Why Buying Social Followers Is a Bad Idea
When many businesses start out using social media, they often focus on their number of Twitter followers, Facebook likes, etc. and desperately want to increase those numbers. That’s why “services” that offer hundreds of thousands of new “real” followers for $5 or $150 can look like a good idea. (Spoiler alert: They’re not.) Increasing your number of followers – or
Read more →AFAR: A Facebook Page Case Study
It can be very difficult to produce a Facebook business page that not only drives traffic but encourages conversation with fans. We found one example of a company that has managed to solve the Facebook riddle. They’re AFAR travel magazine (a.k.a. AFAR Media). With over 10,000 likes and over 15,000 Facebook fans, this multimedia-loving magazine is a perfect example of
Read more →Rock Your Company’s Facebook Cover Photo Without Violating the TOS
When Facebook introduced its new Timeline layout for business pages they dangled a marketers dream in front of our faces: the Cover Photo. It is the ultimate first impression. It’s the largest object on a company’s Facebook page—the viewer’s eyes travel straight to the photo. There’s one caveat—the Cover Photo can’t be used directly for marketing. In their terms of
Read more →Why Pinterest Is Definitely Worth Your Time
Yeah yeah yeah, we’ve all heard about Pinterest. It’s that silly site where you can post pictures of cute animals and home-baked cookies, right? Wrong! Pinterest is a growing social media power, just behind Twitter in referral traffic. The number of unique visitors has consistently grown since Pinterest’s inception and there’s no sign of a halt. And now that Pinterest is allowing businesses to have their own accounts, the
Read more →Yes, Your Company Needs a Blog – 13 Reasons Why
Blogs aren’t exactly the new kid on the digital marketing block, but boy, they sure do get the job done. Here’s why I think you should seriously consider adding a blog to your company’s website. 1. A blog shows visitors you know your stuff Whatever your industry, potential customers probably want to know you understand it before they hand
Read more →Why Every Blog Author Needs a Google+ Profile
You’re diligent about writing for your company blog. You plan out blog posts, schedule them, respond to current events, and every post is thoughtful and appropriately seeded with your important keywords. But you’re still missing one vital component if you don’t have a Google+ profile that’s properly hooked up to your blog posts. This status is called Google Authorship, and
Read more →Effective Sales Copy: More than Just the Words You Write
When you walk into a classy restaurant you usually notice one thing before anything else. Sometimes, you don’t even realise you’ve registered it: it happens on a subconscious level. But this seemingly minor element can have a huge effect on your overall experience. I’m talking about a sense of visual cleanliness. I’m talking about the crispness of your surroundings. I’m talking
Read more →Election 2012: Social Media Insight via Competitive Edge
Our Competitive Edge reports help marketers and business owners see who’s earning the most social media engagement – them or their competitors. The report also helps marketers get new ideas from comparing successful, engaging posts with unsuccessful ones. We thought it would be fun to try running the Competitive Edge for politicians competing in the 2012 election. We’ve compared the
Read more →URL Shorteners in Social Media: Pros and Cons
I received a great question from one of our Competitive Edge customers: What is the best Twitter URL shortener? As I dove into writing an answer, I took a step back and pondered whether it’s actually a good idea to use a URL shortener when posting in social media. After all, Twitter now has a built-in URL shortener, so you
Read more →You Deserve More Blog Comments & Shares
“We publish on our blog every week – but no one ever comments or shares.” I wish I had a dollar – okay, $10 – for every time I’ve heard that. And when I look at the blogs people are complaining get no engagement, it’s rarely the content that’s the problem. People who put their hearts & souls into writing
Read more →