3 Categories To Follow For Newbies On Pinterest

For newbies, starting with a new social media website can be both exciting and confusing. If you are new to Pinterest, which is a social media website established in 2010, navigating your way through it could take a little getting used to. The site, which is divided into categories of boards (a board is where you attach your pin), offers a plethora of information if you can get a bit organized. Here are some of the categories you may start with.

Food

This is a category with which you cannot go wrong. Whether you want to share your own recipe with the world or get abreast of the latest trends in dishes worldwide, this category could provide you with the right kind of platform. All you need to find are the top influencers in this category. They could be anyone from a home baker to a celebrity chef (and a little bit of research on Google could help you with that) and follow their boards. If you are up to sharing your own recipes, or anything else related to food, simply pin the image to your board, and provide a link that would take the visitor to your website or blog. Such a great way to improve traffic, is it not?

Travel

Some of the best photographs on Pinterest may be found on boards under this category. Travelers around the world post landscapes ranging from snow-capped peaks, through sandy beaches, to rocky canyons. It is all under this bundle. These could give you great ideas for your next travel destinations, and when you are comfortable, provide a platform for you to share your photography talent with other visitors. Be sure to not violate copyrights, though. Your photograph, your right, and vice versa.

Health

Centuries ago, someone wise mentioned that health is wealth. While browsing through boards under this category might not actually help you garner wealth, these boards can prove to be assets to those who are conscious about having a healthy mind and body. Follow these boards for advice on restricted diets, weight gaining or losing issues, fitness gadgets, chronic condition prevention, and more. If you have the expertise or information, you could pin diet charts, exercise options, and other health recommendations. A key thing to keep in mind while browsing this category is to always ensure the sources are legitimate. You do not want to follow something unverified scientifically and cause more harm than good.

These are some of the categories that could help you get started with this very informative social network site, and help you connect with experts and amateurs alike in the fields of your choice. Get going, and open a Pinterest account now. Most importantly, have fun while you are there.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Rinita_Sen/2176621

How to Boost Your Social Media Following?

How to Build Real Followers on Instagram

The Right Way to Grow Your Business Using this Powerful Brand, Audience and Content-Marketing Tool

We've been talking lately about how to boost your business marketing with Instagram. Contrary to what many people still believe, Instagram isn't just a fun app where you can post food, holiday and family pics.

Instagram has become a powerful brand-building, audience-building and content-marketing tool for businesses. It has over 200 million active monthly members sharing 60 million images and 1.6 billion likes per day.

A note of caution: there are plenty of people out there who promise to grow your Instagram followers by the thousands, but beware. Most of them use fake accounts created by bots to inflate your numbers.

These types of followers have zero value. In fact, they can even be dangerous, wanting to steal your password or photos or infect you with a virus.

According to the data security company Imperva, these bad bots account for 28.9 percent of bots on Instagram.

The best way to build your Instagram followers is by being authentic to your brand and your audience.

Here are 3 tips to help you get real Instagram followers:

1. Tell a Story with Hashtags

It's great to use your business name as a hashtag, but you need to think beyond that.

If you want to use your Instagram posts to get followers, use other hashtags that tell the story of the image you're sharing. You want to start a conversation when you're sharing posts for things like:

• Events

• Promotions

• Contests

• Product launches

A good example of a brand that does this well is @Tostitos. They use the hashtag #GetTogetherAlready to encourage people to get together and share their chips, and also to use the hashtag when they share photos of their meetups.

By using engaging, relevant hashtags, you can be discovered in Instagram searches and hopefully build up followers on Instagram.

2. Get Creative

Instagram is all about photos, so many people think of the caption as an afterthought.

Don't neglect the image caption! You can generate engagement and promote sharing by using descriptive words that will engage, inspire and entertain your followers.

Here are some ideas to help you build up followers on Instagram with your posts:

• Use questions in your caption. Write your question at the beginning of the post so that people see it first.

• Get personal with your post. Tell a story about yourself, or how your product helped or inspired someone else.

• Ask people to tag others. Asking people to tag three of their best friends or tagging someone they are grateful for brings other potential followers into the equation.

A great example of a brand that does personal posts well is the @NatGeo Instagram account.

They create breathtaking Instagram Stories with informative captions to educate the user on the plight of animals around the world.

Remember when it comes to using Instagram posts to get followers, it's all about being authentic. Don't use questions in every single post or tell a personal story that isn't genuine.

3. Go Local

One of the best ways to build your Instagram followers is to get to know your neighbors!

Whether you're creating Instagram ads or want to promote your event in a specific area, you can see what's going on near you by going to the search page and clicking on the Places tab.

Type in the location to see the geotagged posts for that area. Then visit relevant and recent tagged posts - not those of competing businesses, obviously - and leave a comment or even an emoji and follow the person if you like what you see. Hopefully, this will be the start of an organic interaction.

For example, if you offer life coaching services, you could type in your location followed by "entrepreneurs." Local entrepreneurs may be looking for more work and life balance or help with life goals or career challenges.

Similarly, if you have a physical location that people have checked into on Instagram, comment on those posters' pictures to make sure they're aware of your Instagram presence, and then follow them.

These are some of the best ways to build Instagram followers the right way: no bots, no shortcuts, just tried and true ways to engage with your audience and turn them into followers!

Susan Friesen, the founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having a lack of knowledge, skill, and support needed to create their online business presence.

We recently launched a program designed for business owners hoping to maximize their online marketing efforts called AMPLIFY! Business Academy. Practical Social Media & Digital Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs. Our program is designed to help small business owners and entrepreneurs build their business properly with social media and online marketing. It's a great group that works together and the collaborative, friendly environment is the best place to learn and explore what social media and online marketing can really do to help build your business. To find out more and subscribe visit: [http://amplifybusinesssacademy.com]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Susan_Friesen/260293

How to Build Your Brand, Think Bigger and Develop Self Awareness — Gary Vaynerchuk Interview

4 Ways On How To Use LinkedIn For Business Success

Most business owners don't realize how to use LinkedIn and just how powerful LinkedIn is. LinkedIn can help you generate leads, build your brand, and make much-needed connections. But most business owners are not on LinkedIn, or they are on it but not using it the correct way.

When it comes to using this social media marketing platform, people think of it as being a networking site or a place to get a job. No, my friend, LinkedIn is a place you want to be especially if you are in the B2B business. LinkedIn has 364 million users. I'm going to discuss 5 reasons why you need to be on LinkedIn.

For Lead Generation
This platform has the highest referral traffic out of social media sites. Better than Facebook and Twitter, Facebook is seen as the top dog of social media marketing for businesses but that is incorrect. LinkedIn has more than 467 million users on this platform. And 57% of usage is mobile. That makes this social media marketing site for business perfect for B2B marketers. It is invaluable for marketing, finding leads, and making sales.

Increased Search Visibility
When your profile is properly optimized it increases your chances for ranking in Google search. That gives you valuable search results with the Google search engine. But you must have these things done in order to rank:

• Keywords in your bio page, page description, and header
• You have a completed profile at All-Star status
• Have links back to your website, blogs that you write and post

How To Use LinkedIn For Circulating Your Content
There are many ways to circulate your content using this platform. You can post in relevant groups in your niche, individual updates, on your personal or business page, and company updates. As long as your content is strong, you attend to get more visits to LinkedIn groups that are in your niche. LinkedIn doesn't get the recognition for content syndication like it should. Sharing your social media marketing content gets you in front of all of your current connections and followers. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn has no filtered feed or algorithms to worry about. When you post an update it will appear in your followers feed no matter how often they have interacted with you in the past. Which keeps you top of mind with your followers. You always want to keep your content in the newsfeed daily.

For Personal Branding
You want to be known as an expert in your field. And the way to do that is to build trust and be known as an authority in your industry. You can do that by sharing other people's content, getting involved in discussions, and answering questions to show your expertise, That way when people become curious and want to know who you are, they will research your company and most likely want to make you a connection.

I hope you found this article helpful for how to use LinkedIn in your business. It's a worthwhile social medial investment for your business. Are you using this social media marketing platform?

Deborah Northcutt is the CEO of http://www.FreeYouUpVA.com. I am a Speaker Support Consultant that helps seasoned or aspiring speakers, coaches, and entrepreneurs find their ideal speaking opportunity so they can shine their light and grow their business with high-level support. Schedule a time to talk with me if you need help to see if we are a good fit

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Deborah_Northcutt/2339002

Resurrect Your Twitter Account With Little Tweak

It is time to bring in a little more life to your appearance on Twitter and awaken your creativity and I bring you a few guidelines that will help you!

The Images

Twitter started out as a text service, but as visual content became popular and prevalent on social networks, eventually the "bluebird" sided with the trend.

Tweet with a picture typically attracts more attention and to take the most advantage of the visual potential, do not use generic images and those in poor resolution. For example, you are using Twitter to post images of your products, avoid the promotion method and try to do something original and witty. Foreign brands such as KitKat and Oreo are long since known as masters in the area and their tweets regularly result in high user interaction. Learn from the best!

The video!

Do you have a YouTube channel with an interesting video content? Share videos with fans on Twitter which they can see without leaving the social network! The same goes for Vine which is well-integrated with Twitter, given that it is an affiliated company. Video content does not always need to be related to your products or services - sometimes you can give yourself some vent and share with customers something relaxed, fun and interesting.

Re-tweet Content from Others

Retweeting is the simplest way to interact on Twitter and people definitely love it when others noticed or share their content. If you come across interesting content on Twitter, be sure to re-tweet if you think that it will be interesting to your followers. This way, you will get noticed by other users and sometimes those users that you have re-tweeted will thank you. Of course, re-tweet with a measure, do not act like you want to get attention "by force".

Also, it will not hurt if you re-tweet some news from other official accounts, especially if they are in some way connected with what you do.

Hashtags are Important

Hashtags are one of the main features of Twitter, but many Twitter users still do not use it in the right way. Inserting the proper hashtag in the tweet will allow your message to reach a larger number of users. It is necessary to follow hashtags that are used the most.

In doing so, be careful not to exaggerate because your tweets might seem endless - two hashtags within a single tweet is enough. If you need to create a unique hashtag (for example, on the occasion of the organization of an event or contest), be sure to check if it is already in use by someone and keep in mind to be brief and meaningful in the context in which it is being used.

[https://www.smedigitalmarket.com]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Ajayi_Abayomi_A/214235

How To Start Social Media Marketing As A Beginner In 2019 - Step By Step Training

7 Ways To Drive User Engagement On Social Media

When you're on social media, you want to get lots of engagement. Having said that, driving engagement can sometimes be a tedious task. But if you understand what you want, you can ensure that it happens by planning for it, using the right systems to ensure it happens, and then learning from it so you can do it more.

1. Develop an Integrated Content Marketing Strategy

You want the content you share on social media to integrate with the content you publish on your blog and website, email, and elsewhere. It should all have a purpose and a reason for being and a goal in mind.

2. Create and Share Content That Is Member Focused

When the content you create and that others have created is focused on what your audience want to know, need to know, and have an interest in, it will keep people interested. It will make them want to check out your blog, open your emails, and participate more because it's about them.

3. Share Video Content to Your Groups

Using video content is also a good way to get more engagement. People are more likely to comment on videos, share videos, and even watch the video over text-based content. This is especially true if the video is short and to the point.

4. Tag People in Posts

When you are sharing someone else's content, or mentioning someone in your content, or think someone would be interested in the content, tag them so that their name shows up to themselves and to others (depending on their privacy settings). This is a great way to get their friends to look too.

5. Schedule Your Content for the Best Times

Using data, determine when the best times and days are to share information with them, and then use scheduling features to share at the time when more people are more likely to see the post.

6. Write Better Headlines to Get Attention

Your headlines matter a lot because some people will just pass over your shares if the headlines aren't written correctly. You don't want to trick people, but you do want to get their attention, so it's a fine line to walk when considering how headlines affect open rates.

7. Study Your Audience Insights

Remember that data is important, so study the data available to you on each platform that you use so that you know the right content to share at the right time and how to get more engagement where your audience is at the time.

Facebook wants your business to succeed when using their social media platform. This just makes sense. If you achieve your business goals while spending money on Facebook advertising, you're likely to use it again in the future. To learn how to make your social media marketing successful and profitable on Facebook, download my Free Checklist, Successful Facebook Ads at https://jonallo.com/FBads

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jon_Allo/1079948

4 Tips For Creating The Perfect LinkedIn Profile for Your Business

When you run a business, or even if you're just starting a new business, one of the things that you should be thinking about now in the age of technology is social media. Every business should have its own pages on social media, whereby you can interact with customers, try and engage new leads and clients, and publish new information or products and services.

Creating the perfect LinkedIn profile for your business can take a while to get right at the beginning, but it can have a huge effect on generating traffic to your website and customers to your business.

1. Make Sure Your Logo Can Be Clearly Seen

Don't use a profile picture which is one of your products or a picture of your staff members. You can post images like this later on, but for now you should concentrate on your logo and making sure that the main images associated with your business become well-known. Once you have decided on a logo, you should stick with it rather than try to change it depending on the comments you receive online.

2. Stay Professional

Your LinkedIn profile should look professional in every single way. You wouldn't create a personal LinkedIn profile for employers to find which didn't look highly professional, so don't be tempted to do so from behind the curtain of your business. Respond to enquiries in a timely and polite manner, and build professional relationships with other users and businesses.

3. Include Some Information About Your Business

It's tempting to leave the 'About You' section until later, but when it comes to your business, you don't want to miss any opportunities. Waiting just a few days to update this section could mean that you miss out on several potential leads for the business. Before creating any social media profiles, you should have a website and mission statement set out, which you can use to provide LinkedIn users with more information about your business.

4. Appear Approachable

Some people are interested in contacting a business through LinkedIn, but just don't feel like the business is approachable. This is often a combination of many things, such as announcements that you are very busy lately, unfriendly-sounding updates or blog posts, and pictures which lack color and personality. It's almost like creating a personality for your business. You should try to achieve a personable, friendly, professional and credible appearance for your business.

Whether you're marketing direct to consumers or to other business professionals, LinkedIn can help your business. To get the most out of this potentially game changing social media site, you need to know how to market "the right way". To learn more on how to expand your circle of influence, grow your business and improve sales and profits download my free LinkedIn Marketing Guide at https://jonallo.com/linkedin

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jon_Allo/1079948

How To Schedule Your Instagram Posts For Better Results

The first thing to realize when using Instagram for business and being able to schedule Instagram posts is that you need to upgrade your account to a business account.

When you have a business Instagram account, you unlock many features that aren't in the personal platform. So do that right away, then follow the rest of the steps.

Tools You Can Use

There are numerous tools that you can use to schedule Instagram posts. Hootsuite.com, Later.com, and HopperHq.com are great platforms to use. You can upload the information using your laptop or PC, or you can hire a virtual assistant to do it for you. You don't have to push individual posts out via your phone anymore. If you have a business account you can just use the scheduling software to schedule each post. But you will still need to use your phone to finish the process if you are publishing photo albums or videos.

Engage with Your Followers

Even though you can now use tools to schedule posts on Instagram without your phone, you still need to force yourself to engage with your followers. You don't want to forget to look at Instagram and comment to people who say things to you and comment on other people's posts, even though you can schedule using your PC. Remember, social media is all about engaging. Engage.

Instagram Automation

There are some services that will say that they'll automate getting more follows and shares for you. But the truth is, this is a bad idea. While it might seem fun to automatically follow and like people who comment or use a hashtag you set up, the best way to do this is personally. If you really want an active and legitimate following, do that yourself or ask your VA to do it for you. Otherwise you could even end up with a blocked account.

Don't Spam Your Audience

Instagram are very adept at getting rid of spammers. So, you want to be careful about appearing spammy. If you have a lot of images that are from the same event, post them as a photo album. Plus, try to offer free content more than you promote. They say that you should promote only once after three posts. So, post useful content three times, then on the fourth time promote. It's a good rule of thumb.

Avoid Scheduling Content Too Far Out

If you schedule your posts too far out, you may end up accidentally offending people. But, if you pay attention to the news and can stop your schedule, you might be saved if something happens. Be super-careful about any type of scheduled post that could be taken wrongly on a bad day.

Always check your post before you schedule or post. Check that you don't have typos, and ensure nothing is wrong with your image that could be taken the wrong way, or something you don't want out there. Post regularly, use appropriate hashtags, and follow your fans back.

Instagram's popularity continues to rocket as the cameras in smart phones become better at taking high-quality pics and videos. To learn more about this social media powerhouse and to get more tips to gain followers on Instagram, download my free Instagram Marketing Guide at http://jonallo.com/instagram

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jon_Allo/1079948

How to PLAN, SCHEDULE, and AUTOMATE your Instagram posts! (Create CONSISTENT Content in your SLEEP!)

7 Instagram Story Ideas To Build Your Following

Keeping your Instagram busy is a good way to build your following. An active account is more interesting than an inactive one. Plus, using Instagram to share all types of content with your audience in many forms is going to be much more interesting to them than if you shared only one type.

Let's look at some ideas that you can incorporate into your stories to build your following.

1. Show a Day in the Life

A great use of Instagram stories is to take a day and show up a few different times of the day to share what you're doing as it relates to your audience and your business. For example, if you're a business coach, you might want to share how you run your own business and team with others.

2. Go Live

Take some time to go live each day even to share just one exciting tidbit of news. When you go live randomly, your audience will get notified if they signed up to be notified. They'll pay more attention to you and will even be sad if they miss it live, but they'll also watch the recording if you leave one.

3. Provide a Sneak Peek

Creating a new product or service? Provide a sneak peek about it. Trying out a new software you want to recommend? Do a story about it. The more reasons you can find to show up in stories, the better for your quest to find more followers.

4. Conduct a Poll

Instagram allows you to conduct polls, which is a good way to find out what your audience is thinking. Keep polls short and sweet to avoid any confusion, since these polls aren't very scientific. If you want accurate results, consider keeping choices limited.

5. Trade Instagram Stories for a Day

If you have a colleague that serves a similar or same audience as you do, you can trade Instagrams for a day. You run their stories, and they run yours. This is a wonderful way to get cross-promotion and more followers.

6. Count Down to Launch

If you have a launch or an event coming up, use Instagram stories to do a countdown for the launch. This is a fun way to get everyone excited about your new offer.

7. Use Stickers and Special Effects

Instagram has ways for you to grab your audience's attention; use them. Add special effects, use stickers, add great hashtags. Call out the right people. Make yourself known so that you can grab those followers who like you.

When you do share a story, always remember to include a call to action. Your audience will not act (or only very rarely) if you don't tell them what to do. Each time you make any content, you should know what you want the results to be after your audience views it.

Instagram's popularity continues to rocket as the cameras in smart phones become better at taking high-quality pics and videos. To learn more about this social media powerhouse and to get more tips to gain followers on Instagram, download my free Instagram Marketing Guide at http://jonallo.com/instagram

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jon_Allo/1079948

4 Tips For Creating The Perfect LinkedIn Profile for Your Business

When you run a business, or even if you're just starting a new business, one of the things that you should be thinking about now in the age of technology is social media. Every business should have its own pages on social media, whereby you can interact with customers, try and engage new leads and clients, and publish new information or products and services.

Creating the perfect LinkedIn profile for your business can take a while to get right at the beginning, but it can have a huge effect on generating traffic to your website and customers to your business.

1. Make Sure Your Logo Can Be Clearly Seen

Don't use a profile picture which is one of your products or a picture of your staff members. You can post images like this later on, but for now you should concentrate on your logo and making sure that the main images associated with your business become well-known. Once you have decided on a logo, you should stick with it rather than try to change it depending on the comments you receive online.

2. Stay Professional

Your LinkedIn profile should look professional in every single way. You wouldn't create a personal LinkedIn profile for employers to find which didn't look highly professional, so don't be tempted to do so from behind the curtain of your business. Respond to enquiries in a timely and polite manner, and build professional relationships with other users and businesses.

3. Include Some Information About Your Business

It's tempting to leave the 'About You' section until later, but when it comes to your business, you don't want to miss any opportunities. Waiting just a few days to update this section could mean that you miss out on several potential leads for the business. Before creating any social media profiles, you should have a website and mission statement set out, which you can use to provide LinkedIn users with more information about your business.

4. Appear Approachable

Some people are interested in contacting a business through LinkedIn, but just don't feel like the business is approachable. This is often a combination of many things, such as announcements that you are very busy lately, unfriendly-sounding updates or blog posts, and pictures which lack color and personality. It's almost like creating a personality for your business. You should try to achieve a personable, friendly, professional and credible appearance for your business.

Whether you're marketing direct to consumers or to other business professionals, LinkedIn can help your business. To get the most out of this potentially game changing social media site, you need to know how to market "the right way". To learn more on how to expand your circle of influence, grow your business and improve sales and profits download my free LinkedIn Marketing Guide at https://jonallo.com/linkedin

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jon_Allo/1079948

How To Use Instagram For Business

How To Get Your First 10,000 Instagram Followers (Without Buying Them), John Lincoln