Goooooood morning, Carnage crew!
Taking 5-seconds out of our regularly scheduled email to drop a note about The Yearly Carnage.
What is it, you ask? It’s the best dang marketing conference put on by the best dang marketing newsletter. Just look at that speaker lineup! We’ve got entrepreneurs, people on the Forbes 30-under-30 list, marketing experts at high-valued startups, and a whole bunch more. Buy tickets and come hang out with us!
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How to Build a Successful Facebook Group
We’re always talking about the importance of building a community around your brand. Whether that’s a Slack Community, a Facebook Group, a LinkedIn Group, or any other number of groups, pick one and start.
But, it’s a daunting task. Sure, it’s easy as heck to set up a Group on Facebook. Even once you set it up, you still gotta build one that people actually wanna join and engage in. That’s the tough part.
Don’t let it hold you back, though. We’ve got a podcast today that’s going to help you build a crazy successful Group.
You’re gonna want to jump right to 04:52 for the start of this one.
- (06:02) The value of a Facebook Group is that you’re building a community where you, as an individual, are recognized as a thought leader. That helps members have a stronger connection with you, as an extension of your brand.
- (07:17) Despite Facebook’s algorithm changes, it seems like Groups will be unaffected…or at least less affected.
- (07:35) Facebook Groups take a ton of work.
- (11:12) Try “theme days” in your Group. For example, every Friday, you could allow members to promote their own content/products. But, don’t allow self-promotion on any other day.
- (12:50) Buy a specific URL just for your Group and then have that forward to the Group.
- (15:02) If you’re looking to grow your Group, talk about it! Post about it, email your list about it, etc.
- (16:45) Create premium content for Group members and then promote that content outside of the Group.
- (17:20) Post more than once per day in your Group. You have to be in there and be active.
- (21:00) Don’t “trick” people to engage with your Group. Don’t do the “comment your mood with a GIF” thing, unless it fits your business.
- (22:03) To stimulate Group conversations, tag other people into posts and comments. If you know a Group member would be a great person to answer a specific question, tag them.
Plenty more insight in this one. And, if you wanna see how we run our Facebook Group, ask to join!
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Quit Annoying Your Audience! Take 3 Simple Steps to Focus Your Content
“Fuzzy content wastes your time and your audience’s attention.” – Sonia Simone
Ya know, the cruft! The fluff! The aimless stuff that loses your readers’ attention. Kind of like when our intro paragraphs go on a tangent. Shame on us. But we get it. Most readers want content that makes a point and gets their quickly. So, for the sake of this post from Copyblogger, we’ll shave the fuzz.
Let’s see how Sonia suggests improving and focusing your content, so it will keep your audience engaged.
Step 1
Before you start to write, ask yourself two questions about what it is you’re writing:
- What are your goals for this piece of content?
- What one thing should your audience take away?
Instead of writing content that tries to do everything, understand which single point in your piece will represent for you. More importantly, what will this piece of content do for your audience? What will they be able to do, become, have, change, or avoid after they’ve read it?
Step 2
Answers those questions. Then put them aside and start writing. This might sound contradictory, but this way you’ll at least get some words down. Fuzzy fluff and all. Failing to make room for that stuff can cause serious writer’s block…
Step 3
Let that first draft rest for awhile and come back to it with fresh eyes. Time to look at those two questions again. Does your draft have the same answers? Does it serve the original goal you had in mind? Does it deliver the desired takeaway to your audience?
Above all, make sure what you’ve written speaks to those answers at every point.
- Every story should answer one or both of those questions
- Every paragraph should serve one or both of those questions
- Every word should reflect one or both of those questions
Read on to learn more about getting to the point, plus a look inside Copyblogger’s brand-new education resource for content creators.
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Red Flashy Thing
What happens when you get behind the wheel of Volkswagen Polo? A funny new ad from Ogilvy shows the car’s effects on your confidence, by blasting a young intern into space.
Wait, back up.
It all starts when he parks in the reserved VIP spot at work—a space tech company. One thing leads to another and he is pulled into a meeting full of panicking executives, and placed at the head of the boardroom table. The next we see him, he’s going on a solo space mission where is confronted by a “red, flashy thing.” Perhaps now would be a good time for him to tell everyone he has no idea what he’s doing…
It ends with the tagline, “Beware the Confidence.” Sharp narration and a clever story give this VW spot a lasting impression for sure.
“Great marketers have immense empathy for their audience. They can put themselves in their shoes, live their lives, feel what they feel, go where they go, and respond how they’d respond.”
Rand Fishkin
