Continue reading »]]> The internet landscape is constantly evolving. Today people are better able to connect to a wider-scale of relevant sources and share information more effectively than ever before.  According to social media, there’s always room for improvement. Check out this week’s blog to see what we’ve discovered about Twitter and Facebook, and how businesses can proactively integrate these changes into their digital marketing strategy.

Twitter

Twitter is infamous for connecting strangers throughout the globe, giving anyone with an account the ability to tweet celebrities, and spreading national news faster than wildfire. Great for a news source and cyber stalkers, yet not so beneficial for local businesses without a significant investment of resources into building a dedicated Twitter following. However, localized tweets would significantly change the game.

All Things D blogger, Mike Isaac broke the story about Twitter testing a new ‘Local Discovery’ feature which would show tweets relevant to a user’s current geographic location. The project was given new light during Twitter’s most recent Hack Week in early April but is an idea that Twitter developers have been toying with for a while. The problem is how to integrate the feature without disrupting the current user ecosystem?

Localized tweets offer a tremendous opportunity for small business owners. Most active users follow anywhere from 200 to over 1,000 different accounts – that’s a lot of newsfeed competition! Geo-location tweets would allow small businesses to get back into the conversation and communicate more effectively with their desired audience.

Can’t wait for Twitter to stop twiddling their thumbs? Among a host of third party sites, LocalChirp (free), Trendsmap (monthly subscription), and LocalTweetFinder (onetime fee) top of our list for getting insight into local conversations.

Facebook

This social media giant is at it again, this time eyeing consumer review traffic, a market currently dominated by Yelp and Google Reviews. In April, Facebook Mobile got a makeover, optimizing the on-the-go site to be more user-friendly.

Along with user convenience in mind, Facebook is also better positioning the platform to be more mobile ad-friendly. With smartphone and tablet sales’ rapidly outpacing desktop computers the Era of Mobile Ads is just around the corner. A handful of big time digital players, including Google are already beta testing mobile ad best practices on how to capture leads and generate sales via the mobile platforms

Shopping local is ‘in’ again. And unlike traditional marketing and advertising campaigns, social media and SEO marketing comes with precise, measureable Return On Investment. For real results, there must be real investment, especially of time. With social media platforms embracing the ‘glo-cal’ mindset, companies both big and small can benefit from marketing online.

Take off the business hat, and put on your consumer shoes. When you need a phone number or address, do you open the phone book? If you need directions, do you pull out your map? Brick and mortar marketing is quickly turning into junk mail and a waste of trees to the environmentally-conscious consumer. If you’re looking to take your business to the next level, social influence marketing provides the tangible ROI to walk the talk. Let us give your business back its bragging rights.

Continue reading »]]> The marriage of technology and social media are continually creating new ways for people to communicate with one another, as well as an entirely new vocabulary to go along with it, giving significant meaning to phrases like “tweet” and “status update.”  Since its launch in October 2010, Instagram, your user-friendly photo-editing and sharing platform, has attracted over 90 million active users as of January 2013. While the company maintains independent management, Facebook acquired the platform in early September 2012, solidifying Instagram’s place in the social media scene.

Incorporating a consistent visual element into your social media strategy is a great way to show your company’s personality and to engage both future and current customers. Similar to Facebook and Twitter, Instagram requires you to post regularly for successful results, and allows you to interact with users who comment on or like your posts. It also incorporates hashtags* to make posts more searchable, and easily integrates with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, Foursquare, and E-mail to increase photo-sharing. The Instagram app will only upload and edit photos from mobile phones and tablets, though you can view user profiles and photos from the computer.

Instagram has shown significant consumer engagement results, and the ability to drive business for a variety of industries; especially companies which provide fresh, creative content and post multiple times per week. Proving to be a viable platform on all scales, from major corporations like Starbucks, to small, local surf shops like Sunrise in Jacksonville, Fl, Instagram can be a beneficial integration for any company wishing to visually-engage. Need some inspiration? Check out 3 Ways Restaurants Can Use Instagram.

During December, Sunrise Surf Shop ran a month-long promotion for the 24 days leading up to Christmas. Each day they posted a photo of a new item on sale, giving their Instagram followers a visual image, creating a call to action response.

Starbucks Coffee on the other hand, seeks to capitalize on their hashtag, #Starbucks. They encourage their followers to photograph their own experiences with the company and tag Starbucks, who then reposts randomly-selected photos from followers, broadcasting them out to their other 1.2 million followers with an honorable mention to the original photographer by tagging them using the ‘@’ followed by their username**.

How can you incorporate Instagram into your social media game plan? Think about what goes on around your office/place of business, what aspects to you want to highlight or show off to your customers? Do you want to put names and faces to your hard-working employees? How about giving followers a behind the scenes look into your business? Whether it’s a sneak peak at a new arrival of shipment or a beautiful sunrise caught from the meeting room, you’ll probably be surprised how receptive your customers are to seeing what you might otherwise view as ‘just another day at the office.’

*Hashtags enable you to personalize your shared content, and make it more searchable, connecting you with like-minded taggers. It’s a great way to spread valuable content with specific and relevant value to the users. Any word or phrase can be hashtagged as long as you place the ‘#’ symbol in front without spaces; example: #yoga OR #iloveflorida

**Similar to how Hashtags label content, social media users can also use the ‘@’ symbol on many platforms to tag a specific user. For example: ‘@Starbucks’ will notify Starbucks that you have tagged them in one of your posts.

Continue reading »]]> Lately it seems that the Internet madness has migrated and evolved into an App madness, it’s because of this that many businesses are creating and launching their own mobile apps to be present at the fingertips of their customer’s lives. Every time a new social media app comes out we may think to ourselves that “now everything has been done”, only to be presented with a new one a few months later. In celebration of new social media sites and apps launching everyday – have you rejoiced in the launching of the new found social media feed ‘Keek’?

Keek, is a Canadian based social media app that was launched in 2011, but recently has been gaining recognition and is a new favorite app for everyone to enjoy, including celebrities. It can be defined as a Video Instagram or a Twitter feed but for videos. The concept: You can tape anything you want using your phone’s camera and post it creating a ‘keek’, later your friends and everyone on your network can look at your ‘keek’ and comment or ‘keekback’ with their own video response.

Keek is a terrific tool for businesses that are looking for new ways to share videos with their clients, customers and prospects. Shoot videos about new products, upcoming events, informational videos or the “just for fun” videos to engage your customers to make them smile.

Keek differs from YouTube in that it’s more personal and videos are considerably shorter, only 36 seconds long. The point is to express what you want to say in a fun, short and easy to understand manner, while letting your network connect with you at their convenience.

The app also has an embed option, so you can automatically share your ‘keek’ on your Blog, Twitter, Facebook and many other social media feeds. It also facilitates uploading by letting you grab the videos you make with your phone, without having to download them to your computer first.

What new site will become popular tomorrow.. we aren’t sure. For now it’s Keek the ultimate video sharing platform!

Continue reading »]]> Google + is a great tool to connect businesses to the outside world, it let’s you share your thoughts, photos and promote to the right people at the right time. It’s also a way to build relationships with your clients and have them recommend your products or services to their peers online.

5 Ways to Utilize Google Plus:

• Google + Circles: A terrific tool when marketing to specific audiences. Google + let’s you divide your network into groups of people that share a common characteristic, for example if you have a special promotion on mini vans you can target your posts about the special to a specific circle of people, for example moms who have smaller children.

• Google + Direct Connect: This feature allows users to search for businesses in a totally different way. All they have to do is add a + sign at the beginning of their Google search and it will link them automatically to your Google + page. When people Google information about your Dealership they can add your business page to one of their circles – once this is done they will begin receiving your updates allowing them to stay up to date on promotions and current news.

• Google +1 Recommendations: Is the ‘word of mouth’ of the technological era. Often people seek and trust advice given by their family members and friends when they want to find or try a new product or business. Being recommended by their peers will make you more likeable and trustworthy by your future clients, even if it is online.

• Google +1 Display Ads: This feature lets you take recommendations made by your client’s to a whole new level. It’s a great place to let people discuss common topics relevant to your business. This interaction creates ripples that spread across Google + and the Web. 

• Google + Analytics: This may be the most important tool for your business. It helps you to understand how people are sharing your business news, what are they saying, and the reach you have among them. The goal is to target and direct your efforts into useful content aimed at influencers in your network.

While Google has attempted several times to create a social network, it seems that Google Plus is sticking. Using Google Plus for your dealership is important to increasing your online presence, SEO and Word of Mouth referrals online.

Continue reading »]]> Two things people love – Music & Technology. Spotify is here to unite both worlds. This software allows people to search, listen and share their favorite songs… for free! And how do they do that? The same way radio does – through advertising!

Spotify is an up and coming App and website that allows users to create playlists, share them with their friends and enjoy music anywhere by using the App on their phone or through logging in on a computer.

For every 5 songs that are played, an ad will be played before the next song goes live.  These ads are specifically targeted depending on the users age, gender and music taste. Spotify has the ability to let you narrow and find real potential customers based on users likes and dislikes. This precise targeting means your campaign is more effective and measurable than advertising on the radio.

3 Ways to Make Your Ads Stand Out on Spotify:

• Use Music – Most ads are created to interrupt – Ads that are created with a little background music will draw attention and stand out to the rest. Users are on the platform listening to music; they will enjoy an ad with a good tune & continue to listen versus blocking you out.

• Know Your Audience – Know what age group you want to target as well as the likes and interests of your target customers. Use this information to create catchy, compelling ads that appeal to their interests.

• Short, Sweet & to the Point – No need to say the same thing 600 times; keep your ad short with a clear message and a call to action that requires listeners to either go to a website or your Facebook page to track the effectiveness of your ad.

Spotify does not necessarily take the place of radio advertising, however it reaches a different group of people who enjoy putting their own playlists together on a free downloadable app.

Continue reading »]]> With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner, everyone seems ready to spend some quality time with their loved ones the Holiday’s have finally arrived!

Holiday cheer is spread throughout and whether with loved ones or with friends it’s a good time of year to be Thankful. For Business Bragger, this time of year is a time where we reflect on all of the things we are Thankful for, the social media industry being one of them. Here are just a few of the reasons why we LOVE Social Media:

7 Reasons to be Thankful for Social Media

•  Skype: Be with your family even when you are apart. Skype lets you reach your loved ones and share in the moments you might have otherwise missed because of the distance.
•  Facebook: Stay in touch with your friends, sharing pictures, videos, links and all the fun stuff you are doing during the Holidays.
•  YouTube: Create and Share a Fun Holiday video with your family then share with your friends. Be creative & quirky.. don’t take it to serious.. Maybe recreate Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer  with your own version of lyrics.
•  Instagram: Share Your Family Photo. Instead of taking the same picture from different cameras Instagram makes it easier for you to share and tag your family photos this year – Be sure to use the cool editing features that make them extra special!
•  Twitter: Tweet travel updates, tips to get through the Holidays, Articles on the hot shopping spots and Funny Family Stories.
•  Pinterest: Use Pinterest to find unique and delicious recipes this Season. Try out a new dish and then share it with your friends.
•  Foodspotting: This cool Mobile App Let’s you “spot” your favorite dishes. Take a pic of the ol’ bird and spot what your favorite side dish was to go along with it.

Social Media allows us to share in the special moments and memories even when we are apart. To some degree it has brought us all closer. With just a click away from each other even at the Holidays!

No matter what you are doing or who you are spending Thanksgiving Day with, remember to be Thankful for all you have accomplished in your life and for everyone that surrounds you. Use social media to convey how Thankful you are for your Friends, Family & Networks!

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Barely hours away from what could be defined as the most important US elections in the history, social media sites are booming with information, comments and even jokes about everything that has happened throughout the campaign. But the real question for the candidates, social media companies and the public in general is if or how did it all influence the voters decisions into favoring one option.

Determining the real influence social media had requires a lot of research, here are some facts based on trends during the campaign with several swings on both sides of the ballot.

• In the second political debate the amount of comments generated was than the 2012 Super Bowl comments.

• According to some research 39% of the adult population in the US has used social media to promote their candidate to their peers.

• “Binders full of Women” was the most tweeted and social spread comment during this campaign.

• 350,000 tweets where generated about the second presidential debate during the following 5 days after the event.

• This is the first real social media election, in 2008 Facebook had only 100 million users and Twitter was just starting. Now Facebook is near the 1 billion users and Twitter has over 250 million.

• The presidential debates had more viewers than ever thanks to social media. People wanted to see in real life what everyone was talking about on the sites.

• Currently, less than a day away from elections, Google trends positions Obama 10 points ahead of Romney in their Google searches

Whether it changed voters’ minds or not, undoubtedly social media has influenced and change the parameters used to run presidential elections in the US. This means that in years to come candidates will have to pay more attention and be more careful with what’s being spread massively through these sites, because with a more and more socially oriented voter base the challenge will be generate positive feed through the Internet to attract votes.

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Viral YouTube videos are one of the most effective ways to let the world know about your business, product or service, and even yourself. Before becoming viral and being exposed all over the Internet, there comes the development process and creation process. Making a great YouTube video is the result of many components, but one of the most important characteristics to remember is that it has to be genuine and authentic.

Not every video will go viral or even be a success. It’s typically the videos that are informational, cute or hysterically funny that make an impact on people searching for topics. For every video you produce it is important for it to have a meaning. If it’s educational – script it out and develop the points you want people to receive from it.

If it’s a fun video – allow your personality to shine through.

5 Tips to Successful YouTube Videos:

1. Have a Time Limit – Keep your video around 1:30 but a maximum of 2 min. Viral videos are typically short, so they can be shared at any time, in any place in any gadget or device.
2. Be Creative – Sometimes it seems like everything has been said and done, but creativity and uniqueness can be achieved if you stay true to yourself and your brand. Brain storm and find inspiration in the most unexpected places, don’t be afraid to think outside the box!
3. Have Fun – Unless there is a breaking news story or a national tragedy, people look for viral videos to relax and have fun, when creating videos – have fun and show some humor. 
4. Script the Video – Sometimes a great video can be made of mistakes and unexpected shots, however a good educational video is well thought out so you don’t stumble when speaking and you know exactly what to say.
5. Spread the Word – Once your video is ready, edited and on the internet, it is time to post it everywhere, including your social media sites, in your email and ask your friends to share it too. A video doesn’t become viral if people are not watching and sharing it.

Creating YouTube videos will help your brand increase it’s awareness. Videos also help with SEO and when tagged properly may be the first thing people find when searching for your product or service. The most important thing to remember – is to produce videos often and give people a reason to continue watching.

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It has been several years since we all hooked onto the Facebook wagon. Since then many social media sites have come along and gained our interest. Social Media has forever changed the way we communicate.

Instagram is one of those additional sites that has come along and gained traction quickly. Instagram is revolutionizing the world of images and the way people share pictures. Instagram is not just about posting pictures or about sharing every single detail of everyday life, Instagram is a tool to connect with others who enjoy sharing pictures; it also allows users to add effects to the pictures they take to make them look more professional, black and white or give them an old time look and feel.

Instagram is not only for fun, it is also a good way to drive new and repeat business, while making a company more social. Restaurants use it as a tool to connect with their customers, share their dishes and have their customers post their favorite dishes. You can also share food, drinks, pictures of the venue, and special events. Consider it as a way to advertise, engage and communicate with your audience.

3 Ways Restaurants can use Instagram:

• Advertise: Typically restaurants take a lot of pictures of the various dishes and drinks offered when dining in. Upload these pictures to your account using #hashtags with keywords. Hashtags are basically keywords that help people find your restaurant on these social sites. Take pictures that look tasty. Use popular tags such as #food or #foodlove and don’t forget to hashtag your business name.

• Engage: Attract people with unique images and encourage your customers to take pictures of their favorite dishes using the #hashtags you are using. You want to have a network of people who love food, drinks and who are talking about you. The way to get people to talk about you is to have out of the box imagery with a delicious look. 

• Communicate: An image says more than thousand words; you can use  Instagram to communicate with your customers. Post pictures of new dishes, new drinks and specials. This will alert your network that you have something new in to try and will drive them into your restaurant. Remember that many people are visual and are more likely to remember a picture than through words. Be creative when taking pictures and use Instagram to help with creativity!

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You got your company on the social media bandwagon, and decided that yes.. it’s for my business, but knowing which platforms should be used to target specific markets can be a little confusing. Don’t be intimidated. While there are several social networking sites out there, not every site is intended for your business or industry. How do you decide which sites are right for your business?

Research! See which social sites companies in your industry are using and how consistently and effectively they are using them. Or you could just hire a social media marketing agency to take care of the social strategy, content posting and daily interaction. A social media agency will know exactly which sites you belong on and how your business can effectively reach customers through those social sites.

Knowing the purpose of each platform is key when communicating through these social sites, below explains the purpose of some of the major social media platforms, so you can make a better educated decision when choosing to set your business up – if you choose to do it on your own.

• Facebook – As the most popular social networking site, Facebook allows users to promote events, share important information, pictures, have conversations, and create a business page. Through a business page, companies can connect with users on a personal and virtual level. This allows companies to better engage with current and future customers.

• Twitter - As one of the fastest growing social networking sites, Twitter allows users to have informal conversations with just about anyone. For businesses, Twitter is a great promotional tool and conversation starter. Just make sure your content is relevant to your industry and hashtag keywords to enhance your search results.

• LinkedIn – The main purpose of LinkedIn is to expand your business network and find new business opportunities. This platform allows users to discuss industry related topics through their status and through groups. LinkedIn gives users confidence in connecting with potential clients or leaders in a particular industry. 
• Google+- Besides making your business social, Google + lets you share the right things with the right people. Businesses can start hangouts, which let people set up one-click video conversations with customers and colleagues, share pictures, articles, and promote their business.

Also, Google+ lets you promote your business by letting others recommend you with the +1 button, which gives your company credibility. People and companies can add the Google+ icon to their website or blog site to increase their SEO. Overall, this platform allows businesses to target a specific group of people to promote and share at the right time.

• YouTube – Companies can use YouTube to upload commercials, video blogs, and tutorials. This will help your information go viral and give customers a visual feel of what your company is all about.

• Pinterest - What can “pinning” do for your business? Pinterest allows businesses to post pictures, articles, and blogs to better connect and engage with customers. This gives customers a better idea of the company culture and personality of the company. This is a great site for a gym, restaurant or a wellness profession.

The importance of launching a social media campaign is understanding each outlet’s audience. Learn who your  audience is on each platform and then connect with them on their level. WE advise to never use the exact same content or tone when posting on social sites, because each platform needs different information and the way the information is said can either drive fans to you or away from you.

Choosing the right platforms, understanding your audience, and communicating consistently on your social platforms will help your campaign to work effectively.