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Five social media skills millennials don’t have

10 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by leonidesignoryblog in Best Practices, community manager, Content Marketing, Hootsuite, Marketing, Online Marketing, Social Listening

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Best Practices, Online Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, social media networks, social media tools, social sharing

Shared from Ryan Holmes

Don't assume younger staff will know everything about running a clever social media campaign.Don’t assume younger staff will know everything about running a clever social media campaign.

They’re the generation brought up on Facebook. Some have never known a world without the Internet. The innermost details of their lives have been exhaustively Instagramed and they get their news from Twitter, not TV.

But when it comes to using social media in the workplace, millennials – the generation whose birth years can range anywhere from 1980 and 2000 – can be surprisingly, even dangerously, unprepared. “Because somebody grows up being a social media native, it doesn’t make them an expert in using social media at work,” says William Ward, professor of social media at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. “That’s like saying, ‘I grew up with a fax machine, so that makes me an expert in business.'”

For students and recent grads, some social media 101 is definitely in order.

Lacking in critical areas

According to Ward, who teaches a series of popular undergraduate and graduate courses on social media at the university, millennials are lacking in a number of critical areas. While they’re very good at connecting with people they already know, they often fail to understand the professional opportunities and pitfalls posed by networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

“Companies hire millennials because they think they’re good at social media. Then their bosses discover they don’t have those skills and get frustrated,” Ward says, noting that social media expectations are often higher for millennials than for older workers, who may be just as inept.

For students and recent grads entering the workforce, some social media 101 is definitely in order. In particular, career-minded millennials desperately need to brush up on these five social media skills:

1. Knowing when not to share

Recently, Business Insider attracted attention for firing its CTO, Pax Dickinson, because of comments he made on his personal Twitter account. While Dickinson’s Tweets on women and minorities were especially offensive, the situation hints at a larger issue. Millennials sometimes fail to appreciate that personal profiles can have professional repercussions. Twitter, Facebook and other networks are largely public platforms; comments made can – and often do – get back to bosses. As the Dickinson case shows, few employers are eager to associate themselves with off-color or offensive content, even when it may be intended as a joke.

2. Using social media to actually save time

According to a 2013 Salary.com survey, the most frequently visited personal website at work is – you guessed it – Facebook. As networks proliferate – and millennial employees not only check Facebook but post on Twitter, browse Instagram and more – social media has the potential to be a devastating time-suck. Yet it can also be a time saver in the office. A recent McKinsey reportnotes that social media has the potential to save companies $1.3 trillion, largely owing to improvements in intra-office collaboration. Internal social networks like Yammer enable employees to form virtual work groups and communicate on message boards. Instead of endless back-and-forths on email, co-workers can post and reply in continually updated streams. None of this is revolutionary, but millennials are often still in the dark on ways Facebook-like innovations are being taken behind the firewall.

3. Understanding how to crunch the numbers

While millennials often have an intuitive understanding of what resonates on social channels (hard to go wrong with cat GIFs), quantifying what works and what doesn’t is another matter. Should the success of a Twitter campaign be measured on the basis of retweets, mentions, replies, referral traffic or sales leads? What are the best times of day to post on Facebook and what is the optimum post frequency? Which analytical tools are best for crunching the numbers? While social media is about authentic, human interaction, it’s also an arena where data can easily be collected and applied to improve results. Knowing what data to look for, where to find it and what to do with it separates real experts from mere social natives.

4. Mastering the multi-network shuffle

It’s one thing to be a Twitter guru or have a huge LinkedIn following. The real talent lies in orchestrating different platforms to work together and in understanding the niche each fills. Visual networks such as Instagram and YouTube, for instance, are increasingly the foundation of campaigns by social-savvy brands such as Nike, Red Bull and Mercedes. Catchy images and videos are, in turn, seeded onto traditional text-based networks such as Twitter and Facebook. From there, links lead viewers back to blogs and company pages, sending customers spiraling deeper into the sales funnel. Meanwhile, uniform hashtags across platforms help unify and track the overall campaign. Even millennials with deep social credentials often fail to understand the profound multiplying effects of integrating different networks.

5. Networking professionally on social media

By the time millennials graduate, many have dutifully filled their LinkedIn profiles with part-time positions, internships, extra-curriculars and academic accomplishments. But the network’s true job-finding power is often overlooked: Hiring managers and CEOs who would normally be out of reach are often just a connection or two away. In fact, you don’t need to be connected at all. A paid feature called InMail, for instance, enables users to send emails directly to any one of LinkedIn’s 277 million members. Truly enterprising job seekers can hunt down big fish like Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Deepak Chopra, then send a pitch straight to their inbox. Notoriously footloose millennials – forever in search of the next job opportunity – might well take this tip to heart when searching for greener professional pastures.

The plug ‘n play myth

Of course, amassing these skills is no short order, and millennials aren’t the only offenders. “The real problem is that we expect people to know these skills without providing any training,” social media professor Ward says. As the number of social networks expands and platforms are used in more sophisticated ways, it’s unreasonable to expect anyone – even the most plugged-in users – to just intuitively get it.

But there are options for millennials hoping to brush up on social media skills. “There are lots of online training programs out there,” Ward explains, “though some are better than others.”

He cautions learners to stick to programs offering industry-recognised certification, like the most widely used offering, Hootsuite University, an offering from my company which has seen 50,000 people enroll since it was started in 2011 and is also used in 400 higher education programs.

For millennials competing in a tight market, these skills – unheard of just a decade ago – can mean the difference between finding and keeping a job. “Students using digital and social media professionally in an integrated and strategic way … have an advantage,” Ward says. “[They’re] getting better jobs and better internships.”

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Pinterest pins a plan for growth

22 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by leonidesignoryblog in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Online Marketing, Pinterest, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, social media networks, social media tools

Article courtesy of Jefferson Graham

Women gravitated to Pinterest’s visual appeal early on; now the social network is making a concentrated effort to reach out to small businesses to start using the service as it seeks to expand its audience base.

Pinterest has yet to accept advertising — it’s expected to start experimenting with monetization next year — but it’s open for business for folks looking to market to consumers.

BIG STORES: Pinterest poised to pin down retail revenue

Pinterest, which reached 46 million visitors in July, according to measurement site ComScore, is a website and app that lets users “pin” photos and Web links of things they’re interested in. You can browse categories to see what folks think of, say, wedding dresses, sunflowers and chicken pot pie, and businesses can post photos and links to try and grow their sales.

Pinterest recently introduced a new tool called “Rich Pins,” which lets retailers provide extra information about what’s being pinned. For instance, if online retailer Etsy displays an image, Pinterest also includes the price, size and color, says Evan Sharp, a Pinterest co-founder. “That helps us make it easier to discover.”

Some businesses have had a hard time understanding Pinterest, he admits. “Pinterest takes a moment to ‘get it.’ If you don’t take that moment, there’s a little bit of a learning curve.”

But those who do get it, love it.

Courtney Jentzen, who makes custom wedding invitations and illustrations, regularly “pins” her work on Pinterest, and gets lots of feedback — and inquiries.

“For me to post a tweet would be showcasing a thought, but since I’m visually based, Pinterest is such a bigger deal,” she says. “A pin can create a ripple effect. I post it, it shows up on someone else’s page, and it goes from there. You can reach so many more people than you’d find on a blog, or even on Twitter or Facebook.”

Making Pinterest cooler than any other social network — at least for Jentzen — is the clickthrough. Click the photo once, see the picture, click it again, and it takes you straight to the company website. “No one else does that,” she says.

Patty Triplett West, who runs the Good Karmal company in Bozeman, Mont., says she pins on Pinterest because “I have to be there. People go on Facebook to connect, but with Pinterest they are there to be inspired.” As a company, she offers her caramels as custom gifts for weddings and anniversaries, and each one is wrapped with an inspirational quote. “Folks often pin them when they’re planning.”

Consumers can’t spend enough time with it.

Tammy Thompson, from Las Vegas, likes to go on Pinterest to “see what my friends like to do, places to go and things to create for your home,” she says. “It’s really fun.”

Kelsey Junger loves “everything” about Pinterest. “I’m a teacher, so all the school ideas, fashion and that stuff.” How many hours a day does she spend on Pinterest? “Too many … about two hours.”

Sharp describes Pinterest as a place “to help people discover what they love, and inspire them to do those things in their real life.”

WORD OF MOUTH

Pinterest launched in 2010, and struggled for a year until women began to discover it and began spreading the word. Some $338 million has been raised by the firm from a variety of venture firms including Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners. Forbes says Pinterest is valued at $2.5 billion.

Growth has been ultra-fast. Some 140 folks work at Pinterest; a year ago, the company had just 15 employees.

The firm was founded by Ben Silbermann, Sharp and Paul Sciarra, who has since left the company.

Jeremy Levine, a partner with Bessemer Venture Partners, says that after successful investments in companies that rely heavily on user-generated content (review-siteYelp and networking site LinkedIn) he wanted to keep at it, and was intrigued with Pinterest’s concept of sharing ideas via photos.

“Users were using it not once or twice a day, but multiple times,” he says. “It was rare to see that kind of passionate response.”

Challenges for the company include establishing a business model, making Pinterest relevant outside the United States, and broadening the appeal here.

Potentially, Pinterest could be “tremendous. If it all works, it could be a fabulously valuable business that could be worth many billions of dollars.”

Meanwhile, what’s next for Pinterest?

“You’ll see Pinterest feel more personalized,” Sharp says. In the coming months, Pinterest will “start to understand how as you pin things and say what you’re interested in we can help you discover more things for you. That’s going to be really valuable.”

Follow Jefferson Graham on Twitter: @jeffersongraham.

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Why Blog Engage Should Be Your First Choice For Paid Communities

04 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by leonidesignoryblog in Bloging, Multi Channel Marketing

≈ 1 Comment

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Best Practices, Blogging, Online Marketing, Social Media, social media networks

Have you ever wondered how you can get traffic to your blog?  That goes without saying doesn’t it?  We all scrounge around looking for ways to get traffic to our sites and make more money with it.

Recently I have found one of the greatest things that a blogger can get into to become successful!

It’s called The Blog Engage Community

How Blog Engage Can Help You

Every blogger is looking for new traffic and faithful readers to their site. When you can successfully add these to your site, you become more visible to a lot more people. The reason being is that these people will share your blog to their friends on social media sites or tell someone about it.

However, this is harder to do than you might think! When you first get into blogging you are alone. Out there on your blog island blogengage Why Blog Engage Should Be Your First Choice For Paid Communities

looking for people that you can share your posts with! This is where Blog Engage can help you.

First of all, it is a community of bloggers that are looking to meet new people and make connections with. So right off the bat, everyone has the same perception…making the connection with others. These are people that would not have normally found your site otherwise.

When you join this community you are allowing these people to find you and your site, filling that “traffic” hole that you are desperately trying to fill. Once you join this community, traffic is a given. The very first day I joined, my traffic went up 40%!

So the traffic is a given. Once a member, this will happen. It’s inevitable. However, the traffic is not the most important part of this community.

What is the most important part?

Building Links Through Blog Engage

blogengage11 Why Blog Engage Should Be Your First Choice For Paid CommunitiesAlso, once a member, you are given the opportunity to submit your blog posts to the community. Of course these are the posts that people will see to allow them to visit your blog, however, when you post, you are building high quality backlinks that can be added to your SEO strategy!

Blog Engage is a high ranking site online and it can benefit your blog to become part of this opportunity for this purpose as well.

They have many options that you can use to join their site, and you can pick the one that benefits your site the best, however, the song remains the same. If you are looking for great backlinks, then this is one of those places that you should be involved with.

So is this the most important part?

The Most Important Part of Blog Engage

Blog Engage has many important features. Brian Belfitt has created on of the greatest sites that can meet your blog’s needs in every way. However, the most important part about Blog Engage is what he didn’t create…he attracted it.

The most important part is the people.

These are the connections that you are inevitably going to make while a member of this community. Making friends and creating relationships are the most important thing a blogger can have. A relationship that can last throughout your blogging career cannot have a price put on it. This is what makes Blog Engage so great.

blogengage12 Why Blog Engage Should Be Your First Choice For Paid Communities

Making connections with other bloggers is the most important part of any blogging strategy, and Blog Engage supports and encourages this!


You are “engaging” with other people on this site. You are voting for their blog posts and they are voting for yours. You are commenting and interacting with these people and vice-versa. This community has all of the means that you can use to create friends and benefit your blog. From chatrooms, comment sections, voting, and instant messenger, Brian has given you all the tools that you will need to unfold the most important part of his site.

Communication with others.

But wait…there’s more

The Blog Engage Special Offer

—This offer has expired—But still a great deal at $9 per month!

3 MONTHS FOR THE PRICE OF 1!!

While Blog Engage is a great deal with a starting price of only $9 per month, my good friend Brian is allowing me to offer this to you guys for a special price! During the month of November, you can get the Platinum Syndication & Marketing Service that they offer for only $9 for the first three months!You are already getting this at a great deal at the regular price, but now you can experience three months for the price of one!

This is really a great opportunity for someone who is looking to boost their traffic, get a jump on their SEO strategy, meet new people, and, all in all, boost their blog as a whole! Don’t miss out on this opportunity, because it’s not going to last!

Get a great deal at Blog Engage Here! ($9.99 USD)!

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Emerging Social Tools & Networks

25 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by leonidesignoryblog in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Social Media, social media networks, social media tools

When we were first introduced to the social web and all of its shiny websites, it offered a place for us to share, discuss and create. The above graphic shows just how many social networks, sites and tools there are, and that number is only increasing.

The latest tools on the block seem to focus on organizing and cutting out the clutter, which makes our hearts swoon.

We researched and found some networks and tools to make your social life easier because the last thing most of us want are more sites to scour through. These tools will help you reclaim time in your schedule without missing a beat.

Wavii – Personalized Newsfeed

Self-described as the “Facebook of Google,” this instant, personalized newsfeed takes everything that is reported or shared on the Internet and produces interesting social content – or status updates – about it. Users can decide which topics or people they want to follow – from celebrities to gadgets or an industry – and that news will be delivered in their feed. From there, the experience can be as social as you like by sharing and reacting to news, following other users and more.
Cost: Free.

Piktochart – Create Infographics

This site makes it simple to modify and customize infographics through its library of templates. The basic version is free and offers 3 themes but you can upgrade for under $200/year and get 100 themes.  It is in its rudimentary stages and they promise much more to come.­­­
Cost: Free, with option to upgrade.

 

Triberr – Share Blog Content with a Bigger Audience

If you have a blog, Triberr is a tool you want in your arsenal. The content distribution network allows users to “push their message up.” Users can create and join tribes – for instance, a public relations tribe – and members can automatically or manually share their blog content to the group. From there, it is easy for the tribe to share it with others outside the network. Not sure if you should join? Members often report tripling their traffic.
Cost: Free with option to upgrade for $40/month.

Medium – Next-generation Publishing Tool

If you like to read or write, you should keep your eye on Medium. Content is broken into collections – which are defined by a theme – so it’s easy for readers to discover and easy for writers to gain an audience. From there, users can recommend and share content and offer feedback, and writers can create collections, decide who is invited or open it to everyone, and more. Right now, posting is open to a select few, but will eventually be allowed for all users. Did we mention Medium is the brainchild of Biz Stone and Ev Williams, the founders of Twitter?
Cost: Free.

Branch – Making it Easier to Share & Discuss

Although it’s still a work in progress, it’s another site released by Biz Stone and Ev Williams, so it’s one to consider joining. We think it’s best described by them: “Grab anything from the web, talk about it with anyone, publish it anywhere.” You can start a “branch” with an idea or question, or invite people to continue a conversation that started somewhere else, like say, in 140 characters on Twitter. Take a look and see what you think!
Cost: Free.

RebelMouse – Social Media Aggregator

We love organization and RebelMouse does just that. It pulls together your posts across multiple platforms and creates a homepage for all of your content.
Cost: Free.

Make Use Of – Finger on the Pulse of Tech

If you can’t get enough tips, apps, websites, tech help and guides, Make Use Of should be a go-to for you. This website will keep you in-the-know when it comes to anything tech.
Cost: Free.

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