Our Social Media Tools Directory Has Launched We are so excited to announce the launch of our Social Media Tools Directory! This is a categorized listing of social-media tools with a comprehensive search facility. Find social media management tools, social media monitoring tools, social media analytics tools and much more. It is the most comprehensive social media tools directory that is available anywhere globally and it will get bigger and better every day. It’s Big News For You and Also For Us When we launched RazorSocial two years ago, we were completely unknown and, for the first few months, we struggled to get attention. But, by owning the social media tool niche, we quickly stood out. Last year, we hit a big milestone: we had over 1,000,000 visitors to our website. This year, our focus is taking RazorSocial to the next level and the tools directory is a big step towards that. If you’re looking for a social media tool from now why don’t you Ask Razorsocial! Our Tools Directory is launched What Categories of Tools Are in the Directory?
Visual Guide to Understanding Paid, Owned and Earned Media 342 Shares Facebook 103 Twitter 182 LinkedIn 40 inShare40 Google+ 13 Pin It Share 4 4 342 Shares × If you’re in marketing, you’ve probably heard these terms: paid mediaowned mediaearned media But do you know what they mean?? I didn’t. But apparently all 3 are important to your marketing strategy. Luckily, I found an infographic from The Media Octopus that does a good job explaining these important marketing concepts. >> Click to Tweet << Before you skip to the graphic below, please familiarize yourself with these 3 important terms — because you’ll probably run into them in your work sometime soon! 1. Paid media comes from the traffic generated by ads. Facebook Ads Boosted PostsSponsored TweetsGoogle AdWordsPrint & TV AdvertisingDisplay Ads Paid media is usually the quickest & easiest way to expose your brand to a new audience. But it gets expensive in a hurry! 2. Earned media is the free publicity you get from fans, followers, bloggers & the press! >> Click to Tweet << Earned media includes: 3.
7 Science-Based Reasons to Use Emoticons Do you remember seeing your first emoticon? The first documented use of “:-)” dates back to 1982, when Scott Fahlman proposed that it be used as a “joke marker” on a message board for Carnegie Mellon University computer scientists. Here’s his Internet-changing message: “I propose that the following character sequence for joke markers:“:-)” Read it sideways.” Today, emoticons need a bit less explanation. If you’re still not sure whether emoticons are a good fit for your brand’s social media voice and tone, we’ve gathered up seven real-deal scientific studies that say using emoticons can make you appear friendlier, grow your popularity on social media, and even make you happier offline! I’m feeling already… 1. An analysis of more than 31 million tweets and half a million Facebook posts uncovered the fact that positive emoticons can be a social media status marker. “The emoticon features achieved high performance, suggesting that there is a strong link between emoticon use and social power. 2.
How to Manage Multiple Social Media Accounts Maybe this sounds familiar to you: I used to log in to each and every individual network to compose new posts, check what’s happening in my streams, follow up on conversations and follower requests, and basically perform any other little bit of social media management that was on my plate. I switched to dashboards and tools, and my productivity has soared. I’d love to share a bit about how I made these changes and the best tools and strategies I’ve used for handling multiple social media accounts—whether you’re juggling your personal brand in multiple places or handling a mix of company profiles and personal profiles. I’d love to hear from you on what insights you’ve learned as well! The 6 best social media management tools 1. My biggest time-saver has been using media management dashboard where I can manage all my social media profiles from one central place. Benefits: You log in once to manage everythingYou can perform multiple actions in the same spot—sharing, scheduling, analyzing 2. 3.
FINALLY! A Checklist for Social Media Marketing that Actually Helps Every smart marketer needs a go-to checklist for social media marketing! It's how you maintain important fundamentals when everything's about to change. To help you not miss a beat as you manage your social media accounts, the team at The Whole Brain Group made this infographic to remind you about what's really important. These easy-to-follow, no-nonsense tips highlight the basics of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube & SlideShare. Are you ready? >> Click to Tweet << FINALLY! STEP 1: Define your audience Identify your target customer's demographic, including: AgeGenderOccupationIncome LevelEducational LevelType of Industry# of EmployeesType of BusinessRevenue STEP 2: Create shareable content Keep these tips in mind: Keep posts 300-500 wordsInclude a featured image and relevant meta description in your postOptimize posts to include target keywordMake sure you have a call to actionMake sure you have a social sharing button People love to share stunning images. Facebook Twitter
26 Tips for Improving Your Social Media Marketing Does your social media need a boost? Do you want to add something to your online marketing? Trying new things can be fun and refreshing, for both you and your audience. In this article I’ll share 26 ways, an A-Z guide, to improve your social media efforts. Discover 26 tips for improving your social media marketing. #1: Add Audio If audio wasn’t part of your foray into social media, it may be time to embark on a new adventure. Recording audio entails choosing your message, selecting a program that permits recording and editing, finding a microphone that fits your budget and needs and deciding where to host your finished product. In some cases you may want to find an application or individual to transcribe the audio files for people who prefer reading. #2: Beef Up Blogging There are myriad ways to blog—long-form, short-form (microblogging), image-only and more. Your regular blog is a good place to write longer-form posts when needed. Social Media Examiner tested on Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
UGC Can Strengthen the Relationship Between Your Social Media and Content Mar... UGC Can Strengthen the Relationship Between Your Social Media and Content Marketing For marketers, there is no hope for social media without superb content, and there is no better medium for distributing content than on social media. We're stuck with this "arranged marriage," which is why it's time to do some relationship counseling. Currently, the dynamic is too one-sided: Content marketers make stuff, the social marketers have to distribute it, and the audience is supposed to consume and share it with other people. The audience has minimal influence on the content, and social marketers seem aloof. The dynamic creates a lecture, not a conversation. If you want a healthy, loving, and fruitful relationship between social media and content marketing, you have to make the conversation two-sided by adding user-generated content (UGC) to the mix. Instead of waxing on about how wonderful UGC is, let's talk through a proven model for collecting UGC and using it. Creating a Mission
The Good and the Bad of Social Media Marketing Still not convinced whether social media marketing is worth your company's time, energy, and effort? You're not alone. The C-suite at half of brands isn't convinced of social's value, according to the following infographic by Outmarket. Here's a look at social media marketing's pros and cons. One reason in favor of it is that "more than 80% of consumers look at online reviews weekly before buying," states Outmarket. However, on the negative side, social media accounts for only 1.14% of all e-commerce traffic. Another pro: "90% of the world's data was created within the past two years, thanks to social media," states Outmarket. Yet social media programs aren't high on the list of CMO's concerns, ranking just sixth. To find out more about the profs and cons of social media marketing, check out the infographic:
Why You Need A Social Media Content Calendar For Your Business Now that you know that your social media marketing plan requires a stellar content strategy to support it, you may find yourself overwhelmed. Creating and publishing great content can be a lot of work, so you need to get organized and figure out a schedule that works for your business. When you’ve got a content calendar you can commit to, social media marketing becomes a lot less daunting. Creating a plan, a template, or a calendar simply means that you make all the necessary information available to all the relevant stakeholders in one place. A social media content calendar should organize the way you curate and create content, and help develop your editorial strategy. Your social media content calendar should be easy to read without a legend, and contain all the necessary information for your content marketing strategy. Download Example Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
How to Increase Traffic to Your Social Media Sites We could all use a little help with gaining more traffic to our website. More website traffic means more sales leads. Here from the land down-under, SushiDigital brings us this colorful infographic with 7 ways to increase traffic to your social media sites. 1. Post regular updates to your social media channels. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Using these 7 tips, you will be able to raise your social media traffic, website traffic and get more leads for your business. Dennis Yu answers your toughest Facebook questions Ready to get your toughest Facebook questions answered? Let’s do it! How do I get started on Facebook? Your WHY drives you to get out of bed, why you work so hard, why others participate gladly in your mission. When you have your WHY clarified, then the matter of success in social media is about mechanical implementation of various Facebook tips. In other words, 3 things: Getting your “plumbing” in gear-- website with necessary javascripts, Facebook page, YouTube channel, LinkedIn page, G+ page, Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Ads account, and so forth.Rounding up your content– ideally, high credibility third partyendorsements from people in your industry and customers. Understood properly, social is an amplifier of what you already have, not a random project you give to a “social media expert”. What social media marketing channel are you going to focus on the most? Focus on whatever is driving the most ROI, of course. What’s the Value of a Like?
When being the best at what you do just isn't enough anymore It seems to make sense at first, doesn’t it? Specialize in one particular skill, honing it to the point that you’re not only an expert, but known for it. You face less competition as THE expert in whatever it is you do– landing page optimization, Facebook’s Power Editor, or whatever. The jack of all trades, trying to be good at everything in an increasingly complex world, fights a futile battle. But let me ask you this… How many people do you know who are experts in using a screwdriver? The fact that we’re increasingly dependent upon technology creates a natural desire to be a tool specialist. This dynamic is true at first in periods of structural, as opposed to frictional, unemployment. Confession: I’m one of those chest-beating gurus A dozen years ago, I made a handy living as a search engine “expert”. The more I spoke, the greater my reputation and network, which forced me into a lucrative cubbyhole– a niche. And in 2007, Facebook broke onto the scene with an ad and app platform.
The Anatomy of the Perfect Social Media Post Once again our friend Neil Patel at Quick Sprout has created an amazing and informative infographic, this time on how to create the perfect social media post. Use this article over and over as a checklist for your posts. So you may want to bookmark this page YouTube Title: 70 Characters or less for search optimization. Description: Use keywords in your description. Add Tags: Add your keywords as tags. Facebook Include an Image: Posts with images are shared and liked more often than text posts. 800×600 is the perfect image size on Facebook. Engage: Like posts, share posts and comment on posts, not only will you endear yourself to others, you’ll train Facebook as to what you want to see in your newsfeed. Think Mobile: Optimize your posts for mobile. 78% of Facebook users are on their mobile device. Twitter Perfect Tweet length: Twitter allows you to use 140 characters. Add images and video: You’ll increase your click through rate by using images and video. Pinterest Google+