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SocialCaptain Review – Instagram Game Changer for Influencers & Brands https://ift.tt/2PRyho2 SocialCaptain Review – Instagram Game Changer for Influencers & Brands Everyone wants to grow their Instagram following. Brands want to attract more followers that will turn into customers and brand advocates, and influencers want more followers so they can command more money for sponsored posts and collaborations with brands that want to leverage their reach. With so much focus on the number of followers as well as engagement on Instagram, it has led to many pieces of software and automation tools being released. I’ve tried almost everyone to hit the market and while some showed a bit of promise they were short lived. During its early days, it was possible to be a bit spammy on Instagram and still gain followers and grow your account, but as time has passed the follow/unfollow and liking a bunch of content tricks has become less effective. You have to really pick your targets carefully and focus on very detailed targeting if you want to make any gains in terms of followers and engagement increases. I was introduced to SocialCaptain a few months ago and given a free 3-day trial. I have used the software far beyond the trial period and it’s helped me grow several Instagram accounts, from personal profiles to business accounts. Here is my review of SocialCaptain and why I believe it is the best choice for brands and influencer looking for a game changing Instagram growth tool. Influencers Can Use SocialCaptain to Make More MoneyAs influencer marketing continues to be a huge outlet for brands looking to reach very targeted audiences, it has allowed many people to make full-time income simply by being active on Instagram. Others have turned it into a very lucrative side hustle. So, the more followers and the better your engagement, the better the payout. A lot of influencers are able to devote a lot of time to manual work on Instagram, as it’s their “job” but by also using SocialCaptain it can help speed up account growth and push engagement rates for both likes and comments up. Brands Can Use SocialCaptain to Build a Loyal Customer BaseOne look at SocialCaptain’s review page will show you some of the brands that uses the software, and the names are impressive. These are brands with millions of followers, collectively. Their Instagram audience is essentially priceless, so do you think they would trust their account safety with software that didn’t deliver results? I doubt it, and that is one of the reasons I originally took them up on the trial offer. If it is good enough for those companies it must have something good to offer. AI Technology Allows ‘Human’ EngagementSocialCaptain is backed by AI technology, which is something I don’t see any other Instagram software claim. They also have something called SmartGrowth that they say results in improved results over time due to the technology getting smarter pertaining to the account it’s working on. So, as it gets smarter the results get better because it learns what works and what doesn’t for your specific targeting and goals. This is pretty cool and something I was able to see on my own accounts. Real-Time Analytics & DataEven though SocialCaptain works 24/7 without you having to login, it’s nice to be able to check on your progress at any time and see exactly what is happening in real-time. You are able to watch your followers increase, see what your account is doing, and how the AI is working to interact with similar accounts and audiences, as you specify in your settings. Cost: You Can’t Afford to Not Use SocialCaptainAfter your free trial you can select from the regular plan that is $39/month (or $15/week), or the more powerful $99/month option that has 10X growth over the regular plan. Less than $100/month for AI powered follower growth is a bargain in my eyes. Think of what it would cost to hire a full-time Instagram marketer and you will see this is a steal. And influencers can use this tool and see a massive ROI in terms of the small cost of this software. ConclusionIn you are a business, then you have to be active on Instagram these days. You should be using SocialCaptain to handle your Instagram growth in the background. You don’t have to worry about appearing spammy because of its artificial intelligence and targeting options, which makes it look and feel like a real human is working within the app on a mobile device. Influencers old and new: fork out the money to add this tool to your strategy. The more followers and the higher your engagement, the more brand deals that will come your way and the higher the price you can command. SocialCaptain is a no-brainer decision for anyone with an Instagram account. You can see for yourself almost instantly if you visit their website and sign up for the free trial. Summary Reviewer Social Media Explorer Review Date Reviewed Item SocialCaptain Author Rating Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog November 25, 2018 at 10:31PM
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How to Nurture Your Leads with Thank You Pages https://ift.tt/2qZWwBo Saying “thank you” can go a long way. For starters, it’s basic manners you learn at an early age. When someone does something for you, you thank them. But it’s also a crucial inbound marketing strategy. According to research, 68% of customers will leave a company if they don’t think it cares about them. That’s why your website needs to have a thank-you page. Website visitors will be redirected to your thank-you page after filling out a form on your site, e.g., opting into your email newsletter. Right now, if your thank-you page simply thanks the visitor and does nothing else, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. These landing pages can be used for much more, such as building brand awareness, getting customer feedback, or even increasing sales. You just got a new lead. You’ve got to nurture that lead. Converting leads into customers is a top priority for businesses in the coming year: Sure, you’ll send them a confirmation email welcoming the lead to your email list, which will be the first of several messages in your drip campaign. But for those to work, the person needs to check their email, open the message, consume the content, and then convert. You can’t assume it will always happen. However, the thank-you page is right in front of their face, on the same screen, right after they performed an action. If you design this page correctly, it will be extremely beneficial for your company. If you have already recognized the importance of thanking your new leads, you’re on the right track. But this guide will elevate your thank-you pages and take your lead nurturing strategy to the next level. Here’s what you need to know. Give your leads a reason to buySometimes your new leads need a little bit more motivation to make a purchase. Clearly, they’re already interested in your brand. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have navigated to your website and signed up to receive emails. But when it comes to convincing them to buy something, you need to give them that added incentive to complete this process. Think of your thank-you page as the checkout line at a retail store. The consumer has already been sold on an action. They decided they’re ready to buy something or, in this instance, provide your company with their contact information. In a retail store, certain items are strategically placed by the register to encourage people to buy. Likewise, you need to place something on your thank-you page that will encourage a sale. Here’s an example from NatureBox: As you can see, it offers new leads a 50% discount. But the coupon code isn’t available to just anyone. To see this screen, the visitor had to provide the company with their contact information. Giving these customers a chance to win a contest is how NatureBox is collecting email addresses in the first place. This is a great strategy for running a profitable giveaway. Take a look at the top right corner of this page. NatureBox also displays social sharing icons. The icons make it easy for people to share this content on social media, but I’ll talk more about this tactic in greater detail later. Promote your top contentAnother way to nurture your leads is by getting them more engaged with your brand. Every website visitor is different. Some of these people might be more familiar with your company than others. The best way for site visitors to learn more about your brand is by giving them access to your top performing content. This could include:
There are certain metrics every marketing manager needs to track. You’ll use this information to determine which type of content you should be promoting on your thank-you page. Here’s a great example from Optimizely: As you can see, the three links at the bottom of the screenshot differ from each other. If you put three different posts on the page, but the person isn’t interested in reading, they won’t click. Offering different options increases the chances of them being interested in at least one of the links you’re suggesting. The content can also be related to what they signed up for. Use the information you received from their contact info to segment them accordingly. Here’s what I mean. Let’s say someone signs up to receive your newest blog posts delivered to their inbox, but another person signs up strictly to receive product updates and promotions. You can promote different content on your thank-you page to each of these people. The first person could be shown links to your blog posts, while the second person could be prompted to click a video demonstration of one of your newest products. Establish social proofThe thank-you page is a great opportunity for you to showcase that your products and services actually work. The best way to do this is with real success stories from your customers. Check out how Infusionsoft accomplishes this on its thank-you page: Put yourself in the shoes of your new leads for a minute here. They just signed up to receive emails from your business, but they haven’t bought anything yet. Maybe they’re waiting to see what kind of value you’ll offer them in your emails. Or, they might not be sold on your business just yet. You can sit there all day, explaining through your own posts and videos how great your products and services are. But consumers aren’t stupid—they know that content is biased. If you can put case studies, success stories, reviews, or customer testimonials on your thank-you page, you’ll show social proof of your product. Your leads will recognize your business is legitimate, and it will increase the chances of them converting. Drive ebook downloadsThis idea connects to the topic of promoting your top content. Offering a free ebook download is a nice incentive for the new lead to receive, especially if normally they would have to pay for the content. Plus, now you’re killing two birds with one stone. You’re nurturing your leads while driving downloads for your ebook. The free download link is well worth it if you can turn that lead into a customer. Greenhouse uses this strategy on its thank-you page: It offers two free ebook downloads here. Plus, by doing this, you show your customers you appreciate them. Here’s what I mean. All of us have gotten an insincere thank-you from someone. They’re saying thanks because they feel obligated. But when someone is actually thankful, they might do you a favor to show you their appreciation. Offering a free ebook download is a nice gesture that can potentially drive conversions. Encourage social sharingGive your leads a reason to share your content on social media. I mentioned this earlier when I pointed out the social sharing icons on the NatureBox thank-you page. This strategy will expand your reach, create brand exposure, and potentially generate even more leads. But people may not be willing to share the fact that they just signed up to receive emails from a business. That’s not very exciting. To be successful with this strategy, you need to understand why people share content on social media. Find a way to tie what you’re doing to one of these factors. For example, are you associated with any causes or charities? That’s a great way to use people’s emotions to drive sales. Here’s something else to keep in mind. Look at the types of content getting shared the most on social media: Combine the reasons why people share content with the type of content that gets shared the most, and you will increase the chances of this strategy working. For example, you could donate $1 to a specific charity every time someone signs up for your email newsletter. Put social sharing icons on your thank-you page that will post as a picture when added to a new lead’s social media profile. By asking your leads to share, you might encourage their friends to sign up as well. Embed a videoYour brand needs to be producing original video content. I like the idea of uploading all your videos to YouTube and then repurposing them across your other distribution channels. Add them to social media, blog posts, and your emails. The thank-you page is another place where you can embed a video. Video content drives conversions: Furthermore, 64% of people are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video about it. And 50% of business executives look for more information after watching a video, while 39% make a phone call. This is a great way to nurture your B2B leads. Qualify your leadsNot all leads are qualified leads. This means that some of your leads are more likely to become customers than others. You need to identify who those people are. Ask them to fill out a quick survey on the thank-you page. This additional information will help you qualify them accordingly. For example, let’s say you have a payroll company. To qualify new leads on your thank-you page, your survey can ask questions such as:
Then, you can score your leads accordingly based on the results. Lead generation isn’t cheap. It varies according to industry, company size, and revenue. Here’s a graph that shows the average cost per lead based on these factors: By using the survey method to qualify your leads on your thank-you page, you’ll be able to generate a higher ROI and increase your chances of getting more people to convert. You can send your leads content that’s related to their responses. Ask your leads to follow you on social mediaEarlier I talked about getting your leads to share your content on social media. But that doesn’t mean they’ll follow you. You need to make this process as easy as possible for them. Include a link to your social media profiles directly on your thank-you page. Then simply ask for a follow. This will make it much easier for them to follow you than going to those platforms separately, searching for your company. According to Sprout Social, these are the top reasons why people follow brands on social media: Once a new lead follows you on social media, they’ll see more of your content and promotions than they would if they only received your emails. Consumers are 57.5% more likely to buy from brands they follow on social media. More than 60% of consumers need to see something two to four times before they buy it. Social media makes it possible. Leads will be exposed to your content on different channels:
That’s four different times right there. Social media is a great place for you to nurture your leads. But for this to work effectively, you need to make sure they’re following you. ConclusionYour leads should automatically be directed to your thank-you page after filling out forms on your website. But you need to design your thank-you pages in a way that does more than just thank them. Give your new leads a reason to become customers by offering them an incentive to buy. Showcase your top content, such as free ebook downloads. Show social proof by featuring success stories, case studies, customer reviews, and testimonials. Add a video to your thank-you page. Create a short survey to help improve lead scoring. If you can get your leads to follow you on social media, they’ll be more likely to buy from you in the future. Once you make these changes to your thank-you page, you’ll be able to effectively nurture your leads. How is your business using thank-you pages to nurture new leads? Social Media via Quick Sprout https://ift.tt/UU7LJr November 23, 2018 at 10:03AM LinkedIn Video: How Marketers Can Create Videos People Watch on LinkedIn https://ift.tt/2DCvWGd Looking to connect with an audience that has buying power? Wondering how to reach LinkedIn users with video? To explore how LinkedIn video marketing works, I interview Goldie Chan. More About This Show The Social Media Marketing podcast is designed to help busy marketers, business owners, and creators discover what works with social media marketing. In this episode, I interview Goldie Chan, a LinkedIn video expert. She produces a daily video show about marketing on LinkedIn. Her courses on lynda.com include LinkedIn Video Marketing for Personal and Brand Pages. Goldie explains how LinkedIn's video audience and metrics compare to those on YouTube and Facebook. You'll also discover tips for creating and optimizing LinkedIn videos. Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below. Listen Now Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show: LinkedIn Video Goldie's Story Goldie has been working in digital marketing for more than 10 years, focusing on social media strategy and content creation. In that time, she's worked with lots of platforms creating all kinds of content including Facebook live video, Twitch video, Instagram content, Pinterest, and now LinkedIn video. Goldie has also worked in a range of industries. She moved from a tech startup to fashion. Then she worked for Legendary Entertainment as director of social and community. The company handles blockbuster movies that tend to work well in China and in the U.S., such as the King Kong franchise and The Great Wall. Goldie worked on both paid and organic social, and on building their community. In August 2017, Goldie was taking a break in her career and got into the LinkedIn video beta. It was the perfect time to create content she enjoys, and she loves pop culture. Her first 50 videos explored branding, metrics, and historical facts about pop culture phenomena. This project evolved into her daily channel (#dailygoldie), which has subscribers from all over the world. Today, her channel continues to look at the marketing and business impact of pop culture phenomena. For example, she might explore where the majority of the marketing budget for Harry Potter went. Looking at how the books, movies, and franchise in general are marketed works with LinkedIn's business focus. And for Goldie, this approach is more interesting than expressing her fandom. Although her daily show is primarily about marketing, Goldie also talks about branding as it relates to her experiences because she frequently travels around the world. When she's speaking, she shares tips that will help her audience. As a proponent of building community, she created #LinkedInCreators, the hashtag most people who create content use on LinkedIn. Because Goldie has been posting daily videos, she can track how LinkedIn video has been developing over the past year. Whenever a bug or any issues have occurred, she witnessed it firsthand. She has found the journey to be amazing, and for the 1-year anniversary of LinkedIn video, she hosted the official LinkedIn party in New York with their video team. In addition to running Daily Goldie on LinkedIn, Goldie owns Warm Robots, a social media strategy agency. For clients like The Art Institutes, she helps figure out how to tell their stories in ways that encourage people to join and feel involved with the brand. She also helps C-level executives create their personal brands on LinkedIn and elsewhere. Listen to the show to hear Goldie share a story about helping an executive determine whether content was appropriate for Instagram. How LinkedIn Video Compares to YouTube and Facebook Video Goldie believes marketers who are already invested in YouTube or Facebook video should consider LinkedIn because its unique audience offers great opportunities. LinkedIn has more people who work in the top levels of their profession and attracts people who are gainfully empl... Social Media via Social Media Marketing Podcast helps your business thrive with social media https://ift.tt/1LtH18p November 23, 2018 at 05:07AM
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LinkedIn Video: How Marketers Can Create Videos People Watch on LinkedIn https://ift.tt/2DCvWGd Looking to connect with an audience that has buying power? Wondering how to reach LinkedIn users with video? To explore how LinkedIn video marketing works, I interview Goldie Chan. More About This ShowThe Social Media Marketing podcast is designed to help busy marketers, business owners, and creators discover what works with social media marketing. In this episode, I interview Goldie Chan, a LinkedIn video expert. She produces a daily video show about marketing on LinkedIn. Her courses on lynda.com include LinkedIn Video Marketing for Personal and Brand Pages. Goldie explains how LinkedIn’s video audience and metrics compare to those on YouTube and Facebook. You’ll also discover tips for creating and optimizing LinkedIn videos. Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below. Listen NowListen now: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS Here are some of the things you’ll discover in this show: LinkedIn VideoGoldie’s StoryGoldie has been working in digital marketing for more than 10 years, focusing on social media strategy and content creation. In that time, she’s worked with lots of platforms creating all kinds of content including Facebook live video, Twitch video, Instagram content, Pinterest, and now LinkedIn video. Goldie has also worked in a range of industries. She moved from a tech startup to fashion. Then she worked for Legendary Entertainment as director of social and community. The company handles blockbuster movies that tend to work well in China and in the U.S., such as the King Kong franchise and The Great Wall. Goldie worked on both paid and organic social, and on building their community. In August 2017, Goldie was taking a break in her career and got into the LinkedIn video beta. It was the perfect time to create content she enjoys, and she loves pop culture. Her first 50 videos explored branding, metrics, and historical facts about pop culture phenomena. This project evolved into her daily channel (#dailygoldie), which has subscribers from all over the world. Today, her channel continues to look at the marketing and business impact of pop culture phenomena. For example, she might explore where the majority of the marketing budget for Harry Potter went. Looking at how the books, movies, and franchise in general are marketed works with LinkedIn’s business focus. And for Goldie, this approach is more interesting than expressing her fandom. Although her daily show is primarily about marketing, Goldie also talks about branding as it relates to her experiences because she frequently travels around the world. When she’s speaking, she shares tips that will help her audience. As a proponent of building community, she created #LinkedInCreators, the hashtag most people who create content use on LinkedIn. Because Goldie has been posting daily videos, she can track how LinkedIn video has been developing over the past year. Whenever a bug or any issues have occurred, she witnessed it firsthand. She has found the journey to be amazing, and for the 1-year anniversary of LinkedIn video, she hosted the official LinkedIn party in New York with their video team. In addition to running Daily Goldie on LinkedIn, Goldie owns Warm Robots, a social media strategy agency. For clients like The Art Institutes, she helps figure out how to tell their stories in ways that encourage people to join and feel involved with the brand. She also helps C-level executives create their personal brands on LinkedIn and elsewhere. Listen to the show to hear Goldie share a story about helping an executive determine whether content was appropriate for Instagram. How LinkedIn Video Compares to YouTube and Facebook VideoGoldie believes marketers who are already invested in YouTube or Facebook video should consider LinkedIn because its unique audience offers great opportunities. LinkedIn has more people who work in the top levels of their profession and attracts people who are gainfully employed or seeking a job. You’ll find only slightly more men than women, and the demographic is older. With this audience, LinkedIn is great for content creators who want to reach people who have buying power. Goldie says about 45% of all B2B buyers make purchasing decisions based on LinkedIn content. So if you’re on LinkedIn and you’re a B2B marketer, you have a good chance of reaching people who could help you move sales. Within LinkedIn, you’ll find groups of people who use the platform differently. Goldie thinks about a third of LinkedIn users log in to check messages every 3-4 weeks and then leave. With a profile photo, you’re 36 times more likely to receive a message on LinkedIn, and building out your profile also makes people more likely to engage with you. Another group of LinkedIn users actively create and consume content on the platform. Popular content includes independent content from creators (such as Goldie) and trending news stories that LinkedIn editors have picked up. A trending news story might be a large corporate merger. You’ll also find a subset of users who are migrating from Facebook to LinkedIn. These people include creators and marketers, although the marketers still use Facebook’s ad platform, which is superior almost regardless of whom you’re targeting. LinkedIn also stands out as a place where your content can still have organic reach. On Facebook, people won’t see your content if you’re not paying for ads. But on LinkedIn, people who have the ability to spend money might still see your written and video content, even if it has zero spin. Listen to the show to hear how I use LinkedIn. How to Get Started With LinkedIn VideoAlthough many people post videos created for YouTube on LinkedIn, Goldie says you shouldn’t do that because the two platforms are in different stages of development. LinkedIn video is only a year old, so it’s like young YouTube, which featured shaky vlogs of people trying video for the first time. Similarly, LinkedIn video features that type of content even a year later. Videos that do well on YouTube today tend to be incredibly polished, and one video might cover multiple subjects. In the ecosystem of LinkedIn video, this polished YouTube video won’t do as well because that’s not what viewers are used to. To make your YouTube content translate to LinkedIn, you have to simplify it. Your audience needs to understand the takeaway quickly. If you’re getting started and growing an audience with LinkedIn video, limit each video to 1 minute and focus on one simple subject that provides value. With this approach, your videos will be easy for viewers to understand. The time limit forces you to be eloquent and brief. Before you start, write out bullet points about what you’ll say to help you create a clean, crisp video. Although your videos can be up to 10 minutes, LinkedIn viewers don’t want to watch a 10-minute rambling vlog that lacks a clear point. To illustrate, Goldie doesn’t like watching a 7-minute vlog on LinkedIn, but she might watch it on YouTube or Facebook where she’s used to watching more casual content. Also, YouTube’s algorithm favors those longer videos. You need to add captions to your video because people likely have the sound turned off. People will see your video in the LinkedIn feed and the video plays automatically. Most people don’t want the sound to come on as they’re scrolling. So adding captions makes your video content as easy as possible to consume. To add captions to her video, Goldie usually uses two tools. The first is an iOS app called Clipomatic, which can add captions as you record for up to 1 minute. The app also lets you edit the captions for accuracy. Goldie prefers Clipomatic to Clips by Apple because Clipomatic is more accurate. However, some content creators prefer Clips because it has more fun features. Goldie also likes to create captions with Rev, which is a browser-based tool. With Rev, you upload the video you want to caption and ask the service to return an SRT file, which is a type of captioning file. Then, in the desktop version of LinkedIn, you can upload that SRT file so the captions appear as your video plays. SRT files help you produce high-quality videos or work with a video team. Clipomatic works well for people who vlog on LinkedIn and make videos with captions on the go. With Clipomatic, you have to use the app’s built-in camera and record the video in one shot. The captions are baked into the video. When Goldie records a casual vlog, she often records in Clipomatic, adds special effects, and uploads the video to LinkedIn (and sometimes Instagram, too). You can also save the Clipomatic video to your phone and then open the video for editing in another app if you like. Goldie uses other apps to size her Clipomatic videos correctly. She prefers square video, but sometimes uses horizontal video, too. The LinkedIn feed can clip a vertical video in an awkward way; the viewer might see your chest instead of your face. Become the Social Media Marketing Rockstar for Your Business Save $450 Sale Ends Nov. 23rd! Listen to the show to hear my thoughts on the versatility of square, 1-minute videos. LinkedIn Video MetricsAs a LinkedIn video creator, you can see many of the typical engagement metrics including views, likes, and comments. Tracking shares can be tricky because if someone quotes your video in their own post, you don’t see that share. To work around this issue, add hashtags to your video post so you can manually track the share yourself. LinkedIn also offers valuable metrics that YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter don’t. Namely, you can see the job function, company, and location of people who have been primarily looking at your video. For instance, you might see that a lot of salespeople from Nike are looking at a video that first trended in London and then in Toronto. Listen to the show to hear my thoughts on additional metrics LinkedIn should share with video creators. How to Optimize LinkedIn VideoTo connect with your audience on LinkedIn video, you’ll find it helpful to optimize the video for the way the platform works. Goldie shares tips for video thumbnail images, video length, the algorithm, and the text that appears above your video in the feed. Thumbnail images: Currently, LinkedIn doesn’t allow you to select a thumbnail image. Goldie recommends editing the first second of your video to show the image you’d like to appear as a thumbnail. If you’re a marketer working with a brand, you want people to know what the video is about. A nice starter screen is particularly useful for a higher-quality video. For an informal vlog post with Clipomatic, make sure you’re not making a weird face in the first second of your video. A common mistake is starting a LinkedIn video with a black screen. The video won’t look good in the feed, and people are less likely to click a video that shows a black screen for the first 1-3 seconds. Brands that are getting started with LinkedIn video often start with a black screen, thinking they can select a thumbnail later (as you can on YouTube). LinkedIn video doesn’t work that way. Length: Generally speaking, it’s best to share videos that people will finish watching. Goldie recommends starting with 1-minute videos and extending the length as you build your audience. After you consistently post videos for 2-3 months, your audience is more likely to watch 2- or 3-minute videos. Currently, Goldie’s audience is used to her sharing 3- to 5-minute videos. Algorithm: Right now, LinkedIn users are more likely to see content from connections than from pages. Goldie says the algorithm cares more about the source (connections) than the format (status update, article, or video). In a few months, the algorithm may change to prioritize pages and group video in the feed. I note that LinkedIn’s algorithm changes seem to follow Facebook’s. Text: The text that accompanies your video can appear in different ways and may continue to change. Currently, in the feed, you usually see two lines of text above the video and then three dots you can click to see more. Occasionally, the text above the feed is fully expanded. So write the first 2-3 lines of copy as if that’s the only thing people will see, but make the rest of the text high quality, too. You can tag people in the text, but Goldie recommends tagging only people who appear in the video. If the CEO and head of sales appear in the video, tagging them is a good practice. However, use no more than five tags and avoid tagging lots of people with the hope the tags will help your videos be seen. This tactic makes your posts look like spam and people will unfollow you. LinkedIn posts can be up to 1,300 characters long, which is about 3-5 short paragraphs. Although you can add links in the text that appears above the video, Goldie says putting links there can limit a post’s exposure in the feed. Instead, when you link to anything outside of LinkedIn, post the link as the first comment below the video. Listen to the show to hear Goldie share more about the ways LinkedIn video is still being developed. LinkedIn Video ExamplesGoldie is glad people are creating content and she finds some unusual uses of LinkedIn video especially fascinating. To visualize this, construction workers are documenting tasks like paving a freeway and laying pipes across the state. The content is visual without being an interview or tutorial. The construction workers are simply showing their work and how well they do it. Another group of content creators is documenting their transition from one career to another. Someone from the military might be applying for civilian jobs. This group tends to post updates about their process once per week. These video updates allow people to share stories quickly and in real time. When people share articles about changing careers, the stories take 2-3 months to complete because the articles document the process from start to finish. However, with regular video updates, you see people’s careers and goals unfold in each video post. Slice-of-life videos are another fun application of LinkedIn video. You see this type of video on Instagram and other platforms, too. To adapt this format for LinkedIn, people are sharing what it’s like to speak at a conference, travel, or collaborate with other business partners. You tell these stories in a way that communicates what your brand is and what your goals are. To find examples of the ways people use LinkedIn video, search for hashtags like #LinkedInCreators and #LinkedInVideo. Listen to the show to hear my thoughts on documenting things you do that are show-worthy. Discovery of the WeekNception app for iOS adds cool mirror and kaleidoscopic effects to your photos and videos. (The app’s name refers to the special effects in the movie Inception.) To use the app, you can take photos or videos in the app with a filter or reflective mode applied and then switch among the effects as you’re shooting. Or apply the effects to an existing image or video by importing it from your phone into the app. VIDEO The app can bend and arrange photos and videos in ways that open up all sorts of imaginative possibilities. With architectural photos, you can create unique geometric designs. The mirror effects can also create intriguing movement in your videos. The Nception app costs $1.99 and is available in the iOS App Store. Listen to the show and let us know how the Nception app works for you. Key takeaways mentioned in this episode:What do you think? What are your thoughts on LinkedIn video? Please share your comments below. Become the Social Media Marketing Rockstar for Your Business Save $450 Sale Ends Nov. 23rd! Social Media via Social Media Examiner https://ift.tt/1LtH18p November 23, 2018 at 05:04AM
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5 Ways Top YouTubers Grow Their Channel https://ift.tt/2PR1FLd Many people are saying it is too late to start a YouTube channel, but that’s not true. In a 2017 research, YouTube announced that there are 75% more channels with over 1 million subscribers than the year before. So while there are more competitions on the platform, the channels that are of quality are rising to the top. It is most certainly not impossible or too late to start on YouTube, but from watching the most popular YouTubers get to those marks of 1 million, 10 million, and 25 million subscribers, we can see that certain actions are rewarded by having the YouTube algorithm give you more exposure on the front page, in search results, and on suggested videos. Start In A Niche If you are creating one video about gaming one day and a video about cooking the other day, it will be hard to grow an audience, because you don’t have any consistency. People like to know what they are signing up for. Unless you have a wonderfully entertaining personality, it is going to be hard to attract an audience without at first finding an engaged following in one specific niche. Remember, even PewDiePie started in a niche: gaming. Upload Frequently Great YouTubers make a lot of videos. They treat it like a full-time job and they commit to a strict schedule. If you want to succeed on this platform you will need to have the same discipline as those video creators. After all, in order to understand how you can improve, you must start doing. Don’t be a perfectionist. Give yourself a time limit and then when it’s up, upload it and move to the next video. Keep Viewers Attention You are never going to grow your channel if you can’t get your audience to watch your video. You might think everything you create is great or you might think everything you make is awful. Here’s the truth, it’s neither as good as bad as you think it is. Go into your YouTube analytics and take a look at how you can improve your videos to keep audience retention. This is something most popular YouTubers do at the very start to understand how their audience response. Do Collaborations The top YouTubers are not siloed off, they spend time building a network and making connections with other creators in or around their niche. Doing collaborations is a fantastic way to grow a channel as it gives you exposure to an audience that might not have found you otherwise. It can also be a way of giving back and helping a newer YouTube channel get to the next level. Jump On Trending Topics If the top YouTubers aren’t starting trends they are leveraging it in their videos. That’s the great thing about YouTube, everybody can put in their two cents about any situation and start a conversation. Popular YouTubers are aware of their influence and know when there is a right time to chime in and let their audience know how they feel about a certain topic. You too can contribute to the conversation. The post 5 Ways Top YouTubers Grow Their Channel appeared first on Social Media Explorer. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog November 22, 2018 at 03:58PM
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How to Know When to Use Chatbots vs Live Chat https://ift.tt/2Koxl4t How are you currently communicating with your customers? If calling, emailing, or submitting a form on your website are the only means for your customers to reach you, you need to get with the times and make some changes. Offering live chat on your website is a better way to provide customer service. According to studies, 73% of consumers say live chat is their most preferred method of communication. This ranked highest compared to other methods. In fact, 61% of consumers said they preferred email, 48% preferred social media and only 44% preferred phone. Furthermore, live chat had a 92% satisfaction rating. This was also the highest satisfaction rating compared to other forms of customer support. It’s clear your company needs to have this feature on your website. But how do you implement it? You’ve got two choices: chatbots or live chat representatives. Chatbots are computer-generated responses. They allow customers to receive answers to their questions via AI software. Experts predict that by 2020, 85% of consumers will be able to manage their relationships with brands without human interaction. And 80% of businesses are either currently using AI or planning to use AI for customer service in the next two years. Further, 45% of customers say they prefer chatbots for customer service inquiries. With this technology on the rise, you need to have marketing skills to survive in the age of AI. Grand View Research expects the global market size for chatbots to hit $1.25 billion by the year 2025, with a 24.3% compounded annual growth rate. You need to decide whether you will use chatbots or an actual human to type responses to customers on your website. People ask me which option is better all the time. The reality is each one has its pros and cons. Chatbots and live chat representatives work well together. I’ll explain when it’s best to use one over the other in this guide. I’ll go through some factors and scenarios to help you decide the best fit for your website. Response timeYou don’t want to make your customers wait. That’s a big problem when it comes to customer service. We’ve all been there—sitting on hold on the phone for what feels like a lifetime waiting to talk to someone. Live chat drastically reduces wait times. In fact, 79% of consumers say they prefer live chat because they get their questions answered immediately. Just look at these average response times of live chat compared to social media and email: Live chat blows these other methods out of the water in terms of speed. But it’s still not perfect. Believe it or not, 21% of live chat support requests are ignored by businesses. While live chat has a fast response time, it can still be improved. On the other hand, chatbots have an instant response. Upon a customer posting an inquiry, a chatbot can generate an answer within seconds. This gets the conversation going right away. If you’re looking for the fastest response times, chatbots win. But live chat will still be faster than the other options you’re using. My recommendation is to use a combination of the two options. When a customer begins a chat session, start with a chatbot to give them an instant reply. This bot can gather preliminary information about the inquiry until a representative becomes available. Chatbots can also make sure the customer gets transferred to the right representative who is qualified to answer their question. I’ll talk more about how chatbots and live chat representatives can work together further in this guide. Cost efficiencyYour business decisions need to be cost-effective. Live chat will help reduce costs compared to phone support. In fact, studies show that it’s 17-33% less expensive to communicate with a customer via live chat than phone calls. Live chat agents have the ability to multitask and help several customers at the same time. This can’t be done over the phone. Implementing live chat will improve your operational efficiency. You’ve got to determine how much this new technology will cost you. Here’s a look at some average prices to give you an idea of what to expect: The pricing will depend on many factors, such as the number of agents you’re paying and the times they’re available. It will also vary depending on whether you’re paying staff in-house to handle these inquiries or outsourcing this service to a general customer service agency. If you’re paying more than $20 per month per user, I’d say that’s expensive. Outsourcing support to a customer service agency will be cheaper, but you may lose some quality of the responses compared to those given by one of your own employees. How many employees will you need to handle your live chat communication? Research shows 51% of businesses have just one agent dedicated to live chat. And 39% of companies have between two and five agents. That’s not surprising, considering 70% of brands that implement live chat have less than 5,000 unique website visitors each month. And we know that 52% of companies say price is the most important factor influencing their decisions to use live chat. Chatbots will lower these costs. Sure, you’ll need to pay for the AI software. But this will definitely cost you less in the long run compared to paying employees in addition to the cost of the live chat software. If you’re looking for the cheapest option, you’re better off with chatbots. But using human reps to respond via live chat is still cheaper than phone support. Human touchArtificial intelligence is definitely advancing. Responses by chatbots can mimic human answers. In some instances, customers won’t even notice they talk to a robot. That said, chatbots can’t replace that human touch. There is still some resistance from customers when it comes to using chatbots: As you can see, people have their reservations about using this new technology. There are times when customers would rather deal with an actual person. Consumers are also worried about chatbots making a mistake. About 37% of consumers expect to use a chatbot for getting a quick answer in an emergency. For example, a chatbot could help someone determine whether an item is in stock or help track the shipping of their package. And 34% of people say they would use a chatbot to help them find a customer service associate. This echos my earlier point about the two options working well together. Based on what the customer is looking for, the chatbot can appropriately direct them to an agent. For example, a sales inquiry may go to one department, and a question about technical support may go to a different department. Start with a chatbot, then transfer the customer to a live chat session with an actual human. AvailabilityIf you’re going to use humans on your website to chat with customers, they’re probably not going to be available 24/7. This is especially true if you’re planning to use your employees to handle these chats. Your costs will be significantly higher if you’re paying for human support 24/7, 365. Giant global corporations such as Apple can afford this, but smaller businesses cannot. That’s when you’ll need chatbots. The number one potential benefit of using chatbots is 24-hour customer service. Chatbots can respond to customers in the middle of the night as well as on weekends. That’s because chatbots don’t need to eat, sleep, or take bathroom breaks. To maximize your availability and provide 24-hour service without paying extreme labor costs, use chatbots. Even if you use human representatives during business hours, you can switch to chatbots when your customer support agents are offline. Resolving inquiriesFast response times are important. Being able to get an answer at any time of the day or night is a great benefit as well. But these are useless if the customer inquiry isn’t resolved. That’s why they’re reaching out in the first place. The customer has a question or a problem that needs to be addressed. Most people would assume a human representative is the only way to solve a customer problem. However, that’s not always the case. Research shows that eight out of ten chat sessions can be resolved by a chatbot. Chatbots aren’t perfect: 20% of these sessions don’t end in a resolution. It’s nearly impossible to please 100% of your customers. However, you want that number to be as close to 100% as possible. In some instances, a chatbot can transfer the conversation to a customer service representative. Those agents will be able to do things that chatbots aren’t capable of yet, emphasizing the need for the human touch. Chatbots can’t feel empathy or convey a specific tone the same way a human can. A chatbot won’t give customers the right response if it doesn’t understand what they’re asking. Here’s an example of that: As you can see, the chatbot provides useful information. The first question gets answered appropriately. But the second question doesn’t get answered properly. Chatbots could also run into problems if the customer’s query has spelling and grammar issues. If a customer is looking for help with something like custom pricing based on their unique situation, a chatbot may not be able to provide them with the assistance offered by an actual person. Can a chatbot resolve inquiries? Absolutely. However, at times you’ll need to transfer those inquiries to a human. Again, this highlights the fact that chatbots and live chat work well when paired together. ConversionsUltimately, you want your customers to convert after reaching out to your customer support via whatever option they choose. Live chat increases the chances that people will buy: In fact, 38% of consumers will make purchases on ecommerce websites as a direct result of their live chat sessions. Live chat is a great way to drive conversions. That said, live chat isn’t proactive. Allow me to explain. Once a site visitor determines they want to use live chat to solve their problem, they need to make an effort to reach out. As a result of the conversation, they’ll be more likely to convert. But the visitor needs to make that initial step. It’s obviously unreasonable for a human agent to reach out to every person who lands on your website. That’s when you can use a chatbot to be proactive. Here’s an example from the Levi’s website: When a customer lands on this website, an AI chatbot automatically starts a chat session. This is proactive. Now, if a customer has an inquiry, they’ll be more inclined to take advantage of this feature. If the chatbot is unable to resolve the problem, the chat can be transferred to a human representative. ConclusionYour business can provide better customer service by implementing live chat. Now you just need to determine whether you’re going to use human representatives or chatbots to handle this communication. Chatbots will provide an instant response, but live chat agents are still faster than your current methods of customer support. Live chat representatives are less expensive than phone calls from customers, but chatbots will be cheaper in the long run. However, chatbots don’t add a human touch to the conversation. Chatbots are available 24/7, which won’t be the case for actual agents. Surprisingly, bots are able to resolve the majority of customer inquiries. Both live chat agents and chatbots increase the chances of getting customers to convert. Ultimately, live chat and chatbots work best when they’re implemented together. I recommend you use both of these on your website to maximize efficiency and get the best results. Are you planning to use chatbots, live chat agents, or a combination of both to improve customer communication on your website? Social Media via Quick Sprout https://ift.tt/UU7LJr November 22, 2018 at 10:01AM
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5 Tips and Tricks on How to Feel More Secure on Social Media https://ift.tt/2r1SPLQ 5 Tips and Tricks on How to Feel More Secure on Social Media The security of your social media has become vital as more information is being shared and stored online. While you may have a limited number of followers or rarely use your account, hackers could still see some value in your information that you do not. From real-time newscasting to staying in touch with loved ones on the other side of the globe, social media offers an unbelievable amount of access to information. Unfortunately, while there are many positives to this level of transparency, it does leave openings for hackers to take advantage of. Common Social Media Security Threats There are several ways that social media accounts are made vulnerable to attack and misuse. Understanding common threats is the first step to preventing problems before they arise.
Feeling More Secure on Social Media Eliminating social media accounts has become close to impossible, as it is a major method of communication for individuals and businesses alike. It is possible, however, to take steps to ensure the safety and security of your social media accounts. Here are five tips outlining how to keep your social media accounts safe.
Most social media users are frequently active on their accounts; however, users should be mindful of anything unusual. Review recent posts and activity to evaluate if any strange behavior becomes apparent. If anything unusual appears, notify the customer support of the platform immediately.
Hackers often use email phishing attempts to gain access to social media accounts. Malicious links are prevalent and once opened, give hackers all the room they need to operate in your system. If you see a link that looks unusual or is unexpected, consider deleting it. Pay attention to any alerts from social media platforms that appear in your email. If you receive notification that your password has been changed and you did not change it, you should evaluate your account immediately.
A tip as old as the internet is to use a different password for each account. This is especially pertinent for social media accounts. If a hacker gains access to one account and you use the same password for all your accounts, then the rest of them become vulnerable to attack. Creating unique passwords for each of your social media accounts is worth the effort of remembering them.
A large volume of social media posts and interactions originate from public spaces like airports, coffee shops, or schools. If you are on a public Wi-Fi network, you can assume that the network is vulnerable to hackers. While eliminating the use of these networks is the safest bet, some need to use public Wi-Fi for a variety of reasons. Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can protect your mobile device or computer from being accessed on one of these networks. A VPN encrypts information sent and received, enabling you to avoid your passwords and other information being stolen. Remember that using a VPN is not only relevant on the desktop as plenty of sensitive information is transferred through your Android tablet or smartphone, iPhone or iPad, too.
The need to fit in often has people sharing far too much information on their social media accounts. The more details posted, the easier it is for someone to narrow down who you are and where you live. Other information, like the name of your first pet or the elementary school you went to, can inadvertently provide answers to popular security questions. Social media is here to stay, yet it is becoming increasingly more challenging to protect your privacy. Follow the tips above to ensure you are doing everything you can to secure your social media accounts. Social Media via Social Media Explorer https://ift.tt/2onGYog November 22, 2018 at 08:59AM
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The History of Social Media: 29+ Key Moments https://ift.tt/2TB0MEP Here, we’ve compiled some of the most pivotal “moments” in social media’s history. From the very first social networking site (invented in the 1990s), to recent changes to networks with billions of users. So sit back, relax, and join us while we look back at what once was the future. The 29 most important moments in the history of social media1. The first social media site is born (1997)On one of the first true social media sites, SixDegrees.com, you could set up a profile page, create lists of connections, and send messages within networks. The site amassed around one million users before it was bought out for $125 million …and shuttered in 2000, though it later made a modest comeback and still subsists today. 2. Are you? Hot or Not (2000)Who can forget Hot or Not ( AmIHotorNot.com )—the site that invited users to submit photos of themselves so others could rate their attractiveness. The site is rumored to have influenced the creators of Facebook and YouTube—and nurtured millions of insecurities. After being sold off a few times, its new owners tried to revive it as a “game” in 2014. 3. Friendster (2002)Then along came everyone’s BFF: Friendster. Launched in 2002, Friendster was originally going to be a dating site that would help set up people with friends in common. You could create a profile, include “status updates” and reveal your mood. Messaging “friends of friends of friends” was also a thing. Unfortunately, the site’s spike in popularity in 2003 caught the company by surprise and took a toll on its servers, impacting users, who increasingly looked to connect elsewhere. 4. Myspace: “a place for friends” (2003)In droves, frustrated Friendsters said “sorry it’s not me, it’s you” and pulled up stakes for Myspace , the Friendster rival that quickly became the go-to site for millions of hip teens. Its customizable public profiles (which often featured music, videos and badly shot, half-nude selfies) were visible to anyone, and were a welcome contrast to Friendster’s private profiles which were available only to registered users. 2005 marked the apex of Myspace. The site had 25 million users and was the fifth popular site in the United States when it sold to NewsCorp that year. And that was the start of its decline from ultra-trendy to ultra-tacky. 5. Gaining traction (2003-2005)In 2003, Mark Zuckerberg launched Facemash, described as Harvard University’s answer to Hot or Not. “The Facebook” followed in 2004. Registering its one millionth user that same year, the site dropped the “the” to became just “Facebook” in 2005, after the “Facebook.com” domain was purchased for $200,000. Around the same time, a tidal wave of other social media sites swept ashore: LinkedIn emerged, targeting the business community. Photosharing sites like Photobucket and Flickr, social bookmarking site del.ici.ous and the now ubiquitous blogging platform, WordPress also came into existence. YouTube also launched in 2005. Anyone remember “Me at the zoo”--the very first YouTube video of that man and the weirdly watchable elephants? It now has 56 million views. VIDEO News-aggregator-cum-snark factory, Reddit arrived that year too. 6. Twitter hatches (2006)Despite its 2004 birth date, 2006 was arguably the year Facebook truly took flight: it opened registration to everyone and went from an exclusive Harvard-only club to a global network. Twttr, the site that eventually became known as Twitter also took flight in 2006. The first tweet ever, posted by co-founder @Jack Dorsey on March 21, 2006, read: “just setting up my twttr.” So glad they changed the name, because “twttr” scks! Dorsey originally envisioned twttr as a text message-based tool for sending updates between friends. Apparently in the early stages of its development the twttr team racked up some steep SMS bills. TechCrunch reported twttr’s first users were sending breaking life updates like: “Cleaning my apartment” and “Hungry”. (My, how times have(n’t) changed!) 7. LinkedIn “in the Black” (2006)In sharp contrast to other networks, LinkedIn—once known as “Myspace for adults”—was the first to offer users paid premium packages. Its Jobs and Subscriptions area, the site’s first premium business line, helped bring in revenue in the early days. In 2006, just three years post-launch (and three years before Facebook!), LinkedIn turned a profit for the first time. “As far as we’re concerned, a year of profitability is but a ‘taste’ of the success we aspire to achieve at LinkedIn,” said social media manager Mario Sundar, in a blog post lauding LinkedIn’s first year “in the black.” The site’s profitability would be a recurring theme in the stampede towards IPO—both LinkedIn, and numerous copycats. 8. YouTube makes partners (2007)Through YouTube’s elephantine beginnings, buzz grew: it gathered nearly eight million daily views between its May 2005 beta its official launch in December 2005. Then, things escalated quickly: ahead of its acquisition by Google in the fall of 2006, the site grew to 100 million videos being watched by 20 million dedicated users. In May 2007, YouTube introduced its partnership program, which has been key for the site. The initiative is what it sounds like: a partnership between YouTube and its popular content creators. YouTube provides the platform and creators provide the content. Profits from advertising on creators’ channels are then shared between the two parties. And that’s how Lonelygirl15 and your favorite YouTubers got their start. 9. Tumblr and the age of the microblog (2007)In 2007 the social network described as “Twitter meets YouTube and WordPress” came a-tumblin’ along. 17-year-old David Karp launched Tumblr from his bedroom in his mother’s New York apartment. The site allowed users to curate pictures, videos and text and “reblog” their friends on their “tumblelogs.” Soon after, the term micro-blogging became widely used to describe both Twitter and Tumblr, which both allowed users to “exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, individual images, or video links.” 10. The hashtag arrives (2007)The strict 140-character limit for tweets set Twitter apart from rivals, including Facebook and Tumblr. But Twitter’s significance in the digital age was really defined by the hashtag, a symbol that has helped political organizers and average citizens mobilize, promote, and create awareness for critical (and not so critical) social issues. Hashtags have also helped plant the seeds that sprouted movements such as #Occupy, #BlackLivesMatter, and #MeToo. Also, timesucks like #SundayFunday, #YOLO and #Susanalbumparty. As the story goes, during the summer of 2007, one of Twitter’s early adopters, Chris Messina, proposed the hashtag (inspired from his early days on internet relay chats) for organizing tweets. It wasn’t until a couple of months later, that the #SanDiegoFire hashtag was sparked to aggregate tweets and updates about the California wildfires. Still, Twitter didn’t fully embrace the hashtag until 2009, realizing that it was more than just a useful way to group content, but a unique vernacular for expressing ideas and emotions online too. It invigorated the platform, and brought new users. 11. Welcome Weibo (2009)While we’re on the topic of micro-blogging, we would be remiss not to mention China’s Sina Weibo, or simply Weibo. A Facebook and Twitter hybrid, the site launched in 2009—the same year Facebook and Twitter were banned in the country. Along with Qzone and QQ, Weibo remains one of the most popular social networks in China, with 340 million active monthly users. 12. Back to the land with FarmVille (2009)Back over on the other side of the ocean, 2009 was the year your mom, granddad and Aunt Jenny joined Facebook and couldn’t (or wouldn’t) stop inviting you to join the new family pastime, FarmVille. Like you didn’t have enough chores to do IRL, wiling the day away on virtual animal husbandry added to the list. The addictive social game eventually made TIME magazine’s list of the world’s worst inventions. (Of course, that didn’t stop Zynga from creating spinoffs like PetVille, FishVille and FarmVille 2 among others. PassVille.) 13. When your FourSquare “check in” ousted your FarmVille update (2009)2009 also showed users how to acquire important-sounding-yet-meaningless titles from their daily travels. Location-based app Foursquare was one of the first that allowed users to “check in,” while sharing recommendations all about their favourite neighbourhoods and cities with friends and family …and earn virtual mayorships while they were at it. 14. Grindr revolutionizes the hookup (2009)Tinder comes to mind as the app that changed online dating culture when it appeared in 2012. But Grindr, on the scene in 2009, was the first geosocial networking app for dating geared towards gay and bisexual men, helping them meet other men nearby. For better or worse, it revolutionized hookup culture for gay men, and paved the way for many others like Scruff, Jack’d, Hornet, Chappy, and Growlr (for bears). 15. Unicode adopts the emoji (2010)There can be little doubt that digital culture changed in 1999 when the emoji first appeared on Japanese mobile photos, thanks to Shigetaka Kurita. Their popularity quickly ???? (uh, took off). By the mid-2000s, emoji started appearing internationally on Apple and Google platforms. Realizing writing online without access to a thumbs up emoji was nearly impossible, Unicode adopted the emoji in 2010. The move was the beginning of emojis being legitimized as a language. So essential was the “Face with Tears” (a.k.a. the laugh-cry emoji) that it was actually adopted as a word by the Oxford Dictionary in 2015. And each country has their own favorite: for Americans it’s skulls, Canadians love the smiling pile of poo (WTF, Canada?), and for the French? Of course it’s the heart. 16. Introducing Instagram (2010)Can you remember the pre-filter days of photo-sharing—back when there wasn’t the option to add the Gingham filter to make everything look “vintage”? We have Instagram’s founders to thank for our inability to go a day without posting a filtered pic with polaroid corners to our highly curated feeds. On July 16, 2010, one of the first Instagram photos to be published by co-founder Mike Krieger (@mikeyk) was an uncaptioned, heavily filtered shot of a marina. The shot definitely set the tone for the billion users around the globe the today post upwards of 95 million shots a day (according to 2016 figures). 17. Pinterest has us pining to pin (2010)Though it first went live in closed beta in 2010, it wasn’t until 2011 that “pinning” would become a favourite new hobby (and verb) for domestic gods and goddesses. Social bookmarking site Pinterest was once called “digital crack for women” and gave women’s lifestyle magazines and blogs a new raison d’etre. A 2012 report about the site found that home, arts and crafts, and fashion were the most popular categories on Pinterest. That’s still true in 2018. Recent stats show two million people post pins every day, and there are one billion pins living on the site! 18. #Jan25 Tahrir Square uprising (2011)Jan. 25, 2011 was a fateful day for hundreds of thousands of Egyptians who took to the streets, gathering in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to protest 30 years of dictatorship under Hosni Mubarak. The uprising eventually forced Mubarak to step down—just as similar protests had ousted Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali days earlier. Similar actions, which came collectively to be known as the “Arab Spring,” swept countries across the Middle East and North Africa, and were credited with bringing down governments and bringing about positive change for local populations. Reports found that social media networks were critical tools for organizers in mobilizing, publicizing and shaping opinion. Popular hashtags on Twitter (#Egypt, #Jan25, #Libya, #Bahrain and #protest) were tweeted millions of times during the first three months of 2011. Facebook usage grew across the region, doubling in some countries. Government attempts to block access to Facebook and Twitter were briefly successful, but quickly spurred activists to find other creative ways to organize, inspiring onlookers the world over. 19. Snapchat’s disappearing act (2011)Launching almost exactly a year after Instagram, soon-to-be rival “Picaboo” launched …and then quickly rebranded to Snapchat following a lawsuit by a photobook company with the same name. (Probably for the best.) The app’s early success tapped into the ephemeral nature of life’s moments, allowing users to post content that would vanish after 24 hours. (Not to mention giving us all the ability to puke rainbows.) The disappearing snaps appealed to the teen demographic the app first attracted. Snapchat was also the perfect alternative for teens to find their friends—and flee family on Facebook. 20. Google Plus wants in on the party (2011)2011 was also the year Google attempted to roll out another answer to Facebook and Twitter—following previous failed attempts like Google Buzz and Orkut. Google+ or Google Plus began with an invitation-only system in 2011. That summer, new users got access to 150 invitations they could send out before the site’s official opening in September. Demand was so high that Google eventually had to suspend them. Google Plus differentiated itself from Facebook with its “circles” for organizing friends and acquaintances that could be done easily without having to send a friend request. By the end of 2011, Google Plus was fully integrated into related services like Gmail and Google Hangout. Unfortunately, timing of the social network’s launch following Facebook and Twitter meant that the social network struggled to accrue the staggering usage numbers its competitors had. (Clearly there are some parties you just don’t want to be late to.) 21. Facebook celebrates one billion (2012)Just eight years after launching in Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room, Facebook announced its user base had reached a significant milestone—and now shared a population nearly the size of India. “If you’re reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honor of serving you. Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life,” Zuckerberg said. Looking back, now that Facebook has two billion users and three other billion-user platforms—WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram—his quote sounds all the more quaint. 22. Year of the selfie (2014)Twitter proclaimed 2014 as the “Year of the Selfie” following Ellen DeGeneres’s Oscar photo. You know the one. Or, you should. Because that selfie has been retweeted more than three million times—setting a Twitter record and winning Twitter’s award for “Golden tweet” of the year.
The debate about who invented the selfie has yet to be resolved. Paris Hilton said she did in 2006. Others say it was actually a guy named Robert Cornelius in 1839. (He wasn’t available for comment.) 23. Meerkat, Periscope: the streaming wars begin (2015)Meerkat was the first app to start the live streaming craze (RIP). Then, Twitter developed Periscope and won the first streaming wars (there’s another one coming, I’m sure). Periscope became everyone’s favorite, easy-to-use app for streaming and watching live events. Getting showered with “hearts” anytime you hit the record button was pretty much all the incentive anyone needed to try it out. It was so popular that Apple awarded the app the iOS app of the year in 2015. Three years on, the video app is rumoured to be struggling. But it’s also integrated with the Twitter mobile app, so there are still ways to become a Periscope celeb. 24. Facebook LIVE (2016)Facebook was slow to slide into the live stream game, first rolling out live streaming features on its platform in 2016. But the company has worked to ensure its success in the space with extra resources and partnerships with mainstream media like Buzzfeed, the Guardian and the New York Times. Special attention from Zuckerberg and its massive user base have also ensured its dominance. 25. Instagram launches Stories (2016)Taking a page from Snapchat’s playbook, Instagram introduced “Stories” allowing users to post photo and video sequences that disappear within 24 hours (although they can now be saved and archived). Filters, stickers, polls, hashtags, and highlights to enhance Stories have succeeded in making the app even more addictive, as if that was even possible. 26. The U.S. election and social media’s fake news crisis (2016)You could argue that 2016 was a no good very bad year for social media—and by extension democracy. It was the year a sophisticated information warfare was waged using “troll factories” on social media used to spread disinformation—including false claims and conspiracy theories—during the U.S. presidential election. Mainstream influencers like journalists, pundits and politicians—even Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump—were found to be spreading content that bots had shared online. Facebook has since revealed that 126 million Americans were exposed to content by Russian agents during the election. In 2018, Facebook, Twitter, and Google representatives appeared before the U.S. Congress to testify as part of ongoing investigations into Russia’s attempts to influence the elections. 27. Twitter doubles the character limit (2017)In an effort to attract more users, Twitter doubled its signature character limit from 140 to 280 characters. The move was widely panned by more than a few users (and had critics hoping Trump wouldn’t find out). Of course, it was @Jack who tweeted out the first super-sized tweet:
The major change along with the introduction of “threads” (aka Twitterstorms) now means tweets that will make you go WTF are increasingly unavoidable as everyone makes the most of their 280 characters. 28. Cambridge Analytica and #DeleteFacebook (2018)In early 2018, it was revealed that Facebook allowed a researcher from Cambridge Analytica—who had worked on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign--to harvest data from 50 million users without their consent. A campaign to #DeleteFacebook swept the internet as users protested by deleting their profiles on the site en masse. Despite this, Facebook’s user numbers continue to climb. Facing mounting pressure to address data privacy, Zuckerberg participated in five days of hearings before the U.S. Congress. 29. Instagram launches IGTV app (2018)If you thought Boomerang was the only video app Instagram had up its sleeve you would be wrong. Instagram is now ready to compete with YouTube: the company increased its one-minute video limit to one-hour and launched a whole new app, IGTV, dedicated to long-form video. Up next 2019Hear our 2019 social media predictions in our data-pack Social Trends Webinar. Gain new insights from our survey of 3,255+ of social media professionals and leave with cutting-edge best practices from the world’s brightest social brands. Social Media via Hootsuite Social Media Management https://ift.tt/1LdunxE November 22, 2018 at 08:58AM
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How to Make Your LinkedIn Company Page Stand Out https://ift.tt/2DT9F82 Want to create a stronger presence for your company on LinkedIn? Wondering how others are using company pages to support their business goals? In this article, you’ll discover how 10 prominent businesses are making the most of LinkedIn and 4 key components of an engaged LinkedIn company page.
#1: Recruit TalentTesla is on a mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy—partly through making affordable electric vehicles more readily available to consumers. The recruiting team at Tesla uses their company page to talk directly to potential employees. Through a variety of posts, Tesla’s team works to make sure people know as much as possible about the company, working conditions, and the brand’s accomplishments. They focus quite a lot on behind-the-scenes content to reveal how their cars are made, show people working on products, highlight places they’re working from, and generally give people a look at Tesla from the inside. They even share how to land a job at their company. When it comes to recruiting new talent, Amazon is also killing it. Known as the online “everything store” where you can find almost anything you want, the sustained growth of products and services offered through Amazon means they’re constantly looking for new employees. The posts on Amazon’s company page are used to entice new applicants into applying by showcasing the people who work in their warehouses, operations, and offices. #2: Position ProductsSlack is intent on disrupting the communication industry by replacing email as the main way companies communicate internally. To that end, their LinkedIn company page shares content that helps people simplify and solve technical or social communication problems. Slack tends to rely on helpful articles that drive traffic back to their own website but they also mix things up with video, images, URLs, and text-only posts to keep their feed interesting. Regardless of the type of post, branding is consistent across the page, which provides a familiar visual cue that encourages the reader to trust the content and advice. Trello—the visual collaboration tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to organize workflow across a team of any size—uses LinkedIn to educate their audience about productivity and new ways to use their tool. Their company page posts use imagery, illustrations, and colors to show new product features, showcase product use, and announce new integrations. #3: Empower CustomersStripe’s main product is an online payment system, but the company has a full suite of tools that help people run internet-based businesses. Product education plays a part on their page, but they also use the company page to share articles and audio content that provide guidance and insight on broader issues that growing businesses face. #4: Reinforce Community TiesWeWork offers entrepreneurs and small- to medium-sized businesses affordable and scalable workspace, community, and service solutions. While the WeWork LinkedIn company page does occasionally share posts that promote office space, the main content thread is aimed at creating and promoting a strong sense of community among WeWork’s users. They post about employees, as well as the entrepreneurs and creators who occupy their office spaces, and encourage their community to use the #WeWork hashtag to do the same. #5: Promote Company CultureUber has drivers and delivery partners that serve passengers and diners in more than 600 cities around the world. In spite of their recent visual rebrand, the company’s LinkedIn company page remains focused on including people from all backgrounds in their business. They use posts to show they strive for diversity by heavily promoting their employees and inclusivity efforts. #6: Underscore Industry LeadershipWe Are Social is one of the most active agencies on digital and their LinkedIn company page reflects a commitment to staying on the leading edge of the industry. Most posts on the company page lead back to informative articles hosted on the company’s website, but every so often you’ll see a post that encourages potential employees to apply for a job. We Are Social has several international offices and understands that different audiences means using different languages. Become the Social Media Marketing Rockstar for Your Business Save $450 Sale Ends Nov. 23rd! No matter where you live, the We Are Social company page serves up the news in a language you can understand. #7: Showcase International InfluenceOgilvy is a well-known marketing and advertising agency. Since 1948, the company has worked with both Fortune Global 500 companies and local businesses across 131 offices in 83 countries. For agencies, showing expertise in the marketing space is vital. To achieve this, Ogilvy has a number of affiliated company pages on LinkedIn. The main company page highlights specific creative campaigns. Each affiliate page shares useful and entertaining content for its more localized audience daily. #8: Advance Social InitiativesMastercard is a global payments enterprise that serves businesses and cardholders in 210 countries and territories. The Mastercard LinkedIn company page shares use cases for their card, but they post most often about the initiatives and organizations they support. Tips for a Successful LinkedIn Company Page PresenceThis article has shown eight ways a LinkedIn company page can be used to build and serve an audience in unique and goal-oriented ways. When you’re clear on what you want to accomplish on LinkedIn, you need to give your page the best possible chance at performing well. Here are four ways to get started: Complete Every LinkedIn Company Page FieldWhether you’re looking to generate leads or build an audience of current customers, every company page has basic components that need attention. A complete LinkedIn company page will convey a standard of professionalism and instill confidence in new page viewers. Start with a properly designed profile picture and cover image that comply with LinkedIn’s image specs. Be sure to include a logo to support your branding. Here are the image specs you’ll need to follow:
You’ll also want to make certain the following details are complete and up to date:
Deliver Your Content ConsistentlyIt’s important you deliver on the expectations you encourage in your audience, both with the pace of content delivery and the substance of your content. You can choose to focus on posts that deliver on a specific topical sector, such as:
You’ll also need to settle on frequency of posts. Will you post content every day or a couple of times a week? Whatever you decide, post consistently and use colors and visuals that reinforce brand recall. The familiarity you build can make a significant difference if your product is compared with your competitors’. On LinkedIn, you can create four types of company page posts:
Rather than sticking to boring formats, consider adding a few visual cues to help your posts stand out. To visualize this, use emojis and bullet points to break up heavy sections of text and consider using hashtags to amplify the reach of your content to new audiences. To learn which types of posts work best for you and the audience you’re cultivating, test the performance of each one and monitor the response. Use this guide to social media image sizes when uploading and creating your posts for LinkedIn to be sure the images for your link posts are sized correctly. If you have blog content you want to repurpose for LinkedIn, here are some tips to get you started:
Introduce Employee AdvocacyYour LinkedIn company page is more than a news feed and cover photo. The people you’re working with can help you grow your company page, and by extension, your company. To illustrate, Ogilvy has more than 20,000 employees. Can you imagine the combined effect if each employee shared the page’s content across social media? You can take advantage of that same leverage with your own employee advocacy program. Encourage and Respond to Audience EngagementEach of the companies above is using LinkedIn to identify with, understand, and talk to their audience directly. To capitalize on this relationship, include your audience in the conversation. Ask questions in your posts and encourage comments from your readers. When comments begin to show up, take time to engage in conversations with commenters. ConclusionWith more than 562M active users and 100,000 new people joining every day, LinkedIn is one of the most effective B2B marketing tools available. But many brands aren’t using the platform to its full potential. Use the examples and tips in this article to take advantage of LinkedIn’s power to achieve your strategic goals. What do you think? Will you give your LinkedIn company page a second look? What will you change? Share your thoughts in the comments below. More articles about LinkedIn: Become the Social Media Marketing Rockstar for Your Business Save $450 Sale Ends Nov. 23rd! Social Media via Social Media Examiner https://ift.tt/1LtH18p November 22, 2018 at 05:15AM
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Free web hosting only makes sense for a pretty narrow scope of customers: those who have small websites without much content and very little traffic, and those who have temporary websites, like for an upcoming event. If that’s you: Try a free website builder that hosts custom domains: Or, check out our recommendations for no-cost hosts: For pretty much everything else — especially a small business or an online presence you’re looking to grow, we recommend paying for hosting to get increased functionality, more reliability, and better customer support. You won’t be spending all that much. Some of the best web hosting services start for as little as $4/month. Editor’s note: Educators and nonprofits often qualify for free (or deeply discounted) hosting by some truly excellent providers. Jump here to read more. Our recommendation: Use a free website builder with free hosting and custom domain names.Hands-down the easiest way for most people to get a website up and running is a website builder, where you can drag-and-drop content blocks and tinker around with customizable templates. Most website builders are only free if you use a subdomain (for example, our URL on a Wix subdomain would look like: quicksprout.wix.com), which is a dealbreaker for anyone who wants to run a professional-looking site. We talk more about free hosting using a subdomain here. However, there are two builders that host websites for free and connect to a custom domain. They are super simple and have limited functionality — but since super simple, limited websites are the only ones we recommend to hosting for free, it makes a lot of sense to start there. There are exactly two options that fit this criteria: Ucraft or Google Sites. Ucraft ReviewUcraft has a free plan for a single-page website that’s built with what it calls “elements.” An element is any individual piece of content: a title, a text block, a video, an image, an image gallery, a button. Ucraft’s free tier supports up to 50 basic elements, so that single-page website can hold a decent amount of content — just nothing too snazzy.
Six of Ucraft’s 21 free templates, including a blank page for a completely customized site. A “Powered by UCRAFT” ad hovers in the bottom right corner of all free Ucraft websites. Google Sites ReviewGoogle Sites is your other option for a super simple free site. And when we say “super simple,” we mean it. There are only six versions of the same template to choose from, and a limited number of layouts to work in. It’s super basic. In fact, lots of Google Sites are used for basic things like internal wikis. Google Sites offers one basic template in six simple themes. That said, Google Sites hosts as many pages as you want at no cost. It connects to your custom domain. It integrates with every other Google service, like Docs, Forms, and Slides. And it’s absurdly simple to use, especially if you’re used to working in Google products. If you already have a Google account, or are paying for GSuite for email hosting (which we wholeheartedly recommend), it’s a no-brainer.
Want more design freedom? You’ll need web hosting.Design limitations are probably the biggest downside to using a free website builder. If the templates available on Ucraft and Google Sites aren’t what you’ve envisioned for your site, the next easiest free option is to find a free template you like and pair it with a free web host. That said, there are plenty of downsides to free web hosting. To make our recommendations, we took the following six criteria into consideration.
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