Social Media Marketing Archives • Dzhingarov

11 Tactics To Use Buffer Effectively For Social Sharing

Dzhingarov — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:50:17 +0000

While sharing on various social media sites, people tend to get dissuaded as they have to spend a long time in front of a computer screen. But not any more as now it is possible to do your social media posting with a number of apps that are now available. Buffer is gaining a lot of popularity as it is a social sharing scheduler that you can use with Twitter, Facebook, as well as LinkedIn. What Buffer does is that it will build up a queue of your content. Now it will send it to your connected profiles as per the schedule that you have set. Or even Buffer can set up this schedule for you. The Buffer analytics will be built directly into your dashboard and they will do the follow-up for you. So Buffer saves you time and energy while you still manage to create content constantly on your social media. This is a free service where you can get up to two accounts. In case you want more profiles or additional features, you can opt for paid plans.

By JNFerree under CC BY 2.0

Given here are 11 tactics to use Buffer effectively for social sharing

1. Optimizing your Tweeting schedule to get maximum benefits

You would be able to analyze your Tweeting in a way that you have a schedule so that you send your Tweets when your audience is listening. Buffer will connect automatically with such sites and your postings will match your schedule.

2. Add Buffer to your browser

You can have a Buffer browser extension in Chrome, Firefox, or even Safari. So when you are surfing, simply clip any web page, photo, or even text to it. This is really efficient as you can share whatever you have found without leaving your page.

3. Use Buffer’s compatibility with your favorite RSS reader

Buffer is compatible with most of the leading RSS readers. This means that you can post directly through your RSS reader too.

4. Use the power of Buffer and IFTTT and make it work for you

You can make use of IFTTT which is a free service and allows you to make connections with apps as well as other based on any conditional statement. So in case it rains, it will put a Tweet in your Buffer. You can add it to your Facebook schedule through Buffer. This is a unique way in which you can get your creativity juices flowing.

5. Buffer works with your email too

You wish to post something on your social media site and email is all that you have near you; then you can send this post to your Buffer email address. Just put your message in the subject line, and place the link in your email body. Now Buffer will do all the work of adding it to your queue and posting it as per your schedule.

6. Use your phone to Buffer

Buffer is compatible with iPhone and Android devices too. So now you can take advantage of this service no matter where you are. So now your phone can turn into a super sharer.

7. ReTweet with Buffer

You can make Buffer work right within your Twitter account. This means that you would be able to snag your favorite Tweets and even schedule a ReTweet for later. This way you do not have to log in too many times a day. Besides, you also save yourself from clogging your Twitter timeline with these ReTweets.

8. Integrate Buffer with Facebook

Just like Twitter, you can integrate Buffer with Facebook too. So you can share to your own timeline or post as per the schedule set by you.

9. Tracking with Buffer

Your business needs to measure in order to know its ROI. Buffer lets you know the number of clicks, likes, ReTweets, as well as shares through its built-in analytics.

10. Using Buffer WordPress plugin

By posting through your WordPress blog, your writing is added to the Buffer queue. The WordPress plugin will help to optimize each post for the social networks.

11. Using the Buffer button to increase shares

Even though each social media sites have share buttons on their blog posts, there is a Buffer button that will let readers share content right then or schedule it for later.These 11 tactics to use Buffer effectively for social sharing are a boon for those who find it very difficult to manage their social media responsibilities. It has aneasy-to-use interface that lets you manage postings on various social media sites.

By Boris Dzhingarov

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How To Use YouTube Videos To Create Highly Engaged Customers

Dzhingarov — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 03:00:45 +0000

Great promoting is the key to bringing in new customers to your business. If a customer feels that you are someone who is trustworthy and reliable, then they’ll feel the same way about your products or services.

There are plenty of ways to promote yourself to potential clients, but have you ever considered using YouTube.

The Benefits of YouTube

Thousands if not millions of videos are accessed daily on the YouTube website. You want to promote your products or services to the masses, right? YouTube is a good option. YouTube is not just for entertainment purposes anymore, now there are people who promote their businesses with it. It’s fairly easy to upload a video to the website, and your business will be basically promoting itself when your videos uploaded. The best thing of all about YouTube is that it’s free to broadcast your footage.

Creating a Good YouTube Video

The entertaining videos that are on YouTube have at least fair quality. Videos that are grainy and or choppy are less attractive. And it’s even worse if they can’t hear the speaker clearly. Make sure your camera is focused and that there’s good lighting in the space that you’re shooting the video. Also, make sure you are close enough to the microphone so that you’re not hushed or muffled. There may be settings on your computer or recording device to adjust your footage and make it more presentable.

Make short videos

With longer videos, it’s easier to lose the interest of the viewer if you’re trying to promote something. If you spend too long trying to deliver your message, you’re more likely to stray from important information that you should talk about. Stay away from the minutia. Remember you’re trying to get more customers, not start a sitcom.

Edit your finished recordings and add special effects to make it better. Editing software is available for your computer for free, though not all of these programs are good. Do not overdo it with the special effects; just do enough so that it looks more professional. Too much would make it look cheesy.

Keeping People Interested

It’s all about the presentation, right? When you don’t sound enthusiastic and you don’t appear excited about your own products or services, don’t expect anybody else to be. Try to sound and look livelier. Do not dress as if you’re spending the day lounging on your living room couch. It might help to dress a bit more casual Try to involve something in your message that is relevant in today’s society and that a lot of people can identify with.

Things that are going on in the media, stuff that people see on TV and in movies, these are some examples of things that you can mix into the message that you’re trying to convey. It can’t hurt to have more of a sense of humor if it calls for it; people love to be able to laugh at things, don’t they?

By Boris Dzhingarov

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Tips To Use Twitter For Ensuring Greater Business Recognition

Dzhingarov — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 08:23:26 +0000

A smart, user-friendly business website is not all that you need to have, for promoting your products/services on the online space. To connect with a large number of users, your business simply must be represented on the various social media channels too. Convenient two-way communication is one of the prime reasons behind the growing importance of these websites, in the world of business. In this article, we will focus on how you can use Twitter to generate greater recognition for your business:

a) Create short, crisp ‘tweets’ – Researches have shown that, ‘tweets’ that are less than 100 characters in length enjoy greater engagement from readers/followers. Yes, you have a maximum of 140 characters for every tweet, but you need not use them all!

b) Place the twitter widget on your website – Your ‘tweets’ might be the most informative ever, but what if the website visitors have no chance of navigating to your Twitter profile? Make sure that inclusion of the Twitter widget (along with the other social media widgets) forms a part of your web design & development plans. By the same token, people should also be able to browse back from your Twitter profile to the main website. Click here for tips on inserting social media widgets on your website.

c) Tweet at regular intervals right through the day – Posting a tweet is almost like sharing a piece of breaking news. Hire the services of a professional, who would be in charge of tweeting about various news and updates related to your business, at regular intervals. The tweets, however, should not be posted too often (unless, of course, you have a news agency of your own). You can use ‘tweet-scheduler’ applications (e.g., HootSuite) to schedule tweets during the non-office hours too. Find out more about tweet-schedulers here.

d) Use the ‘#’ and the ‘@’ tags – Twitter allows you to highlight words and phrases with the ‘#’ tag, and you need to make good use of it. Place this highlighting symbol before the names of your company, brands and products/services, whenever you use them in your tweets. Similarly, you can interact with your business partners and clients directly, by using the ‘reply’ (‘@’) tag. You also need to be conversant with the different URL-shortening applications. Social media integaration is, after all, meant for more interpersonal communication.

e) Compose tweets which would go viral – Unless your Twitter posts stoke the interest of viewers, the channel will hardly be able to complement even your best website design plans. Think up relevant tweets that would have high chances of being re-tweeted by your ‘followers’. Just like getting ‘likes’ on Facebook posts, having ‘retweets’ on Twitter is equivalent to positive word-of-mouth publicity.

f) Think beyond text tweets – How many times have you seen your rival businesses, as well as individual users, post images in their tweets? Take a leaf out of their books, and use pictures and videos judiciously in the posts that you publish right through the day. Visually acquainting the visitors to your products/services would always work to your advantage!

g) Find out whom to follow – Growing the total number of followers is definitely one of the prime objectives of having a Twitter profile for business, but it should never be your only target. You also need to determine the people/business profiles that you would follow. Apart from your regular business partners and stakeholders, you can also find out people/companies who have excelled in your line of business, and follow them. The total numbrer of people you are ‘following’ should never be higher than your number of ‘followers’.

h) Keep track of the ‘trending’ topics – Your website development plans have to be in keeping with the tastes and interests of the intended visitors, and the Twitter account should be managed in a same way as well. Find out which topics/products related to your industry are ‘trending’ high on Twitter, and compose your tweets accordingly.

Practically all types of business-related information can be conveyed via Twitter. Chalk out your website design in a way that the live tweets are visible to the website visitors too. Twitter can serve as a powerful new-age business marketing tool – you only need to know how to use it best!

Author: Kenneth Parkar – Follow him on Google+.

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How to Optimize Pinterest for Small Business

Dzhingarov — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:56:42 +0000

Pinterest is currently the fastest growing social network and it has increased active users by 1,047% since last year. That’s enormous growth! Although it’s still a relatively new social sharing platform, it’s slated to outrank LinkedIn this year in terms of total users.

While most people associate LinkedIn with businesses, there is no reason why a small business owner can’t take advantage of alternate social networks like Pinterest to gain followers and promote the brand.

Read on for three ways businesses can capitalize on Pinterest as part of a comprehensive marketing campaign and learn tips for attracting followers – regardless of the type of industry you’re in.

Think outside the box

Many business owners shy away from Pinterest because they think they have to be artistic, or they’re worried that their company isn’t relevant to the Pinterest concept. But any type of business can promote a brand via Pinterest, it just takes some creative brainstorming.

For example, let’s say you’re in an industry that is typically less conducive to the Pinterest model, like finance. You can upload pictures and creative boards that merely touch on the theme. The merchant account provider, High Risk Pay, has Pinterest boards that include inspirational quotes about achieving success, images of luxurious goods, and the logos of successful brands.

Embrace your inner photographer

If the images you believe are relevant to your business are absent from Pinterest, it’s time to take the lead. Invest in a nice camera, or use your smart phone to take pictures that embody the culture of the company. Use a reliable photo editing software to make even the most basic pictures look artistic and visually appealing. Picmonkey and Skitch are two free programs that allow the user total control over uploaded images. Another option is to create a board on Pinterest specific to images from the company blog. It’s a great way to drive traffic from Pinterest to pages or websites more specific to the business and it will increase blog exposure.

Use Infographics

Infographics and instructographics are a great way to sum up an aspect of your industry in a visually appealing way. Most Pinterest users have become accustomed to the role of infographics on Pinterest and they are just as willing to “like” and re-pin these images as any others. Instructographics allow you to gather company data and industry stats and share it with others in a compelling format. Without making a hard sales pitch, an infographic can be the call to action that spurs others towards using your products or services.

Ultimately, like any social media platform, Pinterest is what you make of it. Companies of all shapes and sizes are jumping aboard the Pinterest bandwagon because the data shows consistent growth across the network. Don’t commit to Pinterest (or any social media network) if you can’t regularly log on and engage with followers, but if you have the time and resources to craft an online presence, the payoff is certainly worth it.

Author: Brian Patterson – Follow him on Google+

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4 Tips to Help Small Business Owners Conquer Facebook

Dzhingarov — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:30:44 +0000

Facebook is nothing new, but when it comes to using the platform for professional purposes, many business owners are at a loss. Building a community takes time and effort but it’s not hard when the right approach is taken. If you’re struggling to grow an audience and can’t seem to engage users on your company’s profile page, follow these guidelines for improving your overall Facebook strategy.

Post Photos

According to a 2012 survey by ROI Research, 44% of respondents reported that they were more likely to engage with brands if messages contained pictures. More so than video or plain text, photos draw users in quickly and make them curious about the content. A financial education company, Online Trading Academy, found that posting photos of traders at their workstations dramatically increased engagement with the Facebook page. Those traders who were featured were eager to share the pictures with friends and the campaign drew numerous comments, “likes”, and shares from followers.

Ask Questions

Questions are a great way to increase the number of comments on your home page and also generate a higher edge rank score for certain posts. If you ask a question that receives several replies, that activity will appear in more newsfeeds. The more visibility a post has, the more comments and likes it can earn. It’s a cycle of engagement where the more interaction there is on the page, the more interaction there will be. Asking questions is also a great way to informally survey customers and adjust your business model to better satisfy them.

Update Cover Picture

This is a great trick for increasing brand exposure and boosting edgerank. When a major update occurs on a profile page – things like updating the cover picture or changing a relationship status – the Facebook algorithm ranks it more highly than other activity and bumps it up higher in more friends’ newsfeeds. This exposure will generate higher engagement with the page and will often lead to new likes and followers. It’s a good idea to update the cover photo to something relevant and eye catching. Some companies opt to change theirs with the seasons; others update it to reflect industry news or events.

Promote Posts

You can direct traffic to specific links or pages with Facebook’s promoted posts. This increases post exposure and lasts longer in newsfeeds than an ordinary status update. For example, if your business receives press or other positive reviews, you can point your customers towards the article by posting a link on the Facebook page. Then, for a small fee (usually between $5 and $15) you can pay to promote the post for the next several days and target either friends of the business or an extended network. Promoting posts means that people who might never have heard of your company are exposed to it and become familiar with the brand. Eventually, these folks who engage with your Facebook page are likely to become real-life, paying customers.

Ultimately, using social media for small business is what you make of it. If you don’t put in much effort, you won’t get a lot out. But by regularly interacting with your followers, asking questions, posting pictures, and staying engaged, you can boost community involvement with the page and see your efforts rewarded.

By Brian Patterson. Follow him on Google +.

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The Importance of Investing in Your Online Image

Dzhingarov — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:16:05 +0000

When you have a business or brand that you would like to expand but you want to stray away from traditional advertising and marketing campaigns, you can do so by using various techniques and methods online. Investing time and in some cases, money in your online image is essential in today’s technologically-driven world and society. When you invest in your online image, there are many benefits that can be taken advantage of that you would not have available otherwise and with the use of local marketing options.

Why Invest in an Online Image?

Investing in your online image is a way to appeal to a much wider audience than when you are creating traditional regional marketing and advertising pitches or campaigns. An online image can reach international consumers and those who may be genuinely interested in your brand or the content and products you have to offer. When you invest in your online image, you are able to gain insight into the audience and demographic you are reaching much quicker and easier than when you are waiting on the results of impact from traditional print advertisements or even billboards and radio ads.

New Opportunities

When you invest in your online image, you will gain access to even more opportunities with the use of social media and by connecting with additional brands and businesses that are relevant to your own. The more of an online presence you have, the more likely you are to find advertising offers and sponsorship deals that can help you to generate a revenue stream aside from services or products you are providing. Creating additional streams of revenue for your website online is a way to help with covering expenses and also generating even more of a profit if you are simply providing content or sharing information about your products and services.

Who Can Invest in an Online Image

Any individual, brand or business can invest in building an online image regardless of the purpose of the company or individual and the message that is being shared. There are no limitations to growing an online presence and image as it is useful for gaining exposure and appealing to greater networks of potential clients, customers and loyal online followers.

Tips to Boost an Online Image

Creating social networking pages on multiple communities such as Facebook, Twitter and even Pinterest can help any brand, website or business to expand their online image. When you create social media pages, branding is important and keeping your logo, slogan and overall message consistent is key to attracting longtime followers who are interested in what you have to offer. Ensuring you have a solid branding plan and an attractive logo for the audience you want to reach is another key factor to growing an online presence or overall image.

Sharing updates, news and even new products and services within the social media pages you create is another way to gain even more exposure while generating potential interest from those who see your posts regularly. Keeping up with communicating with fans and customers online is also a way to help with boosting your online reputation and the overall credibility your company or brand has to those who are unfamiliar with the services and products you offer.

Hosting giveaways and contests is a great way to appeal to new customers and an audience you are not intentionally trying to reach but may benefit from in sales and with loyalty. When you giveaway merchandise or services you can provide, you will attract newcomers to virtually “like” your pages online, building your brand’s online presence and image even more.

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