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Posted by Patrick

3 New Year’s Marketing Resolutions for 2017

Advertising, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing Campaigns, Mobile, Pinterest, ROI in Social Media, SEO, Social Good, Social Media 0

We’re nearly two weeks into 2017, and that means it’s still time to start making and working on some new year’s resolutions that are really going to stick and turn your life around for the better this year. The same can be said for your small business. There are so many new technologies and programs available today when it comes to marketing and promoting yourself, that it may seem overwhelming to know where to start. But nevertheless, if you aren’t marketing your small business in 2017 in new and exciting ways, how do you expect your business to grow? That’s why we’ve come up with a handy dandy list of new year’s marketing resolutions for your small business in 2017.

Revamp Your Website

January is the perfect time to take a look at your website and decide which pages and graphics, messages, etc. need to be updated, and which things can completely go. Giving your website a fresh new look in 2017 is a great way to attract more leads and potential customers. Be sure to hire the right San Diego website design firm who will take the time and attention it takes to ensure that every detail of your website is psychologically designed in a way that will attract more viewers, and bring them into your storefront or office.

Search Engine Optimization

The Internet is changing all of the time, and if you’re not keeping up with SEO, you may not even be visible in the vast digital jungle that is the web. Be sure to hire a professional search engine optimization firm that will not only help you reach the top of Google search pages, but also optimize your SEO in San Diego so you’re targeting customers nearby. Local search optimization is just as, if not more, important than overall SEO–depending upon your business and industry.

Boost Your Social Media Efforts

It’s always a good idea to make sure your social media content is current and up-to-date. If you want to grow a social following, be sure you’re posting relevant content your followers want to see on a consistent basis. Third party articles from companies you’d like to strategically align with are helpful. You may also want to refresh your profile and background images. Be sure to post content that is behind the scenes, without being too personal, and to mix in a bit of fun with your business-related information. Custom graphics, infographics, links to your website, videos and blogs are essential for social media, and not just on Facebook. LinkedIn is great for B2B marketing, while Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube are growing fast. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed with navigating the ever-changing social media world, we are here to help. We offer social media management services that are sure to save you time, while increasing your following and overall profits. We can even create ads for your own personal Facebook and Instagram campaigns.

In this new digital age, it’s essential for small and large businesses alike to jump on the social media bandwagon. Whether you enjoy social media or not, there are billions of people around the globe who do, and it’s taking over the way that marketing and advertising is conducted moving forward. Therefore, we are here for you, and would love a chance to help make 2017 the best year yet for your San Diego business. For more information, or a detailed quote, call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Patrick

Instagram Offers Shopping and More!

Instagram, Social Media 0

Some exciting new changes are coming to Instagram which should open many new possibilities for all users moving forward. As this platform–owned by Facebook–continues to grow in popularity, more and more features are being added to not only enhance the user experience, but change the way Instagram is used for businesses and marketers alike.

Shop Until You Drop

While Instagram has been growing in popularity for home-based businesses and marketers, it originally did not have the API needed to allow viewers to shop from the platform. All of this is changing with some new Facebook features which are being integrated into the app, such as a “Shop Now” button, and messages linking to sites outside of the app. This has never been done on Instagram before.

Facebook-Powered Targeting

Since Facebook owns Instagram, they’re integrating their highly sophisticated ad targeting technology into the app. Business owners and marketers can now choose the demographics for their target audience, and create Instagram campaigns in a tailored way; reaching the right people. In turn, Instagram users will be presented with content from businesses they are most likely to be interested in—creating value for both businesses and consumers. This information is gathered from Instagram users’ Facebook profiles, giving Instagram advertisers a seamless advertising and marketing experience.

Brand New API

These new changes are possible on Instagram thanks to its new API. Now businesses and marketers can schedule and automate Instagram ads. In the past, the API did not support such automation, and everything had to be done live. No news yet as to whether or not this new API will allow for the automation of non-advertised content just yet. Perhaps this will be in the works for the future of the app. While there are several third party schedulers that allow for the scheduling of Instagram posts for future times, the API hasn’t allowed for post automation. Businesses and marketers were previously required to log into their accounts and physically post in real-time to Instagram, even though they had scheduled it to post ahead of time. Automating this process for Instagram ads is sure to cause marketers to rejoice.

Now that Instagram has made these changes, we’re hoping automation for all posts will become a part of their API reality. We could possibly see it grow to become as big, if not bigger, than Facebook in the near future if these changes are made. Are you taking advantage of promoting your business over Instagram? We’d love to help. For more information or a detailed quote call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We are a San Diego SEO, marketing and website design firm that specializes in working with small businesses in San Diego. We look forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Patrick

Keeping Your Fingers on the Pulse: Ways to Stay Ahead of the Game and Predict Social Media Trends Like a Psychic

Business Tips, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Marketing Campaigns, Social Good, Social Media, Social Media for Consumer Products, Social Media for Hospitality, Social Media for Party Planners, Social Media for Restaurants, Social Media For Retail Businesses, Social Media predictions, Socially Connected, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Twitter, Yelp, YouTube 0

Keeping up with social media trends can be confusing, especially when they seem to change every few months. As Entrepreneur contributor Aaron Agius puts it, “the savvy use of social media” is one of the best methods for building your brand’s authority. Being aware of the latest trends on social media platforms is essential to any business hoping to remain competitive in their market.

Becoming a Social Media Marketing PsychicPredict Social Media Trends

Unless you’re a social media marketing consultant, psychic (or both), you probably aren’t keeping up with the hottest trends across the various platforms. If you’re a business owner or marketer, your top priority is likely your own business and industry daily logistics – so how do you stay ahead of the game and still have time to focus on the many other aspects of running your business? One way is to learn how to predict the social media trends before they happen (or predict which ones will continue to be hot). While this may seem like an impossible task, it really can be as simple as paying attention to what has worked recently and developing your marketing strategy from there.

One of the predictions mentioned at Inc.com – regarding which social media platforms would prove to be viable for marketers in 2015 – was based on the success of certain platforms in the prior year. No one could deny that Facebook continued to be a leading choice for both users and marketers in 2015. LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube were the next obvious contenders, based on the percentage of marketers who used them in 2014. Instagram has already surpassed Twitter in terms of growth and popularity since the marketing research from 2014, as it grew to over 400 million users in 2015. The next big social media platform gaining momentum in 2016 in Snapchat, which is currently rivaling Facebook with 4 billion video views on any given day from 200 million active users. 

Social Media TrendsLooking at Social Media Trends for 2015

Clearly, one of the best indications of the social media trends that will be hot in 2016 is the direction in which marketing practices developed in 2015 across popular platforms. Just as SEO practices experienced significant change in 2015, Facebook also implemented changes that affected marketers. The rules for posting marketing content changed considerably, and this will continue to change the way marketers do business on Facebook in 2016.

Social Media Week contributor Nicole Brown agrees that looking at the past is the secret to success in the future. Social marketing trends in lead generation that worked well in the latter part of 2015 are likely to be just as effective throughout 2016.

Keeping Track of Trending Topics

Another way to remain ahead of the game is to follow the trending topics on social media sites. This is not only a wise practice for journalists; it’s also a great way for marketers to learn what subject matter is of most interest to current platform users. Once you know which topics are trending, you can integrate that information with your marketing campaigns – from your social media posts to your email marketing ads.  

As it happens, you don’t really need to be a psychic to remain competitive in your marketing efforts. However, you may need to take a look at the most recent social media trends to predict which ones will be viable in the future. If you don’t feel equipped to do this, or simply don’t have the time, you may want to consult a professional whose job is navigating social media platforms for marketers and small business owners.   

Social Media Marketing
Posted by Patrick

Savvy Celebrities Using Social Media Marketing

Facebook, Instagram, Social Media, Twitter, Uncategorized

Social Media Marketing

With 67% of social media users being on smartphones, it’s no wonder that people are more engaged with their online presence more than ever. Whether it’s the average user, businesses, or celebrities, we all are both the creator and curator of content. Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram offer users a personal space to share the latest vacation photos, gloat over glamorous purchases, and even show off new love interests. Simply put, we personally use social media to highlight and share our favorite moments with friends and family.

We all apply social media marketing in diverse ways that reflect our individuality and personality. Essentially, we ourselves are a brand. How people view us, how we portray our presence online and offline all interchangeably illustrate people who we are. Businesses are no different. Companies use Facebook to keep consumers updated with their brands while others integrate Twitter to promote contests and sweepstakes. For example, Zappos!, an online shoe company, smartly employs Facebook to highlight loyal shoppers by adding “Fan of the Week” on its profile pictures. Starbucks also innovatively uses Twitter to directly connect with its audience by launching “Tweet-a-coffee” campaign for costumers to buy their friend a cup of coffee. It not only raise over $180,000 in sales but also creatively enhances a new way to experience coffee.

However, when it comes to building community and engaging audiences, businesses can learn a thing or two from savvy celebrities who embrace social-media marketing to optimize their online presence.

Stars Like Lady Gaga is a great example of how celebrities are building an authentic relationship with fans through Twitter. She jumpstarts genuine conversations with her devoted little monsters by rewarding them with Facebook mentions, re-tweets, and promotional discounts. Curating her own content through an honest dialogue with her audience, Lady Gaga markets herself as a relatable artist who cares. Her support for the LGTBQ community and her stance against anti-bullying further validates her message of love and acceptance.

Celebrities are also great at creating a buzz about themselves. Nothing is more convenient than using social media marketing for self-promotion. With the pressure of keeping their names fresh and current, celebrities like Rihanna are on point with her Twitter game and Instagram updates. She offers exclusive content to fans on Facebook about song lyrics, behind-the-scene previews, releasing teasers and videos to hype fans up for  upcoming tours. Social media marketing definitely helps drive the success of her sold-out shows.

Social Media Marketing

Another social media powerhouse, though not a celebrity but a brand, is Billabong. They are a clothing brand that caters to surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding enthusiasts. With its upcoming event like the Oscar for surfing at the Billabong XXL Awards, the company is on fire with its social media marketing. The brand increases massive engagement on Facebook by posting epic pictures of daring surfers dominating the big waves. It capitalizes on fan’s love of adrenaline sports and asks them to create captions and Twitter hashtags for featured pictures and videos. Billabong awards its winner with the best content with free tickets to the show, driving its Facebook engagement to an average of 1,000-3,000 likes per post and over 200 shares!

Famous athletes attending the award also leverage the Billabong’s event to boost exposure on their personal social media accounts. Koa Rothman, a professional surfer nominated for Wipe of the Year award, uses Twitter to promote his music by jumping on popular hashtags like #tbt and posting behind-the-scene images exclusively to his Twitter and Facebook fans. He also uses Instagram to update information on his latest tours, re-tweet shout outs from popular brands like Monster Energy drink and Oakley Action Sports to further gain awareness for his Sound Wave album. Shane Dorian, nominated for Rider of the Year with over 82K Facebook fans and 119K Instagram followers, uses social media marketing to showcase his passion for adrenaline sports ranging from surfing, snowboarding, to hunting and traveling. He regularly post tweets, and pictures that establish himself more than just a poster of a surfing icon but also a family man with adventurous hobbies.

When celebrities expose themselves online through sharing intimate pictures of their life, they are making themselves more human to us. Take a look at Shawn Dollar’s Instagram. His day-to-day pictures accompanied with humorous and witty content evokes a coolness fans want to associate with. By skimming through his photos, surfing fanatics are reminded that hey, he’s like a typical guy who’s our friend too!

Want to see how social media can affect you or your brand? Contact us at My Social Marketing Network and see the transformation that strategized branding can do!

Posted by Patrick

Top Instagram Hashtags of 2013

Instagram, Social Media, Uncategorized

Instagram has been rapidly growing and 2013 was no exception with now over 150 million users. Sharing your life through photos has never been more fun and Instagram now allows you to create a video yearbook using Statigram.  This new feature is extremely popular and gives users the chance to create something to remember each year of their lives. In 2013, Instagram was a dominant force in the photo world of social media not only with photos, but hashtags as well. It is tough to choose the top Instagram hashtags when there are so many good ones, see if you were guilty of hashtagging with any of the top 5 hashtags of 2013.

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Top 5 Instagram #Hashtags of 2013

5. #Selfie- This hashtag was not even in the dictionary until 2013, but still managed to make the list of top 5 Instagram #Hashtags of 2013. Selfie photos took over this year, reaching a point where users were posting multiple selfies a day.

4. #Food– Did you just cook an amazing meal? Are you out to dinner at your favorite restaurant? Sharing photos of food you’re eating is extremely popular and millions of people do it on a daily basis. Over 77 million photos have posted using #food and the number will only continue to rise as Instagram grows.

3. #Friends- People love posting photos with all of their friends, especially Instagram where photos rule. Want a window into the rest of the world enjoying 2013? Click on the #friends hashtag and see what people have been up to. Let’s also add that we’re grateful it beat out #selfie.

2. #TBT (throw back Thursday)-  This great hashtag was religiously used every Thursday of 2013 has well continued into 2014. Even celebrities have been putting pieces of their past online via Throw Back Thursday posts. It is definitely one of the #hashtags known by nearly everyone.

1. #Love (yes, this is not a joke)-  The moment we have all been waiting for has arrived and the number one Instagram #hashtag of 2013 is…..love! #Love has taken Instagram by storm and it only makes sense, why wouldn’t you want to share the things you love with anyone who’ll listen.

 

What do you think will be the hashtags of 2014?

Instagram iconFor more information regarding social media, #hashtags or Instagram contact our experts at MySMN today for a free consultation.

Posted by Patrick

5 #Signs you’re a #Hashtag Abuser

Applications, Facebook, Instagram, Social Media, Uncategorized

What is your favorite #book to #read after #dinner?

#Reply with your #top #read to make our #topbooklist

And have a chance to #win #free #novels for a #year!

 

hashouchAfter reading the above sentence, the question has to pop in your head, “what is too much?” “ Is 9 hashtags in one sentence really required or even necessary for that matter?” The simple answers are, “the above sentence is too much” and “no 9 hashtags should not be in one sentence.”

Hashtag abuse has become one of our nations (and others) new unfortunate trends and does not seem to be fading. Chances are that you and I both have a friend or family member who is a mega hashtag abuser.

The true meaning of a hashtag as defined by our friends from twitter is “# symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.”

With that said, when hashtags are used correctly they can be very effective and help you read a post much quicker by noticing the key hashtagged words throughout. A proper usage amount of hashtags per post is 3 and anything more than that is simply cluttering the post.

Your hashtags should give the viewer some information without having to explain in detail. If you are stuck doing laundry on a Friday night, then your hashtag could be, “#doinglaundry, #Laundromat, #laundrytime….” It gets the message across quickly and effectively.

Please take a look at our list of top 5 hashta g abuses and hashtag anyone you know who does them.

  1. Hashtag Stuffing-This form of hashtag abuse is unfortunately the most common and can become confusing. An example of this abuse is when someone decides to add an array of hasahtags with any word they can throughout a post. Sometimes people will have up to 10 hashtags in one twitter post!
  2. Spelled out hashtag– This abuse is simple. People will spell out h-a-s-h-t-a-g rather than using the hashtag symbol (#).
  3. #TheContinuousHashtag– This particular hashtag abuse is where someone will hashtag a full sentence. This is not how hashtags are supposed to be used, but #ItsNotTheWorstAbuse.
  4. The hashbragger– This dreadful form of hashtag abuse is when someone will use a hashtag to brag or boast something they are doing or an event they are throwing. Used properly this can be OK, but when it is overbearing it can be annoying.
  5. Every Event Hashtagger– The every event hashtagger not only tags “big events,” but every single little thing they do. #cooking, #sleeping, #breathing, #walkingdownstairs….. the list goes on.

Here is our list of the top 5 hashtag abuses from MySMN, feel free to comment and add any we missed or contact us for more information on social mediaJ

Posted by Patrick

The #Art of #Hashtags

Instagram, Social Media, Strategy, Uncategorized

The Guide to #Hashtags

hashtagHashtags organize and connect our online reality. Hashtags also increase engagement in online content. If you want to have a big impact through online social marketing, you need to know about hashtags.

Hashtags will increase your traffic when used skillfully, as an art form.

A survey by RadiumOne showed that half of the population surveyed felt motivated to click on new content with hashtags. It makes all of your institutions online messages more accessible, findable and linkable.

So, hashtags are important. But you have to use the wisely. An artfully created hashtag for your institution will be original, easily understandable and convey a key message that enables the internet to coordinate conversation around your institution, product or brand. Put thought behind what you put the # sign infront of.

Easy Guidelines for Artful Hashtagging

1. Understand your goal. Are you building brand awareness, creating a conversation or connecting your online content? Know why you are hash tagging before you put one up…

2. Because hashtags never die. They are archived and always searchable. Hashtag wisely.

3. Do not over hashtag. Don’t get crazy with your hashtag power! Don’t use more than two hashtags per Tweet or other posting. This is serious.

4. Don’t take your hashtags so seriously. It’s okay if they don’t take off! They are all experiments to see what works for your brand, the type of conversation you want to generate, and what you are hashtagging for. Keep experimenting til you find something that works. But not too much! Be smart about it. Put thought into your hashtags, but don’t be attached to the outcome.

Not sure which hashtags to use, when, where and with whom?? The people at My SMN sure know what to do! If you need an expert to take your hashtagging to a whole other level, leave it to the professionals. Visit MySMN to get your artful #hashtags going!

 

 

Posted by Patrick

Visual Social Media

Instagram, Pinterest, Social Media, Uncategorized

A New Way to Show Rather Than Tell

With the advent of social media, how we view content has drastically changed. Engagement is now centered on more visual aspects such as graphics and pictures instead of content alone. Visual Social Media is new on the scene and is here to stay.

The Social Media Shift
The Social Media Shift

Facebook and Twitter were created and centered around content, and what people had to say versus placing more emphasis on visuals. As time progressed, visual social media platforms came to be.

Facebook and Twitter paved the way for interactions through a more visual sense to occur. Posting pictures or graphics, for instance, is a proven way to garner more likes and comments. The social media audience prefers more and more to side a more visual story telling approach.

Visual social media platforms such as Instagram and Pintrest focus on relating content through pictures, and place less emphasis on content alone.

Instagram is a social media platform that allows for users to alter pictures through filters, causing for an otherwise ordinary photo to be seen in a new and artistic way. Users can track photos posted, and comment on postings. The emphasis in this social media platform centers on the visual aspect.

Pintrest is a social media platform which allows for users to create cyber pinboards, and collage together pictures of an overarching theme. Pairing photos together in a collage-like manner allows for other users to see stories, rather than read them. Creating a board around a theme, like a dream wedding for example, allows for users to piece together pictures they find interesting and to display them together under a theme.

Visual Social Media Infographic
Visual Social Media Infographic

Visual social media is becoming increasingly popular, and the growth of social media has shown that people prefer to show, rather than tell, their stories. Staying connected to others is one of the main reasons social media was created, and it will continue to grow in new ways as stories are able to be told in other ways.

Posted by Patrick

iPhone Social Media Apps

Applications, Facebook, Instagram, Social Media 0

The options for iPhone social media apps are abundant and are all readily available by the push of a button right on your iPhone! They offer a way to save your pictures on social media sites, search ideas, and even apps that will edit and enhance your photos before you upload them. Instagram, Pinterest, Stumble Upon, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, Flipboard, and UFace are all wonderful social media apps the iPhone offers.

iPhone Social Media Apps by MySMN

Instagram is one of the iPhone social media apps where you have a profile you can upload pictures on, and you acquire followers and people whom you follow. “Followers” Is a term that means your pictures appear on their news feed, and those who you follow are on your news feed. Privacy settings enable you to either have your pictures private, and followers must request you or anyone can follow you without your permission beforehand. Instagram uses hash tag sorting as well- so keep in mind your pictures will not be private within the hash-tag search if used.

Facebook is a popular iPhone social media app we all are familiar with. Keep your friends and family as friends, different albums for your pictures, and posts statuses expressing your thoughts, life updates, or feelings. Twitter is essentially a streamlined Facebook. No pictures, and like Instagram whoever you follow will appear on your feed. Twitter also enables hash-tag usage used by many celebrities and networks to get feedback, or trend an idea.

Spotify is a fairly new music site. You can subscribe and listen to music without commercials and you can see who on Facebook is listening to what on Spotify. This social media iPhone app really makes music sharing and experiencing great and allows you to share your playlists with friends and artists alike. Another fairly new and not yet topping the app charts is UFace. This app is to let your creative side run free; create an avatar and share it!

iPhone Social Media Apps by MySMN

When all is said and done you have a lot of options with your iPhone and social media apps it offers; Flipboard is an iPhone social media app allowing you to keep your social media sites in sync, receive your notifications through one app instead of multiple alerts, and stay organized. This app organizes and syncs your Instagram, Facebook, and Linked-in. Don’t forget to download this app on your iPhone to make your life easier! Let us set your company up with all of these if you don’t know how by contacting My SMN!

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