Back in the day, social media meant dealing with Facebook only, or maybe MySpace. These days, there are so many different social media outlets - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit - it's difficult to keep up. However, social media has become an essential element of online marketing.
The creative geek has never had it so good. They have the web tools, apps and the social networks that keep poking them with global gems of content inspiration and ideas. It is a revealed universe of possibilities. What we are seeing in this century is the synergy between the art of creation and science of technology.
Marketing has been democratised. The capability to use marketing tools and technology without having to beg or pay for attention is unprecedented. It's a time where you can now build your own crowd to market and sell to without paying the mass media gate keepers. That's social media.
It's always a worry that you'll tweet from the company account and realise you've spelt something wrong or left a word out. But what happens to those unfortunate businesses who have their entire account hijacked - often with disastrous consequences.
Marketers are competing in a vast sea of messages from other companies, friends and family of their clients and prospective clients. Today's marketers need to be smart and be HELPFUL with their social media marketing and not bombard a sales message over and over again.
Twitter is about making news, information and content flow across the social web. It is loved by politicians, often used badly by celebrities and is a bloggers best friend. Twitter is often misunderstood as it has a funny name, can be seen as trivial (only 140 characters) and only available in mono-media (text only).
Social networks are embedded in our lives. To put that in some perspective it is worthwhile from time to time to see what the social media landscape looks like and review the latest social media facts, figures and statistics. The latest GlobalWebindex Study for 2013 shows that social networks are not all about English speaking media.
So you've been told to create a Facebook business page right? Apparently having a page will put your business on the map, you'll drive loads of leads to your website, blog, offers and make a ton of sales!
The art of simplicity is making its mark as minimalist design principles are being seen in product design, web and even writing. Social networks such as Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram have shown us that the skill of keeping it simple can be a key to success.
If you have a business and an audience on Facebook, you probably understand the importance of engaging your fan base. An effective social media strategy should include different ways to interact with your customers and prospects. But here's a question for you - are you utilizing your social media presence to its fullest potential?
Creating viral content that taps into the human psyche is the holy grail for many marketers. Going viral is quite possibly the fastest, most cost effective method to publicize your business on a grand scale.
Content marketing is part art with a touch of science. Creating great content requires a word smith or a creative video producer. The better this foundation is, the more attractive the content is to the viewer and increasing its chances for sharing on the web. That's the art part.
If you want to create and control your online brand that allows you to communicate to a global audience then you can do it for free with sites like WordPress.com, Tumblr and Blogger.com. You can even setup a Facebook page as some have done. Free is good but it comes with some downsides.
Creation, consumption and access to content and information has changed so much in the last decade that the landscape is not able to be recognised. Paper has been replaced by software and media is now residing on computers disguised as phones.
Twitter is the the most efficient marketing megaphone I have ever seen. As a powerful social media network It moves news, ideas and content in real time with only 140 characters. It is not only lightning fast, it is global.
It seems that for brands, Twitter followers are growing faster than Facebook likes when compared on a percentage basis. It is also the social media network that marketers know how to set up and brand but when it comes to effectiveness, Twitter is still not used as it should.
If you're a marketer or advertiser, the odds are that you have run into trouble with getting your company's ad approved on Facebook.This is due to Facebook's 20% rule, which means that any promoted page posts through their services will need to include no more than 20% text.
So, you're getting a lot of traffic to your site using social media, SEO and content marketing. Well done! But the job is only half done. You need to get sales, sign-ups and conversions as well.Let's look at an actual website and conduct a makeover of their landing page with the aim of increasing their conversions and sales.
In looking around it starts to become apparent that there are many ways to make money from blogging. Is not a singular approach but a matrix of multiple opportunities and tactics.Blogging has evolved rapidly because of the social web. It provides global reach and influence at the speed of a tweet, a Facebook share or a viral video.
As we pass the halfway point of 2013, Pinterest's rapid growth shows no signs of abating. According to Reuters, Pinterest has amassed 48.7 million users since its inception three years ago and a study by SimplyMeasured reveals that 69 of the world's top 100 brands now have Pinterest accounts.
A few years ago I was invited by a friend of mine, who was a crop dusting pilot, to visit them on their farm. Graham is a very experienced pilot and had flown missionaries, doctors and nurses around the jungles and mountains of Papua New Guinea. He knew how to fly.
The biggest challenge for any blogger, content creator and publisher is to "start". Many of us wait to be perfect before publishing. Others are afraid that what they create will be judged as more of the same or they have nothing that will be seen as meaningful or insightful.
Viral. It used to mean a catching a bad disease that brought sickness or death. Now it means "fame and fortune" via a social media channel called YouTube. How things have changed. The art of going viral is moving beyond one time flukes to a formula and a process.
Imagine a world without any WordPress plugins or themes. For those of us looking to do some blogging about web marketing, it would be a sea of utter sameness unless you know some web programming.
The social web now provides the freedom to self publish. Now you can create a blog that adds value to people's lives and the dream of fun, fame and fortune can become real. You can become "that" expert. What are the 3 key steps to making that happen?
