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How to Maximize Your Exposure With LinkedIn Hashtags https://ift.tt/2v1bEjP Have you noticed more people using hashtags on LinkedIn? Looking for tips for using hashtags in your own LinkedIn marketing? In this article, you’ll learn how to use the LinkedIn Hashtags You Follow feature to develop a solid hashtag strategy for LinkedIn.
#1: Explore the Hashtags You Follow FeatureLinkedIn is encouraging users to post and search for specific hashtags using the Your Communities section on the left-hand side of their LinkedIn feed. If you see the Your Communities box on your home page, you have the ability to manage hashtag use and conversations more easily, right from a convenient location. Click the pencil icon to start adding hashtags to your list. Click on any hashtags you’re following to monitor and easily join the conversations built around them. Click Show More to see the full list of Linkedin hashtags you’re following. To customize the abbreviated list to show the top three LinkedIn hashtags you want to use, click the Pin icon next to the hashtags you want to show. If you pin the hashtags that are most relevant, it will save you the extra step of clicking Show More. Seeing the pinned hashtags every time you visit LinkedIn will also reinforce using those hashtags when you post updates. Finally, you can click Discover More to find new hashtag suggestions. This is a great way to see the number of followers for specific hashtags, which can be a good indicator whether you should be using those hashtags too. Find a hashtag you like and click the + symbol to begin following it. #2: Determine Which Hashtags to Use on LinkedInBefore you begin adding hashtags to your LinkedIn posts and articles, you’ll need to find hashtags that align with your LinkedIn marketing and the interests of your ideal audience. Do some additional research. A good place to start is to see which hashtags the influencers in your niche are using on LinkedIn, as well as on sites such as Twitter and Instagram. Pay attention to who is using the hashtag and how they use it in tandem with their content. Before adding any hashtag to your own strategy, it’s important to verify the hashtag’s popularity and contextual meaning. In the search bar, search for that hashtag and filter your search according to people, groups, and companies using that hashtag. This will help you discover if you should use a specific hashtag to reach a niche audience segment. Try Hashtagify.me to vet hashtag popularity (and reveal the influencers who are using them). There’s a free option, as well as plans that start at $29 per month, billed monthly. You can evaluate plan options with a 7-day free trial. To discover what specific hashtags mean to an audience, try Tagdef. This site allows you to easily search for hashtags or phrases to discover their definition and popularity. A quick search can ensure that your hashtag doesn’t have a hidden message you didn’t know about. Pro Tip: To develop a hashtag strategy, you must first find the hashtags that best connect you with your ideal audience. As you discover relevant hashtags, keep a running list of them in a Google Doc so you can quickly update your Linkedin Hashtags You Follow list as needed. #3: Incorporate Hashtags in Your LinkedIn MarketingNow that you have your LinkedIn hashtags, you can begin using them. Here are a few tips to get you started. Search for Hashtags to Reveal Conversations You Can Engage With After you find relevant conversions with a hashtag search (or by clicking on the hashtag in the Hashtags You Follow box), comment on and like posts and articles written by other users to grow your network and get your name out there. It also helps strengthen and build your network on LinkedIn. Weave LinkedIn hashtags within your comments to ensure you show up within that hashtag feed. This will also help you become associated with that specific hashtag. If someone posts an article you find interesting or valuable, go to their profile to find out more about them:
Follow and connect with them on LinkedIn and any other sites they’re on. Add Hashtags When You Create a Post or Article By using hashtags in your post, you’re ensuring that your content will be discovered organically and by those following and searching for the hashtags you’re using. LinkedIn encourages this by generating recommendations. You can either use one of the hashtag suggestions or type in your preferred hashtags. This tactic can also help you deliver topical news and articles that relate to specific segments within your audience. Pro Tip: LinkedIn doesn’t limit the number of hashtags you can add to your articles, but they encourage users to use hashtags that are relevant. And while you can edit an article after it’s published, you can’t edit or remove hashtags. Remember to insert any hashtags before you publish your post! Become an Active Member of LinkedIn Groups That Share an Interest in Your Hashtag Once you find and join relevant LinkedIn groups, ask questions and share original content, interesting articles, and videos. Comment when other members post and share your experiences and insight. Incorporate Your LinkedIn Hashtag Strategy Into Your Overall Social Media Strategy If a particular hashtag resonates with a LinkedIn member, it’s likely they’ll be interested in the same type of content on other social channels. Extending your use of hashtags to the rest of your social presences will make it easy for those followers to find your content, and by extension, find and follow you. Hashtags can be used to keep up with current events, follow industry trends, encourage conversations, and grow your influence. When used properly and consistently, hashtags are an effective tool for targeting a specific audience and growing your brand. Each social media platform is unique and you should adapt your hashtag strategy from site to site to reflect this. What do you think? Do you have access to the LinkedIn Hashtags You Follow feature? How are you using hashtags on LinkedIn? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Social Media via Social Media Examiner https://ift.tt/1LtH18p July 24, 2018 at 05:02AM
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6 Ways Retail Brands are Championing in Email Marketing https://ift.tt/2JNLiHa 6 Ways Retail Brands are Championing in Email Marketing E-mail marketing is a game-changer in every retail industry; from the brick-and-mortar shop down the corner to the biggest e-commerce store. Customers who buy products through email spent 138% more compared to counterparts who didn’t get emails. As such, many brands invested time, money, and human resources to get their email marketing right. They use tools such as email marketing automation software to polish their emails to perfection. Here are 6 strategies retail brands are using email marketing to boost sales and customer engagement.
The battle for your client’s attention is tough. The internet is noisy and your client receives hundreds of other emails so you should fight to stand out. Devote attention to your subject line because it will dictate whether your email gets opened, ignored, or deleted. The subject line below by Grammarly is irresistible because it has a sense of urgency, it identifies the receiver’s pain point (grow your writing skills), and it gives away discount.
Now that you’ve gotten your client’s time, you have to sustain their attention and let them purchase within that period. The one who makes it easiest for the client wins the game. The email from UncommonGoods, an e-commerce store that sells unique items aced in making it smooth and simple for the client to purchase. There is a striking CTA that leads the client to make a purchase. A sense of urgency is created to compel the client to buy within a short span of time.
Clients can easily unsubscribe to brands if they don’t feel important. Giving exclusive member privileges and discounts are some ways to give importance to your customers. Valuing your clients also mean that you respect their time so you should keep your emails to a minimum. Seventy-eight percent of users have unsubscribed from a brand because they were sending too many emails. Starbucks nailed this member exclusive promo. Even if they don’t sell online, they still champion in email marketing. They make their members feel special with this group discount.
The best performing brands are not afraid to innovate even with their email marketing. Modern marketing requires businesses to think outside the box to catch the interest of clients. One way to do this is through interactive content. Interactive content provides more value because it engages the client. It educates and entertains clients. Examples of interactive content are calculators, videos, real-time updates, assessments, surveys, mini-games and more. There is no limit on what you can do with your email.
The GIF below by Feel Unique allows users to create a look using the products before they can buy. This solves a pain point for most online buyers. They can imagine how the makeup will turn out so they can make a better choice in buying.
Champions in email marketing know how to create synergy between email, social media, and other apps. Email marketing can be used to promote your apps and social media, vice versa. Integration gives your client the chance to choose the most convenient option. It also widens the scope of your marketing with minimal effort. This email by Dorothy Perkins is one example of effectively promoting your social media platforms. It has a reward and clear CTA’s. The blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages are all promoted in the email.
Personalization extends way beyond using the person’s name. Personalized emails have six times better transaction rate and profits compared to non-personalized email. You can personalize emails using their input data and browsing behavior. The Banana Republic nailed personalization with this birthday email. The brand has given a discount and greeting for the client on her birthday. Conclusion: The best marketing emails by retail brands are all client sensitive and client-centered. Users will engage with your marketing efforts if they provide value. Help the client with their needs and they will love your brand. Another way your email marketing will improve is to use email marketing automation software. It will power up your email campaigns by improving your efficiency. The software will handle your emails so you can focus on your clients. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog July 23, 2018 at 02:49PM
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This Instagram influencer started her own clothing line to promote body positivity https://ift.tt/2JPOemH Ciera Rogers translated her Instagram popularity into a successful online clothing business Babes and Felines. The label features clothing for women with curvier body types that are often overlooked in the fashion industry. Filmed at Cure Thrift Shop in New York. Read more... More about Fashion, Instagram, Body Positivity, Social Media, and Plus Sized ModelSocial Media via Social Media https://ift.tt/2DCFv97 July 23, 2018 at 02:33PM These Mistakes Can Tank Your Digital Marketing Efforts (And How To Avoid Them) https://ift.tt/2LhG8ci Your brand’s reputation and revenue rely on the success and longevity of your digital marketing campaign. Among the many mistakes a digital marketer can make, failing to secure digital data at every point has the deepest consequences. Not only can data be stolen and misused, but it can also be lost, deleted, and corrupted. If you’re unprepared, dealing with lost or stolen data can damage your digital marketing efforts. Here are several common mistakes along with ways to mitigate the effects: 1. Not regularly backing up your website in fullWhat would hundreds of marketing hours and thousands of dollars be worth if tomorrow your website got hacked beyond repair? Protect your digital marketing efforts by maintaining a regular schedule of backups including databases. Be sure to download your backups and store them on your own backup hard drive. Don’t delete older backups unless necessary. It’s best to have a dedicated hard drive so you can save as many versions as possible. 2. Not encrypting email communicationsEmail communications appear to be private. At first glance, it seems like emails can only be accessed if someone hacks your email account. That’s not true. Emails can be hijacked while in transit and as they rest on your email provider’s server. You probably don’t need to worry about national competitors trying to hack your emails, but it might happen with smaller competition. To avoid having your contact list or secret marketing ideas hijacked, anything you send through email should be encrypted end-to-end. Even if you’re using a program like Microsoft Office 365, there’s good reason to seek third-party encryption add-on services outside of Microsoft. For instance, although Azure RMS encrypts outbound messages with TLS, when the content reaches Microsoft servers, it’s stored unprotected. If someone hacked Microsoft’s servers, they could access your data. If the law requires your data to be secured from unauthorized parties at all times, this could be a violation. Many third-party applications make the process of email encryption difficult. Users have to create a separate username and password to access their secure messages. They also have to download a new application to view encrypted messages. If a recipient isn’t aware of how it works, they may be unwilling to download the application. On the other hand, Virtru is a third-party solution that encrypts data at every point and allows users to read secured emails without having to create new credentials. Users with Virtu installed can read secure emails from their inbox. Users without Virtu installed can read secured emails from the web after authenticating with their existing email credentials – no downloads necessary. 3. Allowing comments on your blog without disabling codeIf you’re a blogger, you thrive on comments, so it doesn’t make sense to disable them. There’s nothing wrong with allowing comments, but if you haven’t disabled comments from executing code, you’re a sitting duck for hackers. If you don’t disable code within comments, you’ll soon become the victim of SQL injection. SQL injection is when a hacker executes an SQL statement in a user input area. The SQL statement performs a malicious task like bypassing authentication, impersonating users, or commenting out portions of an SQL query to control it. By injecting the right code, hackers can access your entire database. “By leveraging an SQL Injection vulnerability,” Acunetix explains, “given the right circumstances, an attacker can use it to bypass a web application’s authentication and authorization mechanisms and retrieve the contents of an entire database.” What kind of data have you been collecting? Customer names and email addresses? Credit card numbers? Bank account information? If it’s in your database, it’s vulnerable. 4. Moving forward too soon when your website gets hackedSay your website gets hacked and you don’t notice until your webhost sends you a notice that your domain is the source of a phishing scam. When you comb through your files, you discover the hack occurred over six months ago. It looks like old news, but the longer your site has been hacked, the worse it can be. Backdoors multiply, and sometimes infiltrate hidden files and folders. Deleting hacked files and uploading clean copies may not be enough. You need to perform damage control with a professional malware scan before you relaunch your site. Don’t allow customers to enter private information or credit cards through your site until you’re sure the situation has been resolved. Keep customer data secure to maintain their trustAvoid having to explain a trust-diminishing data breach to your customers in the future. Keep your data secure, so you can continue marketing to your list and build their trust. The post These Mistakes Can Tank Your Digital Marketing Efforts (And How To Avoid Them) appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog July 23, 2018 at 10:58AM
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Twitter may be making it harder to find the worst people on its site https://ift.tt/2JLNqiS Twitter may be making it harder to find the worst people on its site
By Matt Binder
Twitter may not be outright banning its most toxic users, but it appears to be making it harder for you to find them. According to a new report by Gizmodo, Twitter may be downgrading some of its most controversial users in search results. Now, several prominent far-fight Twitter accounts no longer appear in the dropdown search results on mobile, even when you search their exact handles. White nationalist Richard Spencer and far-right conspiracy theorists like Laura Loomer and “Pizzagate” promoter Mike Cernovich are some the people who’s accounts appear to be affected by these recent changes to Twitter search. Other accounts that appear to be demoted in Twitter's search results include the organizer of last summer’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and Paul Joseph Watson of Infowars. As Gizmodo points out, you can actually pull up fake accounts for some of these users in Twitter's dropdown search menu, but not the person’s legitimate account. The new ranking behavior appears to be affecting far-right accounts across mobile search, but not always desktop search. It's also worth noting that some users that fit right in with demoted ones, like Alex Jones and conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, remain unfazed by the search result changes. It’s unclear what would set apart Alex Jones, the founder of Infowars, from one of his show’s hosts, Paul Joseph Watson, and why Twitter would choose to downgrade only the latter. In an effort to replicate Gizmodo’s findings, we tested out the search results for the users mentioned in the article. Mashable was able to replicate the results, including a few of the inconsistencies mentioned about having some of the accounts in question appear on desktop search. The social media company has long struggled with exactly how to deal with harmful users who use the platform to spread misinformation and harass other users. In May, the company promised to limit the reach of "troll-like behavior" on the platform. Many critics have called for Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to step in and do something about these far-right accounts. So far, the biggest action Twitter has taken to deal with these users has been to change its verification process. While taking away verification badges and blocking new verifications has certainly helped limit some of the site’s most vile people, some of these users still slip through the cracks and manage to acquire the blue checkmark for their account. One solution popular among Twitter users who’ve been vocal about this issue, a solution that the company is completely within its right to do both legally and based on its own terms of service, is to simply ban these accounts. So far, minus rare instances like Milo Yiannopoulos, Twitter has been adverse to banning these accounts.
Perhaps Twitter thinks burying some of these accounts in search is the best way to reinforce its commitment to freedom of speech while still telling its broad user base that certain behavior will not be endorsed or promoted on the website. Or perhaps it’s just a temporary bug that Twitter will eventually fix, and "Pizzagate" promoters and white nationalists will once again be easy to find in your Twitter searches. For now, it remains unclear. Mashable has reached out to Twitter for comment and will update as soon as we hear back. Social Media via Social Media https://ift.tt/2DCFv97 July 23, 2018 at 10:11AM
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My Favorite 11 Platforms for Finding Free Fonts https://ift.tt/2mAFjMJ How important is a font? Surprisingly, fonts can be more valuable than you might believe. Visualize all the places where you see written words on a daily basis. You may not think twice about a font when you see one, but you can always spot a bad font. Choosing the proper font can be tough. You need to make sure it’s clear and legible as well as unique. The fonts you use on the homepage of your website could be different from the font in your blog posts. Your Instagram story’s font will differ from the font of your email marketing campaigns. What do you look for in a font? There are various elements of typography you need to consider besides the font itself. A typeface—font family—is a set of fonts that share similar design elements:
You’ll also need to consider elements such as leading, tracking, kerning, and line length. These typography components deal with the spacing between lines, letters, and characters. With thousands of fonts available online, it can be overwhelming to choose the best one for your company. While I can’t tell you which font to choose, I can show you where to find unique fonts. These are my top 11 places to find free fonts. 1. The Northern BlockThe Northern Block is a reasonable place to start your search. I like it because the website has a simple design. The navigation is easy to follow, and you won’t have any trouble finding a font suited to your needs. This platform is based in the UK. If you want a chance to work with designers from another country, this platform has what you’re looking for. It specializes in fonts that have a modern feel and design. While the Northern Block offers free fonts, it also has licensing agreements and paid fonts if you want to be unique. 2. Jeff SchreiberSome font platforms focus on quantity. Their main selling point is the number of different fonts their users have to choose from. Don’t get me wrong—it’s great to have options. But sometimes too many choices can be overwhelming. That’s why I love Jeff Schreiber’s website. This graphic designer from the Netherlands focuses on quality over quantity. One of his specialties is fonts specifically optimized for mobile apps. Jeff also excels at graphic design, lettering, web design, logo design, illustration, and type design. He even deals with information design, iconography, and user interface design. There are lots of different options to choose from on Jeff’s site. Some of these fonts are free, and others will require a payment. 3. Creative MarketCreative Market is much more than just a place to find fonts. It offers design elements related to:
You can also get 3D models from this platform as well. There are roughly 23,000 designers sharing their work on the Creative Market platform. The majority of the products need to be purchased, but you can also get some free goods. Here’s how it works. Each week, the site offers six packages as free downloads. After that week, you’d have to pay if you want those fonts and other design elements. If you visit this site every week, you’ll be able to get free fonts normally available for purchase. While you’re on the Creative Market website, it’s worth checking out its blog. The topics covered are related to graphic design. You can get some inspiration and ideas from these posts. 4. FontfabricIf you’re looking for fonts geared toward logo design, I recommend exploring the options available on Fontfabric. It’s really easy to navigate through the platform and download fonts for your business. As you’ll quickly see when you visit the website, it has tons of free choices. If you are looking to redesign your company logo or even build a new logo for your startup company, you can use the fonts on Fontfabric as a guide. The reason why these fonts are great for logos is they are big, bold, and easy to read. Legibility is extremely important when it comes to your logo design. Otherwise, people won’t know who you are. 5. Google FontsWhen most people think of Google, they think of a search engine. As a business owner, you are probably familiar with some of the other tools Google has available, such as Google Drive or Google Analytics. But most people don’t realize it also has a tool called Google Fonts. This platform is great because you can change the example words for each font so you can see what it looks like directly on the platform. It gives you a chance to see what the font will look like with your own content. You can also change the size of the font, as well as the pixel size, and customize the display options. Set up your font for paragraphs, numerals, sentences, and different alphabets. Google provides complete customization for your font. Next, all you need to do is copy the provided link, and you’ll be able to embed the font into your website. You can set it up as one font for the entire site, or you can use different fonts in different sections. The platform allows you to change the color schemes of the fonts as well. Google is known for its superior products. Its font tool fits this description as well. It’s worth trying out. 6. Font FreakIf you are looking for a platform with thousands of options to choose from, Font Freak has you covered. There are more than 9,000 free fonts available for download on this website. Furthermore, it has an additional 125,000 fonts that can be purchased. Roughly 400 designers have contributed to the Font Freak library, and that number continues to grow. With so many designers, the site has unique fonts for nearly every scenario. Font Freak has software that allows you to create your own fonts as well. The fonts on this platform have different versions depending on which operating system you use. Mac and PC users will download different files, which ensures the fonts are optimized for each type of OS. If you see several fonts you like, you don’t have to download each one separately. This can be extremely time-consuming. Instead, you can download full libraries of fonts directly from the site and have access to these different options directly from your device. 7. FontspaceFontspace is another platform with a massive library of fonts. It offers roughly 33,000 free fonts. I like this platform because you can browse for fonts based on a category. Some of these styles include:
You have the opportunity to find something based specifically on what you plan to use it for. Fontspace has over 2,000 designers actively contributing to the platform. The best part is all these fonts are free. If you see a font you like, you can click on the designer’s name and have access to their portfolio. Now, you’ll be able to see all the other fonts designed by that user if you like their style and want to check out more. You just need to make sure you can see the difference between fonts for commercial use and fonts for personal use only. Fontspace gives you additional information about each font as well. You’ll be able to see the rating for each font based on how users score it after a download. They also show the number of times the font has been downloaded. If you want something that’s popular, you’ll navigate toward fonts with a high download rate. But those of you who want to be unique can find fonts not many others have used yet. 8. FontStructFontStruct is unique because the platform allows you to build and customize your own fonts directly on the site. This tool is 100% free to use. In addition to creating fonts, you can also create custom geometric shapes through FontStruct as well. After you create your own design, you can easily download your fonts and shapes. Use them for nearly any application. I like this tool because it gives you a chance to be unique. You know that if you create a font from scratch, nobody else will have the same one. If you’re not that creative and don’t think you can create a font out of thin air, you’re not out of options. Just alter and customize fonts previously made by other users on the platform. 9. Font SquirrelThe reason why Font Squirrel should be one of the top options you consider is that all its fonts are licensed for commercial use. You know that anything you download from the site can be used for purposes related to your business. In addition, Font Squirrel has a unique feature, setting the site apart from the other platforms we’ve seen so far. It offers a tool allowing you to identify fonts. I’m sure you’ve come across a font before on the web and wondered what it was called. From this platform, you can scan that font, and Font Squirrel will identify the name of it. The software will also show you other fonts with a similar design. You can learn more about graphic design topics by checking out the platform’s blog. To those of you who want to take full advantage of everything Font Squirrel has to offer, I recommend creating an account on the platform. Now you’ll have a chance to communicate with designers, subscribers, and other business owners to discuss related topics through forums. 10. Abstract FontsThere are nearly 14,000 fonts available for download from Abstract Fonts. This platform allows you to search by category so you can limit your choices instead of feeling overwhelmed by the great number of options it offers. Another reason why I like abstract fonts is you can search for fonts created by specific designers. If you downloaded a font from a certain designer in the past, you can easily find other fonts they’ve created since the last time you visited the website. If you’re a designer, Abstract Fonts is a great place for you to share your work with prospective businesses looking for something trendy and unique. Abstract Fonts is a great resource for people who want something different from the typical fonts seen on popular websites. The platform gives you a chance to download a font that will make your text stand out from the crowd. 11. MyFontsThere are more than 130,000 fonts available for download on the MyFonts platform. When you visit the site, you’ll notice that some of these fonts are available for purchase. These are the premium options, and the prices vary from a few bucks to hundreds of dollars. But the site has an entire section dedicated to free fonts. If you want to find a unique font without spending any money, you’ll benefit from this site. ConclusionFinding a font may not be your top priority. That said, don’t overlook the importance of a great font. You want to make sure the fonts you’re using for all aspects of your business serve a purpose. Titles should stand out. Blogs should be easy to read. Logos must be unique. If you take the time to search through fonts, you can even set up your site to have an overall feeling, mood, or theme related to what you’re trying to convey. There is seemingly an endless number of fonts available online. Tons of various sources offer fonts for download. I’ve narrowed down my favorite platforms for finding free fonts. Refer to the list above to give you some guidance. But I know there are many other font resources. What’s your favorite platform for downloading free fonts on the Internet? Social Media via Quick Sprout https://ift.tt/UU7LJr July 23, 2018 at 10:06AM
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The Complete Guide to Social Media Video Specs in 2018 https://ift.tt/2A4suEe Struggling to keep on top of all the changes to social media video specs? Video is increasingly crucial to a successful social media marketing strategy. According to a recent survey, spending on digital video ads has grown by more than 50 percent over the last two years. Advertisers today spend more than half of all their digital/mobile ad dollars on video. But as platforms release new video ad formats and update old ones, it can be hard to keep up. Tailoring your video to each platform’s specifications and making sure that your content is looking its best can be a real challenge. But not if you use our guide to social media video specs. Read on to find the most up-to-date video specifications for each of the most popular social platforms. Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence. Facebook video specsOptimizing video content for Facebook is tricky, mainly because of the many different ways it delivers video to its users. When you buy a video ad on Facebook today, it could appear in dozens of different formats (in someone’s mobile news feed, in the sidebar on the desktop version of Facebook, or even in someone’s inbox on Facebook Messenger). It pays to become familiar with the varieties of Facebook video and to find a delivery format that matches your campaign goals. Regular Facebook feed video:Recommended size: 1280 by 720 pixels Tips: For best results, Facebook recommends uploading videos in .MP4 and .MOV format (see a full list of supported file formats here), with H.264 compression, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan, and stereo AAC audio compression at 128kbps+. Videos can be up to 240 minutes long, up to 4GB large, and have a maximum frame rate of 30fps. Resource: How to Use Facebook Live Video: A Guide for Marketers Facebook 360 video:Maximum size: 4096 by 2048 pixels, 2:1 aspect ratio Tips: If the camera you recorded your video on automatically includes 360 video metadata with the video file, you can upload the video like you would any other video. If it doesn’t, click on the ‘Advanced’ tab when uploading to bring up Facebook’s ‘360 controls’ tab, which will let you convert unformatted footage into a 360 video. Facebook in-stream video ads:Recommended size: 1280 by 720 pixels Tips: For in-stream ads, Facebook recommends uploading the “highest resolution source video available without letter or pillar boxing.” Facebook provides an exhaustive list of aspect ratios and features available for each ad type. Facebook Messenger video ads:Recommended size: 1280 by 720 pixels Tips: Facebook recommends uploading “the highest resolution video available that meets file size and ratio limits.” Videos can be up to 240 minutes long, up to 4GB large, and have a maximum frame rate of 30fps. Facebook carousel video ads:Recommended size: 1080 by 1080 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio) Tips: Carousels let you showcase up to 10 images or videos in one ad, without having the user navigate to a new page. For best results, use a 1080 by 1080 pixel square (1:1) video. Facebook Collection cover video:Recommended size: 1200 by 628 pixels Tips: Collections are a new ad type that makes it easier for users to browse and purchase products directly in the Facebook feed. You can choose to have your video autoplay when a user scrolls over your collection, and clicking the video will open Canvas, a full-screen experience designed to drive traffic directly to your product pages. Facebook Canvas video:Recommended size: 1200 by 628 pixels Tips: Similar to Facebook’s instant articles, clicking on a Canvas ad immediately triggers a full-screen experience, to which you can add buttons, carousels, photos, text and video. Video and audio will automatically play when you scroll past it inside Canvas. Facebook slideshow video ads:Recommended size: 1200 by 720 pixels Tips: Designed for audiences with slower internet access, slideshow ads let you transform a series of 3-10 images and a sound file (supported formats: WAV, MP3, M4A, FLAC and OGG) into a video ad. For best results, Facebook suggests using the highest quality images possible, all the same dimensions (ideally 1280 x 720 pixels or an image ratio of 16:9, 1:1 or 2:3). If you use different sizes, the slideshow will be cropped to be square. Resource: How to optimize Facebook videos to play without sound Instagram video specsInstagram supports three kinds of video: square, vertical and horizontal. If you’re not sure which way to go, you’re probably better off choosing the square format, which is becoming increasingly popular with marketers. Square videos are more suitable for viewing on both desktop and mobile, they take up more room in user’s feeds than horizontal videos, but don’t crowd the entire screen like vertical videos do. Instagram in-feed video:Square video: 600 by 600 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio) Tips: Instagram has the same recommendations for video as Facebook—upload the highest resolution video possible that fits file size and ratio limits, H.264 compression, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan, and stereo AAC audio compression at 128kbps+. Instagram in-feed video ads:Same as above. Instagram carousel video ads:Recommended size: 1080 by 1080 pixels Tips: Like Facebook carousels, Instagram carousels let you showcase at least two and up to 10 images or videos in one side-scrolling ad. Instagram stories video ads:Recommended size: 1080 by 1920 pixels Tips: These videos appear between Instagram user stories for up to 15 seconds (or until dismissed) and take up the whole screen. Because stories are tailored to the size of the device, exact dimensions are hard to predict. Upload the highest resolution video possible, and consider leaving the top and bottom 14 percent (roughly 250 pixels) empty of any important information, so that it isn’t obscured by the profile icon or call to action. Resource: How to use Instagram Stories like a pro Twitter video specsTwitter is optimized to handle video captured on mobile devices. If you’re uploading video that was recorded a different way, be sure to consult Twitter’s detailed guidelines for uploading video at each bitrate. For best results, upload the highest resolution video you can under the file size limit (512MB). Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence. Get the free guide right now!Twitter horizontal videos:Recommended size: 1280 by 1024 pixels Twitter vertical videos:Recommended size: 1200 by 1900 pixels Resource: How to make a blockbuster Twitter video Snapchat video specsSnapchat 10-second video ads:Recommended size: 1080 by 1920 pixels (9:16 aspect ratio) Tips: These ads appear in discovery, in live stories or after a user’s own story, and can link to an app installation page, article or long-form video. Make sure to avoid placing logos or any other important elements in the top and bottom 15 percent of the video, to prevent them from getting cut off. Snapchat also restricts videos with letterboxing, and text/graphics that encourage the user to “swipe up” (click here for a complete list of restrictions on video). Snapchat long-form video ads:Recommended size: 1080 by 1920 pixels Tips: Longform videos must contain “live and/or motion graphic video” (no “silent or still videos”). Although horizontal videos are permitted, Snapchat strongly suggests using vertical videos only. Snapchat sponsored geofilter:Recommended size: 1080 by 1920 pixels Resource: How to create a custom Snapchat geofilter YouTube video specsYouTube video player specs:Recommended sizes: 426 by 240 pixels (240p), 640 by 360 pixels (360p), 854 by 480 pixels (480p), 1280 by 720 pixels (720p), 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p), 2560 by 1440 pixels (1440p) and 3840 by 2160 pixels (2160p) Tips: YouTube encourages its users to upload videos that are “as close to the original, high quality source format as possible.” Videos should be uploaded in their native aspect ratios, and should never include letterboxing or pillarboxing bars, since YouTube “automatically frames videos to ensure that they are displayed correctly, without cropping or stretching, regardless of the size of the video or player.” YouTube provides a full list of recommended bitrates for YouTube uploads here, and a full list of supported file formats here. Youtube video ads:Skippable video ads: maximum length of 12 hours, skippable after 5 seconds Tips: YouTube announced last year that it would phase out unskippable 30 second ads in 2018 and focus on “formats that work well for both users and advertisers.” (Shorter unskippable ads will remain, however.) Resource: How to advertise on YouTube LinkedIn video specsLinkedin shared videos:Maximum size: 4096 by 2304 pixels Pinterest video specsPinterest video ads:Minimum size: 240p Tips: Promoted videos will autoplay without sound on loop in the Pinterest feed when they are 50 percent in view. Tapping the video will cause a larger version to play with sound (no looping). Videos are currently only available for mobile devices. More advice about social videosBeyond sizes and specs, here are some other important things to know about creating videos for social media:
Put these up-to-date social video specs to use with Hootsuite. Easily upload, schedule, and promote your videos across multiple social networks from one dashboard. Try it free today. The post The Complete Guide to Social Media Video Specs in 2018 appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management. Social Media via Hootsuite Social Media Management https://ift.tt/1LdunxE July 23, 2018 at 08:43AM
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Is Facebook Still A Good Marketing Platform For Your Business? https://ift.tt/2uFZoG8 Facebook has had a rough year. Every since the 2016 Brexit referendum and US Presidential election, public scrutiny on the social media giant has intensified. Millions of people said they would ditch the platform, including some well known celebrities. Companies like Mozilla, Sonos, and SpaceX ditched the platform following the #DeleteFacebook movement too. Meanwhile, the company has faltered its way through one PR disaster after another while increasing the amount of money it spends on lobbying governments around the world. In fact, some analysts have even started comparing Facebook’s recent behaviour to that of big tobacco companies. With the dent in public perception of the Facebook brand, should businesses still consider it a viable marketing platform? If you’re launching a new marketing campaign, here are some of the things you may need to consider: What Does Your Business Do?Nearly 2 billion people actively use facebook every month despite the recent scandals. It is still the biggest social media platform by far. But that’s not necessarily good for everyone. If your business operates in a niche and you require access to a smaller segment of the market that’s more passionate about your offering, Facebook might not be the best call. If you’re a startup in the cryptocurrency space, your blockchain PR would involve marketing on sites like Reddit or Medium where the audience is more engaged with your message. Facebook is still a great platform for certain businesses, but not all. What’s Your Marketing Budget?Gaining the attention of millions of Facebook users is easier said than done. The fact that you can’t reach everyone on the platform isn’t a bug, it’s a built-in feature. According to NYU professor of marketing Scott Galloway, over the years, the site has adopted a more pay-to-play strategy. The only way your messages will get out to tens of thousands of people on facebook is through paid ads. Facebook’s algorithms have pushed personal stories above businesses and publishers, so may need a hefty marketing budget to get your word across. Do You Face Customers or Other Businesses?Facebook is meant to be fun and personal, both of which are not ideal for B2B businesses. Selling to other businesses is a lot more appropriate on formal platforms like LinkedIn. Most B2B marketers say they prefer Twitter or LinkedIn over Facebook for marketing results. Some prefer YouTube for visual content and self promotional videos. However, Facebook is better for consumer brands that need to get their content out to a more casual audience. Facebook is still the king of social media based on the sheer number of users. However, your business marketing strategy needs to go beyond simply catching momentary attention. Facebook’s grasp on the public is slowly slipping and younger users are growing up with newer, more diverse platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. To create an audience and drive engagement your business needs a more targeted marketing strategy deployed on niche social platforms. The post Is Facebook Still A Good Marketing Platform For Your Business? appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog July 23, 2018 at 08:08AM
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How to Recognize and Overcome Facebook Ad Fatigue https://ift.tt/2LIQxtw Are your once-successful Facebook ad campaigns no longer effective? Wondering if ad fatigue is responsible? In this article, you’ll learn how to recognize the signs of ad fatigue and tweak existing Facebook ads for better performance.
Determine Whether Ad Fatigue Is Impacting Campaign PerformanceAd fatigue is an issue that will affect even the most successful Facebook ad campaigns. It occurs when your campaign frequency gets too high, causing your target audiences to see the same ads again and again, and therefore become less responsive to them. That’s why Facebook isn’t a “set it and forget it” ad platform. Your campaigns require ongoing management via testing to continue to deliver exceptional results. Ad fatigue affects other core campaign metrics. It decreases relevance scores, which in turn increases your CPM and cost per results. Ultimately, it decreases the number of results your campaign gets, reducing your overall return on ad spend (ROAS). Every campaign you run will eventually encounter ad fatigue. It doesn’t matter if you’re spending millions or just a few thousand on your Facebook campaign. The ad algorithm works the same way for every advertiser. To combat ad fatigue in your campaigns, you need to be able to identify it. To do this, analyze your campaign’s ROAS, which measures how profitable your ads are. Then focus on four core metrics at the ad level: cost, relevance, frequency, and CPM. This analysis will help you identify which ads within your campaigns are decreasing in performance. Calculate ROAS To add the ROAS metric to your conversion reporting column, navigate to your Ads Manager dashboard and select Customize Columns from the Columns drop-down menu. In the Customize Columns window, select Website on the left. Then scroll down to Conversion Value: Website (Facebook Pixel) and select Website Purchase ROAS. Then click Apply to save your changes. If you aren’t using the purchase conversion to measure your campaigns, you can also calculate your ROAS by measuring the difference between the revenue generated from your campaigns and your ad spend. If your campaign isn’t ROAS-positive, meaning the revenue it generates is less than the amount you spend on the campaign, that’s an indication your campaign is decreasing in performance and you need to look deeper at it. Review CRFC Metrics Next, you want to analyze the specific ads in the campaigns that aren’t ROAS-positive. To do this, look at the changes in the cost per result, relevance scores, frequency, and CPM (CRFC) metrics. You want to measure the change over a 7-day period of your number of results and CRFC. Campaigns suffering from ad fatigue will be decreasing in ROAS and you’ll see that your frequency is high. This can decrease your relevance score, which in turn increases your CPM and cost per result, ultimately reducing the number of results and negatively affecting your ROAS. To combat ad fatigue, you want to refresh your campaigns. We’ll look at five different variables you can adjust to improve your performance: creative, copy, targeting, objectives, and the offer. #1: Change Your Ad Creative or Your Facebook Ad CopyAn ad refresh consists of changing either the creative or copy of your ad. Start with changing your creative because this is the ad component your target audiences see first. The ad creative is what grabs your audiences’ attention and stops them from scrolling the news feed. It can include both the format of the ad and the content of the creative such as the image or video. When doing an ad refresh, you want to duplicate your original ad within your campaign and ad set. Then in the new draft ad, make the relevant change. To change your creative or copy, navigate to the ad level of your campaign. Then select the ad you want to change and click Duplicate. In the Duplicate Ad Into window, make sure your current campaign and current ad set are selected. Then click Duplicate and a new identical draft ad will be created. Now edit the ad and make the changes you want. For this example, you want to make a creative change and switch the format from single image to single video. To do this, select the Video/Slideshow option and then choose or upload the video you want to use. Review and publish your changes to set your new ad live. Tip: If you’re an ecommerce company and currently use product images in your sales campaigns, here are two of the most common ad creative changes you can make:
#2: Adjust Your Facebook Ad Set TargetingAnother way to fight ad fatigue is to refresh your targeting. Keep your campaign objective and ads the same, but test a new targeting at the ad set level. To implement a targeting refresh, first navigate to the ad set level of the campaign you’ve identified as decreasing in effectiveness. Then select the ad set itself and click Duplicate. This will bring up the Duplicate Ad Set Into window. Ensure you’re duplicating into the original campaign and click Duplicate. Now open the draft ad set and adjust your audience, but keep the other ad set options (such as placements, bidding, and optimization settings) the same. Depending on which level of your advertising funnel the campaign is in, you can test new cold audiences such as those targeting similar interests in your industry and also different lookalike audiences. Or further down your advertising funnel, you might test new video custom audiences for different duration video views. And right at the bottom of your advertising funnel, test new website custom audiences targeting people who have visited your website. Once you’ve changed the Audiences section in your ad set, navigate to the ad level. Then select Use Existing Post and enter the post ID to use the exact same ad as in your original campaign. (Refer to tip #7 of this article for details on how to use this tactic.) By using the same ad via the post ID, you can preserve social proof such as likes, comments, and shares on the Facebook ad. #3: Choose an Alternate Campaign ObjectiveRefreshing the campaign objective is another way to combat ad fatigue. This occurs at the top level of your ad campaigns and involves changing the objective to reach a new segment of your target audience. To implement an objective refresh, navigate to the campaign level of the ad campaign you’ve identified as decreasing in performance. Then select the campaign and click Duplicate. In the Duplicate Campaign window, choose how many times you want to duplicate the campaign. In this example, you want to change the objective just once, so ensure that 1 is selected. Then click Duplicate. Next, when the edit menu appears, choose your new objective from the Objective drop-down list. To illustrate, if you’re running an ad using the Post Engagement objective that drives people from Facebook to your website, you might switch it to test the Traffic objective. With this tactic, you could also test new conversion events within the Conversions objective. Changing your optimization event for a conversion event high up in your sales funnel means that your campaign will be shown to a larger group of people (within your target audience) who are likely to take the action you’re optimizing for and therefore improve your results. Suppose you run an ecommerce company and your campaign optimizing for purchases is increasing in cost per purchase. Try switching the Facebook ad set optimization to an action higher up the funnel such as initiate checkout or add to cart. Once you’ve chosen your new objective or event optimization in the case of the Conversion objective, don’t change any other variables at the ad set level and use the post ID method to keep the same ad as in your original campaign. #4: Replace Your OfferNow let’s look at a fourth way to combat ad fatigue: an offer refresh. This involves completely changing the offer you present to your target audience. You can change your offer at every stage of your advertising sales funnel. For instance, if you’re running top-of-funnel content to warm up cold audiences and your cost per video view is increasing, add new content ads to your campaign. To implement an offer refresh, just like with the ad refresh, navigate to the ad level of your campaign. Then select your ad and click Duplicate. In the Duplicate window, ensure that you’re duplicating into the same campaign and ad set. Then click Duplicate. In the ad edit window, modify your offer as desired. This includes changing your copy and creative, depending on the offer. To visualize this, if you’re running a sales-based offer for a product and find that your cost per purchase is increasing, you could use this offer refresh to introduce a new offer for a different product or a site-wide offer. .What do you think? Do you use any of these tactics to combat Facebook ad fatigue? What tips can you share? Please share your thoughts below. Social Media via Social Media Examiner https://ift.tt/1LtH18p July 23, 2018 at 05:03AM
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New All-In-One Emergency App Rescuer Saves Lives https://ift.tt/2uSO3Sk New All-In-One Emergency App Rescuer Saves Lives Have you ever felt unsafe on your way back home? Ever wanted to let your family members know you’re uneasy without anyone around you noticing? Ever wished you could contact the police without even touching your phone? There’s a new app on the market that can do just that. It’s called Rescuer, and the all-in-one emergency assistant boasts four unique features that can save lives. Rescuer makes it easy for you to feel safe and connected no The app uses cutting edge technology, like voice recognition, to make you feel safer than ever before. The best part is, it runs in the background and can be activated any time there is an emergency. Rescuer has four life-saving features: 1. Voice recognition: Say your customized key phrase, and Rescuer will hear it, even your phone is locked away in another room. Rescuer then immediately sends out emergency messages with your GPS coordinates and Imagine! You’re having a heart attack, but your phone is all the way on the other side of your house. You need to call help fast, and you’re running out of time! Just yell out your voice recognition key phrase, and Rescuer will automatically call for help. Depending on the phone, the voice recognition works up to 50 feet away! 2. Volume button toggle: Silently call for help by pressing your phone’s volume buttons to send emergency messages to your contacts. Rescuer will send them your coordinates and photos of the emergency without you having 3. Remote Location Tracking: Allow your worried loved ones to send a quick text to Rescuer to find out your location and safety status — no more forgetting to let your friends know you got home safe. Rescuer does the job for you! This feature is great if you’re a parent, because you can track your kids just by texting them a message! All you have to do is create a “secret code in the app. This can be anything, from “raspberry” to “8f4s#78”. Whenever you text your kid the secret code (assuming you’ve set yourself up as a qualified contact on their phone), their device will automatically respond with its location. Teenagers never seem to like picking up the phone (I wonder why!), but this is the perfect solution. Just text them the “secret code” and you’ll immediately be notified with their location.
4. Quick access help widget: Already have your phone open? Just press the giant red help button on your home screen and emergency messages and pictures of the crime scene will be sent in no time. Just For SME Readers: Here’s the best part: The app creators are gifting the first 200 users that use the promo code “SME” in the Rescuer app the premium version (a $9.99 value), for 100% free, in order to democratize public safety and spread the word of the new lifesaving technology. If you have family or friends with Android phones, sharing the app to them might help them out in the near future as well! Hopefully, you’ll never have to need to use Rescuer. But, if you’re ever in an emergency, the innovative app has your back.
Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog July 21, 2018 at 09:02PM |
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