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Does your marketing plan include video? If not, you might want to make a few changes.

Here’s why:

• 96% of B2B companies are planning to use video in their marketing over the next year.
• 52% of marketing professionals say video provides their highest ROI.
• Using the word “video” in an email subject line increases your open rate by 18%.
• Featuring a video in an email increases your click through rate by 65%.

Videos are of one of my favorite marketing tools.

Not only do they encourage customer engagement, they bring people coming back for more.

Some of our customers have had great success with “How-To Commercials” and video product launches. If your customers see one video about your company, they are likely to except more. Give them what they are asking for!

Because videos are the next big thing, social media networks are putting emphasis on video, too. YouTube is bigger than ever. Facebook now allows you to upload videos directly to your profile and go “live” from their mobile app. Instagram allows 15-second clips. And Periscope is hitting the ground running. What more could a marketer ask for?

If you don’t have the resources to create videos on your own, we’re here to help! We can work with you at an industry trade show or in your corporate office.  Reach out to your integrated marketing consultant for more information.

People love to celebrate the exciting things in life. Birthdays, holidays, life-changing events, you name it and people are acknowledging it on social media.

Are you?

If not, it’s time to get your Facebook and Twitter business pages in on the fun. It’s time to #CelebrateEveryDay!

Visit www.nationaldaycaledar.com and see what I’m talking about.

We have something to celebrate (almost) every day of the year. Today, March 1, is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, tomorrow is National Old Stuff Day and March 6 is National Frozen Food Day.

I’m not suggesting that you acknowledge every day, but I am suggesting that you celebrate the days that relate to your business.

If you’re a blueberry grower, share a picture on March 10 of you baking for National Blueberry Popover Day. If you’re a potato grower, share something on March 14 for National Potato Chip Day.

Don’t be afraid to encourage your customers to share their photos, too. Commonalities can lead to committed customers.

Give it a try! Sit down with your team at the beginning of every month and put together a plan.

After you’ve selected the appropriate National Days to celebrate, start looking for products — or people — that coordinate with the event.

As always, track engagement and conversation to measure the post’s success. If your announcements get people excited about visiting your store or farm, start incorporating coupons.

Get creative, have fun and #CelebrateEveryDay on social media.

New social networks are introduced monthly, so it’s hard to tell which is going to be the most popular in 2016.

But if trends continue, Instagram is a must-have for your business.

We currently use Instagram for two of our publications (@StationeryTrend and @GiftShop_Magazine). In the past, we used the social network to post photos of the publications, share popular products seen at trade shows and give inspiration to our followers.

That won’t change in 2016, but we will be adding something new. To beef up our subscription efforts, we will now post sales and specials on Instagram.

We tried it for the first time this month and it worked!

Here’s how we did it.

Step 1: Select an eye-catching photo that accurately represents the sale or special discount you’re offering. Our designer used a bright colored background with simple, black “Subscription Special” text. It was the perfect amount of simplicity.

Step 2: Write something catchy. Instagram gives you a lot of space to say what’s on your mind, but be careful not to say too much. It’s important to get to the point and get your followers excited about what you’re selling.

Step 3: Update your Instagram bio. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, links posted on Instagram are not clickable. Instead, we finish our sale photo captions with “Link in our bio.” and direct people to the top of our page. This step seems a little out of the ordinary, but it’s common practice on Instagram.

Step 4: Monitor the post. One of the most important things to remember when working with social media is to focus on engagement. Watch your sale post for a few hours and respond to any comments or questions. People expect a reply.

New things are always a tad intimidating, but Instagram is worth a try. If it doesn’t work, reallocate your resources. Trial and error is the name of the game!

Facebook doesn’t offer very many things for free — other than creating a business page at no charge, it’s pay-to-play and the people behind Facebook are making millions.But with a little digging, I discovered a free feature that business small and large can capitalize on.All you’ll need is your email list.

Unlike most blogs in the modern world, ours does not allow photos, so bear with me as I explain how this all works.

First, delete all information from your email list except for the emails themselves. Second, save the document as a CSV. (Facebook will not accept Microsoft Excel spreadsheets unless they are saved as CSV files.)

When your email list is organized and save properly, the only thing left to do is upload.

To do that, visit your Facebook Business Page and click on the “More” tab on the bottom right of your cover photo. On some pages this tab will have no words, but three black dots. Select “Suggest Page” from the dropdown menu.

The site will prompt you to “Upload your email contacts to suggest your Page to them on Facebook.”

Click the “Upload Contacts” button that lines up with “Contact List File.” Select the CVS file from your computer and wait for it to upload.

Select all contacts to show your suggestions to. Always double-check to make sure your list uploaded correctly before pressing “Preview Suggestion.”

How cool is this? Press “Finish” and all of your email contacts that are already on Facebook will see the message in their News Feeds.

According to Facebook, “you can upload contacts up to five times for a maximum of 7,000 contacts per day per page. You can upload a maximum of 5,000 contacts at a time.”

I’ve found it’s easiest to upload list much smaller than 5,000 (around 1,500) because of upload and processing time.

Facebook does not provide analytics with this tool, but we’ve seen a bump in new “Likes” since using it.

As our family of publications continues to expand, we are boosting our Marketing Team to meet your growing needs.

Melissa Gray, group marketing director, came to us from Emerald Expositions in December of last year with 15 years of marketing experience.

Melissa is responsible for conceptualizing and implementing marketing strategies across all titles and organizing our first major trade show ­– Team Sports Conference & Expo, scheduled for June 2016. If you have questions about our offerings, events or marketing materials, call Melissa at 616-520-2153 or email her at mgray@greatamericanpublish.com.

Stephanie Leon-Santiago, marketing and events manager, joined the Great American Media Services team in September. She has more than 10 years of experience in marketing, audience development and publishing.

Stephanie will organize and execute events across all GAMS publications, as well as assist with marketing efforts. Following her first order of business – finalizing the December Great Lakes EXPO Farm Market Bus Tour – she will play a large role in our first trade show launch. Stephanie can be reached at 616-520-2166 or ssantiago@greatamericanpublish.com.

Courtney Culey, custom media and content manager, has been with Great American Media Services since May of 2013, but is a new member of the marketing team. She held previous titles of Digital Engagement Editor and Digital Content Editor.

Courtney is responsible for growing the custom media branch of the business. She will work with advertising clients to create and implement unique media packages customized to their needs and targeting their ideal audience. Courtney can be reached at 616-520-2141 or cculey@greatamericanpublish.com.

If you have marketing questions, don’t hesitate to contact the team. We are here to help!

Business-to-business publisher and event management company Great American Media Services has announced its acquisition of Scranton Gillette Communications’ Horticulture Group, including two magazines, Web properties and two events for the garden retail and greenhouse production industries. Greenhouse Product News, Lawn & Garden Retailer, Big Grower Executive Summit and the Plant Health Management Conference will join Great American Media Services’ portfolio of publications, Web properties and events effectively immediately.

“We’re very excited to introduce these industry-leading publications, events and top-notch team to our growing business,” said Matt McCallum, CEO of Great American Media Services. “With a strong foundation already established in both the retail and agriculture industries, these new assets are the ideal complement to our existing publications and services. We look forward to creating exciting new opportunities among them for the benefit of the customers and the industries they serve.”

The existing leadership, sales and editorial staff for both publications will continue in their roles and work closely with the management, circulation, design, marketing, events and support staff of Great American Media Services to ensure a seamless transition and uninterrupted customer service to advertisers, readers and event attendees.

“Serving the horticulture industry has been an extremely rewarding experience for our team of dedicated professionals,” said Ed Gillette, president and CEO of Scranton Gillette Communications. “While we shift our focus to continued growth and the various other industries we serve, we’re pleased to transition this business to a company we’re confident will uphold the high-quality editorial standards and excellent customer service that our readers and advertisers have come to rely on.”

Greenhouse Product News reaches more than 19,000 floriculture professionals, providing extensive coverage of new plant varieties and offering greenhouse growers technical and practical information essential for successful plant growth and business profitability. Its award-winning editorial has led to eight Tabbie Awards and made it the widest read magazine in the floriculture industry.

Consistently ranked as the most-preferred publication in the industry, Lawn & Garden Retailer serves more than 19,000 single and multistore independent garden centers throughout the United States. Each issue aims to inspire, inform and spotlight innovative products in an effort to help garden center owners and operators run their businesses efficiently and creatively.

Aligned with Greenhouse Product News, the twice-annual Plant Health Management Conference educates growers and greenhouse personnel about the latest disease identification, integrated pest management and plant growth strategies for growing healthier, more profitable plants. In addition, the annual Big Grower Executive Summit offers exclusive insight into the changing dynamics facing North America’s leading greenhouse production facilities and provides owners and others on a decision-making level with a roadmap for future growth.