Facebook to lift ban on political ads on Thursday

Facebook will lift its ban on political ads in the US on Thursday, the social media giant said on Wednesday. The company imposed the temporary ban after the November 2020 presidential election to curb the spread of misinformation in the aftermath. It will now resume advertising on “social issues, elections or politics,” Facebook announced in a blog post: We’ve heard a lot of feedback about this and learned more about political and electoral ads during this election cycle. As a result, we plan to use the coming months to take a closer look at how these ads work on our service to…

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75 Open-Worthy Subject Line Ideas

They say don’t judge an email by its subject line, but let’s be honest: We’re always keeping an eye out for the best of the best. After all, the subject line is the first impression your message has on its recipients and can help you improve your opens and clicks.

That’s a lot of pressure for a seemingly short line of text.

While there is no secret to the perfect subject line, there are a few words and phrases that can help get more eyes on your emails.

Create a sense of urgency in your subject line

Getting people to take action from your email can be difficult. There’s a lot that goes into getting more opens and clicks. Creating a sense of urgency is one of those things that can have a big impact on whether or not your email gets read.

Here are some examples to get you started:

1. Back in stock, so don’t miss out

2. This is your *last chance* to shop our sale

3. Tick, tock! 30% off sale ends soon!

4. Going once, going twice...

5. Members get first dibs.

6. We couldn’t wait ‘til Friday!

7. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

8. You might want to hurry…

9. A little (limited-time-only) present

10. Available for 24 hours only

Related: Your Guide to Writing the World’s Best Email Subject Lines

Have a strong call-to-action

When it comes down to getting your emails opened, experiential verbs (like “celebrate” and “love”) perform better than functional verbs (like “spend” and “grab”). That’s not to say these words won’t work – it’s really all about context.

The thing that everyone can agree on is that if you don’t ask, subscribers won’t take action. So try throwing some of these high-performing words in your next subject line:

11. Celebrate with savings!

12. Act now for friends and family savings!

13. 3 DIY Frame Hacks You Need to Try Now

14. Trust me, you need this…

15. Send some. get some.

16. Don’t Let These Get Away

Related: Get Higher Open Rates with 22 of the Best Email Subject Lines

Get personal

Personalization. When it’s done right, it’s awesome! But when it’s done wrong? It can be borderline creepy. Here are a few examples of how to do it the right way:

17. Because you need this…

18. Join me for a marg, Olivia?

19. You deserve a treat

20. Special delivery for Olivia

21. The jeans you don’t have (yet)

22. It’s time for your next visit

Related: The 6 Most Common Subject Line Mistakes to Avoid

Repeat yourself

Being redundant pays off, especially when it comes to your subject line. That’s because it keeps you, the sender, top-of-mind. And being top-of-mind helps build trust, which can lead to more sales. It’s a win-win!

Try including your name or your company name in the subject line, à la these brands:

23. New and exclusive to Kaufmann Mercantile

24. The Madewell essentials

25. Did somebody say new Glossier?

26. The Giant Weekly Newsletter

27. New and Exclusive to Sephora

Related: How Long Should an Email Subject Line Be?

We don’t mean to brag, but…

Just kidding, we totally do. And that’s because adding key superlatives to your subject line can help strengthen your core message and make it more effective.

Just check out these example subject lines to see what I mean:

28. new favorite dress, hands down

29. Here’s a special treat, just for you!

30. This is big, huge, gigantic, amazing, incredible…

31. Our latest styles have just arrived

32. The PERFECT Facebook Ad

33. Best of the blog

34. A little luxury at a great price

Pose a question

A question is a great way to spark some curiosity around your email, but it’s the type of question that matters. Yes or no questions perform better than open-ended questions. And don’t forget about sentiment: Questions with a negative association (like don’t or can’t) are the worst-performers.

35. What do you think?

36. Do you like prizes?

37. Can you keep a secret?

38. How could you top this?

39. Today’s the day! Are you in?

40. Best gift ever?

41. Details, please! Did you like your purchase?

Punctuation and capitalization matter

Punctuation can completely change the tone of your subject line with one simple character. And that can impact how your subscribers respond to your message. Even the lack of punctuation can change the gist of your subject, keeping things casual.

Capitalization also has the same effect. Take notes.

42. MAJOR announcement!

43. Extra 30% off sale styles (!)

44. *permission to brag*

45. It’s giveaway time again…

46. T.G.I.SAAALE!

47. we’re melting

48. alert! today only

49. And the winner goes to…

50. N-E-W

51. Flash. Sale. Alert.

Running a giveaway? 

People love free stuff. Make your giveaway clear right away in your subject line to maximize opens and clicks.

52. Your chance to win, inside!

53. Do you want to win $100?

54. We’re giving away a $50 credit. Find out how to win

55. Giveaway! A cozy home care package

56. I’m giving away 5 prizes today — don’t miss out!

57. What can you win today?

58. You could win this...seriously...

A warm welcome goes a long way

Not only do new subscribers expect to hear from you soon (or immediately) after joining your email list, they want to. Greet your new subscribers with a welcome email. They’ll never be more engaged with you than in the moments after signing up — so take advantage.

59. Welcome to the Away family ✈️

60. You’re in! Now let’s get started…

61. You’re all set to save!

62. Welcome to ___!

63. Kelly, to say thanks for joining, here’s a gift just for you

Follow up email subject lines

Follow up with subscribers who recently purchased from you — or those who did not. You never know why someone may have missed your message. Maybe they were busy, or the first subject line didn’t catch their attention.

All is not lost. Follow up emails are a great tool to try again — especially if you automate your email campaigns. 

64. Did you miss out?

65. Please review your recent purchase

66. You have questions? We have answers!

67. I’m keeping my promise…

68. Do you want your $20 credit?

69. Care to share? Get $20 off.

Thank you email subject lines

Saying ‘thank you’ goes a long way. Show your appreciation and gratitude for your customers by sending an email just to say thanks. You can even throw in a special offer as a thank you gift if you want to make them feel extra special. 

70. This sale is our way of saying THANKS!

71. As our thanks: you’re getting 30% off

72. It’s our turn to give thanks 🙏

73. Thank you for shopping with us

74. How we say THANKS

75. Our thank-you treat

Try these subject lines out for yourself

We’re big proponents of trying out tricks and tactics to see what works best. While you can’t predict results by looking at how past subject lines performed, you can use them as a basis for future iteration.

Try adding some of these words and phrases in your next few subject lines and watch your open rates skyrocket.Now that you’ve seen 75 open-worthy subject lines, learn how to write better emails with our free course and guide!

Additional reporting by Olivia Dello Buono

The post 75 Open-Worthy Subject Line Ideas appeared first on AWeber.

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How to create a viral video for social media marketing

Do you want your video content to go viral? Most marketers undoubtedly want the audience growth and attention that comes from having content go viral, but they also know that there’s no one formula to attracting viral success.

Knowing some of the common elements of viral videos can help you create more discoverable and engaging content. That’s why we’ve put together some expert tips directly from Sprout Social’s video team to keep in mind.

To learn more about creating a viral video, let’s dive in.

What is a viral video?

Let’s start with the basics. What do we mean when we say viral video?

It’s called going viral when a piece of content really takes off on social media and reaches a large audience very quickly by receiving an unusual amount of shares and exposure. Whether it’s a tweet, a Facebook post or a video, many different types of content can go viral.

Videos can go viral on a variety of different platforms, from Facebook to YouTube to TikTok and more. But what goes into creating a viral video? And how can you ensure the largest audience possible sees your video content?

Read on to get our five top tips from the Sprout Social video team themselves.

Expert tips on creating viral video content

Sprout Social’s video team is well versed in creating video content that regularly reaches large audiences, so we wanted to share some of their expert tips that you can utilize during your own video production and optimization.

1. Start with a brief

Your first step of any potential viral video is to plan everything out thoroughly and create a brief and a storyboard. The purpose of filling out a detailed creative strategy brief is to shed light on your actual goals, key messages, tone, length, distribution channel and more.

Every good brief helps to align messaging and the video’s overall purpose from the content team all the way to the video production team. This way all of your brand’s content will be cohesive and have the same overall vision, strengthening your brand.

2. Know your audience

If you don’t know anything about the people you’re targeting, your video will fall flat every time. To really create a piece of content that goes viral among your target audience and beyond, you need to know what’s going to resonate with them and actually make them want to share your video.

One great idea to ensure your team fully understands your target audience is to create an empathy map. This will give you insight into what will grab your audience’s attention so that your content fits perfectly into what they’re looking for online

3. Pinpoint your goals

So you want to create a viral video. But what for? Knowing you want something to go viral isn’t enough for a solid social media marketing strategy. You also need to know why you want your video to go viral.

Are you simply looking for brand awareness? Are you hoping to grow your online following? Or are you hoping to generate conversions through this viral video?

Each purpose will require your team to create vastly different videos for audience members at different stages of the funnel, so you need to have an idea of what your goals are well before you begin production.

4. Start strong

Every good viral video grabs attention immediately. The best way to do this is by using the word “you” within the first five seconds of your video. This is because there’s research that shows if your video uses language like “you” or “your” in the first few seconds, you get a higher retention rate.

Other ways to start your video for maximum results include:

• Create a plot twist or be unpredictable
• Make your content #relatable
• Engage your viewers’ emotions
• Incorporate attention-grabbing audio/music clips
• Forget about being promotional

5. Tell a story

Our social media video production team’s last tip on how to make a video go viral is all about captivating your audience through storytelling.

You want to be able to tell a compelling story in a short amount of time–viral videos shouldn’t be long videos–by choosing a universal context for your creative concept. For example, the context of “Monday blues” is universal and doesn’t need a lot of time to explain.

Play to tropes that your audience will know well so that you can jump right into your video without much backstory. This is a great way to create a relatable video that your audience can really resonate with and want to share with friends and family. It’s also a great starting point to upend expectations and be attention-grabbing.

Guidelines for increasing video discoverability

Now that we’ve covered our team’s five expert tips for creating viral videos, let’s talk about a few ways to increase video discoverability in general, from optimizing your title and description to using hashtags and creating a promotional plan.

1. Create short, concise videos

Even if your video does have a gripping introduction that pulls a viewer in, you also have to make sure to keep their attention and not try to hold onto it for too long or they’ll keep scrolling.

Online, viral videos are not meant to be lengthy. This is why platforms like TikTok have a 60-second limit for the length of their videos. It’s fully possible to create an attention-grabbing piece of video content that shares your full story within 30-60 seconds. Otherwise you could lose your viewer and they certainly won’t feel compelled to share your video with anyone.

2. Add captions

Adding captions to your videos not only increases video accessibility, but they also improve the user experience by allowing people to watch your videos even without having to turn the sound on.

Given the fact that people often scroll through social media during times where they can’t actually have sound on, adding captions will help to reach a larger audience of viewers who may watch and share your video, regardless of where they are, who they’re with and what they’re doing.

3. Write powerful copy

Whether it’s your video title and description on YouTube or your caption on TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., writing powerful and optimized copy is key.

Your copy not only helps explain what your video is about, it also needs to pique curiosity and help your video appear higher in search results. While this doesn’t mean all caps, clickbait video titles that you often see on YouTube and in Facebook captions, it does mean you need to spend some time writing quality copy that will increase views.

Especially when it comes to YouTube, video optimization is incredibly important to help maximize the potential reach your video could see from search.

4. Use hashtags

Hashtags are a popular and effective strategy for increasing reach across many different social media platforms, and video platforms like YouTube and TikTok are no exception.

Using popular hashtags in your TikTok caption or YouTube video description can help an even wider audience find your video as they search for similar content. Be sure to only include hashtags that are relevant to your video, not just randomly chosen hashtags that are trending and popular on the platform.

5. Promote your video

You’re not likely to get a viral video without doing some promotion of your own. Don’t simply publish your content and then wait with bated breath for it to be picked up.

Instead, you need to put together a full promotion strategy with plans to share your video cross platform as well as how to better market and publicize the platform(s) you’ve initially published the video on.

Use platforms that your audience will be on to maximize chances that they come across your video and share it with their own networks. Your own promotional strategy is step number one in increasing the audience that your intended viral video reaches.

Start creating your own viral video today

To massively increase your reach, start creating your own viral video content using these expert tips and guidelines. Incorporating viral videos into your overall video marketing strategy can be a great way to increase reach, brand awareness and conversions.

This post How to create a viral video for social media marketing originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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Cultural appropriation in marketing: How to spot, avoid and learn from it

Marketers naturally seek creative inspiration from an array of trends, cultural moments and media. And in our digitally-connected world, we can experience diverse cultures, customs and communities without looking up from our phones.

As a result, marketers have many opportunities to create culturally relevant content and tap into rising social trends. But when marketers take advantage of elements of a culture without their brand first earning credibility in that community, they risk crossing the line into cultural appropriation.

What is cultural appropriation?

The term cultural appropriation, coined in the 1980s, is “used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group” in a way that does not recognize their origin, meaning and true value.

Native American headdresses at Fashion Week, box braids on white women and whitewashed Mahjong tiles are more glaring examples of cultural appropriation. More nuanced examples have come from marketers misusing and misunderstanding memes, GIFs, slang and other language choices. For instance, words like “periodt,” “sis,” and “woke” come from African American English Vernacular (AAVE). “Throwing shade” is rooted in drag and ball culture. “Spirit animals” and “tribes” are uniquely tied to Native American culture and spiritualism. And yet we often see these terms slapped on marketing content and branded products, with no recognition of or sensitivity to their origins.

Hey non-Black people, especially white folks. I have a big new flash. AAVE is NOT stan/internet/meme language ya'll TAKE. IT. from us Black folks on the internet. I cannot even count how many memes and slang came out of Black twitter/internet that were quickly stolen.

— ✨Sailor Scout Austin✨ (blk year round) (@sailorsctaustin) July 31, 2020

If a brand is actually Black, LGBTQIA+ or Native-owned, or very closely connected to these diverse audiences, these terms could be a relevant and authentic part of their brand voice. But it becomes an issue when brands or marketers that are not considered part of the community try to benefit, with zero credibility and zero value added.

Over the last several years, cultural appropriation in marketing has become magnified by (and often called out through) social media.

“Social media can introduce us to new communities and trends. At the same time, social gives visibility to the actions, tendencies and behaviors of others, both in a negative and positive way,” said Cassandra Blackburn, Director of DEI at Sprout Social. “And when you add the layer of cultural appropriation, social is where people will call out anyone leveraging culture in an abusive or manipulative way.”

5 tips for creating culturally relevant content, while avoiding appropriation

Brand marketers have a responsibility to use discernment and create content that is relevant without being exploitative.

“It’s important to consider the different experiences, stories and values at play for our brand, our customers and the culture at large. When we consider these factors, we can get closer to addressing what people really want from our brand. And ultimately, if we don’t reflect our values and lead with authenticity in our messaging, then we’re going to miss the mark,” said Blackburn.

at the end of the day, there’s a fine line between humanizing a brand and doing way too f**king much.

sometimes you need to push your ego and ‘the great idea for a tweet’ you have aside and focus on what really matters.

being authentic. pic.twitter.com/3oaHLBbir8

— jayde i. powell (@jaydeipowell) January 3, 2021

To create more engaging, culturally relevant content while avoiding appropriation, Blackburn suggests these tips.

1. Commit to cultural investments all year round

Time and time again, during Black History Month, LGBTQIA+ Pride Month and other annual cultural observances, we see brands celebrating but getting called out for failing to support those communities year round. Before acknowledging these kinds of holidays on social, Blackburn urges brands to look inward.

idk i feel like BLM (and all similar phrases) is on a wave of commodification & commercialization by corporations and influential brands. just like how they did Pride Month. something about this ain’t passing the sniff test to me.

— cp. (@culta_klash) June 5, 2020

“The brand and company itself have to commit and do the hard work internally, before doing the work externally. In the midst of everything that we were experiencing in 2020, brands put out beautiful, colorful statements, campaigns and the like. But what are you hearing now? Are they upholding commitments?” said Blackburn.

Ben & Jerry’s is a standout brand when it comes to creating culturally relevant content that reinforces their commitment to social justice, democracy, LGBTQIA+ Equality and other issues they care about. They’ve made it part of the fabric of their brand and it’s reflected in their social content.

The criminal justice system has failed transgender Americans. Learn more and take action now! 🏳️‍🌈 #PrideMonth pic.twitter.com/YDOmcbXhah

— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) June 23, 2020

2. Bring diverse people and perspectives into the content creation process

 If you want to diversify your content, it’s important to bring experts from those spaces into the fold. “Brands can’t afford to make decisions in a silo. Not only should companies embrace diverse perspectives internally, but it’s also important that they diversify the experts, creators, consultants and community members they partner with,” said Blackburn.

Great stories start with extraordinary people. @Target has teamed up with 12 Black storytellers from across the country to uplift and empower all dimensions of Blackness. This is Black life, in real life. This is #BlackBeyondMeasure. ✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/4B7tplZ0qJ

— BET (@BET) October 8, 2020

If you invite people and perspectives from a specific culture into the creative process to understand how you can celebrate that culture, you’re more likely to come out on the side of appreciation, not appropriation.

Chinese New Year might not seem like a marketing campaign opportunity for the Belgian luxury brand Maison Margiela. But by partnering with a local Chinese artist, they were able to create a beautiful, culturally relevant campaign that respectfully pays homage to an ancient Chinese painting, Ten Bulls, and alludes to the Year of the Ox. On top of that, they chose Weibo and WeChat as the platforms for the campaign, recognizing their status as the largest social platforms in China.

3. Be conscientious and challenge the “why” behind your content

“I think brands often get in trouble with cultural appropriation in marketing when what they’re doing is solely for their own benefit. So if the ‘why’ behind a Tweet that uses cultural references is simply that you want to tap into a specific community for your metrics, you’ve got to reassess,” said Blackburn. “If the ‘why’ comes back to creating relationships, embracing a culture, building trust and giving back to those communities, it’s coming from a more authentic place and will likely be well-received.”

Historically, there have been plenty of brand faux-pas on Cinco De Mayo. But in 2020, Procter & Gamble, a consumer goods brand led by a white CEO, was able to recognize the holiday in a meaningful way. As the lead sponsor of Altalismo Live!, a virtual live festival, they brought together a collective of Latin performers to host and perform, with the goal of raising $3 million for the Farmworkers Pandemic Relief Fund.

This Cinco de Mayo, join us for #AltísimoLive, supporting the silent heroes of the #COVID19 response. The interactive event starts at 1p.m. EST on Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitter, Periscope & Twitch. The amazing music show starts at 5PM EST. https://t.co/BePC7vKwgv #ForceForGood pic.twitter.com/P4mJkOaGEb

— Procter & Gamble (@ProcterGamble) May 4, 2020

Had the event been hosted by white artists, branded with stereotypical Latin American imagery or benefitted only P&G, the response would have been much different. But instead, P&G didn’t perpetuate stereotypes, they hired Latin American performers to run the show, they didn’t profit and the results were mutually beneficial for the brand and the culture that inspired the event.

4. Embrace education

“Always start from a place of empathy, learning and curiosity,” Blackburn suggests. “Whether you are developing content on behalf of your brand or you’re branding yourself at an individual level, it’s important to seek information to better educate ourselves about cultures and communities outside our own.”

It's so nice when people educate themselves on different cultures with no intentions or actions of appropriation. Just merely for the fun of learning and understanding.

— 🧚🏽𝒶𝓈𝒽𝒾𝒶⁷ | 𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑑📌 (@tomb0y_in_lace) February 13, 2021

Education can start with reading, following more activists on social and asking questions, not to validate assumptions but to understand the experiences of BIPOC and other members of underrepresented groups. The beauty of social media is that it facilitates dialogue about important issues and emerging trends.

When Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion coined “hot girl summer,” several brands were quick to cash in, using the phrase to market their products. Soon enough, social media users started to call out the brands that failed to give the rapper credit.

Had some of the brands leveraging the “hot girl summer” hype examined the trend through social media listening tools, they could have picked up on the fact that many social media users were objecting to brands using the phrase. They might have seen that Megan Thee Stallion was exploring trademarking the phrase. They could have found consumers’ suggestions to partner with the rapper. And with that, they might have decided to explore more successful approaches for their summer marketing campaigns.

I've seen a couple of beauty brands that only just started rocking with black people after Fenty Beauty launched referencing "Hot Girl Summer" today alone. Now, are y'all gonna collaborate with Meg or not?

— Blocka Khan (@Starr_Rocque) July 11, 2019

5. If you are called out, pause and listen

“When brands get called out for appropriation or performative allyship, they often feel like they have to hurry up and address it. But I think that’s an opportunity to actually pump the brakes and really take the time to listen,” said Blackburn. “Then, in the future, when you’re working on a marketing campaign or brainstorming DEI content, you can apply what you’ve heard from the community themselves to determine the best course of action.”

In the past, Sephora, had been called out for their shelves lacking Black-owned brands. And celebrities like Lizzo and SZA publicly shared on social media that they experienced prejudicial treatment in a Sephora store. While the beauty retailer did respond to these complaints, they also listened and began making long-term plans to course correct.

Meet the Black-owned brands we love—and the products we believe in, stand behind, and go back to time after time [red heart] Shop our guide: https://t.co/5madhpUxSI pic.twitter.com/vmNmxV9zwH

— Sephora (@Sephora) February 8, 2021

From making the 15% Pledge and plans to double their assortment of Black-owned brands by the end of 2021, to sponsoring a 17-page study on racial bias in retail and new marketing production guidelines, Sephora continues to explore how they can foster inclusion and improve the retail experience for all.

Embrace the values you stand for

Above all else, stay grounded in what you and your brand stand for and let that lead your marketing decisions. “We can’t be everything to everyone, even though we might want to be. Marketers need to push to be clear about the things that align with your values, and let that be your space,” said Blackburn.

When you stay true to your values, there are more opportunities to build a deep understanding of the spaces you occupy and the audiences you cater to. Deepen that understanding even further by capturing Voice of the Customer data. Download this guide to making smarter business decisions using Voc.

This post Cultural appropriation in marketing: How to spot, avoid and learn from it originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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Collaboration and coordination: Why the best social customer experience starts with teamwork

From the consumer’s point of view, it doesn’t matter which team they’re speaking to when they reach out to a brand on social media. All they care about is receiving a response.

The Sprout Social Index™ reveals 79% of consumers expect a response from brands in the first 24 hours of reaching out. And 49% of consumers will unfollow brands on social media that deliver a poor customer experience. Clearly, how a brand interacts with customers online and the time it takes to respond can make or break the social customer experience.

The secret to creating a best-in-class customer experience on social starts with the collaboration between a brand’s social team and customer support team. By clarifying roles up front and working from the same playbook, social and customer support teams can create a social customer experience that stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Every team has a role to play

While a brand’s social team is likely a customer’s first point of contact, it’s hardly the only team responsible for addressing each and every inbound message. Who responds to a customer message largely depends on both the content of the message itself and the goals of your social and customer support teams. In other words, the team that’s on-call isn’t always the best suited to respond and should delegate messages accordingly.

At Sprout Social, for example, the social team’s goals largely focus on increasing brand awareness and engaging our target audience. In addition to responding to a bulk of the incoming social messages, the team primarily manages content that engages followers and builds community.

Name one thing you learned last year that shifted your perspective on social marketing as a whole.

— Sprout Social (@SproutSocial) February 3, 2021

On the other hand, the Sprout Social customer care team focuses on responding to problems, requests, and technical issues that directly impact a customer’s experience of the product. From speeding up response times to helping customers resolve product issues, the support team steps in to take over conversations that are then moved to our Zendesk help platform.

Hi Andrea! We're sorry to hear that you're experiencing publishing failures. Can you please send us a DM with the email address under which your Sprout account is registered? We'd love to take a closer look. Thanks! https://t.co/1JXZ3gut1d

— Sprout Social (@SproutSocial) February 9, 2021

Sprout’s support team is also available to step in when messages come through after the social team logs off for the day. Kathleen Hannon, a Customer Support Manager at Sprout, elaborates on her team’s role further. “In Dublin and the Philippines, those teams monitor and respond to messages in Sprout Social as part of their day-to-day operations. They see and interact with all types of messages, and we have people monitoring the Sprout Inbox almost 24/7 between the social and support teams.”

And if a support team member doesn’t have an answer, they can let customers know the message was received and has been passed on to the appropriate department. Even letting customers know their questions have been recorded can go a long way toward creating a positive customer experience and maintaining brand responsiveness.

Consistency across teams is the key to success

Whatever your brand’s unique voice may be, that voice needs to carry over into every message you send—regardless if you’re responding to a complaint or a question or a compliment. A whopping 75% of consumers expect a consistent experience when interacting with brands across any channel. Learning how to inject that brand voice into every interaction is one best practice every brand needs to bake into their workflows.

One of the ways to maintain this consistency is to train every team member at the start of their tenure. Rachael Samuels, the Senior Manager of Social Media at Sprout Social, elaborates further: “Every new customer care team member, regardless of location, is trained in our social voice, approach and more. We do a full social training process complete with worksheets, reviews, one-on-ones and then a graduation.”

In addition to training, Hannon shares another tip for building a successful working relationship between customer support and social teams: “Communication, trust, feedback and having an established set of norms and a common voice also help.”

Create a single source of truth that every team can reference to ensure everyone is on the same page at all times: use a style guide to outline what a brand’s voice should sound like and internal handbooks to walk members through next steps for a variety of scenarios. As a result, if a customer support team member encounters internet trolls or experiences harassment, they can refer to a shared guidebook to determine what to do and who to loop into the conversation.

Simplify your message workflows with one collaborative tool

The ability to quickly and efficiently respond to inbound messages is what makes great customer care. With a shared social customer care tool like Sprout Social, businesses can resolve all customer inquiries in a timely fashion and ensure messages are handled by the right teams.

Within the Sprout platform, two must-have processes include tagging and tasking all inbound messages. Using Tags, whichever team is monitoring the inbox is able to label and sort messages by specific categories such as:

• Sales lead
• Feature requests
• Crisis or incident response
• Technical issue
• User-generated content

Not only does Tagging help team members classify the types of messages they receive, it makes it easy for anyone to segment and filter content. A message with the UGC tag, for instance, can quickly be surfaced when social content is needed for a marketing campaign, while feature request tags can be shared with the product team as research.

Tags also empower teams to prioritize incident messages by severity level, ensuring those that need a timely response don’t accidentally slip through the cracks.

Equally valuable is assigning messages to specific individuals based on the content and response type needed. Tasking ensures those who are best equipped to effectively respond to a customer query are on the case. For example, messages that fall under the category of ‘technical issue’ should be resolved by someone on the support team, not a sales or success team member. In the Sprout platform, you can Task specific messages to another team member with the Task type and severity level.

Remember what I said earlier about documenting every workflow and each team’s responsibility? That applies to Tagging and Tasking too. After creating your naming conventions and task workflows, make sure to record the different labels and next steps in a place where anyone can refer back to.

This can come in handy at different times. For example, if your overnight crew takes over the brand inbox and a sales lead comes in overnight, tasking that message to a sales team member ensures no potential leads are left behind. And if a social media crisis develops over the weekend, tagging messages with the ‘incident’ label and identifying priority level can help senior team members quickly and effectively address the situation.

Teamwork makes the (social customer experience) dream work

Customers expect a consistent experience when they reach out to brands on social media, regardless of why they’re reaching out in the first place. Remember: your followers don’t care who’s responding to their inquiry as long as they get an answer in the end.

The best-in-class social customer experience starts with a strong alliance between your social and customer support teams. Establish clear role expectations and create workflows to ensure the right messages are assigned to the right teams. With the social and customer support teams working in lockstep, brands can deliver a seamless and rewarding social customer experience.

Looking for inspiration on ways to further engage with your customers on social? Download our free worksheet on creating authentic connections with your audience today.

This post Collaboration and coordination: Why the best social customer experience starts with teamwork originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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Create Your First Video Even If You Have No Experience

87% of marketers use video in their marketing. 

And while you don’t want to do something just because everyone else is doing it…

...If you’re not using video, you could be left in the dust by your competitors who are using video. 

Unfortunately, video can be an intimidating thing to tackle if you have no experience creating videos. 

I get it. I’m not a video producer. And neither was Jay Moore, AWeber’s own video producer, who joined me on the latest episode of The FWD: Thinking Show to share his wisdom with entrepreneurs thinking about trying video for the very first time.

And if you’re still wondering if you have what it takes to create incredible videos, let Jay be the first to assure you if you have a smartphone and something to say, you already have everything you need.

Want to learn how? Read on. 

Or go straight to the episode

Why you should be using video in your marketing

Video marketing is only growing in popularity. A few years ago it was ‘nice to have.’ It’s now become a ‘need to have.’ For a few reasons…

1. People want to consume video content. Video is the most requested kind of content people want to see from businesses they support. 
2. It works. Video on landing pages has the power to increase conversion rates by 80%.
3. Mentioning video in your email subject line can increase open rates by 19%.

Plus, videos can be repurposed from content you already created. That means saving time and effort while reaching a wider audience. 

By the way, if you missed my conversation with Amy Woods on content repurposing, you can catch up here.

4 Things to ask before creating your first video

Should all businesses use video in their marketing?

Video has a place for any business. 

Assess whether it’s right for you by thinking about the channels that you use to talk to your audience now. Where does video fit in?

What are your goals with video marketing?

Before jumping into a new marketing channel, analyze what you ultimately want to accomplish with video marketing.

Do you want to build a relationship with your audience through video? Are you driving them to take a certain action? Or, do you want to evoke a certain feeling?

Knowing what your goal is will help you come up with topic ideas and figure out the best way to approach creating your first video. 

What channels should you promote video?

Whether you want to create video for YouTube, your website, social media channels, blog posts, or somewhere else, don’t overwhelm yourself with too many channels to begin with.

Start where you already are. You don’t need to create video for every single channel. But start where you are, learn as you go, and test different channels over time.

What’s the first step to creating amazing video content?

Jay says the first step is: don’t panic. A lot of what you already have in your day to day life can be used to create videos. 

All you need is a smartphone to record — they have a great starter microphone and cameras.

The technical side of creating videos can feel intimidating, but it’s actually pretty simple. Check out Jay’s recommended tools below. 

Episode Resources

About Jay Moore

Jay Moore is the Video Producer at AWeber, where he creates educational videos to help small businesses and entrepreneurs learn how to grow their businesses with digital marketing. Jay began his time at AWeber as a member of the Customer Solutions team, where he had the opportunity to interact with clients on a daily basis. There he learned about small business owners’ challenges and goals, which has helped him in his current role speak directly to that audience through amazing videos.

Video Creation Tools

There are tons of video editing, animation and production tools available. But here are the tools Moore recommends as a starting point:

• Online Animation: Biteable. 

• Webcam: We recommend this one from Logitech.
• USB Microphone: Check out Snowball microphones
• Video Editing Software: We have 3 recommendations:
  • Telestream
  • Final Cut Pro
  • Adobe 

Listen to the episode

The post Create Your First Video Even If You Have No Experience appeared first on AWeber.

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