The Power of Anticipation

Who doesn’t love the suspense of waiting for something great to happen? Anticipation is exhilarating, mysterious, and generates curiosity. As a child, the excitement of a weekend, summer vacation, or upcoming birthday always flooded my mind with the possibilities of fun.

When used correctly, building anticipation is an effective marketing strategy. Creating a buzz about a new business or a new product is half the battle. A company starts up, launches their product, and it seems to show up overnight.

Wait, what just happened? Without an appropriate build-up, businesses and products lack their full potential. If the target market has never heard of the brand, they won’t know what to do once the company is open for business.

Social media is great tool to build the tribe of future customers. Here are some ways to build anticipation:

Get personal – evoke an emotional response that they can’t forget

Tease by revealing a tiny bit at a time – Give them just enough to wonder

Be consistent – by strictly adhering to your brand, your businesses will gain credibility before it is even fully public

With a strong build up, brands can have a base of loyal followers before they launch a new product, open a new location, or begin serving customers.

#hashtag #facebook

Facebook Hashtags

So, you might have noticed that the hashtag has finally made it’s way to facebook. Previously used mostly on instagram and twitter, hashtags allow you to make your posts part of a larger topic or discussion.

Using these are simple and can be very effective for personal and/or business use. To use, simply start with the # (pound) symbol, followed by a word or phrase with no punctuation or spaces. They are free and increase your visibility on search engines and across multiple social media sites.

Facebook’s hashtag functionality is similar to other social media sites allowing you to: search for specific hashtags, click on hashtags that originate from other sites, create posts that include hashtags as well as adding hashtags to facebook ads you’re running.

Try creating a hashtag unique to your brand, such as #yourbusinessname or #yourtagline (best thing is, you don’t have to register it, just start typing!) Just remember some common hashtag etiquette, avoid using hashtags that are irrelevant to your post and keep it short and sweet.

If hastags aren’t working on your facebook yet, don’t worry. Facebook indicates it is still in the process of rolling them out and will take a few weeks to complete. 

Instagram for Business

Instagram is popular for personal use, especially among the younger generations. However, if used effectively, Instagram can be a very useful imagery tool for businesses.

Flying Pie Co., a local client, is actively using Instagram to promote their new restaurant and build anticipation.

Each post starts with a single photo, either taken straight from the Instagram app using your camera, or you can choose any photo from your gallery. When choosing your photo, consider the following aspects of every photo: angles, lighting, content, and purpose.

What angle was your photo taken at? Cropping the image out of the window gives it an intimate perspective.

R: This photo is creatively cropped to show half of the item. It’s a tangible version of the symbol in their logo made with a pizza peel and metal.

How well lit is your photo? Make sure you can identify the subject of your photo, and that it conveys the mood you are intending to convey. Does it fit your brand? If not, maybe explore using the lighting effect tool within the app. If not, try re-taking the photo so that it can help you maintain brand consistency.

L: This photo of the lighting sets a mood that is consistent with the brand. It gives a sneak peak of the atmosphere and mood that customers can expect when this restaurant opens.

What is the content of your photo? Is it relevant and relatable to your brand? Will your clients, customers, and followers appreciate the post and find it useful and/or relatable? Does it fulfill the purpose of sharing this moment? Will this make your clients, customers and followers interact with your post and/or want to come to your place of business?

R: This slice of pizza is relatable content, because it is their main product. It also serves a direct purpose, to remind people that it’s Friday and that this is a convenient, tasty choice for dinner that night.

What is that # Symbol? Once you have successfully edited your photo and are ready to post, consider using hash tags in your caption. A hash tag is the # symbol followed by a word or words, with no spaces. They are free and increase your visibility on search engines. This can be useful to help gain exposure in many categories relatable to your business and/or product. You can add multiple hash tags to increase exposure in multiple categories. Try creating a hashtag unique to your brand, such as #yourbusinessname or #yourtagline (best thing is, you don’t have to register it, just start typing!)

You can also tag other Instagram users by using the @ symbol followed by their username.The most common reason to use a tag is to reply to a comment. First, tag the user you’re replying to, then type your message. If a John_Smith says: That looks tasty!, a wise reply might be @John_Smith We’d love for you to come in and try it!

B: This photo has the hash tag for the business #flyingpieco and also has 2 other hash tags to gain more exposure through the other keywords, #pizza and #dinner. You could even elaborate more and use #cheesy or #hagerstown.

There are many ways you can use Instagram to promote your business, including: new product offerings, featuring an employee, promoting an event, or general brand awareness.

Instagram and other social media sites are a great way to extend your brand reach, connect with customers and build awareness.