 100% able to calm the situation and keep tempers at bay. Of course, there are those who are determined to be upset at the world and for them  you can only hope their day gets better. If you can be the one to make their day better, you know they’ll leave with a lighter heart and a happy association with your company. 

6. Direct the Heat to a Private Channel

Many times people feel the urge to put companies “on blast” and leave harsh comments all over their social pages rather than direct messaging. Don’t shy away from addressing the comments. No response only solidifies the aggressors view point to other potential customers. Take this opportunity to acknowledge their pain point in a public setting but then direct the conversation to a private communication. 

For example, say someone named Alex leaves the comment, “This product is overpriced and broke within the first week! No one should ever buy this junk!”. A great response would be, “Hi, Alex! We are so bummed to hear that you have had a bad experience with our product. We carry ourselves to a high standard and would love to get to the bottom of this and find a solution that works all around. We have sent you a direct message to coordinate the details of the solution.” The issue has been addressed, the public sees your timely response, trust is built, and solution is found while shifting out of the public focus. 

The most important message to take away here is that community management is about building social currency for your brand.  Buzz doesn’t last, so focus on cultivating advocates and super-fans by providing real value to your consumers.

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