Category: Marketing

Social Distancing & Behavior Change

Posted on by SGA SGA

6 feet, 3 Canadian geese, 2 meters or one alligator apart.

With the sad news of a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in LA County, the continued reminder to stay 6 feet apart is ever more important. As some normalcy slowly returns (well…in fits and starts!), getting new behaviors to stick long-term is the next big global experiment. And a challenge it will be as quarantine fatigue increases and shaming people doesn’t work.
So far, it has been interesting to see how the three key factors for effective behavior change have been used:

1. Short and Sweet Reminders Stick

When a new behavior, like staying 6 feet apart, goes against our innate social nature (who doesn’t want to hug their friends or enjoy a social summer BBQ!) behavior change can only be truly effective when its reminders are simple and easy to remember.
Although we still have so much to learn about COVID-19’s transmission (with new findings coming every day), the blanket rule of staying 6 feet apart (or washing your hands for the amount of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice) helps people to change as we do so. But an aphorism is just the first step. We are visual species and, in reality, many have found it hard to know exactly how far apart 6 feet is.

2. Iconography for Impact

People remember 80% of what they see and do, and only 20% of what they read. Given how much more powerful a visual can be than words, it has been interesting to see the creativity some countries have used to try to visually reinforce the 6 feet rule. Canada especially has been on top form:

Source: globalnews.ca/news/6969090/coronavirus-social-distancing-2/

3. Storytelling: “If I look at the mass, I will never act.” (Mother Theresa)

It’s easy to feel apathetic when one hears a statistic, but when one hears a story from a nurse, it helps humanize the overwhelming pace, scale and complexity of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stories help us build empathy. We humans take action because of emotions, not because of numbers.
The right image can tell an entire story. The images of frontline workers, at the start of the pandemic forced to wear trash bags as makeshift PPE shows so much more – their sheer grit, dedication, sacrifices, missed time with their own families and the stress and grief they face every single day.

Source: CNN.com March 26, 2020

So much of our work at SGA right now is testing and applying communication techniques in what has been a worldwide experiment in getting social distancing to stick. We have focused on helping our clients adjust their messaging to fit in with our new long term reality (such as the dilemma of reusable grocery bag bans!).
In this uncertain time, my hope for us Angelenos is that we continue to figure out together how to counter quarantine fatigue and keep the crucial importance of social distancing top of mind for everyone.
From my makeshift kitchen table/office, staying socially close and one caribou apart.

-Stephen Groner-

light colored dog laying in green grass; baby with blond hair has hands on the dog and is looking at the dog
This past ad campaign we did for the Contra Costa Clean Water Program showcases the power of having the right visceral visual. Want to see more examples from our work? Read our recent blog article on the Power of Visuals Over Words.

Hero Photo Source: www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/04/canada-yukon-coronavirus-caribou?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The Power of Visuals Over Words

Posted on by SGA SGA

If you read a statistic that 40% of the U.S. population are at risk of disease and premature death because of air pollution, most likely you would think, “Wow, that is a high number, I can’t imagine what someone must be going through who experiences that!” But if this same statistic is paired with a photo of someone on a respirator, immediately it feels so much more personal. With an image, we are better able to grasp the individual human suffering behind an overwhelmingly large statistic like this.

Humans are wired to connect more with images than words, because 90% of the information processed by the brain is visual. Words are abstract, visuals are concrete. This means that humans process images far quicker than words; we remember visuals better; and an image is a far more accessible way for us to communicate.

These facts underlie so much of how we approach our communication work here at SGA and can be seen below in two examples from our work:

Visuals increase the speed of understanding

Humans process visuals far quicker than we do words. It only takes us 150ms for a symbol to be processed and 100ms to attach a meaning to it. This is a reason why so many road signs are image based—they quickly capture what a few words or sentences would take far longer to communicate.

Our Contra Costa Clean Water Program Example: Given this, our client, the Contra Costa Clean Water Program, needed an image based public education campaign to encourage residents to use integrated pest management. Integrated pest management is a complicated topic to communicate as, even though its long term environmental benefits are very evident, it can take longer in the short term to get rid of pests compared to traditional pesticides.

Our approach: Most of us (really!) don’t like pests in our homes and backyards. In our research, we found that people prioritized getting rid of the pests as quickly as possible and that they saw the time and effort required by integrated pest management as a major barrier. The only way to break though this perceived barrier was with an even stronger motivator—our love and concern for the health and wellbeing of our pets and children. This strategy informed our image choices for the ‘Pesticide Linger’ ad campaign.

The right image meant that we did not need to describe all of the dangers of using pesticides on a family’s beloved baby and dog for the audience to be compelled. The image told the story—and our connection to images made this message far stronger than what words could describe (image referenced is at the beginning of this piece).

Visuals that resonate with your own beliefs are often far more memorable and help increase accessibility.

Images are compelling and often far more easy for us to recall. In fact, people remember 80% of what they see and do, whereas only 20% of what they read. People also all learn and process information differently. To communicate as broadly as possible, images help increase the accessibility of your content to your audience.

Our County of Santa Clara Example: The County of Santa Clara was struggling with the problem of abandoned used motor oil becoming an environmental health hazard, especially given how much easier it is to dump used oil instead of dispose of it properly.

Our approach: We knew that in order for a campaign and its imagery to resonate, it needed to be representative. So, we first had to understand the practices, beliefs and attitudes concerning
used motor oil within the Santa Clara community. To do this, we interviewed community members outside of auto supply stores. Our key finding was how family-centric this community was. Explaining the potential impact of used motor oil on this community’s environment and the health of its children ultimately informed the campaign tagline: “Dumped Used Oil and We All Get Soaked.”

The aim behind the choice of image for this campaign was to connect the ease of dumping used oil with the visceral horror of an image of a child stepping into a pool of oil. By understanding the target audience, customizing the campaign to suit them and using a memorable image, San Jose of Santa Clara County saw a 136% increase in used oil recycling and a 70% decrease in illegal dumping at the end of the campaign.

Reinforcing our communication with the right visuals helps counter the “information overload” in our everyday lives. Visuals are powerful, compelling, accessible, and align with how people want to receive messaging nowadays.

How to Avoid Being Mistaken for SPAM

Posted on by SGA SGA

Now that I’ve got your mouth watering, I’m here to tell you something less savory: only about 85% of the emails you send in your newsletter campaign actually reach the inboxes you’ve sent them to. That means that a whopping 15% of all the emails you send get flagged as spam and filed away in the dreaded “spam folder” (even when you’re not attempting to blackmail strangers in exchange for bitcoin). So how do you get past tough spam filters and land safely in the inboxes of your audience? Keep reading and we’ll tell you!

There are over 150 known reasons that emails can be flagged as spam and these are changing all the time—even words like “Dear” can trigger spam filters. Beyond your choice of words, there are lots of small inclusions that will result in your emails being flagged as spam. Whether it’s sending emails too frequently (or too infrequently), designing emails that aren’t mobile responsive, or emails with too many images—ever-changing spam laws can feel impossible to keep up with.

So, what can you do? The first thing you might want to consider is email authentication. Authentication basically tells your Internet Service Provider (ISP) that emails are coming from your brand. If you’re interested, SPF & DKIM are the Gold Standard for email authentication; if you’re lucky enough to have a subscriber list that’s over 50,000 you’ll want to authenticate with DMARC. But make no mistake: authentication is only the bare minimum needed to make sure your emails are not marked as spam.

Once your email is authenticated, you’ll want to constantly work to improve your reputation data. Reputation data lies at the micro-level of each subscriber and is based on your relationship with that subscriber. Depending on both the actions of the email recipient and your actions as a sender, your reputation data will either build in a positive or negative direction. The following scenarios outline how particular actions relate to your reputation data:

Very Positive Signal

Positive Signal

Negative Signal
  • The recipient responds to your email.
  • The recipient moves your email to a designated folder.
  • The recipient opens your emails consistently.
  • The recipient clicks around your emails.
  • The recipient forwards your email to someone else.
  • The recipient deletes your email without opening it.
  • The recipient marks your email as spam without opening it.

If you notice engagement drop, or that a lot of your subscribers aren’t opening your emails, you could develop a poor sender reputation which could start to trigger spam filters. A “re-engagement campaign” is an effective way to prevent this from happening. “Re-engagement” essentially entails sending an email that asks the inactive people on your list if they’re still interested in your content.  It can look something like this one we designed for a client:

Recipients that don’t respond to the email are removed from your list. Cleaning your list will momentarily decrease your number of subscribers, but your reputation data is likely to improve. When it comes to sending emails and measuring engagement, remember this: quality emails sent to a slightly smaller but more interested audience will garner more impressive results than frequent emails sent to a disengaged list.

The last thing you can do to decrease the chance of inadvertently designing spammy emails is to consider user experience. Design your emails with the knowledge that engaging subject lines, readable layouts (design mobile first), personalized emails, and organic email lists (avoid buying lists) will improve your access to inboxes as much as authentication will.

As spam filters become further refined we’ll all have to worry about having our emails misdirected away from inboxes less and less, but for now, we’re lucky enough to have these solutions!

Was this article helpful? Let us know what you think by emailing us at info@sga-inc.net.

What’s Your Watershed Moment?

Posted on by SGA SGA

 

As SGA’s first and longest-standing clients, the Los Angeles Stormwater Program (LASW) has accomplished a lot in terms of educating the LA city residents about stormwater pollution prevention. Most recently, SGA helped LASW create a series of whiteboard videos to help residents discover their watershed moment.

The series features six videos, the majority of them being 30 seconds or shorter. These bite-sized animated shorts each had a singular focus to ensure that the messages were clear, educational, and impactful. One explains what watersheds are and the importance of protecting them, while the others each discuss one of the top five pollutants (as identified by the California Coastal Commission): dog waste, used oil, over-watering, pesticides, and litter. Each video is about a person who didn’t understand how their behavior affected the environment and then learning about a simple change that could make a big impact. The medium of whiteboard animation was chosen because of its slow reveal. The viewer incrementally sees the design elements build upon one another until the final “big picture” is revealed. This method allows viewers to learn at the same pace that the videos teach while watching the story develop.

Once the videos were created and published to the LASW YouTube page, the next step was getting it in front of the community. SGA launched a promotional Google Ads campaign which lasted six weeks, achieving 10.8K views for all six videos at a minimal cost of only 4-5 cents per view. This strategic campaign allowed us to exceed the initial goal of 1,000 views per video by understanding the target audience for each video, the time of day that audience would be most effectively reached, and the proper ad format that would be most engaging.

Not only do these videos continue to educate LA residents, they are also being used as a training aide at the LA Stormwater Program call center, which handles pollution prevention-related calls from residents. Check out the videos below and discover your watershed moment!

5 Effective Persuasion Techniques

Posted on by SGA SGA

In a world of logic, persuasion would be a lost art. To state your case, you’d simply make an argument grounded in facts, trends, and case studies, and voilà, people would do the right thing. Litterbugs would learn that 80% of the trash floating around in our oceans starts on land, and—just like that—they’d never toss another gum wrapper on the sidewalk.
In reality, however, getting people to actually change their attitude and/or behavior requires finesse. The ultimate goal of every public outreach campaign is behavior change. By using the Community-based Social Marketing methodology at SGA, we’ve become pretty savvy on the best ways to get people to act differently.  Whether you’re trying to save the planet, convince your boss to kick in for a raise, or persuade your sister to watch your dogs for the weekend, these four techniques will help you get results.

Remember the rule of three.  People can hold a limited amount of information in our short term memory. Three bits of data is about the max, before we start getting fuzzy. What’s more, when we have to choose between too many options, we tend to get frustrated and back off from making a decision at all. Stick to threes. When crafting an argument or a message, give three reasons. When asking someone to make a decision, give only three options.

Establish a common ground. Science has shown we relate more strongly to people like us. This includes personal characteristics like gender, race, age and values, as well as seemingly random similarities. One study found that people were more likely to complete a survey when asked by someone with a similar name (e.g., Cindy Johnson and Cynthia Johanson) than a completely different one.

Say it simply. There are two key parts to this one. First, when you want something, just ask. We tend to think persuasion means trickery (it doesn’t) and that makes us weave an elaborate narrative instead of just coming out with it. And second, say it using straightforward, commonly used language. There’s no need to dust off the SAT vocabulary list to prove you’re deserving or intelligent or committed. Complicated language is more likely to confuse (and annoy) whoever you’re trying to convince.

Monkey see, monkey do. People tend to follow others (bandwagon effect) more when they don’t have sufficient information to make a decision on their own. Telling or showing your audience other people who are engaging in a similar behavior may make the difference. This could be done by spotlighting community champions in the area or getting a list of testimonials or endorsements for your cause.

Take the glass half full approach. Working on environmental issues means we come across a lot of heartbreaking data. From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the alarming rate of coral reef extinction worldwide, we’re up to our ears in the dark side of the story. But when we’re trying to change behavior in lasting ways, we stay positive. People want to feel good about the decisions they make. Focus on how their small action makes a huge difference or how this one change benefits them and aligns with their personal goals and criteria.

San Bernadino County Wins Outstanding Stormwater Project

Posted on by SGA SGA

SGA is immensely proud to have worked on the re-branding components for the San Bernadino County, “Where Water Meets Community” outreach campaign. Identified by the California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA) as an outstanding stormwater program, the campaign consisted of a complete brand overhaul to help engage and educate the community in stormwater pollution prevention.

A SUCCESSFUL REBRAND BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO OLD PROGRAMS.

SGA was brought in by San Bernadino County (SBC) to help rebrand their long-running stormwater program because it had reached a “plateau of involvement.” The existing programs were very good, but they lacked a unifying message and strong motivators for citizens to get involved. After all, communities change, and so does the messaging that will successfully work to mobilize them. SGA partnered with SBC to find messaging that would resonate with their communities—without having to reinvent the wheel. Giving credit where credit is due, the public education materials SGA came across were stellar. What changed was the way this information was communicated to the public. The new branding was community-centered and fun—developed to tap into the pride that residents’ already had for their communities. After much deliberation, the rebrand was launched under the unifying brand: “Where Water Meets Community.”

HOW WAS SUCCESS MEASURED?
With data, of course! The new campaign increased stormwater pollution prevention awareness which saw significant increases in public engagement. From pre-to-post rebranding, Facebook followers increased by 143%!

Average website visitors increased by 49%, the average page views went up by 41%, and the e-newsletter subscribers saw a total gain of 46%.

The rebranding efforts for the program showed a rise throughout the household hazardous waste and pet waste outreach programs. Fecal contamination in local streams from improper disposal of dog waste is one of the most widely spread sources of bacteria pollution in the County. After the rebranding and reformulating the messaging to revolve around protecting the community and keeping the County clean and beautiful, the distribution of dog canisters increased 373%.

The biggest measurement of successful for SGA—our client’s happiness!

WHAT DID THE REBRAND LOOK LIKE?
Upon finalizing the details of the new brand with the client, SGA went to work developing a massive multi-media campaign guided by this new unifying messaging and modern design. This campaign included an overhaul of County’s website, a pointed social media campaign, and brand new HHW and pet waste outreach campaign materials. See a few before and after examples here.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS WIN?
While rebranding is not a new concept for commercial entities, it is something that can prove challenging for public agencies. Branding, in the first place, is hard enough. It takes a lot of time, energy, and resources. So—why lay it all by the wayside and start anew? Simply put—because rebranding enables an organization to make itself relevant and get noticed. While rebranding isn’t easy, if its done thoughtfully and correctly, the benefits will certainly outweigh the cost.

Tips & Tricks to Launching a Successful Email Marketing Campaign

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Lasting relationships. Trust. Loyalty.
These are all elements that a successful email marketing campaign can help you build with your audience. Whether you realize it or not, email marketing is still one of the most used and effective marketing tactics out there according to Smart Insights, a learning platform for digital marketing. Its effectiveness is tied to the fact that it’s an immediate mode of communication, cost-effective and as wide-reaching or targeted as you need it to be.
Who wouldn’t be interested in utilizing such an approach?

If you’re just beginning your email marketing journey or have years of experience under your belt, everyone can do with a few reminders for best practices to implement in their campaign. As trends fluctuate, ideas fall out of style and new concepts replace old, the dos and don’ts of the business change as well. That’s why SGA is here to provide you with our (current) top 7 tips for a successful email marketing campaign.

1. Subject Line
What’s the first thing you notice when you receive an email? The subject line, of course! It can either be the reason your email is read or ignored. That is why it’s crucial to think about your subject line and how it relates to your readers. Is it catchy? Is it short and to the point? Is it easy to understand or does it captivate the audience in a way that makes someone want to learn more? Getting a subscriber to open your email is the first barrier you must overcome to have a successful marketing campaign. Consider A/B testing different subject lines to see which resonates better with your audience. A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a way of working out which of two campaign options is the most effective in terms of encouraging opens or clicks.

In an A/B test you set up two variations of the one campaign and send them to a small percentage of your total recipients. Half of the test group is sent Version A, while the other half gets Version B. The result, measured by the most opens or clicks, determines the winning version. This is then sent to the remaining subscribers. This is a quick and easy way of ensuring your subject line is a winner.

2. Design
If you don’t take your email design seriously, then neither will your subscribers. This may be obvious, but always double-triple-quadruple check for spelling and formatting mistakes. Break up paragraphs and use bullet points/numbering so your reader’s eyes don’t tire. Use legible and larger fonts (14-16pt). Less obvious tips? Images are a great addition to emails to add visual stimulation, but be careful to not go overboard. When using images, use them sparingly and thoughtfully and remember to include descriptive alt tags for email subscribers that disable images in their email browser. Keep your email width to about 600px to make sure it’s seen in its entirety, no matter the device it’s being read on. And while links inside the body of the email to more information are great, avoid including attachments. This will flag spam warnings which increase the likelihood of your email never being seen at all.
The most important point to remember? Your email design should reflect your brand. Consistency with style, color palette, and overall design should follow your brand standard to make sure readers instantly recognize your email before reading any of the content.

3. Personalize
Subscribers don’t want to know (or have to think about the fact) that they are being marketed to. Make your emails as personal as you can to ensure this. Try to understand your subscribers and who they are. Make your emails about them. This could mean addressing the subscriber by name in your email or personalizing the content to their specific interest or location. You want them to feel like you care (and you should care!). The email should be the start of a conversation with your subscribers that potentially leads into a long-lasting relationship. And NEVER send emails from a “no-reply” email address, this sends the exact opposite message.

4. Timing
You don’t want to bombard your subscribers with emails, but you don’t want them to think you’ve forgotten them either! You may want to start with only 1 or 2 emails a month. Keep your email timing as consistent as possible. You will also want to consider the day and time you send out your emails. While studies vary significantly when it comes to the best time to send an email, the tried-and-true strategy is to send out email blasts in the middle of the week and in the middle of the day. Generally, somewhere between 1pm – 3pm is what works best for email marketing (although some also suggest mornings between 9am-11am).

5. Mobile-Friendly
Our lives have become mobile-friendly, so your email marketing campaign should too! With over 55% of people checking their email on their smartphone or tablet devices, your templates need to be mobile-friendly. Buttons should be easy to click on a mobile device, emails should be short enough that subscribers don’t have to scroll for long, and links should easily transition to a mobile-friendly landing page.

6. Call To Action
A call to action (CTA) is an easy way for you to encourage your subscribers to delve further into your brand. It’s how you can get them to interact with your content. It tells them where to look and what to do next and sometimes that’s all anyone really needs. Make sure your call to action is clear and concise and make sure that it is a relatively simple and actionable ask. You don’t want to ask for too much up front, as that can scare subscribers away. Below are examples of some creative and interesting CTAs.
Examples:

  • See What’s Next
  • Join Millions of Others
  • Reserve Your Spot
  • Learn More
  • Don’t Miss Out, We’re Just a Phone Call Away
  • Give Us A Try
  • Talk To Us

7. GDPR Compliant
As a relatively new policy, it is important to make sure that you are aware of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and comply as needed. GDPR took effect in Spring 2018 and means that subscribers will have to explicitly opt-in to receive your emails and explicitly consent to having their personal information made available to you. Although this law is only specifically for European Union (EU) citizens at the moment, we believe being in compliance with this new regulation is incredibly important regardless of location. Not to mention, even if you are not an international organization, there is still a chance that you will have an EU subscriber on your list and you will be held liable. So, for your own safety and to respect your subscribers, we encourage you to take this last tip as seriously as the rest!
As you can see, there are many, many different aspects to an effective email marketing campaign and strategy. These useful suggestions should get you well on your way to a successful campaign. SGA Marketing creates, manages, and executes various email campaigns for our clients. We utilize these tips and more to ensure our messages are getting through to the right audience. As things change with time (and technology), we also make sure to stay up-to-date with trending best practices. If you need help crafting the perfect message and creating a strategic email campaign, or simply have questions regarding the content you’ve read here, please contact us today.

7 Green Holiday Tips for Your Business

Posted on by SGA SGA

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” -Rumi

People may mistakenly believe that they have to make grand, life-altering changes to make a difference. This can lead to frustration and disappointment. SGA believes that true change begins with a series of small steps — little things you do everyday can make an impact. Small steps turn into daily occurrences and daily occurrences turns to change.  This concept can also be applied to businesses. That’s why this holiday season, we are sharing 7 small steps you can take to help your business become a little greener.  Start implementing these changes now to lay the foundation for a greener tomorrow.

  • Donate to your favorite environmental organization this holiday season. Choose a non-profit that is local to your community to make the most impact. Want to donate products to needy communities and other non-profits? Consider donating via good360.org.
    • Bonus: Donate in your employee’s name and bask in the feel good nature of giving.
  • Volunteer time at soup kitchen or shelter. Need more inspiration? If you’re in the Los Angeles area, there’s an annual Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count that will be held in January. SGA staff will be grouping together to make sure everyone counts regardless of where they live. Get a group of your coworkers and go together!
  • Donate leftover holiday party food. If food is being served in abundance, refresh trays rather than putting all of it out at once to prevent spoilage. Any food that has not been put out at the end of the party can be donated to a local shelter or food pantry. Not only will this reduce waste, but this will enhance the spirit of Christmas giving to those in need. Call ahead for details on what the shelter can use and how to deliver.
  • Decorate the office with natural or recycled items. It is completely possible to turn trash into treasure. It’s called upcycling. If you need any last minute gift ideas with a more personal and eco-friendly touch, this is it. Get started with a mason jar. Use it to gift baking sets, remake your desk lamp and more. Get ideas here. If you’re wrapping last-minute gifts, use recycled paper or organic material to wrap a gift instead of using a new roll of wrapping paper which can save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.
  • Don’t use disposable utensils for lunches or dinner.
    Twenty-five percent more trash is discarded from Thanksgiving to New Year’s than any other time of year. Let’s apply positive behavior change within ourselves and not add to that percentage.

    • Bonus: Before the year ends, set up a casual potluck with your coworkers and aim for a zero-waste shared meal.
  • After the season ends, recycle your Christmas tree. Yes, it’s possible to recycle your Christmas tree. Live trees are biodegradable. In the Los Angeles area, there are many locations where your tree can be turned into mulch. Find a location near you.
    • Bonus: If you don’t have a recycling program in your area, contact the National Christmas Tree Association: info@realchristmastrees.org to learn how you can begin one in your community.
  • Green employee gift ideas. Give gifts of locally produced food and products in cloth shopping bags or baskets with your company’s logo. Reusable coffee cups or travel mugs can also be purchased with company logos.

Use of Infographics in Content Marketing

Posted on by SGA SGA

Every person takes in information and learns differently. Thus, you have to have different tactics to reach everyone in your audience.

At SGA, we know that some people remember what they read rather than what they hear; others learn when they see things in writing. Then there’s the 65 percent of us who are visual learners and process information based on what they see. That’s why infographics are so popular and a great addition to your content marketing.

What are they?

Infographics make use of a mix of text and a variety of visual images in order to tell a story and convey statics and other information. Such visuals include charts, diagrams, graphic designs, maps, drawings, and colors. A good infographic is visually engaging, fits into your content marketing strategy, and supports your marketing goals. Bad infographics distract, are confusing, and muddle the message.

Using them

Always keep your target audience in mind. Infographics can be an incredibly valuable tool if used correctly, but it must be compelling and relevant to your audience. If it is not, it becomes just a novelty. Remember, if your customer is not going to care your content, it will not matter what it looks like visually.

Keep it simple. The goal of an infographic is to create quick bites of information that can be quickly digested. As well as visually appealing, it must convey accurate information. If the graphics look great, but the content is correct, this will have negative effects on your brand.

Having too much accurate information all over the design weighs heavily on the overall visual appeal. Too much text makes it just as difficult for someone to digest as a lengthy written article.

Make them shareable

Most infographics are created for online publishing: websites, blogs, social media. When you decide to incorporate infographics into your content marketing strategy, make sure they are engaging and appealing enough that consumers will want to share them. Creating evergreen infographics allows for republishing of materials.

Sign up for SGA’s newsletter to keep up with the latest in community-based social marketing and behavior change.

The 3 I’s of a Successful Facebook Page

Posted on by SGA SGA

Facebook is the platform that gives your organization a voice and an identity in a community of more than a billion active users. Whether you’re a local agency striving to make positive behavior change with residents or a for-profit marketer selling an idea, Facebook provides a concrete space to communicate with your target audience.

SGA helps a large number of local agencies operate Facebook pages and we’ve found a few key trends that have proven successful. We call them the 3-I’s:

  1. Identity. Facebook is hugely visual and this visibility enables you to transform your mission into a brand perception. SGA has successfully integrated the Facebook page of the City of Los Angeles Stormwater Program to support and promote their community events, website, and eNewsletter efforts. By forming a steady image online, your organization forms a stronger presence offline and a community around your brand.
  2. Interaction. Facebook provides an arena for your organization to be a part of a meaningful conversation in a targeted way. You can communicate your organization’s perspective and share your values on trending issues that matter most. Communication can also be narrowly targeted and tailored to provide an authentic voice for your audience.  For example, SGA’s work on the San Bernardino County Stormwater Facebook page interacted with fans at the local level and found that audiences reacted best when content was localized to their specific city or community.
  3. Insight. Facebook is a multi-tool that enhances communication by giving you insight into your fans and their interests. Facebook makes its money by selling ads, therefore, they need to empower the ad buyer. That means giving you data on your target audience. An effectively built Facebook campaign will incorporate data that is every bit as analytical as a countywide survey but at virtually no cost. Every Facebook post becomes a survey question with real-time analysis that can inform the next campaign. Using Facebook Insights gives you an opportunity to further enhance your reach and cultivate a loyal fan base.

The ultimate goal of any strong Facebook profile is to form a tangible identity which your audience can resonate with, interact with, and, ultimately, support. Facebook is not just another tactic in your arsenal. Rather, Facebook provides a platform where you can brand yourself and your vision as an organization to a diverse target audience at a low cost and an abundance of data.