smw2015

Did you know it’s #socialmediaweek? What Is Social Media Week? Social Media Week (SMW) is actually a platform—a global one that aims to connect content, people and conversation around the latest trends in social and mobile media. It also is the main sponsor of the annual #SMW event. Every year, SMW brings hundreds of thousands of people together through social and mobile media. It provides numerous learning experiences that aim to advance our understanding of the role social media plays in today’s society. Held for the first time in February 2009 in New York City, SMW was originally launched as a distributed conference with event being held throughout the city. More than 2,500 people attended and thousands participated online. How We’re Celebrating We’ve started our very own Instagram, @expwriters. We only set it up two weeks ago with this post and we’re just in awe of the traction we’ve already started getting. Instagram has astounded us. We’ve had nearly 40 likes on a single post, something we’ve never got in over 3 years on Facebook. 1. Local Business Gets Our Thumbs Up At Express Writers we pride ourselves with keeping on top of the latest trends, having an incredible international workforce and supporting local business. So for starters, we’re kicking off #socialmediaweek by featuring a #localbusiness. We’ve already started with this post. Being pretty mobile, we love heading out to local places here in Austin to work for the morning or just catch a break from staring at a screen for a while. Keen to find out who the featured local business is? Stay tuned to our Instagram page to see who it will be. Don’t have an Instagram account yourself? Here’s how to set one up really quickly and start following us. 2. #virtualworkforceculture Hashtag what, you’re asking? We have amazing team members from all corners of the globe, so we’ve decided to start a weekly hashtag photo session. With #virtualworkforceculture, we will be featuring one of our team members each week. What better way to celebrate social media week than featuring our very first #virtualworkforceculture? Our aim is to bring our entirely remote team together through the powers of Instagram. Below is one of our busiest full-time writers, Ashley A, featured in our #virtualworkforceculture hashtag: To help you get to know the team behind Express Writers, we’re going to be sharing a photo and a quote from some of our employees as part of our #virtualworkforceculture series! Our full-time writer Ashley, who works out of Montana, says: “Working as a freelancer allows me to write from home and enjoy hiking with my dogs and riding my horses during the breaks in my day!” It sounds like the perfect day to us! We love having her as part of our incredibly talented team! ? #expresswriters #workfromhome #copywriting #copywriter #writer #writinglife #writerslife #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writehackr #writersblock #freelancer #publishing #blogging #blogger #contentmarketing #marketing #content #inboundmarketing #growthhacking #entrepreneur #business A photo posted by Express Writers (@expwriters) on Jun 10, 2016 at 1:43pm PDT   Now, let’s go into studying Instagram—why it’s so powerful, and how to successfully use it! Why is Instagram so Powerful? Instagram is quite literally the Twitter of pictures. It lets people post photos, have followers and follow other people to see their photos. The site was one of the most successful startups with an explosion in traffic shortly after the app was developed. So why did Instagram smash it so quickly? For starters, if you want to develop an incredibly successful website, or even business, you need to target people’s most important psychological needs. Instagram has many valuable uses, but the main reason for its rise to stardom is that it targeted two essential human needs: the desire to feel important and the desire to show off. It’s Human Nature to Want to Be a Show Off When was the last time someone said you were boasting? When last were you told you’re showing off? While a lot of humans won’t admit it, we all want to show off in one way or another. But since many do it subtly, others learn to criticize those who blatantly show off. So why would anyone post a photo on Instagram? To show off how good he or she is. Every picture carries a hidden message. I have beautiful friends. I look gorgeous today. My car rocks. Hey, I’m having a fancy dinner. If we didn’t have the desire to show off, Instagram would never have got off the starting block. Satisfying the Ego Who doesn’t want to feel important? The chance to have followers is arguably one of the most brilliant ideas that helps people satisfy their egos. People want to see their followers increasing so they become addicted to sites built on this system. 7 Steps to Instagram Success Have we got you fired up about Instagram? Check out these 7 steps to making it on the platform. 1. Create a Profile The first step is to pick a clear, attractive avatar. Use the same username as your Twitter handle so people can tag you easily. Use keywords in your bio for the sake of searchability. Change the URL in the bio to reflect what you are doing. Let BITLY help you track your traffic and customize it. 2. #Strategy Instagram lets you use up to 30 hashtags per post. So stick a few in the original post and add more in the comments. Be consistent with the hashtags. Take time to build a hashtag strategy to be consistent. Create hashtags that will build a hub for your content. 3. Build a Posting Strategy Create fun videos. Use a report app to share other posts. Add quote graphics. 4. Encourage Engagement Create real relationships with your followers. Give shout outs to friends and thought leaders. Delete spammy comments. Tag people in photos so that they get notifications. Make it easy for people to find you. Double tap a post to like it. Make sure your account is public if … Read more