Content, content, content!

Social Media is all about creating, writing, sharing or sourcing content which is relevant to your business or brand.

The key is to find or write content and share the content across your social media profiles.

But how do you find relevant content?

Here are 10 ways to find content online:

1) http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/ - The Content Marketing institute has posts about content, how to use content and specific information about different types of content. Read the posts to inspire you to write content of your own.

2) Try find progressive ideas and optimism to share -  http://gimundo.com/ has some fantastic videos and resources you can share with your audience (fans/followers ) and the http://www.good.is/ is a community with ideals and tools for progress. http://optimistworld.com/ has daily good news headlines, stories, charities and companies which promote/highlight optimism and you will find plenty of info here!

3) Make use of the Consumer Barometer – Google’s Consumer Barometer provides insights into how consumers search and research product purchases – which is useful  when it comes to creating content which targets those consumers.

4) Use a Google Keyword Tool – Keyword research can really help with content planning and creation so your content can be optimised for the right keywords (SMO or SEO).  Use Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool for determining which keywords to use, and also use for analysing your competitor's keywords.

5) Quora – Quora is a great place to find what people have questions about and people share information which might come in handy for your own business or brand.

6) Flipboard -  is a magazine type App for your smart phone. You can select information, feeds, magazines and info to follow and flip through and read on your phone. It's also great for sharing content across your social media profiles.

7) Facebook Interests list - you can set up private or public lists of people you follow on Facebook or pages you like. It is great to use lists on Facebook because you get access to all the news feeds from a particular page and it is great for sharing content across Facebook (preferably to your own business page).
Have a look at some wonderful public Facebook lists you can follow - http://www.postplanner.com/100-facebook-lists-to-follow-bypass-edgerank/

8) Set up an RSS Feed - This is a great alternative to subscribing to every single email; set up an RSS feed of websites, blogs or content you'd like to receive. This is a great way to find content and to receive daily information without having to get 100s of emails! I use Bloglovin but there are plenty of others to choose from. If you install the App - you can share content across your social media accounts.

9) Set up a read later account. If you find content on the Internet which you want to save, check, use, or share later - try http://getpocket.com/. You can download the App and link it to your Twitter account as well. I use Pocket to check content on a site; prior to sharing across profiles and I also use it to inspire my own content or to send things across to Pinterest. It comes in very handy!

10) Pinterest is rapidly becoming my go to tool to source content or inspiration for my own social media training. Pinterest is a visual tool full of infographics, images and colour with information about every industry you can think of. You can also download the App and share across social media profiles. (Just remember to find the original site, source and creator of the images prior to sharing - check the links because there is often a lot of spam or people just add pictures without finding the original source.)

Things which may help you even more:

Don't forget to search Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and even Instagram for valuable content or images which are relevant for your brand. (Check Instagram profiles and images carefully before sharing or affiliating images with your business/brand)

If you need to find a hashtag prior to creating your own have a look at Tagboard so you can check to see what conversation is happening and where.

If you cannot find the original image; try using Google's Inside Image Search or try using a Reverse Image Search - so you can credit the original creator (designer, photographer, artist, writer, etc.) prior to sharing any kind of image (or content).

I have set up a public Facebook list for social media content which I use on a regular basis - https://www.facebook.com/lists/10153036927300304

Here are 26 Marketing Tools which you can use for content - http://www.onlinemarketinginstitute.org/blog/2013/01/26-content-marketing-tools-to-use-in-2013/

If you are still struggling to find content and need to update your pages and accounts every day - please ask me. I have plenty of resources, tips and tools for you. Don't forget to check everything preferably on a laptop so you can view the entire site before sharing!

I'd also recommend setting up a social media editorial/content calendar so you can plan your content on a daily, weekly or monthly basis - http://jcsocialmarketing.com/2013/07/control-the-chaos-with-a-social-media-calendar-template/

source: http://alleecreative.com/blog/2013/07/09/how-to-manage-all-those-content-channels/

Be Creative this Year with Your Social Media

This is the year to be creative! 

Mari Smith believes that 2013 is the Year of the Video and uses her site to teach you how to produce high-value, quality video content. She also teaches how to distribute it effectively online and on mobile, and how to create measurable results http://www.marismith.com/yearofthevideo/

Use Video and Photography to highlight your business and brand online.

Make use of Instagram and Pinterest to interact with people and create a connection with people.

Here's info on how to use Instagram for Business  - http://instagram-business.tumblr.com/ and a free Ebook from Hubspot on how to use Pinterest for Business - http://offers.hubspot.com/how-to-use-pinterest-for-business

I've put together a board on Pinterest with examples of how businesses are using social media creatively by creating fantastic campaigns - https://pinterest.com/ebbye/great-use-of-social-media-for-marketing/

Don't forget to mix and match your content and to use different types of content to keep your audience engaged and interested. 

If you need ideas on which content you can use and why - download Hubspot's free eBook on how to Engage Fans on Facebook and use these ideas for Twitter and your blog as well.

Be creative with your marketing and sites this year! 

Don't forget to keep your fans and followers happy on Pinterest, a blog, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by creating and finding content which is fun, informative, entertaining, enlightening, educational, inspirational or motivational and which most importantly adds value.

Image from Hubspot on Facebook

Back Up Your 2012 Social Media

As the year comes to an end; it's time to back up all of your 2012 social media. Why should you backup all of your social media - Valerie Khoo answers this question.

It takes time to find content, images, links and data for daily social media on a variety of accounts and platforms. Social media as a whole is very labour intensive and time spent online, building a community, building engagement, creating content and uploading information often means that people who are managing social media are at the job 24/7.

If you ever need to find something from a few months ago such as reuse an image or rewrite a blog post based on changes in the industry - all you have to do is access your backups rather than searching for (and possibly not finding) the information you created or used online.

You are creating an easy paper trail.

And while you're at it, back up all your documents, folders, files, photos, passwords, emails, contacts and accounts - so you can keep and have records of all the work you have done over the past year.

1) Purchase an external hard drive - this will expand your computer's storage capacity and back up your data. it's great for making sure you don't lose anything important and is useful as a great storage system in case you buy a new laptop or need to restore your computer.

2) Use https://www.backupify.com to backup Your Personal Online Data. there are a range of options to choose from and provides backups of your personal Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Sites, Google Contacts, Flickr, Picasa and Blogger accounts.

3) Use SocialSafe to archive your Facebook timeline, Facebook Pages, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and Viadeo profiles. Everything is stored locally on the your PC or Mac.

3) An alternative for Twitter - go to http://www.allmytweets.net/ - copy and paste a year's worth of your Twitter Tweets into a Word document for easy access and a later search if necessary. AllMyTweets is also a fantastic resource if you are searching for a specific Tweet on Twitter.

4) For a Facebook Business/Fan Page - you can either use Backupify or SocialSafe or you can simply copy and paste ALL of your Facebook posts into a Word document - to save for a later search or analysis.
It is best to backup all your Facebook links, updates and images to have a record of your work done over the year.

5) I'd also use copying and pasting as an option for all your Blog posts and use an Excel spreadsheet to insert all your links for a later stage - especially if you have a social media team (or person) who should be making use of a weekly/monthly social media editorial/content calendar.
This Excel document or calendar will help you track your social media on all accounts - month by month.

6) Save all your images into a social media folder for 2012 and backup those images into an external drive. If you have purchased images or created your own images; these can always be reused at a later stage.

7) I haven't found any backup options for Pinterest as of yet. Go through your Pinterest boards and copy and paste the data you want to keep into a simple Word document; so you can access content at a later stage - *UPDATE - I have found a few options to backup your Pinterest pins using one of the following tools - http://socialwebnerd.com/blog/20-tools-to-backup-your-social-media-content/

There are two good reasons why you should back up all of your social media content and data for the past year:

1) It is good to have and keep the data for your own records and to assist you if you need to search for anything at a later stage. I'd advise that you look at this data in 3 months time and it will help inspire you to write blog posts about changes in social media, business growth and it will help you keep track of your social media as a whole.

2) This will help with social media training. By having accessible data from the past year; this could help a new employee view all of your content on each account and review your brand image online. By having access to a wide variety of information; your new staff member will be able to see exactly how your brand comes across online and what is expected of him/her.

Keep records of your social media each year and this way you can easily analyse your data and track changes from year to year.

Mine are all in simple Word documents saved in an external hard drive for easy access!

*UPDATE

Here are 20 Tools to help you BackUp all your social media accounts including several options to back up your Pinterest pins and links - http://socialwebnerd.com/blog/20-tools-to-backup-your-social-media-content/ 

My advice is to backup all your data on a monthly basis; especially if you work in social media or/and digital marketing as this will help you generate reports.

Image: http://www.handybackup.net

Social Media Gifts for the Holiday Season

Image created on http://www.pizap.com/ from TweetBookz and Firebox

Stuck on gift ideas for the workplace and office? 

Impress your clients with social media these fun gifts make great reminders and they are fun for clients and customers.

These are also perfect gifts for anyone who is addicted to social media!

Instagram Prints - can look wonderful on your work wall or at home - purchase and select your best Instagram pictures for Canvas Prints for your office or opt for the retro Polaroids - these Polaroids are great for end of the year parties!

I'm loving the idea of putting together an Instagram Poster which is a fantastic way to showcase all your brand images.

TweetBookz will make an adorable gift. This is a great gift for clients. Choose their Tweets throughout the year and present them with a keepsake of their best Tweets!

For more social media gift ideas for your clients have a look at Social Stand Media's Top 12 Client Social Media Gifts for 2012 - http://socialstrand.com/2012/12/05/top-12-client-social-media-gifts-for-2012/

Here are 276 gift ideas for anyone who loves digital, technology and gadgets - http://www.techinvestornews.com/Gadgets/Latest-Gadget-News/276-gifts-for-the-geek-in-your-life

I love the Crust Be Dreaming USB Hub! http://www.modcloth.com/shop/computer-accessories/crust-be-dreaming-usb-hub

Need ideas for Secret Santa or office gifts for your work colleagues? How about quirky stocking filler type gifts at affordable prices - http://www.stylist.co.uk/life/gift-guides/secret-santa-gift-ideas

13 Social Media Tips for Business

Here are 13 tips from Social Status on Facebook to help you grow your social media activities online and to raise your profiles!

1. Go Green! 15 Ways to Use Social Media for Green Good - http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/social-media-green-good.htm

2. 19 Twitter Tips for Newbies (or Helpful Reminders for Not-So-Newbies) - http://www.momeomagazine.com/19-twitter-tips-for-newbies-or-helpful-reminders-for-not-so-newbies/

3. Social Media Quick Tips Straight from the SMILE (Social Media, the Internet and Law Enforcement) Conference - http://www.lawofficer.com/article/news/social-media-quick-tips-straig 

4. Learn from The NSW Police - who have made excellent use of social media and formed a vast online connection with their community all over NSW.
With over 100 Facebook pages for each local area, a Twitter account, a YouTube account , 195 Eyewatch Facebook groups - NSWPOL has just won “ConnectedCOPS Award of Excellence at a Large Agency” for overall excellence in the use of social media.

5. Social Media Tips for Accountants - http://www.brw.com.au/p/sections/professions/social_media_tips_for_accountants_WcCPulm2kHz9L9vPJ2ALqN  

6. 5 Tips for Smart Email Marketing - http://www.grassrootsinternetstrategy.com.au/5-tips-for-smart-email-marketing/

7. Facebook Tip: Make sure all your privacy settings are correct. You can also choose what information you share on Facebook and with whom - http://thatsnonsense.com/blog/facebook-privacy-settings-get-your-privacy-settings-right/

8. Monitor all your social media accounts - respond to queries, respond to mentions, check your insights and analytics tools - http://www.ereleases.com/prfuel/7-tips-for-effective-social-media-monitoring/

9.  Clean out any spam accounts on Twitter, check your Facebook likes, check your sources on Pinterest, use a spam filter on your emails and check all the comments and responses on each account.

10. If you have a bricks and mortar business where people can walk in to access your products or services - Use Foursquare - http://fastblink.com/blog/2012/05/30/how-foursquare-literally-changed-the-game/

11. Use social media management tools to listen to and monitor/manage your social media platforms online. Here is a breakdown of some of the best social media management tools for small businesses http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-tools/favorite-social-media-management-tools-for-small-business/

12. Seek Inspiration. Search quotes, tips, tools, resources, images or ideas for a potential blog post. Like and comment on other people's blogs, pages, accounts and profiles. Spend 5 minutes everyday on getting inspiration - here is a place to start - http://www.good.is/

13. Read as much as you can! Set up Google Alerts, Google Reader and a Flipboard account  - so you can keep track of news, blogs, Tweets, Facebook updates, comments, eBooks, guides, resources - the more you know the more in tune your social media will be!

For more tips, tools, resources and guides on how to use social media for business - find Social Status on:
Facebook| Twitter | Pinterest

Or contact Social Status

 

source: http://www.mirnabard.com/2010/03/7-simple-social-networking-tips-for-business/

 

Spotlight ... Bay Medical Australia

I’d like to draw attention to Bay Medical Australia and their use of social media to build their awareness and profile online.

Their Facebook page focuses on fun content as well as marketing their products.
They have made great use of unusual images and medical facts which they have found on the net, making their Facebook page an enjoyable page to visit.

They have made great use of National Days and used Lemonade Day to feature a lemon scrub driving attention towards the scrubs they sell and the people who will purchase their products.

They engage with their fans by encouraging making up captions for  images and make great use of humour.

They also spend a lot of time featuring links to trending news items and use information well for their content and focus on light hearted and informative content to drive their brand.

On Twitter @BayMedAustralia connects with people in their industry, makes great use of links to images and unusual quirky content such as medical facts and images and they actively respond to ReTweets or mentions and use  hashtags to drive their products.

My favourite is their Pinterest account where they actively link (or pin) a broad mix of content highlighting medical and fun facts, information, humour and share fun things that they have found. 

They have made amazing use of boards like Hot in Scrubs http://pinterest.com/baymedaustralia/hot-in-scrubs/ which appeals to TV and movie lovers -  I mean anyone loves a hot doctor in scrubs – right?

So why am I highlighting this brand? It is clear that Bay Medical Australia has a target market of nurses, vets, doctors and other medical personnel who purchase their products yet also need some light-hearted humour relating to their industry.

Instead of focusing on their products alone on each platform, Bay Medical Australia has broadened their content to include, facts, tips, images and humour to build a relationship with their fans, followers and other pinners.

By making their platforms interesting and focusing on the medical industry; they have proven that social media can be very beneficial when used as part of their advertising and marketing. The important thing is that they enjoy using social media and connecting with people and this shows!

Bay Medical Australia supplies scrubs to Offspring and Bondi Vet and throughout the month of September for every Teal scrub sold a donation will be given to Ovarian Cancer Australia. have a look at their range of scrubs and Workwear - http://www.baymedical.com.au/scrubs-and-workwear

Social Media can be part of your marketing package. It can be used to highlight your business, promote your products and reach a wider range of people. I happily follow Bay Medical Australia on each platform and they have inspired some of my own social media content.

Don’t worry about whether you can do social media *well; just start interacting and have fun. It really shows and it makes for a very pleasant and interactive relationship with a business.

*However, be aware of social media etiquette and practices as well as using each platform wisely. Make use of linking to others, cite original sources and adhere to each platform (or network’s) terms and conditions.

source: http://www.business2community.com

25 Ways To Increase Fans and Followers on Social Media

There are a number of options you can take to increase fans/followers.

A lot of people place emphasis on having a large amount of fans and followers on each account. While having a huge amount of followers and fans does indeed attract other fans and followers - there has been talk about how many people you actually reach and whether you are actually engaging with all your fans and followers.

Ask yourself; how are brands/businesses reaching their fans and followers? Are they good at their business? Are they making sales? Do their fans/followers like their products and services? What other marketing/advertising do they do? What are people saying about a business/brand online? Is it really just about numbers?

You have to consider reach, loyalty, ROI, customer service, sales, advertising and whether posts/links are read and how each brand/business is viewed publicly.

Facts about businesses are very hard to determine by judging the amount of fans and followers that an account has on the basis of numbers alone.

A lot of people will tell you to buy fans and followers and I would advise you not to. If you do buy fans and followers, it is highly unlikely that these bought fans/followers will share your content, comment on your content or really communicate with your brand.

Try these tips to increase your fan base on each account  organically:

1. Content is the most important tool to naturally increase your fans or followers. Consider your target market, know your brand or at least the personality of your brand. Share your own business content yet be social on social media! Read, comment on, share, respond to, like, link to and recommend other content from elsewhere (after you have carefully checked the sources) Having great, valuable content is the best way to gain fans and followers!

2.  http://www.masteringsocialbusiness.com/2012/05/07/how-to-get-more-followers-today/ - this podcast  discusses ways to naturally increase followers/fans on a number of social media platforms

3. List your business/brand in free business directories

4. List your Twitter account in Twitter directories

5. Join groups on LinkedIn

6. Participate in hangouts on Google+

7.  7 more steps/ways to gain more fans organically - http://socialmediatoday.com/lauren-parajon/473583/7-steps-gain-more-fans-and-followers-organically

8. Be more interactive on Twitter –  have conversations with others and pretend you are at a networking function. Talk about other subject matters, join in conversations, answer questions, share resources and if you like you can even host Twitter chats or pose questions to followers (if you do decide to ReTweet content or people – please check their bio/profile and the link before you share anything!)

9 . Join Twitter chats

10. On Pinterest, you can like, comment on and repin (after checking the source!) other people’s content

11. On Instagram you can like and comment on other people's images (this applies to other photo sharing sites as well)

 12. On Facebook you can share other business page content on your page; if it is appropriate and in line with your brand

13. Some advice for Twitter - http://iccmarketing.com/blog/how-to-get-more-twitter-followers-the-right-way/#.UCCtU6OpaVo

14. Decide if you want to have a competition or giveaway to organically attract more Facebook fans – you have to use a third party app for this - https://www.facebook.com/notes/social-media-nz/no-likes-allowed-facebooks-competition-rules-that-no-one-seems-to-know-about/200378816641665

15. Email marketing – perhaps consider a monthly or quarterly email; make use of social share buttons and inform readers of each account they can find you on and connect with you on.

16. If you have a business blog; you can connect with other Bloggers in your industry by commenting on and even linking to other peoples' blog post/s. Set up a link list of blogs and build a community of like minded or like industry Bloggers.

17. Bloggers have blogging communities, events, meetups, blog meetings and even seminars/conferences throughout the year. Consider connecting with other bloggers and attending events.

18. Consider Facebook adverts https://www.facebook.com/advertising to either advertise a product or your business

19. Consider Google adverts https://accounts.google.com/

20. Consider print advertising as well

21. Participate in industry events. Consider speaking at industry events. Consider holding an event of your own. If you are able to; you might even consider hosting/sponsoring an event - this will certainly drive traffic to your website and awareness of your brand

22. Attend networking events and meet people! Hand out your business card and chat about your business/brand. As you are well aware; at industry networking events you will meet with at least 1-5 other people, swap cards and talk about other things! Events are a great way to meet people - after all social media is really about PEOPLE.

23. In order to gain fans and followers; it really is about using your accounts every day, finding, sharing and providing great content, updating daily, blogging regularly and reading about/ researching your industry.

24. It takes time to build up fans and followers. Try spending at least 5-10 minutes a day on each social media platform you use, reading, liking, sharing, commenting on other people's content. This will probably increase your knowledge of happenings in your industry and will inspire your own content.

25.  Remember also to monitor all your accounts (daily!) and read everything you can to stay on top of trends, changes and happenings in your own industry. 

I believe that social media is really about 3 things:

1) content (your own as well as other content) 

2) connecting and engaging with people
3) people

source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/23621/4-Ways-to-Use-Email-to-Increase-Followers-and-Expand-Social-Media-Reach.aspx