Sometimes you want to share a link to something on Twitter but the link is ridiculously long, and it's chewing up all your characters to tweet with. Or maybe the link is just Ugly with a capital U. What's a girl (or a guy for that matter!) to do? Well, that is where URL Shorteners come in. A URL Shortener is a handy tool that reduces the number of characters your URL uses, while still sending the clickee to the right page. These generally work by way of a redirect from the short domain name to the webpage that has the longer URL.
No doubt you will have encountered one or two of these URL Shorteners along the way. But which one should you use? Well, luckily for us there are quite a few of them, but here I will cover 3 of the more popular and reliable ones for business use.
goo.gl
This is the one I most frequently use. It's Google's own URL Shortener and what I like about it is that it gives you a page preview so you can double check your page. It's easy to use, easy to copy the new link. It also keeps a list of your URLs and can tell you what was clicked and how often too. So you get a bit of quick analytics as well.
TinyURL
I have had a play with Tiny URL and have been impressed with the few extra features they have. For example, you can shorten your URL, but you also have the ability to customise what it will say. So instead of a nonsensical code, you can have words if you like. You can also do a preview URL and it tells you what the character count is for the old link and the new one.
Bitly
This is another one I haven't had a big play with. However, it's a popular one and definitely in the top 3 in use. You can use this service for free, without signing up. But signing up does get you some statistics for analysis. There are also paid services there including getting your own custom URL, though unless you work for a major brand the pricing may be out of reach for many businesses.
Most URL Shorteners are free and easy to use. With all URL Shorteners you should be aware that any page deemed "spammy" or illegal will be removed from their service. They will all have a disclaimer or a terms of use policy, so have a read and happy shortening!
If you live in New Zealand and have need of Social Media Content Management for your business, visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information.
A blog about social networking, social media and content management as well as other digital marketing ideas and inspirations. You could say that Social Media is our coffee fueled passion.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
June 2014 Instagram Photo Challenge
Earlier this month, I alluded to upcoming Instagram Challenges from KMedia Ltd. I launched the first of these day:
I've chosen to do a monthly 7 day photo challenge. These will be a fun networking opportunity for you and your business. Join in, do one a month or all seven - whatever suits you best. Think of it as a fun way to increase the content that you are sharing on your Instagram channel. Taking part will give your customers a behind the scenes look at your business' fun side.
I'll be checking in on all our participants and I will be sharing any note-worthy entries month-to-month as well. So look out for those updates too.
If you live in New Zealand and have need of Social Media Content Management for your business, visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information.
I've chosen to do a monthly 7 day photo challenge. These will be a fun networking opportunity for you and your business. Join in, do one a month or all seven - whatever suits you best. Think of it as a fun way to increase the content that you are sharing on your Instagram channel. Taking part will give your customers a behind the scenes look at your business' fun side.
I'll be checking in on all our participants and I will be sharing any note-worthy entries month-to-month as well. So look out for those updates too.
If you live in New Zealand and have need of Social Media Content Management for your business, visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
The Three Ds of Content
This is a little observation, from months of writing on behalf of
another entity on Facebook, as well as various interactions in a
moderator capacity elsewhere. It seems to hold relatively true that
there are 3 Ds to content on the internet but particularly on Facebook.
What are they?
Why is that? Well it's possible it's to do with the gender split in social media. Rough statistics tend to suggest that 60 - 70% of social media users are women. However, if you look directly to New Zealand statistics over at Socialbaker.com the split here is more like 54% female to 46% male. That's certainly not a complete picture, but I think it shows the willingness to interact in kiwi males compared to worldwide, at least with the major brands.
I suspect it's simpler than that and it comes down to how our brains work. Our brains are wired to react to things that are Dangerous, Important, Pleasurable or Interesting. Food and drink offers a base kind of pleasure that most people can relate to. Good food, and a delicious tipple tick at least two of the DIPI boxes, as defined by Sentis. Our life philosophy is important to each of us, whatever that might be. Quotes that are relatable are a quick and easy way for people to say "this is me!"
Now, if you are in the business of selling drinks, desserts or dreams then you are in a strong position. But the rest of us have to cash in on it somehow. And it's okay to do so. Remember that you don't want every post to be business anyway. You are aiming for only 20 - 30% upsell. The rest of the time, feel free to post some inspirational quote about wine and chocolate, or other equally DIPI things.
If you live in New Zealand and have need of Social Media Content Management for your business, visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information.
- Drink
- Dessert
- Dreams
Why is that? Well it's possible it's to do with the gender split in social media. Rough statistics tend to suggest that 60 - 70% of social media users are women. However, if you look directly to New Zealand statistics over at Socialbaker.com the split here is more like 54% female to 46% male. That's certainly not a complete picture, but I think it shows the willingness to interact in kiwi males compared to worldwide, at least with the major brands.
I suspect it's simpler than that and it comes down to how our brains work. Our brains are wired to react to things that are Dangerous, Important, Pleasurable or Interesting. Food and drink offers a base kind of pleasure that most people can relate to. Good food, and a delicious tipple tick at least two of the DIPI boxes, as defined by Sentis. Our life philosophy is important to each of us, whatever that might be. Quotes that are relatable are a quick and easy way for people to say "this is me!"
Now, if you are in the business of selling drinks, desserts or dreams then you are in a strong position. But the rest of us have to cash in on it somehow. And it's okay to do so. Remember that you don't want every post to be business anyway. You are aiming for only 20 - 30% upsell. The rest of the time, feel free to post some inspirational quote about wine and chocolate, or other equally DIPI things.
If you live in New Zealand and have need of Social Media Content Management for your business, visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
How to Organically Grow Your Instagram Following
I've been using Instagram for over a year now, under a personal account. It's a great app, which allows you to easily make your mobile photos *pop* and makes sharing those photos really simple. It is one of the biggest players in photo-based social media. In 2014 Instagram reported 200 million users use the app every month
If you are in marketing or have a brand you want people to take note of, then Instagram can be a great way to get your message out. An account for a business can be set up relatively easily. But then once it is set up, what do you do with it?
You need to have some kind of plan for your feed, which should be driven by a set of goals for what you hope to achieve. You will also want some way to increase your followers, so those goals can be realised as well.
1. Use hashtags
In Instagram, hashtags are pretty much meta tags for your photos. They are a great way to index your content in a meaningful way for your followers. They are also a great way to feed into a trending tag, where appropriate for your brand. Hashtags open your feed up to be viewed by people outside of your immediate following, with potential to increase your follower numbers too.
Unlike other social media outlets adding a lot of tags is fine, but it's best not to go too overboard. If you exceed 30 hashtags your photo will not post. According to a report by Track Maven outlined here, 11+ tags on your Instagram photos should have a positive impact on your average interactions. I wouldn't stray too far towards 30 though, as you don't want your images to feel like spam.
But which ones?
There are some clear winners
#nofilter - for those natural no filter shots
#photooftheday - this one is often suggested, as many people use it and search by it
#picoftheday - similar to the one above
#selfie - for those self portraits
#instagood - this is another popular one for marketers and users alike
#instacool - what is better than good? cool, of course.
On top of these, you could use #love, #family, #style, #design, #amazing, #friends, etc.
You'll want to do a tag that is brand specific like #kmedialtdnz and then maybe a popular tag or two #picoftheday, #instacool and then add one or two general tags that describe the photo #coffee, #cake maybe even a more specific flavour #carrotcake.
2. Don't be afraid to invite them into your world
Instagram is a great way to connect to your followers and provide some more flavour for your brand. Behind the scenes photos, and teasers of products you are working on are great topics to post photos of. Take a photo of fabric swatches, or the offcuts after an afternoon of creating. Take photos of your breakroom coffee, the weather outside, something that made you smile. It's called social media for a reason, and they are following you for so much more than just the sales pitch.
3. To filter or not to filter
I am a huge fan of the filters on my personal Instagram account and will hardly ever post something without a filter. My favourite two are X-Pro II and Lo-Fi, but sometimes I will select something else. #nofilter is a very popular option for many users, but you may find that adding a filter here and there is not harmful to your following numbers. Have fun and play. You are bound to find yourself with a favourite or two. Just don't tag those photos as #nofilter if you have used a filter.
4. Run a promotion
There are instructions over at Instagram about how to go about it here. You have a couple of decisions to make before you launch this:
If you live in New Zealand and have need of Social Media Content Management for your business, visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information.
If you are in marketing or have a brand you want people to take note of, then Instagram can be a great way to get your message out. An account for a business can be set up relatively easily. But then once it is set up, what do you do with it?
You need to have some kind of plan for your feed, which should be driven by a set of goals for what you hope to achieve. You will also want some way to increase your followers, so those goals can be realised as well.
1. Use hashtags
In Instagram, hashtags are pretty much meta tags for your photos. They are a great way to index your content in a meaningful way for your followers. They are also a great way to feed into a trending tag, where appropriate for your brand. Hashtags open your feed up to be viewed by people outside of your immediate following, with potential to increase your follower numbers too.
Unlike other social media outlets adding a lot of tags is fine, but it's best not to go too overboard. If you exceed 30 hashtags your photo will not post. According to a report by Track Maven outlined here, 11+ tags on your Instagram photos should have a positive impact on your average interactions. I wouldn't stray too far towards 30 though, as you don't want your images to feel like spam.
But which ones?
There are some clear winners
#nofilter - for those natural no filter shots
#photooftheday - this one is often suggested, as many people use it and search by it
#picoftheday - similar to the one above
#selfie - for those self portraits
#instagood - this is another popular one for marketers and users alike
#instacool - what is better than good? cool, of course.
On top of these, you could use #love, #family, #style, #design, #amazing, #friends, etc.
You'll want to do a tag that is brand specific like #kmedialtdnz and then maybe a popular tag or two #picoftheday, #instacool and then add one or two general tags that describe the photo #coffee, #cake maybe even a more specific flavour #carrotcake.
2. Don't be afraid to invite them into your world
Instagram is a great way to connect to your followers and provide some more flavour for your brand. Behind the scenes photos, and teasers of products you are working on are great topics to post photos of. Take a photo of fabric swatches, or the offcuts after an afternoon of creating. Take photos of your breakroom coffee, the weather outside, something that made you smile. It's called social media for a reason, and they are following you for so much more than just the sales pitch.
3. To filter or not to filter
I am a huge fan of the filters on my personal Instagram account and will hardly ever post something without a filter. My favourite two are X-Pro II and Lo-Fi, but sometimes I will select something else. #nofilter is a very popular option for many users, but you may find that adding a filter here and there is not harmful to your following numbers. Have fun and play. You are bound to find yourself with a favourite or two. Just don't tag those photos as #nofilter if you have used a filter.
4. Run a promotion
There are instructions over at Instagram about how to go about it here. You have a couple of decisions to make before you launch this:
- Will you have a prize? If you do a prize try to make it one of your products or store credit. These will be easiest for you and links nicely to your business.
- Pick your promotion hashtag
- Pick the length of your promotion
- Decide your rules or terms & conditions - what do they have to do to be eligible for the prize if there is one.
- Post a photo of your promotion on Instagram.
If you live in New Zealand and have need of Social Media Content Management for your business, visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Know Your Audience
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| If you know the artist, please contact me and I'll credit them here! |
This morning the above image appeared in my newsfeed, shared by Telly Leung. Telly is an amazing stage performer. You can check out his work here. As a performer, he knows the importance of his audience. He gets instant feedback, which can be empowering or soul crushing depending on their engagement.
Social Media is a lot like that too. The feedback we get from our audience is instant. Sometimes we get a load of thumbs up, or 1+s or a string of retweets and favourites. But there will be other times when you could swear you hear nothing but crickets chirping. So for those of us conducting business via social media assets, knowing our audience is basically the most important thing.
After all, what is the goal of your business page? It might be to gain more leads, or customer acquisition in general. Even if your first goal is to increase your pool of followers, you are still looking to influence people to connect. And the only way to get someone to connect, is to engage them. Offer something they will enjoy, or that is relatable. And once you have their interest, follow through with similar offerings.
There are a lot of statistics about this, but most experts agree that 70 - 80% of your social media engagement should be fun, engaging content while 20 - 30% should be promoting your product or service in some way.
So How Do You Know Who Your Audience Is?
There are a couple of ways of connecting to your customer base:
1. Competitor Analysis
Think about the businesses that you are in competition with. Pick a selection of the businesses that most closely match your business, and check our their social media assets. What do you notice about their customers? What type of content is getting good engagement from their followers?
2. Mind map
On a piece of paper do a mind map of your customer. Ask yourself who that person is (age group, gender), what they are like, what they care about, and the sorts of things they like to do. Once you have this list, think about the ways that customer will use your product or service and what they might want to know from you.
3. Talk directly to your customers
Find a group of customers who have already purchased from you and talk to them. You can do this either online via your own social media asset, or in your business if you have a dedicated space. Learn more about them by asking questions. If you are doing this online you can use Surveymonkey or some other survey or polling tool. Ask them to help with development of new products, if you are comfortable with that. Your followers' can be a great source of market research.
4. Consider that you may have more than one type of customer
This is known as segments. What it means is that you may have one or two main customer types who use or buy your product, and then a few other smaller groups. They are all legitimate customers, but they may have different drivers for why they are buying your product.
Remember that people aren't buying your product to get the product. They are buying it because it is going to contribute to their lives somehow. Maybe it's the treat they will indulge in after a long week at work, or just one of the things they need on the hike they have been planning for months. People choosing to like your business page have similar drivers. There is something about your page that has appealed, and it's not always about your product or service. It might be that they just really like the types of quotes or pictures you are sharing. Through the growth of your relationship with the customer, you can then introduce them to what you do.
Ultimately the niche that you are carving out, also has to be the niche your target customer base is interested in or you will struggle to get their buy-in. While you can not hope to please all of the people all of the time, when you get to know your audience you have some hope of building a meaningful social media community that fulfills their needs and brings you more leads.
If you live in New Zealand and have need of Social Media Content Management for your business, visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Happy Launch Day!
It's hard to believe that 2 months ago, I was sitting in my kitchen, writing down all the things I would need to do to get this business ready for a launch date. I had registered the company name, and secured my domain over at www.kmedia.co.nz But now I needed to design a website, as well as social media assets of my own.
Building a business around social media was a natural decision for me. I studied human interaction over the Internet at University back in 2001. Aside from that, I have also been involved in writing for or moderating online spaces, for over 10 years now.
With human interaction, there's always a culture of sorts, whether it's at the local bar or on a message board or following a Twitter feed. A community will spring from a shared experience, a shared identity and we can have that with family, friends and yes, even brand-names to some extent.
What's exciting about social media is the immediacy or real-time nature of the interactions. For businesses, social media assets give you instant market feedback as well as a whole raft of other benefits. More on that later.
For now, I'm marking the birth of KMedia, with glasses of cider and cake (chocolate). It's been a solid 2 months of design fun and learning. Here's to moving forward!
If you live in New Zealand and have need of Social Media Content Management for your business, visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information.
Building a business around social media was a natural decision for me. I studied human interaction over the Internet at University back in 2001. Aside from that, I have also been involved in writing for or moderating online spaces, for over 10 years now.
With human interaction, there's always a culture of sorts, whether it's at the local bar or on a message board or following a Twitter feed. A community will spring from a shared experience, a shared identity and we can have that with family, friends and yes, even brand-names to some extent.
What's exciting about social media is the immediacy or real-time nature of the interactions. For businesses, social media assets give you instant market feedback as well as a whole raft of other benefits. More on that later.
For now, I'm marking the birth of KMedia, with glasses of cider and cake (chocolate). It's been a solid 2 months of design fun and learning. Here's to moving forward!
If you live in New Zealand and have need of Social Media Content Management for your business, visit www.kmedia.co.nz to see our offerings or contact us directly at info@kmedia.co.nz for pricing and more information.
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