Social media is an effective way to turn social conversations into sales. We all know it’s fun to use to stay in touch with old friends, but it’s also great for creating leads with new friends! The statistics don’t lie, this is a great tool for marketing and sales efforts! Here’s how socializing is moving customers right to the virtual check out line: [Read more…]
5 Years of Social Media: Look How Far We Have Come
Think back to 2008. Now, I’m sure one can’t recall exactly what they were doing that year but in 5 years from now, even if we don’t remember parts of pop culture, we can guarantee that whatever we were doing we were all fully engulfed in social media. Social media has changed the way we interact on personal and business levels. This infographic looks back on something that has become part of our every day lives and is still continuing to grow: [Read more…]
New Social Media Research
Social media trends are always evolving. It is essential to keep up with these changes as they can make a big difference in marketing strategies and how businesses target an audience. Here are a few new trends that could change your marketing strategy for the year. [Read more…]
Top Tips for Posting on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn [INFOGRAPHIC]
There are so many different social media channels these days and with that, you see a variety of strategies for each one. With all of this, social media can seem complicated and overwhelming, especially if you are trying to run a business and their marketing accounts. Here is an infographic we found that will serve as a great tool (hint-bookmark it!), with social media basics for you to refer back to. Not only are these foundational tips for the top social media outlets, but they also are some of the best and basic tips for your business!
The Social Media Checklist [Infographic]
Whether you don’t know where to start with social media marketing or you’d like to set and maintain goals (New Year’s Resolution, anybody?!) this checklist is sure help you boost business. One of the major aspects of this type of marketing is maintaining a presence, being active, and consistent. That’s why we love this checklist, it is sure to help you do just those things. Go through it to help set goals and start seeing a positive ROI from your social media marketing efforts! [Read more…]
Appealing to Baby Boomers on Social Media
Recently, the fastest growing demographic on social media is adults aged 55 to 64. Since 2012, their Twitter presence has grown 79% and their Facebook and Google+ presences are growing rapidly as well. Although they are still a small group, they can be an integral part of a social media marketing plan as Baby Boomers have 70% of all US disposable income and are looking to spend it. [Read more…]
2013: A Year Worth Sharing [Infographic]
It was an exciting year for social trends where some new media channels rose to the top and others fizzled away. Here are some exciting facts to look back on in the world of social media which took businesses by storm in 2013! What exactly were we sharing last year?? Here is an ever popular infographic everyone used to share information to let you know! [Read more…]
Navigating Social Media: Infographic
Social media is an integral part of marketing for small and large businesses, but sometimes it can be confusing. Different channels can be used for different reasons and purposes- but if you don’t understand each social outlet it can be challenging to create the most effective marketing plan for your business. Check out the Navigating Social Media guide below to help familiarize yourself with the different social media channels and learn the best way to utilize them! [Read more…]
2014 Social Media Predictions
Social media is always evolving and it is important to look forward as the year comes to a close. Businesses will need to reevaluate their strategies and look to the new trends that are emerging to keep up with consumers.
2014 is going to be an important year for social media and the following trends will be needed to take into consideration when planning your overall strategy.
Recap of 2013: The Growth of Social Media [Infographic]
2013 has been an exciting and expansive year for social media. From personal use to small business or corporations, it has been growing and people are finding new uses for it and unique ways to use it! And no matter who you are these days, social media marketing has probably found its way into your business plan. Here is a look at how it has grown into our every day lives over the past year: [Read more…]
Social Media for Recruitment [INFOGRAPHIC]
92% of companies use social media for recruitment, that’s almost all of them! Social media is a great tool for seeking and hiring potential candidates. It has such an expansive reach it’s no wonder so many companies are using it! [Read more…]
Get the Facts: Social Media Marketing (An Infographic)
There is so much information out there on social media marketing. Some become overwhelmed, some are skeptics. Here are the recent facts, analytics, and astonishing effects of social media marketing on businesses and leads!
Google Glass and Social Media
Google Glass, simply by virtue of its name, is intriguing. But what is it? What will it do for you? Google Glass looks similar to a pair of glasses, but is a resource comparable to a smartphone.
Insider Secrets of Contagious Content [Infographic]
Take a look at this infographic to help you create contagious content. It will help you get the awareness your brand deserves and the maximum exposure you’ve been looking for! [Read more…]
Seniors on Social Media
Social media use among senior citizens is on the rise in America. Whether it be for fun, for information gathering, or simply out of curiosity, seniors are taking to social media like never before.
How to Create the Perfect Social Media Post: an Infographic
This infographic, produced by mycleveragency, can get you thinking about what the ideal post entails and how you can create one. This is handy to keep around for community managers and those looking to perfect their social media skills.
History of the Internet: an Infographic
The following infographic displaying the history of the Internet is courtesy of Who Is Hosting This.
Social Media: The New Face of Disaster Response
When disaster hits, everyone turns to social media for answers. The following infographic is brought to you by: University of San Francisco’s Online MPA.
Build a Career out of your Social Media Obsession
The following infographic is brought to you by University of Florida Online Masters in Social Media. You CAN make a career out of social media!
How to Maximize Your Reach Using YouTube
With social media quickly becoming one of the top marketing tools that companies turn to, it’s wise to know the ins and outs of these sites. YouTube has become a marketing favorite among companies and businesses looking to expand their reach.
Why market on YouTube?
Meet Flipboard
We are in an age where technology has taken over and cast its shadow over print media. More and more people are choosing the Internet over magazines and newspapers for news and other information. While the web has its perks – namely instant information and less paper waste – one can’t help but miss the aesthetics of print media.
How to Properly use a Hashtag
It seems like everywhere you look nowadays there are #hashtags coming at us in every direction. The concept that was started on Twitter, has grown into a social media phenomenon, showing up everywhere from social media outlets to corporate advertising. While hashtags can be very beneficial to its users, many of us are completely unaware of how to use them and why they were created. Hashtags have gained a recently popularity among social media users, so here is a quick guide on how to properly use a hashtag.
Top 5 Skills a Community Manager Must Have
Being a community manager isn’t just about Tweeting, Pinning, and Facebooking all day long. It takes determination, passion, and an incredible amount of skill. Community managers wear many hats, and their workday certainly doesn’t end in time for happy hour. If you’re considering a career in community management, make sure you have the following qualities in the bag:
The Buzz About Vine on Twitter
Social media photo and video services have been in circulation for a number of years, and we have all seen our fair share of popular apps that turn the amateur smart phone user into “semi-professional” creators. For example, apps such as Instagram and iMovie allow the everyday user to enter the creative world.
2013 Academy Awards: A Social Media Experience
This past Sunday, Hollywood’s greatest gathered at the Dolby Theater in downtown Los Angeles to celebrate the highly anticipated 85th Academy Awards. While the industry’s finest enjoyed the show, viewers from around the world came together on social media sites such as Twitter and Instagram to catch up on their favorite celebrities, as well as to join the global conversation.
Social Media Reacts to New York Fashion Week 2013
Technology has made its mark at 2013 New York Fashion Week with the rise of social media on the runway. Not everyone is able to hit the tents to attend the ultra exclusive and incredibly posh fashion shows.
But now, thanks to social media, fashionistas can keep track of events and viral moments of their favorite designers through various social media platforms.
Social Media Rocks the 2013 Grammys
Musician and celebrities from all industries gathered in Hollywood this past Sunday to celebrate the 55th annual Grammy awards. While awards were given to the top musicians chosen by expert panelists, another group of winners was being crowned in the social media sphere.
10 Questions You Need to Ask Your Social Media Consultant
If one thing is certain it’s that the Internet is here to stay, and any business that fails to understand the importance of a solid online presence is sure to fall behind. While most of us have come to understand that a business needs a well-designed website as a bare minimum, relatively few seem to understand the true marketing potential of a strong presence in social media.
Times are changing. Customers now expect to be able to speak directly with the businesses they deal with. They expect a conversation, and they often prefer not to deal with businesses that don’t listen and respond. Social media is key, and yet all too many businesses farm out the job of presenting their public face to social media consultants who simply don’t know what they’re doing.
So how can you avoid this? What questions do you need to ask your prospective consultant to figure out if they have what it takes to create your social presence? Well, here are ten questions that will help you sort the wheat from the chaff.
Top 5 Social Media Predictions For 2013
Over the past couple of years, social media sites have evolved greatly. Many business owners have started to use social media networking given its huge marketing potential. Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google+ are only a few of the most popular social media platforms. Here are some social media predictions for 2013:
Does Your Company Really Need a Social Media Policy?
Over the last few years we’ve seen case after case of social media gone wrong, and it seems as if every day an employee goes off the wall and posts something online that harms the reputation of their employer.
You don’t have to search for long on YouTube before finding videos of fast food employees brazenly breaking health code violations at work. The problem of social media foul-ups goes far beyond the occasional viral video, however.
In this connected age you can expect every one of your employees to have some kind of online presence, and without some sort of code of conduct in place, your business could bleed to death by a thousand electronic paper cuts as those employees alienate customers, complain about working conditions and, yes, occasionally post something so irresponsible that it becomes a deeply embarrassing viral phenomenon.
Why a Corporate Social Media Policy Can Help
Social Media Drives Change in 2012 Election
Like a frog in slowly warming water, we’ve often failed to notice the immense changes in the way we’ve used the Internet over the years, and just how quickly sites like Facebook and Twitter have worked their way to the center of our lives.
Now that almost all of us (taking ‘all of us’ to mean those of us in the western world with easy access to the Internet) use Facebook on a regular basis, it’s easy to imagine that we always have. It’s easy to forget that there was a time before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and similar networks.
Curating Your Social Feeds With EverySignal
Those of us who’ve been online since the early days have watched the Internet turn into something of a monster. Back in the early days if we wanted to catch up with a friend, relative or colleague we’d fire off an email and eagerly await a reply. It may have taken a few days before we received a response, but it worked after awhile.
Fancy: A New Social Network and What You Can Gain From It
Fancy is a new social network that is similar to the rapidly growing Pinterest. It relatively new, and is only a fraction of the size of Pinterest, which in itself is not too old either. Pinterest is a social gathering site where users post pictures of their favorite merchandise. These pictures lead to comments by other viewers, and work their way up the image laden pages of Pinterest. The more they are liked by other users, the more quickly they move up the site.
Just about anything goes, so it has become a hip spot for “fanciers” to show off moods and expressions through things that they enjoy. Currently, 60% of the users on Fancy are men. Interesting, huh?
Twitter Explodes at 2012 Political Conventions
The 2012 political conventions had many great moments, from Michelle Obama’s moving speech supporting her husband’s nomination to Clint Eastwood’s kooky appearance that involved talking to an empty chair on stage.
It is through the power of social media platforms, such as Twitter, that allow those who aren’t attending the convention to closely follow the political action minute-by-minute. Voters are able to follow delegates, journalists, and campaign officials for the most up-to-date information about the political party they are interested in.
Top Mobile Networking Apps You Must Add to Your Phone!
Staying in touch with others doesn’t always mean making a phone call, or seeing people face to face. There are thousands of apps that can be easily downloaded on your iPhone or Android that allow you to shape your thoughts, frustrations, praises and ideas, or whatever else comes to mind the second you think it. You don’t always have access to a computer the moment you want to express a thought, and social media apps come in handy when you’re on the go! Luckily there is no shortage of apps, but how do you know what to look for in a great app? What sets one app apart from the other? The following are some of the top social networking apps of 2012 that drove users, traffic and engagement in astonishing ways.
3 Simple Ways Social Media Can Save Your Restaurant
Every restaurant owner’s hope when opening a restaurant is that it will eventually become a go-to destination for local foodies. You want to have the latest and greatest to offer your customers. However, few restaurateurs know how to maximize their marketing potential and turn non-revenue producing activities such as tweeting into revenue producing activities that will be beneficial for the overall business. You could have the best food in town, but unless people are well informed about your services they will have no way of knowing the great things you have to offer them.
Some companies within the restaurant and food service industry do an excellent job at maximizing their social media efforts, however with the concept still being fairly new, most companies still have room for major improvements. Social media websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are great tools for restaurants and food service companies to connect with existing and future customers. Social media can save a particular company a great deal of time, money and resources and therefore can increase revenues in many different ways.
Social Media Success: Client Spotlight
I’m so thrilled by the success that one of my clients has achieved recently. Stephanie O., a Denver fashion designer, has received a lot of media attention in the last several months due to the social media efforts we have put forth. Her Twitter and Facebook following is growing at a rapid rate, she’s gaining more and more Pinterest followers each day, and she’s been mentioned with high accolades on several media platforms.
4 Tips on Creating a Social Media Marketing Calendar
There are various ways to create content for your social media campaign, but my go-to is always the social media calendar. I like to create an editorial calendar for each of my clients. If you’re managing your own online marketing, than creating a calendar should be simple. You just have to sit down and do it! Here are a few tips that will help you get started:
Social Media and the Colorado Wildfires
It is tragic what the fires have done (and are still doing) to Colorado. Yes, nature has its way of doing things and it might be the natural order, but they have devastated so much in the last month.
People have lost their childhood homes, animals have been displaced, and as a result of the chaos vandalism has ensued in some areas. My thoughts are with the crews battling the fire and those who’ve been affected by it…in the deepest way.
My Journey So Far
Only my closest friends and family know about my dive into the realm of social media, so I thought I’d share a little bit about how I got into it with some of my peers, colleagues, and potential clients.
4 Tips for Your Social Media Efforts
When we put in a lot of time to our social media efforts, we may as well do it right, right? There’s so much you can do, but here are four things I would suggest for your strategy:
10 Ways to be Social
We all know how crucial social media is to get ahead in today’s market. Many of us also know how overwhelming and time-consuming it can be.
There’s a reason why a lot of small businesses haven’t jumped on the bandwagon. They may feel as though they don’t have enough resources to dedicate to social media efforts; or perhaps they just don’t know where to begin.
The truth of the matter is that yes, it can be a challenge to give the public an accurate portrayal of your brand.
But if you learn how to do it, and do it right, you’ll gain advocates and evangelists who will start doing the work for you (so to speak). Here are 10 rules of engagement to get your started:
8 Strategies for your Brand on Pinterest
Pinterest is now the third most popular social media network. Are you surprised? I’m not. It’s helping retailers (especially e-commerce ones), growing among the male population, and extremely addicting.
For some businesses, it’s the leading referring traffic source. If your organization is one that benefits from displaying images, then you should definitely consider this network.
Here are a few strategies for launching your brand on Pinterest:
5 Ways to Acquire New Customers Using Social Media
More and more brands are using social media to promote and grow their business. Small businesses that don’t have an advertising budget can easily hop on the online networks to give away valuable goods that require little out-of-pocket cost for them.
So, how can you go one step further to acquire more customers? Simply put, you need to be socially active all the time. Here are 5 ways:
Quick Facebook and Twitter Tips for Small Business Owners
Reputation Management
I guess it’s fairly clear by all of my previous posts how much I value Twitter. You’d think I was an addict, monitoring my stream all the time.
I normally spend about 20 minutes a day tweeting, retweeting, replying to tweets, following new people, etc.
I spend about the same amount of time for each of my clients, unless they’re paying for additional monitor time. So I swear, I’m not obsessed.
What You MUST Know about Yelp
Yelp is a major problem for many small business owners, and consequently, a complete pain in my butt.
Don’t get me wrong, Yelp is great in that it obviously helps users search and find service-based businesses that meet their standard of quality. I check it all the time. So, what seems to be the problem?
Twitter: A Game Changer Part Two
Last week I discussed how Twitter brought small businesses in a community together to support a worthy cause: The Wellness Initiative.
In case you didn’t get a chance to read it, here’s the scoop:
Twitter: A Game Changer
I have interacted with so many interesting and engaging people since opening my Twitter account.
I typically don’t follow everyone who follows me. If you take a look at my “Following” list, you’ll notice that it’s inundated with social media people, Boulder people, and Boulder/Denver restaurants. A girl’s gotta eat!
Groupon vs. Facebook Ads: What You Need to Know
I decided to do a cost-benefit analysis on Groupon and other deal sites like LivingSocial and Google Offers. I wanted to determine how beneficial or detrimental these discounted venues would be for local businesses.