How to Protect Your Business From a Social Phishing Scam

4/26/2018

0 Comments

https://ift.tt/2vM6wDA

How to Protect Your Business From a Social Phishing Scam

https://ift.tt/2I1Kpf8

Are you ready to respond if someone pretends to be you on social media?

Wondering how to protect your customers and brand from a social phishing attack?

From erroneous links to outright brand impersonation, social phishing is becoming more frequent.

In this article, you’ll discover four ways to protect your business from social phishing scams.

How to Protect Your Business From a Social Phishing Scam by Ben Beck on Social Media Examiner.

What Is a Social Phishing Attack?

Phishing is a criminal activity in which scammers target Internet users and your customers by imitating your legitimate company or brand. These attacks lure prospects and customers to provide sensitive data that can lead to the theft of their identity. Phishers might use a company’s logo, a similar URL, or other markers of its identity to convince people they’re the real company.

To illustrate, check out these two tweets from the official Equifax social account. The first tweet has the URL equifaxsecurity2017.com, which leads to a real website set up by the credit-reporting company.

The second tweet (inadvertently tweeted from the genuine Equifax account) has the URL securityequifax2017.com, which could have linked to a phishing site. The subtle changes in the URL make it hard for customers to catch.

Instead, the URL in the second tweet led to a site created by Nick Sweeting, who wanted to point out how easy it is to create a phishing website that fools people into sharing their information.

Phishers target social networks because so many people use them. In the U.S., 81% of people are on some form of social media platform. The impact on businesses and customers is likely to increase. A 2017 phishing report by RiskIQ revealed a 100% increase in phishing via social media from Q3 to Q4.

As a social media manager, you play a crucial role in building your company’s brand, handling customer service issues, and executing marketing plans. The last thing you need is to have social phishers pretending to be your brand to scam your customers out of sensitive information or funds. This article offers tips to help protect your identity and report social imposters.

#1: Monitor Your Brand

Having monitoring and listening systems in place will give you an eagle-eye view of who’s mentioning your brand name online and in what context. Google Alerts is a great tool for monitoring social media mentions of your company’s brand and business name.

When you set up a Google Alert for a word or phrase, you receive an email when someone mentions it online, allowing you to find mentions you might otherwise miss. After you receive an alert in your inbox, you can see if this mention is from your actual company or scammers. When you set up the alert, you can choose whether to receive alerts weekly, daily, or as they happen.

Set up a Google Alert for your business.

The best part? Google Alerts are super-easy to set up and totally free. Enter the term you want to monitor in the field at the top. Then choose your settings for the frequency, source, language, and so on. When you’re done, click Create Alert. To edit your settings, simply return to the Google Alerts page and click the Edit icon.

You may also want to use a tool that specifically monitors social media platforms. For example, Mention and Hootsuite are fee-based tools for monitoring your brand name and reputation across social media platforms. Whether you use these tools depends on your needs.

For instance, say a lot of your customers use social media to get help from customer support. These tools can help you find an identity phisher who’s pretending to be a customer support agent on Twitter and Facebook. People who don’t verify that your company owns the account may end up submitting sensitive information.

#2: Protect Your Social Community With HTTPS

The HTTPS lock shown in a browser bar confirms that traffic to and from a website is encrypted and the only people who can read that traffic are associated with that website. Enabling HTTPS on your site will add an extra layer of security for you and your customers to keep user communications, identity, and web browsing private.

Look for the HTTPS lock in your browser's address bar.

Additionally, as you curate content for your audience, be vigilant about verifying that each URL you share is from a site that has enabled HTTPS. Tell your customers to look for the lock next to any URL address before they submit any sensitive data, such as a username, password, or banking information. Also, encourage them not to enter sensitive information on an unlocked site.

#3: Report Social Phishing Scams

If you find a phisher impersonating your business or brand, you can take action to protect your brand and your social media audience. First, contact law enforcement. If someone is impersonating your business, it’s a big deal. In the United States, report the fraudulent activity to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

You should also contact the social platform about the account impersonating your brand. Each major social platform offers support for shutting down any accounts that are impersonating your business or brand. The following links point to the current support page for each social media platform:

If someone is impersonating your business, report the fraudulent activity to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Each week, set time aside to check for variations of your brand name and report any fake profiles.

#4: Educate Your Social Team

As a social media manager, you might have all of the knowledge and tools to keep your company profiles safe, but what about your co-workers? Teach everyone on your social team (and in your company) to recognize social phishing and understand how damaging a phishing scam can be for the company, its customers, and your social audience.

To help your co-workers spot fake handles, make sure everyone has a list of your company’s social media user handles. Also, encourage your staff not to click links sent to them through social accounts, even from friends, if the link seems suspicious. This will stop them from inadvertently downloading malware that can compromise customer accounts and sensitive company information.

To protect your accounts from hackers, make a policy that social media login credentials are stored securely in a password keeper and that the logins are updated regularly.

Conclusion

As a social media manager, you can help keep your company, customers, and co-workers safe from phishers. Learning a few signs to watch out for, pausing before you click, and informing others will go a long way.

You can also use tools to monitor mentions of your company, and report to the FBI and social media platforms anyone impersonating your business to get customers’ important information.

What do you think? Have you used any of these tools or tactics to prevent phishers? How have they worked for you? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Discover four ways to protect your business from a social phishing attack and respond if someone pretends to be you on social media.

Social Media

via https://ift.tt/1LtH18p

April 26, 2018 at 05:04AM

0 Comments

Snapchat is testing 6-second unskippable ads

4/25/2018

0 Comments

https://ift.tt/2vOswOb

Snapchat is testing 6-second unskippable ads

https://ift.tt/2vP9w24

Snapchat is testing 6-second unskippable ads

Snapchat is trying out more advertising options.

Image: lili sams/mashable

By Johnny Lieu2018-04-26 04:30:52 UTC

Snap's chase for ad dollars will see the company trying to get you to watch something called, wait for it, "Commercials."

The six-second unskippable ads will be tested on the TV-like Snapchat Shows, and not on personal stories or Discover editions, reports Digiday.

Once reluctant to impose ads on users, Snapchat is set to trial "Commercials" in its latest attempt to be more attractive to advertisers. The test is slated to begin mid-May, and will allow the company to see how many ads users can endure on the platform.

Snapchat Shows are around 4-5 minutes long, with productions from NBC, HBO, ESPN, BBC, among others, in the works. The thinking is that Snapchat users will already be used to watching ads to get free content.

It follows on from the launch of "shoppable" lenses in April, which allow brands to apply ads and install buttons on top of a lens.

Users continue to grumble over Snapchat's vastly unpopular redesign, resulting in the departure of several high-profile users and declining engagement.

With advertising its only source of revenue, attractive ad products is key to Snap Inc. turning around its earnings, after posting a near $350 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Social Media

via Social Media https://ift.tt/2DCFv97

April 25, 2018 at 11:39PM

0 Comments

Facebook's new ad wants you to forget about that whole subverting democracy thing

4/25/2018

0 Comments

https://ift.tt/2KdoL8p

Facebook's new ad wants you to forget about that whole subverting democracy thing

https://ift.tt/2vRwwxC

Facebook's new ad wants you to forget about that whole subverting democracy thing

I'm your friend, right?

Image: The Washington Post/Getty

By Jack Morse2018-04-26 00:45:35 UTC

This time, it will be different. This time, and I know you've heard this before, but this time Facebook's really going to change.

Yes, I know the company allowed third-party apps to scrape your data, and yes it allowed Russian trolls to foment race-based violence on its platform, but that's not who Facebook really is. Don't believe me? Well then take a look at this genuine and authentic and not-at-all-focus-grouped 60-second ad spot that the company released today.

"We came here for the friends," begins the advertisement. "But then something happened, we had to deal with spam, clickbait, fake news, and data misuse. That's going to change."

See? It's going to change, and everything is going to get better. The company explicitly told us as much. And Mark Zuckerberg always tells it like it is.

"Because when this place does what it was built for," closes out the ad, "then we all get a little closer."

Now, I know what you're thinking: Wasn't Facebook built to rank the relative hotness of Harvard coeds? No, sorry, that was Facemash — Zuckerberg's other website that he built out of a Harvard dorm room.

Facebook as we know it today was built to gather as much data as possible about its users and to leverage that data to solidify its place as an advertising juggernaut. Oh, and to be here for the friends — possibly in the form of a chair? To be honest, we're still trying to figure out Facebook's last ad.

But if there's one thing Facebook's new ad makes clear, it's that its service was definitely not built to facilitate the subversion of our democracy. Nope. It's just here to make friends.

Social Media

via Social Media https://ift.tt/2DCFv97

April 25, 2018 at 07:46PM

0 Comments

Heres why youre getting all those terms of service update emails

4/25/2018

0 Comments

https://ift.tt/2qXCvvT

Here’s why you’re getting all those terms of service update emails

https://ift.tt/2KfZZVa

Here’s why you’re getting all those terms of service update emails

Image: Busakorn Pongparnit/Getty Images

By Nicole Gallucci2018-04-25 15:58:35 UTC

Get the feeling you're suddenly being bombarded with emails from companies about updated terms of service policies?

You are. And there's a good reason: the European Union's forthcoming efforts to protect our personal data.

In April 2016, the EU announced it would soon be adopting the General Data Protection Regulation — a law that will more thoroughly govern the personal information and private data that companies and online social media platforms are able to access. Basically, the GDPR aims to ensure all your information is being used by companies responsibly.

And though the law is based in the EU, the GDPR has a worldwide impact because any global online company that collects data from someone living in the EU will be held accountable.

While the specific updates made to each terms of service policy will be individual to every company, the law expands the definition of what information is considered personal data. This means companies will likely be adjusting their privacy policies to inform users that less basic information such as IP addresses, location data, web browsing cookies, and other details are also defined as personal data.

Though the new internet regulations don't go into effect until May 25, 2018, companies like Facebook, Instagram, Google, and more, are starting to prepare by updating their terms of services and privacy policies now.

That explains all the emails, which you might want to give a look to see if anything noteworthy has changed.

To learn more about the GDPR and the impact it will have on data-driven platforms, read Mashable's explainer.

Social Media

via Social Media https://ift.tt/2DCFv97

April 25, 2018 at 11:06AM

0 Comments

Twitter revoked API access for 142k apps covering 130M low-quality Tweets in 1 week under new terms

4/25/2018

0 Comments

Twitter revoked API access for 142k apps covering 130M ‘low-quality’ Tweets in 1 week under new terms

https://ift.tt/2KeAbZs

Twitter is making good on its pledge to fight the persistent problems of spam, bots, harassment, and misinformation that have plagued the social platform for years. Today, in its generally positive Q1 earnings report, the company announced that changes that it has made related to TweetDeck and its API — two of the most common spam vectors on Twitter — in in the past quarter have translated into real numbers that point to overall improvements in quality on the service.

Specifically, according to figures published in the company’s letter to investors, 142,000 apps, accounting for 130 million Tweets, have had their API access revoked; and there are now 90 percent fewer accounts using TweetDeck to create junk Tweets.

To note, Twitter’s new changes took effect only on March 23, and the earnings report covers only activity for the three months ending March 30 — meaning these numbers are just covering a week of activity. In other words, the effect over the longer term will likely be significant.

The TweetDeck stat covering 90 percent fewer users using TweetDeck to create false information and automated engagement spam are both a result of changes to TweetDeck itself, as well as a new and more proactive approach that Twitter is taking.

In February, Twitter stopped allowing automating mass retweeting — or TweetDecking, as it’s been called by some — in which power users turned to TweetDeck to retweet posts across masses of accounts they managed, as well as across smaller user groups of people who managed masses of accounts, a technique that helps a Tweet go viral. Some weeks later it moved to suspend a number of accounts that were guilty of the practice.

Policies and enforcement around the company’s API have also been tightened up. The 142,000 applications that are no longer connected to the API were responsible for no less than 130 million “low-quality Tweets”. It’s a sizeable volume on its own, but — given the Twitter model — it’s even more impactful since they spurred a number of interactions and retweets outside those spam accounts, perpetuated by individuals. As with TweetDeck, the API changes were part of the larger overhaul Twitter made around automation and multiple accounts.

It’s an interesting turn for the company: given that the mass-action Tweeting ability has been so hugely misused, it’s a wonder why Twitter ever allowed it in the first place. It may have been one of those badly-conceived moments where Twitter thought it would help with traffic and activity on the site at a time when it needed to demonstrate growth, and perhaps just to bring more activity to the platform when it was smaller.

Beyond its own desire to be a force for good and not abuse, it’s also something that Twitter has been somewhat forced to address. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have proven to have a huge role in helping to disseminate information, but that spotlight has taken on a particularly pernicious hue in recent times. The rise of fake news and what role that might have played in the outcome of the EU referendum in the UK and the most recent presidential election in the US; and extreme cases of harassment online, are two of the uglier examples of where social sites might have an obligation to play a stronger role beyond that of simply being a conduit for information. With governments now also looking into the issue, Twitter taking better control of this is an important step, and perhaps one it would rather control itself.

In any case, this appears to be just the start of how Twitter hopes to raise the tone, and generally make its platform a safer and nicer place to be. “Our systems continue to identify and challenge millions of suspicious accounts globally per week as a result of our sustained investments in improving information quality on Twitter,” the company notes.

There are also some interesting plans in the pipeline. The company has been on a “health” kick of late, and has been looking to crowdsource suggestions for how to improve trust and safety, and reduce abuse and spam, on the platform. An RFP that it issued to stakeholders — and anyone interested in helping — has so far yielded 230 responses from “global institutions”, the company said. “We expect to have meaningful updates in the second quarter, and we’re committed to continuing to share our progress along the way.”

We are listening to the earnings webcast and will update with more related to this as we hear it.

Social Media

via Twitter – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com

April 25, 2018 at 10:33AM

0 Comments

How to Create a Killer Video Promotion to Increase Engagement

4/25/2018

0 Comments

https://ift.tt/2FfsD52

How to Create a Killer Video Promotion to Increase Engagement

https://ift.tt/2HukJGM

People love watching videos. That’s why 87% of marketers use video content to engage with their audiences on the Internet.

More than half of marketing experts across the globe say they get the highest ROI from their video promotions.

When it comes to social media, videos generate 1,200% more shares than both text and pictures combined.

Another reason why videos are great is because it’s easier for viewers to comprehend your message while watching videos. In fact, your audience will retain 95% of information they consumed through a video as opposed to just 10% of information they consumed through reading text.

It’s no secret that video content has been dominating the latest trends.

But with so many videos out there flooding the market, you need to make sure your video promotions can stand out from the crowd.

The majority of consumers prefer watching video content on YouTube and television:

These are the platforms you should prioritize when creating a new video promotion.

Don’t get me wrong, just because videos are a great way to market your brand doesn’t mean you should completely abandon your other marketing strategies.

You should still continue blogging, sending emails to your subscribers, and staying active on social media. Another reason why video promotions are so awesome is because you can incorporate them into all these other distribution channels as well.

It’s easy to add videos to your blog, embed them into your emails, and share them on social media.

Here’s something else to keep in mind. Yes, consumers love videos. But that doesn’t mean that everything you publish will automatically be a huge success.

You’ve got to learn how to engage with your audience through promotional videos, which is why I created this guide. Keep these tips in mind if you want to continue running successful video promos.

Identify your audience

Your video promotion won’t appeal to everyone.

That’s okay. You shouldn’t try to reach every person on the planet with your marketing campaigns.

The first step in creating a killer video promo is to identify your target market. For starters, I’m assuming your brand has already done this.

But not everything you offer is necessarily intended for all your customers. You may sell products for men and women of all ages. Don’t try to appeal to these different audiences with the same video.

Instead, segment your target audience based on the goal of your campaign, which we’ll discuss in greater detail shortly.

Here’s an example of how Lululemon used this strategy in this ad:

Lululemon sells yoga clothing, gear, and accessories. This brand primarily sells to women. But recently, they launched a men’s line as well.

This video promotion is aimed specifically at male audiences.

Don’t worry. By doing this, you won’t be abandoning the rest of your customers. You’ll just need to come up with additional promos to target them as well.

Next, you’ll use different distribution strategies appropriate to the market segment you’re targeting.

Stick to a reasonable budget

You don’t need to spend a ton of money on your video promotions. The cost will largely depend on what you’re trying to accomplish.

What do you need in your video?

For example, you may need to rent a facility, hire actors, or work with a celebrity, which may cost you a lot of money, but you may not need any of that.

Keep in mind, to be successful, you’ll need to make lots of promos. You don’t want to dump a ton of money into each one.

For the most part, you can make a great video without breaking the bank. Use your employees and friends as actors and look for locations that are free to shoot.

You also need to keep in mind how much it’s going to cost you to distribute your promotions. If you’re planning to just upload them to your YouTube channel and share them on your website, social media pages, and email lists, there won’t be any cost.

But if you’re filming an ad for television or paid promotions on social media, the costs will vary.

Marketing experts cited the cost and budget as the number one reason preventing them from spending more money on video advertising:

But if you can find ways to keep your costs low, this won’t be an issue for you.

That’s why it’s important to come up with a budget before you get started. Then you won’t have any surprises or money problems once you start filming.

Focus on one goal

What’s the point of your video?

Are you trying to promote an event? Advertise a sale? Build hype for a new product or service? Or maybe you’re trying to get downloads, add subscribers, or drive traffic to a landing page?

Video promotions are great for building brand awareness as well. The possibilities are endless.

Regardless of your reason, it’s important that you create one video promo for one goal. As I said earlier, this goal is also related to your target audience, which you’ve previously identified.

Do not go overboard here.

If you try to accomplish too many goals in one promotion, it’ll confuse your audience, and the engagement will suffer. Later, we’ll talk more about your ending call to action, but it should reinforce the goal of your promo.

Make sure you’ve got the right equipment

You don’t need to hire a professional director and camera person to film your video promotions. It’ll help you keep your budget within your means, as discussed above.

If you’re planning on making lots of promotional videos in the future, which you should be, it’ll be worth it for you to invest in the right equipment now.

Here are some things you’ll need to get:

quality camera
microphone
lighting equipment
editing software

These are necessary if you want to make sure your promotion looks professional.

Publishing a poor quality video can create the opposite effect of what you’re trying to accomplish:

Research shows that unprofessional videos cause consumers to have a negative association with the brand that published them.

Don’t underestimate the importance of getting the proper equipment.

Write a script

No matter how creative you are, don’t try to wing it when you’re filming a video promo.

Even if you have a general idea of the content of your promo, write out each line ahead of time. Write the lines for all the actors as well as any narration lines.

You should also consider dead air time when nobody is speaking. Include pauses and breaks in your script as well. All of this needs to be accounted for before filming starts.

Having a script will keep things organized. That way, you’ll use your time efficiently whenever you’re filming.

Trying to figure out the best way to word a scene on the filming day is an ineffective allocation of your time. Instead, your efforts should be focused on getting quality shots.

Having a script that’s ready to go will also help eliminate any friction or confrontations with your staff.

Depending on the managerial structure of your brand, there may be several people who have an input and strong opinions about your marketing campaign.

The last thing you want is for people to argue about the direction of your video while you’re trying to film it. Working out the details ahead of time will make sure everyone involved sticks to the script, pun intended.

Time is of the essence

How long is your video promotion? 10 seconds? 30 seconds? a minute?

You need to plan that before you get started. The most important part of your video promotion is capturing the viewers’ attention at the very beginning.

Research shows that as time increases, engagement decreases. Don’t ease into your videos.

Chances are your audience may not get through the entire thing. But a strong introduction in the first ten seconds can keep them hooked and engaged throughout the duration of the promo.

The length of your video will also vary depending on your distribution method.

HubSpot studied the ideal length of a promotional video based on the distribution channel. These were their findings.

Instagram promos should be 30 seconds long. That’s because the average length of videos on this platform with the most comments was 26 seconds long.

Plus, Instagram’s platform encourages users to keep scrolling. Shorter videos make the most sense here.

Twitter videos should be short as well. People are used to reading short updates on this platform since they have a 140-character text limit. Plus, the average length of Twitter’s videos of the day was 43 seconds long.

Video promotions on Facebook that were one minute long had high engagement rates.

YouTube videos can be a bit longer. The optimal length of a YouTube video is roughly two minutes because users tend to spend more time watching videos on this platform.

Make sure your timing is sorted out before you start filming. Otherwise, the promotion could feel dragged out if you don’t get right to the point.

Choose a theme

What’s the mood of your video? This may seem like a strange question, but you need to answer it.

Figure out what kind of emotions you want your audience to feel when they’re watching your promotion. These are the top positive emotions felt by viewers watching viral video content:

Having a clear theme will keep everyone working on this project on the same page.

If you don’t know where to start, here are some theme recommendations to give you some inspiration:

humorous content
serious and informative
sad
romantic
dramatic
inspirational
confrontational
corny and quirky
music video
entertainment
sense of luxury

The list goes on and on, but these are reasonable places to start your brainstorming.

Here’s something else you need to consider. Music. Will there be any music playing in your promotion, or will it be only people talking?

The type of music included in your video promo will give your audience a good sense of your theme.

Make sure you stick with just one or two themes at the most. Don’t throw a joke into a promo that has a serious and informative theme because it will confuse your audience.

Pick a style

In addition to your theme, you also need to determine a style of your promo.

Are you using actors to replicate a real life scenario? Or maybe you’re using live footage.

If you’re not using actors, you may want to use an animated style or b-roll video. You could have a screencast with a narrator speaking or use a whiteboard demonstration.

Here’s a quick video promo on the Dollar Shave Club website:

It’s promoting their shave butter. This video has a lot going on, but it’s used effectively.

It uses a combination of actors and animations to create a fantasy scene that’s humorous. The actor puts on the shaving butter and then feels as if he’s swimming in it.

As you can see, you’re allowed to combine styles. You can always use a voiceover to enhance the style and prove a point.

Film multiple versions of your promo

You’ve got all your equipment set up, so you might as well take advantage of it.

If your end goal is a 30-second video promotion, don’t film just 30 seconds and call it a day. Mix things up.

Film longer versions of your promo as well. You can always edit it down later based on your distribution channel.

For example, you can create a two-minute-long video intended for YouTube and then release a 30-second clip of it on Instagram and a minute-long version on Facebook, according to the optimal length of videos for different channels I discussed earlier.

You could also consider filming a long version and release part of it at a time. Create a series out of your promotion so viewers anxiously anticipate the sequel to find out what happens next.

End with a strong call to action

Your CTA will be the extension of your goals I discussed above.

The call to action should be at the end of your video and reinforce whatever you’re trying to accomplish.

If the video is being distributed online, it could end with a website for people to visit or a download link to click on.

Include a phone number if you want your audience to make a call.

Use phrases such as buy now, save today, or sign up for free.

Again, this will all vary based on the goal of your campaign.

Here’s an example of the last clip of a Little Caesars video promotion:

The message is clear. Pay $5 for a pizza.

This entire promo talks about how you can just walk into one of their locations and leave with a hot pizza that’s ready to eat. It differs from most pizza restaurants where you’d have to order your pizza and wait for it.

The CTA at the end of the video reinforces this message.

It should be very obvious to anyone who watches your video what type of action you’re trying to get your viewers to do based on your call to action. Don’t be ambiguous. Get straight to the point.

Conclusion

Consumers love videos. Your brand needs to learn how to master video marketing campaigns.

The first thing you need to do is identify the audience your video will target.

Set a budget, and stick to one goal per promotion. Get yourself proper filming equipment, and write a script to stay organized.

Decide on the length of your promotion. This will vary based on your distribution methods.

Choose a theme and style of your promo based on what type of emotions you want the viewers to feel while they’re watching it.

Film multiple versions of the video promotion. You can always cut it to an appropriate length later.

All great video promos end with a strong call to action.

If you follow these tips, your video promotions will have high engagement rates and ultimately lead to more conversions.

How is your brand using video promotions to engage with your target audience?

Social Media

via Quick Sprout https://ift.tt/UU7LJr

April 25, 2018 at 10:13AM

0 Comments

100 Social Media Demographics that Matter to Marketers

4/25/2018

0 Comments

100+ Social Media Demographics that Matter to Marketers

https://ift.tt/2r3YEYP

Understanding social media demographics—the different audiences that each platform has the potential to reach—will help you fine-tune your marketing strategy and reach the right people with the right message. The most effective social media marketers go where their audience is. And while that may seem obvious, the fact is many marketers spread themselves too thin across too many platforms.

Because think about it: how many men prowl the boards of Pinterest for power drill DIYs? What are the chances Snapchatters are thinking about retirement? Could LinkedIn members be lured by video game ads? Okay, maybe some.

If you already feel like you know the answer to these questions, then you’re on the right track. Continue reading to find out more about the user demographics of every major social media network.

Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals how to increase social media engagement with better audience research, sharper customer targeting, and Hootsuite’s easy-to-use social media software.

Facebook Demographics

Facebook now has more monthly active users than any one country’s population. With such a massive user base, it’s vital for marketers to understand the demographic segments that matter most to them.

General

Daily active users: 1.4 billion, an increase of 14% year-over-year
Monthly active users: 2.13 billion
Facebook Messenger now has 1.3 billion monthly active users

Age

With the exception of those 65 and older, a majority of Americans of all ages now use Facebook.
In the U.S., 25-34 year-olds are the largest cohort on Facebook.
34% of online U.S. teenagers think that Facebook is “for old people,” but 76% of 12-17-year-olds still use the network.
Around eight-in-ten (81%) of those ages 18 to 29 use Facebook in the U.S.
68% of U.S. adults now report that they are Facebook users, of which 75% use Facebook daily.
Only about 40% of those 65 and older in the U.S. use Facebook—double what it was in 2012.

Gender

More U.S. women (74%) report that they use Facebook than men (62%).

Ethnicity

73% of U.S. adults who identify as Hispanic say they use Facebook, versus 70% black and 67% white.

Geography

More than 50% of Facebook users speak a language other than English
More than 88% of Facebook’s monthly active users live outside of the U.S.
239 million monthly active users live in the U.S.
17.5% of monthly active users live in Europe (364 million).
38% (794 million) of monthly active users live in Asia-Pacific, the fastest growing region.
33% (675 million) of monthly active users live in the rest of the world.
Most Facebook users in the United States live in urban areas, followed by suburban, and rural.

Income

75% of U.S. adults who use Facebook make $75,000+.

Education

77% of U.S. adults who use Facebook have a college degree or more.

These demographics, plus these other Facebook statistics, are integral to any smart Facebook marketing strategy.

Twitter Demographics

Twitter’s base may be smaller than Facebook’s, but its users are a mighty force, especially when it comes to political engagement. Here are the key Twitter demographic stats marketers should incorporate into their next Twitter strategy.

General

Monthly active users: 330 million
Nearly one-in-four Americans say they use Twitter.
73% of Twitter users in the U.S. also use Instagram.

Age

In the U.S., Twitter is most popular with the younger generation. 45% of 18-24-year-olds use Twitter in the U.S., compared with 8%of those 65 and up.
The second largest demographic of Twitter users in the U.S. are 25-29-year-olds.

Gender

Slightly more women use Twitter than men in the U.S.

Ethnicity

Roughly one-in-four African Americans and Hispanics in the U.S. use Twitter, versus approximately one-in-five white internet users.

Geography

68 million monthly active users are located in the U.S.
262 million monthly active users live outside of the U.S. (roughly 80%of all users).
Despite the fact that Twitter is blocked in China, it’s estimated that there are more than 10 million users in the country.
Twitter users in Africa are five times more likely to use the network to voice their political views.
Most Twitter users in the U.S. live in urban centers, followed by suburban and rural areas.

Income

32% of Twitter users in the U.S. make more than $75,000 a year.

Education

45% of Twitter’s new users have college degrees.

Other

More political leaders use Twitter than any other social platform. 276 heads of state, government and ministries in 178 countries use Twitter
Pope Francis is the most followed world leader on Twitter.

Want more? Here are 28 Twitter Statistics All Marketers Need to Know in 2018, plus some more Twitter demographics.

Instagram Demographics

With two million monthly advertisers and eight million business profiles on Instagram it’s becoming more difficult for marketers to stand out from the crowd. Knowing these Instagram demographics will help make a difference in your Instagram marketing strategy.

General

More than 800 million users
Daily active users: 500 million users
More than 300 million users check Instagram Stories daily

Age

71% of Americans aged 18 to 24 now use Instagram. More than 80% of these users check the platform daily, and 55% visit multiple times a day.

Gender

Instagram is more popular with women than it is with men in the U.S.

Ethnicity

43% of African Americans in the U.S. use Instagram, followed by 38% Hispanic and 32% white Americans.

Geography

More than 80% of Instagram’s community lives outside of the U.S.
According to Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom, Brazil and India are fast-growing regions.
Most Instagram users live in urban areas, followed by suburban and rural areas.

Income

Household income is distributed somewhat evenly among Instagram users. The amount of American users who make $75,000 or more is tied with American users who make $30,000-$49,999.

Education

42% of U.S. adults who use Instagram have a college degree or more.

For additional consideration, read 23+ Useful Instagram Statistics for Social Media Marketers or take a deep dive into more Instagram demographics.

YouTube Demographics

Though often overlooked as a social media platform, marketers can’t afford to ignore YouTube. More than three quarters of Americans use the video-sharing site, making it second only to Facebook in reach.

General

YouTube has a global audience of 1.5 billion viewers. That’s almost one-third of all people on the Internet.

Age

94% of 18-24-year-olds in the U.S. use YouTube.
YouTube’s adoption rate is growing fastest among teens, passing Facebook to become their most popular social network with this demographic.
YouTube reaches more 18-34-year-olds and 18-49-year-olds than any cable network in the U.S.

Gender

YouTube is more popular with teenage boys: 85% of boys 13-17-years old watch YouTube daily, versus 70% of girls.

Ethnicity

78% of Hispanic people in the U.S. use YouTube, followed by 76%of black internet users and 71% of white internet users.
Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals how to increase social media engagement with better audience research, sharper customer targeting, and Hootsuite’s easy-to-use social media software.
Get the free guide right now!

Geography

People watch YouTube in 88 countries and 76 languages around the world.
180.1 million people watch YouTube in the U.S.
400 million people in India watch YouTube.
The vast majority of YouTube users live in urban areas.

Income

84% of YouTube users make more than $75,000 a year.

Education

More than 80% of YouTube users have a college degree or more.

Round out your research with these 31 YouTube Stats That Matter to Marketers.

Pinterest Demographics

Pinterest has a good track record when it comes to conversions. One in two users have made a purchase after spotting a Promoted Pin. But with more than 60 million buyable pins from over 10,000 brands, marketers need to pin down Pinterest’s core demographics to succeed.

General

200 million people use Pinterest every month.
90% of weekly Pinners use Pinterest to make purchase decisions.
80% of Pinterest users prefer mobile to desktop.

Age

One out of every two millennials use Pinterest every month.

Gender

Pinterest is much more popular with women: Only 30% of its users are men.
But, 50% of Pinterest’s new sign-ups are men.
Pinterest reaches 83% of all women 25-54 years-old in the U.S. That’s more than Instagram, Snap and Twitter.

Ethnicity

Pinterest is more popular among white internet users than among African Americans and Hispanics.

Geography

50% of Pinterest users are based outside of the U.S.
Monthly active users in Ireland and New Zealand grew by more than 25% in 2016.
Pinterest is the only major social platform in the U.S. with a majority of suburban users.

Income

40% of Pinterest users have a household income of more than $100,000 a year.

Education

The majority of Pinterest users have a college degree or more. Only 18% of U.S.-based Pinners have high school diploma or less.

Here’s an even longer list of Pinterest stats that marketers need to know, as well as more Pinterest demographics.

LinkedIn Demographics

LinkedIn may be the number one site for employers to connect with prospective employees and vice versa. But it’s also a unique platform for marketers to reach one of the most affluent and educated user bases on social media. Make sure you’re familiar with these demographics when crafting your LinkedIn marketing strategy.

General

546 million registered members
80% of LinkedIn members consider professional networking an important part to their career success.

Age

LinkedIn is most popular among 25-29-year-olds, followed closely by 30-49-year-olds.

Gender

Men and women are equally represented on the platform.

Ethnicity

Fewer American Hispanics use LinkedIn when compared with Hispanic adoption of other social sites.
In the U.S., African Americans (28%) members are the largest ethnic group, followed by white internet users (26%).

Geography

People in 200 countries use LinkedIn.
More than 70% of Linkedin members live outside of the U.S.
171 million users are based in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The U.S. has the largest national user base (146 million members), followed by India, China and Brazil.
LinkedIn users live mostly in urban centers, followed closely by suburban areas.

Income

44% of LinkedIn users have incomes over $75,000.
75% of LinkedIn users have incomes of over $50,000.

Education

More than 46 million students and recent college graduates use LinkedIn. They are the networking site’s fastest-growing demographic.
50% of Americans with a college degree use LinkedIn, versus only 9% of members with a high school diploma or less.

Snapchat Demographics

Brands on Snapchat are unlikely to reach the oldest generations. But the ephemeral photo and video-sharing app is where a lot of the cool kids are hanging out. Take these demographics into account when crafting your Snapchat marketing strategy.

General

Daily active users: 187 million, marking an 18% increase year-over-year
77% of Snapchat users based in the U.S. also use Instagram.

Age

The majority of Snapchat users are 18-34 years old.
78% of 18-24-year-olds use Snapchat, and 71%of these users visit the platform multiple times a day.
Snapchat usage drops off with older generations, with only 54% of 25-29-year-olds using the app.

Gender

Overall, Snapchat is more popular with women.
42% of 18-29-year-old women have a Snapchat account, versus 31% of men in the same age group.

Ethnicity

28% of Snapchat users identify as African American, followed by 31% Hispanic and 24% white.

Geography

According to the Global Web Index, Snapchat’s top ten countries based on penetration are Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, India, the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and France.
Most Snapchat users live in urban areas, followed by suburban and rural.

Income

The majority of U.S. Snapchat users make $30,000 to $49,000 a year.

Education

College students are more likely to have Snapchat accounts.

Find more Snapchat demographics here.

***
Researching the demographics you’re most likely to reach on social media platforms is essential, but it’s just the start. To take your marketing strategy to the next level, your next steps should involve conducting a social media audit, creating social media goals, and devising a content plan.

Now that you’ve got the demographic stats you need to plan your social media strategy, use Hootsuite to build and target an audience of loyal followers. Try it free today.

Get Started

The post 100+ Social Media Demographics that Matter to Marketers appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

Social Media

via Hootsuite Social Media Management https://ift.tt/1LdunxE

April 25, 2018 at 09:03AM

0 Comments

4 Tools to Help Rank Your YouTube Videos

4/25/2018

1 Comment

https://ift.tt/2qZcyuZ

4 Tools to Help Rank Your YouTube Videos

https://ift.tt/2qZn4ST

Are your YouTube videos ranking in YouTube search?

Looking for tools to optimize your titles, keywords, and tags?

In this article, you’ll discover a four-step process to reveal high-performing keywords for your YouTube content.

4 Tools to Help Rank Your YouTube Videos by Syed Balkhi on Social Media Examiner.

#1: Gauge Topic Interest with Google Trends

Before you create a YouTube video, the first step is to find a topic that’s interesting to your audience. It won’t matter how well you optimize your video for keywords if people aren’t interested in its content.

You can use Google Trends to see which proposed topics have enough interest on YouTube. Simply enter your topic into the Explore bar, and on the results page that appears, select YouTube Search from the drop-down menu just above the line graph. The graph will then show you how much interest your topic has had over the last 12 months.

In this example, “funny animals” is beating “cute animals” in Google Trends.

Google Trends keyword comparison.

You can customize the results by country and scroll down to find related search queries as well. Under related queries, you see that “funny hamsters” is a breakout trend at the moment. So perhaps you’ll want to include some cute hamsters doing funny things in your video to increase watch time.

Google Trends related queries.

Bonus Tool: Quora is a great platform you can use to find plenty of topics for creating videos. The website is filled with questions related to all kinds of industries and categories. Browse a category related to your industry to find a few topics on which you can offer insight.

#2: Assess Keyword Search Volume and Competition With Ubersuggest

Your video topic should give you a starting place for choosing keywords. After you develop your initial keyword ideas, you can analyze them using a free tool like Ubersuggest. Enter your keyword in Ubersuggest and select YouTube from the drop-down menu. After you initiate the search, the tool takes only a couple of seconds to analyze the keyword.

Ubersuggest will not only analyze your keyword to find how many searches it gets, but also show you a competition score that indicates how difficult it is to target that keyword. In this example, the keyword has about 140 searches per month, which isn’t good enough to get lots of views of a video.

Now let’s say that instead of “YouTube SEO tools,” you want to do a video about animals. The keyword “animals” alone generates 450,000 searches on YouTube and has a lower competition score of .07. Immediately, “funny animals” stands out because it has 40,500 YouTube searches and a very low competition score of .02.

Look for keywords with low competition scores in your Ubersuggest search results.

Examining further, you might find that “cute animals” generates 90,500 searches and also has a low competition score of .02. These are keywords that you might want in the title of your video. For instance, a potential title could be “Cute and Funny Animals You Have to See Before You Die.”

#3: Mine YouTube Autosuggestions for Additional Keywords

Taking a look at autosuggestions in the YouTube search tool can help you find more popular keyword ideas. Head over to YouTube and enter your topic. Then see what kind of autosuggestions YouTube displays for that keyword.

Autosuggestions are one of the best ways you can use to find effective keywords because these keywords always pop up whenever someone searches for a topic. To illustrate, if you enter “funny animals” into the search bar, it’ll autosuggest a set of great long-tail keywords for you to choose from.

After you gather additional keyword ideas from the YouTube search tool, you can go back to Ubersuggest to research this set of keywords. Specifically, you want to pay close attention to their search volume. When you’ve found the best keywords, you can use them in your video title and description.

#4: Research Video Tags With VidIQ

Choosing the right tags for your YouTube video is just as important as targeting keywords. With the right tags, you can rank for the right keywords and in the most-searched categories.

To figure out which tags to use, analyze your competition with VidIQ, a simple, free Chrome extension. To start using this tool, you need to install the VidIQ extension in your browser and create a free account. Then you can use VidIQ to search for the keywords you’ve selected from your research and view the top-ranking videos for those keywords.

When you open a video on YouTube, you’ll see a new panel on the right. You can view a detailed breakdown of the video’s SEO, including an SEO score, number of end screens and referrers, and more. All the way down at the bottom, a section shows all of the tags used in the video and by the channel.

VidIQ shows SEO video and channel tags.

You can also see how this particular video ranks for each of those tags. Simply click a competitor’s tag to find the search volume and competition for that tag.

Click a competitor's tag in VidIQ to see the search volume and competition for that tag.

View other videos in the search results and repeat the process. Pick tags with the highest volume and lowest competition, and incorporate those into your own video when uploading it to YouTube.

Remember that using lots of tags won’t increase the chances of more people seeing your video. Instead, focus on finding the right tags. Although YouTube doesn’t limit the number of tags you use, go for quality over quantity.

Other Ways to Improve Video Rank

In addition to keywords and tags, YouTube uses several factors to rank videos. The video’s click-through rate (CTR) is one of the most important factors. YouTube carefully analyzes videos that generate the highest retention and ranks them higher in search results.

For example, if your video ranks number 10 in the search results for a specific keyword, but for some reason, more people are clicking your video instead of the others, YouTube will slowly bring your video to the top of the search results.

This is why it’s important to use a custom thumbnail. It can attract attention to your video and get more people to click it.

In addition, comments and likes on your videos help improve interactions and tell YouTube’s algorithm that people are interested in your videos. This interest then increases your chance to rank higher in search results.

Conclusion

YouTube uses complicated algorithms and ranking factors to show the most relevant videos to its users. Identifying useful keywords and tags before you produce your videos can give you a competitive edge in the search results for your keywords.

When you use tools like Google Trends, Ubersuggest, and VidIQ to research topics and keywords, you can get an additional advantage because you’ll know what topics interest YouTube users but have lower competition scores. By following the tips in this article, you can begin to take advantage of these factors and get more exposure for your videos.

What do you think? Have you used any of these tools? How have you improved the audience for your YouTube videos? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Discover a four-step process to reveal high-performing keywords for your YouTube content.

Social Media

via https://ift.tt/1LtH18p

April 25, 2018 at 05:04AM

1 Comment

Looks like Google is changing Androids gun emoji into a water gun

4/24/2018

0 Comments

Looks like Google is changing Android’s gun emoji into a water gun

https://ift.tt/2Fe9HU0

Back in 2016, Apple swapped out the graphic used for its gun emoji, replacing the realistically drawn handgun with a bright green water gun.

Just a few days ago, Twitter followed suit.

And now, it seems, so will Google. The gun emoji on Android will likely soon appear as a bright orange and yellow super soaker lookalike.

As first noted by Emojipedia, Google has just swapped the graphics in its open Noto Emoji library on GitHub. These are the Emoji that Android uses by default, so the same change will presumably start to roll out there before too long.

At this point, Google making this change seemed inevitable. It seemed likely to happen as soon Apple made the jump; once others started following suit (Twitter earlier this week, and Samsung with the release of the Galaxy S9) it became a certainty.

It’s a matter of clarity in communication. If a massive chunk of people (iOS users) can send a cartoony water toy in a message that another massive chunk of people (Android users) receive as a realistically drawn handgun, there’s room for all sorts of trouble and confusion. Apple wasn’t going to reverse course on this one — and now that others have made the change, Google would’ve been the odd one out.

Social Media

via Twitter – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com

April 24, 2018 at 08:09PM

0 Comments

5 Easy Ways to Spring Clean Your Social Media

4/24/2018

0 Comments

5 Easy Ways to Spring Clean Your Social Media

https://ift.tt/2qUXgaw

5 Easy Ways to Spring Clean Your Social Media - Hootsuite Social Media Management

Spring has sprung, step into springâ€¦ However many cliches you want to throw at it, spring is here, and as tradition says, we must spring clean.

So to celebrate, here are five ways to spring clean your social channels.

Bonus: Download a free guide to discover which hashtags to use to boost traffic and target customers on social media. And then learn how you can use Hootsuite to measure results.

1. Roll up those sleeves and have a clear-out

Old logos and poorly-sized profile picturesâ€”get rid of them all. Update with the latest and correctly-sized images for each of your social channels. This little change can have a big impact on the impression your business gives. Unsure of what image sizes you need for each channel? Take a look at our handy guide.

Also, donâ€™t forget to take a look through your social media bios and profile descriptions. Are they up to date? Do they have the right URL in them? Are they referencing something that happened in 2012?

2. Dust off those goals

Sometimes we get so busy that we neglect our goals for social media and they end up with a layer of dust.

Take them out and see how close you are to achieving them, or if theyâ€™re still even right for your business. If youâ€™re not close to achieving them, what do you need to do to get there? If youâ€™ve surpassed them, what new ones should you set?

Donâ€™t be surprised if you need to make adjustments. Things change rapidly in both social and business, and it might be that what you set out to achieve six months ago just needs tweaking.

Also, take this as a learning exerciseâ€”do you need to do something different in the future when youâ€™re putting your goals together? If you need to brush up on setting social media goals, we have a blog post for that.

3. Give that social strategy a good clean

Get stuck in there with a little elbow grease and look at your results over the past quarter. Whatâ€™s been working well? What hasnâ€™t been working well? What needs to change?

This doesnâ€™t have to be a big audit, just enough of a deep-dive so you can make quick adjustments for those easy wins. A lot can be learned from a little bit of data when it comes to your social media strategy.

4. See if that Instagram account looks better on the mantelpiece

Sometimes efforts can be spread a little thin when it comes to multiple social channels. If thereâ€™s one channel your business is excelling on, ask yourselfâ€”should you focus all your efforts there or can you replicate what youâ€™re doing there across other channels?

Depending on your business or brand, not every channel will help you you reach your target audience. Twitter, for instance, can be a helpful customer service tool, but if youâ€™re hoping to sell more products, maybe Instagram is best. Sometimes it can take switching your efforts and goals from one channel to another to see a great return on your investment.

Take a look at our guide on social channels and how they can benefit your business to help.

5. Look at what your neighbors (competitors) are doing

Pablo Picasso said: â€œGood artist copy, great artists steal.â€

Weâ€™re not suggesting that you steal everything your competitors are doing, but you can learn from their successes and look to emulate them, whilst avoiding their failures.

We suggest taking your three main competitors and doing anaudit of their social channels. See whatâ€™s working for them and what you can implement within your own strategy. You can also use these insights as a benchmark when it comes to evaluating your own performance.

Complete all of these tasks and youâ€™ll have social channels that are spring-fresh and ready to roll.

Refresh your social media strategy with Hootsuiteâ€™s help. Easily manage your social channels and engage followers across networks from a single dashboard. Try it free today.

Get Started

Social Media

via Hootsuite Social Media Management https://ift.tt/1LdunxE

April 24, 2018 at 09:02AM

0 Comments

<<Previous

Forward>>