Tag Archives: Google+

The Basics: Facebook Marketing Made Easy

Stephanie Chandler, contributor to Forbes.com, reminds all small business owners about the basics of Facebook.

image via basicfacebookmarketing.com

Make sure to read all 10 of her tips – while we highlight a couple of the best ones here.

Chandler writes, “Pin to Top – You can ensure that a post gets premium exposure at the top of your Facebook page with this handy feature. To implement, hover over the upper right corner of a post and click on the pencil icon that reads “Edit or Remove,” then choose “Pin to Top.””

Pinning to the top can allow your page to keep older posts relevant by positioning them on top.  Fans, or future fans, are most likely to see a couple of your most resent posts…don’t let them go before they get to see your current contest or major announcement.

Chandler also says, “About Section – Below the photo on your business page is a small box of text where you can share details about your business. More importantly, this box can include a clickable link for your website. While your website link may appear on the bio area of your Facebook page, you can assure more clicks by adding it to this prime real estate on the main page. To update yours, simply click on the box below your photo where this text appears, and then click on “Edit.””

Having fans on Facebook is great – getting them to your website is even better.  Make sure you make it as easy as possible to get there.  By adding links in your about section – you take out the risk of them not making to your site.  Remember the less roadblocks, the higher success rate.

Read Full Post Here…

 

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Failing At Social Media? Let’s Make A Plan

Social Media Examiner tackels the problem many businesses are now facing. A failing social media presence on the World Wide Web.  Jim Belosic writes, “Businesses often fail in their social media efforts for the same reason New Year’s resolutions fail: It’s a good idea, but there’s no structure or commitment.  Then, when there are no immediate results, or the goal ends up being more difficult to attain than previously thought, it goes by the wayside.”

If that sounds familiar you have to read this article.  If you are wondering what Belosic says the first thing you need to do…you’re in luck.

#1: Make a Commitment

Before you even start creating your plan, you have to make a promise. Establishing a healthy social media presence can be a very slow process. You can’t expect your list of fans, followers or subscribers to grow overnight.

Read The Full Post Here

 

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University Rep Network Fueled By Millennials

Millennials- This is definitely a term that you will be hearing more and more. In fact, “Hearing” about them might be the wrong way to put it; truth is, you will most likely read about them in a post, tweet, blog, or news feed. That’s because Millennials (ages 18-29) are spending more and more time on social networking sites according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center.

The term Millennials is used because their birth into adulthood happened on or near the new millennium. In the overview of results, the Pew Research Center reports that Millennials “are more ethnically and racially diverse than older adults. They’re less religious, less likely to have served in the military, and are on track to become the most educated generation in American history.”

Millennials have also grown up having multiple modes of communication at their fingertips. They now take full advantage of the wide variety the World Wide Web has to offer. Three out of every Four Millennials has created some kind of social networking profile.

Millennials that are connected to the University Rep network are even more connected than the average user, averaging just fewer than 1,000 friends on Facebook.

Pew Research Center reports Millennials key distinctiveness comes from the way this age group has welded social media platforms to their everyday lives. The report conveys, “It’s not just their gadgets- it’s the way they’ve fused their social lives into them.”

Ureps are known for frequently communicating with friends and family through Facebook. Additionally, company communications are sent email, Facebook, and text messages that reach the connect brand evangelists instantly. A second Pew Research publication recently released finds that the more people use social media, the more they trust people in general. We can infer that Millennials are more trusting in people because of their involvement with social networks.

Brand Adoption uses its University Rep network (ureps) to execute Word of Mouth marketing. Connecting brands with consumers using social media and guerrilla marketing strategies. Combining influential peer-to-peer recommendations from the most connected Millennials, and the powerful new media technologies. The mix has already created buzz across the national on college campuses.

According to one of the creators of the urep network, Don May, the successes are because of the Millennials. May said, “this generation connects to brands and companies with ease thanks to social media. They can become the biggest advocates and the most trusted.”

Trust.  It is not something companies and brands get very easily.  With only 12% of consumers trusting advertisements.  Genuine advocates of brands used and liked will keep the urep network thriving on campuses for years to come.

To learn more about becoming a urep, Click Here

To get ureps connected to your brand, Click Here

 

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List: PR Tools To Make Your Life Easier

On PRdaily.com, Mark Pack complies a list of “incredibly useful digital tools” for PR.  Some you may already be using – some you may never have heard of – some you may be using and just not getting the most out of it.  Digital tools, just like normal tools, don’t work unless the user is correctly exerting the right amount of energy at just the right angle. You wouldn’t dare to shovel all this snow with a rake, would you?


Picture via Flickr: woodlyeywonderworks

 

Pack provides his 12 helpful tools. To read about all 12 tools, Click Here!

Our favorite tool Pack wrote about was:
“4. Namechk:
A simple one-page service, Namechk lets you check your desired username against over 150 different Web services and social. It is a great way to see quickly if you can get your chosen name on the services you want—and a smart way to see what services a rival brand or product name has taken up.”
Can’t say it enough- know your competition!
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Some Ways to Deal With Upset Customers Using Social Media

Sooner or later it will happen to you and your business.  Some people think it is when a business really knows they have hit it big time.  It is when a customer is upset and goes to your social media platform to complain.  An angry customer can be a great opportunity to create a positive experience for that person and your business.

The Social Media Examiner posted 10 ways to deal with upset customers using your social media sites. Here are a couple of our favorites:

1. You Can’t Respond to Conversations You Don’t See

Great response starts with great listening.

  • Set upGoogle Alerts for your brand and industry keywords.
  • Keep a close eye on your Facebook page.
  • Listen on Twitter.
  • Depending on the type of business you have, read reviews on sites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and Zagat.
  • Make a list of any forums or communities where your customers congregate and regularly check in on them.

#4: Speak Like a Human

The only thing worse than ignoring upset customers is to respond with a canned corporate response. If you thought they were mad before, wait until you see how they react to an excerpt of your policy terms and fine print.

Show empathy, communicate in a friendly tone and use your real name. And if the forum supports it, it helps to include your actual photo.

It’s easy to yell and scream at an anonymous company. But when someone shows up and says, “Hi, this is Emily and I’m so sorry for the trouble…” it changes everything.

The critic now realizes he wasn’t yelling at a giant, faceless company. He was yelling at Emily. Quickly, the anger fades—and you’ll often get an apology.

zappos friendly response

www.socialmediaexaminer.com

Check out how Zappos replies to this fan. It’s human; it’s friendly. And even though they couldn’t immediately fix the problem, you can bet this fan will be back.

Be sure to read all 10 ways

 

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10 Advanced SEO Tactics That Will Increase Your Blog’s Traffic

Searchenginejournal.com posted an amazing blog on 10 advance SEO tactics that YOU can use to build your traffic.  When some see SEO – it is kind of like reading a foreign language.  To help you better understand the importance, and get you familiar with some amazing tips - read the full post here.

To give you an idea of you will see in the post:

Think Outside of the Social Media Sharing Box

Facebook, Twitter and Google+ aren’t the only social sites that have the power to push traffic to your site. Other niche communities can do the same thing:

The idea is to go through a list of social networking sites, identify the ones that would be relevant to your industry and then systematically add value. As you build up relationships with users of those sites you’ll eventually start to gain links and followers.

Working these other social sites will also help you develop content for you blog posts. Watch to see what is gaining popularity in content and discussions and then create posts that address those issues.

By the way, back in December Reddit served over 2 billion page views:

Reddit image from searchenginejournal.com

…so you should not ignore that source for an opportunity. See if there is a subreddit you should join.

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5 Ways to Brand Your New YouTube Profile

Here are 5 tweaks you can make to improve branding on your YouTube Channel.

Click It: Get All 5 Tips Here

#1: Add Your Custom URLs in the Newly Placed Description Area

This option is now at the top on the right of your video. Talk about brand power. Previously, only partners could take advantage of this prime channel real estate.

However, you don’t have to be a partner to place your URL links in plain sight to the right of the video. Before, your links were drowning below the fold (scroll down) to the left. Now your channel description area is to the right of the video above the fold. That means a higher potential click-through rate to your outside sites.

Plus you can add your social media links in the description area, such as Facebook, Twitter and now Google+.

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The Mobile Marketing Value Exchange

Scott Forshay posts on briansolis.com about the value of mobile marketing.

Forshay says, “In the early stages of mobile marketing, the value exchange was almost exclusively defined through promotional-based marketing. Consumers were asked to share their mobile numbers in exchange for coupons. While seemingly primitive by today’s standards, text back couponing remains an effective behavior stimulus for many brands and retailers, but for luxury brands discounting flies in the face of the intrinsic value of the brand. The challenge for innovative prestige brands is defining how best to create a true value exchange with their most loyal advocates while remaining true to themselves and not cheapening the brand in the process of attempting to deepen relationships.”

But That’s Not All! Click Here To Read Full Post

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Why Google’s Social Search Is Too Much, Too Soon

What do you think? Should google tap into your world?

Why Google’s Social Search Is Too Much, Too Soon

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Circle Up: How Brands Are Using Google+

on Mashable writes about the ever-growing Google+

“Google+ Brand pages may have debuted just a few months ago, but many companies have already flocked to the social media platform to reach out to new fans. And it’s not just the big companies that are adopting brand pages: Google+ Group Product Manager Christian Oestlien says small businesses are also jumping on the Google+ band wagon.

“We have obviously a lot of involvement in the local space,” Oestlien says. “We’re seeing a lot of small businesses get on Google+ and use that to directly engage with their audiences.”

But Google+ isn’t like all other social media websites. Unlike broadcast-heavy mediums such as Facebook and Twitter, Google+ activity thrives on quality rather than quantity. Valuable content sharing with in-depth comment threads is what users are actively looking for, which can pose a challenge to companies accustomed to churning out quick posts for the other social media platforms.”

3 Tips and Examples Here: Click it…

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