FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

Social Media Publishing FAQ's     Go to Email Marketing FAQ's

I'm not familiar with social media. How does publishing posts get seen by others? 

When someone follows/likes/friends/etc you on social media, posts that are published in your account will show up when they look at their account.  Each social media platform has a different name for it. For Facebook your posts shows up in the followers news feed... in LinkedIn it is called the updated feed.  Not every post you publish will show up in your followers accounts, but some will and the more they like/comment on your posts the more often your posts will show up in their account.


What social media platforms do you work with?

We publish to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.


Our company currently does not have a social media account(s).  Can you set them up for for us? 

Yes, we are more than happy to setup up social media account(s) for you company.  Just let us know what platforms you want to publish to and we will make it happen!


Can I sign up for the monthly subscription and then change it to the yearly subscription?

Yes, you can switch your subscription at any time. Just give us a call or email and we will make it happen.


I don't have a big social media following.  How do I build up my followers/friends/connections? 

We recommend that you send out an email blast to your client base offering a $50 discount (or free setup) on orders over $500 if they follow/friend/connect with you.  Putting a time frame around this offer is a good call to action such as “Follow us on Facebook in the month of March and we will give you a $50 discount on your next order of $500 or more placed by the end of June”.  Who does not want to save money?  Not only will you gain followers, but may also receive an order that might not otherwise come your way.

A second way to build up your social media following is to put at the bottom of your signature in emails the words or logos of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and/or Twitter.  For example, you can say “Follow us on LinkedIn”.  Have hyperlinks so when the word or logo is clicked it will open your social media account.  This makes it easy to follow/like/friend your account.

On your website have the social channels on the header or footer of each page just like the your email signature making it very easy for people to follow you.


There are a number of different social media posting services to subscribe to.  Why should I subscribe to Promo Social Post? 

The founder of Promo Social Post started as a distributor over 18 years ago just like you.  We know the promotional industry like the back of our hand which enables us to publish timely, relevant posts.  Other services know the social media business, but are not experts in our industry.  With all things being equal, would you rather go with an experienced industry veteran or an “outsider”?  

Of course all things are not equal.  We only charge $40-50/month for your initial social media account/platform and then $5-7/month for each additional social media account/platform while other services charge $100-$200/month or more.  Even though they charge significantly higher rates, most of them only post one to two times per week while we post three times per week.

Our integration with the industries most popular search engines is second to none.  Every post has "Shop At www.Your-Web-Address.com" link which opens your website to the product being advertised. Other services either open your website to your home page or a generic landing page that they made for your company which requires another click to finally get to your website.  When publishing to social media there are two goals: 1) keep your company top of mind and 2) direct people to your website showing the info about the advertised product.  

If you have made the choice to outsource your social media management, we believe the choice is an easy one to make.


I already use another service for social media posts, why would I switch? 

There are several reasons including: more frequent posts, significantly lower price point, the ability to cancel any time with 15 days written notice rather than be locked into a yearly plan (applies only to monthly subscriptions) and our founder starting off in the promo industry as a distributor over 18 years ago (not a random marketing agency that decided to focus on the promo business).


Will my followers be able to click a link to go to my website so they can see the item advertised or browse other items? 

Unless you request otherwise, every post will have your company's web address in the text of the post.  All social media platforms except Instagram allows you to click on the link to open your website.  Instagram does not enable this feature no matter who publishes the post, but you can copy/paste the web address.

The link will either take you to the advertised item in the post or your website home page.  Most distributors use a third party product to run their search engine.  We currently are able to integrate with the following search engines: Distributor Central, ESP/LogoMall & Promo Place/Sage.  If you use one of these search engines then 95%-99% of the time the link will open up directly to the advertised product, otherwise it will open your home page.


I am part of a buying group.  Will the items published be from a supplier I receive better pricing from? 

We realize that there are many buying groups out there like AIM, iPromoteU, PromoEQP, Universal Unilink, etc.  You will receive EQP pricing from all of the suppliers participating in our program. There is a good chance the suppliers participating in our program are in your buying group already, but some may not be in your group.  Feel free to continue getting your preferred pricing through your buying group or you may get it through our program using code “PSPEQP” on your PO's.


How do payments work?

When you sign up for the annual plan you will be billed upfront for the full year and your subscription will be automatically renewed on the annual anniversary date unless you cancel it.  For the monthly subscription, your subscription will automatically be renewed on the monthly anniversary date unless you cancel it.


How do I cancel the service? 

We hate to see you go, but of course you can cancel your service with 15 days written notice.  Simply send an email to cancel@promosocialpost.com with “Cancel my subscription” in the subject line.  If your cancellation email is sent less than 15 days before your next payment, that payment will be processed.  All payments scheduled after 15 days from the date of the email will be canceled.  Posts will continue to be published to your account(s) for the duration that you have paid for and then stop.


Can I cancel the yearly subscription before the year is up and receive a pro-rated refund?

As previously mentioned, you can cancel your subscription at any time with 15 days written notice.  The next scheduled payment outside of the 15 day period will be canceled, but you will not receive a pro-rated refund.  You received a discount for the yearly service because you committed to the service for a full year.  If you are not confident that you want the service for an entire year we recommend you to sign up for the monthly plan.  You can always change to the yearly plan down the road once your are satisfied with our service.

 

Email Marketing FAQ's     Go to Social Media Publishing FAQ's

Will the email be sent from a Promo Social Post email account or mine?

Although the email will come from our system, the emails will have your name and email address in the "From" field at the top.  For example, it will come from "Mary Jones <m.jones@abcpromos.com>".  The liklihood of email being read by recipients increases greatly when they are coming from a person/company that they know.


When are the email campaigns sent?

The newsletter will be sent the first Tuesday of every month and the Product Blast is sent the third Tuesday of every month.  If the scheduled date of the campaign lands on a holiday, then it will be sent the next business day.


Why are the "Did you Know?" and "Case Study" sections not long reads?

Most clients want the ability to quickly scan an email and decide if it is something they want to read.  If an a email looks long they will likely skip it unless they are highly interested.  By having the email in an executive summary format, it provides your clients all of the relevant facts to educate them quickly.


Is the entire video file attached to the email or is it a link?

Videos are large files that cannot be sent by email.  When the user clicks on the play button they will be redirected to the video on Promo Social Post's YouTube channel.  If a client decides to explore the channel further they will only see more educational videos.  There are no links or references to suppliers.


Can I see how successful an email newsletter campaign is?

We integrate with your MailChimp account to send out the email campaigns.  Within MailChimp you can view the statistics for the campaign such as number of opens and clicks broken down by recipient email address.  Opens means the recipient opened the email to look at it while clicks mean they clicked on one of the links within the email.  If a particular recipient has opened or clicked on the email many times it is an indicator that there is something within it that they are interested in.  At this point it is recommended to contact them directly.  It is now a warm lead!


What if I don't have a MailChimp account?

If you do not alreay have a MailChimp account we have a step by step document that walks you through the process of setting up the account in less than 30 minutes.  If you run into problems or not comfortable setting it up on your own, just call us and we will help you get it done in even less time!


What if I don't know how to use MailChimp?

Again, we have a document that walks you through the process on how to do the basics within MailChimp such as importing contacts and reviewing the statistics on a campaigns success.


Should I add all email addresses I have to my contact list?

It is important to only add current customers or prospects who have signed up for your email list.  What is defined as a current customer is a little bit vague.  Everyone agrees it is a customer who has placed an order within the past year, while some feel this is extended to two years.  Having a "clean" contact list is very important.


Will Promo Social Post have access to my confidential contact list?

In the promotional business, a distributors contacts are highly sensitive information.  Most distributors a very careful about keeping this information confidential.  Since your contacts are in your own MailChimp account, Promo Social Post will never have access to that list.  We will know how many contacts you have, but not the details such as names and email addresses.  This is a major differentiator our service offers versus other services which require you to send them your contact list.


How do new contacts join/unsubscribe from the email list on an ongoing basis?

We have a guide that walks you through the process of creating a sign up form.  It only takes 5 minutes to setup.  The form simply asks them for their first name, last name, email address, company name and phone number (only the email address is required).  Once you have this form, you should copy the link to it and use the link in your website and your email signature.  If you have any questions/issues on creating the form, just give us a call!

To unsubscribe from the email list there is an unsubscribe link at the bottom that they can click.


Can you click on a featured product at the bottom of the newsletter and go to my website with the product details displayed?

Every distributor uses a different service to run their online products database such as ESP/Logomall, Distributor Central, Promo Place/Sage, etc.  As long as you use one of these search engines on your website when the product is clicked it will open your website to that product.  Otherwise your home page will open.


Can I use your service to send out custom email campaigns to my clients periodically?

Right now we do not offer the service of sending out custom email campaigns, but remember that we leverage your MailChimp account.  You are always welcome to send out campaigns on your own as well.  If you are not familiar on how to create templates and send email campaigns, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blj_HZVCyX0 .


Can I sign up for the monthly subscription and then change it to the yearly subscription?

Yes, you can switch your subscription at any time. Just give us a call or email and we will make it happen.


There are a number of different email services to subscribe to.  Why should I subscribe to Promo Social Post? 

The founder of Promo Social Post started as a distributor over 18 years ago just like you.  We know the promotional industry like the back of our hand which enables us to publish relevant emails.  Other services know the email business, but are not experts in our industry.  With all things being equal, would you rather go with an experienced industry veteran or an “outsider”?  

With our service you may choose to sign up on a monthly or yearly subscription.  If you are not sure you want to commit to a full year then we recommend signing up for the monthly plan... you can always switch to the yearly plan at any time for the extra cost savings.  Most other services force you to sign up for a year and you are stuck with it even if for some reason you decide you want to stop. 

Of course all things are not equal.  Our prices start at $50/month for 500 contacts and allows you to increase in increments of 500 contacts starting at $12/month.  Other services charge well over $100/month for 500 contacts and hit as high as $300/month for 2,000 contacts.  When comparing a larger contact list of 2,000, our price starts at $86/month. If you have made the choice to outsource your email newsletter, we believe the choice is an easy one to make.


I already use another service for email campaigns, why would I switch? 

There are several reasons including: significantly lower price point, the ability to cancel any time with 15 days written notice rather than be locked into a yearly plan (applies only to monthly subscriptions) and our founder starting off in the promo industry as a distributor over 18 years ago (not a random marketing agency that decided to focus on the promo business).


I am part of a buying group.  Will the items published be from a supplier I receive better pricing from? 

We realize that there are many buying groups out there like AIM, HALO, iPromoteU, PromoEQP, Universal Unilink, etc.  You will receive EQP pricing from all of the suppliers participating in our program. Most likely the suppliers participating in our program are in your buying group already, but perhaps a few may not.  Feel free to continue getting your preferred pricing through your buying group or you may get it through our program using code “PSPEQP” on your PO's.


How do payments work?

When you sign up for the annual plan you will be billed upfront for the full year and your subscription will be automatically renewed on the annual anniversary date unless you cancel it.  For the monthly subscription, your subscription will automatically be renewed on the monthly anniversary date unless you cancel it.


How do I cancel the service? 

We hate to see you go, but of course you can cancel your service with 15 days written notice.  Simply send an email to cancel@promosocialpost.com with “Cancel my subscription” in the subject line.  If your cancellation email is sent less than 15 days before your next payment, that payment will be processed.  All payments scheduled after 15 days from the date of the email will be canceled.  The email campaigns will continue to sent for the duration that you have paid for and then stop.


Can I cancel the yearly subscription before the year is up and receive a pro-rated refund?

As previously mentioned, you can cancel your subscription at any time with 15 days written notice.  The next scheduled payment outside of the 15 day period will be canceled, but you will not receive a pro-rated refund.  You received a discount for the yearly service because you committed to the service for a full year.  If you are not confident that you want the service for an entire year we recommend you to sign up for the monthly plan.  You can always change to the yearly plan down the road once your are satisfied with our service.


(650) 966-7810 | info@PromoSocialPost.com