Social Media - Express Writers

Is Twitter Doing Away With Share Counts on Tweet Buttons?

December 31, 2020October 1, 2015 by Adam Oakley

It’s that time again: social media and all the changes! Twitter is up to something again, and no one is entirely sure if this change will be detrimental or just something we can all easily shrug off. It has to do with share counts. It goes along with a lot of the recent changes within the social media world, which means that the channel is moving away from third-party posting sites getting relevant data. Is this something you need to be worried about? Maybe a little, but things are still too new to know for sure. What is this change? What can you expect? And can you even begin to prepare for it now? I am going to delve into this latest story and give you all the info we have at the moment. What’s Twitter Up To Now With Share Counts? Did you quake in your boots when I mentioned Twitter is making a change? Don’t worry; most marketers felt the same way when we heard the news. Social Warfare revealed in their newsletter that the end is near for share counts. Twitter is going to make a change with their share and follow buttons that keeps data from third-party posting sites. These are sites like Hootsuite, Buffer, and anything else you use to schedule on the channel. However, they aren’t being stingy with the data; they’re simply removing the share numbers that appear next to the buttons. This is going to go into effect in October, and people are wondering just what this means for their blogs. The biggest thing is that your blog button is no longer going to show the counts of how many times it has been shared. When this new change goes into action, it will no longer show that number, meaning no one will know just how often it has been shared. This is really bothering a lot of marketers and for good reason. Let’s say you spent a lot of time on a blog and it went viral. I’m talking 15K shares and you’re beyond excited about it. With the new change, no one will know that your particular viral blog got shared so much; it’ll look just like your other blogs. This means, no share numbers whatsoever. This could be good on one hand, but possibly irksome or even bad on the other. October will show us for sure which one it will be. What We Know About the Change Right Now Unfortunately, we don’t know much about this new change because Twitter hasn’t given us a more in depth look into it. We just know the basics and that no Twitter counts are going to be shown to readers and users. This is also going to impact the follower counts that are shown for the same reason – the number simply won’t be shown. Image Credit: Twitter.com However, companies are noticing that where the biggest impact will be is with smaller publishers instead of larger sites like Mashable. This could be potentially bad for smaller publishers, but we don’t know just how large the impact will be. Should You Run Away Screaming? No! Don’t run away – Twitter is still an important part of your social media strategy. You should still be focusing on using Twitter to the fullest potential, getting the most out of your Twitter content. While waiting is rough work, especially when you’re waiting for a possibly huge change on a social channel, that’s just what you should do right now. Before you start to panic and rethink your use of Twitter, wait to see just what this will mean for your business. And don’t forget to focus on still reaching out to your current audience and working to grow it. How Can You Prep for This Possible Change? It is hard to say just what you can do to prepare for this change until we know more details, but I fully plan on keeping you informed. If you feel this change will be bad, let your voice be heard. Several businesses are already prepping for this, and some have even started the hashtag: #SaveOurShareCounts. Make your voice heard before October hits! As we wait, don’t fret about sharing your content – keep working with it and encouraging clients to share, tweet, and re-tweet. Just because we may no longer have those share counts doesn’t mean people won’t be reading. Keep writing and creating for your clients no matter what. Keep On Tweeting, Keep On Tweeting Take a page out of Dory’s book and just keep swimming, or rather, tweeting. You can also keep an eye out here at Express Writers to see the latest news on the Twitter share counts front. What say you? Do you think this change is terrifying and potentially bad? Or that it might not be something to get too worked up over?

10 Hot Ways To Use Periscope To Promote Your Brand

January 1, 2021September 29, 2015 by Adam Oakley

If you’re not familiar with Periscope, it’s time to learn all about it. Owned by Twitter, Periscope is a video app that allows users to take real-time video and post it to a variety of social media outlets. After originally gaining popularity with a host of diverse companies, Periscope has quickly been hailed as one of the most exciting and effective ways for a company to extend its message and promote a brand. What is Periscope? Periscope is a live-streaming video app that allows people to stream video directly from their phones to anyone who is interested enough to watch. (Note: it’s only available as the app, not on a site currently.) Much like Snapchat except without the annoying immediate delete feature, Periscope is a broadcast platform that allows everyone to become an instant videographer. Twitter purchased the app earlier in the year for a grand total of $100 million dollars and, so far, it’s performing well. Within Periscope, users take videos, stream them out to the world and viewers can “like” and comment on the videos. It all happens real-time. These updates appear as a live-feed on the video screen for the original user to read and interact with. So, basically I can turn my camera on and immediately broadcast, and real-time comments, “hearts” and member names pop up as people join and interact with me. You can “follow” people here, and people can follow you. You’ll even be notified of live shows to watch if your friends say you should watch (it’s an annoying whistle on my phone that I need to turn off, ha). There’s even a map showing how many people are live on Periscope around the globe, like so: I’ve been pretty successful at watching and joining a few Periscopes, and soon I plan to host my own Periscope, answering questions about writing. (Feel free to get in touch if you have some you want me to answer before the show!) I have to say, it’s pretty fun to be on. You can join anyone’s live feed – and anyone can join yours. You can even share after to your Facebook or Twitter and anyone can watch the reply. How much better can instant video get? Some even say it’s more refined and useful than its close cousin, Meerkat. Periscope is a great way for content marketers to effectively promote their company while also making a unique and accessible impression on their audience. 4 Big Brands Using Periscope Although Periscope is new to the game of live video streaming, it’s already garnered a wide variety of followers. Companies have chosen to use the app thanks to its cool features: unlike some of its competitors, Periscope allows users to view archives of video streams, which means that viewers can locate live-stream videos even after the broadcast period has ended. Additionally, the app offers a curated and featured section that displays videos the Periscope team loves as well as the videos that people a user follows have recently interacted with. Because of these features, Periscope has become popular with these companies: 1. Spotify Spotify joined the Periscope community in late March and immediately got down to business by posting a behind-the-scenes video of a performance by popular Irish singer Conor O’Brien, a member of the band The Villagers. The video garnered 382 views during its live-stream period and gained 1,534 likes during that same time. 2. Mountain Dew Mountain Dew hopped on the Periscope bandwagon almost immediately after the app was released, choosing to release a vine-style video called “stop by to say what’s up.” In the video, a girl spells the word “Swag” on a chalkboard in front of a table full of the company’s logo-branded shirts and hats. 3. Red Bull Red Bull is known for being one of the first companies to hop aboard new social media platforms and they didn’t miss a beat when it came to Periscope. The energy drink company streamed its live events from the Red Bull Guest House at Miami Music Week earlier in the year using the app and supplemented its use of Periscope with updates on Twitter and Snapchat. 4. DKNY Known for more than just edgy clothing, this lifestyle brand has begun using live-streaming video as a way to offer customers behind-the-scenes views of the company’s shoots and clothing selection. Specifically, DNKY used Periscope earlier in the year to provide customers and fans with a look inside the company’s closets. This created a frenzy of anticipation among eager customers and was, by all accounts, a very good marketing move. 10 Ways to Use Periscope to Do More Business Most companies are familiar with the ways in which content marketing can be beneficial to businesses, but many people associate content marketing with written content in the form of blogs, articles, how-to’s and answered questions. Content marketing extends to video and visual content, however, and Periscope is a promising tool for any company that wants to promote its brand and reach more customers. Here are the top 10 ways companies can use periscope for business purposes: 1. Use Periscope to Make the Brand Relatable Customers love to feel like they can relate to a given brand. Often, companies can come off as somewhat cold, omnipotent forces without a human face or a personality. Periscope and other live-streaming video services can help change that. Take the Spotify example from above: Spotify is a company that specializes in live-streamed music and thus works closely with musicians. The average Spotify listener, however, doesn’t see that. All the user sees is a list of saved songs and various playlists. By live-streaming their studio session with Conor O’Brien, however, Spotify added a human face and a sense of relateability to an otherwise impenetrable company and, most importantly, allowed viewers to take a peak at what really goes on in the Spotify offices. 2. Use Periscope to Offer Behind-the-Scenes Peeks Much like making a brand relatable serves to produce a stronger brand identification in customers, giving customers sneak peeks of behind-the-scenes action helps make them feel like insiders. It’s a widely known fact that customers love to feel like they … Read more

The Launch of Instagram Ads for Business

December 31, 2020September 22, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Scrolling through your Instagram account you hit on a Ben & Jerry’s photo of the most delicious ice cream you’ve ever seen. You have to have it. Now! (Warning: scrolling below may induce frantic, mouth-watering-till-you’re-foaming, ice cream cravings.) At its core, it’s amazing. Photo by @cookingkitty007 A photo posted by Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) on Sep 8, 2015 at 8:45am PDT (It’s fine – we understand. Go ahead, leave us and grab that tub, come back to snatch a spoon and carry on scrolling.) More Instagram-ming. Hey, you didn’t realize Levis has a new design out. Wonder when the sales are on? And on you scroll. See what Instagram does there? They pave the way for possibly the most non-intrusive ads we’ve ever come across. There they sit, right in your feed, not flashing out at you from a sidebar. You can click on the image and go straight to the brand’s profile, share the ad, like it… just the way you would for your friend’s photos. This has got to be the most open and engaging platform for advertising yet. What Are Instagram Ads? Instagram ads are your typical Instagram photos or videos. The company took the decision to keep the Home browsing experience completely undisturbed for users. What distinguishes the ads from other photos is the “sponsored” mark just above the top right corner of the image. Why Would Anyone Want to Advertise on Instagram? Check out this infographic with an analysis of Instagram users. The report shows that the platform is extremely attractive to advertisers. This is thanks to the platform’s young, relatively affluent user base. A user base that keeps on growing. In fact, Instagram has revealed that their active user base has reached the 200 million mark, making it one of the fastest growing social sites on the planet. With numbers like this, it’s little wonder advertising on Instagram has snow balled. Who Can Advertise on Instagram? There was a time when now just any brand could appear in Home feeds, only those with an existing and successful following. There’s good news: Instagram ads are now open to all businesses, all around the world. No matter the size. It has been working to open up ads to more types of businesses on an easy self-serve basis. So now any size of business can run a campaign on Instagram. Best of all, ads have been opened up to over 30 new countries, including India, South Korea, Italy, Spain and Mexico. By the end of this month, ads will launch in markets around the globe. Using technology that leverages the very best of Facebook’s ad infrastructure, advertisers can now effortlessly target their messages effectively, reaching people based on what they’re following and what they’re interested in, be it food, cars, fashion or sports. Advertisers are also able to access new ad formats that will help with achieving various objectives and allowing people to learn more about something of interest or shop for something – right from the site. So now businesses of any shape and size can test their capabilities. Tests that have already been conducted have yielded positive results with areas like travel, e-commerce, entertainment and retail seeing significant demand. Using Ads to Drive Objectives People browse Instagram for visual inspiration. Advertising in this incredibly impactful platform has the power to inspire and touch people. Just look at the figures: 97% of measured campaigns on the platform have spawned weighty lifts in ad recall. By adding new formats, marketers have started achieving a variety of objectives, from mobile app installs to website clicks. For example, Gilt Groupe made use of the site to recruit customers. The company ran an ad campaign that saw an astounding 85% increase in app installations. Made.com, a designer furniture retailer, saw their ads yield a 10% order value increase. 4 Ways to Do More With Instagram Thousands of businesses worldwide are using Instagram as their showcase. The platform is making it easier for them to do more, too. Here’s how you can boost your business with Instagram. 1. Add videos. Businesses can now add up to 30 seconds worth of video ads to engage in much richer storytelling. 2. Landscape videos and photos. These help unlock creative opportunities and gives followers a cinematic feel. 3. Delivery and optimization tools. These help to manage and drive the best performance of campaigns on the site. 4. A new product from Instagram, it helps drive mass awareness while expanding a brand’s reach in a very short time-frame. It’s perfect for product launches or movie premieres. The Cost of Advertising on Instagram One of the unique things Instagram offers is the ability to measure ad recall. Businesses can do this by leveraging Nielsen technology. The goal here is to grab a user’s attention with concept-driven creatives that are tasteful and relevant. Initial beta testing partners have been buying on a CPM (cost per thousand) basis. Larger scale budgets have been seeing a CPM of around $20. Smaller CPMs are coming in at $13. To date, CPCs have not yet been discussed but will be made available as more objective based campaigns start using Instagram. The Top 4 Instagram Ads It’s really tough to choose the best Instagram ads so our list is by no means exhaustive. 1. @LexusUSA Honestly, he’s a bit overdressed for a road trip. #LexusIS #LexusLens #vegas A photo posted by lexususa (@lexususa) on Nov 26, 2013 at 9:25am PST The affluent vehicle brand uses Twitter ads to highlight and showcase their existing campaigns. One campaign that stands out is the #LexusLens campaign where the brand took photos of various vehicle models on road trips across the nation. It set the benchmark for future brands to hashtag campaigns and grow their likes and followers. Lexus was actually the only brand of the first businesses to advertise that used location tagging. 2. @DunkinDonuts The Perks of Summer—not over yet. Dark Roast is now 99¢ for DD Perks Members w/ an enrolled DD Card. (Offer ends … Read more

Facebook’s Long-Form Content Platform Is Coming, Here’s How You Can Use It

January 1, 2021September 16, 2015 by Josh McCoy

Do you want to hear something cool that is going to help you reach a wider audience? Of course! Today’s latest news involves the trusty channel Facebook. Yes, Facebook has a new change coming that can really help improve your content outreach; but how? The channel is providing its users with the ability to create long-form content pieces on their new platform, called Facebook’s long-form content platform. Is this the new face of blogging? What can you expect and how can you use it? Let’s take a look! Facebook’s Long-Form Content Platform Is Harking Back to the Good Old Days – Remember Notes? Facebook is constantly trying to make the channel more user-friendly, as well as helping businesses reach out to new audiences. The social media giant is creating a long form blogging platform and it will be using the once popular notes feature. Do you remember notes? Those handy things people would share their latest updates on, do silly question and answer surveys, and more. Well, for a while, notes seemingly disappeared, losing popularity. However, Facebook is revamping Notes giving people the ability to blog directly on the channel. The site is hoping to become yet another player in the direct long-form blogging platforms, keeping people on Facebook and away from the competition. Now, Notes will become Facebook’s long-form content platform. The idea of a long-form content platform isn’t anything new – Medium has been doing it for a while now and LinkedIn opened the ability to all users last year. (I’ll be looking at these more in depth later in the blog.) And now Facebook wants to be added amongst those channels, keeping users on Facebook instead of seeing them leave for another channel. Facebook Doesn’t Want to Lose the Content Game: So The Long-Form Platform Is Happening You saw me mentioned Medium and LinkedIn, but just what am I talking about? These two channels provide long-form content platforms for users, giving people immediate access to blogs. People don’t have to go to a separate web page when reading the content, which is one of the reasons Facebook is going to utilize Instant Articles, as well. What is Medium? It is a blogging platform that came about a few years ago. While it didn’t seem to catch on quickly then, users are starting to pick up and more people are going to the channel. It is a simple blogging platform created by Twitter co-founder, Evan Williams. Its sole purpose is to give people the chance to write and read excellent content without the distractions of other social channels. Along with channels like Medium, LinkedIn started allowing people to create blog content directly on the site – opening it up to all users. This is definitely something that all businesses have been using to great success. Facebook began to notice this, and the social channel finally decided to take steps to rectify the lack of blogging abilities on the platform. This is where Notes comes into play with the ability to write long-form content. According to Matt Southern from Search Engine Journal, Facebook is testing out a Medium-like approach to long-form content with this revamped approach. Will it be successful? There’s no knowing for sure, but since Facebook is such an important and established channel, it is likely it will gain momentum. 7 Incredibly Awesome Ways to Use Facebook’s Long-Form Content Platform This is going to be great for so many small businesses, and I want to take a look at just how you can use this new platform for your business page. 1. Create Incredible, Easy-to-Access Content. A great way to use this platform is to provide easy-to-access content to your followers. While they might be more than willing to head to your site, this can give busy people the chance to read your content quicker. You don’t have to focus solely on this platform, and you really shouldn’t, but it is a great way to gain access to more readers and build your audience. 2. Always Utilize Amazing, Eye-Catching Images in Your Posts. One thing you should always remember is that Facebook is still a very visual place. Those images you use in your social postings? You’ll need them on the long-form content platform, too. Facebook says that those images are really what will help bring in viewers for your Notes. The blog showcases one post that, when using an image, got 14,642 shares. The business page that posted the image only had about 600 fans. Can you see just how important an image is? People are more likely to share something that has an image, and when you add something eye-catching or adorable, you will see more interaction. 3. Come Up With Excellent Facebook-Only Content for Your Users. Whoa, wait. Facebook only content? Aren’t you supposed to make content for all platforms you use? Yes! However, this is a great way to engage with your Facebook followers, as well as reach a newer audience on the channel. You can offer Facebook exclusives meaning that people will get something awesome if they follow and read. This will help make them all feel special, share your content, and keep coming back. 4. Create Awesome, Engaging Content that Really Speaks to Your Audience. Since you’re writing on Facebook, you definitely need to make sure the post is engaging. People don’t want to waste their time reading a post on Facebook that isn’t interesting. Creating engaging content isn’t all that hard, especially if you’ve already been writing it. A few tips to take to heart when writing engaging content are to provide your audience with something of value, use a great flowing format, and be consistent with your tone. Your Facebook followers will definitely appreciate this with your long-form content. 5. Write On Something Absolutely Trendy. Since you are writing on Facebook for a Facebook audience, this gives you the chance to write on something trendy. Writing on trending topics gives you the chance to be current with your readers and build a … Read more

10 Rules to Be A Successful Participant In Your Twitter Chats

December 31, 2020September 8, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Starting around June of this year, I stopped impersonating an ostrich and got my head out of the sand. I finally realized what a Twitter Chat was, how successful they truly are, and how to join one. I was amazed how long these had been going on (we’re talking years for some). Now, in August, Express Writers and my social team (including myself) are active in #bufferchat, #semrushchat, #CMWorld, #LinkedInChat, and just starting to poke our heads into more. We’re also on the brink of creating our own (stay subscribed to our newsletter and we’ll let you know when we do!). Today, I am going to give you a tour into Twitter Chats and help you learn more about these awesome tools, and how you can successfully participate in one. How Do Twitter Chats Work? Twitter Chats have been around for quite some time and have provided awesome connections for businesses and clients. But, before I get into some excellent rules to help you be a successful participant, you probably want a brief rundown of just what a Twitter Chat is. Nicole Miller from Buffer lays out what this is perfectly in her article about Twitter Chats. Basically, a Twitter Chat is a group of Twitter users who get together and chat about a certain topic. One or two people host it and a hashtag is given out for people to use throughout the chat. Sometimes a chat involves the hosts asking questions and receiving answers from participants. Alternatively, a Twitter Chat can involve participants asking questions with the hosts providing answers. Now that you have a brief rundown let’s look at how you can participate and do so successfully. 10 Great Rules to Help You Have an Awesome Twitter Chat Do you want to engage in an awesome Twitter Chat? Well, I’ve compiled some great rules that can help you have an awesome experience. 1. Have Great Twitter Chat Etiquette. Etiquette is a vital part of participating in a Twitter Chat. A lot of basic, in real life etiquette can work well for these. Things such as not talking over the host, letting others get a chance to participate, and respecting the rules will go a long way to making your experience grand. Be sure you know the rules beforehand and always make sure you follow them closely. If you need, have the rules pulled up on your computer for quick access during these chats. 2. Know How to Answer the Questions. When you get the rules for a Twitter Chat, make sure that you know the format for answering or asking questions. Do you use Q1 (Question 1)/A1 (Answer 1) or something else? Whatever is listed, be sure to use it. For example, if I were to ask something like this for a #fantasylitchat: “Q1: Who is the best fantasy author? #fantasylitchat” you could write your answer as such: “A1: JRR Tolkien! #fantasylitchat” 3. Figure Out and Use the Correct Hashtag. As I showed above, my make believe chat has a certain hashtag. All Twitter Chats will have a specific hashtag and you need to use it. This means that you will need to keep your questions or answers short so that you can include it at the end or beginning. This helps to keep track of all the comments people are making and makes it easier for people to connect with each other. It also makes it easier for the host to find your responses and respond themselves. So before you start joining in on a Twitter Chat learn what the hashtag will be. Hashtags are great for so many things, helping to put everything under an easy-to-locate tag. Even when you aren’t doing a Twitter Chat, you should still be using hashtags in your other social postings. 4. Make Sure Your Followers Know You Will be Tweeting More. Along with basic etiquette when participating, you also need to show respect to your followers. Make sure you alert them to your increased tweets an hour or so before you start. And always make sure you inform them just before the chat begins. This gives them the option to mute you during the chat or to follow along. 5. Don’t Overly Promote Yourself in the Chat. Twitter Chats can be used for connecting and networking, but their primary goal is to provide information and knowledge to people. What this means is that you shouldn’t overly promote yourself in the chat. If your business already does something mentioned in the chat, you can say so but don’t “advertise” it. In a way, simply by participating, you’re already promoting yourself. Just engage with people as a regular person, have fun, and take this time to learn awesome new things. You’ll be surprised by how much networking you can get done just by answering or asking questions and not promoting yourself. 6. Proofread Your Answers Well Before Tweeting. Yes, you want to get your tweet out there ASAP so that the hosts can see your answers or questions. However, you don’t want to have a lot of typos. When you engage in a Twitter Chat, make sure that you are proofreading each and every tweet that goes out. This can help boost the likelihood of getting re-tweeted and/or getting responses. Plus, if you make sure there aren’t typos, you’ll look professional and knowledgeable. You might be incredibly smart and know your grammar and spelling, but just a few typos can really damage the way others perceive your business. 7. If You’re Asking a Question, Have What You Want to Ask Ready. Engaging in a chat where you ask the questions is a great chance to have an outline ready. You already know what you want to ask, so why not write it down beforehand? This gives you the ability to know all that you want to ask and to evaluate which questions are the most important to you. This will also ensure you remember what to ask and get the answers you’re … Read more

Facebook Live Streaming Launched for Public Figures: How Can Your Business Benefit?

December 31, 2020August 24, 2015 by Josh McCoy

If you were Kim Kardashian, you would have access to Facebook live streaming right now. Or Gary Vaynerchuk. Or Sandi Krakowski. On August 5th, the social media giant released a new feature that allows public figures and VIPs to broadcast themselves via live streams through the Facebook Mentions app. Right now, the service is only available to the one percenters but, if it proves successful, there is a chance that it could soon be accessible to the public at large and, what’s more, there’s a chance it could provide big benefits for everyday businesses. How Does Facebook’s Live Streaming Feature Work? Facebook Mentions is designed to allow the fans of the aforementioned celebrities and VIPs to engage with live-streamed content in the same way that Facebook currently allows users to interact with everything else in their News Feeds. When a celebrity using the Mentions app begins to stream a live broadcast, a video link goes out to the celebrity’s fans. The fans can then click the link, watch, comment and interact with the live broadcast, which encourages engagement and fan/celebrity dialogue. Just like any typical Facebook post, the new feature allows for commenting and liking. Unlike a typical Facebook post however, which is filtered through the New Feed’s relevancy filters, Facebook’s new live broadcasts will reach viewers while they are still happening, rather than being shuffled down the lineup. Once the Live post is over, the poster can choose either to delete it or to save it as a traditional video, at which point it can be re-shared among Facebook’s users. The purpose of Facebook’s new feature is not so much to promote sharing as it is to provide fans with a direct line into the lives of the people they admire. Facebook provides a unique platform for public figures and most famous people already have a huge fan base that they share content with on a daily basis. The introduction of Facebook Mentions means that so-called “influencers” will enjoy a wider audience and a broader reach than they would on other social media platforms. Four Things Facebook Mentions Offers Influencers In order to unveil the specifics, Facebook wrote a post last month stating that Facebook Mentions will have four key features: 1) See what fans are saying and join the conversation 2) Share stories by posting updates, photos, videos or hosting live Q & A sessions 3) Join conversations on Facebook and see real-time posts from fans 4) Receive streamlined notifications about posts, including mentions from other influencers or the media These benefits aren’t random and Facebook actually began collecting feedback from public figures last year. The Mentions app was originally formulated to help celebrities and other influencers deal with the scores of fan interaction they received on a daily basis and, at one point, served to facilitate the process of responding to thousands of wall posts and mentions at one time. As it evolved, though, it turned out that stars liked the Mentions app for much more than that and actually found it a more intimate and authentic way to interact with their thousands of followers. Celebrities like The Rock have already used the new Live feature. In order to make the feature more manageable for celebrities, fan comments are pushed onto the celebrity’s screen at a slow, readable pace and vulgar comments are automatically deleted. If they so choose, celebrities can turn off comments altogether and, if there are topics a celebrity doesn’t want to discuss, such as politics or a recent divorce, he or she has the option to blacklist certain topics for the course of the conversation. What are the Benefits of Facebook Live Streaming for Businesses? If celebrities have a message to share, so do businesses and the function of the Facebook Mentions app is actually very similar. Facebook live streaming services offer fans (or customers) a real-time look inside the heads, lives and habits of the people they admire and, with a little imagination; it’s clear how this feature could benefit a wide variety of businesses. Imagine it – wouldn’t you love to step inside Mark Zuckerberg’s living room or get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the production of your favorite product? Nowadays, customers want a more active role in the production, manufacturing and marketing of the products they love and Facebook Mentions has the potential to offer a platform for this. Facebook Mentions for Interactive Marketing Interactive marketing is an up-and-coming trend in the business world and it’s easy to see how live streaming services could offer a great way for companies to move from a transactional-focused interaction into a conversation. By bringing customers into a live-stream session, companies can begin to encourage a dialogue rather than a simple product – transaction form of advertising and marketing. Today’s customers are more likely to respond to interactive marketing tactics and Facebook Mentions offers a great platform from which interactive marketing can spring. The benefits of Facebook’s live streaming service for businesses are truly endless and possibilities include things like sneak-peak product launches, live Q& A sessions, interviews with a company’s head managers and even business/customer talking sessions. Live Streaming Offers Educational Opportunities One of the primary benefits of live streaming for businesses is that it offers a powerful platform for education. With Facebook’s new services, companies can easily reach out to educate their audience about a new service or product and may potentially even use the feature to hold troubleshooting sessions, how-to features or host discussions about relevant topics and industry questions. Additionally, live streaming can be used to host talks about current developments in the industry and host interesting guests, in a sort of podcast-esque fashion. All of these things serve the purpose of reaching out to customers, providing high-quality information in a digestible format and ensuring that a company has a presence across a wide variety of media platforms. Facebook Live Streaming Can Promote Spontaneity, Which Leads to Better Business Numerous studies have shown that customers want a company they can … Read more

The Top Reasons You Should Be Using Pinterest for Your Business

June 19, 2024August 17, 2015 by Josh McCoy

Social media is awesome, isn’t it? You can reach out to your clients via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and even meet new people, bringing them in and turning them into customers. There are so many excellent social channels out there that you might start to feel a bit overwhelmed and wonder just what else, outside of the social media trinity you should use. Well, I am here to tell you about an incredible social channel that you might just be overlooking – Pinterest. That’s right! I am going to show you why you need to add this channel to your mix, as well as how you can use it successfully for your business. Pinterest For Your Business: How To Succeed In Your Pinterest Social Media Marketing Pinterest is a great resource for businesses, and can give you a wider reach and range for your audience. Here are some great reasons why you should be using it. 1. Over 70 Million People Use It, & 93% of Those People Are Buyers. That’s right. The 70 million users is a stat from Wikipedia a few years ago, so it’s safe to say this may have even doubled by now. And Shopify is saying that 2 million people pin product pins daily, while 93% of all Pinterest users actually use Pinterest to plan purchases. If this isn’t your main reason to be on Pinterest, I don’t know what is. 2. You Can Use Pinterest to Help Increase Traffic. According to Jessica Meher from Hubspot, a great reason to use Pinterest is to help increase traffic. Research on the amount of traffic Pinterest provides shows that it can actually bring in more people than Facebook or Twitter, which is great for all websites. This is definitely amazing if your site is new or you rely on your site to help drive sales and bring in new customers. 3. You Will See High Amounts of User Engagement. Pinterest is amazingly addictive for anyone who uses it, and many people love to engage on it. In the article mentioned above, Jessica Meher points out that you will see more engagement on Pinterest simply because many people are on it and addicted to it. This means that they are very likely to pin, favorite, and comment on your pins while they spend their time browsing through the channel. 4. It Will Help Strengthen Your Brand. You can use Pinterest to strengthen your brand and drive trust among your client base. According to Nicole Kohler from Shareaholic, a great way to use Pinterest to strengthen your brand is to bookmark mentions of your brand and products. This will help you keep track when someone mentions your brand, giving you the chance to interact with them. This can help promote engagement, trust, and, as I’ve mentioned, strengthen your brand. It will also help you stand out from your competitors if you are regularly seeking out and engaging with your customers. 5. You Have Easy Access to Market Research. One of the great things about Pinterest is that you get the chance to do excellent market research easily. Pinterest gives you the ability to see what your users want to see while keeping you updated on the latest trends. You can follow your clients back and easily watch what they post and see just how they use social media, helping you create and curate excellent content for them. And Here Are 9 Top Ways To Successfully Use Pinterest for Your Business Now that you know a few excellent reasons as to why you should use Pinterest for your business, let’s take a look at just how you can use it successfully. 1. Integrate Pinterest With Your Website, Twitter, and Facebook. A great way to use Pinterest is to integrate it with your website, as well as your other social channels such as Twitter and Facebook. You can set it up to where Pinterest updates your Facebook and Twitter pages when you make a new pin, helping to drive your existing social media followers to your account. To integrate it with your website, you can include “Pin It” buttons to encourage visitors to pin product images to their own Pinterest accounts. 2. Learn What Your Audience Wants to See. You need to do some basic client research to be sure that when you use Pinterest, you are sharing what your clients want to see. You can create personas, but simply following your clients and taking a look at their boards can help you figure out what they pin and like to see. When you understand your Pinterest audience more, you can then start to develop things that are interesting to them, helping bring about engagement and driving more people to your website. 3. Focus On the Quality of Your pins and Not When You Post. Trying to find the best time to post to social media is something many people look for to help bring about more clicks and views. However, according to Kevan Lee from Buffer, when it comes to Pinterest, you need to focus on the quality of your pins and not when you post. High-quality pins are more important to Pinterest users and many people are on Pinterest at varying times. When you post something that is high quality, you have a higher chance having more people pin your pins and click on the links. 4. Create Excellent Captions With Each Pin. Just like with your blogs and other social media posts, the headlines and captions on Pinterest are vital. When you go to create a pin, make sure you have an amazing caption that can capture a user’s attention, convincing them to click. Focus your attention on making something that is engaging that gives clients enough information to be curious but not too much information that keeps them from looking further at your website. 5. Make Sure You are Driving Traffic to Your Site. You might be sharing a lot of interesting pins, but when using Pinterest, you need … Read more

How Using The LinkedIn Publishing Platform Can Impact Your Business (With Pros & Cons)

December 31, 2020August 12, 2015 by Josh McCoy

Alecs is the Client Accounts Manager at Express Writers and has years of copywriting and journalism under her belt. LinkedIn is among the most popular social media outlets available today because of the unique premise it presents to its users, including the ever-growing LinkedIn publishing platform. On LinkedIn, you are judged not on what you look like, but on what your accomplishments are. It’s one of the most useful social networking sites for large companies and HR departments looking for the next big star. It’s even better as a tool for getting content out to the masses while ensuring that it’s still accredited to you. LinkedIn lends itself to the publication of long form content because it’s a site made up of readers, thinkers and doers. People who plan before they act. The more information they have the easier it is for them to make a decision. However, as LinkedIn grows, publishing on this godsend of a platform might not have the same sort of impact it once did. Examining the Positive Side of Placing Content on The LinkedIn Publishing Platform LinkedIn serves as the single best way to get in touch with professionals in a particular field. Because of the interactive style of long form posts that the social media network allows on its publication platform, you can engage in discussion very easily with other members of the same industry or field. From a professional’s perspective, this can only lead to good things. Differing opinions can stimulate debate and can lead to getting new insight on something that they thought they knew inside out. The wide reach of the platform combined with the type of users you are getting access to makes it ideal for a young professional trying to get noticed in his or her field of choice. 3 Key Benefits of Being On The LinkedIn Publishing Platform Publishing long form content on LinkedIn benefits the user by: 1. Relevant Outreach Recently, LinkedIn announced that it crossed a million members publishing on their platform. When compared with other social media networking sites, one million sounds like a small number. However, if you consider that the people on this social networking site is made up of decision makers (about 45% of LinkedIn is in upper management) that number starts looking a lot larger. Since LinkedIn opened its long form publishing platform to users in February 2014, over 130,000 posts per week are made utilizing the site’s publishing platform. That’s quite an accomplishment for a little over a year of service. This is a testament to the volume of experience that the LinkedIn community has to share with the wider world, and make no mistake, the users really love sharing their insights. 2. Equal Reach Regardless of Station What makes LinkedIn’s platform such a roaring success? Unlike other blogging sites where you would need to find people to read your work, usually in response to you reading theirs and leaving feedback, LinkedIn’s community usually starts the ball rolling for you. It’s the kind of publishing platform where even the smallest voice has the same potential outreach as the largest. With a user base of over 364 million total movers and shakers of industry plugged into the social network, it makes it much more likely that people who count will see what you post. For an ambitious person, publication on LinkedIn gives them far more potential for their work than any other type of social network. 3. Ideal for Starting Discussion Because of the blog-type nature of LinkedIn posts, industry professionals can chime in with things that are presented in a publication that they agree with and point out the items that strike them as odd. The rapport that it can generate is what LinkedIn was aiming for when they developed the platform to be like this. The Executive Editor of LinkedIn Daniel Roth is noted as saying that LinkedIn’s publishing platform was meant to be a tool to turn insight into conversation. Based on how many relevant conversations it has started over a number of fields, it is safe to assume that they accomplished their goal. The Downside of Publishing on LinkedIn: 2 Main Points It’s not all roses in this part of the social media world, however. It may seem as though LinkedIn’s publication platform makes it ever so easy to get a ready audience for your posts. At the start of its availability for all users, long form posts usually guaranteed a pretty large reach. However, as time went on the amount of people it reached started dropping drastically until December 2014 when outreach seemed to come to a screeching halt. What could have caused this is anyone’s guess, but there are a few good estimations as to what may have affected the number of people being able to view individual posts, such as: 1. Rise in Competition More and more users started publishing long form posts that grabbed the attention of readers and because of this the total audience would be split among the writers with the best posts. This would have been a factor if the quality of all posts were kept the same. As content producers, we should know that being able to maintain the quality of your own posts over the space of a month can be difficult, not to mention the posts of hundreds of individuals. While this might be an easy method of explaining away the massive drop in interaction for some users, it seems as though it’s too simple a solution for such a complex problem. 2. LinkedIn Pulse LinkedIn likes taking care of its users. That’s why it developed LinkedIn Pulse, as a method of showcasing the best in long form publications from the user base. Before Pulse came along you were just as likely to get your content seen as a user that has a higher quality post. However, because of Pulse, those users would generally be highlighted more and far more users would read their posts as opposed to yours, provided theirs is of … Read more

How To Cope With Facebook’s Newsfeed Change & Updates

December 31, 2020August 7, 2015 by Josh McCoy

The social media scene is dynamic. Updates to, as they put it, “improve user experience” are affecting businesses especially those who produce poor-quality content more than ever. Just what are these changes and how will they impact your Facebook’s newsfeed? And, subsequently, your Facebook strategy and business? I am going to take a look and show you how you can still work effectively with the recent Facebook change. Facebook Changed, Again It seems like we can’t go a month or so without hearing about a major change whether on Google, or a leading social channel like Facebook. Even the average user can tell social networks’ update frequencies through their smartphone alerts. In the latest release from Facebook, we are noticing that the social media giant is living up to the promise of making users’ Timelines more oriented for them, with the recent Facebook’s newsfeed update. Many people wondered just how Facebook would do this because the company constantly seems to make choices that go against that. However, there are now major changes to your timeline, which helps you see exactly what you want. You can do three new things to help improve your newsfeed, making it more interesting and engaging. Users can select which friends and brands they want to see first, who to follow and unfollow, and discover new content based on past interactions. This is great for the normal Facebook user, helping them see exactly what they want to, but this provides some fear for businesses. What Is This Change & What Does it Mean for Your Business? Just what is this change? Well, as you saw above, it is simply about giving people the control over their own Timelines and newsfeeds. In addition, Facebook’s newsfeed is making sure to tailor new pages to fit what users have looked at and interacted with already. For example, if you follow and interact with book related Facebook pages, Facebook will tailor the new pages to fit the bookish theme. What does this mean for your business? Per Hubspot, organic reach has steadily been declining on the social channel, which is definitely a major stressor for marketers. This means that, even more so, you are going to need to focus on creating excellent, engaging Facebook content for your clients. You will also need to make sure you work hard to establish connections and relationships with followers, fans, and customers to ensure they will continue to see your posts. If you already have that standing, then you should consider encouraging people to select your brand for the “See First” feature, helping you continue reaching out. How Can You Get Customers to See Your Content First? Are you looking for the magic ingredient to get clients to see your content first? One of the best ways is to ask your clients to select the “See First” option. You might be surprised at how many people will willingly do that simply because you asked nicely. If you don’t have a lot of Facebook interaction yet, however, you will need to focus on upping the interaction through content before asking people to select that option. As I mentioned above, you are going to need to focus on content, instead of the number of posts you make. In addition, you need to focus on knowing your audience and creating things they will want to see. Always share your top content on Facebook, and to stay on people’s “See First” list, make sure you don’t overwhelm them with too much content in a day. Your Ads Can Still Be Seen, but There’s a Catch Facebook will tailor the newsfeed to fit a person’s interest based off of what he or she has selected to see “first.” This could impact your ads and which ones they see, making it harder for some people to see your ads. However, this doesn’t mean you should give up on Facebook ads completely. They can still come in handy, and if you are writing social content that appeals to your readers, the chances are high that you’ll be able to be one of the 300 or so posts a person sees in a day. If your budget is small for advertising, then don’t fret. You can still get reach by making awesome content and encouraging your existing clients to share it. Work on creating shareable content for Facebook and include things like images and videos to help bring about more shares for your content. 3 Major Strategies To Help You Improve Your Facebook Strategy With this change, it is important to look at your Facebook strategy and improve it to help your reach and to encourage users to put you on their “See First” list. Shehan Peruma from HubSpot gives some excellent marketing strategies for Facebook that can definitely help your strategy. Let’s look at a few of these ideas. 1. Re-Evaluate Your Strategy and Run Analytics Tests This is a great chance to re-evaluate your current Facebook strategy to see how you can improve it with the latest changes. Run some analytics tests to help with this evaluation, and never hesitate to ask your clients for their input. 2. Focus More On Content Creation and Curation Don’t focus too hard on getting people to see your content; that will come along after focusing on the importance of content creation and curation. Work to create original, great content your clients will enjoy, and always find great outside sources to share on your Facebook, as well. 3. Always Respond to Anyone Who Comments As you can see, keeping up a business-client relationship will be important with this new Facebook change. A great way to help build a relationship is to respond to anyone who comments on your Facebook posts. Facebook is Still as Important as Ever Just because Facebook’s newsfeed made another change, doesn’t mean it is losing its relevancy. It is still as important as it has ever been, making it a vital aspect of any social media strategy. Don’t give … Read more

20 Brands That Blow It Away On Instagram & What To Learn From Them

January 1, 2021August 3, 2015 by Josh McCoy

Have you ever snapped a picture, applied a filter, and shared it to your followers with a fun hashtag describing your feelings as you post? Then you’ve used Instagram. Instagram is an amazing social channel that provides people with the ability to give their followers a glimpse into their everyday lives. Many times this means a ton of cat pictures, selfies, and the occasional food and beverage shot. However, there are businesses and brands out there that are taking their Instagram game to a whole other level, hitting it out of the park with their strategy. I am going to look at these amazing brands, helping you find some great Instagram inspiration for your own strategy. 20 Brands that are Amazing on Instagram What are some brands that can give you excellent Instagram inspiration? I am going to take a look at some of the top ones when it comes to excellent content. 1. John Deere Tractors, farming, spending time with family, and living off of the earth are all things that John Deere shares on their social channels. When you look at their Instagram page, you can immediately tell what they sell, and how much they value family and hard work. This is a great illustration of a brand knowing their audience base, and creating images to share that will easily connect with fans, followers, and customers. 2. Billboard Magazine Keeping up with the latest music news is something everyone loves, and Billboard Magazine helps with that. They provide their followers with “insider info” and give behind-the-scenes looks at various projects, concerts, and more. BTS is a great way to interact and engage with your audience. 3. The White House It’s pretty obvious that the White House staff is pretty stellar at social media. They understand that working with the public is a great way to bolster positive attitudes, which is a great inspiration for everyone, including businesses. Work to promote positivity, and you’ll start to notice more positive change around you. 4. NASA NASA has a variety of excellent Instagram accounts, giving followers and fans excellent content that they all want to see. You can follow their main account, or you can choose different ones from different laboratories, space centers, and missions. This guarantees that you will be able to get the content you want, without having to sift through other content you aren’t interested in. 5. Intel Seeing the latest innovations in technology and watching as awesome things are created can be an exciting thing for many people. When it comes to showing these, Intel is tops, giving all of us a great look into the future of technology. In addition, we see great behind-the-scenes elements, which creates great personal connections with all fans, followers, and customers. 6. Virgin America Airlines Virgin is known for their swanky airline, and their Instagram shows just how awesome it is. Just a short, quick look at their pages shows some awesome photos of the airline, all with the signature purple lighting that everyone associates with them. This is a great illustration of keeping something consistent, whether a particular color scheme or voice, when it comes to using any social channel. 7. Taco Bell You don’t have to like their food, but it is pretty hard for anyone not to laugh or enjoy this brand’s epic social media and advertising campaigns. They utilize humor in some of the best ways possible, making great connections with their fans and customers. But, like I said, even people who aren’t fans of their food still love their hilarious approach to all marketing. 8. Warby Parker Warby Parker is a great place if you want designer glasses, as well as having a passion for helping those in need. The company knows that the main customer base they want to reach incorporates the younger generations, and their Instagram shows that. They truly are masters at creating content that young shoppers are likely to enjoy. 9. Macy’s Fashion and fun are two major aspects of Macy’s Instagram account, and they capture it all amazingly. From giving suggestions on how to style the best minion outfit to celebrating the USA women’s soccer team, Macy’s knows how to connect with their audience. They are an awesome example of just how to utilize something that is currently trendy, as well as something that can bring everyone together in joy and celebration. 10. Game of Thrones Whether it is when the show is airing, during a convention, or when the snow drifts start piling up, the Game of Thrones Instagram is on the ball. You get great behind-the-scenes looks at the series, plus fun photos of the cast at various Game of Thrones events. This really helps make all GoT fans feel like they are involved in this awesome series. 11. Starbucks What’s Instagram without a picture of food and a Starbucks coffee cup? Their Instagram is filled with photos of the current marketing campaign, pictures of store locations, videos, and, of course, those coffee images. Starbucks is a great source of inspiration, no matter your industry, when it comes to social media. 12. GoPro From an impactful bio to great fan-made images and videos, GoPro is an excellent example of involving clients and using Instagram to the fullest potential. You can expect to see amazing fan-captured items that are sure to make anyone want to use a GoPro camera. How can you implement anything from such a popular company? Simply by involving your clients and sharing media that is created by your client base; just share images they send in and have a blast. 13. H&M H&M knows that their client base is one that appreciates fashion, fashion tips, and fashion industry news. And this is exactly what they share with their 8.4 million followers. You can see great style ideas for Bohemian-chic, how to relax at the beach, and the latest from whichever fashion week or show the brand is at. With fun videos, great behind-the-scenes looks, and excellent product images, H&M is definitely a leader in the world of Instagram. Take … Read more