A new study from social media scientist Dan Zarrella reveals how you can get more clicks from your tweets.
The earlier in the tweet your link is (so long as it is not at the very beginning) the more click you will get.
The heat map image below symbolizes a Tweet, with areas to the left in the beginning of the Tweet and areas to the right at the end. I wrote the title for this blog post in a format that makes it easy for people to apply this formula:
This data was just released today and plan to test it over the next few weeks by checking my click data, which is recorded by both bit.ly and goo.gl link shortening services I use.
In a week or too I will post an update with my observations of this data in action!
Are more of your blog visitors coming from a mobile device instead of a desktop computer?
Do you wonder how responsive design can increase customer satisfaction and improve your marketing?
In this article I'll explore three ways incorporating responsive web design into your online strategy can benefit your business.
What is Responsive Design?
Responsive web design means that your blog or website will automatically appear properly formatted on any device: a desktop computer, a tablet or a mobile device.
In What Users Want Most from Mobile Sites Today, Google reports that 61% of mobile visitors who click through to a non–mobile-friendly website will return to Google to find a site that's more easily readable from their device. It's become critical for companies to have a responsive design for their sites.
Let's explore how responsive design can help your business:
#1: Obtain Higher Conversion Rates With an Easy Mobile Experience
In the same Google report I mentioned above, 78% of users want to find what they're looking for on a mobile site in just one or two clicks, and 64% of users only want to scroll up and down on a business' mobile site, not left and right.
Why is this important for you, as a marketer who sells products online?
If mobile users come to your website and see that they have to zoom in to find everything they need and constantly scroll from left to right and up and down to browse pages, they're most likely going back to Google to find another website that is mobile-friendly.
However, if your website is easy to use, they'll be able to access the information they're looking for and make purchases quickly.
For example, let's look at Godiva. This is their website as viewed from a desktop or laptop computer:
The Godiva website as viewed from Chrome on a desktop computer.
This is Godiva's website as viewed from a mobile device.
The Godiva website as viewed from an iPhone.
To buy some chocolate from Godiva, you have to zoom in, scroll to the left, click one of the options on the toolbar and click an item from the dropdown. And you're still nowhere nearer to buying chocolate!
When you get to the next page, you have to do it all over again, because the website isn't responsive.
Now let's take a look at Hershey's. Their responsive website allows potential customers to purchase products in a few simple clicks.
The Hershey website as viewed from Chrome on a desktop.
The Hershey website as viewed from an iPhone.
When mobile users go to a website, they expect to be able to access links just as easily as if they were on their desktops.
Hershey's mobile website experience is comparable to that on a computer. And what does that mean? A much higher conversion rate.
#2: Attract Customers as They're On The Go
Not all websites are looking for a lot of online purchase conversions from their mobile site. Instead, they may rely on a ton of traffic from the site to drive brick-and-mortar location purchases.
For example, take Hubway, a bike-sharing company. A lot of people walking around see bikes that say "Hubway" on the side and wonder what it's all about. They don't have their laptops with them when they're outside, but the chances are pretty good they've got a phone in their pocket.
The Hubway website as viewed from Chrome on a desktop.
The Hubway website as viewed from an iPhone.
Unfortunately, Hubway's website isn't responsive, so a number of would-be customers are likely frustrated with the jumbled display and click out of the site before they even learn how or where to rent a bike.
If you look up Citi Bike from a phone, the responsive site immediately shows you how to access pricing, how the program works and how to get more information with one click.
The Citi Bike website as viewed from Chrome on a desktop.
The Citi Bike website as viewed from an iPhone.
On Citi Bike's mobile website, users can access links just as easily as if they were on their desktops.
Responsive design lets you give your on-the-go visitors a better user experience and decreases the likelihood that they will leave your website in search of something easier to navigate.
#3: Manage Multiple Displays With a Single Edit
Imagine the number of hours it would take you to update different versions of your website for mobile, tablets and desktops. Whether you're publishing a blog post or updating a web page, you don't want to have to do the same task multiple times.
With responsive design, you update your website with an edit once, and the changes automatically translate onto the mobile, tablet and desktop versions.
Responsive design actually saves you valuable time that you can use for the many other responsibilities you have.
How to Make Your Site Responsive
Now that you understand the importance of responsive design for your marketing efforts, let's discuss ways that you can make your site responsive.
First, you can always hire a developer or designer to make the changes in the code to make your website responsive. The complexity of your site will determine how long it will take, but it will be worth it to increase your conversion rate.
Another option is to use a responsive theme, which you can find from all of the premium theme providers.
Over to You
Responsive design is beneficial for conversion rates and usability, and the amount of time it saves marketers and designers is astronomical. But its greatest strength is the difference it can make to a customer who's viewing your site from a mobile device.
What do you think? What other benefits do you see in responsive design? Please leave your questions and comments in the box below.
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Has LinkedIn ever notified you that someone has endorsed you for skills and expertise that have absolutely nothing to do with your actual skills? Or worse, you don't know the endorser at all, so how can he or she endorse any skills you have?
Sometimes people are endorsing you so you'll see the notification and they'll be on your radar. Other times, people are endorsing you because they're friends or colleagues and they think they're helping you.
Either way, if people are endorsing you for the wrong skills, then your real skills are being overlooked. Luckily, you can help people endorse you for the skills that really matter to you. Below I'll show you how.
#1: Set Your Skills and Endorsements
If you want to control which skills are most prominent on your LinkedIn profile, set up the Skills & Endorsements section of your LinkedIn profile. This lets you subtly encourage others to use those skills when they endorse you.
If you don't have the Skills section on your profile, go to Edit Profile and look to the right. You'll see a list of sections recommended for you. Click on the Skills option to add it to your profile.
It's important to have the Skills section activated on your LinkedIn profile.
You can add up to 50 skills to your profile, so go ahead and set those skills yourself. Don't be shy. Tell the world what you want to be endorsed for. Don't let a bunch of strangers decide how you present your areas of expertise!
As you begin typing your desired skill, you'll see a list of related skills you can choose from (but you don't have to). The list is likely compiled based on how others have searched for people with a particular skill.
Decide what skills you want to be endorsed for.
When you first add skills to your profile, they're listed in the order you entered them. As soon as people start endorsing you, though, the skills you are most endorsed for will rise to the top of the list.
Your 10 most endorsed skills will show up automatically; the other skills are listed under them.
You can decide what skills others can endorse you for, but they determine the top 10.
When someone endorses you, you get an email notification with the option to Add to Profile.
LinkedIn tells you when someone has endorsed you.
When you click Add to Profile, you'll end up on your LinkedIn profile and see a list of all of the potential skills you can add to your list.
Here's where you exert your control: If people endorse you for the wrong skills, you don't have to accept the endorsements! Just click the Skip button.
You don't have to accept skill endorsements that don't fit with your profile.
At least once a month, visit your LinkedIn profile and do a quick cleanup. In Edit Profile view, scroll down to your Skills & Endorsements section and click Edit. Remove any skills you don't want to be endorsed for.
You can remove a skill by clicking the "X" next to its name, or you can add new skills as necessary.
Edit your skills list about once a month.
#2: Manage Endorsements
If you find you're still getting too many endorsements for the wrong skills, it's time to demote those skills.
In Edit Profile view, scroll down to your Skills & Expertise section, click Edit, then click Manage Endorsements. You'll see a list of your skills and all the contacts who have endorsed you for each.
Manage your endorsements to ensure your best skills are front and center.
Click the skill you want to manage to see who has endorsed you. Now you have the option to show or hide either all of your endorsements or individual endorsements.
If you uncheck any boxes in the Show/hide list, the number of endorsements counted for that skill will go down by the number of boxes you uncheck.
So let's say in the example above, I wanted to move Blogging out of the top 10. This skill currently has 167 endorsements. I could uncheck 100 boxes and that skill would be left with only 67 endorsements, allowing another skill I care about (with more than 67 endorsements) to rise into the top 10.
#3: Spread the Networking Love
Networking is the primary goal of LinkedIn, so don't be afraid to meet new people, rally your community or give back to others. Everyone is looking for relevant (not random) endorsements.
To help build your top 10 skills, write to your lists and ask them to endorse you for a specific skill or two. Be clear about what you're asking for so you don't end up with additional "helpful endorsements" for skills you're trying to de-emphasize.
Don't forget the importance of reciprocation! When others endorse you, be sure to endorse them as well, but ask them what skills they're most interested in promoting!
A Few Parting Tips
Endorsements are not a substitute for recommendations. Recommendations are universally more respected than endorsements. They represent social proof from people you know and have actually worked with.
However, the right endorsements can increase your credibility. Help your friends and colleagues choose the most relevant endorsements for you by using your Skills section and telling them what you'd like them to endorse.
What do you think?Have you optimized your skills and endorsements? Do you have additional ideas of how to handle endorsements? Please share in the comments.
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Has LinkedIn ever notified you that someone has endorsed you for skills and expertise that have absolutely nothing to do with your actual skills? Or worse, you don't know the endorser at all, so how can he or she endorse any skills you have?
Sometimes people are endorsing you so you'll see the notification and they'll be on your radar. Other times, people are endorsing you because they're friends or colleagues and they think they're helping you.
Either way, if people are endorsing you for the wrong skills, then your real skills are being overlooked. Luckily, you can help people endorse you for the skills that really matter to you. Below I'll show you how.
#1: Set Your Skills and Endorsements
If you want to control which skills are most prominent on your LinkedIn profile, set up the Skills & Endorsements section of your LinkedIn profile. This lets you subtly encourage others to use those skills when they endorse you.
If you don't have the Skills section on your profile, go to Edit Profile and look to the right. You'll see a list of sections recommended for you. Click on the Skills option to add it to your profile.
It's important to have the Skills section activated on your LinkedIn profile.
You can add up to 50 skills to your profile, so go ahead and set those skills yourself. Don't be shy. Tell the world what you want to be endorsed for. Don't let a bunch of strangers decide how you present your areas of expertise!
As you begin typing your desired skill, you'll see a list of related skills you can choose from (but you don't have to). The list is likely compiled based on how others have searched for people with a particular skill.
Decide what skills you want to be endorsed for.
When you first add skills to your profile, they're listed in the order you entered them. As soon as people start endorsing you, though, the skills you are most endorsed for will rise to the top of the list.
Your 10 most endorsed skills will show up automatically; the other skills are listed under them.
You can decide what skills others can endorse you for, but they determine the top 10.
When someone endorses you, you get an email notification with the option to Add to Profile.
LinkedIn tells you when someone has endorsed you.
When you click Add to Profile, you'll end up on your LinkedIn profile and see a list of all of the potential skills you can add to your list.
Here's where you exert your control: If people endorse you for the wrong skills, you don't have to accept the endorsements! Just click the Skip button.
You don't have to accept skill endorsements that don't fit with your profile.
At least once a month, visit your LinkedIn profile and do a quick cleanup. In Edit Profile view, scroll down to your Skills & Endorsements section and click Edit. Remove any skills you don't want to be endorsed for.
You can remove a skill by clicking the "X" next to its name, or you can add new skills as necessary.
Edit your skills list about once a month.
#2: Manage Endorsements
If you find you're still getting too many endorsements for the wrong skills, it's time to demote those skills.
In Edit Profile view, scroll down to your Skills & Expertise section, click Edit, then click Manage Endorsements. You'll see a list of your skills and all the contacts who have endorsed you for each.
Manage your endorsements to ensure your best skills are front and center.
Click the skill you want to manage to see who has endorsed you. Now you have the option to show or hide either all of your endorsements or individual endorsements.
If you uncheck any boxes in the Show/hide list, the number of endorsements counted for that skill will go down by the number of boxes you uncheck.
So let's say in the example above, I wanted to move Blogging out of the top 10. This skill currently has 167 endorsements. I could uncheck 100 boxes and that skill would be left with only 67 endorsements, allowing another skill I care about (with more than 67 endorsements) to rise into the top 10.
#3: Spread the Networking Love
Networking is the primary goal of LinkedIn, so don't be afraid to meet new people, rally your community or give back to others. Everyone is looking for relevant (not random) endorsements.
To help build your top 10 skills, write to your lists and ask them to endorse you for a specific skill or two. Be clear about what you're asking for so you don't end up with additional "helpful endorsements" for skills you're trying to de-emphasize.
Don't forget the importance of reciprocation! When others endorse you, be sure to endorse them as well, but ask them what skills they're most interested in promoting!
A Few Parting Tips
Endorsements are not a substitute for recommendations. Recommendations are universally more respected than endorsements. They represent social proof from people you know and have actually worked with.
However, the right endorsements can increase your credibility. Help your friends and colleagues choose the most relevant endorsements for you by using your Skills section and telling them what you'd like them to endorse.
What do you think?Have you optimized your skills and endorsements? Do you have additional ideas of how to handle endorsements? Please share in the comments.
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Do you want to add more function and flare to your Facebook page?
Would you like to add storefront, generate leads or promote something special on a Facebook tab within your page?
In this article I'll reveal Facebook applications that can help you easily add functionality to your Facebook page.
How Do Facebook Apps Work?
Before we get started, let's review how Facebook apps (also known as custom tabs on Facebook) pages work.
Custom tabs are installed manually on your Facebook page and show up underneath the cover photo. If you're visiting a page that has more than four tabs, you can click the down arrow on the right side of the tab cover photos to reveal them all.
Custom tabs appear under your cover photo.
There are four standard Facebook apps that come with every page—Photos, Events, Videos and Likes—and any other apps you add are created by a third-party developer (not Facebook).
Many of the apps are designed on the app website after you sign up, and then installed later onto your Facebook page when you're ready.
Things You Should Know
There are a few important details about Facebook apps that will help with your design. The app width is 810 pixels. If you're going to create graphics that go all the way across the tab, you'll need to keep the graphic to that width to prevent scroll bars on your tab.
The graphic can be as long as you want it to be, but keep in mind that it should be shorter than around 500 pixels to appear "above the fold" on most computer screens.
You'll probably also want to design a custom tab cover photo to draw attention to the tab. The dimensions of the tab cover photo are 111 pixels wide by 74 pixels tall.
Also note that some tabs will not appear on mobile devices. Some are "mobile-ready"; meaning they have a separate URL that they direct people on mobile devices to so they can see the content on that custom tab.
If you've been out there searching in the blogosphere, you may have come across Welcome Pages, where the content of your Facebook page could be "hidden" until the user clicks the Like button. That function no longer exists, but you can still hide the content of a Tab until someone clicks the Like button.
Hiding part of the content of your custom Tab is called "like-gating" or "fan-gating", meaning that someone has to like your page (be your fan) before they can see the good content. This can work especially well for contests or sweepstakes on Facebook. By doing this, you can ensure that the person is a Fan before getting access to the contest entry form.
There are a lot of other apps available that provide a variety of features, like easily bringing in your Pinterest boards, running a contest or adding your blog posts.
These apps are more like a blank canvas, where you can do anything you can do on a website by either using custom templates to get you started or custom-designing something from scratch.
Without further ado, let's dive into the top 8 apps (in alphabetical order) with some notes about each one.
#1: Heyo
Heyo is a drag-and-drop application that's very easy to set up. You can insert a background photo or create a solid fill background and drop in videos, links, text or whatever else you can dream up for your custom tab. Plans start at $25/month with a free trial.
Social Media Examiner uses Heyo to promote its podcast.
#2: North Social
North Social is a little more expensive at $1.99/day, but you get all of the apps they offer at that price. You can use North Social as your one-stop-shop for all of your Facebook tab needs (including coupons and contests).
Get all of the apps for one price so you can have a variety of customization.
#3: Pagemodo
Pagemodo is a very affordable app that starts at $6.25/month for three tabs on each page. The Pro version ($13.25/month) doesn't include the Pagemodo branding and you can have an unlimited number of tabs on three different pages. Pagemodo has a lot of templates to choose from, or you can do something more custom.
Pagemodo has a lot of different pre-built templates if you don’t want to build your tab from scratch.
#4: ShortStack
ShortStack is a very versatile Facebook app that is built on "layers." You can layer widgets on top of each other or use some of their pre-built templates and themes to create something that looks great. The nice thing about ShortStack is that it's free for pages with fewer than 2000 fans—very nice as you ease into Facebook marketing.
Use some of the pre-built templates and themes to create a tab that looks professional.
#5: Static HTML – Thunderpenny
Static HTML – Thunderpenny is a free app with a few useful features. You can choose to pull a website right into the Facebook app. But be aware that most websites are larger than the 810-pixel maximum size, so you'll have scroll bars showing.
You can also just upload a single image. This is a handy feature if you have designed a flyer or something else you want to showcase.
Code something in HTML, upload an image or import a website easily with Static HTML.
#6: TabFoundry
TabFoundry is a very handy drag-and-drop free app. You can add background graphics or colors, add multimedia and use HTML if you prefer. If you want to unlock some of the features in the Premium plan, it's just $9/month.
Use the editor to drag and drop the images you want into your custom tab.
#7: TabSite
TabSite is another multifaceted tab app where you can run contests, deals, bring in other social feeds and create a custom tab. There's a free option for two tabs on one page (restrictions apply) or plans starting at an affordable $10/month.
TabSite specializes in contests and sweepstakes, but it also does more.
#8: Woobox
Woobox is a flexible Facebook app that has some free options for things like HTML Fangate, which is nice. The paid plans for contests and other features start at $1/month (yes that is correct—it's for pages with 100 fans or fewer).
One nice function that's available is the possibility to redirect right from an app. That way, you avoid having those scroll bars if your website is too wide.
Woobox has some free options for its HTML tab and other functions.
Conclusion
That brings us to the end of the 8 apps I would recommend. There are many others out there that may also be a good fit for your business. Just make sure you understand the pricing and the capabilities before signing up. Many apps have a free trial, which can help you make a more informed decision.
Ultimately, you should be using these Facebook apps to enhance the online experience of your customers or prospects. Always keep them in mind when you're spending time (and maybe money) creating a custom app. What type of information would benefit them?
What do you think? Have you created a custom app for your Facebook page? Share your thoughts about why you picked that particular app in the comments below.
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If you ever wanted to know what the traits of highly successful Twitter users you've come to the right place. The 10 Golden Rules of Twitter will help make you a Twitter success by modeling the masters.
Brian Solis, Chris Brogan and myself engage with the following Twitter tactics on a daily basis, and you will find most if not all of them exhibited by any successful social media guru. Apply these strategies to your own Twitter presence and your following will start to really grow.
You get out of Twitter what you put in to it so invest time into networking and engaging on a daily basis and the good karma that you build will compound and come back to you in time!
1. Reciprocity is Key
Follow and be followed, Retweet and be retweeted, follow and be followed. You have got to give in order to get, and the more time you are willing to invest in others the more likely they are to give you the time of day. Reciprocity is a powerful thing, and the main reason for the 255,000 followers I have currently, and the 400,000+ followers I have been able to build for the various accounts I have managed.
Once your network grows to several thousand followers don't let it get to your head, I try to respond to everyone who is not an ass that sends me an @mention, and I even respond to some of the asses. Haha, but seriously this is key if you want to build a big brand and a strong network. Look at any Twitter giant and you will see that they have thousands and thousands of tweets and many are conversational. You've got to talk to people to really connect with them, it's just that simple.
2. Schedule Your Golden Tweets
Twitter traffic varies throughout the day, and throughout the week. The busiest time on Twitter is at the end of the work day, between 3-5pm. Weekdays are far busier than weekends, and Thursday and Friday are the busiest days of the week. If you have solid content tweet it out when it can have the greatest impact.
The golden tweet of 2011 shows that offering an incentive for retweets works. I have used a tactic similar to the Wendy's tweet below to net over 100 retweets.
In 2012 the most tweeted tweet of the year, and of all time, was from Barack Obama with his election victory tweet "Four more years."
3. Twitter Tools are Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
Of course I have a bias having written the Twitter Tools Book, but Twitter Tools really are the bomb. From Hootsuite, to Manage Flitter, to Twitter Marketing Software, to TweetDeck (which just sold for $30 million), and the list goes on.
By learning how Twitter Tools can work for you, you will give yourself a competitive advantage over millions of others who neglect these powerful tools.
4. List Liberally
These days people tend to pay more attention to the people who list them than the people who follow them. Some people recklessly auto-follow people, and this I do not recommend, but it still happens and these robotic follows devalue the action following someone. To really get someone's attention the best way is to talk to them, and listing is a powerful method as well.
Create lists for your different interests, for example I have a runners list, an entrepreneurs list, and a Twitter Tools list. Tweet about your lists and there is a good chance that people will follow them. If your list gains enough followers it will gain greater visibility in list directories like Listorious.
5. Engage
This tip is straight from my friend Brian Solis, and it has worked exceptionally well. Brian has a massive network at this point and yet he still responds to every comment on his blog and to comments on his Facebook walls and on Twitter. This takes plenty of effort but it is the reason why Brian has so much influence. To learn more about this method I recommend that you grab a copy of Brian's book Engage!
6. Relationships Take Time
Relationships are not instantaneous, the take communication and sharing over time. To build deeper relationships with people you meet on Twitter it might make sense to connect with them on Facebook as well.
To facilitate Facebook connections I created a custom design for my Twitter background that features a link to my Facebook profile. On my blogs I try to respond to anyone who leaves a comment if it makes sense to do so. If they have a blog as well I might take a minute and visit it to return the favor.
7. Add Value
This point has been key to my success on Twitter, and my ability to achieve thousands of retweets. Even if you are not an avid content creator you can still add serious value by sharing awesome content.
Use Twitter Lists to create streams of people who share the best information and then share the best content that they share. Browse the biggest blogs to find the best content and create lists of epic content. The more value you are able to add the more people will people will realize that you are a valuable person to follow!
8. Don't Focus on Selling
Everyone likes to buy things but no-one likes to be sold. Twitter is a place to build relationships, and if you focus on doing that people will click your links and look for products that you have to offer. Focus on the connections and the cash will flow.
9. You are Your Brand
Resist the urge to use your profile picture as your avatar. You are your brand, so act respectable if you want respect. Try not to spam Twitter will dozens of Tweets in as many minutes. I tend to tweet about one tweet an hour, sometimes a little more, sometimes much less. Conversational tweets don't count, as they are only seen by people who are following both people tweeting.
10. Remember that Twitter is Still a Baby
Although Twitter is a household word at this point it is still only about 5 years old and it's only been mainstream for less than two. This means that there are still epic developments to come. By having knowledge about the latest and greatest tools and tips you will be ahead of the curve and you will be able to skyrocket your Twitter success. Sign up for our free Twitter Course and we will let you know about our latest articles when they go live.
Feedback
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of Twitter's Golden Rules!
Are you looking for ways to build relationships that matter on Twitter?
In this article, you'll discover how to build a strong Twitter community with influencers, which will benefit your business.
Building Connections With Twitter
Using Twitter to help your company grow isn't about the number of followers you have.
It's about building a community of followers who are passionate about your industry and who eventually become passionate about your brand.
The quickest and easiest way to develop a relevant Twitter community that grows your company is to find connectors and build relationships with them.
Connectors are called many things: thought leaders, industry experts, etc. They are the people who already have a thriving community and your customer's ear.
You can benefit from forming relationships with connectors on Twitter. Image source: iStockPhoto.
By building relationships with influencers, you increase the chances of gaining your customer's ear and building your own strong community.
#1: Find the Influencers in Your Current Network
The best place to find connectors is in your current community; find influencers who are already following you.
By using Followerwonk, you can see your current Twitter followers ranked by a Followerwonk statistic known as social authority.
Followerwonk's social authority is based on the retweet rate of users' last few hundred tweets, the recentness of those tweets and a retweet-based model trained on user profile data. This number is by no means perfect, but retweets are so strongly correlated with a healthy community that they're a great way to identify relationships that you should pursue.
Even if the person has a great social authority rank, they're not worth reaching out to unless they're involved in your industry. It's not just about having a community—it's about building the right community.
Find influencers in your network by selecting the higher numbers in the right column.
#2: Know Your Competitors' Connections
One of the great things about Twitter is transparency. From @google to @smexaminer, you can see everything everyone is saying. This makes competitive research super-accessible.
Your competitors have networks that likely include influencers who are directly related to your industry. To find these people, follow the same process you followed above, but use each competitor's Twitter handle instead of your own.
Another tool that can help you find your competitors' useful friends is Open Site Explorer.
Type in your competitor's URL and go to the Just-Discovered tab to see the recent inbound links your competitors have gotten.
Here are the recent links to Social Media Examiner. Use the Just-Discovered tab on Open Site Explorer to find the recent inbound links for your competitor's website.
These are people who find your competitor's content valuable enough to link to. It's worth your time to build a relationship with them so they'll link to your content next time.
#3: Search for Influencers in Your Niche
There are several tools you can use to do this, but Followerwonk allows you to drill down to a niche in your search.
You can use social authority as your guide here, but it's more important to zero in on the person's focus. People who are directly involved in what your company values will be a better fit for your community.
For example, a digital strategy company that partners with HubSpot would do better to target an inbound marketing B2B HubSpot user instead of a general marketing user.
The more focused your search, the better your results.
To start off, build a list of 15-20 people from these categories who would be great to nurture relationships with—people who aren't only influential, but also align with your company's value and vision. Five of these people should feel a little bit out of your reach and seem larger-than-life in your industry.
#4: Follow and Interact With People on Twitter
To build your community, you need to focus on the conversations you have.
Quick tip: If you reply directly to a person, it will only show up in their feed and the feeds of people who follow you both. If you include your response in a retweet rather than a reply, it'll show up for all of the people who follow both of you.
Don't be afraid to reach out to people you may not have the courage to connect with in real life. In my experience, people are surprisingly responsive on Twitter.
Make sure when you do reach out, you bring value. Offer help, your opinion and a kind word. Don't ask for anything, including a follow-back. You're trying to build a relationship and you do this by being a giver.
#5: Set Up Alerts to Track Where Your Influencers Are Mentioned or Post Online
Use the alerts to find where your industry influencers share their thoughts on the web outside of Twitter.
Get an email every time your influencer is mentioned on the web.
When you find a good article they've written or a place they're mentioned, share it on Twitter to shine the light on them. Again the key is to help them, not you.
#6: Add Value Outside of Twitter
Now that you know every time the influencers you follow are mentioned across the web, the number of ways you can promote them, point people toward their relevant resources and maintain relationships with them are wide open to you.
Share events they're speaking at, books they write and causes they support. Comment on their blogs and help them in all ways possible.
Use Twitter to say thank you.
Each of these actions will help increase the likelihood that your influencers are receptive to your Twitter advances.
Conclusion
The goal of these tactics isn't to trick or con anyone into following or helping you. The goal is to build genuine relationships.
Apply these tactics to your own strategy. As you identify influencers and add value on Twitter, you'll build a community that shows exponential results.
What do you think? Have you found any great ways to jump-start an effective Twitter community? Please leave your questions and comments in the box below.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
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Are you sharing compelling images across social networks?
Do you want more engagement and traffic from your efforts?
If you're not regularly sharing images that resonate with your audience, you're missing out on a ton of engagement.
In this article you'll discover the essential elements of shareable images that increase engagement and drive traffic to your website.
Why Use Images to Drive Social Engagement?
People are drawn to visual content and take action based on its subtle cues faster than any other medium–faster than text, audio or video.
The power of pictures isn't restricted to image-centric platforms like Pinterest and Instagram. Visuals are attracting attention and driving engagement across all social networks. Even LinkedIn and Twitter are getting in on the action and showcasing images.
All of the major social networks are highlighting visual content. Brands that can leverage the power of original, optimized images are getting noticed.
If you're worried you need a graphic designer or special skills, don't be. In this article I'll introduce you to the tools you need and the five essential elements of shareable, traffic-driving images that you can include in your marketing plan today.
#1: Give Your Audience What They Need
If you want to encourage engagement and shares, your images have to appeal directly to your target audience.
Create images and infographics that either solve a problem or inspire your community to take action. Images that give short, instantly actionable advice are highly shareable. Quick tips, how-to's, quotes and fun facts are all very popular.
Social media expert Kim Garst matches audience expectations with useful tips by regularly posting images with social media advice and tagging them with #biztip.
Her community shares these problem-solving tips like wildfire, which results in an exceptionally high organic engagement rate on Facebook.
Creating an image with a useful tip makes for an instantly shareable piece of content.
How-to images have also proven to be a powerful way to encourage sharing and engagement on blogs or social platforms, especially Pinterest. Australian stylist and blogger Nikki Parkinson from Styling You uses this type of image well.
She often posts a clever mix of photos and text overlays to demonstrate a process. She created this highly pinnable image to show how to do makeup in 2 minutes.
How-to images are highly shareable on Pinterest.
What makes this image so attractive are the original photos, text overlays, numbering and step-by-step instructions. Embedding this type of image in her blog posts makes those articles immediately eye-catching and pinnable.
If you decide to create a how-to image, you can garner even more engagement (and blog traffic) if you upload it toInstagram, and share it across all social media platforms.
Don't forget quotes! On any social platform, quotes are one of the most shareable types of image. If you decide to go this route, focus on being inspiring or helpful to get the most engagement.
Your first instinct may be to share quotes on Facebook (and that's not a bad idea), but have you considered Instagram? Mastin Kipp, founder of The Daily Love, posts a mix of behind-the-scenes images and inspirational quotes on Instagram with great success.
Simple, branded quotes create an emotional connection with your audience and are highly shareable.
Finally, funny photos are always a winner on social media, but what about fun facts? Combining a fun fact with a beautiful image is a great way to create shareable content and engage your audience.
Tourism Australia pairs highly engaging images with little-known facts about Australia and shares them on its Google+ profile. Fans love it and respond by sharing the information with their friends!
Tourism Australia has tailored its image strategy to its Google+ audience with informative, beautiful images!
#2: Be Consistent and Quick
Facebook reach has gotten a lot of attention lately and sharing images continues to boost organic reach and engagement. Do you want to skyrocket shares for your images? Then be timely!
There are two ways to leverage the power of timeliness to make your images more shareable: consistency and fast action.
A consistent approach to sharing images should be a part of every brand's social media marketing tactics. To get started, simply post an image at the same time every day.
For example, each day food blogger Bianca Slade of Wholefood Simply posts amazing images on her Facebook page. She shares her wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free creations and asks a simple question: "Have you tried it?"
The result has sent foodie fans around the world into a frenzy, excitedly sharing Bianca's creations. They'll even bypass the news feed and go straight to her Facebook page to check out the recipe she posts at the end of the day (that includes me, guilty as charged!).
Tease your fans back to your Facebook page or website with captivating images on Facebook.
But Bianca doesn't stop there. She leverages her engagement and includes her fans in the decision-making process for the recipe of the day.
Ask your fans to give their two cents by using an image.
For one of the best examples of timeliness, look no further than Oreo. You've probably seen the famous tweet that Oreo sent out during the 2013 Super Bowl. The marketing team acted swiftly during a power outage, posting a well-timed tweet before the power came back on. It was perhaps one of the most quick-witted acts of marketing on social media to date.
Oreo scored a touchdown with their famous quick-witted Tweet.
Of course, Oreo has a team of people at the ready to jump on these kinds of opportunities. But that doesn't mean small businesses can't do it too. Keep an eye out for new updates to products or services in your niche. Those updates are important news for your customers!
In the example below, Facebook expert Amy Porterfield acted quickly to share news about a new Facebook feature by posting a simple screenshot from a blog post at Duct Tape Marketing.
Screenshots provide instantly shareable images—a great way to quickly announce breaking news.
By using a shareable screenshot with a link to the original article, Amy added value to her community, brought engagement to her page and drove traffic to Duct Tape Marketing's blog.
Of course, you don't have to wait for breaking news to make a splash. With a little planning, you can be ready for popular upcoming events and release images at the start of a celebration to get early traction.
Keep in mind that events recognized by others in your industry will attract more shares. For example, on International Midwives' Day, my business created a simple yet compelling image using PicMonkey to celebrate the day.
We posted it early in the morning on the Know Your Midwife Facebook page. The result? Over 1,400 shares by the end of the day! The image swept through pregnancy, birth and parenting pages across Australia, then the US and the UK.
Creating a timely image that appeals directly to your audience results in big engagement.
One of the keys to creating a shareable image is subtle or no branding. There is a fine line between a timely post and shameless self-promotion. In the image above, we decided not to include any branding at all. That made the image more universal, which encouraged other pages to share it as if it were their own.
#3: Create Original Art
In a world where we're bombarded with information, anything new stands out from the crowd and catches our attention—on any platform, at any time. Take advantage of that and be part of the 20% of people who create original content for the other 80% to share.
When you create original images, they're yours to keep. You can use them in any way you want, whenever you want.
You never have to wonder about breaching copyright, reading the fine print on a stock photo or making the big mistake of using an image from Google Images. (A quick reminder: Don't use images you find on Google; it's not a stock library.)
You don't need to hire a graphic designer to create original images. You can do it yourself with the advice and tools listed below.
Tips for Creating Original, Shareable Images
I'm not creative enough!
I don't have time!
I have no idea where to start!
Yes you are, yes you do and no problem. There are a number of easy-to-use tools that give you instant creativity and design skills, as well as allow you to share images quickly.
If you're at your desk, you can use image-editing tools like Canva or PicMonkey. Both offer gorgeous (and handy) templates. Use them to create 5-10 images with a similar theme.
Not at your desk? Use your phone! Apps like Instagram, InstaQuote, Overgram (free) or Over (paid) make your on-the-fly pictures into works of art you can share immediately.
There are hundreds of apps and tools available for you to use, and the list above is by no means exhaustive. But remember, you don't have to try everything all at once. Avoid being overwhelmed by starting with just a few tools.
As you become skilled with one tool, add another tool or app to your design kit. When you find something you love, stick with it for a while until something else strikes your fancy.
Two More Tips for Creating Original Images
Create a branded background template you can reuse for tip or quote images. You can simply upload it to Canva or PicMonkey when you want to create a new image with a text overlay. Reusable templates save lots of time!
If you have a graphic designer, ask him or her to give you PNG files to work with. They're easy to overlay on backgrounds or templates, which means you can create images quickly when you need them.
#4: Optimize Size, Branding and Source
When creating images, optimization is key. Think in terms of size, branding and source information so your image not only suits the platform(s) you post it to, but has the best chance of being noticed and shared—and sending traffic back to your website.
When you want to use an image on Facebook and Twitter, 1200 x 627 pixels works best. Keep that in mind when setting the featured image for a blog post.
If you're posting primarily to Instagram, square-ratio images work best and can work well on Facebook too.
When you're aiming for Pinterest, use an image with a portrait orientation as those are shared most often. They also look good in Facebook's news feed and in Google+.
To see how important image size can be, take a look at my test below. I uploaded a 1200 x 627 pixel image and used it as my blog post's featured image.
Your blog post's featured image will show up when readers share your post on social networks.
When I shared the link on Facebook, it pulled the featured image into the news feed as a linked post without using any additional Open Graph coding or plugins.
Use the right dimensions for your blog post featured images so they play nicely with social networks.
When I used Buffer to share the blog post link to Twitter, the image still looked fabulous and stood out in the Twitter feed.
Images uploaded to Twitter stand out in the news feed.
Experiment with image sizes so you can optimize your content for each platform. In many cases, one image size may suit more than one platform. Find out what works for you, your preferred platforms and where your audience is hanging out.
Here's an important tip: As you're creating your original shareable images, don't forget to brand them with a simple watermark. Once created, you can save the watermark and add it to future images as well. Your URL or logo make ideal watermarks.
Make the watermark bold enough to remind people that you created and own the image (and where to find more information), but subtle enough that you don't appear too self-promotional.
In the example below, you can see how Y Travel Blog did a great job of creating a beautiful, pinnable image with subtle branding. Their logo in the bottom right corner isn't intrusive.
A subtle watermark can help identify an image while protecting its source.
#5: Use an Obvious Call to Action
In any news feed on any social platform, you're always competing against friends, family, funny photos, small businesses and big brands for the attention of your ideal audience.
Your engaging image may catch their attention, but then what? If you don't know what you want fans to do when they see your image, they won't either.
Your goal is to garner likes, comments or better yet, clicks and sharing (the golden tickets of social marketing). To get those, you need an obvious call to action.
Ask yourself two things: Can the image stand alone? Is there a clear call to action?
As humans, we're drawn to images and we naturally migrate to those in social news feeds. If we can't immediately discern the meaning of the image, we may look to the description or post to find context, or we may move to the next interesting thing.
To give your fans and followers immediate context and encourage them to take action, add some text to your images. In the example below, which image are you more likely to click on?
Titles add context and encourage users to click through for more content.
The bottom picture gives viewers clear context and can stand alone. Your fans know what they'll find when they click through.
When you're sharing images, there are two places to put a call to action: on the image itself or in the description (this is usually a clickable link). This is universal, whether you're using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Pinterest.
Mari Smith added a call to action to her Facebook cover photo asking fans to click to sign up for an upcoming webinar. An effective way to convert fans to attendees!
A Click Here button or call to action on an image can be hard to resist!
When fans click on the image, they can find out more about Mari's webinar by clicking the hyperlink included in the image description.
Include a second call to action in your description to tell your fans what you want them to do.
If you want to try the same thing on Instagram, take a cue from Tabsite co-founder Mike Gingerich. He posts a snapshot of his latest blog post to Instagram. It's a simple photo of his computer screen coupled with a call to action in the description that leads followers back to his blog.
A simple reminder to visit your blog for more content can be a great call to action on Instagram.
Instagram is a bit different from the other social networks. You can include a URL in your description, but it's not clickable. However, you're allowed one clickable link on your Instagram profile, so be sure to make this a link to your website.
Shareable images are the key to creating engaging social media content. There isn't a single network that doesn't rely on compelling images to garner interaction.
An easy way to integrate more visual content into your social marketing plan is to use images that speak to your audience. Try posting an image at the same time every day, and be sure to include a strong call to action.
Take advantage of the many tools available and create a template that reinforces your brand and makes it quick and easy to make new images in batches.
With a little work and planning, you'll be seeing higher engagement and more website traffic in no time.
What do you think?What kinds of images do you share with your fans? Which social networks have been most responsive? Share your experience or examples in the comments below.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
Are you sharing compelling images across social networks?
Do you want more engagement and traffic from your efforts?
If you're not regularly sharing images that resonate with your audience, you're missing out on a ton of engagement.
In this article you'll discover the essential elements of shareable images that increase engagement and drive traffic to your website.
Why Use Images to Drive Social Engagement?
People are drawn to visual content and take action based on its subtle cues faster than any other medium–faster than text, audio or video.
The power of pictures isn't restricted to image-centric platforms like Pinterest and Instagram. Visuals are attracting attention and driving engagement across all social networks. Even LinkedIn and Twitter are getting in on the action and showcasing images.
All of the major social networks are highlighting visual content. Brands that can leverage the power of original, optimized images are getting noticed.
If you're worried you need a graphic designer or special skills, don't be. In this article I'll introduce you to the tools you need and the five essential elements of shareable, traffic-driving images that you can include in your marketing plan today.
#1: Give Your Audience What They Need
If you want to encourage engagement and shares, your images have to appeal directly to your target audience.
Create images and infographics that either solve a problem or inspire your community to take action. Images that give short, instantly actionable advice are highly shareable. Quick tips, how-to's, quotes and fun facts are all very popular.
Social media expert Kim Garst matches audience expectations with useful tips by regularly posting images with social media advice and tagging them with #biztip.
Her community shares these problem-solving tips like wildfire, which results in an exceptionally high organic engagement rate on Facebook.
Creating an image with a useful tip makes for an instantly shareable piece of content.
How-to images have also proven to be a powerful way to encourage sharing and engagement on blogs or social platforms, especially Pinterest. Australian stylist and blogger Nikki Parkinson from Styling You uses this type of image well.
She often posts a clever mix of photos and text overlays to demonstrate a process. She created this highly pinnable image to show how to do makeup in 2 minutes.
How-to images are highly shareable on Pinterest.
What makes this image so attractive are the original photos, text overlays, numbering and step-by-step instructions. Embedding this type of image in her blog posts makes those articles immediately eye-catching and pinnable.
If you decide to create a how-to image, you can garner even more engagement (and blog traffic) if you upload it toInstagram, and share it across all social media platforms.
Don't forget quotes! On any social platform, quotes are one of the most shareable types of image. If you decide to go this route, focus on being inspiring or helpful to get the most engagement.
Your first instinct may be to share quotes on Facebook (and that's not a bad idea), but have you considered Instagram? Mastin Kipp, founder of The Daily Love, posts a mix of behind-the-scenes images and inspirational quotes on Instagram with great success.
Simple, branded quotes create an emotional connection with your audience and are highly shareable.
Finally, funny photos are always a winner on social media, but what about fun facts? Combining a fun fact with a beautiful image is a great way to create shareable content and engage your audience.
Tourism Australia pairs highly engaging images with little-known facts about Australia and shares them on its Google+ profile. Fans love it and respond by sharing the information with their friends!
Tourism Australia has tailored its image strategy to its Google+ audience with informative, beautiful images!
#2: Be Consistent and Quick
Facebook reach has gotten a lot of attention lately and sharing images continues to boost organic reach and engagement. Do you want to skyrocket shares for your images? Then be timely!
There are two ways to leverage the power of timeliness to make your images more shareable: consistency and fast action.
A consistent approach to sharing images should be a part of every brand's social media marketing tactics. To get started, simply post an image at the same time every day.
For example, each day food blogger Bianca Slade of Wholefood Simply posts amazing images on her Facebook page. She shares her wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free creations and asks a simple question: "Have you tried it?"
The result has sent foodie fans around the world into a frenzy, excitedly sharing Bianca's creations. They'll even bypass the news feed and go straight to her Facebook page to check out the recipe she posts at the end of the day (that includes me, guilty as charged!).
Tease your fans back to your Facebook page or website with captivating images on Facebook.
But Bianca doesn't stop there. She leverages her engagement and includes her fans in the decision-making process for the recipe of the day.
Ask your fans to give their two cents by using an image.
For one of the best examples of timeliness, look no further than Oreo. You've probably seen the famous tweet that Oreo sent out during the 2013 Super Bowl. The marketing team acted swiftly during a power outage, posting a well-timed tweet before the power came back on. It was perhaps one of the most quick-witted acts of marketing on social media to date.
Oreo scored a touchdown with their famous quick-witted Tweet.
Of course, Oreo has a team of people at the ready to jump on these kinds of opportunities. But that doesn't mean small businesses can't do it too. Keep an eye out for new updates to products or services in your niche. Those updates are important news for your customers!
In the example below, Facebook expert Amy Porterfield acted quickly to share news about a new Facebook feature by posting a simple screenshot from a blog post at Duct Tape Marketing.
Screenshots provide instantly shareable images—a great way to quickly announce breaking news.
By using a shareable screenshot with a link to the original article, Amy added value to her community, brought engagement to her page and drove traffic to Duct Tape Marketing's blog.
Of course, you don't have to wait for breaking news to make a splash. With a little planning, you can be ready for popular upcoming events and release images at the start of a celebration to get early traction.
Keep in mind that events recognized by others in your industry will attract more shares. For example, on International Midwives' Day, my business created a simple yet compelling image using PicMonkey to celebrate the day.
We posted it early in the morning on the Know Your Midwife Facebook page. The result? Over 1,400 shares by the end of the day! The image swept through pregnancy, birth and parenting pages across Australia, then the US and the UK.
Creating a timely image that appeals directly to your audience results in big engagement.
One of the keys to creating a shareable image is subtle or no branding. There is a fine line between a timely post and shameless self-promotion. In the image above, we decided not to include any branding at all. That made the image more universal, which encouraged other pages to share it as if it were their own.
#3: Create Original Art
In a world where we're bombarded with information, anything new stands out from the crowd and catches our attention—on any platform, at any time. Take advantage of that and be part of the 20% of people who create original content for the other 80% to share.
When you create original images, they're yours to keep. You can use them in any way you want, whenever you want.
You never have to wonder about breaching copyright, reading the fine print on a stock photo or making the big mistake of using an image from Google Images. (A quick reminder: Don't use images you find on Google; it's not a stock library.)
You don't need to hire a graphic designer to create original images. You can do it yourself with the advice and tools listed below.
Tips for Creating Original, Shareable Images
I'm not creative enough!
I don't have time!
I have no idea where to start!
Yes you are, yes you do and no problem. There are a number of easy-to-use tools that give you instant creativity and design skills, as well as allow you to share images quickly.
If you're at your desk, you can use image-editing tools like Canva or PicMonkey. Both offer gorgeous (and handy) templates. Use them to create 5-10 images with a similar theme.
Not at your desk? Use your phone! Apps like Instagram, InstaQuote, Overgram (free) or Over (paid) make your on-the-fly pictures into works of art you can share immediately.
There are hundreds of apps and tools available for you to use, and the list above is by no means exhaustive. But remember, you don't have to try everything all at once. Avoid being overwhelmed by starting with just a few tools.
As you become skilled with one tool, add another tool or app to your design kit. When you find something you love, stick with it for a while until something else strikes your fancy.
Two More Tips for Creating Original Images
Create a branded background template you can reuse for tip or quote images. You can simply upload it to Canva or PicMonkey when you want to create a new image with a text overlay. Reusable templates save lots of time!
If you have a graphic designer, ask him or her to give you PNG files to work with. They're easy to overlay on backgrounds or templates, which means you can create images quickly when you need them.
#4: Optimize Size, Branding and Source
When creating images, optimization is key. Think in terms of size, branding and source information so your image not only suits the platform(s) you post it to, but has the best chance of being noticed and shared—and sending traffic back to your website.
When you want to use an image on Facebook and Twitter, 1200 x 627 pixels works best. Keep that in mind when setting the featured image for a blog post.
If you're posting primarily to Instagram, square-ratio images work best and can work well on Facebook too.
When you're aiming for Pinterest, use an image with a portrait orientation as those are shared most often. They also look good in Facebook's news feed and in Google+.
To see how important image size can be, take a look at my test below. I uploaded a 1200 x 627 pixel image and used it as my blog post's featured image.
Your blog post's featured image will show up when readers share your post on social networks.
When I shared the link on Facebook, it pulled the featured image into the news feed as a linked post without using any additional Open Graph coding or plugins.
Use the right dimensions for your blog post featured images so they play nicely with social networks.
When I used Buffer to share the blog post link to Twitter, the image still looked fabulous and stood out in the Twitter feed.
Images uploaded to Twitter stand out in the news feed.
Experiment with image sizes so you can optimize your content for each platform. In many cases, one image size may suit more than one platform. Find out what works for you, your preferred platforms and where your audience is hanging out.
Here's an important tip: As you're creating your original shareable images, don't forget to brand them with a simple watermark. Once created, you can save the watermark and add it to future images as well. Your URL or logo make ideal watermarks.
Make the watermark bold enough to remind people that you created and own the image (and where to find more information), but subtle enough that you don't appear too self-promotional.
In the example below, you can see how Y Travel Blog did a great job of creating a beautiful, pinnable image with subtle branding. Their logo in the bottom right corner isn't intrusive.
A subtle watermark can help identify an image while protecting its source.
#5: Use an Obvious Call to Action
In any news feed on any social platform, you're always competing against friends, family, funny photos, small businesses and big brands for the attention of your ideal audience.
Your engaging image may catch their attention, but then what? If you don't know what you want fans to do when they see your image, they won't either.
Your goal is to garner likes, comments or better yet, clicks and sharing (the golden tickets of social marketing). To get those, you need an obvious call to action.
Ask yourself two things: Can the image stand alone? Is there a clear call to action?
As humans, we're drawn to images and we naturally migrate to those in social news feeds. If we can't immediately discern the meaning of the image, we may look to the description or post to find context, or we may move to the next interesting thing.
To give your fans and followers immediate context and encourage them to take action, add some text to your images. In the example below, which image are you more likely to click on?
Titles add context and encourage users to click through for more content.
The bottom picture gives viewers clear context and can stand alone. Your fans know what they'll find when they click through.
When you're sharing images, there are two places to put a call to action: on the image itself or in the description (this is usually a clickable link). This is universal, whether you're using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Pinterest.
Mari Smith added a call to action to her Facebook cover photo asking fans to click to sign up for an upcoming webinar. An effective way to convert fans to attendees!
A Click Here button or call to action on an image can be hard to resist!
When fans click on the image, they can find out more about Mari's webinar by clicking the hyperlink included in the image description.
Include a second call to action in your description to tell your fans what you want them to do.
If you want to try the same thing on Instagram, take a cue from Tabsite co-founder Mike Gingerich. He posts a snapshot of his latest blog post to Instagram. It's a simple photo of his computer screen coupled with a call to action in the description that leads followers back to his blog.
A simple reminder to visit your blog for more content can be a great call to action on Instagram.
Instagram is a bit different from the other social networks. You can include a URL in your description, but it's not clickable. However, you're allowed one clickable link on your Instagram profile, so be sure to make this a link to your website.
Shareable images are the key to creating engaging social media content. There isn't a single network that doesn't rely on compelling images to garner interaction.
An easy way to integrate more visual content into your social marketing plan is to use images that speak to your audience. Try posting an image at the same time every day, and be sure to include a strong call to action.
Take advantage of the many tools available and create a template that reinforces your brand and makes it quick and easy to make new images in batches.
With a little work and planning, you'll be seeing higher engagement and more website traffic in no time.
What do you think?What kinds of images do you share with your fans? Which social networks have been most responsive? Share your experience or examples in the comments below.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
Are you sharing compelling images across social networks?
Do you want more engagement and traffic from your efforts?
If you're not regularly sharing images that resonate with your audience, you're missing out on a ton of engagement.
In this article you'll discover the essential elements of shareable images that increase engagement and drive traffic to your website.
Why Use Images to Drive Social Engagement?
People are drawn to visual content and take action based on its subtle cues faster than any other medium–faster than text, audio or video.
The power of pictures isn't restricted to image-centric platforms like Pinterest and Instagram. Visuals are attracting attention and driving engagement across all social networks. Even LinkedIn and Twitter are getting in on the action and showcasing images.
All of the major social networks are highlighting visual content. Brands that can leverage the power of original, optimized images are getting noticed.
If you're worried you need a graphic designer or special skills, don't be. In this article I'll introduce you to the tools you need and the five essential elements of shareable, traffic-driving images that you can include in your marketing plan today.
#1: Give Your Audience What They Need
If you want to encourage engagement and shares, your images have to appeal directly to your target audience.
Create images and infographics that either solve a problem or inspire your community to take action. Images that give short, instantly actionable advice are highly shareable. Quick tips, how-to's, quotes and fun facts are all very popular.
Social media expert Kim Garst matches audience expectations with useful tips by regularly posting images with social media advice and tagging them with #biztip.
Her community shares these problem-solving tips like wildfire, which results in an exceptionally high organic engagement rate on Facebook.
Creating an image with a useful tip makes for an instantly shareable piece of content.
How-to images have also proven to be a powerful way to encourage sharing and engagement on blogs or social platforms, especially Pinterest. Australian stylist and blogger Nikki Parkinson from Styling You uses this type of image well.
She often posts a clever mix of photos and text overlays to demonstrate a process. She created this highly pinnable image to show how to do makeup in 2 minutes.
How-to images are highly shareable on Pinterest.
What makes this image so attractive are the original photos, text overlays, numbering and step-by-step instructions. Embedding this type of image in her blog posts makes those articles immediately eye-catching and pinnable.
If you decide to create a how-to image, you can garner even more engagement (and blog traffic) if you upload it toInstagram, and share it across all social media platforms.
Don't forget quotes! On any social platform, quotes are one of the most shareable types of image. If you decide to go this route, focus on being inspiring or helpful to get the most engagement.
Your first instinct may be to share quotes on Facebook (and that's not a bad idea), but have you considered Instagram? Mastin Kipp, founder of The Daily Love, posts a mix of behind-the-scenes images and inspirational quotes on Instagram with great success.
Simple, branded quotes create an emotional connection with your audience and are highly shareable.
Finally, funny photos are always a winner on social media, but what about fun facts? Combining a fun fact with a beautiful image is a great way to create shareable content and engage your audience.
Tourism Australia pairs highly engaging images with little-known facts about Australia and shares them on its Google+ profile. Fans love it and respond by sharing the information with their friends!
Tourism Australia has tailored its image strategy to its Google+ audience with informative, beautiful images!
#2: Be Consistent and Quick
Facebook reach has gotten a lot of attention lately and sharing images continues to boost organic reach and engagement. Do you want to skyrocket shares for your images? Then be timely!
There are two ways to leverage the power of timeliness to make your images more shareable: consistency and fast action.
A consistent approach to sharing images should be a part of every brand's social media marketing tactics. To get started, simply post an image at the same time every day.
For example, each day food blogger Bianca Slade of Wholefood Simply posts amazing images on her Facebook page. She shares her wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free creations and asks a simple question: "Have you tried it?"
The result has sent foodie fans around the world into a frenzy, excitedly sharing Bianca's creations. They'll even bypass the news feed and go straight to her Facebook page to check out the recipe she posts at the end of the day (that includes me, guilty as charged!).
Tease your fans back to your Facebook page or website with captivating images on Facebook.
But Bianca doesn't stop there. She leverages her engagement and includes her fans in the decision-making process for the recipe of the day.
Ask your fans to give their two cents by using an image.
For one of the best examples of timeliness, look no further than Oreo. You've probably seen the famous tweet that Oreo sent out during the 2013 Super Bowl. The marketing team acted swiftly during a power outage, posting a well-timed tweet before the power came back on. It was perhaps one of the most quick-witted acts of marketing on social media to date.
Oreo scored a touchdown with their famous quick-witted Tweet.
Of course, Oreo has a team of people at the ready to jump on these kinds of opportunities. But that doesn't mean small businesses can't do it too. Keep an eye out for new updates to products or services in your niche. Those updates are important news for your customers!
In the example below, Facebook expert Amy Porterfield acted quickly to share news about a new Facebook feature by posting a simple screenshot from a blog post at Duct Tape Marketing.
Screenshots provide instantly shareable images—a great way to quickly announce breaking news.
By using a shareable screenshot with a link to the original article, Amy added value to her community, brought engagement to her page and drove traffic to Duct Tape Marketing's blog.
Of course, you don't have to wait for breaking news to make a splash. With a little planning, you can be ready for popular upcoming events and release images at the start of a celebration to get early traction.
Keep in mind that events recognized by others in your industry will attract more shares. For example, on International Midwives' Day, my business created a simple yet compelling image using PicMonkey to celebrate the day.
We posted it early in the morning on the Know Your Midwife Facebook page. The result? Over 1,400 shares by the end of the day! The image swept through pregnancy, birth and parenting pages across Australia, then the US and the UK.
Creating a timely image that appeals directly to your audience results in big engagement.
One of the keys to creating a shareable image is subtle or no branding. There is a fine line between a timely post and shameless self-promotion. In the image above, we decided not to include any branding at all. That made the image more universal, which encouraged other pages to share it as if it were their own.
#3: Create Original Art
In a world where we're bombarded with information, anything new stands out from the crowd and catches our attention—on any platform, at any time. Take advantage of that and be part of the 20% of people who create original content for the other 80% to share.
When you create original images, they're yours to keep. You can use them in any way you want, whenever you want.
You never have to wonder about breaching copyright, reading the fine print on a stock photo or making the big mistake of using an image from Google Images. (A quick reminder: Don't use images you find on Google; it's not a stock library.)
You don't need to hire a graphic designer to create original images. You can do it yourself with the advice and tools listed below.
Tips for Creating Original, Shareable Images
I'm not creative enough!
I don't have time!
I have no idea where to start!
Yes you are, yes you do and no problem. There are a number of easy-to-use tools that give you instant creativity and design skills, as well as allow you to share images quickly.
If you're at your desk, you can use image-editing tools like Canva or PicMonkey. Both offer gorgeous (and handy) templates. Use them to create 5-10 images with a similar theme.
Not at your desk? Use your phone! Apps like Instagram, InstaQuote, Overgram (free) or Over (paid) make your on-the-fly pictures into works of art you can share immediately.
There are hundreds of apps and tools available for you to use, and the list above is by no means exhaustive. But remember, you don't have to try everything all at once. Avoid being overwhelmed by starting with just a few tools.
As you become skilled with one tool, add another tool or app to your design kit. When you find something you love, stick with it for a while until something else strikes your fancy.
Two More Tips for Creating Original Images
Create a branded background template you can reuse for tip or quote images. You can simply upload it to Canva or PicMonkey when you want to create a new image with a text overlay. Reusable templates save lots of time!
If you have a graphic designer, ask him or her to give you PNG files to work with. They're easy to overlay on backgrounds or templates, which means you can create images quickly when you need them.
#4: Optimize Size, Branding and Source
When creating images, optimization is key. Think in terms of size, branding and source information so your image not only suits the platform(s) you post it to, but has the best chance of being noticed and shared—and sending traffic back to your website.
When you want to use an image on Facebook and Twitter, 1200 x 627 pixels works best. Keep that in mind when setting the featured image for a blog post.
If you're posting primarily to Instagram, square-ratio images work best and can work well on Facebook too.
When you're aiming for Pinterest, use an image with a portrait orientation as those are shared most often. They also look good in Facebook's news feed and in Google+.
To see how important image size can be, take a look at my test below. I uploaded a 1200 x 627 pixel image and used it as my blog post's featured image.
Your blog post's featured image will show up when readers share your post on social networks.
When I shared the link on Facebook, it pulled the featured image into the news feed as a linked post without using any additional Open Graph coding or plugins.
Use the right dimensions for your blog post featured images so they play nicely with social networks.
When I used Buffer to share the blog post link to Twitter, the image still looked fabulous and stood out in the Twitter feed.
Images uploaded to Twitter stand out in the news feed.
Experiment with image sizes so you can optimize your content for each platform. In many cases, one image size may suit more than one platform. Find out what works for you, your preferred platforms and where your audience is hanging out.
Here's an important tip: As you're creating your original shareable images, don't forget to brand them with a simple watermark. Once created, you can save the watermark and add it to future images as well. Your URL or logo make ideal watermarks.
Make the watermark bold enough to remind people that you created and own the image (and where to find more information), but subtle enough that you don't appear too self-promotional.
In the example below, you can see how Y Travel Blog did a great job of creating a beautiful, pinnable image with subtle branding. Their logo in the bottom right corner isn't intrusive.
A subtle watermark can help identify an image while protecting its source.
#5: Use an Obvious Call to Action
In any news feed on any social platform, you're always competing against friends, family, funny photos, small businesses and big brands for the attention of your ideal audience.
Your engaging image may catch their attention, but then what? If you don't know what you want fans to do when they see your image, they won't either.
Your goal is to garner likes, comments or better yet, clicks and sharing (the golden tickets of social marketing). To get those, you need an obvious call to action.
Ask yourself two things: Can the image stand alone? Is there a clear call to action?
As humans, we're drawn to images and we naturally migrate to those in social news feeds. If we can't immediately discern the meaning of the image, we may look to the description or post to find context, or we may move to the next interesting thing.
To give your fans and followers immediate context and encourage them to take action, add some text to your images. In the example below, which image are you more likely to click on?
Titles add context and encourage users to click through for more content.
The bottom picture gives viewers clear context and can stand alone. Your fans know what they'll find when they click through.
When you're sharing images, there are two places to put a call to action: on the image itself or in the description (this is usually a clickable link). This is universal, whether you're using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Pinterest.
Mari Smith added a call to action to her Facebook cover photo asking fans to click to sign up for an upcoming webinar. An effective way to convert fans to attendees!
A Click Here button or call to action on an image can be hard to resist!
When fans click on the image, they can find out more about Mari's webinar by clicking the hyperlink included in the image description.
Include a second call to action in your description to tell your fans what you want them to do.
If you want to try the same thing on Instagram, take a cue from Tabsite co-founder Mike Gingerich. He posts a snapshot of his latest blog post to Instagram. It's a simple photo of his computer screen coupled with a call to action in the description that leads followers back to his blog.
A simple reminder to visit your blog for more content can be a great call to action on Instagram.
Instagram is a bit different from the other social networks. You can include a URL in your description, but it's not clickable. However, you're allowed one clickable link on your Instagram profile, so be sure to make this a link to your website.
Shareable images are the key to creating engaging social media content. There isn't a single network that doesn't rely on compelling images to garner interaction.
An easy way to integrate more visual content into your social marketing plan is to use images that speak to your audience. Try posting an image at the same time every day, and be sure to include a strong call to action.
Take advantage of the many tools available and create a template that reinforces your brand and makes it quick and easy to make new images in batches.
With a little work and planning, you'll be seeing higher engagement and more website traffic in no time.
What do you think?What kinds of images do you share with your fans? Which social networks have been most responsive? Share your experience or examples in the comments below.
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