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About Using The Right Hashtags To Grow Your Food Blog’s Instagram Following https://ift.tt/2MCmiIV Which food blogger wouldn’t want to grow their Instagram following?! It’s a very hot social media platform right now and you can do with as many followers as possible! To give you an idea about the reach of Instagram, 800 million people actively engage with the platform each month! That is an amazing marketing opportunity and a very good chance to increase your visibility. Some time ago, The Guardian, the popular UK newspaper published a report highlighting how Instagram is changing the way we eat! As per this report, unphotogenic breakfasts like cereal are being replaced by attractive alternatives such as avocado toast! Another report shared by Waitrose, a well-known UK retailer revealed that one in every 5 people share a picture of their food with their Instagram followers each month. <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/mAiDSCLDB9c” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe> On a more serious note, while it’s ok to play some food roulette to shock your palette with exotic and exciting tastes every now and then, you cannot take any sort of gamble when it comes to the success of your food blog. Let’s understand the importance of using the right hashtags to grow the Instagram following of your food blog. Using the right hashtags Hashtags play a very key role in any kind of Instagram marketing initiative. You spend so much time and effort in clicking just the right picture of your food; the same amount of thought should be put while tagging your food photos. Tagging them with the right hashtags can ensure that potential users who might be interested in what you offer, will indeed get to see you. A large number of food bloggers don’t use the right hashtags for their posts. They are normally so focused on using unique tags that they forget to expand their visibility by using popular tags. So what do you think makes a hashtag right? Hashtag marketing can prove to be a pretty tricky affair. While using generic hashtags such as #burger or #cake can help you reach a large number of people, you shouldn’t forget that these are also the most used hashtags. If you carry out some research, there are close to 60 million Instagram posts with #cake hashtag. How can you make yours standout? This can be tackled by using a good mix of niche and popular hashtags. Your post should have 3 types of hashtags: Popular tags – Although hashtags such as #burger, #cake etc. are extremely popular, you should still use them. A great multitude of people follow them and they are definitely worth employing, regardless of the competition. But you shouldn’t stop just there. Niche tags – This is the category belonging to hashtags such as #foodblogeats, #tastingtable etc. They’re not so common and their followers will expect your post to have a certain theme. Using such types of hashtags can give you an entry into more exclusive type of Instagrammers. Unique tags – The main purpose of these tags is to nurture a following for yourself. If your food blog has posts on multiple themes, a good way to help your followers find posts on any of these themes/categories, is by using unique hashtags such as #eeeats, #cookingquick and the kinds. In the end, while Instagram allows you to have as many as 30 hashtags for every post, it’s recommended that you keep yours to less than 10 for every post. The post About Using The Right Hashtags To Grow Your Food Blog’s Instagram Following appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog August 27, 2019 at 11:23AM
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Cheating is even more complicated thanks to the internet https://ift.tt/343pKlm It’s Cheat Week at Mashable. Join us as we take a look at how liars, scammers, grifters, and everyday people take advantage of life's little loopholes in order to get ahead. When you hear the words "online" and "cheating," images of seedy dating websites like Ashley Madison probably come to mind. But as we learned after its 2015 data breach, there actually wasn't a lot of infidelity being facilitated by this designated cheating site as most of the women were bots. Instead, the real cheating epidemic caused by the internet is much more subtle and amorphous. And in all likelihood, you're probably guilty of doing it without even realizing. Research shows that the internet has radically changed what people consider "cheating." Affairs used to be limited to sexual interaction, but today we have a new range of so-called micro-cheating propagated online. Some view anything from liking the wrong Instagram post (37 percent, according to a 2018 survey from dating site NextLove) to maintaining an online dating profile while in an exclusive relationship (63 percent, according to a 2017 Deseret News survey) as infidelity in the digital age. Other online activity that often leads to feelings of betrayal, jealousy, and secrecy among couples include obsessing over an ex's social media, flirtatious comments or texts, sexting with someone else, watching porn, or even just intimate, but platonic, online friendships.
These activities can have damaging effects on a relationship, even if they don't bleed into offline contact or sexual interactions. People tend to find it harder to recover from this form of cheating than a purely physical one. "In the past, affairs were defined by the physical. But with the internet, we've come to accept emotional affairs as part of infidelity. It includes everything's that's sort of on the fringes of cheating," said Katherine Hertlein, author of The Internet Family: Technology in Couple and Family Relationships. No one can definitively say exactly what counts as online cheating, since it varies not only from couple to couple but person to person. The virtual space leaves so much room for interpretation. And in the absence of clear rules and communication, many are finding themselves on the wrong side of modern love affairs. "Technology basically puts people on this slippery slope," Hertlein, who's also an associate professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, said. "You slowly inch across a boundary, but you're not necessarily aware that a boundary is even being crossed. Until it's too late." How to recognize online cheating, and why it's an easy mistake to makeThe ambiguity of online cheating doesn't just lead to unintended infractions, either. It causes doubt in the "victim" about whether or not they're even allowed to feel betrayed. On the other side, it leaves the "perpetrator" feeling unjustly accused for something they didn't know was wrong. "It's up to each couple to independently define what constitutes infidelity online. But here's the catch: Couples don't talk about it. They don't even consider computers in how they define cheating," said Hertlein. The amorphous and all-encompassing nature of online cheating means you shouldn't think about it in terms of a specific act. Rather, online cheating is better defined by the outcome, which is whether someone in the relationship feels their trust or commitment has been violated. "Even if you don't have clear definitions, people often know a boundary when they meet it. They tend to know when something they're doing will upset their partner, because they're hiding it. So that's a good internal cue," couples therapist Lindsey Hoskins said. Secrecy around internet activity usually gives people the hunch that something's up, with red flags like a significant other suddenly implementing extra security measures on devices, a spike in time spent online, or being dodgy about letting their partner see what they're doing. It doesn't even necessarily matter what the content of a message or activity is, Hoskins said. Even if it's not sexual in nature, mundane but consistent exchanges about your day-to-day life with someone who isn't your primary partner can accumulate into an act of betrayal. That's the line in the sand when it comes to emotional cheating; it's not just closeness with someone else, but a closeness at the exclusion of your primary partner. Of course, sexually-motivated violations are part of the online cheating problem, too, with 38 percent from the Deseret News survey saying watching porn without their partner counts as cheating. But emotional betrayals are predominantly what defines the harmful instances of online cheating. Social media is also all about oversharing and seeking connection with others. That creates infinitely more opportunities to slide into each others DMs, reach out to old flames and crushes, or casually engage with dating apps. Plus, the virtual world makes it easier to justify it all as innocent curiosity, platonic, or not real cheating. But those interactions can quickly escalate into full-blown online infidelity. "Cheating is often something that happens simply because of opportunity. We find ourselves creeping closer to crossing a line that violates our committed relationship. And the more we creep closer to it, the easier it feels to cross it," said Hoskins. Online cheating doesn't necessarily mean that something is "wrong" with your relationship. Counter to popular belief, cheating is often more so about access to alternatives than dissatisfaction with a relationship. And the internet offers countless alternatives in the form of quick hits of positive feedback that can feel like the intimacy and connection we get from a committed partner. For some, it's also easier to be intimate online. People can find comfort in how the internet gives them more control over how they present themselves, which in turn makes them more comfortable with virtual vulnerability rather than doing it with a partner IRL.
In a way, micro-cheating and online infidelity are the result of normal human behaviors causing issues because there's now a digital record. "These are things that happen in any solid and healthy relationship with some frequency: some innocuous, flirtatious interactions that'd be no big deal before the internet existed," said Hoskins. "But it's different when your partner can now observe that, see it in black and white." There's also the other edge of the online cheating sword, which is violations of privacy through snooping. "We've all wondered for many years what our partners get up to, but now we have the ability to actually know," said Hertlein. "But just because you can, doesn't mean you should." If a partner suddenly develops an urge to snoop, they're acting on a gut instinct that's something's going on behind their back, Hoskins said. But instead of snooping, they should give their partner the chance to be honest with them in an open conversation about what they're feeling. Regardless, like online cheating, the topic of internet privacy in a relationship requires its own conversation about what each partner believes is acceptable. Some couples like giving each other access to their passwords or phone location, while others don't. Not establishing clear rules for privacy can lead to feelings of violation and betrayal. How to avoid and recover from online cheatingUnfortunately, the best method for recovery from online cheating is prevention. There's no substitute for having conversations with your partner about exactly where you draw the lines. Hertlein likes to ask her patients to talk about deal breakers. You don't need precise, nuanced definitions of online cheating to instinctively know what would send you packing if it happened. The other side of that conversation is assessing how you're both currently using the internet, and if anything skirts someone's comfort level. Crucially, these kinds of audits need to be done in the spirit of mutual understanding rather than being accusatory.
"It's not just about my boundaries, but our boundaries," she said. Similarly, Hoskins advocates for speaking up in the moment if you ever get a gut feeling that you might've accidentally crossed a line. If you get the urge to hide online habits from your partner, talk about it. Confront it rather than waiting to get caught; inevitably, it will come to light some way or another. The secrecy will only make it harder to overcome. Both Hoskins and Hertlein attest to just how hard it is to help couples recover from online cheating. But a good first step is to establish a baseline for how to talk about the perceived betrayal in a way that doesn't end up in the same dead-end argument. "The key is to not talk about the act, or what the 'cheating' person did wrong, but what the other person feels as a result," she said. "That's what the cheated on person needs: to be understood in order to start to get back to solid ground and rebuild trust." Going forward, the cheater also needs to agree to 100 percent honesty and full disclosure to any questions the cheated-on partner wants to ask. "But you need to think very carefully abut what questions you need answers to. Because there may be things that you were wondering but might not totally want to know. You have to find that line," said Hoskins. In her research, Hertlein found the biggest block to recovering from online infidelity is that victims often believe their cheating partner is always guilty of infidelity, even if they provide proof of their innocence. "The person who's cheated can demonstrate to their partner that there's no evidence that they're still cheating. But their partner believes that a lack of evidence doesn't mean it's not happening, because they know they can delete or get rid of evidence," she said. This is where the victim has to put in the work if they want any hope at recovery. "They have to ultimately take a leap of faith and say, 'I'm going to start to believe my partner,'" Hertlein said. The same technology that caused the online cheating can be used to strengthen a relationship or help in recovery from that betrayal, too. "The internet is really good at real-time information and disclosure. So for the people who are tempted to online cheat because they want that self-disclosure — well you can do that with your partner. You can harness the power of the internet to cultivate your relationship in ways that meet those needs," she said. Location sharing or other online tools can help verify that the cheater is telling the truth and manage the cheated-on partner's anxieties. But, Hertlein said, those are generally short-term solutions until that leap of faith is possible. "It doesn't really matter that we don't have a word to define exactly what online cheating is," said Hoskins. "The fact is that it results in pain, and that pain needs to be talked about. There simply needs to be empathy and understanding." Social Media via Mashable https://ift.tt/2DCFv97 August 27, 2019 at 09:02AM Soft Skills in Social Media: What Are They and Why Should they Matter? https://ift.tt/2PqA6Zs Personal growth is always important, and developing the right soft skills can make a huge impact on your career. If you’re looking to better position yourself for a promotion, enhance your resume while job searching, or are excited about chasing professional growth in general, soft skills development is a worthwhile area to explore. Soft Skills vs. Hard SkillsBefore exploring the definition and benefits of soft skills, it’s important to understand its inverse, one professionals are much more familiar with – hard skills. Hard skills are defined as practical or technical skills that can be easily demonstrated by an individual. These are classic resume items – items such as:
By contrast, soft skills refer innate, non-technical abilities possessed by an individual. They can often be labeled as tangible or professional skills as well. Soft skills often refer to the general temperament and personality of a candidate. Some examples include:
Effective communicators need to adapt their tone and style according to their audience, make complex topics understandable to both clients and coworkers, and effectively understand and respond to instructions.
The core of teamwork is in the ability to be receptive to others working with you. Working in a team towards a unified goal requires strong interpersonal skills. Sometimes you need to lead, and sometimes you need to listen.
Having a positive attitude and the initiative to work well without round-the-clock supervision is a vital soft skill for any employee. Not only does it demonstrate reliability and commitment, but it shows that you can fit efficiently into a company without the need for constant oversight.
People generally don’t like leaving their comfort zone. Flexibility is an important soft skill because it shows a willingness to acquire new hard skills, or try new tasks and new challenges. Employers often seek candidates who can show a willing and upbeat attitude, since many jobs come with the possibility of job role changes over time. While soft skills may be harder to display on a resume, they have become an important aspect of the interview and review process for hiring managers and supervisors looking to identify top talent. Why Are Soft Skills Important?Organizations look to employ and promote individuals who can move a company to new heights. In today’s increasingly technology-driven job market, where positions are being automated at an accelerating rate, employees that demonstrate “big picture” thinking and meaningful collaboration skills are becoming the most valuable. Take an example of a physician. While the road to medical licensure is based almost entirely on hard skills such as university degrees, undergoing a residency, and passing certification requirements. A licensed doctor is expected to reliably to diagnose and prescribe treatments for an array of ailments. But without soft skills, even the most qualified doctor will struggle to find success with patients Reliance on soft skills such as emotional intelligence, trustworthiness and approachability are important to developing an important skills patients expect – bedside manner. A doctor unable to emotionally relate to and identify with patients will have trouble both relaying and gathering important information and building connections. This isn’t just in theory – valuable, industry-leading companies such as Google are embracing the value of soft skills too. In 2017, the organization published findings from internal study (codenamed Project Aristotle) comparing work teams to determine the ones most innovative and productive. They found that their best teams weren’t the ones comprised only of data scientists and software professionals. Instead, they found their most effective teams were interdisciplinary groups of employees labeled with strong soft skills. Google also stated in their study that the most important predictors of success within their company were soft skills such as empathy-driven leadership, effective communication, and collaborate insights. While they are less measurable and more personality-driven, it is important to show soft skills as part of the whole package you can offer to an organization. If you’re unsure of the soft skills do you already possess, it’s important to pinpoint how to both identify and feature them when applying for a job or a promotion. Identifying Existing Soft SkillsThe internet is about with quizzes and inventories to identify soft skills. A reliable, evidence-backed option is a 5 minute exam from MindTools. Not only will you narrow down your areas of strength and needed improvement, but you’ll be directed to additional resources to help you do so. Once you’ve inventoried your soft skills, it’s important to strategize how to show soft skills to supervisors and prospective employers. After all, hard skills are simple to list, but soft skills need to be presented differently. Showcasing Soft SkillsSince soft skills are more abstract, you have to reinforce any claims with actual examples of when you were able to use them to achieve positive outcomes. These examples can be drawn from professional, personal or academic experiences. Recount the time, setting, and details of how this soft skills led to a success! Remember to show, don’t tell: simply stating that you are a great communicator, for example, can show you lack the very soft skill you are claiming to have. In addition, make sure to tailor examples of your soft skills to the company you’re speaking to. Research the organization’s mission and values and how your skills complement these aspects or not. Creating a clear picture of how your strengths will contribute directly to the organization is important. Consider doing this in the same way you highlight certain hard skills related to a specific industry. A Continuing Learning ProcessThe development and refinement of soft skills is a process that continues throughout one’s career. You can never stop growing as a communicator, problem-solver, or critical observer. By adapting this mindset, new trends and research will never go unnoticed! As Benjamin Franklin once stated, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” If you’re looking for an experienced, friendly and results-driven team to help grow your business, whether its developing soft skills or adopting an effective marketing strategy, Rizen is here to help! Visit our guide on training in the marketing strategy proven to match how people shop today – the inbound philosophy. You can also learn more about why we’re the choice for businesses both large and small for effective growth by visiting www.gorizen.com. Follow our adventures on social media by searching for the username “RizenInbound” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also listen to our weekly podcast, Inbound Academy, on your podcast app of choice or visiting anchor.fm/inbound-academy. Author Bio: Nichole Mena is the Creative Director at Rizen Inbound. She has excelled in helping her clients reach targeted audiences in order to meet specified business goals. In her spare time, Nichole enjoys helping non-profits meet their goals as well. She has been a pro-bono member of the marketing team for Miami’s annual “Gay8 Festival” which currently attracts more than 60,000 attendees annually. The post Soft Skills in Social Media: What Are They and Why Should they Matter? appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog August 27, 2019 at 06:47AM
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Levo Builder vs. WordPress Review: Pros & Cons of Using Levo Builder For Websites https://ift.tt/2ZtgYxI There are seemingly thousands of different ways to build a website now. Levo Builder is one of the best-known brands in the website builder product type. They’ve been around for quite a while (circa 2015), and have built a large word-of-mouth brand. I recently had a small project, and a reason to try out several drag and drop website builders. I gave Levo Builder a try to see how they fit. Here are my pros and cons and full Levo Builder review. See Levo Builder’s Current Plans & Pricing here. What Is Levo Builder?On the wide spectrum of website building solutions, Levo Builder lives on the website builder end that is all-inclusive. You build your site on their software with their tools. Your website lives on their servers. You can only access your site via the Levo Builder admin panel. It’s in contrast to solutions where you buy, install, and manage all the “pieces” of your website separately. Like other website builders, using Levo Builder is sort of like leasing and customizing an apartment in a gated development instead of buying and owning your own house. You’re still in control of decor, cleaning, and everything living-wise – but you leave the construction, plumbing, security, and infrastructure to the property owner. That point is key because there’s usually a direct tradeoff between convenience and control. As far as direct competitors, Levo Builder competes directly with all-inclusive website builders like Weebly, Squarespace, GoDaddy GoCentral, and WordPress.com. Is Levo Builder Safe?Yes – Levo Builder is safe to use. Levo Builder operates globally with well-established legal, privacy, payments, and product standards. There are plenty of fly-by-night or amateur-ly run website builders. But Levo Builder is not one of them. They have downsides, but a solid upside is their safety & reputation. Is Levo Builder Free?Levo Builder has a free plan, but to use a custom domain and have full functionality, you have to pay for a premium plan. It’s great for a short-term or temporary project…or to simply try Levo Builder out before upgrading. Make sense? Awesome, let’s dive into the Levo Builder review. Pros of Using Levo BuilderHere’s what I found to be the pros of Levo Builder – not just in comparison to Weebly and Squarespace or WordPress, but also as an overall online website solution. Levo Builder has historically been disliked by professionals while remaining the go-to “simple” solution for DIY website owners. As we’ll see in the cons section, professional marketers will still have significant reservations about Levo Builder. However – in some ways that misses the main pro about Levo Builder – they are investing in being simple and easy for the DIY website owner who just needs something that works. If Levo Builder were a meal – they would not be a $30 brick oven pizza with custom ingredients. They would be a DiGiorno’s microwavable pizza. That’s not a good or bad thing. But it is something when figuring the best fit for your business. Short-Term PricingTheir plans allow you to get a site up quickly with no technical fuss and everything bundled and provided for you. Their tiers are reasonable – though it is worth paying close attention to the caps and whether you actually need the bonus features (ie, Form Builder). All plans have tiered discounts for the longer that you sign up. Helpfully, they give you the “true” price up front and show the discount after you select the plan. Site Configuration & OnboardingLevo Builder’s backend and overall design are functional at the core. But they’ve also cleaned up many of the edges to make it “prettier” while retaining a wealth of functions on a single screen. But – it is simple and fairly intuitive. When they talk about drag and drop, they literally mean you drag and drop elements wherever you want them. They have tools, templates, and guidelines to help you design a site that you not only build but also literally see come together as you imagine it to look. Here’s a bunch of Levo Builder website examples to explore. Figuring out design, pages, navigation – all the basic elements of a website are straightforward to configure. If you’re going the website builder route, that’s exactly what you’re looking for. Now – as you can see, it has an element of overwhelm due to all the options. However, they do a fairly good job getting you started from a good place, rather than from scratch. That’s because Levo Builder’s onboarding is also pretty solid. They immediately start your account on an email training sequence and guide you through design choices. Design TemplatesIn the past year, Levo Builder has done a good job upgrading their designs & theme selection. When I tried them last year, their themes were fine but very 2010-ish. While not quite up to SquareSpace’s designs, Levo Builder has a solid selection of modern themes. And unlike Squarespace, most do not require giant, professional photos to look good out of the box. Levo Builder’s design approach is a major advantage to their platform. Additionally, their designs take care of both responsiveness (ie, they adapt to the device) AND accessibility (ie, they adapt to the user’s browser – especially if the user has a disability). These two features are important since most DIY website owners don’t have the time or knowledge to test & patiently edit site designs. Levo Builder takes care of it for them. Speed & SecurityAll Levo Builder websites are hosted on Levo Builder’s servers. That means a few things. It means, of course, that the servers are optimized for Levo Builder websites. Professionals at Levo Builder are in charge of making sure your site stays fast. It also means that professionals are in charge of securing your site. Levo Builder’s sites run off lots of Javascript. So their speed tests are a bit different than others. Their sites respond very quickly, but also take a while to fully load. Many professional developers are not fans of the approach, but for an average user, the sites appear fast. And in many ways – that is what counts. And most importantly, the sites stay secure and they rarely, if ever, “go down.” You don’t have to worry about caching, CDNs, salts, or patches – which is really the core speed & security offering. Running a fast website can be straightforward, but if you are a contractor or business-person, sometimes you just need something to work. But of course, no Levo Builder review would be complete without looking at the disadvantages – especially if you are working with a professional marketer or developer. There are plenty of Levo Builder complaints around the Internet. Some are justified and some aren’t – but all are anecdotal. Keep in mind that the big picture tradeoff for their convenience is lack of total control and advanced features. That’s not necessarily a Levo Builder thing as much as it is a website builder thing. But within that context – here’s some individual considerations I’d look at when deciding if Levo Builder is a good fit for you. My disadvantages listed below are from the perspective of a small business owner who is looking to use Levo Builder and might one day call someone like me or a developer friend to help with website marketing or development. Long-Term PricingLevo Builder remains much more expensive than setting up your own website with WordPress on your own hosting. At each stage, Levo Builder doesn’t even allow unlimited bandwidth or file storage. If you are using Levo Builder for more than a few months, they are going to be a pricier option than other site builders or buying your own shared hosting somewhere like Bluehost or InMotion Hosting. Editing & Design The editing and page layout process also has a few intangibles missing. You can drag and drop anywhere…literally. This can be good from a control standpoint, but it can also be frustrating based on expectations. There are parameters, rulers, etc to keep you on track to a degree. But building a site still takes a bit of work and thought. They have plenty of templates available that go a long ways towards solving this pain point – and Levo Builder has done a good job in the past year investing in their builder. Technical SEO for Growing SitesLevo Builder has always been disdained a bit in the professional SEO community. Over the past couple years, though, a few things have changed. First, Googlebot is *much* better at crawling and indexing websites. Second, Levo Builder has substantially improved their platform for search bot visibility. Here’s an example of how they’ve reworked and clarified redirects. Third, the market needs for SEO have dramatically diverged. And it’s this third point that leads to a lot of confusion. The SEO needs for a 500+ product online store with international shipping are *very* different than the SEO needs for a flower shop in a small city. From a professional standpoint, I would not use Levo Builder for any of my clients because of a range of reasons too nerdy for this post. But from a DIY user’s standpoint, Levo Builder is great to get started with. A local deli near me uses it – and they do great in their search results. Is WordPress Better Than Levo Builder? That depends on your experience, budget, and goals. WordPress has a steeper learning curve and requires more maintenance. But over the long-term, it offers much more versatility and options to grow. If you self-host WordPress (rather than use WordPress.com), it can also be much cheaper than Levo Builder. Levo Builder focuses on onboarding and pure ease of use for someone who wants a solid, maintenance-free website without the frustration of a web designer or figuring out HTML issues. How Does Levo Builder Compare to Other Platforms? First, I’d encourage you to try Levo Builder’s free option yourself, just to get a sense of the platform and how it fits with you. Second, you can browse my site to explore other website builder options with a bunch of Levo Builder’s competition. The post Levo Builder vs. WordPress Review: Pros & Cons of Using Levo Builder For Websites appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog August 27, 2019 at 06:20AM
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How to Organize Your Team for Successful Organic Social Campaigns https://ift.tt/2U65OcS Do you want to do more with your organic social media activities? Is working with many different team members and departments slowing you down? In this article, you’ll discover how to increase the success of your organic social activities while working with many people. #1: Gather Your Foundational Campaign ElementsStart by building your organic campaign architecture from the ground up. Every marketing initiative needs a good foundation, especially if you’re relying on earned media. Think of it as an orchestra with all of the instruments having to play in sync. Follow these steps to get a better understanding of how you’ll position yourself in the marketplace. Define Brand ThemesTo build a recognizable identity, focus on your branding. In today’s marketplace, your products have to be more than just a pretty face. They have to be relatable, useful, and purposeful to capture a consumer’s imagination. Take a hard look at your company. How do you want to be remembered? Plan and coordinate your messaging, imagery, and color combinations to make your brand recognizable and memorable. For inspiration, look at other brands online to see how they present themselves. Establish ObjectivesWhat do you want to achieve with your organic campaign? Goals are an important brick in your foundation. Set definite objectives to help you find the right message for your audience. Identify the CompetitionWho are your competitors? Look at your competitors’ marketing campaigns to see their approach to connecting with customers. Use these insights to help craft a unique message of your own. If your competition is running a campaign similar to yours, tweak yours so you don’t confuse your audience. Find something unique to your brand to stand out. How to Deliver Better Results With Your Facebook Ads—Online Training! #2: Assign Marketing Team Roles for Your CampaignTo coordinate your organic social campaign, all of your team members need to be in sync. The more organized your team is, the more effective your message will be. Because this is earned media, you’ll have to enlist and recruit a community to promote the message. Decide Who’s in ChargeStart by assigning a team member to direct your organic social campaign efforts. It’s easier if everything goes through one person. This person’s role will be to field comments, connect one-on-one with people, answer personal messages, and handle everything related to building a community. The goal is to have a clear visual of all of the activity taking place on your communication channels to see who your followers are and what they need. This will make it easier to plan other organic initiatives. Assign Tasks to Your TeamFind people in your company who can help deliver your campaign message. Believe it or not, they’re everywhere and share the same goal as you. Here are some of the roles to consider assigning:
To help you manage your campaign and team, consider using an organizational tool like Slack (free and paid plans starting at $8/month) or Basecamp ($99/month). #3: Choose Your Organic Social Media Campaign ElementsThere are many ways to take advantage of “free” marketing. I’ve made a few suggestions to help you along, some of which you likely have already tried. Use as many of these tactics as you can to get widespread coverage for your organic social campaign. The more of these tactics you use, the more effectively you’ll amplify your message. Share Engaging Social Media ContentSocial media is still today’s chosen method for organic marketing. Because unpaid content is a priority, think of creative ways to keep your posts in front of your target audience and engage them. Starting a conversation and being personal are always good tactics for connecting with your audience. Humor is another effective unifier. Think of your audience and talk to them like they’re your friends. Be sensitive to their needs and always celebrate them. Build Social Proof via ReviewsIf you have an eCommerce store, reviews are the best way to get organic traffic. Consumers turn to reviews to help make purchase decisions. Reviews validate your products and services and ultimately build trust in your brand. Develop Personal RelationshipsBuilding personal relationships with your followers is the best way to run a word-of-mouth campaign. This type of organic social campaign relies on user-generated content, recommendations, and trust. If customers enjoy your products, they’ll post about those products and share information about your company on social media. Hold Contests and GiveawaysThe opportunity to win free products is a great enticement for any follower. I love entering contests to see if I win something. It brings out the gaming instinct in all of us. Use a social platform like Instagram to host a giveaway. Set a deadline for the contest (a week is a good timeline) to build a sense of urgency. Also consider teaming up with similar brands and offering a joint contest with a wider range of free products. As brand participants post on their channels, they’ll encourage comments, engagement, and follows. Of course, be mindful of the rules for each social platform. Get Facebook Ads Training—Online!The Facebook Ads Summit is ideal for any marketer who wants to better understand the latest Facebook ads strategies and improve their testing and analysis. The world’s top Facebook ads experts show you their proven techniques. The Facebook Ads Summit is a live online training event from your friends at Social Media Examiner. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MOREHere’s an Instagram contest promoted around an event. The giveaway offered users several products in exchange for comments, shares, and engagement. Use Tried-and-True Promotional TacticsConsider using tried-and-true campaign techniques. How about a 2-for-1 coupon promotion? Or a free shipping promotion? These are timeless tactics but still very effective and appreciated by customers. Team Up With InfluencersEnlist influencers who believe in your brand’s mission. If you’re promoting a vegan brand and support fighting animal cruelty, find influencers in those areas to help promote your content. If the influencers are passionate about the cause, they may promote your content without a fee. Support Your Organic Social Efforts via Other Online ChannelsPublic relations can help you get the word out on a full range of media platforms, adding credibility and gravitas to your brand. Credible publications don’t want payment for featuring you; all that’s required is a well-crafted story angle to capture the imagination of an editor or writer. Persistence is key to getting to the right people, so keep at it! Getting free publicity is worth the time and effort. Consider adding a public relations element to your next organic campaign. It’s a good option for a major event like an anniversary, grand opening, or new and noteworthy product. Email marketing is a form of organic marketing that’s still relevant for promoting your products and services. The old-fashioned newsletter (the one for company updates) can be handy for promoting your campaigns. Make use of an email marketing tool to promote additional services. Try it for the latest organic promotions such as sales, special offers, and more. Remember, your subscribers have chosen you from among other brands. They want to know when you have specials, rewards, and other promotions so they can take advantage of these opportunities. Keep them in the loop. SEO is another important consideration for organic campaigns. Review your keywords and your position in search. Try new keywords that describe your business. In addition to traditional SEO methods, also consider apps that will help you get traffic to your website. If you have a blog, you can organize your articles in a Flipboard magazine. This versatile app allows you to curate content from a website into a beautiful magazine, replacing the traditional brochure. Not only is it easy to read on a mobile device as you can see in the example below, but it can also send traffic to your website. #4: Establish Benchmark Success MetricsIt’s important to set goals or benchmarks for actions and results for your organic social campaigns, whether it’s sales, brand awareness, click-throughs, or online chatter. Measuring that activity, however, is a challenge because analytics are scarce for organic marketing. I’ve found Sprout Social ($60/month) to be very useful for evaluating organic social campaigns. It gives us an idea of how our client campaigns are performing and we can give our clients a comprehensive document that’s easy to understand. Once you have your goals established, choose the relevant key performance indicators (KPIs). To illustrate, if you’re running a branding campaign, monitor the following:
A tool like Union Metrics ($49/month for a starter pack with three profiles) will assess brand sentiment and break it down by intensity and positive and negative comments. ConclusionWhile many marketers rely solely on paid social media for their campaigns, there are still many opportunities to use organic campaigns to enhance your marketing. I believe that relying solely on paid media will diminish your chances of building relationships with your target audience. Here are a few ways organic campaigns can help you reach your marketing goals:
What do you think? Have you tried organic campaigns to promote your products and services? What tactics have been most effective for your organic campaigns? Share your thoughts in the comments below. More articles on social media marketing:Get your 2020 tickets! There are 17 tracks of content available from the world's top marketing pros! Social Media via Social Media Marketing | Social Media Examiner https://ift.tt/1LtH18p August 27, 2019 at 05:02AM
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Scammers make more than half of login attempts on social media, says study https://ift.tt/2ZoE58l Social media is increasingly being overrun by scammers. A whopping 53 percent of all social media login attempts are made by malicious actors, according to a new report by security firm Arkose Labs. In addition, a quarter of all new social media signups are connected to scammers. For its Q3 Fraud and Abuse Report, Arkose Labs says it analyzed more than 1.2 billion new registrations, logins, and payments in financial services, ecommerce, gaming, entertainment, travel, and social media. The report found that one in 10 transactions are fraudulent. When it comes to social media, however, scammers are twice as likely to target existing accounts than create new ones. In case you’re wondering why scammers would be so interested in what you think is your boring Facebook profile, Arkose Labs determined that criminals are looking to gain access to personal data that can be used to break into bank and other sensitive accounts. Automated bots make up the most scam traffic. The study says that this includes data scraping, account validation attempts, and even blocking seats on airline booking websites. More than 75 percent of social media-related attacks are from automated bots. Some attacks are seasonal, according to the report. For example, U.S. tax season brings an uptick in financial fraud. When it comes to the country of origin for human and bot attacks, Arkose Labs says that the Philippines is by far the leader. The United States, Russia, Indonesia, and UK round out the top five. China, however, is the leader in human-driven fraud attempts. The report estimates that cybercrime will cost more than $6 trillion in damages by 2021. Social Media via Mashable https://ift.tt/2DCFv97 August 26, 2019 at 11:19AM
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How to Set Up a Facebook Ad Funnel for eCommerce Products https://ift.tt/2ZhuncD Wondering how to sell your eCommerce products with Facebook ads? Looking for an easy-to-follow Facebook ad funnel you can adapt to your business? In this article, you’ll find a step-by-step guide for creating a complete Facebook ad funnel that works. #1: Set Up Your eCommerce Site With FacebookBefore diving into how to set up a funnel that brings in sales, make sure your eCommerce site is integrated with Facebook. First, ensure the Facebook pixel is installed on your website. This will allow you to generate your most valuable audiences, optimize campaigns for conversions, and gather analytics from website visitors. Additionally, set up your product catalog with Facebook so you can leverage dynamic product ads for bottom-of-funnel campaigns. Finally, set up and test conversion tracking so you’ll know exactly which ads are bringing you the most dollars and which are underperforming. Conversion tracking is simple to set up with most eCommerce platforms. Simply copy and paste your Facebook pixel ID into Shopify, WooCommerce, or your platform of choice. Check out this article for more on integrating Shopify with Facebook. #2: Set Up and Populate Your Facebook Ad Targeting AudiencesOnce your eCommerce site is set up with Facebook, create custom audiences to target. You want to build custom audiences based on your email list, engagement with your business, and website visitors. These are the people you want to target at the middle and bottom of the funnel because they’re already engaging with your business, browsing your website, and looking at your products. These audiences will be your money-makers. How to Deliver Better Results With Your Facebook Ads—Online Training! To create a custom audience, go to the Audiences dashboard in Facebook Ads Manager or Business Manager. Then click Create Audience and select Custom Audience from the drop-down menu. Next, you’ll see the different sources you can choose from to create your custom audience. For your Facebook ad campaign funnel, you’ll want to create custom audiences based on these sources: Website Traffic, Customer List, Instagram Business Profile, and Facebook Page. Custom Audience of Email Subscribers and PurchasersTo create a custom audience of email subscribers, select Customer List as the source. Then upload your email list (downloaded from your email marketing platform) and follow the prompts to create your audience. Now repeat this process to upload your past purchasers list (downloaded from your eCommerce platform) to create another custom audience. Pro Tip: Create custom audiences for various lengths of time. I recommend 180-, 90-, 60-, 30-, and 7-day periods. Custom Audience of Past PurchasersTo create a custom audience of past purchasers, select Website Traffic as the source. In the audience creation window, choose your pixel and select the Facebook pixel conversion event for Purchase. After you enter a descriptive name for the audience, click Create Audience. Facebook Page Custom AudienceTo create your Facebook page engagement custom audience, select Facebook Page as the source. In the audience creation window, choose your Facebook page and the Everyone Who Engaged With Your Page option. Type in a descriptive name for your audience (such as Facebook Engagement – 60 Days) so you know instantly what it is. Then click Create Audience. Instagram Business Profile Custom AudienceAlso create a custom audience based on engagement with your Instagram business profile. In the audience creation window, select your Instagram business page and choose Everyone Who Engaged With Your Business. After you add a descriptive name for this audience, click Create Audience. Custom Audience of Website VisitorsNow select Website Traffic to create a custom audience based on your website visitors. You’ll want to create website custom audiences based on different time lengths so you can properly leverage remarketing. Test different periods of time to find out which audiences perform best for your business. In general, the shorter the time frame of a custom audience, the higher the audience’s recollection of your business and products. Lookalike Audience of Past PurchasersFinally, create a 1% lookalike audience of your past purchasers. In the lookalike audience creation window, select your lookalike source (the past purchasers list you already uploaded) and your audience’s location. Then click Create Audience. Note: If you don’t have many purchasers yet, use your email list. If you don’t have an email list, you’ll have to do interest-based targeting at the top of your funnel. #3: Establish Product Awareness With a Top-of-Funnel Facebook CampaignNow that you’ve created your audiences, let’s dive into the overall strategy of your Facebook advertising funnel. In a nutshell, here’s what you want to happen at each stage:
We’ll start with the top-of-funnel campaign. New advertisers often go wrong by pushing to sell their products to people who have never heard of their business and products (cold audiences). Instead of being a pushy salesperson, you want to warm up your target audiences by providing content that grabs their attention and speaks to them. You also want to build social proof with top-of-funnel campaigns. Videos work well for this stage of the funnel, but keep in mind that the audiences you’re targeting are complete strangers. You want your content to keep their attention so avoid long introductions and don’t use the same shot for longer than 3 seconds. Instead, start the video with people talking or movement, add video overlays, and leverage jump cuts and b-roll. For this example, assume you’re spending $10,000 or more a month on advertising. If your monthly spend is lower, you’ll likely want to run a Video Views or Engagement campaign for your top-of-funnel videos. Create a New CampaignTo get started, create a new Facebook campaign and choose the Conversions campaign objective. Facebook optimizes based on the campaign objective you choose. With the Conversions objective, Facebook will show your ads to people who are most likely to convert. Likewise, if you choose Video Views, your ads will be shown to people who are more likely to watch videos on the platform. Next, enter a name for your campaign that makes it easy to identify which stage of the funnel it corresponds with. Pro Tip: I recommend starting the campaign name with ‘1’ for top of funnel, ‘2’ for middle of funnel, and ‘3’ for bottom of funnel. Later, if you decide to report on different sections of your funnel, these names will make it easy to filter the data based on whether the name starts with a 1, 2, or 3. Next, choose the Campaign Budget Optimization option and set your budget. If you don’t currently have engagement on your Facebook page and Instagram account, you’ll want to use a bigger portion of your budget for the top of the funnel. Then slowly move your budget down the funnel when you have more engagement and website visitors. Finally, click Continue to create the campaign. Set Up the Facebook Ad SetAt the Ad Set level, enter a name for your ad set and select Purchase in the Conversion section. In the Audiences section, select your 1% lookalike audience of past purchasers. Also choose the location of your target audience. Under Placements, select Automatic Placements to let Facebook optimize placements based on results. Finally, click Continue to create your ad set. Get Facebook Ads Training—Online!The Facebook Ads Summit is ideal for any marketer who wants to better understand the latest Facebook ads strategies and improve their testing and analysis. The world’s top Facebook ads experts show you their proven techniques. The Facebook Ads Summit is a live online training event from your friends at Social Media Examiner. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MOREDesign Your Facebook Ad CreativeAt the Ad level, name your first ad and upload your video. For the primary text of the ad, speak to your target audience in their words. Reference why people love your products and why consumers should choose yours over your competitors’. Don’t push to sell; instead, get your targeted audience interested and curious about your products. If you can, interview your existing customers and use their responses in your ad copy. This will help your ads resonate better with your intended audience. End your primary text with a subtle call to action that says, “Learn More: [Your Website URL].” Adding your website URL to the ad copy with the Facebook News Feed placement will help increase your ad click-throughs. Note: Links won’t be clickable with the Instagram Feed placement so you may want to separate Instagram placement ads out. For the ad’s headline, write something that grabs your ideal customer’s attention. Pro Tip: Include social proof with gold star emojis and the number of 5-star reviews your business has received. Notice the social proof added to the description of this ad from Truff Hot Sauce. Next, add your website URL and select Learn More as your call to action. Then click Confirm to publish your ad. #4: Encourage Product Consideration With a Middle-of-Funnel Facebook CampaignNow that you’re raising awareness of your brand and products, you’re ready to create the middle-of-funnel campaign. In this stage of your funnel, you want to get targeted customers to click to your website to view your products. When you set up your middle-of-funnel campaign in Ads Manager, use images and video that display your products in the best possible light. Make sure any people pictured are smiling and happy (a subtle technique that can have a big impact on sales). If you have multiple versions of products, create a collage of two photos to show more products to people scrolling by. Pro Tip: Adding subtle contrast and clarity to your images can help make your ad creative pop more than other images and video it competes with. Create a New Facebook CampaignWhen you create your middle-of-funnel campaign, select the Conversions campaign objective and name your campaign (to illustrate, “2 – Purchase – [Product Set Name]”). Set your budget based on the amount of engagement you have. The more Facebook/Instagram engagers and website visitors you have, the higher your budget can be in the middle of your funnel. When you’re done, click Continue. Set Up the Facebook Ad SetAt the Ad Set level, select Purchase in the Conversion section. For your ad targeting, select these engagement audiences:
Depending on the products you’re selling, you may want to exclude purchasers from the middle of your funnel. If your customers typically only buy once from you, exclude purchasers here. Next, add the location of the targeted audience. Choose Automatic Placements to let Facebook optimize placements based on results. Design Your Facebook Ad CreativeAt the Ad level, start by naming your ad. Then upload your videos and/or images. For your primary text, address your ideal client by asking a question they can answer “yes” to, helping hook them into reading more of your copy. Explain how your product solves customer pain points. End your primary text with a stronger call to action that says, “Shop Now: [Your Website URL]”. Next, write a headline that grabs your ideal customer’s attention. Then add your website URL and select Shop Now as your call to action. Finally, click Confirm to publish the ad. #5: Sell Your Products With a Bottom-of-Funnel Facebook CampaignOnce people are viewing your products, it’s time to start closing sales with a bottom-of-funnel campaign. With your product catalog synced with Facebook, you can run dynamic product ads. These are powerful ads that can show customers the exact products they viewed on your website. Create a New Facebook CampaignStart by creating a new Facebook campaign with Catalog Sales as your campaign objective. Then type a name for your bottom-of-funnel campaign (“3 – DPA,” for example). From the Catalog drop-down menu, select the appropriate product catalog. Allot a smaller percentage of your budget for this campaign. This is the smallest audience you’ll target because people are getting filtered down at each stage of the funnel. Click Continue to create the campaign. Set Up the Facebook Ad SetTo set up the ad set, select All Products or the specific product set you want to promote. In the Audience section, select the Retarget Products to People Who Visited Your Website or App option. Next, select the Viewed or Added to Cart But Not Purchased option and enter 14 in the Days field (you’ll want to test this number based on how many website visitors you have). Set Optimization for Ad Delivery to Value. Choose Purchase for the event type. Under Placements, choose Automatic Placements to let Facebook optimize placements based on results. Finally, click Continue to create your ad set. Design Your Facebook Ad CreativeAt the Ad level, select the Carousel ad format. In the Ad Creative section, choose Multiple Products under Catalog Options. Next, select Single Image for your creative option. For the primary text of the ad, invite customers to come back and complete their purchase. Under See More Display Link, add your website URL. Select Shop Now as your call to action. Then click Review and publish the ad. #6: Create Remarketing Campaigns for Product Launches and Repeat OrdersWhile your entire funnel is now complete, don’t forget about the people who have already purchased from you. These are your best customers. To re-engage these past purchasers, create another middle-of-funnel campaign. Target Past Purchasers With a Product Launch CampaignWhen you have new items to launch (whether a new version of a product, new color, or brand-new item), announce it in a conversion campaign to past purchasers. Create a new middle-of-funnel campaign that targets 60-day purchasers. Test various images and videos to see what performs best. After you know what works, duplicate those ads to the middle-of-funnel 180-day engagement audience. This is a great way to build social proof for new products. Show the release to past purchasers first. Then duplicate the top-performing ads and target your 180-day engagement audience of people who haven’t converted yet. Target People When Their Product Is About to Run OutCreate another middle-of-funnel campaign that targets people right when their product is about to run out. Remind them to come back to your site to reorder the product. For instance, if you sell a package of coffee beans that lasts about 30 days, create a conversion purchase campaign that targets a 45-day purchaser audience and excludes a 25-day purchaser audience. This campaign will hit people with a reminder to reorder their favorite coffee beans at the right time. You could create a similar campaign to target one-time purchasers, encouraging them to subscribe to your product monthly. ConclusionThis is a Facebook ad campaign funnel structure that will work for most advertisers. I suggest you test different variations of targeting, remarketing time, copy, creative, campaign objectives, and the number of ads you sequence to people in a funnel. Focus on what works after the learning phase is done for each ad and then optimize the campaigns, ad sets, and ads that perform best. You can do this by duplicating the ad sets and ads that are performing well. Then create variations and test again. Continue to duplicate and optimize to determine what messaging best resonates with your ideal customer. Remember that customers will get tired of seeing the same ad repeatedly, so be sure to create new content often to keep your audience engaged and happy. Always be testing. What do you think? Will you use this Facebook ad funnel structure? Where does your funnel need the most improvement? Share your thoughts in the comments below. More articles on Facebook ads:Get your 2020 tickets! There are 17 tracks of content available from the world's top marketing pros! Social Media via Social Media Marketing | Social Media Examiner https://ift.tt/1LtH18p August 26, 2019 at 05:00AM Become a Social Media Professional by Focusing on These 5 Business-Friendly Platforms https://ift.tt/3244kTj Becoming a social media professional for more than one social media platform is difficult, but that isn’t a big problem for most businesses. You do not need to be an expert in all, you need only be an expert in one. This article explains how to become a social media professional in any of the five social media platforms listed. Follow this advice and you will enjoy sustained success so long as you put your talents to good use. Focus on all five of them, and your success is almost guaranteed. 1. Use the Power of Videos on YouTubeIf done correctly and done well, YouTube offers businesses the biggest return on their investment, especially when considering the amount of time invested. The problem is that most businesses do not know how to use this platform to its highest potential. This is because the methods used must differ for each company. For example, a washer and drier parts sales company offers in-depth instructions online around how to fix washers and driers at home. They then sell the specific parts required for said repairs. The number of videos required and the amount of effort is huge, but these videos generate a steady and humble stream of revenue from sales of parts. As a byproduct, they generate hundreds of very “very” thankful customers who feel indebted because a YouTube video saved them hundreds of dollars. If one were to try to achieve the same “consistent” level of success with a website, it would take far more effort to achieve the same level of even modest success. 2. Become an Instagram Social Media ProfessionalIt might be argued that Instagram has no business social media applications or value, but such a wide variety of companies are doing so well on Instagram that is deserves its number two position on this list. It is the best social media for business if you are willing to be conservative in your approach. Something as simple as taking vanity shots of your products is enough to somehow gather followers. There are people following companies that offer different recipes for noodles (and nothing else) and are even followers for companies offering different PC casing designs. 3. Network on LinkedInProbably the most difficult social media to get started with, but once you start making connections, your content will start to take on an almost slow-burn viral momentum. Instead of your content spreading quickly with lots of online presence (typical of viral content), your content will spread slowly but with a consistent rate of growth (though the fires will need stoking by you if you want any rate of sustained success). 4. Pin It on PinterestPeople who know how Pinterest users think have always done well on Pinterest. Start by keeping it simple by pinning items that you sell that you think your viewers will enjoy, and then move on to more creative with well-thought-out boards. Think of Pinterest as a menu you create where your viewer would sample everything from your side salad to your prime rib. You could even run comparison boards such as comparing this homepage to that homepage, or one product to another, and so forth. 5. Sell Your Brand on TwitterYou are not going to sell very much through Twitter, but it is good for sending out branding messages. If you are trying to establish your brand and are working towards gaining brand recognition, then Twitter is perfect for any drip marketing campaign you are planning. But – What About the Others?Where is Facebook? The fact is that being a social media professional involved with Facebook offers a very low return on investment unless the business sells to teens or younger (in which case Facebook is ideal). Unless your primary market is younger people, then do not become a social media professional with Facebook. However, as you will notice, there are often times when certain social media platforms are terrible for business with just one exception. For example, nobody would suggest you invest most of your budget into selling on Tik Tok unless you were selling clothing, in which case it is a gold mine. You should probably avoid investing your marketing budget into Tumblr unless you are selling books or information products. The TakeawayThe point is that in a broad sense, a business could use any of the five social media platforms listed in this article and make an impact, while other social media platforms are useless except for the fact that the others have one or two niche markets that “some” businesses could exploit. To become a social media professional, you need to choose your platform(s) wisely. If you would like to know more about how to use social media to help further your business, then check out more on Socialmediaexplorer.com. The post Become a Social Media Professional by Focusing on These 5 Business-Friendly Platforms appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog August 25, 2019 at 12:46PM How Doctors Can Effectively Use Social Media To Improve Their Patient’s Lives https://ift.tt/2U3use4 Of all business verticals, the healthcare industry as a whole, and physicians specifically, might be the latest adopters of social media that we know of. Over the years, most doctors have shied away from any form of healthcare marketing, and especially away from social media marketing. They’ve felt like social media marketing was for less professional industries trying to sell products and services. But recently, the tides have turned and many younger physicians have begun to see the value and importance of implementing a social media marketing strategy for their patients. Most healthcare providers are not using social media as a way of prospecting but of staying close and educating their existing patients. There are a few related healthcare professionals such as Dentists, Optometrists, and Chiropractors that will use social media marketing strategies to generate new patients, but generally, the medical field stays away from prospecting with social media. Why To Stay In Front of Your Patients Using Social MediaPatients are craving a community, education, and ongoing help with their medical issues. Social media is the key to providing that for them. These tools are already being used by the patients of these healthcare providers which makes it an easy way to provide added value to those patients. (You can see examples of the type of healthcare marketing and strategic content strategies by looking at some of the top brand names in healthcare.) How To Use Social Media As A Healthcare Provider1. The first thing you’ll want to do is ensure that you have a clear social media policy. You obviously don’t want to violate anyone’s privacy or violate any HIPPA regulations. Make sure that everyone inside of the practice knows what to post and what not to post on the company’s Facebook page. 2. Create a Facebook group and then invite people who are interested in the content you will be providing and producing. A Facebook group can be private and closed and will generally have a much better engagement and visibility to its members that a standard Facebook page or profile. You cannot run any paid campaigns on a Facebook Group. You’ll need to setup an actual Facebook page in order to be able to run targeted paid campaigns. 3. Create a business Facebook page so that anyone can like the page and follow your posts without being a part of your private group. You will also be able to run paid campaigns if you ever decided that you wanted to try and prospect for new patients. What Type Of Content Should You Produce and Post? There are lots of great ways to make valuable content for a healthcare patient. We’ve seen physicians and physician groups create diets videos, doctor profiles, motivating stories of hope, patient spotlights, and more. Even posting just a picture or a meme can lift the spirits of the patients in the group or that are following the physician’s pages and profiles. The social media platforms crave video content more so than anything else right now. So if you have the means to have a video production person on your staff or a trusted video production company, then by all means, find ways to create videos that can help your patients. Other valuable forms of content include:
It’s important for a medical group to have some sort of a content plan if they wish to have content to post on social media. Content is what will drive any sort of successful social media campaign. You’re not going to want to post random thoughts or not have a sense of purpose when using social media as a healthcare professional. Paid Social Media Campaigns For DoctorsIf you’re looking to reach new audiences and not just reach your existing patient base, you can use social media to run paid ad campaigns and potentially reach hundreds of thousands of people within a target demographic. You can do this by setting up a Facebook page or other social media profile and then setting up an ad account with the platform. The social media platforms have all become a “pay to play” type of platform, meaning that if you want to reach people, you’ll have to pay for that reach. You could spend as little as 5 dollars to get started and then see how it goes, but it’s best to carve out a budget and give it a good run. SummaryIf you can get an effective social media campaign going as a physician, you’ll be ahead of the pack. Many larger healthcare organizations have caught on, but when it comes to local physicians and their groups, the competition online is relatively easy to beat right now. The post How Doctors Can Effectively Use Social Media To Improve Their Patient’s Lives appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog August 25, 2019 at 06:46AM
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Facebook Group Privacy Changes and What Marketers Need to Know https://ift.tt/2U2vO99 Facebook Group Privacy Changes and What Marketers Need to Knowby Grace Duffy / / Leave a Comment Welcome to this week’s edition of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, a news show for marketers who want to stay on the leading edge of social media. On this week’s Social Media Marketing Talk Show, we explore updates to Facebook Group privacy with Dana Malstaff and new chat features being tested on Twitter with Madalyn Sklar. Tune In to the Social Media Marketing Talk ShowListen to the replay of this week’s show, below. You can also hear the show as an audio podcast on iTunes/Apple Podcast, Android, Google Play, Stitcher, and RSS. Watch the replay of this week’s show below. About Our Special Guests
Use the timestamps below to fast-forward to our top stories in the replay above.
divider Facebook Changes Privacy Designation for Groups: Facebook updated the language describing the visibility and privacy of groups. The company determined that the language that currently describes the visibility of groups (Public, Closed, and Secret) isn’t as clear as it should be. Groups will now be labeled either “Public” or “Private.”
As a companion test, Twitter will allow users to create separate lists to follow individual interests around keywords and individual users. For example, if you know someone who always has great insights on social media marketing, you can keep tabs on them in addition to other mentions about marketing. Twitter Tests Temporary Snooze for Specific Topics and Notifications: Engadget reports that Twitter is experimenting with the option to temporarily unfollow a topic and keep certain tweets out of your timeline. It’s also testing an option to snooze notifications for 1-, 3-, and 12-hour increments. Both of these tests are currently limited to Android devices.
Twitter Testing Filter and Search Tool for Direct Message Requests: Twitter is testing two new tools for Direct Messages. The first is a new way to filter unwanted messages and requests from your Direct Message inbox. This new tool moves unwanted messages, including those with offensive content or spam and messages from people you don’t follow, into a separate tab called Message Requests.
Twitter is also experimenting with a new search tool that makes it easier to find and follow up on Direct Messages conversations. The company confirms that the search bar is already available to select users on both iOS devices and the web across the globe and could be rolling out to more users based on their feedback and response.
Twitter Testing Reply Notifications on Android and iOS: Twitter is testing a feature to let users follow replies to individual tweets. Currently, this is only in the early test phase on iOS and Android but is set to have a broader rollout soon.
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