Over the past decade, social media has become the most vital communication platform for most businesses. Social media has become a platform in which brands interact with their consumers on an intimate level. Sprout Social conducted this study on how businesses engage with customers on social media. They found that 90 percent of consumers engage with brands on social media and that social media is the first place customers go if they have an issue—surpassing phone and email.

As customer service expectations become greater, it is imperative that brands take this direct communication with their consumers seriously. We’ve laid out a few steps you can follow to ensure your community management is on the right track:

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Social media and messaging apps have led to the evolution of bots. A bot is a computer program that automates certain tasks by chatting with a user through a conversational interface like a messaging app. Interactions with bots can be straightforward such as asking a bot for the location of a restaurant, or more complex, like troubleshooting your internet service. In a world of immediacy and instant demand, simply offering an app won’t cut it anymore. Consumers expect an immediate response when it comes to customer service, and bots offer quality service before the customer even comes across an issue. If you haven’t invested in bots quite yet, here are a few reasons you should consider:

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Optimizing your website’s keywords, call-to-actions, and landing pages are fundamental in search engine optimization and getting started with inbound marketing. It takes time to rank higher through organic SEO methods, but inbound marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways of capturing the attention of high-quality prospects. The second most important contributor to organic search engine optimization is producing blog content that is knowledgeable on topics within your industry and valuable to your ideal customer. Optimizing your website for conversion and creating content that that resonates with your readers will set you up for continuously bringing in high-quality leads.

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Facebook and Instagram are constantly evolving platforms, therefore, the company continues to update algorithms in order to stay ahead of marketers needs. While these updates provide us with new ways to capture our audience, it is challenging to keep up with the latest capabilities and ensure we are capitalizing on every opportunity. This month, Facebook and Instagram are releasing game-changing updates—here’s what you need to know:

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Can an old dog learn new tricks? The answer is yes, and with all due respect, your business may be an old dog. Just because your business has stood the test of time and remained strong doesn’t mean there is not room for improvement. The business world does not stand still, and in order to keep up with its constant need to move and change, your business needs to adapt to it. Among other elements of business, methods for attracting clients seem to shift rapidly in line with cultural and market forces.

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Influencer marketing seems to be taking the lead as this year’s most “influential” marketing approach. Have you ever noticed someone you follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat mention different products from time to time? I hate to break it to you, but that influencer you follow was more than likely paid to mention that product on their personal feed. This approach gives companies access to thousands, if not millions, of people they would not have otherwise been able to reach.

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Scaling a business can happen intentionally, or otherwise, unintentionally. Either way, you’re going to have to manage pretty big changes. For us, this means expanding our services, refreshing our entire brand, revamping our website, moving into a bigger office and welcoming new members to our team. Needless to say, we’ve been busy! Throughout our growth and rebranding experience, we’ve really taken a step back to evaluate our core values and focus on why we do what we do. At the end of the day, what we find to be most rewarding is building relationships and sharing the joy of flourishing in doing what we love. Our team finds great value in truly getting to know our clients’ stories on a personal level and authentically producing premium deliverables so that their businesses can succeed.

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Brand strategy as a concept can often be bit murky or esoteric. Whether you’re an established business or an individual searching for a more prominent way to self-brand, it can be difficult to identify a starting point and select a course of action. Social media offers endless opportunity for engagement, so maintaining a cohesive presence across platforms can be daunting. It’s important to remember that your strategy is your anchor, and keeps your team in sync with how your brand interacts with the world.

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It’s very easy to be ignored or forgotten through the many social media outlets where users engage. In this age of mass communication, consumers are easily overwhelmed with the amount of daily advertisements they see, and quickly learn to filter out generic messaging. The key to cutting through these defenses is to differentiate your brand. It’s a given that not participating in social media puts your business at a severe disadvantage. However, even very active businesses can still find it difficult to keep their messaging from getting lost.

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Keeping up with target audiences can be a challenge in today’s world since social media was brought into the mix. This year, South by Southwest is hosting some of the most intelligent brand and marketing specialists. Technology is booming and more fast-paced than ever before, so the demand for insight and guidance has never been greater. At these four panels you will hear directly from industry leaders on how to build your brand, grab your target audience and keep their attention. These events range from beginner to intermediate, and are perfect if you want to delve deep into the newest marketing trends.

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