Facebook is, by far, the top social media platform in the world. This is why marketers and entrepreneurs spend so much time trying to build their brands on it. As increasing Facebook shares is [...]]]> Want to Increase your business’s Facebook shares? Read this guest post from Jeff Cooper to find out how:

Facebook is, by far, the top social media platform in the world. This is why marketers and entrepreneurs spend so much time trying to build their brands on it. As increasing Facebook shares is a priority for many businesses, I thought I’d give you some tips on how to go about it.

Before we discuss the nitty-gritty on how to increase your Facebook shares, let me explain to you why you need to develop your social media brand recognition on this platform. In October 2012, Facebook announced that they are finally serving 1 billion monthly active users. There is one very good reason for this rise in the network: the concomitant rise of the smartphone since we’ve all started using the ubiquitous iPhone, Android phones, and tablets. So far, there are 543 million active Facebook users checking their profiles on their smartphones and tablets and there are 3.2 billion likes and comments across the world each day. So, one of the keys to Facebook success is to make sure your site and landing pages work properly on mobile phones and tablets through things like responsive web pages, which adapt to mobile users.

What else can you do?

Keep it short and appealing:

When posting content on Facebook, it’s best to keep your sentences short but catchy, just like a header title. People decide within 10-20 seconds if they want to stay or to leave a website, so make sure you bear this in mind when writing your copy. Internet users only read, at most, 28 percent of the words during an average page visit; therefore you must keep your content snappy and interesting. You can also encourage your fans to share a link by adding call-to-action phrases such as “Click this link…” or “Click Like or Share if…” You can also ask your fans open-ended questions to encourage them to share their insights about a particular topic.

Include visuals:

Although written content is still powerful in driving traffic to your page, and important for getting found by search engines, you can make your posts even more effective if you add visuals such as pictures, videos and infographics. In fact, 40 percent of people respond better to visual content over plain text, according to studies. That’s because 90 percent of the information that is perceived is visual. Images and videos are great visuals to break long amount of text.

One important consideration is page load time. For those who will be editing their images in Adobe Photoshop CS5, check out this tutorial on how to reduce the file size of many pictures so you can upload them with the minimum of fuss and have them load quickly for your visitors.

As a special note, infographics are great way to a viral boost on the Web. Various organizations are using them to present and interpret data and statistics to their readers in a lively manner. You can create your own infographic for free using sites like Piktochart.

Understand the peak time of your page:

The best time to post content on your Facebook page will depend on the type of business you are in. Restaurants regularly receive the best fan engagement when people are having breakfast and lunch (7am to 12pm), while retailers usually get most customer engagement from morning until mid afternoon (8am to 2pm). For most businesses who want to optimize their Facebook posting times, however, publish your content when most of your fans are not at work, which is between 8pm to 7am, according to Buddy Media’s research. In addition, Wednesday is the peak day of the week for fans engaging on Facebook. In fact, sharing activity, including likes and comments, is 8 percent higher on Wednesdays than on the other days of the week.

Author’s Bio:

Jeffrey Cooper is a freelance UK-based writer who loves sports, graphic design, gadgets and tech. His other passions include cooking, deep sea fishing, and walks in the park.

While the majority of Etsy sellers use the site to launch their new businesses, a growing number of people are using it to do just the opposite. They use Etsy’s large consumer base and top-notch selling tools as a way to grow an existing small business. [...]]]> Thanks to Tina for the following guest post!

While the majority of Etsy sellers use the site to launch their new businesses, a growing number of people are using it to do just the opposite. They use Etsy’s large consumer base and top-notch selling tools as a way to grow an existing small business. While this may seem odd and even redundant, there are several excellent reasons why Etsy can benefit small business owners.

1. Expanded Online Presence

Instead of limiting customers to a small business’s sole website or social media pages, owners can branch out tremendously with an Etsy storefront. It is a great way to pick up drive-by traffic and convert them into regular customers. Alternatively, store owners who simply haven’t gotten around to building their own website can maintain a viable online presence with an Etsy shop, which only involves a matter of minutes to set up. Since it is free to create an account, maintaining an Etsy site is also a budget-friendly option that bypasses the costs and hassle of having to pay for hosting and domain fees, plus web designer services for a website and e-commerce store.

2. A Virtual Sandbox

Testing out new products or variations can be risky at the best of times. Through Etsy, small business owners can create a small amount of new stock to test how well it sells. The investment costs are minimal and the site’s impressive statistics and wish list tools make it easy to gauge the popularity of new additions. Since buyers and sellers are in direct contact through Etsy, small business owners can also ask for buyer feedback for test products.

3. Control Your Target Market

Many small businesses that specialize in hand-made items tend to stick to local selling. With an Etsy storefront, they have the option of remaining local or testing out various other markets by specifying with regions they sell to. This is a fantastic way of testing the waters slowly and methodically without taking on high amounts of risk and investment. In turn, this can give small business owners precious feedback on which areas may be more receptive to a physical storefront.

4. Collaborate

Etsy sellers can freely communicate with each other through the website. Instead of seeing all other sellers as competition, small business owners can team up and collaborate on new projects with some. The key is in finding other sellers who create a complementary product or service. Collaborating helps small business owners to meet other like-minded people. Working together can be a successful exercise in creativity, not to mention the opportunity to introduce the product to an entirely new market.

5. Get Advice

Etsy’s seller forums are a treasure trove of tips, advice, and resources. There are thousands of other sellers online who share some overlap in niche markets, industries, and trades. Often when one person has a question, chances are that others have already figured out a solution. The online message boards are a great place to find all types of helpful information, from reliable suppliers to new techniques, shipping services, taxation details and plenty more.

Tina S. is a veteran Etsy seller and small business owner based in Canada. When Tina is not contributing to university ranking and research sites like DegreeJungle.com, she blogs about online and offline marketing for small businesses.

Breaking Out [...]]]>

Not all cross-marketing ideas make sense, however.

Content marketing ideas continue to evolve as companies embrace the switch from the historical, interruptive advertising model to branded content and strategic alliances with other brands. This evolution is blurring the lines between content and advertising, as blog and social media posts are being shared across platforms and brands, resulting in content cross-integration.

Breaking Out of the Silo

Silos are what occur when business units tend to communicate only internally, resulting in an “ivory tower” effect where power is minimized from lack of synergy. This effect can happen in traditional marketing, where brands market as distinct entities instead of tapping into one another’s successes. Some, however, are realizing that piggybacking onto another brand can improve their own exposure.

In a recent press release by Boston.com, it announced the launch of the new “Insights” program. By combining advertising content, social media and blog posts from outside brands with related news stories, the site hopes to provide improved engagement for advertisers and a new way to place information in front of a highly targeted audience.

The bulk of the Insights program operates on the Boston.com website. News articles are combined with advertising posts, blog posts and social media streams for participating advertisers. Content can include everything from simple articles to streaming video. Positioning and integration with news content is optimized for both regular and mobile web browsers to allow for easy use and consistent viewing on a range of devices.

Boston.com sorts advertiser content to fit popular categories or locations, much like keyword-based or geo-targeted advertising campaigns, to ensure that the advertisements are relevant to the reader. Each piece of advertising content can contain links to other websites, sharing widgets and other items to increase exposure and promote engagement. These items are then combined to form galleries and collections on the site that readers can browse separately from the news content as well. Content is also listed and highlighted both weekly and monthly in the print-edition of the Boston Globe for increased exposure.

The Changing Face of Advertisements in the Digital Era

From web browser add-ons to the proliferation of set top boxes with digital video recorders, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ensure that advertisements are actually seen by viewers. This has led to a shift toward integrating advertisements into content within many media types. This latest addition shows that websites and news outlets are no different.

The key to this new form of advertising is striking a balance between content and promotion. Ads are often formatted to seamlessly integrate into the article or content. This practice has been received with lukewarm opinions in many cases. Boston.com hopes to combat the issues that others have faced by clearly defining both advertising content and news content yet allowing them to be linked by subject matter to maintain relevance.

It’s not every day that you talk about the impact that social media [...]]]> The following is a guest post with some tips of value to all businesses which might think social media and content marketing are not right for them. If a car shipping firm can do it, so can you! – Willie

Vroom vroom!

It’s not every day that you talk about the impact that social media has had on the auto shipping industry, but it would seem that there is no industry that has escaped the effect that blogging, tweeting and ‘facebooking’ has had.

Car Shipping 101: Using Live Chat and Twitter for Customer Service

On the National Transport website, car shipping customers have the option to chat with a live person via the ‘live chat’ feature. This gives them an opportunity to ask questions about their shipping order and receive fast responses. Another similar and growing media outlet is Twitter. However, as some car shipping companies are just starting to utilize Twitter as a pseudo- customer service agent of sorts, there are plenty of other companies from a wide variety of different industries who have been using Twitter in this way for a while.

Take, for example, the mass media telecommunications company, Time Warner Cable (TWC). Headquartered in Manhattan but with offices all around the United States, most people know Time Warner because of the Internet and Cable services that they receive through them. And with so many customers around the country, there are certainly a fair amount of complaints and issues that roll in each day that flood the customer service department. Frustrated with the automated prompts of using the telephone to call in, a large number of TWC customers turn to Twitter to resolve service issues. There are a number of Twitter handles that customers can use to contact TWC customer service. One example is @TWCableHelp.

The Power of Facebook

There is no doubt that Facebook is a giant when it comes to sharing information. However, when using Facebook as a car shipping company, it can sometimes become a little tricky. Most studies show that people who use Facebook use it to ‘like’ brand pages as well as to catch up with old friends and acquaintances and also to share information such as light-hearted posts or political causes, etc. But how does this translate for companies — especially ones that ship cars?

Studies have revealed that while people on Facebook ‘like’ brand pages, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they want to be solicited to by a brand page. Therefore, the measurable impact of Facebook brand pages can be seen by the type of content that they post. If you post an article about car shipping, chances are that you’ll have a more difficult time getting other people to share it. It can’t just be about car shipping. Instead, if you can find something that loosely pertains to the industry (we’re in the travel and transportation industry), then it makes it more fun and interesting — thus increasing its appeal to the general Facebook user. Take this post that we shared recently on our Facebook page. It’s a simple picture, but it appealed to Facebook users because it was cute and had to do with transportation. Throw in a catchy title to make it a bit more cheeky and fun, and you start to appeal to more people.

The key to Facebook success as a brand page is knowing your audience and how they use specific social media outlets to interact with each other and with businesses.

Car Shipping Blogs

Blogging is a more relaxed spin off from a website. It allows readers to still obtain information but in a more casual setting. Blog posts should be well-written, informative and still retain some semblance of creativity. Keep content fresh and consistent. This is the key to successful blogging as a brand. If readers know when to expect content, you’ll both be better off. What will keep them coming back is well written, thoughtful blog posts. Again, the length and topics of what you discuss on your blog as a brand will depend largely on your audience. For instance, most professional and successful bloggers will tell you that you should really try to keep your blog post short and to the point. Shoot for writing anywhere between 200-400 words per post, throw in an image or two to break up the text and give the posts catchy titles that are also search engine friendly. You have to give the readers a reason to want to read your blog post. Aim to write 2-3 times per week to allow readers to digest the information without overwhelming them with too many posts. If you do plan on posting more frequently, then shorten the posts down.

As one of the leading auto transport companies in the United States, National Transport is constantly changing and evolving, trying out new things and testing out different ways of presenting information and ideas to customers as well as the general public, believing that you don’t get ahead by standing still.

About the Author:

Jenna is a content writer for National Transport, one of the United States’ leading auto transport companies. You can also visit them on Facebook.

This is for newbies who are not sure where to start or what to do to get their online business up and running.

Here are the step by step instructions, so here goes:

Step 1. Find a [...]]]>

It takes a decent system to make money online.

The following is a guest post written exclusively for this blog by web marketer Mark Healy:

To check out my latest product click here.