You have all heard of Hashtags-but how do you use them?

Hashtags (#) are aggregators and allow your posts to be routed to pages where others can find you. There are 3 types of hashtags we recommend you use on every post on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn (hashtags are not currently effective or used on Facebook).

Hashtags are crucial to your growth as they will allow your posts to be found by people outside of your current audience. On Instagram, accounts can follow hashtags that interest them and your posts may show up in their feed whether they are following your account or not if they are following that specific hashtag.

-Branded hashtags are created by you for your brand and can be your business's name and tagline. For example, we use our company name and tagline: #redrootmarketing #growwithredroot.
-Community/Industry hashtags are what others in your industry are using. For example, we use our main service as a hashtag: #socialmediamarketing.
-Geographic hashtags are used when you want to localize your business. For example, our headquarters are based in Verona, New Jersey and are next door to the vibrant town of Montclair, so we use #veronanj #montclairnj. You can also use your region or state to localize your business.

INSIDER TIP: We like to create our own list of hashtags through research on Instagram but you can also use an app like HashTagged. Once we have our list, we save it to the notes app on our phone. Then we can simply copy and paste it into the first comment once our post goes up. Posting in the first comment kick starts the algorithm and may lead to better engagement on that post!

Happy New Year to You!

We celebrated our 2 year anniversary of occupying our office in Verona, New Jersey and in February, 2020 we will celebrate 7 years of incorporating Red Root Marketing, LLC!

Our team's many years of combined expertise working with local businesses and nonprofits' digital marketing has made us nimble, responsive, creative and adaptable, and our experience and high touch approach has let us keep our finger on the pulse of all that is happening in the online social media marketing world!

Year to date, we have increased our nonprofit roster of clients by 50% and we are extremely grateful for this as we look to our clients, friends and communities for inspiration and meaning. We thrive because you are passionate about what you do and we are happy to be right be your side, cheering you on and supporting you every step of the way!

Drop us a line if you have any questions about how you plan to market your company or nonprofit in teh new year. Hats off to you! 🥂🥂🥂

We are rooting for you!

-Lynne and Jessica

Why Community-Driven Social Media Marketing is Crucial for Your Small Business or Nonprofit

If you understand the importance of a healthy, vibrant community, then you’ll have the mindset to harness the power of social media marketing. Social media marketing is not only about getting your content online in a branded and consistent manner, it is also about connecting your messaging with the potential partners and affiliates around you who have their own audiences who need to know about YOU. Instead of thinking first about what content to create, we turn the paradigm on its head and think about our community, our audience and who needs to know about each post. Once we think about our audience, we develop a tagging strategy; only then do we begin to create great content.

Community is important for small business owners and nonprofits because it’s the backbone that supports us. Community helps these entities to amplify their messages. Innately, communities want their downtowns to thrive and they want the people who build businesses in these places to succeed. Being an entrepreneur or running a nonprofit can be like working in a vacuum. You wear all the hats and there’s never enough time in the day to think about your marketing and social media and get feedback and perspective on what your messaging needs to be. This is when you know it’s time to harness your community and connections and let them amplify your messaging and help you get in front of your prime audiences.

When you use social media as a vehicle to connect with other businesses, community groups and influencers, your social media marketing becomes very powerful. This is what hyperlocal really means. It means learning how to connect with people in your community, real life relationships being created and nourished and ultimately magnifying your message through reciprocal local support.