Tag: social

Successful social media experts know what it takes to make social media work for you. Aside from including regular updates, relevant posts, and stand-out content, make sure that you stay involved in each social network in a personal way.

Make Your Social Media Profiles Stand Out

Fill out your profiles in full, and learn what constitutes best practices for profiles on that particular network. Each network has its own personality that you should mind, but let your personality shine through too.

Make the Right Connections

If you can connect with experts and movers and shakers, you’ll be able to get more traction because if you can have a conversation with them, all their followers will see it.

Make Your Business Pages Interactive and Informative

Don’t skimp on making your pages represent your business appropriately. On each social network you can create pages that look awesome and get results.

Share Relevant Industry Topics

If you want to quickly become a go-to expert, find relevant industry news and share it with your followers. Don’t worry, giving it away works.

Join the Conversation

Don’t just be a robot by posting things without ever commenting and entering into discussions with others. You want to jump right in and talk to others just like you would if you were at a live social gathering.

Learn to Use Hashtags Correctly

Hashtags help you organize and search for relevant content on social media. Always use the # before the word, use no punctuation, keep it as short as possible and use letters and numbers.

Advertise Strategically

Running advertisements on social media is a great way to get the word out about a new product or service. However, be strategic when running an advertisement so that you know exactly what you expect to achieve with it.

Use Sponsored Ads and Posts

When you have something important to get across to your audience, it’s important to use sponsored ads where many eyes are on the post. Mind your budget.

Be Yourself When You Post

When you are in a discussion on social media, outside of representing your business you are also representing yourself. Be who you are so that your social media presence has a personality.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when you get involved with social media marketing. Follow the experts and do what they are doing. Focus on differentiating yourself and being a real person with a unique voice that represents your business.

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.

I would assume that when you decided to become an FSBO and sell your property, you have done your homework and researched on how to be an FSBO. If you haven’t then I urge you to first research on what to expect when you sell your property as an FSBO. Now if you’re able to do your homework, you might have come across some articles that states that there are about 90 percent of for-sale-by-owner that fail to sell their property. However, you have to also understand that this number may not be accurate as the success of an FSBO would highly depend on how much effort you put in. It is not enough to have your property to have a for sale sign, you also have to make every effort to make sure that you will be able to put your property for sale in front of as many eyeballs as possible. More people who knows that you have a property for sale means the higher possibility of having a potential buyer of your property.

So how do you increase the visibility of your property for sale? Some would use traditional media to advertise their property for sale, although that may be one way to go it is going to be very expensive and a problem for FSBO. But do not fret there are other ways on how you can promote your property for sale. One of them is to use the services of a flat-fee mls provider, flat-fee mls is a process where you only pay a flat-fee to have your property be placed in hundreds of MLS listing sites among other services inclusive.

Another possible way to have your property for sale, promoted is to use the power of social media. It is free and it would not cost as much as traditional media if you choose to use social media paid advertising. You might be wondering on how do you start advertising your property for sale via social media. Here are some easy steps which you can follow.

1. Choose Your Platform – you do not have to look far, everyone may have a social media account, this is where you should start, choose the platform where you are already in and have friend and or followers to which you can promote your property for sale. If you do not have an account in any of the social media platforms out there then it is time for you to have one. In this case choose a platform that you know that your friends are mostly using. Once you sign up start adding your friends and start posting your property for sale. And start the word of mouth about your property snowball.
2. Post Your Property for Sale – nobody wants to have their property social media timeline to look like an advertising platform. Although we have suggested that you post your property for sale on your account, do not post the same thing everyday. It pays to also post something interesting to your friend even if such is unrelated. Make sure to also nurture your relationship with your friends using your timeline rather than having your timeline turn into a newspaper classified ads. In addition, make sure that you make your post public so that anyone can see it.
3. Engage and Answer Queries – once you get queries on your post about your property for sale, make sure that you immediately answer their questions and do so professionally. Remember with social media, as long as your post is public, people can freely see your posts.

These three simple steps is a start for you to use social media to make sure as an FSBO that your property for sale can get much more exposure beyond the traditional media could do, not to mention that this could be done only for a fraction of a price if not free and with the aid of flat-fee mls listing, you will surely get that deal.

As the year 2018 has started it makes sense that in this new year what could be the biggest social media changes that can be expected.

Typically, the world of social media has witnessed a continuous growth in technology and innovation. Every day some new innovations are seen, or new announcements are heard.

So, let’s discuss the prospective trends that can follow in this year and ways in which the social media managers can plan for these changes.

1.Continuous growth in the Live video content.

Recently Facebook announced some changes to its News Feed algorithm that will change itself based on the type of content users that shifting from the user’s friends and families to the type of content or pages which the user’s followers. This further implies that it is going to initiate an intensive discussion among the users as they share a content in their own private network.

2. Messaging apps will be an important mode of communication.

Today there are various messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat etc. Almost 4 billion people use these kinds of messaging Apps to communicate with the each other. These kinds of Apps provide a much faster and easier way to contact people. In fact, using messaging for customer service is more far more scale and lesser to cost especially for businesses and customer services.

3. Virtual reality on the rise of better marketing experiences.

In the era of Artificial Intelligence Virtual Reality is making the headlines. With its unique features, it creates a memorable experience unlike other mediums in the field of marketing. In fact, due to this brand are instantly acknowledging its value.

4. Voice search and AI will be the game changer

As the development continues the voice-powered devices which are quick in responding to the verbal commands are heavily dependent on Artificial Intelligence. As we can see in the market that some voice controlled for personal help are being built into a few devices that we use such as smart speakers, TVs etc.

The other innovation where Artificial Intelligence plays an important role is in autonomous vehicle technology continues to progress. Based on this technology, it is apparent that voice activation will be certainly used for the self-driving cars too. As these kinds of vehicles will be equipped with voice-powered capabilities that will allow the drivers to execute other functions like making phone calls without taking your hands away from the steering.

5. A boom in Live Streaming

There will be an outgrowth of Live streaming and we are going to see a lot more to it. The presence of Live Streaming will increase as it works. For instance, through this technology, we get an upgrade in the phones every day.

6. Online Hangouts will be the order of the Day

The online hangouts are trending fast with the Generation Z which believes in more of socializing and partying. In fact, Online Hangouts goes hand in hand with the VR.

7. Influencer Marketing will be at the Focal point in the Social Media Engagement

The influence of marketing is a Big business with a billion-dollar riding on it. In fact, there are many people mint money up to 6 figures through influencer marketing.

It has a huge impact on the millennials in making their career choices and kind of choices they make in everyday life such as the kinds of products they want to buy.

8. Making stories with Instagram

From a marketing standpoint, the Instagram stories will have a lot of relevance as compared to another marketing platform. There is a flood of Instagram stories which accounts for almost 10,000 followers.

As I’ve said repeatedly, “It’s called social media for a reason.” How do you gain traction with people on social media? Not by telling them things, but by asking them questions.

When you make a post, go ahead and finish it with an open-ended question, something like “What do you think about the topic? Post your thoughts below.” BTW, and open-ended question is one that doesn’t automatically elicit a short, one or two word answer like “Yes” or “No,” “red” or “blue.” It asks people to express their inner views on a subject, to answer expansively.

Of course, the other part of the social media equation is interacting on other people’s posts. In order for you to be seen, you need to do more than write your own posts. Of course, other people are asking questions on their social media posts. Some of them are asking closed questions, to be sure. “Am I right – yes or no?” A few people will be asking open-ended questions. Either way, when you reply, your voice is added to the conversation. More importantly, your on-line name or handle is added to the stream of information flowing past the eyeballs of others.

If you look for advice on marketing, a metric crap-ton of people will shout a single-word piece of advice at you – “Content!” What they mean is that you should be creating unique information to put in front of others to grab their attention.

But here’s a bit of content the so-called experts tend to overlook: asking your own questions on other people’s social media posts.

Let’s say, someone makes a post about carpet cleaning. Yes, I use that industry in a lot of examples. So let’s say a person posts that you should steam clean your carpets at least every six months. Go ahead and ask your own question! Like with your own posts, open-ended is best. “In addition to the 6-month cleanings, should I also clean before a holiday gathering?” You could switch that to a closed-ended question: “Which is best, cleaning before or after a holiday gathering?”

If you can’t think of a relevant question, it’s okay to ask for examples and clarification. I can guarantee there are plenty of other folks out there who would like additional examples or a different explanation. “Is there a different schedule you’d recommend for a carpet in the reception area of a business?” “Can you give an example of a hotel lobby carpet cleaning process?”

Asking relevant questions, ones that dig deeper into the subject of the post, are often nearly as good as – and sometimes better than – the original informational posts, and will get your name out there as someone who knows what they’re talking about.

The whole idea of promoting content on social media is to increase the content’s visibility, generate traffic and thereby increasing the conversion rate. With so much time and resources being spent on promoting the content on these platforms, it becomes imperative to analyse if your promotion strategy is bearing fruits.

Brands also need to analyse not only if their measures are generating positive results but also how much they can gain from their SMO promotion tactics. Tools like BUZZSUMO can be used to collect the list of pages that have ever been shared on Social Networks. Google Analytics can be used to compile the list of pages that have attracted traffic.

Analyze Traffic

Prepare an audit spread sheet for social media. Create a spreadsheet for the social media channels you want to track. Each social media channel will be analyzed individually. Google Sheets can be a useful tool for the purpose.

Investigate the followers – their growth and behaviour.

Just visit each social network and find the number of followers. For better insights, use the social media Analytics and check the follower growth. The number of followers on each media, at what rate they are growing and how they behave can be tracked, and necessary steps to make improvements can be taken.

If tracking each social media channel is difficult for you, a tool like CYFE can be used to monitor the follower growth of your top social networks together.

Spot unevenness in traffic

All the top social networks have built-in analytics to show the number of impressions you content receive. The impression is the number of people that visit your social media content.

Use these built-in analytics to find out the amount of traffic over a period. Like Google search console can collect the pages that have earned impressions in Google. Twitter Analytics for impressions on Twitter. The graph will show if there is any highs or lows on a particular day for any network. This can be looked into, and the causes can be ascertained as to what drove higher or lower traffic on a particular day.

Like for example, you find that on a particular day the traffic on your Twitter account was double than the other days. And this was the day when you posted more content than usual on your account. This would mean that to generate higher traffic, posting more content might be beneficial.

Examine user engagement

Increase in traffic and followers are meaningless if it doesn’t convert into higher user engagement. The amplification rate (the number of reshares and retweets per post) and the applause rate (retweets, likes, repins etc.) can make you aware of the user engagement with your content. A good user engagement can mean that the followers like what you share and are interested in your content and vice versa.

Accordingly, steps can be taken to improve the current situation. Viewer comments can provide valuable insight for these improvements. Social media Analytics can be used to find out the number of clicks and traffic on your content. Every click will not result in traffic. If there is a high discrepancy in the number of clicks and traffic, then this must be looked into to find the cause.

Conclusion

Evaluating the performance is a time-consuming process but it is essential to do so. If you have a good team for Digital Marketing then they can take care of the evaluation process or you can hire a good SEO Services Provider to assist you.

Do you know that your teenagers must pay attention to their social media habits at least by their junior year in High School? If they don’t then you as a parent must step in and do something about it.

Back in the 1960’s colleges did not care about teenagers and their social skills online to enter into college. Although in the 21st Century it seems to be the biggest Bling in successful college entries. As a parent I can testify that I have limited time, energy and money to help my teenager get into a great college. The cost of living has decreased, my Budget and funding is limited. Even when the teenager chooses a college there is no guarantee that a reliable job market will be there in the end of their educational degree of choice.

QUOTE: “In 2008 only 10% of Colleges checked applications social media activities and now in the year 2012 approximately 80% of colleges check social media activities.”

Isn’t that startling?!!

What is social media? It is photo’s videos and graphics that show and reveal the gifts and talents of future college student’s activities. There are so many great social networking sites to be a part of and be a part of a community. FaceBook, YouTube and Twitter are the big three that most are online with sharing today.

Diane Griffin suggests parents ask their teens what social network sites they participate on and to see what they post online. If it is not “college approval” then the teen needs to consider changing it to become more professional to get into a great college. Parents need to ask and become aware of this to help a teenager get into a college more easily. Diane also talks about how the teen can talk to alumni of a college to get a feel for the college and also feel more comfortable if they want to visit. The alumni student might be able to take your teenager through a walk-though of the college a year or so before the final decision is made. I know as a parent I would want that for my daughter now.

This is a wonderful book for parents and teenagers to fully equip you with the knowledge of what to do before your teen tries getting into a college. Diane’s book will give you “A Novice’s Social Networking Cheat sheet,” which every parent of a college bound teen should have.” The cheat sheet helps me now as my daughter will attend college in the fall. I have already applied for and got approval for filling out the FAFSA form. Please look it up if you need future assistance.

2012 Jackie Paulson All Rights Reserved

It has been quite a while since we last discussed social media etiquette for business. However, there is a lot to be said on the subject. In this article, we will give you new insight into an extremely important aspect of professional behavior.

The rules to follow

At this point, social media is certainly not new or mysterious although it evolves at an extremely rapid pace. New aspects of the various social media channels are being introduced frequently. Of course, there are the basics of proper etiquette and then there is another layer that is certainly worth consideration. Just to think about the history of social media etiquette for a moment, it all started in the 1990s and just evolved from there to what it is today. In the beginning, nobody really had a clear sense of how to behave exactly. There was a bit of a trial and error situation initially but, at this point, the proper etiquette is pretty well established.

Undoubtedly, there are certain behaviors that are obviously wrong to everyone who experiences them. In those cases, it is easy to understand right from wrong. Then there are those behaviors that are more subtle and those are less obvious and more difficult to determine whether they are right or wrong or just a personal preference. One thing that makes it easier at times is that some of the social media channels will provide you with their rules of etiquette. That leaves no wiggle room on your part. Whether you agree with those rules or not, you have an obligation to follow them if you wish to be a part of that particular social media channel. It is the rules that have a subjective element to them that need to be determined. The sad fact is that if you can’t figure those out, you may get into uncomfortable situations that you are not entirely sure how to get out of. In addition to following the etiquette rules of other people’s choosing, you should also come up with your own rules as well. That will help to guide you and it will make things a lot easier on a day-to-day basis.

One thing that makes it easier at times is that some of the social media channels will provide you with their rules of etiquette. That leaves no wiggle room on your part. Whether you agree with those rules or not, you have an obligation to follow them if you wish to be a part of that particular social media channel. It is the rules that have a subjective element to them that need to be determined. The sad fact is that if you can’t figure those out, you may get into uncomfortable situations that you are not entirely sure how to get out of. In addition to following the etiquette rules of other people’s choosing, you should also come up with your own rules as well. That will help to guide you and it will make things a lot easier on a day-to-day basis.

Contribute something of value to others

When it comes to the content that you are sharing, you want it to be educational, valuable, compelling, and you want it to make your readers want to share it with other people whom they know and trust. In fact, your ultimate goal is to get your content to go viral through the actions of the people who are reading it. If you are going to achieve that, your content must not only be well-written but also exciting to read. You may think that having to meet all of those criteria is quite a burden. However, once you start to write and to share valuable content that other people have written, it will start to go much smoother. You will see! It is a really good idea to sit down and think about what you want to write before you actually do any writing at all. You want to write content that resonates with a large number of people, that the person reading your content can use to improve his or her business, is in the friendliest format, that fulfills the needs and wants of the people who read it, and that is available to your readers at a time when they will be inclined to read it. If you accomplish all of that with your content, you will succeed.

Write personal messages

Automating certain things is really valuable and convenient. However, when it comes to responding to other people online after they have made an effort to reach out to you, that must be done personally. After all, you are trying to build a human relationship with the other person. There is no way that offering a canned message will suffice. If you do that, the human/emotional element will definitely be missing. Without it, you will not get anywhere. People don’t appreciate being treated like they don’t matter and that is exactly how an automated message will make them feel. How would you feel about it?

Be timely

Not only should you respond to other people personally but you should also respond to them quickly. You probably would not want to wait a long time for the other person’s response so why would you think that the other person would feel any differently about that? Again, it all goes back to building a relationship together. In order to do that, you need to interact as humans. If you are overwhelmed with work, you should ask someone else (who is connected to your business) to respond on your behalf. No matter what, the response needs to be the human kind. The fact is that the comments that you receive online will not all be positive. The negative comments are the ones that are even more urgent and critical to answer. That is all part of your relationship-building. If you address concerns quickly and manage to rectify them, you will be earning trust and credibility, which are two of the building blogs of a solid relationship.

Show some class

As a parallel, think about the divorced couple with children. The shared custody and each one speaks bitterly about the other to the children. We all know that to behave in that manner is inappropriate, destructive, and just plain wrong. Okay, now you can apply that concept to whether you choose to be respectful when you are speaking about your competitors. The fact is that your competitors are not doing anything wrong by giving you a run for your money. They are in exactly the same position as you. They have a brand and products and/or services that they believe in. Their wish is to improve someone else’s experience based on that brand and those products and/or services. Don’t you feel exactly the same way? Chances are that you do. Don’t say negative, disrespectful things about them. It makes you seem insecure and petty. If you have confidence in what you are doing and what you are offering to other people, there is no need for that. It all starts from within you.

Make your content as shareable as possible

The format of your content is very important when it comes to making it easy for other people to share it. If you follow the rules of the particular social media channel to which you are posting, it will be a lot easier to share your content. As you are probably aware, some of the social media channels have length restrictions. As difficult as that is, you need to do your best to respect those. Otherwise, your content will be truncated. That certainly will do you (or your content) any good.

Always put your professional foot forward

You are probably well aware of the fact that you have social media for personal reasons as well as for business. Of course, what we are discussing here is a business. You need to ensure that you keep any personal element out of your interactions on social media for business. It is just not appropriate. You should make sure to have separate accounts for personal and for business. Trust me when I say that if you don’t do that, your professional connections will not take you seriously. If that happens, you will not succeed in business.

Conclusion

Social media etiquette for business is critical to your success. The chances are great that you are already doing most of what would be considered proper etiquette. You may have to adjust some minor things that didn’t occur to you before but it really is no big deal. What should drive your behavior at all times is respect and admiration for your other people. Of course, you need to make sure that your content is in no way offensive to anyone and that it helps other people in some way. That should be another (and very important) motivator for you.

One thing to do on social media is to write content for your posts. Posts are what keep your social media active and your audience engaged. However, it’s imperative that you have a strategy so that you can get the most out of your social media interactions.

Understand Your Customers

You need to know who your target audience is so that you can recognize what type of posts will get more traction with them. For example, some audience members will be insulted by certain types of comedy. Others will respond very well to it. Know who they are so that your posts can be targeted.

Watch Your Competition

It’s always a good idea to check out what your competition is doing in regard to social media posts. Don’t just copy what they are doing. Instead, observe whether or not the competition is getting a result or not from their actions, and note how you can do it better or differently.

Know the Goal of the Post

What action do you want your customers to take when they read the post? Do you want them to click through to read more? Do you want them to like, follow and share? You need to be clear about what you want them to do in order to get action.

Add a Relevant Image

People respond best to relevant images on social media. You can make memes and infographic using free software like Canva.com for your social media posts. A nice image, watermarked with a relevant quote will do wonders.

Write Content that Gets Attention

When you share a meme or a blog post or other type of post write content about it, and what you want your readers to do about it.

Ask Your Audience to Share

Never forget to ask your audience to share your posts. You can also invite them to take memes and infographics off your website to share. Just set up a new page that lists all the watermarked images that your audience can share.

Respond to Comments

Don’t just ignore the interaction that is happening on your social media pages. Always respond, and add comments to the discussion. Answer questions, and be kind. Even if someone is rude, don’t respond rudely. If you have to, delete the rude comment and let it go.

Writing social media posts that get a discussion going and inspire people to share and interact is an art. You’ll need to try different tactics to see what works with your particular audience. But, be sure to always have a call to action on the post so that your audience knows what to do.

It’s an incredible addiction that drives people to stay awake for all hours at night checking their phones, tablets, or computers, in order to see who is looking at them. What is the point? People who judge their worth by this type of response are not worth much. They are missing out on personal contact with those who can make a difference to them and who are able to support them as they progress through life.

The really bad side is the way it opens up an avenue for bullying by others who act against your interest. Young kids commit suicide because of this and it works both ways. Without the support of personal friends and families this is driving people to do horrible things.

Terrorists are also using social media to recruit others to their cause. They are able to get inside the heads of their victims as the conversations are private and dangerous. Many have fallen for it and are either dead or preparing to die on suicide missions.

This is the modern world and everything is now so available that authorities are at a loss to deal with it. Videos designed to distract and engage people for hours on end are often fake stories that are meant to shock. Over the Christmas period some of these were so disgusting and detrimental to individuals targeted that one wonders the motive behind them.

The frightening thing is how believable they are. Without going into details and giving them publicity the claims made would have been helpful to those seeking to destroy people’s faith in certain politicians, tennis players, and others.

This is the rubbish that pervades the minds of children and is inciting more of the same. Some do extraordinary and dangerous acts to post on the Social Media with the purpose of getting people to click on the videos or imaged. The number of hits adds to their psyche as something that boosts their ego.

While the psychiatry benefits or harm are not published they should be. This is a dangerous time-wasting pastime that is worse for some than taking drugs. It is a drug and it is highly addictive as one can easily spend an hour or two without even being aware of how much time has passed. It detracts from normal learning and family time while important things ar missed.

Nothing can or will change the habits of people and one should look to the amount of money made by the company to know that the goal in making one addicted is money. These sites are great advertisers and they get highly paid every time one is exposed to an ad. This is what should be noticed by those who can’t avoid connecting to them.

If baby boomers were the “Me Generation,” then it’s not too far-fetched to call Millennials the “Me, Me, Me Generation.”

By every standard, we are all becoming more interested in extrinsic values. An increasing number of studies is showing narcissistic personality traits are on the rise.

It’s not clear just how big of a problem this trend is, but everyone agrees that it’s not a positive shift. The causes of these changes in self-perception are various and complex. But if there’s one thing that can’t be denied it’s that they map almost perfectly onto equally rising trends of social media use.

Difference Between Self-Esteem and Narcissism

Self-esteem is generally regarded as a positive and healthy trait and is sometimes confused with narcissistic behavior.

The fundamental difference between the two is that self-esteem stems from real and measurable accomplishment, while narcissism comes from a lack of it.

When people achieve tangible positive things in their lives, their self-esteem naturally rises. That’s a good thing. Having high self-esteem is one of key factors in having a stable mental health.

In a narcissistic person, conversely, it’s the lack of accomplishment that drives the behavior. That’s exacerbated by the presence of social media. Narcissists act out fear of failing, and further, a fear of being perceived as failures.

These feelings of inadequacy start to inform people’s decisions and that creates a co-dependent relationship with social media.

The Role of Social Media

In a world filtered through social media news feeds, the criteria for truth can become warped.

If a person is put into a situation where the things presented on social media easily pass the required criteria for truth, they’ll be incentivized to trust those channels more and more.

This, in turn, results in a disregard for actual concrete accomplishment. After all, if what is presented on social media has a real-life impact on their lives, why should it be treated as if it doesn’t?

The “offline” world becomes ever more uninteresting. And people can’t be entirely blamed.

If putting stock into your social media persona has a better return on that investment, why wouldn’t we all want that? Sure, there are long-term implications and complications, but most humans aren’t long-term thinkers.

What’s the Big Deal?

It might seem harmless or simply eccentric at first glance, but this narcissistic behavior has serious downsides.

Many negative trends in mental health can be traced to this behavior with some certainty. People, especially younger generations, are exhibiting higher rates of hyperactivity disorders.

One can easily see how the exploding rates of body dysmorphia can be linked to this as well. In a world that prizes the perfect selfie, not having one can be a source of consternation.

Addictive personality disorders are also on the rise. Many studies have shown clearly how addictive social media can be. If you’ve ever felt anxious when the connection goes down and you can’t check the notifications and refresh the news feed, you know what we’re talking about.

All this adds up to steadily climbing instances of depression in young people. For many people who want to focus on their intrinsic values, it’s terribly disheartening to live in a world that disparages them for not embracing extrinsic values.

Social Media, the Perfect Connector or a Clear and Present Danger?

It’s not going too far to say that social media is definitely to blame for some of the narcissistic tendencies in our modern world. Study after study has shown circumstantial links between the use of social media and the rise in narcissistic traits.

The question is what to do about it? We can’t simply get rid of it. Any coherent plan must include social media as present in our lives in some capacity. Perhaps we should focus on how we can turn back the dial and use social media to deliver the benefits that it very clearly can with fewer consequences.

Social media marketing is an excellent way to boost your business and profits. However, there are many common mistakes that people make when engaging in social media marketing.

If you are making any of these mistakes, don’t worry. It’s never too late to correct your social marketing and make it better.

Not Engaging with Your Followers

When your followers make a comment on something, share or ask a question, don’t wait too long to respond. If you have someone monitoring your social media, have them inform you of ongoing conversations and potential areas of engagement.

Not Filling Out Your Profile Completely

Incomplete profiles make your business look either sloppy, or fake. If you want to be taken seriously, fill out a complete profile with a good profile picture, your company logo/banner and information so that you can be contacted outside of the network.

Not Focusing on Follower Quality

Some people make the mistake of focusing on the quantity of followers rather than the quality. You want to concern yourself with finding followers who are potential customers.

Not Posting Regular, Relevant Updates

If you aren’t active posting things that resonate with your audience, then you’re not going to get any traction. If you plan to be successful with social media marketing it takes perseverance and patience, not one-hit wonders.

Not Choosing Your Channels Wisely

You don’t need to be on every single social network. Be on the channels that your audience love and that will work out fine.

Not Automating Some Actions

There are a lot of things, such as scheduled updates, that you can automate on social media. Be sure to use scheduling when possible as long as it doesn’t make you look robotic.

Not Interacting Personally

Every chance you get, it’s important to make spur-of-the-moment updates that are relevant to your business and your goals. This will make you look more real in the eyes of your followers.

Not Personalizing Messages for the Channel

Sending out a mass message, using software, to all of your social media networks that you’ve connected with, is a big mistake. Most of the time, you’ll have leads who are on more than one account. If you do this they’ll quickly feel bored or worse, spammed.

Using social media to market your business is a proven technique to get more customers, make more sales, and increase your bottom line, but only if you avoid these mistakes. Take one at a time and make the improvements needed to get on the right track so that you make your social media marketing profitable for your business.

As a business owner or marketing strategist, social media is an important tool to increase brand awareness, we can see social media like a cocktail party, where you can have networking and fun. I will explain 10 Must-Haves in your campaign to rock your social media strategy.

1. BE INTERESTING.

According to BBC News the average attention span is less than 12 seconds, thanks to multiple devices and a lot of distractions is really hard to stay focused and maintain the audience entertained. The only way is generating interesting content in relation to your service or product, there are a lot of formats according to each channel like videos, interactive images, and useful information applicable to their needs.

The best example is TED Talks, their content is about generating content through guest speakers of the most trendy and interesting topics in different industries.

2. BE AN EXPERT ON YOUR AUDIENCE INTERESTS.

Rule number 1. The more you know about your target, your strategy perform will better. Who are you talking to? What do they do? Why they buy your product/service? What are they doing? Where are they from? Which type of content are they interested in?

Netflix knows us well, if you are watching comedy movies, they will recommend other ones of the same type, the recommendations are driven by machine learning algorithms analyzing your interests and behaviors.

3. BE PART OF THE INFLUENCER TREND.

The storytelling of influencer marketing is more realistic, and the followers can feel connected and identified with their daily life. Marketers are increasing their budget on influencers thanks to the impact on their audience.

Fiji water did a partnership with the influencer Danielle Bernstein who is a fashion blogger offering workout videos with her personal trainer. The goal was to highlight the importance of hydrating if you want to feel and look good, the campaign name is #weworewhat with #bodyworewhat.

4. BE EMOTIONAL.

We are human beings and even we live in a connected world, we want to feel different emotions on ads and campaigns to take the experience to the next level. The campaigns that get a connection with their audience are the ones who will last for a long time in their minds.

Dove is the brand taking the beauty perception as its core strategy, they don’t sell soaps, they sell beauty to women empower them to gain esteem.

5. BE FUN.

To engage your audience, you need to be unique and enjoy this job. Choose a game, a funny quote, a meme, depending on your service or product to get your audience attention.

Test, measure and repeat, you never know how your campaign is going in comparison with other campaigns, just make experiments and make them run to see what happens.

6. BE AWARE OF YOUR DATA.

Imagine if you just do campaigns and don’t measure their performance, you maybe will get the results you want but, you don’t know what exactly is causing a conversion or working with your audience. With your data, you can optimize your campaign and bidding.

A great example is Amazon, do you imagine this revolutionary business without data? Data gives the information and the information gives the power.

7. BE INBOUND.

Inbound marketing is a whole strategy to increase the traffic to your website and create conversions to get new customers. Content marketing is one part of that strategy, the first step is identifying the pain points of the brand and competitor’s analysis. Then, create a persona (with the information you have on point 2), create content offering value to your audience and make it with a CTA (Call to Action) where you can redirect them into a landing page and you can proceed with a sales strategy.

Chipotle captured gaming fans, chipotle fans with a successful inbound strategy about “Chipotle Taste Invaders” with a laser tag shooting burrito, fighting against additives and educating the customer about the burrito ingredients.

8. BE CREATIVE.

Remember you need to captivate your audience with your campaign and it’s not necessary just explaining the products and services. One of the best campaigns is Metro Trains with “Dumb ways to die” with catchy music and cartoon characters getting in the top 10 on iTunes in 24 hours.

9. BE HONEST.

And this is a little related of why influencer marketing is so successful now, the truth is that you will obtain your customer’s loyalty and retain them with honesty and transparency; if they trust you, you are a winner. Put yourself in a scenario where you are really hungry and there is a new restaurant that someone told you about it, but you’re not 100% sure of how healthy it is, then, you realized they cook your meal in front of you; that will make you feel confident about how they prepare the food, what type of ingredients and if it’s fresh. The same happens with your company, the more transparent your product or service is, the better your audience will accept it.

One company with a lot of negative comments about their quality food is McDonald’s. To attack this, the company creates a transparent marketing campaign called “Our Food. Your Questions” Where McDonald’s answer all your concerns about their food.

10. BE A FRIEND.

This is my favorite part, to see the importance of these channels. Back in the days, we wouldn’t think about Facebook to a way of communication of resolving inquiries or issues with a brand. Today you can take Customer Service to a whole experience making it so personal like you’re in the store, providing that, you are saving time, energy and effort to the customer having a satisfied customer or just changing their perception if they had an inconvenience.

The best example is a lovely response from Lego, who could just reply with a “standard message” but it was so personalized and unexpected that went viral to all channels.

Check out your current campaign strategy and think about the above information and try to implement it to your own business.

Racially motivated hate speech should be taken seriously. Any statement that is made by anyone in the society that intends to insult, degrade, intimidate, create anger or incite violence against someone based on religion, ethnicity, race, gender, origin of country or regional identity or any other forms is dangerous and harmful should be a matter of grave concern. Anti-religious prejudice, malicious intent of dehumanising others is not only illegal but can create huge social unrest and even violence. Such act should be avoided by anyone and as such should be condemned by the society without any reservations or personal interest. This is not only insult to the victim, individual, group, or the community but to the entire society and humanity.

This has happened recently in the Bangladeshi Community in the UK. Channel S TV presenter and founder of the same channel, Mahee Ferdous Jalil made such inflammatory comments on the programme “COVID-19” that was live between 12 noon and 2.00 pm on channel on the 3rd May 2020. The derogatory and highly offensive remarks that were made have created a huge outcry among Hindu communities and others in the UK. Immediately, it went viral in various social media channels and people have expressed their condemnation. Local political and community leaders were informed. Multiple petitions have been launched and a serious community movement against this hate crime has been galvanised. A number of official statements were issued by the local Mayor and the Member of Parliament, with both John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets and Rushanara Ali have issued powerful condemnations of the racist comments made about Hindus, stating that the remarks were disgraceful and derogatory. Mr Biggs demands an unconditional apology and further asserts that such “disrespect and religious prejudice” has no place in community. Tower Hamlets has the highest Bangladeshi population in the UK and become the largest ethnic group with over 81,000 (according to last census) making up 32% of the population.

What Mr Jalil said? (The programme was aired in Bengali; the key message is translated in English below).

“Muslims who came to the UK from Bangladesh have inherited the low, impure and heinous blood of Hindus causing problems in the community. Due to the inherited blood of Hindus, Muslim shopkeepers cheat their customers—-“.

We are living in a free society in which freedom of expression is well protected and respected. The capacity of everyone to express their individual views are always respected and should not be threatened. Article 10 9Equality and Human Rights commission in the UK) focuses on the freedom of expression that protects individual right to hold their personal opinion and express them freely without fear or any interference from government or regulatory bodies. However, if personal views encourage religious or racial hatred or if it is dehumanising or derogatory, in which case the authorities can restrict that freedom of expression and such comments or views can be viewed as unlawful. Free debate, good actions, convincing arguments are important to counter hatred. Civil society, society at large and Governments should condemn hatred, or that which might fosters hatred and set the right examples by bringing those behind such conduct to justice. There is certainly no room in this world for odious and mendacious comments that have at their heart prejudices or twisted notions of those who may be different or hold different beliefs.

Mr Jalil finally apologised. Channel S also issued an official statement of unreserved apology on the 9th May and asking for forgiveness for the comment’s TV presenter made that may have caused distress. There was no “may” about it, the comments were deeply offensive and have hurt and alarmed a lot of people.

Is apology enough to heal the community? Was the apology done in most effective and sincere way?

It is not good enough just to convey apology or say sorry. As sometimes some apologies are insincere; and are often driven by ulterior motives such as fear of public censure or loss of business. It is logical that people will not forgive someone until they receive an apology and that should be unreserved and with remorse. Inability to convey apology correctly when it is legitimate indicates the dysfunctional life of an individual. An appropriate apology is paramount to heal the emotional and physical wellbeing of the victim. The right apology has the great power to transform both the individual who made the intentional or unintentional comments that hurt, degraded, or angered others. However, such apology should come with sincerity and remorse. Some are quite legitimately wondering whether Mr Jalil’s apology was said with true contrition. An apology like gratitude, appreciation or kindness has profound impact on an individual and society and can transform the world if it is done at the right ways, at the right time and right place. An effective apology validate that the person realised that a wrong act has been committed for which he/she has showing his/her regret or remorse and the person is committed not to do the same wrongful act in future and offer for repairs. Realisation, remorse, restoration, and request for forgiveness are some of the key elements of an unreserved apology and seeking for forgiveness.

It is sad to observer that community is not always working unitedly. People have different agendas and individual interest. Therefore, many such crimes never get the right justice and the punishment and hence, as a society we do not get the best outcome. I am sure over time this also will be deemed yesterday’s news and people will forget about this. Community become fragmented and divided, and sadly at times put profit over principle. Regrettably, those who want to ensure matters are properly resolved often see matters superseded by others pursuing their own interests. Sadly, as a consequence society is the loser.

Why society cannot be united for a common goal?

It reminds me the next quote: “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and loses soul? (Mark 8.36)

This quote helped us to revisit the world social order and humans’ attitude. I am compelled to recall a salient truth in Gandhi’s observation “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not for every man’s greed”. We are living in a society of intoxication that is based on estimation, quantification of humans. Maximisation of wealth is becoming the theory of normality, an accepted mantra. This has become the norm of the society. In 1973 E. F Schumacher published his one of the most influential books on earth titled “Small is beautiful… “. He realised that if the current form of economic, technological, and scientific specialisation is not replaced by a simple form of economic system then the world will face a boundless and endless misery. Now we see the outcome of his prediction.

Society is too much greedy. We all are running after profit and wealth maximisation. To do this, crime, dishonesty, bribery, multiple dishonest and unethical relationships, falsification, fabrication, unethical acts all are acceptable norms. We do not want to ask, we all are here to enjoy, increase our pleasure, increase status and attention from others. This is the degradation of human values and morality. The loss of soul is the loss of peace and happiness. If we lose it, we accept misery what is happening now in our society. If we neglect our soul than loss is inevitable.

A wrong is a wrong

If there is one lesson that we must all learn from this most unhappy of episodes is that we cannot be sectarian about grievous wrongs and injustices. A wrong is a wrong regardless of who it comes from. If we choose to stay silent about it there is always the danger that we give the impression of our tacit approval. We need to speak out, if necessary, to censure members of our own community, for like a child, if we never tell them when they have done wrong how will they ever learn. It is essential that we use temperate language and be measured in our approach. A person can express their hurt, displeasure or indeed anger, without having recourse to threats and abuse. Each of us must strive to behave with dignity and mutual respect. Slanderous, libellous, or highly offensive comments warrant prompt and decisive action. We all need to work assiduously for a kinder and more respectful world.

Dr P R Datta FCIM, FCMI

11th May 2020

The prominence of technology in the millennial person’s life remains noteworthy. With the introduction of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, to name a few, there are countless platforms for global interaction. From transnational marketing campaigns to communal events, social media has set a benchmark whereby information travels across the World Wide Web. Safe to say, these podiums have been subject to life-altering events over the course of the past few years. Governments and NGO’s alike have propelled campaigns and ideas across social media to create awareness and revoke public reactions. The manner in which effective social media has taken the generic populaces by storm is truly revolutionary. Technology has equipped the unheard majority with an opportunity to voice their concerns about issues that affect health, lifestyle and the environment.

All of us have either heard of or taken part in viral social media campaigns that have reverberated as driving forces to creating a better world. Social media is out to target positive reform at the roots of society by creating evocative responses from the public. Now, we are more capable of cumulative change than twenty years ago. Whether it is to uplift a brand image or raise funds for a social cause, social media has done it all. These efforts have impacted billions worldwide.

The dawn of the 21st century could not be more optimistic for those who are out to make a difference in the world. Here are the success stories of instances where technology inspired social change. Here is how social causes went viral on pop media to inspire successful impact, changing lives by generating a singularity in consciousness amid diversity.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge:

Lou Gehrig’s disease, termed ALS is a condition that affects nerve cells, the brain and causes drastic consequences to those affected. In August 2014, the ALS ice bucket challenge went viral on social media to promote awareness for ALS research, a disease that has no cure. The challenges required people to film and post a video of dumping cold water over their heads and nominate others to take up the challenge within a 24-hour frame. With celebrities and notable officials taking part in the challenge, it was only a matter of time before close to 20 million videos went viral on social media, contributing to the cause. Bill Gates and Geroge W. Bush were among those who took the ALS ice bucket challenge to social media. The response to the campaign favourably rose over $115 million for ALS research, exhibiting the compassion that humanity can pursue to help those severely affected. Besides creating awareness of ALS, social media served as the footstool to aiding research while creating a sense of unity.

#WaterIsLife presented the #FirstWorldProblems Campaign for clean water:

Water is Life, a non-profit organization aims to bring clean water to lesser developed and developing nations. Initiated in 2007, today they have helped bring clean water to people who live in remote villages across the world. By stressing on the differing approaches people have towards having clean water, with the #FirstWorldProblems hashtag, Water is Life managed to capture the hearts of millions. Social media played the vital role in carrying their incentive through the global platform, eventually creating awareness about clean water and provoking action towards improving the water crisis the world faces. With the #FirstWorldProblems hashtag, when people voiced concerns over minor inconveniences, it was retorted with life-threatening realities that many in other parts of the world face. By raising millions of dollars, Water is Life is the perfect example of the prominence of technology when it comes to positive change.

Mannequin Challenge:

At the peak of 2016, the internet went bonkers over the Mannequin challenge videos that went viral. The posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram featured an internet video trend where people appeared motionless usually with “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd playing in the background. The challenge received worldwide acclamation as notable sports persons and celebrities took part by creating videos to go with the popular #MannequinChallenge. Most recently, as part of the feature film “Black in Blue,” sequences of such motionless videos were recorded, shedding light on the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign targeting racial prejudice. This powerful campaign surely remains as one of the most creative viral social media challenges till date.

#LoveWins Campaign:

Lots of people face challenges with sexual orientation and commonly when it comes to love. LGBT rights have been debated topics for centuries, often resulting unfavourable outcomes. The Love Wins campaign that went viral on the web was a showcase of acceptance, celebrating legislations passed to acknowledge LGBT rights in several countries. As on-going protests pave the way to equal rights in some of the other countries, this campaign is a stepping stone stressing on love and liberty. By embracing free-thought, #LoveWins is an expression of the freedom of choice. With many attractive filters and tweaks on social media, the campaign picked up the pace in celebrating the triumph of love over bureaucracy.

#MeToo Campaign:

The words “me too” are fresh in our memory as we just entered into 2018. As a silence breaker against sexual harassment, the #MeToo campaign has taken social media by storm. Celebrities have joined in on the social cause to promote awareness and take a stand against sexual harassment and prejudice globally. With millions of people rising to the occasion and voicing their stories about the harm of gender inequality, the campaign set fire to the media world. Conveying the magnitude of sexual prejudice, the social cause is trending on every social media site. Starting out as a hashtag, the campaign has evolved into a supporting cry against sexual harassment exposing offenders and instilling newfound confidence for victims. Public figures worldwide have honoured the noble intentions of this controversial campaign, voicing concerns. Most recently, with Oprah Winfrey’s speech at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, she shook the world with tough words against sexual prejudice, equal pay, honouring the strength of a woman. The campaign has served as a say for millions and helped transform hardened ideologies in industries that turn a blind eye towards sexual prejudice.

Social media has once again penetrated the minds of populaces, encouraging change and expressing genuine concerns. Ignorance can no longer be justified by the claim, “I was not aware.” United by the common ideals of love and humanity, technology continues to inspire social change. Even if reality becomes harsher, there will be a glimmer of hope that reveals potent human endeavours that refurbish hope.