TwitterToolsReviews |
- How your brand can leverage Snapchat #infographic
- Social Media Examiner » twitter promotion 1970-01-01 00:00:00
- 5 Ways to Make Shareable Images That Drive Traffic
- How to Network with Influential People Using Twitter
- Social Media Examiner » twitter strategy 1970-01-01 00:00:00
- 5 Ways to Grow Your Twitter Reach
- 5 Ways to Make Shareable Images That Drive Traffic
- 6 Powerful Ways to Improve Your Social Mobile Marketing
- How to Not Suck At Facebook #388: Facebook Spying And Texting Invasions Are Never Okay!
- 5 Ways to Make Shareable Images That Drive Traffic
| How your brand can leverage Snapchat #infographic Posted: 29 Mar 2014 03:07 AM PDT
McDonalds is the latest brand to accept the challenge of Snapchat as a way to engage with their customers. They join some notable brand names who also recognize the benefits of being active on
this social network, including Taco Bell, MTV UK, 16 Handles and Juicy Couture. Should more brands be on Snapchat? I’ve managed to dig up a few stats that may help influence a brand’s decision whether to get involved:
So if your brand’s target market is female millennials in further education, then what are you waiting for? Time to start planning your Snapchat communication strategy as this is where your social audience is hanging out. The rest of us may need some more convincing. This is why I want to share with you the excellent infographic by Marketo that presents a convincing argument for getting involved and some best practice advice for brand communications on Snapchat. I’ve been persuaded! You can now add me with username ‘muddywall’ and hopefully we will be snapping together soon
The post How your brand can leverage Snapchat #infographic appeared first on Muddywall. The post How your brand can leverage Snapchat #infographic appeared first on Twitter Tools Reviews. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Social Media Examiner » twitter promotion 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Posted: 29 Mar 2014 03:06 AM PDT Social Media Examiner » twitter promotion [unable to retrieve full-text content] The post Social Media Examiner » twitter promotion 1970-01-01 00:00:00 appeared first on Twitter Tools Reviews. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 5 Ways to Make Shareable Images That Drive Traffic Posted: 29 Mar 2014 01:57 AM PDT By Donna Moritz
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 NeedIf 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 to Instagram, 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 QuickFacebook 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 ArtIn 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
#4: Optimize Size, Branding and SourceWhen 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. The best size for your image will depend on how you want to use it and where you're posting it. 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 ActionIn 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. On Pinterest, the Beauty Department excels at providing images that have a clear call to action to visit its blog for more information.  Want the full story? Click through to the blog! Some Parting Thoughts 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. The post 5 Ways to Make Shareable Images That Drive Traffic appeared first on Twitter Tools Reviews. |
| How to Network with Influential People Using Twitter Posted: 29 Mar 2014 12:49 AM PDT By Jason Kosarek
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 TwitterUsing 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 NetworkThe 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' ConnectionsOne 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 NicheThere 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 TwitterTo 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 OnlineThis can be done with Google Alerts, Fresh Web Explorer or a number of other tools. 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 TwitterNow 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. Images from iStockPhoto.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. The post How to Network with Influential People Using Twitter appeared first on Twitter Tools Reviews. |
| Social Media Examiner » twitter strategy 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Posted: 29 Mar 2014 12:25 AM PDT Social Media Examiner » twitter strategy [unable to retrieve full-text content] The post Social Media Examiner » twitter strategy 1970-01-01 00:00:00 appeared first on Twitter Tools Reviews. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 5 Ways to Grow Your Twitter Reach Posted: 28 Mar 2014 11:45 PM PDT By Stuart Davidson
Do you want more people to see your updates? If you're a small business, it can take a while to build up your Twitter followers and that can be frustrating. You may wonder how other companies grow quickly and how you can replicate their success. In this article you'll discover five ways to jumpstart visibility for your Twitter profile and tweets. #1: Follow Twitter BasicsBefore you do anything else, be sure you understand a few Twitter fundamentals. You can increase your tweet exposure with just a few tweaks:
#2: Promote Your Twitter Profile EverywhereUse your other social profiles to tell people about your Twitter handle. Add your Twitter username to the About or Contact sections of Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and any other social profiles you use. On your website or blog, be sure you have social sharing buttons to make it easy for readers to tell others about your content.  Configure your social sharing button to auto-populate your Twitter username when someone shares an article. Plugins make it simple to install and customize sharing options and expand your reach by adding via @yourusername every time someone tweets content from your site. This simple customization gets your Twitter handle in front of hundreds of users you may not have reached otherwise. #3: Cross-Promote Your GiveawaysGiveaways always drive more traffic, visibility and engagement. Take advantage of that by creating a Q&A giveaway that requires entrants to give their answers by tagging you on Twitter and using a specific hashtag.  Extend visibility of your Twitter profile by cross-promoting campaigns using hashtags. The hashtag is easy to track and ensures you don't miss part of the conversation. Requiring users to tag your @username ensures a wider audience sees your handle. Be sure to engage with any users who respond or use the hashtag—it's just good etiquette and you'll reach even more people. When you're ready to promote your giveaway, post the question to all of your social accounts. Start with the platform that has the most engagement, then share across your other social profiles. Don't forget to share on Twitter! #4: Interact With Niche InfluencersWhether you're offline or online, networking is a tried-and-true method for extending your reach. If you haven't started networking on Twitter, now's the time. If you're truly listening on Twitter, you'll be able to tell who the influencers are in your niche—those are the people with whom you want to establish a relationship. Remember, the influencers don't have to be national in scope, they can be important locals as well (e.g., the newspaper editor or local newscasters). Start a Twitter conversation with a few of the influencers in your niche and add as much value to the conversation as you can. The more interesting you are, the more likely it is that an influencer will respond to or spread your message. The Fort Collins, CO band @FierceBad has a modest 683 followers, but has established a relationship with the amazingly popular @newbelgium (New Belgium Brewing, also in Fort Collins). When Fierce Bad released a new video, New Belgium Brewing tweeted it out to their 187,500 fans—quite a bit bigger audience.  Influencers can attract huge attention for you on Twitter. #5: Find Allies in an Online CommunityIf you think you're alone in trying to build Twitter exposure, think again! There are lots of communities for people just like you who want to network. These communities are generally built around niches, so it's easy to find one where members share your interests. Shared interests mean it's easier to find good content to send out to your followers (remember the 80/20 rule!). Since sharing is usually (but not always) reciprocal, you're benefitting too. Most online communities are free to join and welcome new members with open arms. Here are 10 communities you can join to increase your exposure on Twitter:  BizSugar posts have a Tweet button and the tweets from this community can add up. You'll find that many serious marketers have a strong presence in multiple online communities like these because they realize the overall value. Joining the same communities allows you to connect with those influencers (and expand your Twitter reach) on a larger scale. Conclusion Whether you're starting a brand-new Twitter profile or you have an established profile that's struggling to develop a larger following, you can increase Twitter exposure. Make sure you've got the basics down, then move on to connecting with influencers, sharing interesting updates and joining relevant communities. What do you think? What's been your biggest challenge with getting exposure on Twitter? Do you have advice for others? Let us know in the comments. 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. The post 5 Ways to Grow Your Twitter Reach appeared first on Twitter Tools Reviews. |
| 5 Ways to Make Shareable Images That Drive Traffic Posted: 28 Mar 2014 10:29 PM PDT By Donna Moritz
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 NeedIf 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 to Instagram, 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 QuickFacebook 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 ArtIn 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
#4: Optimize Size, Branding and SourceWhen 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. The best size for your image will depend on how you want to use it and where you're posting it. 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 ActionIn 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. On Pinterest, the Beauty Department excels at providing images that have a clear call to action to visit its blog for more information. Want the full story? Click through to the blog! Some Parting Thoughts 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. The post 5 Ways to Make Shareable Images That Drive Traffic appeared first on Twitter Tools Reviews. |
| 6 Powerful Ways to Improve Your Social Mobile Marketing Posted: 28 Mar 2014 09:12 PM PDT By Jamie Turner
Do you want to tap into the social power of mobile users? Leveraging the power of mobile apps that are already installed on many people's smart phones allows you to connect with people you may be overlooking. Why Mobile?Mobile is unavoidable—that much is clear. Over half of US residents own a smartphone or tablet, and around half of those are using the top social media apps available on those devices. Leveraging these mobile social networks can be challenging. In this article you'll discover six engaging mobile apps and learn how to leverage your mobile presence to generate both brand awareness and ultimately new customers. #1: Tweak Your Facebook Activities for Mobile UsersFacebook is the number-one mobile social network. In fact, it was the number-two most-used mobile app overall for the second quarter of this year, second only to Google Maps, according to GlobalWebIndex. However, Facebook Mobile has been a tough area for advertisers and marketers to capitalize on.  Many Facebook users browse the network from a mobile device. Native ads were always available on the desktop version, but never the mobile interface, so companies have had to rely on their pages to be noticed by mobile users. This effort was made more difficult by EdgeRank and now by Story Bump, both of which are features of Facebook's News Feed that determine which stories are seen first by users as they open Facebook. But do not fear! Facebook Mobile is not an uncrackable nut. Here are three things you can do to stand out from the crowd and make the most of this popular app: Tip: Create valuable page content. With Story Bump, Facebook no longer ranks content based on assumed preference. Instead, while stories with lots of positive feedback (likes, comments and shares) are re-prioritized near the top, the order is largely chronological. This means that any Page content you publish should be valuable, not just interesting. Tip: Ask questions and include calls to action to boost the amount of feedback you receive and therefore the amount of exposure your content gets. Use paid posts if necessary while you garner a following. Tip: Post at the right time of day. No matter what anyone tells you, there's a prime time of day for your Page to publish to Facebook. However, it can't be prescribed as one-size-fits-all. Your Page tells you the best time to publish to it if you look in the right place. It's right there in your Facebook Page's Insights feature in the "Posts" tab, listed under "When Your Fans Are Online." If you post according to when your fans are active, then more users—especially those on mobile devices—will see your content and be driven to your page. Tip: Use native ads. "Wait, but Jamie, you said…" I know, I know. But there's good news—native ads are being rolled out for Facebook Mobile! Chances are that their appearance will be slightly more appealing to the app's users than Facebook's traditional sidebar ads, meaning more clicks and more leads. You can also read more about Facebook native ads on this blog. A presence on Facebook is imperative for businesses, and optimizing your Facebook campaign for mobile is becoming more mandatory. Follow these tips to get ahead of the curve.  Mobile Ad fees make up a big portion of Facebook's revenue. #2: With Twitter, Think DifferentlyJust a month ago, Twitter was averaging 360 million tweets per day. Since then, in just one month, the average has already jumped by 60 million, and most of those are mobile. Sixty percent of Twitter users are on mobile, and those users are far more active than their desktop-using counterparts. Naturally, this indicates that social media marketers who use Twitter should try to optimize their campaigns for mobile. Here are three ways you can do that:  Twitter is the place to share breaking news, local updates, global events and good conversations with your mobile consumers. Tip: Leave room for retweets. If you want people to retweet your content, you need to leave room for your audience to add in their two cents. If you have the option, select a Twitter handle that's easily identifiable as belonging to your brand, but is as short as possible. You should also keep your content brief, using a link shortener like bit.ly or goo.gl if necessary. Tip: Use hashtags appropriately. Perhaps one of the worst things a Twitter user can see is someone's tweet that's packed to the brim with hashtags, often with more characters dedicated to the hashtags than to the actual content. Some people do this with the hope that one hashtag catches on, but it ends up being annoying and leaving little room for retweets. Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake make fun of using too many hashtags in the video below.
Do your research and select 1-3 hashtags that are relevant to your message and your brand. Tip: Leverage Twitter for big events. Twitter is the leader in second-screen use, meaning people are most likely to actively engage with Twitter while also watching TV or a movie. This shows that while it may not be the number-one social network overall, Twitter is seen as the best network for communicating quickly. When your company hosts an event or something relevant is happening in the world or on TV, be involved on Twitter. Follow your followers to find out what's happening that they're interested in. Create a hashtag or participate with an established hashtag that's already in play. Post frequently during the event, and if it's not your event, try to put a spin on your tweet that connects your brand to the existing buzz. Twitter was born from mobile, and its mobile users are still the lifeblood of the network. Likewise, you can leverage mobile by following these tips to gain followers and grow exposure for your brand. #3: Create an Instagram PresenceInstagram has consistently been one of the most popular mobile apps for over a year now, and there's good reason for that. It's easily integrated into Facebook and Twitter, and it provides users with the visual stimulation that Facebook and Twitter lack. It's a mobile-only network (you can view/like from a desktop but not publish anything), so figuring out how to leverage mobile with social is crucial to businesses that want to stand out on Instagram. Here are four steps you can take to accomplish this: Tip: Make your pictures stand out. High-quality pictures are essential for Instagram success. The higher an image's quality, the more attention it gets. And since you're representing a brand, it's even more imperative that you ensure that your photo content is of the highest quality possible. Use cutouts, overlays, etc., to make your content leap out from the page, but make sure everything is tasteful and aesthetically pleasing. Tip: Use hashtags appropriately. Hashtags on Instagram are not the same as hashtags on Twitter. In fact, they're generally more acceptable. Use hashtags that describe what's in the picture, not what the picture is about. Encourage your followers to use a particular hashtag that you can then monitor (and maybe even use for a promotion). Use popular hashtags that are searched for often. Lastly, consider posting the picture with only one or two hashtags and then include any additional hashtags in a comment below. Tip: Make sure videos are professional. Instagram videos are tough to produce, partially because of the mobile recording concept. Smartphones have yet to be truly optimized for video, so tread with caution. You may decide to forgo video altogether, and that's fine. But if you do choose to transition into moving pictures, make sure you follow basic video production practices like making sure the camera is steady and including some kind of audio element.  Instagram provides another way to share your stories. Tip: Integrate Instagram with other platforms. Publishing to Instagram includes the option to publish to other platforms like Facebook and Twitter. If you're using any of these platforms and your content is appropriate for multiple channels, select this option. Your job is easier and your content is more widely seen.  Promote your corporate brand using Instagram. Instagram adds a crucial visual piece to the mobile networking puzzle, so it should be given extra attention. Follow these guidelines to make the most of your Instagram presence. #4: Gain Brand Exposure with FoursquareFoursquare lets you tell people where you are, what you're doing and how often this happens by "checking in" on your mobile device. However, the app has evolved past what was basically an automated status post and has transformed into a hub for recommendations and reviews. Follow these two tips to leverage Foursquare for your brand: Tip: Make sure people can check in with you. If your brand is a store or has a physical location visited often by customers, make sure people know how to check in at your location. Whether through signage or social media awareness, use a strong call to action to grab your customers' attention. People should know how to share with their friends that they are engaging in the most personal way possible with your company. You can even create a check-in point for events, which can be a great way to show off customer attendance.  Foursquare connects people to businesses. Tip: Monitor your reviews. A lot of companies set up check-in points, but few go as far as to monitor what people are saying about those points. Read the reviews and recommendations that your customers leave you. Then tweet, message or contact your customers in some other casual way to thank them for visiting. Likewise, be sure to respond to any negativity in a timely and professional manner. Your engagement with those who check in with you shows that you are a brand that cares about your customers' experiences. Foursquare's use is evolving, and your company should evolve with it. By following these few simple rules, you can be sure that your brand is positively represented on Foursquare, and that exposure to your brand increases. #5: Optimize Your Deals with Groupon and LivingSocialCoupon and voucher services have really picked up steam in the past few years. With shows like Extreme Couponing and Doomsday Preppers, it's no secret that people like to save money. In fact, they make a game out of it as much as possible. And with platforms like Groupon and Living Social, these savings are moving past food and household items to incorporate services and luxuries. These companies have highly successful mobile apps, and leveraging their social aspects can really help your company with sales. Here are two ways to make the most of them: Tip: Take advantage of sharing discounts. Many sites like Groupon and LivingSocial offer discounts for sharing (e.g., "Share your deal with your friends using this custom link, and if three buy, yours is free!"). Some of them allow you to have input into what these promotions look like. At the very least, you could offer a bonus product or service in the event that someone refers business to you via these sites.  People find great local offers, browse unique vacations and order takeout or delivery with the tap of a finger on LivingSocial. Tip: Include as much information as possible. These sites usually have an aspect of geolocation targeting, so being thorough about where your coupon is redeemable is key. If multiple locations are available, create multiple listings. If there are variations within your deal, again, create multiple listings. This helps optimize your deal for in-site searches, since customers often have a very specific idea of what they want. These sites are great ways to bring in new customers, so if your business is set up to handle promotions like these, they are an excellent opportunity for creating growth. Optimize your deals with thorough information and reward your customers for sharing, and you will reap the benefits of these services. #6: Gain New Customers with LocalmindLastly, there's Localmind. Many people are turning their attention to thinking locally, from shopping to business services. Localmind offers the opportunity for customers to review and recommend their favorite businesses based on location. This mobile app provides a great avenue for gaining new customers; just follow these two tips to leverage it to your advantage: Tip: Promote community involvement. Does your company sponsor a Little League team? Do you participate in Adopt-a-Highway or volunteer for Make-a-Wish? These are the kinds of things that Localmind users care about. When you share these experiences with Localmind users, you're more likely to gain exposure within the network. Tip: Highlight existing partnerships. If you're already in partnership with another business in your same locale—whether they're a vendor, an agency or a philanthropy partner—make sure those relationships stand out. This earns you favor with Localmind users who see that you are focused on local partnerships and growing the local economy. Localmind presents a great opportunity to show off the community-centered aspects of your brand. By highlighting the parts of your company that already reflect that local-mindedness, you gain favor within the network that brings about recommendations and ultimately new business.  Know what’s going on right now anywhere in your neighborhood. Conclusion There are hundreds of mobile apps with entire networks of customers behind them, but these six apps illustrate the opportunity you have to leverage mobile and social together. If you follow these tips, you'll be well on your way to increasing brand exposure and generating new customers and business leads. What do you think? Are you using mobile to connect socially with your customers? Are you having success with mobile apps? 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. Five Filters recommends:
The post 6 Powerful Ways to Improve Your Social Mobile Marketing appeared first on Twitter Tools Reviews. |
| How to Not Suck At Facebook #388: Facebook Spying And Texting Invasions Are Never Okay! Posted: 28 Mar 2014 08:16 PM PDT You know we at Social News Daily are committed to help you not suck at Facebook, and we like to examine the new calibration of old norms and social media — and today, we're taking a look at the practice of sharing Facebook passwords, inbox messages, or other private communications in the name of honesty and transparency. A frequent Facebook relationship debate cycle seems to ensue when the topic of shared Facebook access arises. (This also extends to text messages, emails, private messages on forums, and other communication sent directly and in confidence by a friend or other contact with the expectation you and only you will receive that message.) It seems one vocal contingent argues for access to the Facebook accounts of others — most specifically romantic partners, but also sometimes children, or others on the wrong side of an uneven power dynamic. By these people's estimates, if you can force or coerce another into allowing you to read their private communications on Facebook or similar services (or if you are able to obtain this sort of access through deception, threats, or the insinuation that the violated party should have "nothing to hide") then it's perfectly permissible to do so. Not only do they willingly subject the party directly involved to a social media cavity search, they happily invade the privacy of all others who unknowingly chose to confide in a person whose spouse or parents have poor boundaries and little respect for the ability of individuals to discuss things in confidence with a close friend. Ugh. Whenever reading partners' Facebook messages or snooping on kids secretly through their social networks is discussed, the conversation frequently becomes heated … probably because two massive human forces are involved. On one side there's trust and betrayal, and all the third parties involved are certainly being violated by a shared Facebook inbox they had no idea was shared.
On the other is fear, and policing. The idea we "own" partners and children is so pervasive that a challenge to this deeply held phobia sets people off into defense frenzies, where they loudly insist anyone who doesn't want to show their papers is a sneaky liar. Oy. Let's take a minute to unpack the phrase "nothing to hide." Can we all admit the meaning of this comment is not, indeed, in any way relative to having anything to hide? The actual intent is "I hear your 'no,' and I am trying to scare you into giving me what I want." In any event, there's a great number of reasons that you should never ever ever demand this from a person, nor should you ever ever ever, submit to it yourself. Here are just a few: ♥ It's your problem if you want to spy! Even if the Facebook inbox of your target is full of bad things, those things exist whether or not you look on Facebook. Text message shakedowns don't keep people honest for the right reasons, and the desire to intrude this way is not the problem of the other person; ♥ It's a TOS violation and possibly legally dicey. Ever see those little email warnings about communications received in error? You might inadvertently intercept texts, inboxes or emails intended solely for a party who has now (thanks to your insecurity) violated a work-related cause and could get disciplined or fired; ♥ No matter how right you are, other people can't consent. The person upon whom you are spying certainly has relatives, friends, co-workers and others in their lives as well. These people may confide in your partner or child about a personal situation that doesn't involve you, puts them at risk, and now you've completely obliterated their absolute right to privacy;
♥ It never goes anywhere good. Find another way to confirm your suspicions, because either way, this relationship is completely devoid of genuine trust. It's going to end or you're going to have to decide to let go of controlling the other person at some point; ♥ It's abusive. No matter how much authority you think you have over a partner (ew) or a child (who you've raised so well you need to eavesdrop on their conversations), it is absolutely abuse to force yourself into their private discussions; ♥ It's coercive. Some people lack the leverage to tell you not to do this, or simply cannot keep up with escalating intrusions. Does it feel very good to know something is "shared" under threat? In short, inbox spying is never okay — and if you do this, you suck at Facebook. You also suck at texting, being a good friend, being a decent daughter or son, and being a parent. Just quit it. It's not justified and you're not a cop. The post How to Not Suck At Facebook #388: Facebook Spying And Texting Invasions Are Never Okay! appeared first on Twitter Tools Reviews. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 5 Ways to Make Shareable Images That Drive Traffic Posted: 28 Mar 2014 08:02 PM PDT By Donna Moritz
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 NeedIf 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 to Instagram, 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 QuickFacebook 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 ArtIn 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
#4: Optimize Size, Branding and SourceWhen 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. The best size for your image will depend on how you want to use it and where you're posting it. 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 ActionIn 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. On Pinterest, the Beauty Department excels at providing images that have a clear call to action to visit its blog for more information. Want the full story? Click through to the blog! Some Parting Thoughts 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. The post 5 Ways to Make Shareable Images That Drive Traffic appeared first on Twitter Tools Reviews. |
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