Twitter Vocabulary for Beginners and Aficionados

Let's be honest, Twitter lingo can be extremely confusing, especially if you're a newbie!

Below are some terms that every business on Twitter should be familiar with.

Twitter Vocabulary Basics

Twitter Handle or Hanger (as I call it at times)

This is your username. For me my "Twitter Handle" is @SpeakeasyStrat. This is the name that you have chosen to represent yourself, your company, or brand. When selecting it initially, you want to make sure that it represents what you are trying to market well. You want people to be able to easily communicate with you, so keep it simple.

Tweet aka Status Update

A status update or more commonly known as a tweet, is an update of no more than 140 characters. You can post this on your homepage or within your profile. See the images below:

On Twitter Homepage

Twitter compose tweet 2

 On Profile Page

Twitter compose tweet 1

"To Follow"

"To Follow" is an action you take on Twitter to follow another Twitter user. When you "follow" someone, you are saying you wish to follow their updates aka tweets. You can do this by clicking the "Follow" button on a users Twitter profile. Once you have followed a Twitter user, their updates will appear in your Twitter homepage so you can stay updated on that user's tweets.

Follower

A follower on Twitter is simply another Twitter user who wishes to follow your tweets.

"To Follow Back"

When you follow a user, you are finding someone you are not following to stay up to date on them, but what about those that wish to follow you. When a Twitter user is interested in staying up-to-date with you they will follow you. On your profile you can see which Twitter users are following you as well. You can click on the "Followers" number on your profile and not only see who is following you, but you have the ability to follow them back with the click of the "Follow" button.

Following back all, some, or none of your followers is a debate among marketers. Some do not want their homepage to get cluttered and others do not want to take the time to follow back people. My opinion is that if someone has taken the time to follow you, show the same courtesy. On that, do not follow back spam accounts or those that have explicit content. I like to organize my followers into lists typically....but we will get to that further down.

Twitter Stream

A Twitter stream is a list of a users tweets in real-time. For example, every time I tweet, the tweet goes into my Twitter stream and people can see my entire stream by visiting my profile page. Your homepage Twitter stream shows the tweets of people you are following in real-time.

@Reply

When you see an "@" symbol before a twitter handle it means that a user is sending a public message to another Twitter users. "@" Replies do not show up in a users stream. This feature allows you to interact and have conversation with other Twitter users. If you see the "@" symbol within a tweet and not that the beginning, it means a user is wanting the message sent out to appear in their Twitter steam.

Direct Message aka DM

A direct message is a private message sent between users. A direct message can only be sent to users who are currently following you. You can DM someone by clicking the “message” link on their profile or typing D USERNAME within a status update.

Hashtag (#)

Probably one of the more confusing Twitter concepts is the hashtag, but it is the BEST resource for Twitter. A hashtag is a way Twitter tags conversations around a certain topic, event, or theme. Anyone can create a hashtag by combining the "#" symbol with a word, acronym, or phrase (with no spaces), which creates a tag within your tweet.

If you are having an event you can create a hashtag and those attending the event can include the hashtag within their tweet to show that the tweet related to the event. You can then search for the hashtag within Twitter's search options to see all the tweets about that hashtag in real-time. Here is an example from an event I attended earlier this year.

Screen Shot 2013-05-23 at 12.43.44 PM

Retweet

As you can see from my image above, there are a few tweets within my Twitter stream from other users, these are tweets that I retweeted. A retweet is when you wish to repeat something someone else has tweeted. Use this feature to use something valuable someone has said that you also wish your followers to view for every time you retweet the update shows up within your Twitter stream.

Twitter Lists

I personally feel this is the more underutilized Twitter feature, but I use it on a daily basis. Twitter lists allow you to organize the people you are following by allowing you to create up to 20 lists, and each list can include up to 500 users. You can see how I organize my

Twitter lists here.

Promoted Tweets

These are tweets that are Twitter's form of advertising, similar to Facebook's "Sponsored Stories."

For those of you that have a vast Twitter Vocabulary, take a look at the infographic below for even more in-depth vocabulary words.

The Social Marketer’s Urban Twictionary [Infographic]

For those of you still slightly confused about Twitter, feel free to send me your questions or ask them in the comment box below.

If you have read this article and need help with Twitter feel free to send me an e-mail at Kersten at Speakeasy Market Strategies dot come. I do also have social media management programs available for those that need Twitter, but would like someone to manage it for them.

Who Should Your Business be Following on Twitter?

Strategies for "Who to Follow" on Twitter

So far I have taught you whether you should be tweeting as a business and how to maximize your tweets. Now I am going to discuss who you should be following as a business.

Now when you "follow" someone on twitter, their tweets are show in your Twitter stream. Through their tweets you can learn more about your followers. It is through this insight from your followers that you are able to learn about your brand advocates and build an ever stronger loyal customer base.

Twitter 12th largest country

Strategies to Find People

Initial Twitter "Who to Follow" Feature

When you first sign up for Twitter, you may have noticed a feature that suggested to you who to follow. Even after you have finished your initial Twitter set-up, you can still access this feature from your Twitter stream on the left-hand side in the widget called, "Who to Follow." You can choose people in certain categories as well and it is recommended to follow people who are experts in your field.

Follow Experts and Though Leaders

As expressed in the section above, following experts and thought leaders in your industry is vital for your Twitter following. Not only does it give you credibility that you know who are the experts in your field, but it also gives you the chance to learn more about your field. These experts will also be a valuable source of content to pull from and to retweet later.

I am a large advocate of utilizing Twitter lists as well, which is why I suggest when you follow "thought leaders," that you create a Twitter list showcasing your experts. If your Twitter following becomes extremely large, using the list of organized experts will come in handy when you want to grab quick content.

Twitter Search

Twitter Search is akin to Google Search for Twitter. It allows you to look for certain people, topics, and phrases. The results will show you people whose description match the words you entered and people who have recently tweeted with the words you searched for. This tool is fabulous to find people who are potentially tweeting about your product, service, or industry.

Follow Hashtags (#) and their Participants

You have have seen large events having a certain hashtag for events around the globe. A perfect example of this would be the Social Media Marketing Wold Conference I attended back in April. The event hashtag was #SMMW13 and when people attending the event were tweeting about the event, things people said, or observations they would type the hashtag. You can search and follow hashtags so you can see what is happening at the events in your Twitter stream.

Chances are if you are attending or are interested in a large event, that the people attending or tweeting about it have something in common with you. These are the perfect people to follow.

Follow Follower's Following

You that is slightly confusing, but look at the people you are following and see who is following them.  If you have taken the time to follow an expert or someone whose tweets you like, go ahead and see who they are following and then follow those people as well.

Extra Following Tips

Aquiring customers via twitter

Below are a few extra tips when you begin developing your follower base:

• Don't follow too many people at once. According to @Hubspot, a best practice is to not exceed following more than 25 to 50 people per day. There is a lag time between when you follow someone and when they follow you back.
• You do not want your Twitter ratios to be offset by you following large numbers of people at one time and having a small amount of people following back.
• Follow those that are following you. If people have taken the time to follow you, go ahead and follow them back. This makes you seem approachable and relatable to your following.  Obviously do not follow back people who appear to be spammers.

These basic tips should get you started on "Who to Follow" on Twitter. Always think about your business strategy when you are following people on Twitter. If you are wanting to project expertise, follow the other experts and people wanting advice from the experts.

If you need any help with your social strategy and Twitter, feel free to contact me at Kersten at Speakeasy Market Strategies dot com or leave a comment below. Don't forget to tweet at me at @SpeakeasyStrat .

If you have read this article and need help setting up your new Twitter Business Account feel free to send me an e-mail at Kersten at Speakeasy Market Strategies dot come. I do also have social media management programs available for those that need Twitter, but would like someone to manage it for them.

What Should Businesses Tweet?

Now that you are on Twitter....What should you tweet about?

There are many places to start when thinking about what you would like to tweet. Before you start tweeting, first set up an initial strategy for your account. Here are some questions to ask yourself before you begin sending out your tweets:

1. Is your Twitter account a customer service platform?
2. Who are you targeting with your Twitter account?
3. Do you have a content strategy for your account?
4. How will you use Twitter differently than your competition?

Once you have settled your strategy for your account, it is time to start planning out your tweets. It is always recommend that you plan them out in advance so you strategy is fully executed. Discuss with your company upcoming events and promotions that can be included in your upcoming tweets.

What should businesses tweet about

The Deets:

What Business Should Tweet About

An Observation

You can tweet photos or a status about what is happening around the office. This is a great way to showcase your company culture.

Events You are Attending

If your company is attending an event or holding a webinar, tweet about it. Share the link to the event or use the event hashtag. A great personal example of this was when I attended the Social Media Examiner Marketing World Conference, known to the Twitter world as #SMMW13. Anytime something I deemed relevant to my followers and was happening at the event, I used #SMM13 within my tweet. Twitter uses hashtags (#) to be able to easily find trending topics and allows people to have a conversation about a certain topic, which is the perfect platform for event marketing.

You Content

Do you have a blog for your company or any recent press? Link to the content within your tweet. In the tweet, give people a reason to click, so make sure your tweet has an interesting or eye-catching update to go along with the tweet. On your website you can see how much traffic you gain from tweets that are linked to your website content through your back-end stats like Google Analytics.

Someone Else's Content

Do you have experts that you follow for your industry? Tweet their blogs and articles. Be sure to let your followers know why they should read it or why it is relevant to them to click. Besides pasting an article in a tweet, you can also "retweet" what someone else is already saying on twitter. Then you "retweet" the tweet that was sent not shows up in your newsfeed for your followers to read as well. Retweeting is essentially an avenue for digital content to go viral.

Chat with Someone

Twitter is one of the most conversational social media platforms, so why not talk to other users. You can tweet directly to people by including the "@" symbol and then their twitter name. For example if you wanted to tweet at me you would include my name @SpeakeasyStrat within the tweet.

There are 2 things to remember when including a person in a tweet. First is that when you tweet beginning with the person's name, that tweet is directed straight to them and is not sent to your followers Twitter feed. It does show up on your profile, but not to all of your users. If you want to say something about a person and you want your twitter following to see it, include the name of the person anywhere within the tweet, except for the immediate beginning of the tweet.

Twitter Impacts Relationships-Rand Fishkin

Using the tips above will help you and your brand build stronger relationships with your customers, increase brand awareness, and potentially your sales. They key with Twitter is you want to be as transparent and human as possible. Do not automate responses when people follow you, but tweet at them directly, include their name and potentially a compliment or "thank you" for following you. There are countless stories of people becoming more loyal to brands, simple because the brand responded to them via Twitter. Social media is a powerful tool if you take the time to understand it and leverage its power for the good of your company.

If you have any questions or would like advice on your Twitter account, leave me a comment below, or tweet at me @SpeakeasyStrat. If you enjoyed this article or found it helpful, please go ahead and tweet, share, pin, and post it using the buttons below.

If you have read this article and need help setting up your new Twitter Business Account feel free to send me an e-mail at Kersten at Speakeasy Market Strategies dot come. I do also have social media management programs available for those that need Twitter, but would like someone to manage it for them.

Started a Twitter Account? Now Let's Maximize Your Tweets.

Starting a Twitter Account for Business is Half the Battle

If you have read my earlier post and you are here, you have decided to start a Twitter account for your business. Signing up the just the start. Anyone can follow the steps to start an account, but it is another story be able to make your tweets work for you right away. But, using Twitter effectively can be taught and learned over time.

The following infographic from Fuse Work Studio gives some great insights on how to maximize your tweets for your business and efficiently use your time and money.

A Twitter infographic by Fusework Studios

Essentially Twitter is not a conversation...

Instead, it creates a way for your business to reach customers in a new way and increase brand awareness.

Look for my upcoming post which will show you what you should be posting as a company and how I leverage Twitter for my business and clients. Feel free to leave a comment with your input on how you want to use Twitter to grow your business.

The Marketing Dame,

If you have read this article and need help setting up your new Twitter Business Account feel free to send me an e-mail at Kersten at Speakeasy Market Strategies dot come. I do also have social media management programs available for those that need Twitter, but would like someone to manage it for them.

Should You Have a Business Twitter Account?

What is Twitter and Why You Should Use it for Business

Many businesses today have heard of Twitter, but have no idea what it is, but they have been told by peers that they need one. So let's first take a look at what Twitter is:

What is Twitter

How can Twitter Help Your Business Grow?

This unique social media platform can help your business by allowing you to:

1. Promote your brand.
2. See what people are saying about your brand online.
3. Generate buzz online.
4. Interact with your fans and customers.
5. Generate sales leads.
6. Become an expert in your company's industry.

Quick Twitter Facts

To convince you of the impact of Twitter in the digital marketing world, here are a few stats to convince you to begin a business Twitter account.

• There are 200 million active users on Twitter.

• An average of 400 million tweets are sent everyday.

• It is growing at over 1.123 million accounts per day, meaning more than 13 new accounts per second.

• 51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands, or products on social networks.

• 65% of the Fortune 100 use Twitter to communicate with customers and stakeholders.

• More than half of Twitter users are under the age of 45.

Twitter According to Chris Brogan

Just like every other social media platform, Twitter can be extremely time-consuming. It is one of the core social media platforms and having a well-managed and active account can significantly improve a brand's online presence. As a business, you must evaluate if you can devote time and a budget to your social strategy. There are many examples of companies successfully using Twitter around the globe and even in smaller cities like Tulsa. Look for examples of Twitter success stories later this week, which will prove that no matter how small the business, you can make a splash online with Twitter.

For those of you with questions about Twitter for business, feel free to leave a comment below with your question and I will promptly respond.

If you have read this article and need help setting up your new Twitter Business Account feel free to send me an e-mail at Kersten at Speakeasy Market Strategies dot come. I do also have social media management programs available for those that need Twitter, but would like someone to manage it for them.

(Source: Many of the stats come straight from @Hubspot and @Twitter)

Takeaways and Lessons Learned from #SMMW13

With over 1,000 people in attendance, many lessons and takeaways were learned from hearing the best in the industry.

SMMW13 Marriott

This year I had the pleasure of attending Social Media Examiner's Social Media Marketing World Conference (#SMMW13) in sunny San Diego. With big names like Chris Brogan, John Jantsch, and so many more...it is safe to say that this conference was a time of great learning.

Over the next few weeks I will be going in depth on some of the topics I heard, but for now I will discuss a few takeaways that I learned not just from the speakers, but the attendees as well. Out of a speaker list of 49, it was difficult who to pick and choose who to listen to in person and who to listen to via audio when I came home. But since many of the speakers were ones that I had read their books or admired, I opted to listen to those I had already come to learn so much from.

Lesson #1: Be Authentic.

With social media being an outlet for many people to hide behind a computer, it was refreshing to hear so many of the speakers encourage people to be authentic. It is so easy these days to hide behind a brand and not make close connections with our online audience, but this is a HUGE mistake. Back before newspapers, TV, Radio, and even the web, people bought and sold based on word of mouth, which relied on being "likeable" and providing quality products and service. People buy from those they like and you are far more likely likeable by being genuine and authentic. Relationship building is the key to long term success.

One story I have from the conference is from my interaction with Dave Kerpen, writer of Likeable Social Media and owner of Likeable Media. The first networking event the conference orchestrated was at a museum not far from the hotel, but far enough to bus attendees to the location. On the ride over Dave sat next to me and we had a wonderful discussion about our businesses. He talked about running his company with his wife and how I grew up with small business in my blood from my parents running a company together. He handed me his card and for some reason I did not put 2 and 2 together that this was the author of one of my favorite social media books (and one that I give to many of my clients). Before we had finished our conversation he was already tweeting to me about wishing me luck. Now I am not one that gets starstruck, I simply appreciated his kind words and encouragement regardless of who he was.

Fast forward a day and a half later and I see the same gentleman get up on stage and give one of the best keynotes of the entire conference. Within his keynote he mentioned how important it is to be the same person in public and in private. He also explained how transparent he was and that even though he is extremely busy, when people tweet to him he will almost always respond within 1 to 2 days. Now how many CEO's do you know that have that closeness with their followers?

The principles he was explaining to the crowd is one that every businessman should learn. You must take the time to be genuine to anyone regardless of what they can do for you. I have countless stories on my own of the connections and business I have made from people that I never thought would be so vital to my life and success, but it is because I treat everyone the same. Being one person in your professional and someone different in your personal life will not gain you great success. I can tell you I did have a speaker I wanted to listen to, but after he dismissed me as someone that could not bring him business I have since unsubscribed from all of his digital media. He was someone else in person then when he projected to his digital audience. Those that learn this lesson will not only see success, but will make connections and relationships they never thought possible.

Lesson #2: E-mail Marketing is having a Comeback.

Chris Brogan + Kersten

For me I have spent years LOATHING e-mail marketing, at least the e-mail I get sent from big brands that do not give me any value whatsoever. But according to Chris Brogan and many others, building your e-mail list is the key to profits. Chris mentioned many times that he has never seen social media bring him business, but over and over he has seen his e-mail newsletter bring him money. And let's be honest, we all are attempting to receive paychecks from our social media efforts. So how does one build an e-mail list? Here are a few tips from the experts:

• Make your e-mail sign up visible to your site viewers. You can do this by having a pop-up on your site, asking visitors to sign up before they read your post. I will add that you may want to consider the pros and cons before adding a pop-up box on your homepage.
• Entice them to sign up. You must give your readers value to sign up for your newsletter. This could be a free e-book or whitepaper, something that will push them to want to hear from you more often.
• Tell them what they will get. Most people are not fans of e-mail marketing, which is why you need to be upfront and honest with them about what you will be sending to them.

Lesson #3: Connect, connect, connect!

According to Mark Schaefer of The Tao of Twitter, Born to Blog, and Return on Influence, social media has brought us back to the core of marketing and connecting with customers. When we created the printing press, we took a step away from our customers. With the addition of radio, TV, and other channels, brands have become more and more disconnected from their customers. Social media changes the game and allows brands to directly connect with brands with the push of a button.

There were countless stories told during the conference of people interacting one-on-one with customers and fans and how these interactions build stronger brand loyalty. I have had numerous occasions where I had a bad experience with a brand and the way they handled the issue via social media made me a brand advocate. People crave connection and want to feel as if their opinion matters, which makes social media the perfect solution for brands to better satisfy their customers.

So how do you implement this? Respond back to your followers and fans. Don't rely on automation services, but take the time to personally connect with those that are following and interacting with you. You never know how one kind word can create a customer with a long lifetime value.

SME Museum Group Show 2013

Lesson #4: What's next in Social Media?

All of the "experts" have different opinions on which platforms will survive and which will fade away. To me the platform is not the point, in my opinion being able to connect with your customers is the key to the long-term survival of social media. I do not see it going away any time soon, nor do the experts. What you will see is brands sinking or swimming depending on their management of social media. Years ago many thought social media was just a fad. To that I say, look at the brands that have seen a significant increase or decrease in their bottom line and/or PR because of social media.

As you can see from my pictures the conference was not only a time of great learning, but of making true connections and lasting relationships with a truly remarkable group of professionals. It was a privilege to attend, but now it is time to take all that I learned and apply it to my wonderful clients to help them grow!

Nicole + Kersten

I may not be able to take you out for that drink, but I am here to help get your marketing on the right track. If you are business owner that feels like they are struggling in today’s digital marketing, then look no further. We are here to help you be able to get back to what you do best and we can handle the rest.

Click the “Contact Us Now” button to get started. If you would like a sample of the ideas we could generate for you, click here for a free digital marketing report, custom-made for your company. Even if you are not in Tulsa, I also do have consulting available for you to purchase to get one-on-one help from me to kick-start your next project, company, idea…the skies the limit. Click here for more info on those services.

P.S. Over there on the right is one of my newfound friends from the conference, Nicole aka Cute Culture Chick. She is a seasoned blogger and social media expert and I look forward to continuing the friendship. A perfect example of a real relationship created through the world of social media. Take a look at her #SMMW13 recap!

The Social Sickness - The Infographic to Diagnose Your Symptoms

Are You Addicted to Social Media?

Now obviously, my company manages social media and other marketing efforts; therefore I am constantly on virtually every platform at once. So this blog is not only for those of you that are seeing social media take over your life, but for myself as well. Let's start by looking at the infographic and you diagnose which "Social Sickness" you may have (oh come on anyone into social media has one of these ;)).

Kersten's Confession

I must admit to you all that I have more than once "Social Sickness" according to this infographic. The first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem right? Currently I have symptoms similar to the following infographic patients:

• The Social Guru - although I do not promote this, it is what I do for a living.

• The Alert Lover - hey I have to know what is going on, my excuse is alerts for my clients, but honestly I am just an addict.

• The Constant Checker - because who wants to be sitting in line at the grocery store staring into space....am I right?

Steps Towards Managing Your Social Sickness

It may seem impossible, but there are steps you can take to manage your symptoms and these can help with any of the symptoms listed in the infographic.

1. Social Media Breaks

Designate times during the day to "check" your social media. Set a time limit for yourself such as 5 or 10 minutes and stick to it. I find it helpful to set a timer on my phone, because let's be honest, social media can be a vortex for time.

2. Healthy Boundaries

If you do social media for work (like I do), turn yourself off once the workday is over. I always keep my alerts for my clients and myself on if something does happen, but other than that, do NOT get on social media. You need to begin setting up a healthy boundary between you and social media.

3. Create a Schedule

For those of you doing social media for business, set up times on your phone of calendar to tell you when to post. This way you are not haphazardly posting and are not wasting time. I set up a calendar on my iCal that tells me what I am going to post about that day, such as a broad category. For each of these categories I have resources already pre-set up that I can pull from for content. This way you are not wasting your time or your bosses and are being highly efficient.

4. Have Fun

This is sometimes that hardest thing for me since I am all social media almost 24/7, but I have to remember that I do social media not only because it is my job, but because I love it. There are times when I post nothing on personal accounts simply because I am exhausted and do not find it fun anymore. If you have gotten to this point, you are not alone. It is because of this that it is important to follow steps 1 through 3 so you do not get burned out. The worst thing you can do for your brand is get burnt out and then disappear on your platforms. Consistency is key to building a loyal following, so learn the steps and stick to them. You and your fans will thank you!

I would love to know what is your social sickness. Leave me a comment below and let us know which "patient" you are. Are you taking steps to help? Let us know!

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I may not be able to take you out for that drink, but I am here to help get your marketing on the right track. If you are business owner that feels like they are struggling in today’s digital marketing, then look no further. We are here to help you be able to get back to what you do best and we can handle the rest.

Click the “Contact Us Now” button to get started. If you would like a sample of the ideas we could generate for you, click here for a free digital marketing report, custom-made for your company. Even if you are not in Tulsa, I also do have consulting available for you to purchase to get one-on-one help from me to kick-start your next project, company, idea…the skies the limit. Click here for more info on those services.

Easily Create Visually Appealing Content for Pinterest and Other Social Media Platforms

Having trouble creating quick quality content? Take a look at these useful tools!

You may remember from a previous post, how important producing visually appealing content continuously is ESSENTIAL to success on Pinterest. Below are some useful tools you can use to quickly make images that get people pinning.

First, make your camera photos gorgeous!

Wood Camera

One of the easiest ways to create visual content is through your handy-dandy phone camera, but as we all know these images are not always the best. My favorite phone app to use for editing photos is Wood Camera. I have used this app almost since it was first created and it surpass the ability of Instagram by far! There are numerous more photo filters to choose from and the reviews of the app speak for themselves as the app is currently the #1 paid app in the Apple App Store, not just in the Photo & Video category. Yes it is a paid app, you heard correctly, but it is worth every penny!

Now I may be a little biased as one of the co-founders is a friend of mine, but I have tried a TON of photo phone apps and I always come back to this one. I absolutely love that it easily exports to almost all my social media seamlessly as well, even to Instagram. Take a look at some of the features:

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Being able to use these apps on the go is great while you are out and about, yet want to promote as well. Having this ability at events you are participating in could be priceless because I guarantee almost NONE of your competitors will be savvy enough to be promoting while at the event with visually stunning images.

Next, add words to your images!

For this feature I have 2 apps that I will recommend, for both are great and it was hard for me to choose between them. Let's start with the first one I fell in love with.

Over

Over is the first photo app that I found that combined my pictures with gorgeous typography easily on my phone. Since I am a girl on the go and a huge fan of convenience, being able to create good content while on the road is a must for me. Now Pinterest is all about great photos, but many of the photos that get a lot of traction are those with words (aka typography) written within the photos. Over allows you to easily add any picture from your phone and then add whatever words you would like on the photo. You simply:

1. Type what you want to say.
2. Select the fonts and edits you would like, such as color of font, size, etc.
3. Move the words where you would like by dragging them with your finger.
4. Then save and share to your platform of choice, whether that is your phone, social media, or wherever you prefer.

Over Small Graphic

Over again is a paid app, but it does have a free version if you would like to try that out first.

TyPic Pro

Typic Pro is very similar to Over, but adds some additional functionality that Over does not have. Typic allows you to have multiple different lines of different content within the same image (which Over unfortunately does not). This app also allows you to add a few graphic elements that are provided within the app. This one also has a free version which you can try here. Take a look at some of the great features within this app:

Typic Pro Screenshot

Typic Pro Features

Now go create and post your visual content!

With the use of these apps you will be able to create gorgeous images in no time. But the key is not to create tons of images, but to create ones with purpose that will drive your content and brand. The end goal is to build awareness and ultimately sales through Pinterest and your other social media platforms. So make your images count. Make them appealing, then add words to describe to people what the image is, how they can get the product in the image, the sky is the limit. Just make sure that you do not go crazy with sales commentary and make the image sharable. The simpler you keep it the better.

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I may not be able to take you out for that drink, but I am here to help get your marketing on the right track. If you are business owner that feels like they are struggling in today’s digital marketing, then look no further. We are here to help you be able to get back to what you do best and we can handle the rest.

Click the “Contact Us Now” button to get started. If you would like a sample of the ideas we could generate for you, click here for a free digital marketing report, custom-made for your company. Even if you are not in Tulsa, I also do have consulting available for you to purchase to get one-on-one help from me to kick-start your next project, company, idea…the skies the limit. Click here for more info on those services.

Maximizing Your Pinterest Efforts

You are pinning...but are you getting the results you want?

Last week I mentioned that to be successful on Pinterest that you must be able to produce appealing visual content continuously. The infographic below (from Pinnable Business) is great insight in how to optimize the images that you are creating and pinning. You don't need to spend a ton of time on Pinterest, make your efforts worth while and take the advice below to heart when creating your social media strategy.

If you need help developing your social media strategy, contact me to get started.

I love how this infographic spells out the steps you need to take to be successfully pinning.

Highlights I want to point out are:

• Spend some time uploading your own pins. Make sure to edit the pin after you have uploaded it to drive traffic to the relevant pages on your website. Also be sure to name your images accordingly as the title of the image becomes the default comment on the pin.
• Remember Pinterest is a social media platform, don't be all about you and all about sales all the time. Make sure to favorite, comment, and repin accordingly.
• Make the names of your Pinterest boards keyword rich as people can search the titles, but don't overdo it.
• Videos can be pinned on Pinterest.
• Google does take Pinterest into account for search, therefore make sure your pin descriptions are relevant and descriptive.

 If you are having trouble viewing this infographic up close, click here or the link at the bottom.

Pinterest Image Optimization infographic

Enjoy Pinners!

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I may not be able to take you out for that drink, but I am here to help get your marketing on the right track. If you are business owner that feels like they are struggling in today’s digital marketing, then look no further. We are here to help you be able to get back to what you do best and we can handle the rest.

Click the “Contact Us Now” button to get started. If you would like a sample of the ideas we could generate for you, click here for a free digital marketing report, custom-made for your company. Even if you are not in Tulsa, I also do have consulting available for you to purchase to get one-on-one help from me to kick-start your next project, company, idea…the skies the limit. Click here for more info on those services.

Pinterest Analytics and How They Can Help Your Business Page

What are Pinterest Analytics?

Pinterest recently released it's own analytics for businesses to be able to track the activity on their pages. You could almost call this the Facebook Insights of Pinterest. Here is a great little video from Pinterest explaining their new feature.

What features are included in the analytics?

1. Track the traffic coming from your website to Pinterest.
2. See which pins get the most repins.
3. View who is pinning from your page and what else people pin alongside them.

How do you get the new Pinterest Analytics feature?

• In order to view the new Pinterest Analytics, you must first have a business Pinterest page. If you have not done this yet, you can convert your profile here or view our previous article on how to create a business page.

• The next step you must take is to verify your website. By doing this, Pinterest is able to track the pins from your website and give you the analytics you need. In order to verify your website you will need access to the back-end of your site. If you do not know how to do this, you may need to contact your web host. This process can be a bit tricky, it took me a few tries to understand how to do it, so do not feel discouraged.

Now you have set up Pinterest Analytics, but how do you view it?

Screen Shot 2013-04-01 at 12.44.22 PM

1. Simply scroll up to the top of your screen and hoover over your account. The drop down will appear and you can then click on the "Analytics" tab.
2. Once you have clicked on the tab, you then have the ability to see the analytics from Site Metrics, Most Recent, Most Pinned, and Most Clicked. You can even export these stats for your own analysis.

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Limitations of Pinterest Analytics

After looking into the Pinterest Analytics, it is clear that this tool is very useful, especially for those that get a lot of business from Pinterest, such as e-commerce websites. The main limit that this tool has is that it simply shows you the analytics of the pins and repins of your own website content. It does not show you the most repined and interacted pins that come from other people's sites and things that you have repined from others. Now why is that important? Well I don't know about you, but the majority of my pins do not come from me, but are repins from things I think are relevant for my customers. Wouldn't you like to know the analytics on those pins?

After looking around at other analytics tools, my favorite is by far PinLeague. Now this is a paid service, but they do have a limited FREE program available as well, which is perfect for those getting started.

• See WHO Pinned Content From Your Site.
• See which pins are driving traffic to your site.
• See HOW MUCH REVENUE Pinterest is driving to your site.
• See which users / affiliates help you generate revenue from Pinterest.
• Track COMPETITORS’ top pins from their domain.

And for the Advanced User they have these features:

• View top pins from your profile and filter by keyword, hashtag, category, board and more.
• Sort top pins from your domain (“Brand Mentions”) by metrics such as Repins, Likes and Comments.
• See which pins drive traffic to your site.

Here is a link to their analytics. If you are serious about Pinterest, I suggest you take a look.

Why You Need to Track Your Pins

Having the ability to track your pins is key if you are truly wanting to grow your page and increase your ROI through Pinterest. Of all the social media platforms, Pinterest by far has the greatest potential to bring actual sales through your door. According to Daniel Maloney of PinLeague, Pinterest creates more referrals per user and more revenue per referral than Twitter and Facebook combined and it is cheaper to obtain a Pinterest follower than gaining fans on all the other social media networks. To me the numbers are in your favor, which means it is time to take this platform serious.

By tracking your pins, you are essentially able to trend spot among your following. You can see what they like from you and others, which allows you be innovate and change your strategy as needed to fit the needs of your customers. I don't know about you, but as a marketer this is extremely exciting. Knowing what the customer likes and wants can be a daunting task, but tracking pins allows you to see into the mind of your customer. It also allows you to see who your brand advocates are, which means you can reach out to them and gain valuable insight for your brand.

Overall the new Pinterest Analytics tool is a great asset to businesses, but there is much room to be desired. Feel free to leave a comment below with any questions you may have about this new Pinterest feature. I would love to hear how you are liking it.

The Marketing Dame,

I may not be able to take you out for that drink, but I am here to help get your marketing on the right track. If you are business owner that feels like they are struggling in today’s digital marketing, then look no further. We are here to help you be able to get back to what you do best and we can handle the rest.

Click the “Contact Us Now” button to get started. If you would like a sample of the ideas we could generate for you, click here for a free digital marketing report, custom-made for your company. Even if you are not in Tulsa, I also do have consulting available for you to purchase to get one-on-one help from me to kick-start your next project, company, idea…the skies the limit. Click here for more info on those services.