Social Media – Van West Media

How to download your Facebook Data

April 25, 2018

Want to find out if you were one of the 50+ million Facebook profiles given to Cambridge Analytica and used in the last election cycle? I downloaded my Facebook data to see what they had on me and checked to see if my profile was on the list.

Skip to Facebook Download Instructions

What I learned looking through my Facebook Data file

It was SHOCKING to find out the info about me was really, really…..boring. Sure, there were a few things that caught me off guard (like Facial Recognition settings and some weird Ad interests) but for the most part it was what I expected. I’m not a heavy Facebook user, but did feel some relief knowing how to check my Facebook data and confirming they don’t have detailed call or text history (like some Android users have reported)

For the most part, the data file is what you might expect – a long record on activity, posts, comments, videos and all the stuff you’ve done on Facebook. In my case – snooping on the success of high school friends I never talk to, posting amazing vacation photos and pretending it’s my everyday life and liking various posts from friends through obligation or genuine interest. Clicking through the long list of activity they had on me was more a reminder how much time I waste on the platform then it was a tell-all of my life’s secrets.

*When Facebook boils your life down to 3 words*

Facebook seems to have done what I would expect them too with my info – use it for advertising and try to market products that match my demographic and interests. It’s hard to really blame them when I voluntarily decided to use their free platform. If anything, I’m glad checking my Facebook data file served as a reminder of the real cost to ‘free’ apps and platforms – it may not cost money but it will cost you personal details or other private info.

General Takeaways:

The Facial Recognition part of Facebook’s data profile did get me a little weirded out. I assume they use this to spot me in photos or posts and let me know, but I ended up opting out of this after I noticed it in my profile settings. This was more personal preference on my part than broad recommendation for others.

It was very interesting to see what they thought my Ad Interests were and what advertisers uploaded lists with my information on it. Some interests were very accurate for me (Beer, WordPress) and others had me a bit puzzled (Tony Robbins, Christian Music??)

Most amusing was the info in the ‘About You’ part of my profile under ‘Friend Peer Group’ which simply stated: “Established Adult Life”. I’m still not sure if that amuses me because it is the most accurate 3 -word summation of my life or because it seems underwhelming (maybe I’m too boring to be a “Perpetual Risk Taker”, “Adventure Traveler” or other more exciting option).

In any case, I can’t control it and think I’m comfortable with it.

Instructions: How to Download Your Facebook Data File

Step 1: Login to Facebook

Step 2: Select ‘Settings’ from the top right Menu

Step 3: Select ‘Download a copy’ of your Facebook data below the General Account Settings

Step 4: Select ‘Create File’ Under the ‘New File’ tab

Step 5: Facebook will notify you when it is ready for download

Step 6: Select the ‘Download’ button under ‘Available Files

How to find out if Cambridge Analytica has your Facebook Data

Step 1: Login to Facebook

Step 2: Select the ‘Quick Help’ question mark icon in top right menu

Step 3: Type ‘cambridge analytica’ into the search box and select the first result that appears

Step 4: View messaging below to see if your Data was gathered

We hope this tutorial on downloading your Facebook Data is helpful and wish you the best in your Established Adult Lives 🙂

The 8 C’s of Social Commerce

March 30, 2017

Social Commerce

Four years ago, VWM published a blog on the 6 C’s of Social Commerce. Back then, it was a more relevant topic to write about because there were fewer aspects of e-commerce for marketers to be concerned with. The rise of Social Media has greatly impacted this. In the last four years, e-commerce, social media, and technology have evolved into something so monumental that there’s always something new to learn or latest trend to be aware of.

Wait…so what is Social commerce!?

Social Commerce is a subsection of electronic commerce that uses social and online media to support interaction and user contribution. This facilitates the buying and selling of products and services online.

In other words: Social commerce is the use of social networks within the context of e-commerce transactions.

In case you’re a recent reader, below is a refresher of the original 6 C’s of social commerce VWM highlighted in 2013:

Content: As in: “Content is King.” Consistently putting out valuable content on your site is key. It keeps you relevant and establishes your site as having frequent and more credible materials over your competitors.

Community: There’s a reason they’re called social networks! Building and keeping relationships with the people you’re trying to convert into customers is so important. Social allows customers to actively engage with your brand. Likes, comments and, retweets are all examples of ways you can get real-time feedback from your audience.

Commerce: You need to be able to fulfill customer needs via a transactional web presence whether it be B2C or B2B. Make Sure your sales funnel isn’t requiring several clicks or on-page searches before a customer gets to the actual purchasing part.

Context: Social networks make it easier than ever to gain insight into the context of where your customers are coming from. Brands can provide specific resources to customers based on location, interest, psychographics etc. Tracking things like check-ins, tweets or activity on social networks provides actionable insight.

Connection: Any connection made with a possible customer is a relationship worth having. Whether it is professional, social, or casual, social networks allow you that initial connection with other people and provide opportunities to develop and keep a relationship.

Conversation: The challenge is to tap into the conversations happening online in regards to what you’re selling. Smart marketers seek out the people who want to buy their products or services – social media features such as a “Like” button is a great way to start.

These are all still important, but it’s 2017 now. Marketers have a better understanding of just how influential social media and technology are when it comes to keeping an e-commerce strategy updated and successful.

Two New Additions for Marketers in 2017

ChatBots: The future really is now. With the creation of online chatbots, businesses can use AI and machine learning to create the feeling of a human interaction from anywhere in the world and at any given time. These bots can be expertly developed in any field and provide conversational answers to consumers presenting a much smoother interaction. This is beneficial both ways, you get a better idea of the kind of questions customers consistently have and they get a reply no matter when they ask.

Commitment: This is a big one (isn’t it always?) Having a social presence that will attract customers to buying whatever it is your selling is not a one time thing. Keeping up a strategy, establishing meaningful relationships, and consistently growing with your audience is essential to continuous success.

So, there you have it, our newly updated 8 C’s of social commerce. If you’re feeling a little lost after reading all that- don’t worry, we’ve got your back!

This is an updated post on the 6 C’s of Social Commerce.

Client Spotlight: Club Fit Launches Their New Website

March 27, 2017

Club Fit offers comprehensive health and fitness facilities and programming to enhance the quality of life and physical well-being for Westchester community members of all ages.

Founded in Westchester in 1973, Club Fit operates fitness clubs in Briarcliff and Jefferson Valley, serving more than 14,000 members and their guests.

VWM has been working with Club Fit for the last five years helping them with paid advertising, social media strategy, ongoing development and updates, text alerts and promotions, lead generation, and web hosting.

Two website revamps later, we are now releasing the third and most versatile Club Fit website yet. New features include a custom WordPress web platform, a custom calendar scheduling feature, a streamlined user interface, and dynamic form routing and database integration.

Van West Media’s Social Media Manager, Stephanie Cowan, recently sat down for an interview with Jacquie Giannico, the Marketing Manager at Club Fit to talk about the launch of Club Fit’s new website, the effect it will have on the business, and how important it is to find, and develop a relationship with a digital agency that you can trust.

What part of your business will the new website have the most effect on?

“Everyone is really looking forward to the calendar. Having everything we have to offer all in one place really gives our members the one-stop-shop experience. There is so much to do at our club that sometimes it seems overwhelming to choose where to begin. We really see ourselves as a lifestyle club. We take someone from a single membership to a couples membership when they get married, and then they become a family membership, and finally a senior membership. Because of that, they have children of different ages and likes so we have created a calendar that will lay out clearly all of the classes offered at a given time. This will really be of benefit to our members.”

What has been your experience working with Van West Media?

“You have been great! I look at Van West Media as not an outside business partner but as an inside business partner and that’s important. It’s that trust factor. And it takes a while to develop that trust and we have worked with Van West Media for five years now. I also know when you say you are going to do something, you are going to do it and that is really important. And I know that if we need help on a weekend, someone always answers. The confidence and the quality of your employees is key.”

What is the hardest part of being in the membership business?

“Retention and new members. We need to make sure we are grabbing them as new members and obviously to retain them. I know the new website will draw new members and continue to provide useful tools to get the most out of their Club Fit experience.”

What makes Club Fit such a unique health and fitness club?

“From a customer perspective, we have so much to offer. We are a health club that cares about our members well being. We offer so many activities for our members to participate in. The fact that you can swim in two different indoor pools, play on any of our tennis quarts, or participate in over 130 group classes is a testament to the range of opportunity here at Club Fit. We think of a company that gives back to our community most of our employees live in the area so it gives them an opportunity to serve their community as well. Our main focus is to keep people healthy and allow them to live longer.”

What is the most exciting thing in Club Fit’s near future?

“Every month there is a new surprise. Like our March Matters and April Refer a Friend. We try to be very engaging with our members by creating unique events and content throughout the year. Come check us out!”

Van West Media Client Spotlight: Twin Parks

March 14, 2017

Twin Parks Montessori School is the largest accredited Montessori program in Manhattan with three premier preschool campuses in New York City.

Guided by the Montessori philosophy, Twin Parks helps children learn in a secure, prepared environment, laying a firm foundation for them as they grow older.

Van West Media began working with Twin Parks nearly a decade ago. This partnership began with initial branding and a website build and has evolved into Van West Media’s coordination and implementation of a robust marketing strategy revolving around the website, marketing materials, paid search, and social media. Most recently, we launched a custom website for Twin Park’s exciting new program for infants and toddlers, The Nurture Center. This strategy focused on driving visibility of Twin Parks and served as an initiative to welcome younger children into the Montessori philosophy.

Working with Van West Media has not only provided a framework for all of our branding and social media context but has taught our administrative team how to think and respond to social media. We are all a team and enjoy our brainstorming sessions together. Van West Media’s level of communication is top notch.

– Kathy Roemer, Executive Director of Twin Parks Montessori Schools

The Website:

Van West Media built a custom website for Twin Parks that clearly and effectively showcases the three different preschool campuses, provides accreditation and financial aid information, and allows easy access to an online admissions application. From a visibility and SEO perspective, Van West Media created “Kathy’s Insights”, a personal blog from the Executive Director that builds and reinforces the school’s identity, leadership position, and mission, as well as a constant stream of custom content that helps optimize Twin Park’s search rankings with Google.

Paid Search:

When developing a paid search campaign for Twin Parks, Van West Media identified three specific opportunities: targeting families within the New York City Metro area searching for preschools, targeting families outside of New York City searching for preschools in New York City, and re-marketing to families who visited the website but did not complete a conversion. Our team began by creating campaigns targeting key neighborhoods in New York City and location-based keywords across the globe.

Our team also developed a display re-marketing campaign that excluded bouncing visitors and existing students’ parents, who visit the site to read blog posts and log into their child’s classroom details. These strategies led to a month over month performance increase of 36% during peak enrollment months. Additionally January 2017 saw the lowest Cost Per Acquisition in six months, and a record 95% increase to a 12-month record for paid assisted conversions.

Social Media:

Van West Media recently overhauled the Twin Parks social media profiles and implemented a best-practice strategy that is both engaging and visually appealing. This strategy focuses on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and is used to provide information about the school, build visibility and online engagement, and to drive new leads to the school.

New Program Launch:

In 2016, Twin Parks approached Van West Media with the idea of creating a new program for infants and toddlers that would complement their existing offerings, just to a younger audience. It would also allow parents to try the Montessori Method in a very comfortable and relaxed setting. Van West Media created the new program’s name, logo, and branding, and also built a custom mini-site that would allow perspective parents to learn about the new program and apply online. In late 2016, The Nurture Center launched.

We receive weekly updates and immediate replies to any question we put to their team. We feel we are in a partnership with Van West Media to share the story of Twin Parks Montessori Schools to our community.

– Kathy Roemer, Executive Director of Twin Parks Montessori Schools

Twin Parks is an extremely valued client of Van West Media. But, more than a client, Kathy and her whole Twin Parks’ team have become partners with us. Together, we work extremely hard to bring visibility to this incredible school and its amazing teaching environment that has been carefully and thoughtfully created at all of Twin Parks’ campuses. Because of our services, Twin Parks has greatly expanded their online visibility, created greater social engagement, and increased the number of applicants to the school. Our team at Van West Media looks forward to our ongoing work with Kathy and her top-notch team of educators and all of the amazing work they are doing for the next generation of children.

Meet Our New Social Media Manager!

February 20, 2017

Van West Media is extremely excited to introduce our new Social Media Manager, Stephanie Cowan! Stephanie will focus on increasing visibility, engagement, leads, and sales for our clients using their social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and LinkedIn. These platforms are a great way for our clients to effectively reach specific audiences and Stephanie is a master at putting together a social media strategy and creating the appropriate copy and visuals to accomplish this.

Stephanie brings to Van West Media a keenly artistic eye, sharp wit, and unbridled enthusiasm and we wanted to give her the opportunity to introduce herself to all of you:

“I am really excited to be working here at Van West Media and have hit the ground running in the social media department. My biggest focus for the first month was revamping our own Instagram account. I am super passionate about creating unique and thoughtful content that can strengthen our brand’s voice and visibility. I want each piece of content that goes live to give pause and have reason. It is my goal to make every single aspect of a post on social focused and goal oriented. That’s what is so special about social media. You can mold the big picture by obsessing about the nitty-gritty to create something unique, flawless, and memorable.

I have also spent a great deal of time meeting with many of Van West Media’s new and existing clients, learning about their various industries, and helping them curate and tailor their specific social media profiles. This includes understanding their corporate culture and identity as well as their vision and goals moving forward.

One of the reasons I was originally drawn to Van West Media was because of the vast differences and variety between the client base. Some digital marketing agencies focus on certain niche markets, but Van West Media has a wide-ranging and exciting client roster including law firms, financial firms, fashion brands, luxury travel destinations, non-profits, and more. This diverse clientele makes my job uniquely interesting and fulfilling and means that I get to constantly create new, varied, and exciting content.

If you have not yet taken a peek, I encourage you to visit our newly revamped Instagram account! Follow @vanwestmedia for a behind-the-scenes look at all of the great work we are doing here. I look forward to continuing to improve our client’s social media profiles and if you would like to discuss your own company’s social media strategies, please reach out to me so that I can help you.”

-Stephanie Cowan

Why an Instagram Business Profile is Best for Your Brand

February 16, 2017

Since its launch in 2010, Instagram has grown to become one of the most powerful social media platforms the web has to offer. The statistics don’t lie when it comes to its effectiveness and reach. To date, users have shared over 40 billion photos and Instagram reports that there are 400 million active daily users and 600 million monthly users. The widespread adoption of platforms like Instagram has created incredible opportunities for businesses to use these platforms to expose potential clients to a product or service as well as reinforce existing customers to keep a business top-of-mind.

Last year, Instagram introduced the ability to create a business profile for their users. A business profile allows companies to track weekly social metrics including the number of followers that have been gained or lost, impressions, geographic statistics, and age and gender statistics. Businesses can use the analytics to gain a better understanding of who their audience is, whether they are communicating their brand effectively to this audience, and how they should adjust their marketing efforts based on the success metrics, or lack thereof.

Other than the sheer number of customers already actively engaged on Instagram, one of the greatest motivators for a business to create an account is that it is free. Recently, companies have begun to pull a portion of their advertising budget and use this money to create a visually compelling and engaging Instagram presence. This effort on the back-end is proving to be very successful for businesses. 60% of people learn about a product from Instagram and 75% of people take action after being inspired by an Instagram post. Pretty amazing statistics for a company that was created less than eight years ago and clearly a strong indicator that businesses that do not have an Instagram presence, should develop one quickly.

Curating and maintaining a business profile can seem like a daunting task, but there are some simple tips to increase your online effectiveness while creating engaging content for your followers. Before starting, it is important to determine your audience. Consider, among other factors, age range, gender, social economics, and location. These key factors will become integral to the way you develop, style, and maintain your profile moving forward. Once you have a very clear picture of who your demographic is, focus on developing content that carries a consistent story, or theme, through each post. Instagram experts say that Instagram users want to follow someone with a specific and consistent voice, so the more specific you get with your brand, the better. When posting a photo, juxtaposition is critical; How does the photo look in the feed in relation to all the other photos? Once the photo is posted, geotagging and hashtagging the photo with words that are associated with the product helps increase visibility.

Just having a profile and posting periodically is not going to drive customers, leads, sales, etc. Creating a business profile, having a cohesive digital strategy, creating a monthly calendar to ensure consistent posting, engaging with your followers, and having unique and creative posts, are all part of a larger equation that should result in an effective and engaging Instagram profile, which should in turn help grow your business and drive sales.

Within the digital marketing ecosystem that your business has created, Instagram can be an extremely important tool. But Instagram is just one star in a galaxy of social media platforms as well as blogs and email campaigns and AdWords that all revolve around, and ultimately drive traffic to, your website. If your business needs help with how to navigate digital marketing, we are more than happy to start working with you today.

Van West Media recently revamped our own Instagram account and the likes don’t lie! Check out our new Instagram feed for yourself!

3 Reasons Why Your Business NEEDS Social Media Marketing

November 15, 2016

Every business owner understands this principle: in order for your business to grow quickly, it needs to be able to reach a wide target audience in the least amount of time as possible. Makes sense, right?

Research reports that 2 in 3 adults use social media. That’s a lot of adults sifting around social media posts every single day. If your business isn’t on social media, you simply aren’t marketing to the over 1.3 billion daily active users between Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Here are 3 reasons why your business needs social media marketing.

1. Consumer Reach

Social media is the tool every business needs to reach a massive audience in a small period of time. With advertisement options, organic sharing and referrals, and the mere massive size of the active social media audience, you can reach millions of consumers overnight.

2. SEO

Sites that constantly earn traffic make their way to the top of the organic SEO rankings. What’s one incredibly effective way to direct traffic right to your website? Social media. Content strategies for SEO are the most important part of earning top search engine ranking spots today.

3. Brand Loyalty

Consumers have A LOT of options today. There are millions of competitors in every single niche industry, and it’s not so easy to distinguish yourself from the competition. One incredibly effective way to get around this obstacle is by building brand loyalty for your platform. If you develop an interested and engaged core base of consumers, they will post about your company, tell their friends, and share your content with their hundreds of acquaintances every single time.

Give your business the digital voice it deserves!

3 Social Media Tactics to Boost Holiday Sales

November 15, 2016

The holidays are upon us, and they’re a perfect opportunity for you to connect with every person on social media. People love using social media around this time of year, and they know those savvy brands are going to offer up giveaways and special discounts just before Santa comes down your chimney.

We want you to stay relevant and stand out from all the social media holiday cheer this year. Here are 3 social media tactics to undoubtedly boost your holiday sales.

1. Make Holiday Social Media Images

Be honest – you kind of like seeing all those happy, Christmas tree filled images floating around your social media feed. The holidays make everyone happier, and beholding the joy in picture form is a great way to reach consumers.

Decorate your social media business pages with specially designed cover images that recognize Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and any other holiday-related theme you’re passionate about. Make holiday graphics with your logo front-and-center and encourage your followers to share it. Even offer people a free product if they share X amount of your holiday images before Christmas!

2. Holiday Hashtags

It’s the most wonderful time of the year to jam pack every social media post with hashtags. Twitter shoppers will undoubtedly use hashtags to find their next purchase, with Instagram users hot on their heels! Take advantage of hashtagging to get noticed.

Hashtags to consider: #BlackFriday #HappyThanksgiving #HolidaySavings #StockingStuffers #HolidayCheer #Christmas #Hannukah #Kwanzaa #NewYears #CyberMonday

3. Promotions

You absolutely need to offer promotions and giveaways on social media to stay relevant this holiday season. All of your competitors are going to do it – and you need to, too. Everyone loves a great holiday deal, and they’re twice as likely to recommend it to a friend afterwards. Offer up a Black Friday deal, Cyber Monday deal, and Christmas deal throughout the month of December.

Even more exciting: host a holiday giveaway. People love free things. Promise a free product to a randomly chosen person who likes your page, shares your post, and tags one friend’s name under it. You’ll be amazed at the page interaction coming your way.

So throw on your Santa hat, and get to work!

Need some help? If you want an expert’s opinion on your social media strategy, contact our team at Van West Media today.

Snapchat’s Biggest Threat is its Own Design

August 23, 2016

If you think Instagram’s new Stories feature looks remarkably similar to Snapchat’s feature of the same name, that’s because it is. Apparently, it’s completely legal to copy draw inspiration from other applications (apps). How? It turns out copyright law doesn’t protect ideas so as long as there are inherent differences in the interfaces of the competing apps. Instagram’s Stories feature is free to use and is formatted like Snapchat which has become the most popular social network among teens.

The Stories feature is a bold move on Instagram’s part. Prior to the release of Instagram Stories, there were obvious differences between the two platforms. Snapchat, with its disappearing photos, was geared more towards short-term, in-the-moment glimpses of a user’s everyday life. Instagram, however, provided a variety of filters used to create and amplify aesthetically pleasing images and videos, perfecting an album of the best parts of a users’ life for the long-term. Although it’s not the case for every user, Snapchat stories tempted users to post every day, while Instagram posts were not necessarily published as frequently.

Is Instagram declaring war on Snapchat?

…Or is the platform simply just trying to inspire more content creation from users?

The two features of Snapchat and Instagram share a lot in common:

Both allow 10-second clips
Both stories remove images after 24 hours
Both let you reply to stories
Both allow you to add custom text
Both have filters
Both have a built-in marker
Both let you save the media to your camera roll
Both show who views your story

The differences between the two are few:

Instagram lets you “rewind” stories
Instagram lets you post sections of your story as an Instagram post
Unlike Snapchat, Instagram doesn’t show you who screenshots your story
Instagram does not feature geo-filters or facial-mapping

Whatever Instagram’s intentions may be, two things are apparent. Firstly, the new Instagram feature cannot single-handedly crush Snapchat. It may have some impact on Snapchat’s numbers – but not enough to completely sway the minds of avid Snapchat users to switch over Instagram 100 percent of the time. Secondly, the aforementioned information doesn’t mean Instagram Stories don’t have potential. In fact, it has several factors going for it. For starters, Instagram Stories is very well made; it is easy to understand and navigate in a way that is much more user-friendly than Snapchat. Most importantly, Instagram has taken a powerful hold on the social world by creating a network which allows users to easily follow new people and “experience” places all over the world through the eyes of another person. This existing sense of community makes it so much easier to have access to the everyday lives of users you may be interested in without having to find them through a username the way Snapchat users create their list of friends.

It will be interesting to see if Instagram’s new feature takes off right away or if it will be another Instagram Direct scenario (which only gained traction about three years after its initial launch). What will be even more interesting is to see how Snapchat will react to this whole ordeal.

In the past, Facebook (Instagram’s parent company) has repeatedly tried and failed to buy Snapchat. It seems to us this feature launch might be Facebook’s way of saying it’s done trying to acquire Snapchat and is taking on their niche with the highly successful Instagram app.

Your move, Snapchat.

Microsoft Just Bought LinkedIn: Now What?

June 21, 2016

In case you haven’t heard the news yet, Microsoft is set to buy LinkedIn in a $26.2 billion dollar cash deal. Currently, there are no known plans to drastically change anything about LinkedIn through this acquisition. Both Microsoft and LinkedIn CEO’s have expressed their plans to merge Microsoft’s leading cloud services with the professional network while simultaneously keeping LinkedIn’s brand and independence intact.

LinkedIn, with over 440 million users in 200 different countries, has become much more than a simple resume-displaying platform. Since its launch in 2003, the business-oriented social networking site has morphed into a powerful marketing platform for businesses of all sizes, which now resides under the Microsoft umbrella.

So, how do businesses successfully utilize LinkedIn for social media marketing?

For starters, don’t lose sight of the fact that LinkedIn hosts a community of professionals, all with a business mindset. Creating an effective presence for your business on LinkedIn requires these three key practices:

Establishing your brand

Keep your profile professional and credible by customizing the URL, uploading your brand logo in places such as the cover photo, optimizing your profile for SEO with specific keywords, etc.

Connecting with your audience

Check your network updates, comment on or create discussions that have to do with your brand, make connections with old and new contacts to grow your professional network.

Engaging with relevant content

Provide your audience with compelling content to help establish your thought leadership. Frequently share a variety of industry news and original content, while also encouraging your peers to take some sort of action on your posts (e.g., to comment, like, share, etc.).

The Takeaway

What can businesses with successful LinkedIn profiles teach you about your own content marketing?

Continually update users on industry news.
Release new and engaging content customized to specific audiences.
Share your voice to relevant conversations that audiences care about.

With Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn, the long-term effects remain to be seen. In the meantime, if you want an expert’s opinion on your social media strategy, contact our team at Van West Media today.

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