How To Leverage The 'Call To Action' Buttons On Facebook Pages

In the last post in our two part series, “Changes to Your Facebook Business Page” we discussed how properly leveraging the new changes to Facebook’s video could impact your business in a big way. 

This week, we are turning our attention to another feature that is gradually being introduced to Pages, call-to-action buttons.

Facebook recently announced that in a slow roll out beginning last month, businesses could expect to see a new feature added to the banner portion of their Pages. This update, a series of call-to-action buttons, will allow businesses to utilize a handful of pre-selected phrases that will link visitors to any destination either on or off Facebook.

Understanding the Buttons

Much like the call-to-action buttons Facebook implemented for ads and organic posts last year, this latest iteration presents big opportunities for brands to drive traffic to their official website, an email sign-up form and more.

The buttons (seven in total) are varied enough to be attractive to businesses across a number of industries:

Book Now
Contact Us
Use App
Play Game
Shop Now
Sign Up
Watch Video

Creating Your Call-To-Action Button

Creating the button takes only a few moments. To implement this feature on your Page, navigate to your cover photo and locate the “Create Call-to-Action” button.

Clicking on this will allow you to choose from one of the seven buttons mentioned above. Once you select a button, Facebook will automatically choose the best location on your site to link users to, however, this is just a suggestion and can be manually edited if needed.

From here simply select “create” to see your new Call-to-Action button populate your Page. For additional information you can check out Facebook’s trouble-shooting guide on the topic right here.

Reaping the Rewards

In an early test of this feature the Dollar Shave Club, an online retailer that sends shaving supplies by mail, saw great results during a three week test of the buttons. Brian Kim, the company’s director of acquisition went on to say,

“The Sign Up call-to-action button delivered a 2.5X higher conversation rate versus other comparable social placements aimed to drive new user acquisition,” 

If your business page already has this new feature added, take a moment to strategize which call-to-action button will best align itself to your brand. Don’t be afraid to experiment with a few different buttons either. Facebook’s “insights” tab has also been updated to give you all of the important metrics on how users are interacting with your buttons. Tracking click-through rates to your selected page is easy and fast.

Supplementing Your Call-To-Action Buttons

Once you have selected your call-to-action button consider some of the following tips to enjoy the most engagement with this new feature:

• Keep your audience engaged by giving your cover photo a refresh once every month or two
• Use your cover photo to capitalize on your latest marketing initiatives by highlighting them in visually creative ways
• Don’t forget to add a description to your cover photo along with a applicable link

Remember, there is a fine line between creativity and being over-promotional. Your cover photo is often the first thing that draws a user’s attention when they land on your page, set the right tone from the beginning.

http://www.clickbank.com/changes-to-your-facebook-business-page-part-2/

How To Use Pinterest

Creating A Pinterest Account

Changes To Implement For Your Facebook Page

If you blinked you might have missed it. Just before the close of the year, Facebook quietly began to beta test two new features that may have the ability to impact your business in a big way. These new tools, a series of “call-to-action” buttons and a featured video for your business page have the potential to drive home business objectives like never before.

From funneling new leads to the capability of raising increased brand awareness, read on to find out how these two new changes to Facebook Pages can help your bottom line.

In this post, we will take a closer look at video.

Facebook Business Featured Videos

At the center of any great visually based marketing initiative is captivating videography, sound and motion. For years, YouTube has held the corner market on video content, but Facebook looks to change that with the addition of their new and improved video platform.

Currently in beta, all businesses will soon have the chance to select a featured video that will populate the left sidebar of their page. Social media guru Mari Smith is taking part in the beta and you can check out a prime example of featured video on her page.

The idea behind this stems from navigating more users out of the news feeds and onto the actual pages of these businesses. 2014 saw some big changes to the way users interacted with visual media on Facebook. You may recall the addition of auto-play as you scrolled through updates (RIP mobile data) and the increased size video received in your newsfeed, and it wasn’t all for not. Video viewership rose more than 50% in the test months of May, June and July and Facebook itself boasted a billion views per day at the end of September.

However, as marketers, these changes introduce a whole new outlet for you to put yourself in front of new and existing customers. From “about us” to specific product videos, the ways in which this featured video section can be leveraged is nearly endless.

Mari Smith also suggest some great best practices to keep in mind when these changes to Pages go live:

• Tutorial style videos are always proven winners as well as how-to’s, news, entertainment pieces and inspirational videos (Dove’s Real Beauty ads anyone?).
• Keep it short! Anything over two minutes and you start to loose viewer attention.Don’t be afraid to leverage existing video content that you already have created. Just make sure to edit it down to that two-minute mark.
• Don’t neglect other video sharing channels! While this new feature is great, continue to upload your video content to both YouTube and any other video platforms you are currently using. Achieving 100% viewership will never be possible unless you utilize every outlet your audience is interacting on.
• For Facebook’s official “how-to” on featured video click here.

Remember, this feature is still in beta and many business pages have yet to see it implemented. Take this opportunity to strategize and plan how you will utilize the featured video section on YOUR page.

http://www.clickbank.com/changes-to-your-facebook-business-page-part-1/

How To Optimize Your Tweets For Search

Do you want more exposure for your Twitter account?

Have you thought about applying SEO tactics to your Twitter marketing?

With a few simple techniques, you can increase the chances that your Twitter account shows up in both Twitter and Google search.

In this article you’ll discover how to improve the visibility of your Twitter account with SEO.

Discover how to optimize your tweets for search.

Start With Relevant Keywords

Keywords that you’re already using in the metadata of your website are a good place to start. Your website keywords might not translate perfectly to Twitter, but if you combine them with popular hashtags and topics that work well in your content, you’ll have a good group to test.

You’ll know which keywords are working best by monitoring your engagement,link clicks and reach. Any spikes in those metrics will show you which tweets have effective keywords in them. Then you can use those keywords more in your tweets and profile.

Google’s Keyword Planner helps you find relevant keywords.

You can also expand your keyword list by including the names of events that your company is always involved with. Make the list as big as you like as long as every word is relevant to your brand. Most importantly, keep this list updated.

With your keywords in hand, here are some ways to boost your visibility for both Twitter and Google search.

#1: Optimize Your Account for Twitter Search

Tweets get the main stage on Google right now, but optimizing your account for search on Twitter will allow you to have long-term searchability.

Handle and Username

Make sure your handle and username match your website and brand name. Consistent branding across all of your channels is your best bet for being found by the audience you want. Your handle and username don’t have to match each other, but they should be related.

Your handle is also included in your unique Twitter URL (for example, https://twitter.com/SMEExaminer). Your Username shows up next to your profile photo for all of your tweets.

Use your keywords (for example, “social media”) in your image and bio.

You can change your username easily. But changing your handle is trickier, and you’ll lose your verification badge if you have one. Changing your username or handle may also confuse your followers and cause people to unfollow you. If you’re going to change either one, try to do it only once.

Don’t use a lot of numbers in your username either because Google may flag it as spam.

Bio, Photo and Link

Your bio, photo and link are the places to make changes and updates to promote campaigns or events. 

Twitter indexes your bio regularly, so any changes affect your relevancy score in search. You can use up to 160 characters in your bio section, so make the most of them.

The bio’s main purpose is to explain to potential followers what you usually tweet about and why they should follow you. Update your bio regularly to match the type of content you’re currently tweeting about.

If you have a campaign or event you’re involved with, make sure you include relevant keywords and hashtags in your bio. This will help you show up more on both Twitter and Google when people search for those keywords and hashtags.

If you’re holding an event, promote the event and hashtag in your bio.

The profile photo also has some SEO weight. Before you upload the photo, add relevant keywords, separated by dashes, to the filename of your photo (for example, social-media-examiner.jpeg). This won’t make you shoot to the top of results on its own, but SEO tactics are most successful when the different pieces are working together. Also make sure your photo is exactly 200 x 200 pixels for optimal loading speed.

Your link is the biggest call to action for your Twitter account. Many brands shorten their URL to make it more trackable and user-friendly. If you want to shorten your URL, get a branded link shortener because some link shorteners can be flagged as spam.

Also think carefully about which page you’re bio link is sending your Twitter followers to. The safest option is to use the main page of your brand’s website because it usually has the best SEO authority. 

You can use special landing pages for campaigns, but only if they’re more relevant to your followers than your website’s homepage.

Don’t forget to provide a link to your Twitter account on your website. That mutual link love not only gets you more traffic and followers, it also gives your account more authority. The more places that link to your Twitter account, the more credible a source it will appear to search engines like Google.

Make sure to include a link to your Twitter account on your website.

You can also add your Twitter account link to your blog, Facebook page,LinkedIn profile, YouTube video descriptions and newsletters. And be sure to submit your Twitter profile to popular Twitter directories (such as Twitaholic and Wefollow) to catch the eye of influencers trying to increase their authority as well.   

#2: Add Google’s Markup Code to Your Website

Google lets you embed code in your website to specify your preferred social accounts, like Twitter, to include in search results. For example, Microsoft’s social profiles are displayed in the Google knowledge panel on the right in these search results.

Google lets you include your social profiles in search results.

In addition to your Twitter profile, you can specify your profiles for Facebook, Google+, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Myspace, Pinterest, SoundCloud and Tumblr. All you have to do is grab some code from the Google Developers site and drop it onto your website.

#3: Use Keywords in Your Tweets

Every time you tweet, you have the opportunity to show up in Google search results for a topic that your customers and prospects care about. While your tweets may not last as long at the top of search results as a website would, you get more chances to be relevant through your tweets.

Make sure you’re constantly testing and varying your content to see what works. You can use Twitter analytics to review your tweets and find out what’s working best. When you find something that sticks, make sure to expand your content plan to give you more ways to tweet about that particular topic.

Every tweet is an opportunity for you to show up in Google Search.

Put yourself in the shoes of people searching and think about why they search. Whether people are researching an event or trying to find out about the inspiration for the latest Taylor Swift song, they’re usually looking for more in-depth information than 140 characters can provide. That’s why rich media works best for Twitter search.

Top new stories on Twitter usually have photos and links in them.

The words in your tweet will show up on Google, but the images and links in your tweet will show up at the top of the search results on Twitter. Make sure to give your readers everything you can in each tweet. When it comes to Twitter, the more effort you put in, the better your results will be.

#4: Encourage Retweets

Other than Google and Twitter search, the most effective way to expand the reach of your tweets is with retweets. Unlike Facebook, there’s no penalty for asking people to share your content. Some of the most effective organic tweets end with a clear call to action.

Include a call to action in your tweet.

Make sure your tweets are short enough to retweet. The optimum tweet length for retweetability is fewer than 120 characters. This leaves room for other Twitter users’ handles in their retweets. Some handles are longer than others, but 120-character tweets should provide enough space to accommodate even the longer ones.

Conclusion

Whenever you do a Google search, you’re creating a search stream just like Twitter does with Twitter chats. The only difference is that Google supplies a lot more content, and the change in the stream is much slower. Putting these two types of search together is a natural fit, especially since Twitter tracks keywords and hashtags in the Trends feed.

Although there aren’t many tools that can measure each tweet’s exact reach, it’s a factor in the authority level that Google gives your Twitter account. Posting retweet-worthy content, having high-quality followers and tweeting at times when you have the most followers on Twitter are the best ways to attain a strong overall reach.

The name of the game is getting good audience response to your content. All of these tricks are great, but they’ll never replace quality content. Always think of your followers first and SEO second. Algorithms change often, so make sure to always write for the humans reading your tweets, not the robots.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-optimize-your-tweets-for-search/

NOTE:  WeFollow.com is now aboutme.com

7 Proven Online Business Models that Work in 2015

Recent data published by Internet Retailer reveals that online sales totaled $304.91 billion in 2014, a 15.4% increase from 2013, and that an estimated $350 billion will be spent online at the end of this year (2015). This is in the US alone.

While we’re all obsessed with the Mark Zuckerbergs, Jeff Bezos, Larry Pages and Sergey Brins of this world, the fact remains that there are a lot of average people making a difference, and ensuring a comfortable living for themselves without necessarily having to create the next big thing.

If you are yet to start an online business, all data and indications show that now is the right time to start. If you’re confused about what to start, don’t worry, I’ll show you seven practical and proven business models, with relevant examples, that you can implement immediately.

Business Model #1. The Ecommerce Business Model

While we all know Amazon.com to be the giant in the ecommerce space, very few people know that you can start a profitable ecommerce business that is barely a fraction of Amazon’s gigantic size.

A very notable success story that proves the efficacy of this business model is Steve Chou, ofMyWifeQuitHerJob.com.

Steve’s wife wanted to quit her job so she could take care of their newborn child full time, and Steve was becoming increasingly concerned with financial security as his family grew.

Steve and his wife decided to start Bumblebee Linens, an ecommerce store that specializes on handkerchiefs and linens, and they were quickly able to replace his wife’s salary of $100k within a year of starting the store.

Key Lessons

1. You don’t have to start big; Yes, Amazon’s success is massive but unrealistic for everybody else. Focusing on handkerchiefs and specialized linens seems smaller, but it is profitable for Steve and his wife.
2. Getting started doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive: There are several ecommerce software and apps you can start with, a notable example being PrestaShop, which is free and an industry leader with 250,000 stores and a community of 800,000 members for support.

Business Model #2. The Freelancing Business Model

I’ve been online for over 5 years now, and one thing I’ve noticed among people who want to start online businesses is the desire for quick income.

I won’t necessarily sell you a “quick cash” dream, because most people who start with such mindset don’t last, but I can tell you that the fastest route to income online is to be a freelancer.

By becoming a freelancer, you can very well be making an income within a few days of starting your business.

You need to first have a viable skill you can use to serve potential clients; perhaps you’re good at using Photoshop, drawing illustrations or cartoons, writing, designing plugins and themes, customizing websites, etc. Then you could have a successful freelance business in no time.

I’m an example of someone who built a successful online business through freelance writing, and Daniel and Ali’s Freelance Writing Course is one of the best resources if you decide to go this route.

Key Lessons

Have something to offer: The fact that quick income is possible by freelancing doesn’t mean it is effortless; you have to offer real value to clients, and you should forget about some “passive income” dream. Earning from freelancing requires real effort.

Learn from the best: If you’re a freelance writer, Daniel and Ali’s course for freelance writers is a good place to start, and it’s extraordinarily affordable as a career investment.

If you want to do other forms of freelancing, seek the best people doing the freelancing of your choice and learn from them.

Business Model #3: The Consultant Business Model

The consultant business model is very similar to the freelancing business model, but it’s different in that your role is to provide guidance to your clients instead of to execute their projects.

Perhaps you have some specialized knowledge you can use to help other organizations grow or achieve certain results that would have been impossible otherwise? Then you might want to start consulting.

Ross Simmonds was able to generate $160k in revenue, and $120k in profit, for his consulting business within a year of starting. He did $250k in revenue his second year, and that’s without him having to employ anyone.

Business Model #4: The Digital Products Business Model

Selling your own products can be a profitable source of income, and this can eventually lead to a source of semi-passive income.

There are lots of success stories online that prove the efficacy of selling digital products, and a renowned example is Danny Iny, who rose to fame and built a 7 figure business within 4 years of starting online.

The key to creating successful information products lies in knowing what people want, and then giving it to them; if you can master this, and learn some basic marketing, then you’ll experience above average success.

Business Model #5: The Affiliate Marketing Business Model

Some people do not want to be a “slave to their time” so to speak, and they detest having their income rely on them working all day non-stop.

For these people, freelancing or consulting won’t work, and they might also not want to invest the upfront time required in creating an information product.

If you’re in this camp, then affiliate marketing could be your business model of choice.

With affiliate marketing, you can promote a product created by someone else and get paid a percentage of the income generated from the sale you make.

A notable example of a successful affiliate marketer is Zac Johnson, who has made millions from affiliate marketing since he started around 15 years ago.

According to Zac, the key to affiliate marketing success lies in finding products that convert best for your audience and traffic source and focusing on them.

Business Model #6: The Subscription Business Model

This is the dream business model for most people; you put in the initial upfront effort and, with some maintenance effort, you can guarantee a consistent, or increasing, income every month.

The benefit of a subscription business model lies in the fact that people only need to register once, and they will be billed month after month; depending on how well you’re able to maintain your subscription site, and how well you can attract new users, this can be a massive source of income.

My favorite success story using this approach is Carol Tice. Carol started the Freelance Writers Den, her community for freelance writers in 2011, and it’s since grown to thousands of users that pay $25 monthly to be a part of the community.

Business Model #7: The Paywall Business Model

The Paywall business model is quickly becoming a choice among publications and media sites as a way to increase revenue without relying on ads.

The paywall businessá model involves you giving people access to a certain number of content on your site, or restricting access to a certain percentage of your content, so that people can pay to access the remaining content.

Several reputable news sites like The New York Times and Boston Globe rely on this as their main source of online revenue.

Which is Your Favorite Business Model?

Do you have an online business yet? Which of the above is your favorite online business model? 

Comment below.

http://www.dailyblogtips.com/7-proven-online-business-models-that-work-in-2015/

How to Grow Your Twitter Following

Want to grow your followers without advertising?

Is Twitter working for you?

Investing in organic growth on Twitter takes time, consistency and commitment. But the rewards are more credibility and social proof.

In this article you’ll find simple steps to organically grow your Twitter followers.

Discover how to grow your Twitter following.

#1: Use IFTTT to Curate Twitter Lists Automatically

When you add people to a Twitter list, it signals to them that their tweets are valuable enough to be put in a specific category. People on your lists are likely to reciprocate by following your account.

While adding users to a Twitter list manually takes time, it’s getting easier to automate the process thanks to new technology.

Go to the IFTTT website and create an account or login, then connect your Twitter account.

Next, create a recipe that tells your Twitter account that when a new tweet is posted with a hashtag you determine, it should add that user to a new list you create. That’s it.

Use IFTTT to set up a recipe that automatically places Twitter accounts that use a certain hashtag into one of your lists.

Now, whenever people tweet with the hashtag in your recipe, they will be automatically added to your list.

Some people will follow you immediately. Send out a tweet to thank them. Connect with the others on your list with a tweet, saying that you added them to your list because you find their content valuable.

One more thing: when you’re using the automatic method, make sure you follow all of the people you add to your lists.

#2: Stay On-Topic and On-Trend

Twitter users want to view content they’re interested in, not the stuff you think is interesting. Do some research to find which topics related to your field are also popular on Twitter.

To find out what’s trending, sign into Twitter on your desktop. You’ll see the trending hashtags and topics appear on the left-hand side of your page.

Trending hashtags on Twitter.

If appropriate, find ways to contribute to the conversation by tweeting with a trending hashtag. For example, find ways your product or service relates to a holiday.

Now, I’m not saying you should tweet out your latest blog post and include a trending hashtag that is completely unrelated just to get more views. This is a pretty spammy approach.

The goal is not to abandon your brand and jump on whatever shines brightest. It’s totake advantage of any widespread trends, news and happenings that are related to your business. Ideally, find something subtle, funny and relatable. When the conversation changes, go with the flow.

Jump on the right trends and you’ll increase the visibility of your tweets and ultimately gain followers.

#3: Respond to Tweets From Large Accounts

It’s also good practice to reply to tweets posted by accounts with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers.

When you tweet actively and consistently, your tweets (and account) are more likely to get noticed (and followed).

Responding to a giant in your industry is a prime opportunity to engage with bigger crowds. Once you respond, your tweet is attached to their tweet and everyone else can see it.

#4: Thank People Who Engage With You

This should be the golden rule of Twitter: Engage with people when they engage with you.

When people add you to a Twitter list, thank them. When users favorite a tweet you’re mentioned in, 

thank them. When people follow you, thank them. When people retweet you, thank them.

Say “thank you” or reply whenever someone engages with you.

This goes beyond gratitude. Thank and engage with people every single time they engage with you, whether they ask a question, offer a suggestion,mention you at an event, etc.

Not only will this help you keep new followers, it also prompts them to share your stuff even more with their network, thereby increasing your visibility.

People like people who notice them and respond to them. Getting in this habit is a surefire way to organically build an engaged Twitter community.

#5: Tweet Those You Quote

Whether you write a blog post that includes a Twitter user or use a tool like Storify to compile a bunch of tweets, remember to @mention those you include.

When you blog about someone or compile a Storify and mention them, remember to tweet to them so they respond.

People like to see their names published. Tweet directly to them and tell them about it, since they’ll want to read what you said. They will also likely reply, retweet and follow you back.

When you mention and link to users with hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers, they may retweet and respond. This increases your visibility to their audience and could add numbers to your following.

#6: Embed Tweets Into Blog Posts

A great method to increase the visibility of your tweets is to embed them into your blog posts.

For example, write a blog post titled, “6 Mistakes Every Beginning Social Media User Makes.” Then, embed some of your own tweets, as well as tweets from other experts, to beef up the content.

To embed a tweet into your blog, simply click the three little dots below the tweet
 on your Twitter desktop version. Then hit Embed Tweet to get the code.

Embed tweets into blog posts to entice readers to follow you.

This shows your readers some of your tweets, and gives them examples of what they’ll get if they follow you.

#7: Install Twitter Buttons, Widgets and Apps

Visitors to your website will often look for different ways to follow you on social networks, so make sure your website is ready with follow buttons and widgets in prominent places.

If you sell products, give away free downloads or have an email subscribe option on your website, include follow buttons on your thank-you pages.

Add a Twitter widget just like this one to your website.

It’s also a good idea to get a Twitter app for your Facebook fan page to show your fans your tweets.

This is what the Twitter app for the show 24 looks like on Facebook.

This is a sleek cross-promotion method that gives fans a taste of your tweets and encourages them to follow you.

#8: Host a Follower Giveaway

Give away an item or product you offer to your followers. Simply tell them to follow your account and retweet your giveaway to enter.

Giveaways help bring new followers on board, as well as increase the activity and engagement you have on your account.

#9: Tweet Consistently

Increase your Twitter activity. When your visibility increases, so do your followers.

If you tweet 3 times per day, 3 times per week, jump to 5 times per day, every day of the week. If you’re at 10 tweets per day, go to 20.

The idea is to be seen by more eyes throughout the day and the week, increasing your chances of getting noticed and followed. Remember, it’s better to be over-seen than under-seen.

That said, according to Internet Live Stats, on average there are more than 9,500 tweets posted every second. It’s so easy to get lost in the noise and only outstanding content can cut through it.

There are more than 9,500 tweets posted every second, according to Internet Live Stats. Posting valuable content is the only chance to break through the noise.

Be mindful to make sure you deliver quality content every single time you tweet.

#10: Include Hashtags in Tweets

When you use hashtags (keywords or phrases related to a specific topic or niche), more people who are interested in the same things as you will see your tweets.

Remember, don’t overdo your Twitter hashtags. Add just a few per tweet, so you don’t look like you’re spamming.

If you’re attending a big event with an official hashtag, use it.

Share valuable content and resources from any event you attend. Be sure to use the hashtag.

Live-tweet events and be the most insightful, active and valuable hashtag event user. It’s sure to get you noticed and followed.

Remember to also connect with, follow, mention and reply to fellow attendees at events. This adds value, increases engagement and keeps the conversation going even after the event is over.

#11: Participate in Twitter Chats

A Twitter chat is a live event that focuses on one subject and is moderated by an individual or brand. People in the chat use a single hashtag and respond to the questions or comments coming from the moderator and/or interviewee.

The reason to get involved in Twitter chats is the same as for many of the other tips in this article: It increases your visibility and gives you the opportunity to share your expertise with new people. (After a while you may want to even host a Twitter chat.)

Interact with other chat attendees and gain more organic followers along the way.

#12: Share Other People’s Content

To develop relationships and start the cycle of reciprocity on Twitter, share other people’s content. Find blogs that involve your niche and broadcast their posts to your Twitter followers.

Make sure to include the author’s Twitter handle, as well as the blog’s Twitter account. The author will get a notification you shared the post and is liable to reply, retweet and maybe even follow you.

A good way to find content to share is to create a Feedly account. Search for topics that deal with your brand and pull content from Feedly to post.

#13: Ask Questions

One of the best ways to create engagement on any social media platform is to ask a question.

You could ask something like, “What’s the first social media network you check every day?” or “What do you guys think is the next big thing on social media?” and see what kind of response comes in.

Travel + Leisure asks its followers questions to drive engagement and traffic.

Questions get people talking because everyone loves to share their opinions. It’s an excellent way to start a big online conversation.

Remember to engage with and follow the people who respond to your questions.

#14: Promote Your Twitter Handle

People who are connected in one place likely want to follow you on others. Instead of posting to your followers on LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest that you are tweeting and they should follow you, here are some ideas for sharing your Twitter handle:

Post invitations to follow you on other social networks. For example, “I’m going to be at #ACERTAINEVENT tonight. Follow me on Twitter @TWITTERHANDLE for live tweetin’, behind-the-scenes moments and great content!”

Embed your Twitter handle on graphics and videos or the footer of your presentations, and then share them on your other social networks.

Add your Twitter handle to your business card. Most people prefer online communication nowadays rather than a call or email, so your Twitter handle is a great contact method.

Include your Twitter handle in your email signature.

#15: Have Fun

Sure, we like all of our content to be in alignment with our brand, but people love to retweet fun material, whether it’s interesting facts or statistics, cute videos, adorable pictures, tips or jokes. A lot of times, you just need to give yourself and your fans a break.

Cute tweets like this can get you a lot of engagement and sharing.

Brighten up your followers’ feeds with a Twitter “coffee break,” instead of the usual articles, links or niche-based content you post.

Final Thoughts

The trick to organically increasing your Twitter followers is simply to keep engaging and reciprocating. If you commit to being social and keep at it, your followers will eventually increase.

Just keep trying new things and be consistent.

What do you think? How have you grown your Twitter following? What tactics have had the most success? Please share your thoughts and tips in the comments below!

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-grow-your-twitter-following/

Social Songbird's Social Media Dictionary

At Social Songbird we understand that in the ever changing world of Social Media, it is easy to get lost in all the techie jargon. 

paulstallard.me

We also know it's not easy to wrap your head around everything the first time, so that's why we're putting everything in one handy article. Go on, make us a bookmark, you know you want to.

And hey, whilst we're feeling generous, we're going to throw in a few tips on how to use these tools effectively. So, let's begin:

Analytics:

From the minute you create a Twitter account you get access to analytics.twitter.com - just not many people know about it. These analytics help you keep track of your account's growth and if you head there now you'll be sure to spot most of the words below.

previdenzafacile.com

Having a Google account gives you the same sort of thing but it's called Google Analytics... Creative huh?

Insights:

Okay, so Facebook wanted to be different and they called their analytics something else. It's the same thing with a very similar layout, just remember, you only get Facebook Insights if you have made a Facebook "Page."

Reach: 

When you're looking at your analytics/insights and it's telling you what your overall reach was, it's actually telling you how many people's news feed you made it on to that month/week/day (depending on your settings). 

Post Reach:

As opposed to just "reach" your post reach is the number of people who saw either an individual post, or you can choose to view an accumulated figure for all your posts.

Impressions: 

Impressions are pretty similar to reach. They're simply saying how many times your post appeared on news feeds. However, your reach may be less than your impressions, because one person can see multiple impressions. 

So to recap: 

Reach is how many actual users saw your post and impressions is how many posts in total made it onto a news feed at some point. 

Organic VS Paid: 

Likes and reach (and many other things) can be paid for on social media. So if you're looking at your social media account and it's telling you two sets of figures (one organic/one paid) it means somewhere along the line you have paid to promote your account.

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Paying for reach/likes is not a bad thing and in fact most big brands and pages still pay for their social media posts to get to the top of our news feeds. Being 100% organic may sound good, but you won't get too far without a little help.

Your paid figures should always be higher than your organic, if they're not you're doing something wrong. The usual mistake is being too specific when selecting your target audience. Facebook is pretty good at telling you if you're trying too hard.

There's a limited number of people who will want exactly what you're offering, so don't be afraid to broaden your horizons.


None the less, don't fall into the trap of saying "EVERYONE" because trust me, whilst it might look good on the outside, an account that isn't targeted is a lot worse for your business than an organic account with less followers.

Boosts:

A boost is one of the ways you can reach a paid audience. This type of promotion can only be applied to your Facebook posts. When you click this button (in the bottom right corner of your post after it's published) you will be met with a screen where you can create a target audience and select a budget (minimum £1 a day).

We've discovered that boosting is the most cost efficient form of promotion for the amount of likes, clicks and views you get. 

Top Tip:

Make sure the post you’re boosting includes all relevant details and a link to your website. 

Make it friendly but also keep it applicable... i.e. don’t choose that cute pic of a cat stuck in a cereal box, chose that awesome graphic you had made with your logo in! It's all about brand awareness, guys! 

Promote: 

As opposed to boosting, promoting a page is putting the entire business page out there. This will only include your description, your cover photo and your profile picture. Whilst it's great for getting people to your Facebook page, if it's traffic to your website that you're after: a boost is your best bet.

 

Either way, whether you promote or boost, they should appear like these Sponsored Posts in your News Feed:

Top Tip:

When promoting your page you can choose to have it in "Desktop News Feed," "Desktop Right Column" and "Mobile News Feed."


We highly suggest that you remove the "Desktop Right Column" from this list as it is not very productive and will run out your budget quicker!


The reason we think that this one doesn't work too well, is because few people will check that side of their screen. We all know it as the "advert area" - however, with the Sponsored Posts embedded within the timeline, it's a lot easier to "accidentally" read them.

Engagements: 

No, you're not getting hitched! Engagements are basically interactions. These include all the likes, comments, shares and post clicks that your page/post is receiving. Post clicks can't be seen by your followers, but they're actually the most important. For every post click you get, that means someone is actually clicking and (hopefully) reading your article/enjoying your cute cat/visiting your website.

Scheduling:

We're all busy people and scheduling is actually one of the most handy tools that Facebook has to offer. Setting up your account to do all the posts whilst you carry on with a normal life means you're not spending your time updating Facebook every hour or so!

Twitter does offer a similar tool, but it's a little more complicated and hard to come by (so we'll save that for a whole different article - keep your eyes peeled though).

How do you schedule?

When you make a post, in the bottom right corner you can publish it or, if you click the drop down arrow, you can schedule it. From here, it's easy peazy. You chose a date, then a time and bam. Scheduled. 

You can then view all your scheduled posts whenever you want, edit them, delete them and re-schedule them. You can even backdate them if you missed the date!

SO!


There you have it. A tailor made list of Facebook & Twitter's confusing jargon, I hope it's cleared a few things up for you.


Remember to keep your eyes on our "How To" section of Social Songbird for more articles like this.


And good luck!

http://www.socialsongbird.com/2015/08/the-social-media-dictionary-for-dummies.html

The Death of Email Marketing (and Other Lies you Read Online)

What’s the number one rule of living in the digital age? Don’t believe everything you read on the internet; that isn’t to say don’t believe anything you read on the internet, just don’t believe it all. To succeed in the social media, you have to take it all with the grain of salt. People have been telling lies for centuries (I’m looking at you, Pinocchio), so why would they stop now? The only difference is that now when someone tells a lie, it can reach someone halfway across the world in a matter of mere seconds—good news travels fast, but fake news travels even faster.

Do yourself (and your social media game) a favor and educate yourself on the following lies and myths buzzing around the internet:

Email Marketing is Dead

This is one of those “the sky is falling” kind of claims that is based out of fear rather than fact. Rest assured that Email marketing is alive and well.

There are more registered email accounts than ever before, which means more emails are being sent every day.

What’s more, people no longer have to be at their desktop to read and send emails, as most people now have their email accounts linked to their smartphones and thus wherever they go, their email goes. Did you hear that? Just to be clear we will reiterate—wherever your customers go, their email goes as well. So why abandon a marketing tool that has the capacity to reach customers wherever they are?

Email still proves to be more successful at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter—but in order to use this to your advantage you have to know why. Most customers that sign up for promotional emails aren’t doing so because they already love the company, instead they sign up because they love discounts! So give the people what they want and make sure your marketing emails contain a healthy mix of discounts and promotions.

The Shorter the Content the Better the Engagement

I’m going to make a bold statement and blame this one on Twitter—just because we can only tweet 140 characters doesn’t mean we can’t also read more than 500 words. We’ve come to believe that people today have the attention span of 3 year olds, and thus we must cater to that by cramming all information, entertainment and take away value into one very short (and very hard to digest) post or else they will give up halfway through and throw their hands up defeat at the horror of a 1,500 word article.

Please, have a little more faith in your audience. If you are dedicated to creating meaningful and useful content, you are going to press the word limit—but that’s okay. Your audience will forgive you, in fact your audience will thank you as you are giving them quality content presented at a reasonable pace. This doesn’t mean you should abandon Twitter (Tweet your heart out!), just don’t be afraid to write a little more when you have a little more left to say.

Don’t Share Content from Competitors

And certainly don’t look them in the eye. If you don’t see them, they can’t see you, and then nobody can see them. Right? Wrong. Ignoring competitors won’t make them go away, and while it can hurt to admit it, sometimes competitors have really great content. Sharing valuable content from a competitor can actually help to establish trust with your audience—showing that you are dedicated to bringing them the best information out there regardless of the source.

This also can help you get into the habit of keeping a healthy watch on your competitors. That isn’t to say you should be looking for them to mess up, but rather look at them as a thought leader within your industry that can help to keep you on your toes. Once you begin sharing their content, it gives them the go ahead to share your compositions as well—and there’s nothing bad about that!

http://www.clickbank.com/the-death-of-email-marketing-and-other-lies-you-read-online/

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