Is There A Place For GIFs In The World Of Social Media Marketing?

Of late, the main GIF-related debate has been hard ‘G’ or soft ‘G’? Yesterday, however, an announcement raised a new question, a question that has been raised before: is there a place for GIFs in the world of social media marketing?
Facebook have strongly denied rumours of a partnership with GIF site, giphy’s blog. The rumours have been sparked since Facebook has allowed users to embed the GIF files into their posts. A representative of Facebook has been talking about this; and says Facebook does not support animated GIFs (via BetaBeat). However experts still believe that a partnership will happen in the next year or so even with Facebook's current denial.

The last social media site to feature GIFs in such a prominent place was Twitter. Right up until September last year, the micro-blogging site supported profile GIFs (instead of static pictures), but then the network altered its rule book so that GIFs couldn’t be uploaded. According to Twitter, the decision was made because people were uploading GIFs with file sizes exceeding the platform’s capabilities. In reality, though, it was probably because they were extremely annoying.

That fact, for one thing, hasn’t changed: GIFs are still extremely annoying. Unless you go looking for GIFs, on popular content curation sites like reddit and BuzzFeed, you don’t want them flickering on your page.




The Miley Cyrus Twerk GIF has gone Viral


True, they’re great at attracting attention. If you want to draw your Facebook fans’ eyes to something interesting and important on your page, then a GIF is the way to go. Of course, that’s only as long as your comfortable with the amount of fans you’ll inevitably alienate, losing loads of likes in the process.

Thankfully, unlike on most sites, GIFs won’t autoplay on Facebook: they’ll just appear as a video would, with a play symbol overlaid across a screen grab. Have a look at giphy’s Facebook page for an example.

So, if GIFs don’t autoplay they won’t annoy, but they won’t attract attention either. You may as well post videos instead. Or, if you really want to create and post a short, repetitive animation onto your Facebook page, use Instagram or Vine.

GIF aficionados will argue that the existence of Instagram and Vine is evidence of the GIF formats continued popularity. Wrong, get with the times people, Vines and Instagram videos are the future of GIFs. GIF’s aren’t quite obsolete, but they’re getting there.

If you’re running a business page on Facebook, you don’t need to post GIFs. There are, however, a few circumstances where GIFs might be a viable choice. None of them are on social media. You can’t post Vines and Instagram vids everywhere. You can’t, for instance put a microvid on your website to advertise and link to a product or deal. If you want to draw attention to a promotion, you could embed an animated GIF on your website, link it to the promotion page, and wait for visitors to be drawn like a moth to flame.

Is there a place for GIFs in the world of social media marketing, though? Heck no!

Do you think there is a place for GIFs on social media?

Should Your Business Have A Google Plus Page?

The simple answer to this question is yes. You might as well set one up now because, if you don’t, every time you log onto your YouTube channel or your Gmail account Google is going to pester you to set one up anyway. Of course, you might not have a Gmail account or a YouTube channel. If that’s the case, and you never intend on getting them then, well, you should probably still set up a Google Plus Page for your company.

As I mentioned previously, Google is trying to get all its users, no matter what part of Google they are using, to sign up for every Google service imaginable. To be honest, though, signing up for every Google service imaginable isn’t too bad an idea. Gmail is a popular and respected email service. YouTube is the biggest video sharing site out there. Drive is great for sharing files. Calendar is perfect for companies that need to share work schedules. Blogger is a very good blog site. Search is… Well, it’s the original Google, the most successful internet site of all time.

So, all of Google’s services are useful, even the ones I didn’t mention above, but why do you need a Google Plus Page? All you need to sign up to any Google service, after all, is a Gmail account. Well, it turns out that Google are so proud of their social network they want everyone to start using it, despite its lack of popularity when compared to the likes of Facebook.


To persuade people to use Google Plus, the search giant released a special dashboard a couple of months ago. From this Google Plus dashboard, users can organise their business’ profile and settings on many Google services: they can change their company address on Google Maps, they can manage their YouTube channel and they can change their company’s search results on Google Search.

Search is how Google made its name. It’s the most popular search engine online and it makes the most money of all the free-to-use websites. Maintaining an active presence on Google Plus, by setting up and managing a Page for your business, helps your company rank in Google Search – not just your Google Plus page, your website as well if you link the two together.

Don’t get me wrong, Google Plus has a number of great features as well as the dashboard. On the service, you can post diverse content with interesting hashtags to drive conversation. You can follow, comment, +1 and interact, potentially gaining your company new clients and customers. You can find communities that are relevant to your business and connect with likeminded people. Best of all, you can use Hangouts to run video conferences.

When Google last updated Plus, adding hashtags and changing the stream, I noted that, although the features improved the social network, people still wouldn’t flock to it. Google announced, last year, that400 million people were on Google Plus. In may this year, that figure went up to 500 million. At the time this seemed like a stretch. The reality was that 500 million people were signed into a Google service, be it Gmail, YouTube or docs, but they were not necessarily maintaining an active Google Plus account.

For the reasons I have mentioned above, though, its still worth setting up a Google Plus business page. Don’t put as much effort into it as you would your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, but make sure it’s there so that when you need it (and, considering Google’s domination, you soon might) you can access it in a moment.

How Important Are Facebook Likes To Your Business?

When Facebook first began opening its doors to businesses, creating features like Pages so that businesses could engage with users online, gaining Likes was one of the main goals. Now, however, as Facebook improves its advertising features, with the focus being on gaining engagement and reach rather than watching the little meter gradually tick over in an iframe at the top of a company’s Page, how important have likes become, or how unimportant?

From the very start, Facebook engagement has been centred around the Like button. The Facebook Like button is the easiest and quickest way someone can show appreciation of a post or a Page: just one quick click and comments from a business Page will start appearing in your News Feed. This is the key purpose of the Like button: by clicking Like, users are saying they are happy to see a business’s page content in their News Feed, potentially leading to more engagement.

However, the Like button’s simplicity is also its downside. A Like doesn’t necessarily mean that a user has properly engaged with a business, it only takes one click after all. Although Likes are often a gateway to better sorts of engagement such as comments, they don’t make further engagement a certainty. Also, if someone Likes your Page or post, there’s no real way to thank them. If someone comments on your page, it opens up the possibility of an actual conversation.

If someone Likes your Page, it won’t necessarily show up in their friends' News Feeds. A comment or a Page post is far more likely to appear in the News Feed than a Like. Likes, therefore, rarely directly effect reach, as a user’s friends won’t necessarily see the Like activity. The only place friends’ Likes regularly show up on the News Feed is in the “Add to News Feed” section, but this has been scrapped in the new News Feed design.

So, Facebook Likes help engagement and reach, but they don’t necessarily guarantee engagement and reach. How important, then, are Facebook Likes to your business? They are still very important, in fact, so important that Facebook are still releasing features to encourage users to Like Pages, features like a “Like Page” button and a “Promoted Page Likes” Feature.

At its most basic level, the more Facebook Likes a business’ Page has, the more popular it will appear to people, people who also might be encouraged to click Like. However, amount isn’t everything, businesses need to focus on getting the right Likes for their page. A few months ago, researchers at Cambridge University discovered that what people were liking on Facebook revealed a lot about their age, gender and political viewpoint.

If you get the right people to like your Page, therefore, you will instantly know a lot about your Page posts’ audience, helping you to target them with the right content. As long as they don’t hide you from their News Feed, all your Page posts will appear exactly where you need them to: in the News Feeds of people who have already shown their appreciation of your company by liking your Page.

Facebook Likes also contribute to the stats on your Facebook Insights page, helping you to better understand and target your audience. So, Although they’re a pretty simple measurement of engagement, Facebook Likes are still the best way of building up an audience that you can then engage with properly further down the line.

Do you think Facebook Likes are still important?

Using LinkedIn Groups To Become Influential In Your Industry

Last week, LinkedIn announced that its popular Groups feature was getting a complete redesign.LinkedIn has also released statistics illustrating how popular LinkedIn Groups have become and how important it is for businesses to create a LinkedIn Group themselves. By creating a LinkedIn Group, businesses can start and join conversations about their industry and, potentially, become influential, gaining themselves a reputation for good knowledge and sound advice.

New Groups

The new LinkedIn Groups are more streamlined and easier to customise. Group managers and members with administrative privileges will be able to make their groups stand out from each other by giving them a distinct, industry-relevant look. LinkedIn has updated the feature (at least partially) due to its popularity:

There have been more than 2 million Groups created around almost every topic imaginable — from entrepreneurship, philanthropy and careers to social and digital marketing. These communities have become places where our members are exchanging and sharing their experiences, business knowledge, interests and ideas with other like-minded professionals daily.

LinkedIn also revealed that “there are more than 200 conversations happening each minute across LinkedIn Groups and more than 8,000 Groups created each week.” The new look LinkedIn Groups will be rolling out to LinkedIn’s English speaking members over the next few weeks.

Creating a Group

Creating a LinkedIn Group is very easy. Linked has released a slideshow advising its users on best practices, which you can find here. The company advises that you make your Group profile attractive, interesting and informative so that potential members know what the Group is about immediately.

Your Group can be either open or closed to search. If open, anyone can see the content and it’s more likely that people will join; if closed, only members can see the content. You also need to create a unique voice, one that your members will understand and appreciate – this is now easier thanks to the new Group streamlining options.

Of course, you need to promote your Group across all possible social media channels, as well as promoting all your own content in the Group. Perhaps LinkedIn’s best piece of advice is that you should be able to adapt your Group depending on what members you attract and what conversations they have.

LinkedIn also advises that you use the Group to find and promote influencers and brand advocates but, as I’m focusing on using Groups to become influential yourself, I won’t go into detail on this point.


Becoming Influential

Creating a Group is actually a very important step in the process of becoming influential in your industry on LinkedIn. As the data above shows, LinkedIn Groups are very popular and, if you create the right one, you’ll probably be inundated with members, all starting their own interesting conversations.

Most importantly, and rather obviously, you need to chose a niche for your Group that you are a complete expert about. Work out what your particular niche is and design a Group around it. As soon as you’ve set up your Group start sending invitations. Make sure that your Group appears interesting and attracting in your invitation emails.

You should also organise your Group so that members and potential members receive regular, insightful emails. By sending out regular emails, not only will you build up your Groups membership, you will also show yourself to be informed and interesting. A large and active Group means an influential Group creator and, by actively contacting members directly by email, you can be at the forefront of the conversation.

You also need to make sure that you post on the Group regularly yourself, as well as contributing to other conversations. Ask your Group members questions and answer the ones they have asked. Even if a question posted on the Group has been answered already, see if you have anything to add. Keep your content diverse, both in subject and style, in order to maintain an entertained audience.

LinkedIn Groups are extremely popular and, thanks to the new updates, they will become more popular still. As the conversation on LinkedIn Groups is focused on business and industry, a proactive company can take advantage of the readymade and intelligent audience on LinkedIn by driving conversation about their own industry and, potentially, their brand.

Have you created a LinkedIn Group? How is it going?

How To Use Social Media For Viral Marketing

Viral marketing depends on word-of-mouth: the willingness people have to share the things they see and enjoy with their friends. Thanks to social media, sharing content has never been easier. Popular posts and pictures can spread around the internet like wildfire, gaining the person or company that posted it a lot of great publicity.

Frustratingly, however, viral marketing is very difficult: as much as you prepare your content and share it online, there’s no way to predict how well your posts will do. In order to be with any chance of your content going viral, preparation is key. Here are a few tips and hints on how to successfully implement social media in your viral marketing strategies.

Prepare

If you’re creating content that you want to go viral, then you need to know your audience. There’s no point in creating content that will attract 18-25 year old, single men if you’re trying to promote a family car. You also need to work out what sort of content you want to use. Any type of content can go viral – tweets, images, infographics, articles – but videos go viral more frequently and in a bigger way than any other type of content. Choose a type of content that will work for what you’re trying to promote, will appeal to your audience and can be shared across numerous social media networks.

As I said earlier, preparation is key to viral marketing. You need to be prepared if your social content does go viral on social media. Even if you’re content goes viral, you might lose out if you can’t follow up on it. You need to make sure that you can engage with people who enjoy your content, and then follow it up with a campaign. Viral content rarely lasts very long, it’s more of a flash in the pan, but if you follow up successful viral content with a campaign you can keep it in the public eye for longer.

You also need to make sure that you maintain active social media accounts before you attempt viral marketing. If you just post something cold, it’s unlikely to do very well. Instead engage and interact online: share and comment on other people’s content and maybe they’ll share your content. Whatever content you post you also need to make sure that it’s mobile compatible – almost 30% of social media users access sites on their mobiles.

2. Make it Sharable

Content can only go viral if it’s easy to share and people will only share content that they find interesting. Make sure that your content is compelling and appealing and, very importantly, that it isn’t too long: people want content that gives them instant gratification. Also, the faster content can be enjoyed, the quicker it will get shared. Last month, Unruly released a white paper detailing how to make content sharable. They concluded that content has to elicit a strong emotional reaction in order to get shared. Create content that is funny or exciting: the more funny and exciting, the more likely it will be shared.

You also need to make sure that, if your content is posted on sites other then social media platforms, the share buttons are very obvious and easy to use. Put on a tally so that people can see how often your content gets shared on social media as an added incentive. Content with high share tallies persuade people that they are popular, and that sharing them is the usual thing to do.

You could even offer a reward to people who share your content: make a competition where the entry is dependent on sharing a photo or video, and then reward the winner with a prize. You also want to get the right people sharing your content. Try to publicise your content to people with large followings on social media. A celebrity endorsement can boost sharing and engagement massively.

3. Start a Conversation

When it comes to viral marketing, being controversial can be one of the best strategies to ensure success. It your content touches on a controversial subject, dividing opinion, you can start debates in the comments sections of social media sites. This will, in turn, draw more attention to your content as people will see their friends commenting on your content in their news feed on Facebook, or theirTwitter/Google+ stream.

Often, topical content sparks the best conversations. Stay abreast of what’s happening in the world: a story or item of news that might be relevant to your industry can be leveraged to promote your business. Content centred on a popular news article can draw the attention of people checking it out.

Going viral is never assured, however much you prepare, and there really isn’t a sure fire way that you can make your content viral. However, by following these steps (and with a lot of luck), your content might well go viral on social media sites.

Has any of your content gone viral?

Learn How Social Media Works For Business

Are you a Business Owner who hands over your social media management to someone internally or externally because they “know how it all works?” Big deal they know how Facebook or Twitter works, they’re just tools. How are they with online marketing or at producing content that is aligned with the strategy and goals you have for your business. In my experience working with SMEs I find many Business Owners take a hands-off approach when it comes to social media and the most common reasons quoted is a lack of time to learn how it all works and/or holding a belief that social media is the domain of the young.

I’m going to dismiss the latter reason quickly for the simple fact that social media is now a part of life and one way or the other it is a part of yours. On the other hand, lack of time is a real problem for SMEs, with many doing whatever it takes, regardless of hours, to stay on top of all that is going on relating to their business. When it comes to introducing new systems or tools like CRM or accounting packages it is standard practice to invest in training. It’s also acknowledged it will take training, time and practice before everyone is using the new tool to its full effectiveness. And yet this practical ‘real-world’ thinking is often forgotten when a business enters the online world.
Let me explain. I constantly hear Business Owners say, “I don’t know how Facebook works myself, I never use it.” So when I’m trying to talk with them about the customer experience on that same platform, the one they have chosen to promote their services on, the same one that has access to 1Billion users , they have no practical experience of how it works. Which seems a little remiss given it’s your business at stake.

In order for you to understand how Social Media works means taking a walk in the shoes of your online community. It requires you to become a user on the site(s) you’ve chosen to promote your business. You’ll learn how people interact and engage online with Brands, the kind of content that grabs attention and what turns people away. Armed with practical user experience combined with the vision you have for your company and shared with those tasked to execute it the direction and goals for your online marketing become clear. The content you share is better, it becomes more targeted and in turn engagement levels increase.



Images source: Creative Commons

And that’s important because when an online audience is engaged with your Brand, you’re creating relationships. As relationships flourish, trust follows. When we trust a Brand we are far more likely to buy from them than from a competitor. That’s how Social Media generates sales and it’s why savvy online marketers take the time to understand the customer experience online.

As New Year’s resolutions go, if you’re an SME Business Owner, using social media to market your business, isn’t it in your interest to have top of the list, ‘Learn how Social Media works in business?’

What YouTube's 1 Billion Monthly Active Users Milestone Means For Marketers

YouTube has announced on its blog that the video sharing and streaming site has surpassed the 1 billion monthly active users mark, the second social media site afterFacebook to reach this milestone.

Like Facebook, YouTube took eight years, from its conception in February 2005, to hit 1 billion MAUs. Twitter, in comparison, has just celebrated its seventh birthday and has just over 200 million monthly active users.

So, 1 billion, that is a mindboggling amount of viewers! In theannouncement post on the YouTube blog, the YouTube team have put that enormous figure into perspective, asking “What does a billion people tuning into YouTube look like?


Nearly one out of every two people on the Internet visits YouTube.
Our monthly viewership is the equivalent of roughly ten Super Bowl audiences.
If YouTube were a country, we’d be the third largest in the world after China and India.
PSY and Madonna would have to repeat their Madison Square Garden performance in front of a packed house 200,000 more times. That’s a lot of Gangnam Style!”What is powering this growth?

In another post on parent company Google’s Agency Blog, Advertising Research Director Gunnard Johnson explains that Generation C, a phrase coined by Nielsen to describe a demographic “defined by the Internet, mobile, and social - consuming content when and where they want”, is to thank for YouTube’s high viewing figures.

Generation C, or Gen C for short, is the name given to a group of primarily young adults who are defined by their constant access to multiple devices, often having a screen in their living room, their office, their bag and their pocket, with each one capable of accessing the internet at any time.

”On YouTube,” says Johnson, “this generation thrives on 4Cs:


Connection - Gen C watches YouTube on all screens, constantly switching between devices.
Creation - Gen C is deeply engaged with online video, watching, creating and uploading videos on YouTube.
Community - Gen C thrive on community, defining what’s popular on YouTube by sharing videos with friends and family.
Curation - Gen C is made up of expert curators who care about finding content that matters to them.”In the United States 76% of 18-34 year olds (the main demographic constituting Generation C) own smartphones, as opposed to 60% of the general population. Gen C spent 74% more of their time than last year accessing YouTube on these smartphones.

The percentage of Gen C watching YouTube on more than one device has also increased: 67% of Gen C watch YouTube on more than one device, while 15% access it during commercial breaks on television.



YouTube has created a handy infographic illustrating all the statistical information above. To see it visit Think With Google.

What does this mean for YouTube marketers?

It is vital that YouTube marketers tap into Generation C as a potential target audience and, therefore, a huge source of revenue. Gen C’s potential as a source of revenue is backed up by a statistic Johnson quotes on theblog post: “Gen C is a powerful demographic”, he says, “not only are they cultural tastemakers, they influence $500B of spending a year in the U.S”.

Top marketers have already seen the potential for YouTube marketing, with every single one of AdAge’s Top 100 brands posting content on YouTube.

Brands marketing themselves on YouTube must be constantly aware of the 4Cs if they wish to leverage Generation C’s influence over YouTube popularity:

Connection: Generation C is active on YouTube across all devices. In fact, Gen C’s activity on smartphones and on desktop devices peaks at roughly the same points during the day. Marketers need to create content that can be played on both desktop and mobile devices. If a video is best viewed in high-definition, it will be wasted on smartphone audiences. Also, any hyperlinks on the video must take smartphone users to sites that are compatible with mobile devices.

Creation: marketers should stay abreast of what’s popular and topical on YouTube. Most recently the Harlem Shake was YouTube’s big thing and millions of versions were uploaded to the site. Brands like Red Bull andManchester City FC did their own Harlem Shake videos, both of which received millions of views.

Community: according to Johnson, viewers are “discovering videos socially - 9% of respondents said they watched a video on their smartphone because it was shared by friends in an email, while 18% watched a video because it was shared on a social network.” Marketers should encourage viewers to share their videos, incorporating hashtags for use on Twitter, or posting them on Facebook and Google Plus.

Curation: Members of Generation C love discovering something new and sharing it with their friends. 47% of Generation C find the majority of the videos they watch using search. Marketers need to give their videos titles which are both relevant and eye-catching. They also need to post regularly and during peak periods to ensure that the right demographics view their videos. Generation C only recommends the best videos to friends and family members, so brands and marketers need to make sure that their content is creative and original.



Johnson recommends two YouTube tools for brands who want to market their adverts across multiple devices:YouTube’s One Channel design ensures that brand channels are compatible with all devices, whileTrueView video ads are cost effective adverts that charge marketers only if and when they are viewed.

In 2012, YouTube recorded almost the same viewing figures on smartphone devices as it did on desktop devices. To take advantage of the growing generation of viewers who can access YouTube 24 hours a day, whether on a computer, a laptop, a tablet or a phone, YouTube marketers need to ensure that they get the best out of YouTube’s advertising services, and that they upload the best advertising content possible onto YouTube.

Do you consider yourself to be part of Generation C? If so, what are your YouTube habits?

Social Media Is Changing How We Do Business... Are You Ready?

It’s not unheard of for an SME business owner when asked who manages their social media to reply, “One of the team”. Often, that management of social sites is secondary to the role the team member was hired for e.g. sales or customer service.

When the company is larger with a bigger customer base the thinking is generally different. The company may have an IT department, Marketing department and someone tasked specifically to manage social sites. While the larger company appears to take social media more seriously by dedicating resources to it, it may not be enough.

Lack of Cohesion

This was the case with a company I worked with recently. Having done my research before meeting them, I could see they had a huge campaign going on with daily winners winning substantial prizes. Each day the names of winners were uploaded onto the company website but nothing was mentioned on their social sites, and given they had over 40,000 Fans on their Facebook page, who could have been doing a lot of talking and sharing about those winners, it seemed like a missed opportunity. When I asked about it I was told “I’m not given that information”. Sitting in a room with key members from management, IT, Marketing and their social site manager it was clear a lack of cohesiveness existed between departments.

Fluffy Stuff

Now that’s not unheard of. We know about love/hate relationships in many organisations between technology and marketing departments but one without the other and a company is unlikely to survive. With the recent arrival of social media into the business mix it’s rocked the boat a bit. You’ll find marketing people who think social media sits under IT while IT folks view it as the fluffy stuff with nothing whatsoever to do with them. It’s this lack of cohesiveness that can have a Social Media Manager going it alone as was the case with the company I was doing the consulting with.

Integrate to Success

In the case of the company I recently worked with, the Social Media manager was never invited to marketing meetings, so there was little collaboration on how to promote campaigns using traditional methods as well as Social Media. It meant the marketing department didn’t view their online community of over 40,000+ people as their primary target audience. Make sense? No, it doesn’t and it took sitting in a room with all the relevant people there for this otherwise very forward thinking company to see that. Like many other companies they hadn’t fully grasped the power of integrating social media into their overall marketing goals. By the end of our session together there was a complete turnaround in their thinking.

The Age of the Customer

If the goal is to be successful in what is now becoming known as ‘The Age of the Customer’, businesses need to adapt and the starting point is seeing technology, marketing and social media as deeply entwined.

How To Optimise The Images On Your Business’ Social Media Pages

Images are incredibly important on any social media profile, whether they are the ones you use for profile and cover images, or the ones you share. Last year, more than one third of links shared on Twitter and over half of the posts on the Facebook news feed were images.

 Images are popular because they are eye-catching and instantly gratifying. However, when uploading images, the content is not the only thing that must be considered – you must also think about the file size of the image and its shape.

Here are some ways to optimise the images you display on the five major social media sites: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

 General

 Whatever site you are uploading an image to, make sure that the file name is relevant to the image. So, if the image shows a red dress from your summer collection, call the image summer-dress-red.jpg. Naming your images appropriately will increase the chance of them showing up in the correct image searches.

You’ll notice that I named the image file as a JPEG. There are a number of image files you could use – JPEG, GIF or PNG – but using a JPEG is the best option. JPEG files can be compressed considerably, but still be of decent quality. Use GIF files for thumbnails and never large images. Use PNG files as an alternative to either of the other two.

Most importantly, make sure that all your images are eye-catching and relevant. Post regularly and respond to comments that your images get. Work out what images get the most likes, +1s and shares and when, then figure out the best strategy to take advantage of popular images.

Content that you post on any social media site will appear in the feeds of your friends, followers and connections with a miniature version of your profile picture alongside. Make sure that, even as a thumbnail, your profile picture is easy to make out.

Bear in mind that social media sites are constantly changing, so although the image sizes in this post are accurate (as of 29/05/2013), be sure to double check online.

Facebook


Facebook cover photos are the first thing visitors to your page will see, so make sure that it grabs their attention. The frame for the Facebook cover photo is 815 pixels wide by 315 pixels high. Your profile’s cover image has to be clearly related to your company, and it cannot mislead or infringe on anyone else’s copyright. Covers cannot display more than 20% text and they cannot contain display text asking users to share the image.

The Facebook profile picture overlaps the cover photo close to its bottom, right-hand corner. It is 160 x 160 px, but the image you upload to fill the space must be over 180 x 180 px. I would advise using your company logo as your profile picture, but try to be creative with your cover photo. If you have the time, change it every month or so, or use it to advertise new offers or products you have. Make sure, however, that you follow Facebook’s rules.

Timeline images are displayed at up to 403 x 403 px in the preview, and 960 x 720 px in the lightbox. Images up to 2048 x 2048 px can be uploaded. If an image is 403 pixels wide and 603 pixels wide 200 pixels will be cut from the preview, which would look awful if those 200 pixels are of vital importance. Don’t expect visitors to your page to click on previews if they can’t see the entire image, they are only going to enlarge images that intrigue them.

Google+


Google+ cover photos are significantly larger than their Facebook counterparts, measuring 2120 x 1192 px. When a user visits your page however, they only see the bottom third of the image, having to scroll up to see the rest. You need to make sure that the bottom third of your cover image contains all the necessary details to catch the visitor’s eye.


Current Google+ photos are circular, rather than square, which is great for companies with circular logos as it cuts down on negative space, but not so great for those with square logos. If your company has a square logo, work out how best to fit it into the circular frame.

It is especially important that you optimise the SEO of all the images on your Google+ page, as well as the ones you share, because Google indexes everything on its social media site, making it more likely to appear in Google Search. If a search of your company can take someone to your Google+ page, it gives them the opportunity to engage and interact with you and the images you post.

 Twitter

 Unlike Facebook and Google+, Twitter allows you to create and upload a background onto your profile page. When you create and upload your background page, ensure that all the important content is visible by placing it on the right and left-hand edges, so that it doesn’t get hidden by your stream, navigation bar, uploaded images or header image.

The header image is 520 x 260 px, but be aware that your 81 x 81 px profile image sits pretty much right in the middle – you don’t want your profile image blocking part of your header image, especially if you have put your contact details on there.

 
When you are posting an image on Twitter, there are three different Twitter cards you can use: the Large Image Summary Card features an image prominently, with the corresponding article summary beneath; the Photo Card is ideal if you just want to post a photo; use a Gallery Card for collections of images.

In stream, a tweet with an image will have a tiny photo icon at the bottom, with “View photo” alongside. An image within an expanded tweet is 375 x 375 px, whereas an article preview image is 120 x 120 px. All the images you tweet can be viewed in a picture gallery on your profile.

LinkedIn

Your company’s LinkedIn profile page has a number of tabs with customisable banners across the top. The Home page banner and the Products & Services banner are both 646 x 220 px. Treat your Home page banner like your Facebook or Google+ cover images: use an eye-catching image that is relevant to your company. Be creative with your Products & Services banner. Why not update it regularly with new products or special offers?

The Careers cover photo is slightly larger, 974 x 238 px, giving you even more space to play with. Change the Careers photo every so often to keep your page fresh. All the banners are limited to a 2 MB maximum size.

Pinterest

Of all the social media sites in this list, Pinterest is the most image focused. Pinterest is all about discovering cool and interesting images and pinning them onto your own boards. The better the images you pin to your own boards, the more likely people are to follow you.

 
If you are a company with tangible products, find interesting ways to post them on your boards. You can even add pricing and availability information to products you pin on Pinterest using rich pins.

Images you post on Pinterest can be of any length, but in the preview they have to be 192 px wide. When enlarged, a pin can still be of infinite length, but is limited to 600 px in width. The profile picture frame on Pinterest is 160 x 165 px. Choosing the correct 222 x 150 px cover image for each of your boards is also important – it should either be the most eye-catching on the board, or the one you want more people to pin.

The Importance Of Knowing Your Audience On Social Media

To create a successful social media strategy for your business you must know your audience. Social media is all about communication and conversation, how can you have a proper conversation if you don’t know anything about the people you are talking to? Before you create or post any content, you need to know who will see it. If you only know a little about your audience to start off with, using that to your advantage when creating a strategy can help you not only engage with your audience, but also understand more about your audience as a result. Here are the questions you should ask yourself in order to help you get to know your business’ audience on social media:

1. Why?

Posting content without prior knowledge of its potential audience is just a Random Act of Marketing: you might have some success, but your content won’t have anywhere near the same amount of engagement as content posted with a targeted audience in mind.

For your social media strategy to have any success, you must first work out who you are trying to reach and then the best way to reach them. Be aware that different networks will have different audiences, so make sure you create content which suits each social media site.

2. Who?

So, knowing your audience on social media is of the upmost importance. After the ‘why’, though, comes the ‘who’: who are all the people following you on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Google+? Who are all the people sharing and engaging with your content? Who is retweeting you on Twitter and repinning your pins on their Pinterest boards?

You need to work out who engages with your content in order to work out what sort of content they are more likely to engage with. Find out what demographics your fans belong to: their age, gender, professional status, location and income. For example, if your fans are predominantly of a younger demographic, they might be more likely to share funny or fashionable content.

If you’re not sure who your fans are on social media (bear in mind we haven’t got to the ‘how’ yet) it’s a good idea to find out what demographics your brand appeals to outside of the world of social media. Your customers in the real world will give you a great insight into your fans on social media. However, there are other variables that need to be taken into account, so don’t just presume that your fanbase is made up purely of actual customers: you may discover a completely new support base online thanks to your adoption of social media.

Always be aware that the number of people engaging with your content is miniscule compared to the number of people who aren’t, but could be. There are those that see your content but don’t engage, as well as the millions who haven’t even see your content yet. Make sure you don’t just create content to please the people engaging with it already, create content that will attract new fans and followers: after all, you want to be building your support base, not just maintaining what you’ve got.

Having worked out who your fans and followers are, and what makes them tick, you should work out who the most influential people within your fanbase are. Find out which of your fans have the most followers themselves, and which fans get their own content shared the most often. If you can identify the influencers within your fanbase, you can engage with them more frequently and perhaps create a few brand ambassadors.

3. What?

There are actually a number of ‘what’ questions you need to ask yourself when researching your social media audience. The first, and arguably the most important, is ‘what are people saying about your company?’ Not only will this give you an insight into what your audience want from your company and from your social media presence, it will also help you better engage with customers and monitor what they think about you. You should always be monitoring sentiment analysis to get a better understanding of your customers and how your brand is perceived.

You should also find out what your fans and followers are saying on social media in general. Very often a throwaway tweet or Facebook status can give you a great insight into what a customer’s wants are. By monitoring what people say and post, you can also find out what your audience’s interests are. Create content that will pique the interests of your audience and make them more likely to engage with you.

What networks are your fans on? If your audience is far more active on Twitter than on Pinterest, and you don’t have enough time to manage both, focus on posting content and engaging with followers on Twitter to make the most of your social media presence. In answering this question you may also discover more about your audience, as different demographics prefer different sites. Of course, this means that if you have a similar number of fans on Pinterest and Twitter, they won’t necessarily be the same, so you should tailor your content to the site it is posted on and the people who will see it.

The final ‘what’ question you should ask of your audience, a question that is getting more and more important as mobile social media use increases, is ‘what devices are my fans and followers using to check their social media?’ It is no good posting image-laden content if all of you followers are on mobile, as they won’t get the full impact of a large image on a phone.

4. When?

There is only one question in this section, but discovering its answer is vital to the success of your business’ social media strategy: when are your audience active online?

Don’t post your content in the evenings if your audience is using social media in the morning, as they won’t necessarily see it; post when the majority of your audience is active on social media so that they are more likely to see it and interact with it. Ideally, of course, you will be able to post content regularly throughout the day but, if not, work out the best strategy in order to get the most views, engagement and reach.

5. How?

So, the burning question: how do you find out all you need to know about your business’ audience on social media? Well, you can always ask. Ask questions on Twitter and Facebook about what your customers like and dislike, what makes them tick, or create surveys to discover more about your fans and followers.

Take the time to research your audience. How do your followers describe themselves in their Twitter bios? What have they liked on Facebook? Don’t forget to measure the success of your own campaigns within your audience.

Another important question to ask your followers is how they found out about you. This can give you a great insight, not only into the minds of your audience, but also into how successful your social media presence is. Again, you can use a survey to do this.

There are a number of analytical tools which you can use to make researching your audience easier: Klout can help you work out which of your fans and followers are the most influential, while Followerwonk can help you delve into the details of your Twitter followers.

How do you research your social media audience?

Measuring Social Media ROI: The Basics

Measuring Social Media ROI is a top-of-the mind subject for most business owners. Today I want to talk to you about the basics of measuring your social networking followers.

There are two important things that you have to have in place before we can calculate the strength of your social networking followers. First, you must have some kind of call to action on your website that entices people to become a lead/customer for your product or service. This can be any form (preferably on your website) where people can submit information for you to contact them directly. Or, if you sell a product, purchase your product directly.

Secondly, it is important that you have some kind of tracking system in place that allows you to see how many visitors came to your website, how many of them answered your call to action, and where these people came from. Without this, you have to rely on communication and word of mouth to get a rough idea on how many people found you on social networking websites. I use Google's free Analytics service, which does all of that for me. Once you have those two things in place, you'll be able to do basic calculations on how many active followers you have.

How to measure a follower's value

o Look at the total number of clicks to your website from each social media platform in a month, and divide that by the number of posts you made. This gives you an average visit per post.
o Look at page views per visit, time spent on site and visitor paths to identify what percentage of social media visitors become leads or customers.
o Using these metrics, you can find out how many of your social networking followers actually show interest in your company, or, actually purchased from your company.

Now, this is a very basic way of calculating the monetary ROI (return on investment) of your followers, but also gives you a better idea on how many of your followers are interested in furthering their relationships with you, and your business. While you're doing these calculations, it's also not a bad idea to see how many people commented on or interacted with your social networking page. These people should not be forgotten when calculating the traffic generated on your website, the reason being is that most social networking websites publish a link to your profile on that person's profile when they comment on your business page. This can spark viral marketing, and possibly gain you more customers.

ROI measurements are another subject that goes very deep with social networking, and is too much to cover in this small report. Another important avenue to look into is the importance of customer retention for your company. You need to measure the effect that customer retention has on your company (what will losing a customer cost your company). Since social networking is a perfect way to build and establish relationships (and help people with their problems) you can use these new online measures as a form of customer service. Finally, you want to measure how many people are now actively talking about your community online, or interacting with you online. To get the highest ROI of social media marketing, you will have to measure each of these three avenues, based on your company's numbers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5971655

7 Steps to Social Media Heaven

If you're a business owner then you probably know that social media is a great way of promoting your products and services. It costs nothing apart from your own time, and is a great way of building relationships with potential clients and other business owners. However, many people are put off using it - writing it off as too time consuming and unable to see the benefits it can bring to their business.

When I set up my own business, I had never used social media before. However, I soon saw its potential to get my name out there to prospective customers and once I'd got going, I enjoyed using it and have made some great connections along the way.

So if you are someone who's struggling with social media, then here are 7 steps to take you to social media heaven!


It's important to remember that social media is another part of your marketing strategy so you need to know what you want to achieve with it. Do you just want to use it to promote yourself; find potential partners and suppliers; or to generate business from it? So before you get started, take some time to set some actions and goals.
Each social media application is different so don't try to use them all in the same way. For example, how you use and interact on Twitter will be very different from how you do it on Facebook, and the same goes for LinkedIn.
Once you have signed up, ensure that you fully complete your profile, with a keyword-rich bio of what you do, a link to your website, and a picture - ideally one of you if you're running your business by yourself.
You can save time managing your social media accounts by using third party applications such as Ezeesocial. You can use these to schedule updates, as well as track click through's on links, and manage followers. It can be tempting to post one update to all your accounts at once, but remember that all social media is not the same. That funny remark you post on Twitter may not go down so well on LinkedIn!
Use the search features to look for relevant followers, fans and connections who could potentially be interested in your business. You can also use the search facility in Twitter and Facebook to find people who work in relevant industries, locations or are talking about topics relating to what you do.
Think like your customer. As with all your marketing activities, when using social media you need to think about what your potential customers might be looking for. Obviously use it to share personal stuff about yourself, but when it comes to the business side of your updates, keep in mind what your contacts would find useful.
It's not all about you! Don't spend all your time broadcasting messages about you and your business though. Engage with others by asking and answering questions, retweeting people's posts on Twitter, or commenting on someone's wall on Facebook. People love it when others share their content and engage with them, and this helps build up a relationship with your contacts.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5291346

DIY PR Success - 7 Social Media Tips

Business owners can be the best PR managers. Using social media and the Internet as a distribution platform you can match the results of even the best PR agency. However, the amateur marketer can need a little help learning the short-cuts to early success.

Here are some easy steps to get these social media tools returning real PR and branding results:

1. Set-up your PR and Branding Platform. Start small and focused. This platform is going to be where you drive people to learn more about your business, products, and services. Pointing back to this central focal point with all of your PR and branding campaigns with assist lead generation.

If you are technically inclined a simple blog is a great place to start. However, it is not necessary--you can chose to make Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn your personal brand platform. Make sure a visitor is engaged with your strategy when they arrive.

2. Listen First. Once you have a good platform, a base station, you need to start listening to your market. Consumers are all over the Internet and making it easier and easier to survey their needs.

A great place to start listening is on Twitter--the premiere social networking and conversation tool. Search for key words associated with your market in the Twitter search engine, then sit back and see what they expect.

3. Participate. Listening is important, but participation builds trust, relationships, and targeted audiences. Ultimately, and online PR and branding strategy online is community building.

Community building means conversations and conversations build audiences. Audiences that will trust your recommendations, marketing, and services. Participation in your community will create sales leads for your business, if done appropriately.

4. Give Value First. Consumers are naturally skeptical, especially online. Nothing brings a sale faster than "giving first" and breaking that natural skepticism. Online publishing tools and platforms have made is a snap to leverage the Internet for big-time audience generation and distribution.

Creating valuable content targeted at solving problems for your ideal customer can make a big impact. This can be as simple as a blog post, eBook, or amateur video. This little effort and value given freely and distributed widely will bring enormous return.

5. Build Relationships. You have to care! Consumers and customers see this in a heartbeat--and they react. Quickly returning emails, phone calls, and even tweets show a passion for your business and the customers you serve.

Customers greeted with a sense of urgency can be the biggest advocates and promoters of your products and services.

6. Be Helpful. Consumers are using the Internet more and more to find information and solutions to their problems. Being helpful is one the most powerful marketing tactics. The psychological principle of reciprocity can produce incredible returns on a simple helpful tip, pointer, or referral.

If you know the answer to a question--help someone. There are lots of ways to help online and build your brand. Check out LinkedIn Answers or Yahoo!Answers.

7. Promote Others. Having a successful PR and branding strategy is not all about you. Promoting others builds your audience and reputation. This technique has two benefits: Getting the reciprocity of helping someone else with a campaign. Second, you get the attention and trust of those who follow your advice and gain value.

Promoting others is like doubling your product base and increasing your marketing reach.

7.5 Engage PR and Marketing Professionals. With so many social media tools available and free advice on the Internet it is easy to rush in without a plan. Doing PR and branding without clear objectives and concise messages can be an obvious train wreck to consumers--a lasting bad impression.

Professional advice and guidance from PR and marketing professionals can help you set firm footing and foundation under your idea. Then you can make do-it-yourself have real impact.






Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1912105

7 Social Media Tips to Get You Started on the Path to Success!

The number one question we get from beginners is; "How do I get started?"

There are so many social media websites out there, and we understand it can be very intimidating. The Social Media Square One objective is to reduce those stress levels, and make the online process not only profitable for you, but fun too! We would like to share with you 7 tips for getting started with your social media marketing plan.


Use Your Real Name - For some reason, buying a product or service from "HotMama352" does not seem very attractive. Make sure to use your real name when signing up for social accounts. If your name is taken, then it would be acceptable to add some numbers so that it is still recognizable. For example, if your name is a common one like John Smith, it would be OK to use JohnSmith950.
A Photo of You - When choosing an avatar (profile photo) make sure to pick a one that is fun and representative of your professional personality. People do not want to do business with a logo, cartoon, pet or eyeball. Let them see your beautiful face so they know who they are talking to. People are more responsive when they can put a face to a name.
Know Your Audience - Many small business owners are working hard to sell to anybody and everybody in order to increase revenue. While this has you working hard and achieving some amount of success, we know that identifying your target market is one of the most important things a business can do. With so many social networks out there, you want to find the ones that your customers and prospects are using. For example, you might hear that a site like Myspace is out of favor in the social media world, but for a musician, it is still a must. On the other hand, if you want to target the 13-17 year old demographic, LinkedIn might not be the best place to be spending your time. Our advice is to do some research, find out where your customers and prospects are spending their time, and get yourself set up on those social networks as soon as possible so that you can jump into the conversation and start generating leads!
Listen - Once you are a member of the social networks, take the time to listen to what the community is talking about. If you jump in and use the platform with a megaphone to sell your product or service, your credibility will be lost. There is nothing virtual about this online social world, these are real people having real conversations. So act in the same way you would at a live networking event in your hometown. If you would not bombard me with a sales pitch at a live event, don't do it inside of social media either.
Build Relationships - People want to do business with others they like, know and trust. Social media gives us an amazing platform to earn that trust by simply taking the time to build great relationships with them. Just like in real life, this takes time. You must share something about yourself. Don't be afraid to talk about your likes, interests and passions. Nobody wants to do business with a logo or pushy salesperson, so open up and start making friends. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing there is, and you have almost 500 million people out there with the potential to become brand ambassadors for your company. Let's make the most of it by caring about the people, creating value, and showing them that we are here to meet their needs.
Don't Worry About the Numbers - If you only have a couple of hundred people in your network, do not let that get you down. The key is to target your followers, and many times less can be more. We have seen people time and time again try to automate the process in order to increase their friend/followers, but most of the time it leads to a large number filled with bots, spammers, and vacant accounts that bring no value to you, your business, or the community.
Budget Your Time - Minutes can quickly turn into hours on social networks if you are not careful. Many people get caught up playing Facebook games like FarmVille, surfing YouTube for hours watching funny videos, or hitting the refresh button over and over waiting on responses from a post. Our advice is to log in with a set time goal and stick to it.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4687893

Top 10 Social Media Tips for Business

1. Plan Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
As with any small business marketing campaign or business strategy, you have to create a plan and stick to it in order to be successful. Outline the goals and the steps you will take -- in addition to the tools you will need -- to meet your marketing objectives.

2. Find Your Customers
With so many social networking platforms available to consumers, it can be difficult to choose a social network for your business to use. I recommend Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube to start with. You can also research to find out where your customers already congregate online. You might find some specialized sites to join in addition to the big four.

3. Schedule Social Time
Once you become a social resource for customers you have to stick with it and be there on a regular and frequent basis. Using social networks is time consuming, so schedule social media posting time for yourself and your internal or outsourced employee.

4. Be Authentic and Human
People are more likely to create relationships with other people more so than with businesses. You can encourage customers if you use a "human" voice -- not a corporate presence -- when connecting in social spaces. You can do a few simple things like show a picture instead of a business logo on your profile, and assign one or two people within your small business to be your social voice.

5. Be an Expert
One of the best ways for a small business to interact with customers is to be an expert in social spaces. By joining existing communities where your customers are, you can easily insert yourself into the community by being a voice of expert advice. For example if your small business is plumbing hardware, find those online social communities on Facebook, Twitter, discussion forums and blogs and start answering questions and offering advice.

6. Learn to Listen
It's easy to fall into the "broadcast trap" where you spend too much time talking about how great your products are or how fabulous this week's sale is. In a social network you have to stop broadcasting and listen to what your customers have to say. People use social networks to converse, and the best way to build a strong social relationship with a customer is to be a "friend" who can listen.

7. Be Social
A small business also needs to demonstrate good conversation skills -- after all responding to people is the best way to show you are listening. The point of a social network is to converse, and customers will get bored very quickly if you don't participate in the social flow. You can demonstrate good listening skills and boost participation by responding directly to questions and comments in a timely fashion.

8. Respond Often
Successful social media marketing depends on your own ability to respond to customers in a timely fashion. You want to show customers that you are a "reliable friend," so stay active and participate in all conversations related to your company or area of expertise. If you see new questions or comments, be sure to answer immediately.

9. Provide Value
You'll find that just your own conversation and participation is not enough to keep a continued interest in your social network. There has to be value in the interaction for people, and you will need to provide the reason for people to stay and participate in your social network.

10. Offer Exclusivity
Your social network should not just be about deals, but there is nothing wrong with making your fans, friends and followers feel special. One way to do this is to offer rewards or promotions exclusively to social networking customers.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6418511

Social Media Tips - Top 10

Don't just broadcast a sales message

The key to a successful social media presence lies with the social part. Your business should engage with others and assist where possible rather than just trying to sell all the time.

Choose your social media sites

There are few business owners who have time to use all the various social media platforms. It's best to try some out initially and see how useful they are before deciding on one or two to focus on as an addition to your marketing mix.

Set your success parameters

Before using social media sites it's wise to decide on what you're trying to achieve. This could range from brand awareness to generating more comments on your blog or increasing the number of sales leads gained online.

Be persistent and consistent

Like most things in business, social media requires a consistent approach in order to get results. If you fail to regularly update your Facebook page or Twitter account then you can't expect others to maintain a level of interest in them.

Don't jump on the bandwagon

If for example you're using Twitter and a big story breaks in your industry, don't just comment echoing what the majority of others are saying. It can be hard to stand out from the crowd but if you take a considered approach and try to think of a different angle to the story, more people may sit up and take notice.

Share other's content

Building relationships online can be done through sharing other people's content. For example if you read an interesting blog post via Twitter or Facebook on your industry then you should share it with your contacts (quoting the original source). If you share content then others are more likely to reciprocate.

Brand your accounts

When setting up your social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter you should get the pages custom designed to match the rest of your branding so it's instantly recognisable.

Don't post things just for the sake of it

There may well be days when you don't have anything interesting or relevant to say. If this is the case it's better to post nothing rather than something nobody's interested in like what you're planning to eat for dinner.

Relevance is everything

It can be easy to get hooked on these sites and desperately try to get more fans and followers than your competitors. Remember that it's better to have a small number of followers who are interested in what you've got to say rather than hundreds who couldn't care less.

Put links to your accounts on your website

A good way to gain more followers and fans on social media sites is to integrate logos for the relevant sites on your website's home page.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5478675

5 Basic Facebook, Twitter and Social Media Tips For Small Businesses

Social Media is nothing new these days. Everyone from grandmothers to first graders have their own Twitter or Facebook page. With comScore reporting a 25% increase in unique visitors to social media sites in June, 2008 compared to June, 2007, social media needs to be in every small business marketing plan.

The problem is, how can small businesses find customers via social media with such a saturation of users? Here are some tips that can help:

1. Focus On the Big Names First

Open accounts on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace to start. Every small business with an online presence - whether you actually sell products online or simply have a site for your brick and mortar business - should have an account with them. They are all easy to set up and free. Be sure to create a Facebook Fan Page for your business, rather than a typical Profile Page.

2. Brand Your Pages

Twitter, Facebook and MySpace all allow you to customize your pages in some way. Be sure not to use the default templates each site offers you. Facebook and Twitter even allow you to have your own vanity URL, meaning if you own a pizza parlor, your Facebook URL could be "facebook.com/"yourpizzaparlor" (some qualifications must be met).

Create a 200 x 200 image containing your business name, logo and contact information for Twitter. You can also use this template or simply create it in Word or Powerpoint (just remember to save it as a PDF document).

Facebook does not yet allow you to customize your entire Fan Page, but you can create an image that contains your business name and logo and upload it. This way, every update or post you create contains your image.

MySpace allows you to customize nearly every aspect of your page. Be sure to upload an image of your business name and logo (use the Facebook image you created) as your profile image, and create a background containing either your business colors, themes or your logo.

3. Add Unique Content

Unique content can be created easily for even the smallest businesses as well as those that do not even sell their products online. Go beyond basic written content explaining the mission of your small business, the products or services you offer and your location (though all of those ARE necessary). Give your potential customers something unique that will make them want to visit your website and/or business location, and eventually return. Videos, photos, polls and contests are just a few forms of content that can make your page stand out.

For example, a bakery that only sells its products direct from their location could make a short, documentary-style video of their baking facility. An online jewelry site could upload images of some of their newest pieces. A florist located in Los Angeles with only an informational website could post a poll on Twitter and Facebook asking people what their favorite summer flower might be, and then responding to those who answer with a special offer.

Note: Every business should at least have one short video on their website, Facebook and MySpace page for three reasons:

1.Video is one of the most easily consumable forms of online content.

2.It is easy to make (most digital cameras or phones can make a decent video).

3.It can be easily shared online.

4. Advertise Your Pages

One you have all of your pages up and running with some content and pertinent information, make sure to advertise them properly. Each site has its own name for what you would simply call a "potential customer":

1.Facebook Business Pages have "Fans"

2.Twitter pages have "Followers

3.MySpace pages have "Friends"

Create links to each of your pages using logos, text or both, and place them in a prominent position on your website. Make sure to include those same logos/links on every email you send out to your email list.

5. Engage Directly

The best advantage social media advertising holds over any other form of advertising (besides being free) is the ability it gives you to interact with customers and potential customers. Be sure to take advantage of this fact the moment your business pages are up and running. Start by making friends: just use each site's search tools to find people who might be writing about or searching for the kind of products you offer.

Facebook will take care of some of the work by suggesting some people you should "invite" to become fans of your business, but be sure to also search for your own. Try looking for similar businesses and invite fans of their pages.

Twitter will also suggest users to follow who will then follow you. However, search.twitter.com is an invaluable tool for any business because it can immediately put you into contact with people who might want what you sell. Let's use the bakery example again: Go to search.twitter.com and search for "breakfast pastries Los Angeles". You will be given a long list of every individual on Twitter who has recently typed in the phrase "breakfast pastries" as well as the location "Los Angeles". Some might simply be talking about a great breakfast pastry they just finished, but others might be asking for a great bakery in the Los Angeles area for breakfast pastries. Now is your chance to engage them directly and suggest your bakery.

By using these tips when setting up your social media pages, you will be on your way to breaking through the throngs of users and finding genuinely new customers to help make your small business even more profitable.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2577880

7 Social Media Tips From Top Industry Experts

Tip #1: Host Live Facebook Events

To add great value and give your fans a different way of interacting with you, every now and then offer live chat sessions, teleseminars and webinars. Mari Smith and her friend Chris Treadaway conducted what they called a "flash chat" as a way of crowdsourcing content for a book.

They used the webinar platform Linqto which enabled people to interact with them as the presenters used a webcam to take turns being on the floor. Participant interaction took place via chat.

If you don't have that type of technical know how you can keep it simple by doing a simple Q&A session on the wall of your Facebook Page.

Tip #2: Be Willing to Help the Less Than Famous

The best way to build your personal brand is to involve other people in the process. Do your best to help others and give others credit for the awesome work they do. Though it may seem like a lot of work, in the long run it pays off. On top of that, as Erik Qualman says in his book Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, "It's the right thing to do."

Easy ways to help other people include tweeting their work and leaving great comments on their blogs.

Don't just target your help toward top name people; they get a lot of love and attention. You'll really stand out if you help out those who have great potential but are not yet well known.

Tip #3: Don't Overemphasize Marketing

Remember, social media marketing is... social. Heading right into marketing without investing the proper amount of time in the social part of social media marketing is detrimental. There are certain expectations within social media, with one of the major expectations being community. "Very often these expectations do not include having marketing messages jammed down their throats," writes Hollis Thomases in Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day.

Tip #4: Find Out What Your Customers Want

Brian Solis, in Engage: The Complete Guide to Building, Cultivating and Measuring Success in the Social Web writes, "... my best advice to you is to go figure out what your opportunity is first." He suggests using the tool Research.ly to learn more about your prospects.

Tip #5: Meet People Offline

It's a natural tendency to go online for information and even for friendship and networking. While the Internet is a great place for these things, nothing replaces time spent face-to-face with other people.

Steve Garfield, writes in Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business about the importance of mingling with others in a setting where everyone is welcome.

Tip #6: Share the Knowledge of Experts With Your Readers

Find the experts in your industry and the offer to interview them about their newest product. Ask them a lot of questions that you know your audience will want to know the answers to. According to Michael Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner, this is a great way to not only build a solid relationship with the expert, but to also provide content of tremendous value to your audience.

Tip #7: Be Controversial

Dean Hunt writes, "... here's a strategy I created to ensure that your content WILL get noticed....In fact, people will do a double-take when they see your content title and will not be able to resist reading it. I call it the 'negative slant.' It's very simple to do and works best with informational or how-to content."

As an example he gives the title of a blog post he recently wrote, "How to Work Really Hard and Make No Money." The negative spin on the title created shock value and contributed to it being a great success.


BONUS TIP:

When it comes to Facebook, you need a tailored strategy that works for your business. As time goes by, Facebook proves to be more important. You're starting to see a widening gap of those who get it and those who don't.

If you are looking to increase your leads, drive more traffic to your website and turn fans and followers into customers, FBinfluence is your step-by-step solution for making Facebook Marketing work for your business.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6504933

DO's & DON'Ts for bloggers

We got the lowdown on all things blogging from some of the top industry experts in the blogosphere. If you’re wondering what you should and shouldn’t be doing when you’re blogging – check out our expert panel’s top tips.

Here’s what you SHOULD be doing:

"DO be tenacious - don't give up, regular and disciplined posting pays off eventually." Dominic Smales – Gleam Digital.

"DO think about brands and how you can work with them." Vicki Fogwill – Social Media Manager for Next.

"DO make real world connections as well as online ones - the contacts you can make at events and seminars will be invaluable." Dominic Smales – Gleam Digital.

"DO value your work and your own worth." Kat Williams – Rocknrollbride.com.

"DO become friends with other bloggers. Rival blogs in London have become my best friends – it becomes a family. You should see bloggers as friends rather than enemies. Networking is huge!" Emily Johnston – Fashionfoiegras.com.

"DO look for stories and be proactive." Pat McNulty – Wed Editor at Cosmopolitan.co.uk.

"DO collaborate. Invite other bloggers onto your blog or channel then do the same with them. Post or publish together, linking to each other’s posts - your traffic should benefit." Dominic Smales – Gleam Digital.

Now take a read on what you SHOULDN’T be doing:

"DON’T blog/vlog thinking it’s a fast track to riches or even freebies. The audience and potential clients can tell and will run a mile. The pure passion and enthusiasm of your blog is what will make it successful." Dominic Smales – Gleam Digital.

"DON’T just email asking for free stuff and invites to events." Vicki Fogwill – Social Media Manager for Next.

"DON’T write things and assume everyone is interested. You may not have an audience." Andreas Pouros – Greenlight Digital.

"DON’T be controversial for the sake of it." Kat Williams – Rocknrollbride.com.

"DON’T get frustrated. Stick with it – it’s not always a quick fix." Emily Johnston – Fashionfoiegras.com.

"DON’T make enemies of other bloggers or brands. If you have a non-constructive, negative opinion of someone or something, keep it to yourself or tell your Mum, just don't tweet or post about it." Dominic Smales - Gleam Digital.

"DON’T give away your rights or content. Your audience is valuable - so don't be afraid to constantly question, 'What's in it for me?'" Dominic Smales – Gleam Digital.

Read more: http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/blogs/cosmo-blog-awards-2013/Do's-and-don'ts-for-bloggers#ixzz2acJQTJRo

YouTube Secrets Exposed: Do's And Don'ts of Building a Successful YouTube Channel

YouTube is a vital promotion tool, if you're a independent/obscure artist and you're not lucky enough to have your music uploaded by someone else to YouTube, don't just sit around waiting for someone to do it. You have two options, send uploaders your music or create your own channel. I recommend you do both, it's great for all artists to have their own YouTube channels, that way you control the music and how you want your self to be perceived.

What I will share with you today are just some simple tips to get your channel up and running and build a steady fan base. If your goal is to make a channel with 30k Subscribers and get partnership then look elsewhere, this advice is just for normal artists seeking to bring in the fans they already have.

First, set up a account in your artist name, get the page looking good and when it comes to uploading music have this in mind:

Google the most popular times in your country when YouTube has the most traffic and pick the best days (In my opinion Thursday and Sundays are perfect days).
Spread out your uploads, don't upload more then one thing at a time. The first upload will get less hits then the last upload as people will overlook it.
Tag your videos correctly and honestly! Don't put nothing like "car crash martian conspiracy", tag your music by genre, artist, year and maybe even a couple similar artists.

That is the easy stuff that most people will know as it's pretty common sense. The hard thing about YT is understanding that you are a needle in a huge haystack and getting your music/content heard and watched can be tricky.

Now if you are already an existing artist and your music is already on YT the first thing you need to do is: Harness your fans. You do this by collecting the usernames from people who have commented on tracks of yours that are already on YouTube. Collect those usernames up and put them in a notepad file and separate them by a comma.

Now it's easier to contact them and inform them that you have a new channel where you will uploading your music and content from now on; if they want to follow your new music then they can subscribe. Don't be pushy or beg for subscribers from these people, your preaching to the choir! These people are already fans of your music so your only goal is to notify them of your existence on YT if they won't to subscribe that's down to them.

Now bare in mind when it comes to contacting these people you can do it several ways, you can write on their channel walls or you can inbox them, if you inbox them you can batch message 25 people a time in a comma separate username ID list but you run the risk that people will ignore the message because they think its spam as it is a bulk message. Either way, you should notice an immediate response.

In my opinion there is no point in having a YT channel if you are not going to engage with your listeners, appreciate the feedback you get, ask for opinions...etc and if someone takes two minutes out of their life to send you a message saying "thank you for making blah blah I love that song, it changed my life" then take 2 minutes out of your day to acknowledge them.

If you are a new artist or a lesser known artist, how do you go about gaining new fans on YouTube? This is a tricky situation because unlike above you are not contacting people that already know you, so some people may view it as spam. But if you target the right people, they will thank you!

In this day and age it's hard to find new artists so when your messaged from a artist who you like it's a win/win situation! The hard part like I stated previously is finding those fans. If you make deep conscious hip-hop there is no point contacting people you find on a Lil Wayne video asking them to check out your music, if you do that do us all a favor and don't start to begin with. Instead find your target audience by narrowing down similar artists to yourself, people who you have a similar sound to. For example if you make music similar to say: Sage Francis you wouldn't just contact Sage Francis fans you would narrow it down more by including another artist you are similar to.

How? Use Google! Narrow down your search by searching:
Google > YouTube.com "channels" for example. Atmosphere or Sage Francis

By putting YouTube.com in the search field it means Google only searches that site and by putting brackets on "channels" it will bring up channels making it easier for you to contact these people. Now remember there is a thin line between promotion and spam, if you think you can just click subscribe on all these peoples channels and they will subscribe to yours, then that's a stupid idea. Contact ONLY the people who you truly believe will appreciate your music if any at all.

Target hip hop heads, people who are part of the hip hop community don't target everyday folk who use YouTube to watch make up tutorials but also who happen to like the same artists whom you believe your self to be similar with. There is a huge hip hop community on YouTube. Use the above advice at your own accord but don't spam or ruin YT for the rest of us or make it harder for other artists who are using those tactics properly, don't put a stain on fellow underground artists.

A couple Do's and Don'ts:

DO'S

Your own videos for songs be creative or if you don't have Album artwork..etc use good high res images.
Post your videos to other similar popular videos as a response.
Keep your channel active, spread our uploads out and keep people up to date.
Post all relative information in the video description: Downloads/FB Fan page...etc.


DON'TS

Buy "fake" views or subscribers. It's obvious and achieves nothing! If your main goal on YouTube is to get popular then ask yourself why! Your main goal should be to get and maintain a steady, dedicated loyal fan base.
Post comments on other videos telling people to check out your music, it's totally different from what I mentioned above and most people will just thumb you down anyway!
Get pissed off with people if they leave a negative comment, one of the best reasons for a artist to have YT is for fan feedback, if someone don't like your music that's life! Appreciate their opinion and don't get involved in petty internet arguments.
SPAM! I've said it already but you will gain nothing spamming people, you will probably just piss people off and they will just dislike your videos without even giving it a try.


And remember YouTube is a huge site, any of the advice will work, you just need to be dedicated and time will provide results.

- See more at: http://www.praverb.net/2012/05/youtube-secrets-exposed-dos-and-donts.html#sthash.qk6GdvXh.dpuf