DIGITAL - Cool Tools for Social Media Marketers

Looking for tools or apps that can correct your grammar and spelling, create motion graphics, provide 'caller ID' for email, or create graphics of your Google Analytics data?

Social Media Examiner has come up with 23 Cool Tools for social media professionals.

Everyone has hit publish on a post without realizing there was a spelling or grammar error - sometimes only learning about the blunder when a reader makes a negative comment.

You can prevent those embarrassing mistakes by using Grammarly.

Grammarly, which has free and paid versions, is software as well as a browser extension so you can drop documents to be reviewed or have it correct as you type on the web.

If you are looking for an editor, Editorr has a team of them who will take your press release or post and polish it.

The first 100 words are free, after that you pay for words as you go.

Google Data Studio will take the data from Google Analytics and lay it out in a dashboard with components of your choosing.

Pie charts, bar charts, geomapping - they are all available to step up your social media reports.

Motion graphics are made simple with Ripl which allows moving text, captions, and video.

Want to know the details of a person sending you an email without looking them up? Use Senders.

Senders will give you the person’s name, title, and bio, along with links to his or her Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts.

It shares last tweets, their Twitter follower count, links to the Google search for that person and is free.

You can have some fun with FUNIPICA - a lens you can clip onto your laptop, computer or smartphone which gives you a super-wide lens with a slight fisheye effect.

Want to get close up and personal? Unscrew the top of the FUNIPICA and it turns into a 15x macro.

There are cool tools in the Social Media Examiner post that will publish to Instagram and Twitter, send meeting invitations that include available meeting times pulled directly from your Google Calendar, manage an overload of tabs on your browser and much more.

Read the entire article.

DIGITAL - LinkedIn Changes: What Marketers Need to Know

Design changes to LinkedIn are rolling out to account holders.

Many of the updates align the desktop version more closely to the mobile version - making a smoother transition between the two.

The dimensions of the background photo have changed and LinkedIn has made it easier to write posts, find new contacts and interact with connections.

The content sharing section is in the centre of the clean looking homepage and includes an easy to access button to create an article, which is the same as publishing a long-form post on LinkedIn Publisher.

The biggest change is to the Search section which no longer has the advanced search options - you need to purchase LinkedIn Premium for advanced search, saved search and tagging.

The profile section is now called Me - just like the mobile app - and contains a new section called Accomplishments where you can add publications, courses, projects, certifications, honours, awards and patents.

Interactions have been given their own section in the new interface. The section also includes who has followed you, engaged with your content, has a work anniversary or published an article, and more.

Messaging, Jobs and Ads seem to be the only areas that have not been changed.

Vivika von Rosen, author of "LinkedIn Marketing: Hour A Day" and listed on two of Forbes “Most Influential Social Media” lists, has written a comprehensive account of the LinkedIn interface changes for Social Media Examiner.

Read her entire article.

DIGITAL - Free Sample Class from Social Media Marketing World Conference

Social Media Marketing World, presented by Social Media Examiner, is touted as the world’s largest social media marketing conference with 4,000 attendees and over 120 of the world’s top social media pros.

The three-day event takes place in San Diego, California on March 22, 23 and 24, 2017.

Attendees can choose from over 120+ expert-led sessions and workshops covering social media tactics to content creation to social strategy.

New in 2017 is the Creator Series with over 40 sessions dedicated to vlogging, blogging, podcasts and live video.

Extensive networking is built into the event because the power of social media is, of course, the social networking opportunities it provides.

Keynotes include Turning Customers Into Life-Long Advocates in the First 100 Days with Joey Coleman, a customer advocacy consultant and coach who has worked with Hyatt Hotels, NASA and Zappos, and Michael Stelzner speaking on Social Media Marketing in 2017: What the Newest Research Reveals.

Stelzner is the founder of Social Media Examiner.

Registration includes:

• All 120+ expert-led track sessions, workshops and keynotes
• Access to the Networking Plaza
• Access and transportation to the opening-night networking party on the USS Midway aircraft carrier on Wednesday evening
• Access to the second-night party on Thursday evening
• Continental breakfast on Thursday and Friday
• Lunch on Thursday and Friday
• Recordings Pass for audio access to all sessions, workshops and keynotes for one year.

Airfare and hotel accommodations are not included in the registration fee but attendees receive the best rate at affiliated hotels.

If a trip to San Diego is not an option, virtual passes are available which give purchasers full access to recordings of every session.

Unsure if the conference is for you? Try a free sample class.

View a presentation by Mark Schaefer, author of The Tao of Twitter and The Content Code, as he discusses the biggest obstacles to social media (Return on Investment, Reach and Resources) and how to overcome them.

DIGITAL - 20 Free Stock Photo Sites

Challenge for a social media marketer: Finding the perfect image for a social media post or campaign.

(StockSnap)

Big challenge: Finding an image that is free.

Bigger challenge: Understanding different licenses and copyrights of images.

Happily, Hootsuite posted a list of 20 free stock photo sites that will save time and energy in a quest for the perfect picture.

The list includes sites that have Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licensed images.

The CC0 license “enables scientists, educators, artists and other creators and owners of copyright- or database-protected content to waive those interests in their works and thereby place them as completely as possible in the public domain, so that others may freely build upon, enhance and reuse the works for any purposes without restriction under copyright or database law.”

Gratisography contains quirky images by photographer Ryan McGuire.

IM Free offers not only free social media images, but is a “curated collection of free web design resources, all for commercial use.”

Pixabay offers over 490,000 free images for both your personal and commercial use and includes illustrations and vector graphics.

The Morguefile was created in 1996, and offers photographs available free for the use in creative projects with a request to credit the artist.

New Old Stock provide the ultimate “Throwback Thursday” content with their hundreds of vintage photos from the public archives.

StockSnap curates stock photos from around the web and also uploads photos from select photographers in their network.

Visit the Hootsuite blog for the complete list.

DIGITAL - More Consumers Using Social Media to Connect With Businesses

One is hard-pressed to make the argument that social media doesn’t matter.

There are few business models left that can’t benefit from some social media exposure, marketing or advertising.

According to studies conducted by Forrester research, adult savviness with respect to social media is on the rise – up three per cent from 37 to 40 per cent.

Other key findings made by the research firm include the discovery that 31 per cent of consumers are in constant use of social media to connect with businesses, a four per cent increase from 2015.

Sixty-nine percent of these consumers buy online and on mobile.

According to Hootsuite, a popular social media marketing and management dashboard, one of the greatest advantages to businesses is building brand/product loyalty:

“A study by The Social Habit shows that 53 per cent of Americans who follow brands on social media are more loyal to those brands.”

For the less technologically-savvy social media user, dashboards such as Hootsuite can alleviate overwhelming decisions of what platforms to use and when, as the ‘one stop shop’ allows users to post using one system to a number of platforms at the same time.

The optimization tools also allow its users to schedule posts ahead of time, therefore optimizing traffic flow and resulting in more targeted leads.

Built-in analytics allow for better tracking to ensure your audience is achieving best results though interacting through your website/social media platforms.

Networking, piggyback advertising and creating repeat business lies in the sharing of content, frequency of use and paying it forward (sharing posts from other industry members, colleagues); this big picture approach has longer-term benefits and helps establish better branding.

Market research indicates more investment into the social media marketplace in the future.

According to Entrepreneur.com: “recent research from Econsultancy shows that 71 percent of brands plan to invest more heavily in social media in the coming year to reach new followers and build brand reputation.”

The blog continues on to rank their top picks for platforms, as they relate to promoting brand awareness, with Facebook leading the pack and appealing to the broadest spectrum of users.

Instagram is ideal for image-based branding – clothing retailers or foodies; Google+ is shaping up to be a good tool for connecting with men in the technology sector (research indicates that two-thirds of its users are men in this industry); Pinterest, much like Instagram, notes higher success rates for women-dominated industries such as clothing and jewelry; and LinkedIn is a strong platform for business-to-business corporate users.

Keep it visual. According to Entrepreneur.com: “Articles with images receive 94 per cent more views. Twitter content with images receives nearly twice as many views as text posts, even though there are seven times more text posts on Twitter.”

Above all, the leverage for business owners in using social media platforms is about creating a level of interaction between their business and users – publishing engaging content, offering freebies, or discounts that entice users to ‘like’ the business page, posting strong visuals – these are all potentially lucrative methods to increase online presence and ensure your business is current.

By Lindsay Seewalt

Lindsay is an experienced journalist and mother of three whose heart and home is always open to a four-legged friend. With her Corgi, Angie, as household editor-in-chief, Lindsay gives back to the animal planet through the written word on anything and all ado about pets. She is passionate about topics regarding animal welfare and responsible pet ownership, which she aims to instill in both her readers and children to be compassionate animal lovers who are conscious and considerate that furry friends around the globe deserve a voice.

DIGITAL - How to Achieve YouTube Growth

If you already have a YouTube channel and want to optimize it to get more subscribers, or are starting a new channel, Social Media Examiner has a podcast for you.

The podcast features Tim Schmoyer, founder of Video Creators, a YouTube channel and website that helps people grow their YouTube subscribers.

Schmoyer has over 200,000 subscribers, over 10 years of experience and millions of views.

He stresses the importance of your channel having a focus, targeting a specific group of people and delivering a very specific value.

Three mistakes people/organizations make on YouTube:

• The belief you need high-end production and equipment when viewers are actually very forgiving of a shaky camera when the content is valuable.
• Lack of attention to creating title and thumbnails when most traffic comes from suggested videos by YouTube - where viewers click when enticed by titles and thumbnails.
• Taking too long to hook viewers when you have 15 seconds maximum to make that click worthwhile.

Having a channel strategy and customizing your channel are all touched on in the podcast.

Schmoyer says most people don’t realize it, but the majority of viewers subscribe by clicking the red subscribe button underneath the header image, as opposed to the subscribe button underneath every video. So customization is key.

A channel trailer is important and it shouldn’t be your best video. The job of the trailer is to communicate your value succinctly.

Another area to focus on is the playlists beneath your trailer because these are examples for potential subscribers.

To really grow an audience, Schmoyer says you need to do four things:

• First, deliver good value to viewers.
• Second, do it consistently.
• Third, ask people to subscribe.
• And fourth, tell viewers why they should subscribe.

Listen to the entire podcast to learn all the details for a successful YouTube channel.

DIGITAL - Twitterfeed Shutting Down Oct. 31

The popular content distribution tool, Twitterfeed, is closing its digital doors on October 31, 2016.

Content distribution platforms are useful for anyone who uses social media, but they are invaluable for marketers.

Because today’s consumers demand fresh, accessible, relevant content within a digital marketplace that is often saturated with similar content, the effective use of content distribution platforms can allow brands to access large, targeted markets more effectively.

Getting your content to your best audience is the only way to ensure a solid return on investment for your content creation and curation efforts. 

Twitterfeed shutting down may be frustrating for its many users – in 2011, when bit.ly purchased the company, it was topping many lists of most-functional Twitter automation tools – but it is far from the only option.

Twitterfeed itself suggests Buffer or dlvr.it, and Social Media Today agrees. Both services are prepared for an influx of Twitterfeed users looking for social media automation support.

It’s hard to find data on why Twitterfeed is closing down, and it’s not at all unusual to see the quick disappearance of tools and platforms that just a year earlier seemed solid.

There are many reasons digital platforms fail, and Twitterfeed itself had some drawbacks for marketers, such as an inability to give credit to authors or to curate the tweets to make sure only optimum content is shared.

It’s possible that Twitterfeed is shutting down because of platform failure or because of user dissatisfaction, but there wasn’t any buzz to that effect leading up to the announcement.

A recent post by Mark Josephson, the CEO of Twitterfeed’s parent company bit.ly, may provide some clues for curious marketers wondering about the platform.

Josephson wrote on Medium that 2011 was a pivotal year for bit.ly, during which they refined their focus and changed direction to allow their business to become truly sustainable.

Bit.ly finally reached profitability in 2015 and now they are positioning themselves to announce new directions and a tightened focus on, as Josephson writes, “becoming the enterprise Link Management Platform that marketers are telling us they need.”

They’re revamping both their free and paid products, introducing a new user interface, pushing further into their existing deep linking tools.

Does Twitterfeed shutting down hint at new developments from bit.ly?

Josephson didn’t mention Twitterfeed directly, but the timing is interesting and bit.ly’s new interface and tool suite certainly hints at new directions in link management and customer experience.

They’re certainly focused on bringing value to marketers, and that’s something to keep an eye on as they move forward this year.

By Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

DIGITAL - Instagram Advertising is Growing, Take Advantage

Engagement with brands on Instagram is 10 times higher than Facebook, 54 times higher than Pinterest, and 84 times higher than Twitter.

So it’s not surprising Instagram is becoming a key player in online advertising.

To help companies create effective ads, AdRoll has created The Performance Advertiser’s Guide to Instagram.

The free download includes:

• Guidelines for Instagram ad formats
• 17 Essential tips for Instagram advertising success
• How to track the performance of your campaigns
• How other companies have used Instagram to grow their business.

Social Media Examiner’s podcast - Instagram Ads: What Marketers Need to Know - goes into detail about Instagram ad features and tips.

Guest Jenn Herman, a social media consultant and Instagram expert, also discusses the differences between Facebook and Instagram ads and how to run successful ad campaigns.

Instagram is a great medium to target Millennials - with over 90 percent of users younger than 35 years old.

The social media channel has shown massive growth over the past years - from 30 million users when it was purchased by Facebook in 2012, to over 500 million users today.

Instagram’s global mobile ad revenue is predicted to reach $2.81 billion in 2017.

DIGITAL - How to Promote Your Product on Facebook

Are you looking for new ways to promote your product that also helps build trust, grow your audience and increase brand engagement?

Social Media Examiner has come up with some fresh ideas in their Five Ways to Promote Your Products On Facebook.

Ask Fans to Show Their Love

Set up a user-generated content campaign where you ask customers to share photos and videos of them using, wearing or talking about your product.

This type of campaign shows your product in an authentic way and can help you reach a wider audience as the post will be seen by all your customers’ friends.

Demonstrate Creative Ways to Use Your Product

Customers want to know and it doesn’t need to be fancy. Simple video demonstrations that you create or customer video that you share work well.

Incentivize Word-of-Mouth Referrals

Create a loyalty program where you can reward customers for referring friends to your business by sharing your page with their Facebook friends.

Build Trust With Ratings and Reviews

Facebook has a ratings tab that you just need to activate.

Make sure when you ask your fans for ratings and reviews, don’t be intrusive or offer incentives and always follow Facebook’s Community Guidelines.

Target Prospects With Facebook Ads

You can use your own company data and Facebook Insights to target audiences similar to your current buyers.

Read the entire article for all the details.

DIGITAL - Important Facebook Demographics for Marketers

With over 1.13 billion active daily users, Facebook is one of the most important social media channels for marketers.

So it’s vital to understand the demographics of the Facebook user and accurately target your social marketing campaigns.

Gender

Pew Research Center’s report on social media users in the U.S. showed that 77% of female and 66% of male internet users are active on Facebook.

While some people claim Facebook users are diminishing, daily usage continues to grow along with mobile users. The switch seems to be from desktop to mobile rather than a shift away from the channel.

Age

According to the Pew study, 82% of internet users who use Facebook are 18-29 years old. 30 to 49 year olds make up 79%, 50 to 64 year olds account for 64% and 48% are over 65.

The rumours of young people leaving Facebook for platforms like Instagram and Snapchat seem to be just that. The prime target demographic for marketers of 24 to 35 years, seems to fit well with the social media channel.

Location

Facebook has more rural users than any other social media platform with 67%. But you are also likely to find them in urban areas (74%) and suburban (72%).

The geographic reach of Facebook is broader than other channels so if you want to market beyond the city and suburbs, it may be for you.

Income

78% of online users with incomes over $75,000 use Facebook.

The next step in Facebook demographics is to use the Audience Insights tool - designed to help marketers learn more about their target audiences, including aggregate information about geography, demographics, purchase behavior and more.

And you can view this information for three different groups of people:

• The general Facebook audience
• People connected to your page or event
• People in custom audiences you’ve already created.

Once you have defined an audience, you can save it and create an ad based on those target Facebook demographics.

The better you know who your audience is, the better you will be at engaging with them and developing strong customer relationships.