How to Use Hootsuite to Post to Multiple LinkedIn Groups

One of the advantages to using a social media management system like Hootsuite is that it allows you to share a status update with multiple LinkedIn groups, In the following video, I show you how to add LinkedIn groups to your Hootsuite account, and post an update to them:

Why I Like the New Facebook Insights

Facebook is tweaking its Insights again, and from what I’ve seen so far, it’s a change for the better.  Here is a breakdown of what’s changing:

• The People Talking About This metric has been broken out into people engaged, the number of unique people who’ve clicked on, liked, commented on or shared your posts, and other page activity, which includes Page mentions, check-ins and posts by other people on your Page.
• Virality (the percentage of people who created a story from your page, divided by the total number who’ve seen it) has been replaced with engagement rate, which is the percentage of people who saw a post that then clicked on, liked, commented on or shared it.
• Viral reach (the number of people who saw a post from a story published by a friend)  is included as part of organic reach, with total reach broken down into paid and organic reach.

I like several aspects of the new Insights. The graphics are simpler and easier to understand. You can see at a glance how many likes your page has gotten, your total reach for the last week, and how engaged your followers have been:

I also think Facebook has greatly improved their reporting of individual posts on a page. As you can see below, it’s much easier to see how well your fans have been engaging with your posts:

The photos above came from the overview section of Insights. Facebook also breaks down the numbers by Page:

You can also see when your fans are online. Facebook breaks this info down by day and time, so you can see when your content is getting the most reach. Now you can easily see at a glance when your audience is online, so you can make sure to post when they’ll be most likely to see your content:

And if you’re still not sure which type of posts get the most engagement, Facebook gives you that info in a new graphic format too:

Facebook is slowly rolling out the new Insights to users. If you get the option to try it out, be careful. Facebook says, “if you choose to participate in the new Page Insights, you can go back to the old version at any time, but you won’t be able to switch back to the new version until it’s available to everyone.”

What do you think of the new changes? I think it’s definitely going to help Page Admins map out a better strategy to boost engagement on their page. I have to admit that I haven’t paid as close attention to Insights for my own page as I should, but that’s definitely going to change now!

Think like a Photographer when it Comes to Social Media Marketing

When I was growing up, there were no digital cameras. I had a Kodak Instamatic camera that would take 12, 24 or 36 pictures at a time, depending on the size of the film cartridge used. Once you reached that limit, you had to remove the film and insert another roll. As a result, you had to be choosy about what pictures you took, especially if you were running out of film and didn’t have another roll handy.

Today, my digital camera lets me take hundreds of pictures before the memory gets full, so I can keep snapping pictures till my heart’s content. But that also means I have hundreds of pictures to look at when I come back from vacation, which can be quite overwhelming.

The number of social networking sites available today can be overwhelming too. Many small business owners fall into the trap of thinking they need a presence on all of them to be effective. I’ve been guilty of thinking that way too. I recently hired a virtual assistant to help me with my own social media marketing, because it’s time-consuming to come up with posts for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. and run my business at the same time.

Here’s a little secret. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can limit yourself to one or two different platforms. The best photographers take time to craft their shots, and choose only the best images to present to the public. You should do the same. Take time to craft good quality content that will be appreciated by your audience and engage them. If your business lends itself well to visuals, spend the majority of your time on Pinterest. If your audience is B2B, spend more of your time on LinkedIn.

Experiment to see what type of content appeals most to your target audience and gets them to engage with you. Try out different types of posts, photos, contests, even ads. Test and re-test. In time, you’ll develop a good eye for what works.

Image courtesy of ammer / freedigitalphotos.net

Facebook’s Graph Search Results Page: An Eye-Tracking Study : MarketingProfs Article

A new study finds that users of Facebook’s Graph Search focus on the top couple of results, similar to what happens on Google. And those users lose interest in lower results as they move down the page.

I’ve always been a different type of searcher, especially on Facebook. I’ve been using Graph Search for a few weeks now, and I’m not that crazy about it. I don’t always find what I’m looking for, and I have to keep refining my search, or clicking on the “view more” link at the bottom of the page.

Graph Search is still in beta, but it’s likely to be permanent at some time in the future, so it’s in your best interest to optimize your Facebook page with keywords so you can be at the top of the heap. In a future article, I’ll explain exactly how to do that.

Read more about this survey in this MarketingProfs article…Social Media – Facebooks Graph Search Results Page: An Eye-Tracking Study : MarketingProfs Article.

Why I’m Attending Social Media Marketing World

Did you know the biggest in-person social media conference is happening in just six weeks? Social Media Marketing World, presented by Social Media Examiner, takes place April 7-9 in beautiful San Diego, California and I am so excited to be attending.

When I heard about this conference last year, I just knew I had to be there. 50 social media gurus will be sharing their expertise. Folks like Guy Kawasaki (author, What the Plus), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Chris Brogan (author, Google+ for Business), Sally Hogshead (author of Fascinate), Dave Kerpen (author of Likeable Business), Michael Stelzner (founder of Social Media Examiner), Amy Porterfield (co-author, Facebook Marketing All-In-One for Dummies), Jay Baer (author of Youtility), Mark Schaefer (author, Return on Influence), Jesse Stay (author, Google+ Marketing for Dummies), Brian Carter (author, The Like Economy), John Jantsch (author, Duct Tape Marketing) and Jason Falls (co-author, No Bullshit Social Media)–just to name a few. Plus, there will be executives from companies like Sony Electronics, TaylorMade Golf, Zappos.com and eBay sharing their real-world, proven social media tactics. Click on the video below to ciscover all that Social Media Marketing World has to offer:

If you’d like to join me in San Diego, there’s still time to register, but you need to act fast. This conference is selling out. If you register by Friday, March 1, you can save $200. Click here for more information: http://bit.ly/Q6nxKo

How to Easily Manage Your Social Media Presence

One of the biggest frustrations small business owners have with social media is trying to manage it and their company operations at the same time. This is particularly true of solopreneurs. I feel your pain, because I have the same challenge! It’s not easy balancing client work with my own social media marketing. But I have found a tool that has helped me manage my time more effectively, and is one that I recommend to my clients as well. It’s Hootsuite.

3 Ways to Show Your Customers Some Love

Valentine’s Day has come and gone. Did you use the occasion to show your customers some love? If not, don’t despair. You can show your appreciation any time. After all, it’s because of their business that you can treat your special Valentine to flowers, candy or a night out on the town. Here are 3 ways to show your customers how much you care:

How to Use Quora as a Marketing Tool

Anyone who has used LinkedIn Answers is probably disappointed to know that the service has been eliminated. Answering questions submitted by LinkedIn users was a terrific way to demonstrate your authority on a subject.

If you’re looking for an alternative, check out Quora. This social networking site has been around for several years, but it doesn’t get the same kind of attention that Facebook or Pinterest does.

Here are a few tips on how to use Quora as a marketing tool:

1. Search & Answer Q’s – Search for questions that relate to your industry and then answer them. Be thoughtful about this process. Make sure your answers are of high quality. Review other answers that have been posted so you can add something new that will be useful to the questioner. Doing this positions you and your company as a thought leader in your industry.

2. Include Keywords in Answers – Social activity shows up on the search engines, and Quora is no exception. Include keywords in your answers to make them visible on Google. Since Quora is a reputable domain name, people will click on answers they see in the search results. Why not give them the chance to view your answer?

3. Approach Questioner Directly – People who submit questions on Quora are looking for help. Even though answers are posted, they might still need more help with their problem. You can follow up with them to offer more assistance, but do it tactfully. Some marketers spam Quora frequently, and the community hates this! Don’t leave simple answers and then message a user for business. Leave a thorough answer, and then pursue a relationship with the person, if you want to help them further.

You can always pose your own questions too. That may be a good way to get started on Quora. The answers you get can give you a good insight into your target market. If you’d like to see some of the questions I’ve answered, visit my Quora profile: https://www.quora.com/Gloria-Rand

Related articles

• LinkedIn Answers Gets Pink Slipped (gloriarand.me)
• Quora’s New Blogs Take The Site Beyond Q&As, But Not To Profits (fastcompany.com)

How to Build an Editorial Calendar

Last week, I shared some reasons why an editorial calendar is so helpful for content marketing. In this post, I’m going to give you some tips on how to go about building an editorial calendar.

7 Common Pinterest Mistakes

Pinterest can be a very powerful marketing tool for your business, if it’s used correctly. Now that the social networking site is allowing company pages, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re not making mistakes that could cost you followers and potential leads for your product or service.