As the old saying goes, time is money. And nowhere is that truer than in the world of social media marketing. The fact is, the faster you can grow your social media following, the better. Why? Because the bigger your social media audience, the more people you can reach with your message. And the more people you reach, the more sales you’ll ultimately make. So, how can you accelerate your social media marketing efforts and get more followers in a shorter period of time?

Here are four tips that will help you do just that…

• Use Tools to Automate and Simplify Your Social Media Marketing – There are a number of great tools out there that can help you automate and simplify your social media marketing. Buffer and Hootsuite are two of the most popular ones.

  With these kinds of tools, you can schedule your social media posts in advance, so you don’t have to worry about posting in real time. You can also use scheduling tools within your social media accounts. This way, you can focus on other aspects of your business, safe in the knowledge that your social media marketing is taken care of.

• Use Images and Videos – Another great way to get more followers is to include images and videos in your posts. Studies have shown that posts with images or videos get significantly more engagement than those without. So, make sure you’re using a mix of both in your social media marketing.

• Use Hashtags – Hashtags are a great way to get more eyes on your posts. When you use relevant hashtags, your posts show up in the feed of anyone who’s following that hashtag. This gives you a great opportunity to get your message in front of a whole new audience.

• Use Calls to Action – Finally, make sure you’re using calls to action in your posts. Asking your followers to like, share, or comment on your posts is a great way to increase engagement and get more people talking about your brand.

 “Being famous on Tik Tok is basically the same thing as being rich on Monopoly.”

~Unknown

Content curation is the process of finding, selecting, and sharing content that is relevant to a specific audience or topic. When used for social media marketing, content curation can help you build a following, engage your audience, and create valuable content for your brand.

Here are some tips for curating content for social media marketing:

• Know Your Audience – Before you start curating content, it’s important to know who your audience is and what they’re interested in. This will help you find content that is relevant and engaging for them. You can use social media analytics to get an idea of the demographics of your followers and what kinds of content they engage with.

• Find High-Quality Content – When you’re curating content, it’s important to find sources that produce high-quality content that is relevant to your audience. A good way to find these sources is to follow influencers in your industry and see what content they share. You can also use Google and social media search engines to find content related to your keywords.

• Curate a Mix of Content – Don’t just share content from one source or type of content. Curate a mix of content from different sources and types to keep your audience engaged. This could include blog posts, articles, infographics, videos, etc.

• Add Your Own Commentary – When you share content, add your own commentary to give it context and help your followers understand why it’s valuable. You can also use content curation as an opportunity to share your own opinions and ideas related to the topic.

• Share Regularly – Content curation is only effective if you’re sharing content regularly. Plan out a content calendar and schedule your content ahead of time so you can be consistent with your sharing.

If you’re looking to grow your social media following, consider using some of these tips. Engage with your audience by posting interesting and relevant content. Make sure to post regularly, and use hashtags to reach a wider audience. Use social media ads to target specific demographics, and partner with influencers to help promote your content. With a little effort, you can soon see a significant increase in your social media following.

The post Social Media Marketing: Automate and Curate appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

If you want more free traffic from Facebook then the best way to do this is to increase the amount of engagement that you get with your posts. Engagement is an action that a Facebook user takes with respect to your posts. The most popular forms of engagement are commenting, liking your posts and sharing them but engagement can take other forms such as clicking links and tagging you in other posts. All of this engagement helps you to improve your organic reach.

• Perfect Posting Times – It is just common sense – if you add your posts at the times when your audience is the most active then you significantly increase your chances of getting more shares, likes and comments. Fortunately, there is data-driven research to help you identify the best social media posting times so that you can align your posting schedule with these. Read more.

• Fan-Centric Content – Do you give your audience what they really want on Facebook? Most marketers don’t do this and then wonder why their engagement levels are so low. Let’s say that you are a local restaurant using Facebook for marketing. Does that mean that everything you post has to be about food or drink – no certainly not! Read more.

• Identify Your Popular Posts – If you have been making posts on Facebook for a while then you can easily identify which of your posts were the most popular with your audience. By looking inward like this you can see what type and format of content really resonate with your audience. Read more.

• Get Your Photo House in Order – Facebook users will always be more attracted to good-looking visuals. The vast majority of content on the platform is image based. The reason is obvious – it is a lot more interesting than a bunch of text or a boring link. So one of the easiest things that you can do to increase your engagement on Facebook is to get your photo house in order. Read more.

• Make Responding to Comments a Priority – Research has shown that businesses that respond to comments on their posts have a lot more success on Facebook than those that don’t. A lot of the time a comment is actually a question from someone in your target audience. Other people will have the same question in their mind so by answering this you will make a lot of your audience happy. Read more.

• Align Your Website Content With What Works Well on Facebook – You want to get as many shares, likes and comments as possible on Facebook. The more shares, likes and comments you have, the more you will know that the content that you are providing is resonating with your audience. You are giving them what they want. Read more.

• Use a Compelling Call to Action on Your Posts – If you want people to take action on Facebook (or online in general) then you need to tell them what to do. Some people are uncomfortable with this but it is true and you need to do it. You need to include a call to action (CTA) with your posts. Read more.

• Use Video – Videos are immensely popular on Facebook. Facebook users consume over 8 billion videos each day. The simple fact is that users would much sooner watch a short video than read a lot of text. You could call this laziness, but often it will be preferable or more convenient for the user to consume your content in this way. Read more.

• Make Your Posts Short – Facebook users do not want to read long posts. You will get far more engagement if you keep your posts brief. If you need to explain something in detail then create a brief post and a link to your website where more information is available. Read more.

• Know What Your Audience Wants – Facebook Insights can provide you with the information that you need to understand your audience. Do not overlook this powerful resource as it can provide you with a lot of detail that you probably won’t have been expecting which you can use to connect better with your audience in the future. Read more.

• Ask Your Audience a Question – Not enough Facebook marketers do this. Facebook users like responding to questions. It’s human nature to provide an answer when you are asked a question. When you ask the right questions you will find that your audience responds with a lot of comments. Read more.

• Facebook Stories – When you create good Facebook stories you will build a stronger desire within your audience to see more of your content. Some users will spend time on your Facebook Page checking out previous posts that they missed. Read more.

Increasing your engagement is the best way to get more free traffic from Facebook. Implement these techniques starting today and watch your engagement levels soar – and your free traffic, too.

Whether you’re too short on time or just don’t want to do it, contact us and we’ll take care of it for you.

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How to Create Great Images for Your Facebook Ads
When scrolling through your Facebook home feed, some ads will instantly catch your eye, whereas others you’ll simply pass by.

So what is the difference between these? Which ones really grab your attention and which ones fail to make any impression? Often, the difference comes down to the image that is used. While a headline can make a big difference too, an image can convey a lot more information in a much shorter time and as such is potentially more impressive when it comes to quickly getting us to sit up and take note.

This then begs the question as to what it is exactly about certain images that make us pay attention. And how can you channel this in your own advertising campaigns in order to ensure that you get the maximum bang for your buck?

Images That Grab Attention
The first thing to think about is what type of image gets us to look up in the first place. Studies show for example that images of people are more likely to get us to pay attention than any other object or subject matter. We are simply hardwired to pay attention to faces and other humans because it has clear evolutionary value.
The other type of image that grabs attention is anything that uses highly contrasting colors. If your images are bright red or yellow, then this will make them pop off the page more. Red in particular always makes us take notice and this works particularly well on a light blue/white background.

Tell a Story
Getting attention is your first objective. Getting your audience to actually engage with the advertisement and consider clicking it is the next. To do this, it can help to try and tell a story through your image. Don’t simply show what it is you want your audience to think about but instead try to evoke it and hint at it. For example, if your ad was about a party, then it might actually work better to show a lipstick-stained glass rather than showing the party itself. This forces the viewer to imagine what the image is trying to show, which instantly grabs their attention and makes them more inclined to actually think about your ad versus scrolling past.

What you want them to imagine meanwhile is always going to relate to your value proposition. In other words, ask yourself what kind of lifestyle is linked to your product and how you want your audience to feel looking at it.

You might also enjoy reading:

Creating a Great Logo for Your Social Media Brand

8 Tips to Reach More People With Social Media Marketing

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Top Ways to Get More Followers on Instagram

Instagram is all about showing off a way of life and using glamorous-looking pictures to make your products and services incredibly desirable. While this is true though, it’s also only one part of how you can use Instagram to succeed and grow your business.

At the end of the day, you can have the most inspiring Instagram account in the world but if no one knows about it, you aren’t going to be very successful.

So, the question is: how do you go about growing your Instagram account and how do you make sure that you find the right followers? Read on and we’ll look at some of the best strategies you can use.

Integrating Your Instagram With Your Existing Marketing

Hopefully, you will already have some form of marketing and this will most likely involve a website, a Facebook account, Twitter and more.

One thing you can do right away to grow your Instagram account is to bring in visitors from those other channels. One simple way to do this is to add a button on your website that people can click in order to follow you on Instagram. This way, the more people you bring to your website, the more you will be able to grow your Instagram account. This will then also work in reverse; so that as your Instagram account grows, you are able to send more and more people back to your website!

Likewise, use IFTTT (If This, Then That) in order to publish your Instagram pictures straight to your Twitter account. You can also get plugins that will show your Instagram pictures in the sidebar on your website, thereby helping more people to see the kind of content you are sharing there.

Ask People to Follow You!

This sounds a little too simplistic to be effective but in fact, that is exactly why this is such a good strategy! One of the very best ways to get more people to follow you on Instagram is simply to ask them to go and check out your page. Just say at the end of your next YouTube video: ‘why not check out my account over at Instagram?’. You can do the same thing with blog posts.

Socialize

At the end of the day, Instagram is a social media platform and that means that it is a communication tool. Use it as such by making sure to comment on photos that other users have taken or to like them.

Research shows that Instagram users find it flattering when brands like their pictures. And chances are that when they are flattered, they will want to check out exactly who it is that likes their photos!

Influencer Marketing

One of the very most effective ways to grow on Instagram is to team up with other creators and promote each other. This is called Instagram marketing and when done well, it will give you instant access to a huge audience that the other creator has spent time growing.

If you need help with your social media marketing, let us know.

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If you’re posting regularly to an Instagram account with beautiful images and you still aren’t seeing growth, you might understandably find yourself feeling frustrated. You may think Instagram just isn’t right for your business or that you’re doing something wrong.
Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that organic growth on Instagram takes time. With that said though, here are five tips that can make a big difference and ensure you grow that bit more quickly.

• Use Portrait Orientation – Taking photos with portrait orientation is generally considered the best practice in Instagram marketing. If not portrait, you should at least choose square images. This way, your image will stay on the page longer while the users are vertically scrolling, meaning more engagement and hopefully more likes. Canva provides a preset size for Instagram photos.

• Post at the Right Time – Posting at the right time of day has been shown to be hugely important when it comes to your Instagram success. You will maximize the number of people who are awake and who are using the app. Research suggests that posting some time between 10 am and 3 pm on a weekday will net you the best results. BUT this doesn’t account for global time differences. If you’re aiming for a global audience, then posting at 6 pm GMT might just be the smarter strategy.

• Post Frequently – Ideally you should be posting 2-3 times per day. This will ensure that there is a steady flow of content on your site and that it doesn’t seem as though the page has been abandoned. What’s more though, is that posting this regularly will mean almost all of your viewers will see at least one image from you per day.

• Use Hashtags – Hashtags make a big difference on Instagram. Make sure you use them often and use them well. Use 3 to 5 hashtags and as many as 30 in order to maximize your chances of a big hit. Find the sweet spot in terms of popularity too – 30,000 is a good number of posts to see.

• Choose Your “Look” (Brand) – Many accounts are all over the place, with every image they post looking completely different and the end result being a page that has no consistency. Making sure the majority of your images have a consistent look – even picking the same filter for every photo – can prevent this issue and help people to better understand what you’re about and whether they should follow.

Use these 5 tips to find better success with your Instagram marketing efforts. And, if you ever need help with your social media marketing, just call us at (928) 692-3235 or complete the form below and we’ll contact you.

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Having a successful business online can be challenging. It can be hard to attract people who want to buy your products or services. The truth is that you have to go and find them. Marketing with social media can be a great way to do this.

Here are some effective social media tips that will make you a success.

• Update Your Company’s Facebook Profile Regulary – Set a time schedule aside every day to keep your company’s information up to date. This should be the time when you share exciting news, answer questions, or post giveaways. Never leave your customer base hanging by not posting at regular intervals on your page.

• Use Lots of Great Content When Setting Up Your Facebook Page – There is nothing worse for a consumer than going to a business page and finding almost no useful information. Take the time to answer any questions they may have ahead of time with the content you put on your page.

• Link Your Social Media Site Together – Have links from each site you maintain to all your other sites. That way if a person who follows you on Twitter also has a Facebook page, they find it and see you on bother platforms. This will increase the number of followers you have.

• Using Social Media to Advertise Your Business – If you are using your social media to advertise your business, make sure you include the link to your website. Getting people to click over to your site is a great way to inroduce them to all you have to offer.

• Keep Your Eye on the Prize – Don’t make your business page about yourself. Focus on your company, your product or your services. Keep your personal updates and information on your personal page and make sure to keep the two separate.

• Learn to Make Fun Headlines for Your Social Media Blogs – Headlines are like the front of your business. Think of interesting was to lure people to your blog. Experiment with the headlines on your page.

• Make Lists for Your Social Media Blog – To attract more people to your blog, use information that can be read quickly by your readers. The best way to do this is to compile lists. Put together things like “10 Best Places for Visit” or “10 Songs That Make You Move”.

• Maintain a Positive Perspective – Being positive is essential to making your followers feel good when they visit your page. When they feel good, they are more likely to share your page and revisit it to see what else you have to offer.

Use these tips to make your business stand out on the Internet. It will be much easier to get people to visit your website once you start putting these social media marketing tips in place. Once you see results, you’ll be even more motivated to stick with this great way of marketing.

You may also be interested in:

• Using Facebook Live is a Big Deal
• Facebook Live – What You Need to Know First
• Facebook Marketing for Your Local Business

Need help with your Social Media Marketing? Let talk!

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5 Easy Steps to Grow Your YouTube Channel
YouTube has become one of the most visited websites online with more than 1.9 billion active users per month, and second only to parent company Google in terms of daily searches on the site. On the surface, you might see YouTube as a place to watch music videos, tune into a favorite vlogger, or stream video games online, but it is so much more than that. YouTube is an untapped goldmine for people to make money online quickly.

If you’re looking for ways to grow your YouTube channel for your business, here are five easy steps to reach your goal.

Have a Purpose
You need to have a clear objective and purpose for starting a YouTube channel. It takes more time to grow YouTube channels compared to other social media platforms, but knowing why you want to create video content can help you stay on track when things don’t seem to be moving forward. It is imperative that you know your purpose for starting a YouTube channel if you want to find success.

Optimize Your Video Descriptions and Titles
As the second largest search engine, the best way for your videos to be found on the platform is to make sure that your descriptions and titles are SEO optimized. Determine the best keywords to use that are relevant to your industry and make sure to include them in your descriptions and titles. You also want to look at what currently exists and what the top-ranking titles are in your industry.

Use VidIQ and TubeBuddy for Your Video Tags
Just like with your descriptions, you want to make sure that all of your videos use keywords as their tags. This will help to improve the discoverability of your videos. Two tools that can help you with this process are TubeBuddy and VidIQ. Both tools will provide you with recommendations for tags that you can insert into your videos as well as show you how your video ranks for set tags.

Use How-To Videos to Teach Your Audience
There are two reasons why people find themselves on YouTube, to be educated and entertained. Rather than producing the same boring videos demonstrating your products or sharing your insight, why not create How-To videos to help educate your audience. Think about what you can teach your audience and develop videos around your skills.

Outsource What You Can’t Do
If you don’t know how to edit video, or you don’t have the equipment you need to produce high-quality videos, outsource the work to someone who does. If you need content, consider hiring someone who can shoot and edit videos for you and bring them in once a week. It can be a lot cheaper than you think and will save you the time and frustration from doing it yourself.

YouTube has become a powerful tool for small businesses. Following these five easy steps can help you grow your YouTube channel and find success.

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How to Meet Your Social Media Marketing Goals

Most advertising plans can be very expensive. This becomes a hurdle for some small businesses. Social media marketing can fix that issue. There are no costs required to create and provide good content on social media networking sites. This means anyone can take advantage of the opportunity. The focus shifts to quality over quantity.

• Use a Twitter handle that is very close to your business name or brand name. Handles like Jane7592 are very forgettable. Your name and your brand should be memorable. Consumers will look for it when they are shopping online.

• Connect your social media accounts to each other and try to secure the same name for all of them. By doing this, you will develop a greater presence on the internet as people search for you. Connecting the accounts allows people that have discovered you in one place to quickly connect to your business through other forms of social media.

• Twitter is a great way to market your company online. Manners are very important so customers don’t feel that you are being pushy or disrespectful. Be polite when talking about your company and giving out information.

• If you are looking to use Twitter as a social media marketing method, make sure that you choose a username that displays well and is easy to remember. This username should get the point of your company across. It should also be easy to remember. Don’t choose usernames like TommyXo1009. No one will remember it and it is likely irrelevant to your company’s name.

• Blogging is a great example of social media marketing. Own a blog to market your products and services to consumers. Post regularly on your blog so you can get exciting information out to your market. Remind people that you exist and so does your blog. People tend to forget about blogs that aren’t often updated. Theymoften lose interest and move on to your competitor.

• YouTube is a very popular option for social media marketing. It offers the interesting opportunity of making videos relating to your company and putting in your company’s website link or contact information. Make sure you tag each video properly and write a description that is informative as well as inviting to consumers.

Whatever your choice is for social media marketing, make sure that you use correct grammar. Remember that you are a professional who knows a lot about his or her company. Do your best to spell everything correctly and use punctuation where it is needed. A great spelling and grammar tool is Grammarly. Even the free version works well.

If you already own or are considering starting your own business, social media will create a new world of opportunities and profits that only require time and focus. Remain updated with the newest advancements in the online world and always stay ahead of the competition.

Sign up below to download your free copy of my Social Media Checklist.

You may also enjoy reading:

• Social Media Marketing and How to Use It Successfully for Business

The post Are You Reaching Your Social Media Goals? appeared first on Second Self Virtual Assistance.

Your LinkedIn publishing plan must have consistent, interesting, and genuine content to keep your connections engaged. An important step to doing this is to create a social media editorial calendar. This can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it. Schedule your content posts in LinkedIn or over multiple social media channels. Your LinkedIn publishing plan is meant to keep you consistent, organized and focused on your goals. Publish manually or schedule content using third-party tools such as HootSuite.

When considering your publishing plan, you will want to post content that matches up with your LinkedIn voice and who you are as a business. The content should be personable but “business-focused” only. You are trying to build a list by gathering a group of people that are interested in what you have to say and share. Content helps create a relationship with them and supports your credibility as an authority in your field.

Since LinkedIn is all about business, and not your personal agenda, you need to make sure you identify the type of status updates to send to LinkedIn only. This ensures that the right content is reaching the right audience!=.

Some ideas for content to publish on your LinkedIn account are below:

• Infographics
• How-to Videos for Business
• Blog Posts and Articles
• Inspirational Quotes
• Current Industry Events
• Polls and Surveys
• Business Questions
• Free Reports and Business Guides

Here are some ideas of content management to use for LinkedIn.

Everyday you should do the following. It should take approximately 15 minutes each day to complete these tasks.

• Update Status (via Hootsuite) 3-5 Times
• Review/Comment on Network Updates on Home Page
• Check your inbox and respond to messages.
• Check target group discussions and like, follow, and comment accordingly.
• Actively participate in discussions. Make sure “Group Rules” are being followed.

Every week for approximately 30 minutes of your day do the following:

• Post new discussion threads in target groups (1-2 times per week).
• Invite 15 new connections.
• Endorse specific skills of 3-5 profiles.

Every month spend about 45 minutes doing the following:

• Update profile content.
• Update Company Page with new productions, promotions, etc.
• Write and request 5 – 10 recommendations.
• Review and add new apps.
• Search and join new target groups.
• Measure and record LinkedIn and business states.

Experience the power of LinkedIn. Use this information to develop your own LinkedIn Publishing Plan. Through LinkedIn, you’ll get access to people, jobs, news, updates, and insights that help you be even better at what you do. It will build your reputation and instill trust in you and your business.

You Might Also Enjoy Reading:

4 Ways to Generate Leads on LinkedIn

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Chances are that you are already a member of at least one social media platform. It’s a great way to have a local presence. Did you know that it’s also a way that prospects are finding out about you?

Prospective clients want to know if you’re trustworthy and credible. Your social media presence will provide them with a lot of the answers they’re looking for.

This is why you need a strong social media presence:

Going Viral – Expand your reach by posting information and graphics that go viral. When people like the content you post, they let their followers know about it. Those followers share it with their followers and so on. All that sharing translates into a lot of traffic. Best of all, it’s free advertising!

Building A Strong Reputation – Be seen as a thought-leader in your industry. It gives you credibility and trust with your followers. Blogging is perfect for showcasing your knowledge and social media is a way to amplify your reputation to audiences who otherwise may not know you.

Improving Customer Service – People are not shy about voicing their opinions on social media. If you’re not active, you could be missing a derogatory remark and an opportunity to set the record straight, apologize or provide them with options to make it up to them.

Social media marketing takes a lot of time. If you cannot be active on all social media platforms you currently belong to, choose at least one that you can be. Another option is to hire a social media professional to take care of it for you.

Be consistent and active. You’ll be able to build your reputation, make a positive impression, and stop potential issues by responding in a timely manner.

Other Social Media Posts You Might Like:

Top 5 Tips for Getting Social Media Followers

4 Types of Visual Social Media Posts and the Tools to Create Them

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