How to Average 100,000 Organic Impressions a Month on Twitter

Excellent article for anyone looking to improve their Twitter engagement.

Localized

With Facebook’s recent algorithm updates, brands are going to have to work harder and smarter in order to continue communicating with their fans. Organic reach continues to be a challenge, with a number of platforms becoming ‘pay-to-play’ games. Luckily, Twitter is one where you can still be successful without having to spend a dime.

With the right mindset and strategy, anyone can become a major player on a platform that has 330 million active monthly users. The question is, how do you break through all of the noise? There is more than one answer to this question, which is exactly what we’re going to talk about today. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can become a major industry influencer on Twitter.

Consistency is key

The average life of a ‘tweet’ is only 18 minutes, which means you’re going to need to publish a decent amount of content…

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How NPR Is Bringing Radio To Facebook News Feeds

We look at how leading US radio station NPR is engaging its Facebook audience with audio.

Scrolling through any social platform, you’re unlikely to find much in the way of audio clips going viral.

Stories, videos and images, yes, but audio clips of interviews or documentaries are few and far between.

In a 2014 article, writer Stan Alcorn outlined two major blockers to audio going viral. First, the ‘structural’ way that people listen to things, in their car or while working, does not typically encourage sharing. The second is that it’s hard to ‘skim’ audio content, like it is with text or video, social media’s most successful viral content formats.

“An instant of video is a still, a window into the action that you can drag through time at will. An instant of audio, on the other hand, is nothing.”

Apart from the BBC, which also has a huge TV operation, NPR is the only radio station that featured in our top 25 Facebook publisher list for January 2017. The rest are mainly newspaper brands, TV networks and digital native sites, all arguably better-placed to adapt their existing content for a social audience.

For radio stations that deal with vast quantities of the format every day, audio’s lack of shareability can be frustrating. There is a wealth of content from the main part of their business, but unlike video, ease of distribution isn’t there. While auto-playing native video took off to great effect on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the last two years, a large part of its success lay with audio being muted by default.

Despite this, NPR have managed to grow their share of Facebook engagement on their own web content significantly in the last year. NewsWhip data shows that NPR.org increased engagements with its total web content on Facebook. Here’s how the site grew their Facebook engagements throughout 2016 and into early this year, shown in NewsWhip Analytics:

Source: How NPR Is Bringing Radio To Facebook News Feeds

 

10 Social Media Marketing Tips You Can’t Live Without

Socio Mindster

Create a Plan for Each Social Media Channel: Draw a plan/schedule on how you intend to post every day because you can post at all times but not all times are appropriate. Plan towards the morning hour, afternoon hour and nighttime when people are likely to be surfing social media channels. Correct timing is pertinent when posting.

Post Consistently: When it comes to managing social media channels, especially for adverts, consistency is key. At all times, your social media channel should carry a post that does not date at least more than 24hrs. A business owner should constantly be in the faces of his/her audience. In short don’t let your post be epileptic.

Post More Images: Images enhance beauty and better comprehension. It is not enough to tell the audience about your products and services. Show them how it works in pictures and videos. Go the extra mile by posting…

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Fake News: Why it Matters and What We Can Do About it

Extremely informative article. This is something we all should be vigilant about.

VIRTUAL MEDITATIONS

The 2016 presidential election did a lot more than make most of us uneasy and want to crawl into a dark hole and hide until it was over. It brought to light, in full force, the issue of “fake news” and its ability to spread like a contagious foot fungus. We saw it spread across social media and the entire Internet.

Regardless of the spot on the political spectrum in which you find yourself, fake news is something we’ve all read about in the past couple of months, and it needs to be addressed in a real and practical way. It’s time to stop and ask ourselves a few questions, and attempt to get some answers.

What is “fake news”?

Many individuals now think of fake news as a form of political propaganda, especially since its existence received a lot of attention during and after the 2016 election. I mean…

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Social Matters: Pinterest launches an ‘explore’ section for trending topics and ideas

Acting and Aggravations

via Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2fdt1ot

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Google isn’t safe from Yahoo’s fate | TechCrunch

Yahoo has been beaten up in the press for so long that it’s hard to remember how untouchable the company once appeared.A fawning profile in Fortune magazine from 1998 outlined Yahoo’s commanding position. “Yahoo won the search engine wars and was poised for greater things,” the article concluded, wisely prefacing the remark by warning, “Let’s leave aside, for now, questions of whether Yahoo will be around in 10 years.” At the time, Yahoo was drawing a then-impressive 40 million users a month. By 2000, the figure would jump to 185 million.We all know what happened next.

A fawning profile in Fortune magazine from 1998 outlined Yahoo’s commanding position. “Yahoo won the search engine wars and was poised for greater things,” the article concluded, wisely prefacing the remark by warning, “Let’s leave aside, for now, questions of whether Yahoo will be around in 10 years.” At the time, Yahoo was drawing a then-impressive 40 million users a month. By 2000, the figure would jump to 185 million.We all know what happened next.

We all know what happened next. Recent press is awash in retrospectives, takeaways and lessons learned — many of which focus on Yahoo’s failure to buy Facebook and Google, or sell to Microsoft. We’d like to think that Yahoo’s failure has made us wiser and more cautious, less likely to repeat the same mistakes. We’d also like to think that having witnessed Yahoo’s demise we would be better able to spot a company that was at peak valuation and about to begin a long-term unraveling, a company that was on the wrong side of major trends.Would we, though? What if that company is Google, one of

Would we, though? What if that company is Google, one of today’s untouchables? Yahoo went from a $125 billion valuation in 2000 to Verizon’s $4.83 billion acquisition in just 16 years. Could the same thing happen to Google, ahem, Alphabet, in 2032?

Definitely.

Google in 2016 = Yahoo in 2000? It’s possible

Of course, Google’s numbers look great now. Fresh off reporting earnings on July 28, it once again beat expectations, sending its stock price surging. Industry observers walked away impressed by the strong growth in mobile advertising revenue — seemingly a sign that Google had effectively pivoted into the next big market for digital ads. What the latest numbers conceal is that the company is approaching the height of monetizing its existing assets with advertising, and that’s exactly the time to start worrying seriously about the future.

Beneath the clean upward trajectory of Google’s success, the digital advertising industry that it has long ruled over has fallen into turmoil and rapid change. It’s not clear if Google’s advertising business will sustain its dominance.Can Google catch up and avoid Yahoo’s fate?

Google is on the wrong side of major trends in the digital advertising industry: Google captures direct response dollars as digital ad spend shifts up the funnel, its focus is still on browsers and websites as engagement is moving into apps and feeds, Google is deeply dependent on search during a shift to serendipitous discovery and ads designed to interrupt the user’s attention are being replaced by advertising designed to engage them. Its competitor, Facebook, is on the right side of all these trends. Can Google catch up and avoid Yahoo’s fate?

Source: Google isn’t safe from Yahoo’s fate | TechCrunch

 

Microsoft to Acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 Billion – WSJ

Microsoft to Acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 BillionDeal is for $196 per LinkedIn share, a 50% premium to Friday’s closeENLARGELinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner speaks at LinkedIn headquarters in 2014.

On Monday, Microsoft said it would pay $26.2 billion to buy LinkedIn. PHOTO: MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/ASSOCIATED PRESSBy JAY GREENE and ANNE STEELE  Updated June 13, 2016 2:35 p.m. ET83 COMMENTS

Microsoft Corp., in what is by far the biggest acquisition in the company’s history, said Monday it had reached a deal to buy LinkedIn Corp., the professional social-networking company, for $26.2 billion in cash.

Integrating Microsoft’s and LinkedIn’s offerings would broaden their reach, enhance their utility, and create market-leading services for business customers, the companies said. Microsoft will pay $196 per LinkedIn share, a 50% premium to LinkedIn’s closing price on Friday. Shares of LinkedIn, which had dropped 42% so far this year through Friday’s close, jumped 47% to $192.46. Microsoft shares fell 2.9%.

Microsoft said LinkedIn will “retain its distinct brand, culture and independence,” with Chief Executive Jeff Weiner remaining at the helm, reporting to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The deal, the largest acquisition ever for Microsoft, is expected to close within the year.

The companies see cost savings of about $150 million a year by 2018. LinkedIn would be required to pay a $725 million breakup fee if it backs out of the deal.

Microsoft believes the acquisition will expand the market for both LinkedIn and Microsoft’s Office products. The software giant has made a significant push in the past few years to make its products more connected and wants to use data to make them more intelligent. LinkedIn’s vast network offers data that could help.

Microsoft may find ways to generate revenue from LinkedIn’s professional network that LinkedIn couldn’t independently, said Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Brad Reback.

Connecting LinkedIn directly to Office could help attendees of meetings learn more about one another directly from invitations in their calendars. Sales representatives could pick up useful tidbits of background on potential customers from LinkedIn data.

Source: Microsoft to Acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 Billion – WSJ

 

The recipe for great digital content

Idox iview

We all know that great digital strategies don’t begin and end with developing a website. But all too often content creation can feel like a burden rather than an opportunity.

A recent event at Reading Room offered a chance to hear some inspiring stories about using content, whether that’s video, photography, copy, infographics, games or audio. In each case the organisation faced different challenges and had found that a new approach to content had helped them overcome these.

Real-life problems

Whatever your business, you need content. It doesn’t need to be complicated and it doesn’t need to break the bank. But it does need to be meaningful, interesting, useful and effective.

• Kingspan are a global leader in self-build housing and construction. With over 175 websites they needed a content approach which was consistent, made sense to their customers but reflected the local markets they operate in.
• Catalyst Housing are in…

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Facebook Messenger Accounts For 10% of Global Mobile VoIP | TechCrunch

Facebook Messenger wants to replace the telephone, not just SMS, and it’s on its way. Messenger now makes up 10% of global mobile Voice Over IP calls, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during today’s Q1 2015 earnings call. And Zuckerberg said that because mobile VOIP can actually provide higher audio quality for calls than traditional phone calls, he expects that growth “is going to continue very quickly.”

Considering Facebook only fully rolled out free mobile VOIP calling to Messenger last April, it’s impressive that it’s already becoming a legitimate competitor to apps like Skype. And just yesterday it began rolling out free VOIP calls to WhatsApp on iOS after bringing the feature to Android last month.

Zuckerberg reiterated that Messenger and WhatsApp will not be integrated. Still, he says “one our theories is that you need a large established network of people who will be able to receive the calls” for VOIP calling to become popular.

With 600 million Messenger users and 800 million WhatsApp users, he thinks they’re both finally hitting that critical mass. And just today, Facebook released its caller ID app Hello that lets you easily ignore normal phone calls and then Messenger VOIP the person right back for free, which could further boost usage of the feature.

Source: Facebook Messenger Accounts For 10% of Global Mobile VoIP | TechCrunch

 

Five Principles of Writing for Users | UX Magazine

Effective writing for UX projects often requires copy that guides users discretely and then disappears into the background—here are five guidelines to get you there.

Article No :1129 | October 30, 2013 | by Ben Barone-Nugent

Writing for users is a deeply intuitive and technical trade. As with web design, digital writing needs to resolve the user’s existing knowledge and instincts with an interactive product.

Digital writing encompasses elements of content strategy: building information architectures, determining content requirements, and finding ways to solve UX problems with things like videos and tools.

Our job is to model, structure, and create information.With that in mind, let’s take a look at some principles that underpin and define how we should write for users.

1. The green light principle

The words you use need to be as easy to understand as a green light—at least, this is the goal. Make your copy so simple, intuitive, and brief that users don’t notice it. “Less is more,” an old boss used to say. This truism of writing is especially true when it comes to writing copy for an interface. After all, interfaces need to be digested and used quickly.

Users can’t be expected to ponder long sentences. People start reading things without realizing they’re doing it, so get in and out before they notice you were even there.

2. Be briefer, and briefer again

The concept of progressive reduction is core to our trade. It’s the idea that users should need less and less “hand holding” as they spend more time with a product. Good products will quickly become second nature.

Look at how copy cascades across your user’s journey. Find ways of making it even more economical once your users have had their first few interactions. Try not to need to re-explain a concept in detail when it reappears (unless it’s rare or complex, of course).

Source: Five Principles of Writing for Users | UX Magazine

 

Instagram Post Notifications

BakerTwin's Blog

Taken from @ShannonBaker‘s Instagram Account

Instagram has done it again. They are once again changing their algorithm. But this time they are taking the “insta” out of the “instagram”. Instead of having posts in your newsfeed show up chronologically, they will now show users the images that are the most popular according to their new algorithm.

You want to know why Instagram is making this change? Because they want to be able to make money. They are changing the app to be able to monetize it just like they did to Facebook. And if you didn’t know, facebook owns instagram.

I personally started using Facebook less when I started getting a bunch of notifications on my facebook feed telling me that I can “boost” my post by paying X amount of dollars to reach more people. So I started spending more of my social media time on instagram. Instagram seemed more organic to me and…

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Digital Media Rights; Do We Truly Own What We Purchase?

This is a very informative article, and a must read, for those of us who assumed that the digital content we buy is ours and accessible on demand.

Digital Media Consumption

The cause and effect of Digital Stores permanency and the goods sold therein.

By: Chris Berto

Digital content is quickly becoming more and more prevalent as the preferred method of media consumption including music, movies, and even video games; but what happens when digital store fronts close down? What happens to your purchased content when a server is shut down? Does the company owe you anything? Did you ever truly own the content in question? That’s what we’re going to discuss.

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3 Simple Ways To “Know Your Audience” On Twitter

Digital Marketing Matters

A common saying in marketing is “Know your audience” which sounds great, but how do you get to know your audience on Twitter?  As one of my favorite cartoons, GI Joe used to say: “Knowing is half the battle.”  Here are 3 simple ways to know your Twitter audience:

1. Use Twitter’s Analytics Page.

Twitter actually provides free analytics to all users, but not everyone takes advantage of it. There are multiple tabs to examine including an overview, demographics, lifestyle, consumer behavior, and mobile footprint.  Within these tabs is actually quite a bit of information.  You can learn about your audience’s occupations, interests, income, gender, political affiliation, buying styles, country and region, etc.  This is the quickest, easiest way to learn information about your audience on Twitter.  I’ve included a couple of images from my own Twitter analytics page below.

2. Read The Profiles of Your Followers.

When someone follows you…

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Using Hashtags Effectively On Social Media

Excellent article and very informative. I never knew about Hashtagify.me – sounds like a great tool.

Purely Social Media

Everyone from Kimye to Politicians use hashtags on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Some people even use it in day to day conversations nowadays. #Guilty.

I have a love hate relationship with hashtags. When they are used correctly, they add to your content and attract new followers/customers/UFO’s. Used wrongly, and they can be pretty annoying to see. Sometimes you see people typing a 20 character status on Twitter and use the extra 120 characters on hashtags – #wrongwaytousethem! There’s a thin line between tolerated and completely intolerable. So, lucky for all of you, I am here to tell you how to use them effectively to benefit your business or blog.

Being a Blogger of almost five years means you get to hear about all of the funny mistakes I’ve made over the years, knowing you will never face the embarrassment of making the mistakes I have. I once posted a picture…

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Why Digital Media Marketing?

Extremely helpful article for anyone looking to start or refocus their career in digital media.

HP Thoughts

It wasn’t until I created my own website where I thought Digital Media is the path for me. I love coding don’t get me wrong but implementing digital campaigns and merchandising content for social media definitely fits my skillset. Digital Media has been a priority for companies all around the world as now there is more and more people using the internet. It is important to interact with customers through different platforms such as social media, apps and messaging.

I created a website for a client called Mehndi Marquees. I thought this was the best way to promote their services due to the wider target audience.  Before starting the digital marketing strategy I made a checklist of a few questions in order to decide what channels I am going to use.

1. Who is the target audience? This is probably one of the most important questions. The target audience is very important not just to find out…

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How to Use an Editorial Calendar to Grow Your Traffic + Social Media Following

Source: How to Use an Editorial Calendar to Grow Your Traffic + Social Media Following

 

Keyboard Shortcuts to browse Facebook

 

 

 

Hello, 2016: Perspectives on a New Year of Blogging

The Daily Post

The new year is when you revisit your previous year’s resolutions (as photographer Ming Thein has done), set new goals, or just do whatever you want. This week, I’ve read a number of posts on how bloggers plan to tackle 2016, and the honesty in each is refreshing. Here are three:

“The Things I Carry from 2015 and My One Word for 2016”

Freelance writer and teacher Lily at Such Small Hands begins this post beautifully:

I lived a hundred different lives in 2015. The adventurous expat, the patient teacher, the homesick little girl, the intrepid world traveler, the anxiety-ridden dependent, the supportive wife, the optimistic partner, the heartbroken friend. I have felt a hundred incongruous emotions — hopeful and discouraged, excited and apathetic, inspired and utterly disengaged, generous and self-protective, joyful and bitterly sad. I’ve traveled through 7 countries and made a 6,000 mile move. Each separate life and identity is…

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How to Curate Your Social Content With Reddit

Are you looking for new content to share to your fans and followers? Discover how to use Reddit for content curation and inspiration.

Source: How to Curate Your Social Content With Reddit

 

Top 6 Social Media Marketing Trends 2016

This is a lively brief video that’s definitely worth a look. The music isn’t half bad either!