However, no matter what strategy you ultimately choose, there are five things that should definitely be in the conversation.

1. Create Valuable Content

While this might seem obvious, it’s worth stating because creating valuable content is possibly the most important thing you can do to increase your brand’s exposure on social media. To this end,”value” comes in many forms. The content could be funny, informative, controversial, or inspiring. As long as it enriches the people who see it, they will be more likely to share it with their friends giving you free “word of mouth” (or, in this case, “click of mouse”) advertising.

In addition to word-of-mouth advertising, creating valuable content for your blog, Facebook page, or other social media outlets will reflect positively on your brand. Like a bottle of wine with a fancy label, creating valuable content shows that you’re invested in creating a high-quality product.

2. Interact With Your Community

So people have started to notice your valuable content? That’s great, but it’s not worth much if you don’t follow it up with some good community interaction. Ideally, at least some of your valuable content ends with the opportunity for user interaction, also called a “call to action.” A call to action could ask the users to share the piece, it could ask them to join a debate, or it could just answer a question.

Basically, start a dialogue. It might be difficult to get people talking at first, but once you do, your posts will be a lot more interesting for other users to read and it will be more fun to maintain as well!

3. Localize Your Social Media Pages

Ideally, you should create blogs or websites for each locality in which you do business. This is especially important for large businesses that span cities, or even states, but this tactic also can be valuable for smaller businesses with locations in different parts of a single city as well. These localized blogs will, of course, have locally relevant content, which will be valuable to the people living in the area. Localizing a blog will also increase your social media ranking for searches in that area and will make your website more tempting to other local businesses for cross promotional deals.

If you don’t want to spend the time or money building and maintaining a blog for each of your locations, it is still a good idea to build local social media pages that will share locally relevant content. This can be a good compromise for those who don’t want to mess around with buying a lot of domain names but still want to take advantage of local internet traffic.

4. Target Mobile Social Media Users

Of the 317.2 million people in the United States, fully half own a smart phone or tablet and of these people, half actively use social media on that device. That’s a potential audience of 79.3 million people — definitely not something you want to ignore. Unfortunately, native ads don’t show up on the Facebook mobile interface (not yet at least). If you were relying on native ads, therefore, you’re missing a large part of the market.

Also, Facebook has recently started using a program called StoryBump, which decides what Facebook users will see first in their News Feeds. The old program tried to pull posts that would match the interests of the individual and, while story bump does this to some degree, it relies more heavily on how many times an article is shared and when it was posted.

5. Consider Hiring a Full-Time Social Media Manager

If you’re thinking about bumping your social media marketing efforts up a notch, you might want to consider bringing a full-time social media guru onboard. For small businesses that are operating on tight margins, it might be prudent to check all the financial factors before creating such a position. Make sure your company has the most affordable business rates for cutting  energy costs to ensure you have enough room in the budget to make such a hire. Otherwise, you may want to just consider hiring a freelancer.

Either way, however, with these five tips under their belt they’ll be well on their way to building your company a large social media following.

What other tricks do you know for maximizing a brand’s social media presence?

The post 5 Ways to Increase Your Brand’s Exposure on Social Media appeared first on Social Media Explorer.

Take a look at some of the ways TV has changed because of social media and the Internet.

Television Show Ratings Are Easier to Gather

In the past, Nielsen sent surveys out in the mail to a random statistical sampling of people around the U.S. asking about the television shows they liked and watched. Then, TV ratings were determined by the results. This method is still used by Nielsen today, but the Internet and social media also have an influence on TV ratings. For instance, companies can compare the average number of fans on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to see if a television show is popular. Some of the surveys can also be completed and turned in online.

Streaming and YouTube Means People Never Have to Miss a Television Show

Another huge advantage to the Internet and social media is that people never have to worry about missing their favorite TV show because it’s available online for a short period of time after the initial airing on TV. However, many televisions networks are now requiring people to login through their TV provider before streaming. This is very new territory for networks and cable providers and the rules for content distribution are still being disputed. Traditionally, cable TV has always been regulated by the FCC to keep certain companies from becoming monopolies in the marketplace. This means that broadcasters are required to pay for the rights to carry Cable signals and distribute content. However, these acts were created before Internet streaming technologies and have since come into question by new business models like Netflix and Aereo.

Hashtags on Twitter Enable Conversations About Television Shows

Twitter has changed television, too. It isn’t as popular as Facebook, but it still has nearly 200 million users. Television networks are taking advantage of this large market to engage with their fans. For instance, many television shows now display hashtags in the bottom corner of the screen during shows so fans can easily get on twitter and see what others are saying about the show, chiming in themselves.

Anyone can search these hashtags on Twitter and follow along, even if they don’t want to participate in the conversation. There was even a Twitter campaign lead by die-hard Chuck fans who tried to stop the show from being cancelled by talking about it on Twitter.

Facebook Provides Additional Information to Fans

Twitter isn’t the only social network that has changed television. Most television shows also have a Facebook page where fans can read up on the latest episodes, learn more about the actors, and enter to win prizes related to the show. This keeps fans more interested in the show. Many television shows, such as Grey’s Anatomy, even show sneak-peak videos through Facebook to get fans excited about upcoming episodes.

Facebook is a great way for networks to promote their shows because when someone likes a page on Facebook, all the friends in his or her network are notified. This encourages even more people to visit the television show’s page and also become fans. This means social media is now crucial to promoting new television shows. You will find every single popular television show on Facebook.

YouTube Turns Commercials into Viral Videos

Television has always had commercials, but social media and the Internet have changed the way they’re presented. For instance, companies are always trying to come up with commercials that’ll turn into viral videos on YouTube. This is a great advertising strategy because it gets people to remember a show more.

Another trend is for commercials to invite viewers to connect with them on social networks. The goal of commercials is no longer just to advertise products. It’s to create a loyal fan base on social media, too.

As you can see, social media and the Internet have had a significant impact on television. In general, television shows want to engage with their fans as much as possible to gain a more loyal audience and this is made possible through social media. How else do you think social media and the Internet have changed television? Leave a comment below.

The post Has Social Media Changed Television? appeared first on Social Media Explorer.

As a boss, it’s important to manage how your employees use social media because it can have a direct impact on how the public perceives your company and brand. With that said, here are eight steps you should take to make sure your social media guidelines benefit you and your staff.

Start By Outlining Your Ultimate Goal

Every social media policy you draft should have an ultimate goal in mind that takes the user and the reader into account. Instead of focusing on what your employees can’t do, let them know the things they can do. Not only does this help you get your message across, but your employees won’t feel like they’re being restricted. As a result, they’ll be more willing to adhere to the guidelines stipulated in your social media policy.

Additionally, when drafting a policy, think about what your readers will ultimately get out of it. Although your guidelines aren’t for them, they’ll be directly affected by them when they communicate with your employees. When drafting a social media policy, keep the bigger picture in mind instead of what needs done in the moment.

Take Responsibility for What You Publish Online

Just because you aren’t face to face with your potential customers or clients, that doesn’t mean you have the right to say whatever you want, when you want. And just because you’re communicating online, that doesn’t disqualify you from the consequences or repercussions for what you post. Every employee who represents your company and brand online must exercise common sense and take responsibility for all the content they post on your behalf.

When drafting your social media policy, make it clear that anyone who doesn’t take this seriously will have face strict penalties or even loss of their job. Afterall, it’s your company and brand on the line — not theirs.

Establish a Name for Yourself

Potential customers and clients want to know whom they’re talking to, so it’s best to include your name, the company you work for, and your title in all the online posts you make. Not only will this help to establish trust in the company-client relationship, but it’ll also work as a marketing vice if the posts you make adhere to the guidelines. Once you’ve made a name for yourself online, people will know who you are and as a result, will trust you.

Keep Your Audience in Mind

When you’re using social media to communicate with and promote to potential customers and clients, you have to remember that they aren’t the only ones reading your content. Whether it’s a current customer, a past client, or even a potential future employee, your message is read by various people who are studying your every word. Before publishing any material online, take this into account so that you don’t alienate any of those groups.

Use Sound Judgment

Simply put: Your employees should be using sound judgment and common sense when they’re publishing online posts. If you feel like they don’t have the ability to do so, then they shouldn’t be representing your company or brand online — or anywhere else, really. There are a lot of people online, and all of them perceive the world in a different way from one another. Refrain from making comments that might seem rude, derogatory, or racist.

Also, your employees should understand that you — as a boss — have the right to monitor what they publish online when it relates to your company and brand. Even if the posts are being published from home, they still impact how the public perceives your company and brand. Make sure your employees are aware of this, so they know what to expect if they cross the line. Mistakes happen, but they can cost your company and brand a lot in the end.

Adhere to Copyright Guidelines

Speaking of sound judgment and common sense, your employees should never publish anything that isn’t theirs unless they have consent from the original source and attribute the content properly. When they’re using social media, it’s important to make the most of it and share insightful information with your potential customers and current clients to keep them interested in your online presence. But again, respect copyright guidelines while doing so. You should also outline that failure to do so will result in termination, since this is a serious break of the rules.

Protect Confidential Information

Although being transparent is an important part of building trust with your potential customers and current clients, it doesn’t mean divulging private information that can harm others. Make sure that your employees know that they will be serious consequences if they don’t follow this part in your social media policy, since it’s another big break of the rules that can impact a lot of people. It doesn’t just damage your company or brand’s image, but you can actually get sued for pulling a stunt like this. Again, stress the importance of this to your employees in the policy.

Bring Something Valuable to the Table

Social media is a great opportunity for your company to take advantage of a free platform to reach as many people — again, potential customers and clients — as it can. Promotional pencils are a great way to spread your brand. You can imprint your Twitter handle (or any other social media account) onto custom pencils and other promotional materials to increase awareness and engagement.

The same works online; the more valuable content you bring to the table, the more followers and friends you’ll accrue. This will likely result in more business, and that’s a good thing for you and your company.

Drafting a social media policy for your employees doesn’t have to be torturous. Follow these simple steps, enforce them, and you’re sure to have an array of social media accounts that work for you and not against you. 

The post How to Set Up Social Media Guidelines for Your Staff appeared first on Social Media Explorer.

Whether you’re a native or just stopping by to see the sights, these five social media-powered apps can help you navigate The Big Apple.

It Helps You Navigate Subways

Image via Flickr by rafaj

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) maintains 6,311 subway cars, 24 subway lines, and 659 miles of track—a dizzying number of interlocking parts for anyone not familiar with subterranean mass transit. Luckily, apps like KICKMap NYC Subway Map are available on most smart phones and take guesswork out of the subway equation. This handy app provides day and evening maps, step-by-step directions for transferring between lines, and GPS tracking to help you figure out where you are and where to go next. You can even share directions with friends via e-mail, Twitter, or Web Link.

It Finds You Things to Do

Image via Flickr by jenschapter3

Your social media news feeds are prime locations for scoping out fun things to do in New York. Some companies devote entire blogs and magazines to advertising all sorts of interesting events in the worlds of film, theater, music, nightlife, and more. Time Out New York, for example, neatly tags and organizers every social gathering you can imagine in the Big Apple by type, date, price, popularity, and more. They also compile thousands of restaurant, bar, and venue reviews. Of course, you’ll want to make sure your devices are hooked up to a reliable internet connection as New York is easier to navigate via web-based resources.

It Keeps Your Belly Full

Image via Flickr by ayesamson

No trip to New York City is complete without a sampling of the fine international cuisine on practically every block. But why make the trip across town to find just the dish you were looking for when you can easily place your order online and have it delivered. Seamless does exactly that. All you have to do is think of what you’d like to eat, type in your address, and peruse the 12,000 delivery/carry-out menus in their archives. Friend them on Facebook to find exclusive deals and plenty of ideas if you’re not quite sure what to order.

It Makes Central Park a Walk in the… Well, You Know

Image via Flickr by vagueonthehow

The 840-acre Central Park in the heart of New York City offers citizens an oasis of natural beauty and peaceful escape from the concrete jungle. It’s one of the most popular and storied parks in the entire United States and as such offers plenty to do. Central Park NYC Lite for iPod/iPhone contains a repository of over 100 points of interest in the park, including detailed stories about landmarks like Bethesda Fountain, Shakespeare Garden, and Belvedere Castle. Even if you’re not a history buff, you can still use the app for simpler things, like locating the nearest restroom.

It Helps You Meet New People

<

Image via Flickr by Sheconomy®

Moving to a big city by yourself can be daunting and alienating, especially if you don’t know anyone when you arrive. Lucky for you, groups like the New York Social Network organize activities nearly every day of the week. You’ll see everything from karaoke get-togethers to wine tasting tours to volunteer night at the homeless shelter. Regardless of what the occasion, NYSN’s main goal is to help people, single or not, to expand their social circles and meet new friends. This kind of networking is your most valuable asset while you’re trying to navigate the most populated city in the US. Locals can help lead you to new and exciting places and activities you might not have discovered otherwise, or could even put in a good word for you and help you find a job.

New York City is a place unlike any other. Utilize the power of social networking apps so you can make the most of your time in the Big Apple.

The post How Social Media Makes Navigating New York a Walk in the Park appeared first on Social Media Explorer.

Social Media

Social media platforms are fantastic because they allow you to communicate with anyone on the planet, regardless of where they are. The messages are instant, so if you need to reach someone quickly, it’s the perfect way. It’s also the perfect way to branch out to new customers.

Establishing your business on social media should be your first step. Create a dedicated Twitter account, start a Facebook group and/or page, and do whatever else you need to get your business’s presence felt on social media networks. From there, find your loyal customers or just use common hashtags so your business will pop up when people search. Hopefully your loyal customers will do the marketing for you and you won’t have to put much effort in aside from making updates. If the right person shares your update, it could reach hundreds of thousands of people in less than a second.

Post Jobs Online

Another great way to reach out to a client is to post jobs online. You can post the job listing anywhere from local websites to sections of websites in other countries. The benefit of posting your job both domestically and internationally is that you’ll get people interested in your product. Even if they don’t decide to apply, they may decide to become customers now that they know what you do.

Team Up

Another great way to drive new business in is to team up with someone else’s business that you feel you could improve. For instance, if you run a deli, try teaming up with local businesses so you can cater their lunches, or local arenas so you can bring food to athletes and musicians. Give those customers a reason to seek you out in the form of a new customer discount. Offer a discount off their next meal, or even a free item with the purchase of something else.

Market Outside of Your Comfort Zone

Clearly your marketing efforts aren’t working, or you wouldn’t have stumbled across this post. You need to realize that your marketing efforts aren’t effective and it’s time to branch out. If you’re a technophobe, have someone else set up social networking accounts. If you’re afraid of putting yourself out there, try buying space on a billboard next to an Interstate instead of filming a commercial and running it on local airtime. Going outside of your normal methods of marketing will ensure that you’re reaching an audience that you weren’t reaching with other methods.

Change Your Plan of Attack

Obviously, something isn’t working. Whether it’s your pricing structure or the services you offer, something just isn’t clicking with people. Change your plan of attack. Offer a sale, permanently lower prices, or offer something completely different. Brainstorm with your employees about a product or service that you could create that could drive new business in. If all else fails, offer a similar service as another business at a cheaper price. It might not be creative, but it’s effective. People will go where they can to save money. If you’re the company offering them savings, they’ll come to you.

Get Referrals

Since you have an established customer base, utilize the customer base and ask them to give referrals in the form of online reviews and word-of-mouth advertising. Offer them some sort of incentive, whether that’s a discount on an item or something for free. People tend to believe something a friend says over a review online.

It’s challenging to get new customers, but it’s not completely impossible. Hopefully these tips have inspired you to think of a way to drive more customers into your business. Have you figured out a successful way to drive new customers in?

The post 6 Best Ways to Reach Out for New Business appeared first on Social Media Explorer.

Gamers and developers alike are getting excited about the promise of the next generation of gaming, which kicks off November 15th with the release of the PlayStation 4, followed by Microsoft’s Xbox One on November 22nd. Here are a few of the ways those companies will make use of the social media features.

Blending the Online and Offline World

One of the largest ambitions of the next generation is the blending of the online and offline world. According to Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag director Ash Ismail, it’s a feature that he’s looking forward to the most. Thanks to the extra power provided by the next generation of systems, certain features will only be available because your friends found them first. For example, in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, if your friend finds an elusive white whale, its location will be marked on your map.

In the upcoming game Watch Dogs, Ubisoft plans to seamlessly blend the experience by allowing players online the ability to manipulate the world of someone who’s playing single player.

Integrated Video Sharing

Taking a cue from other companies making third-party products to record gameplay, both Microsoft and Sony have made video sharing a focus point of their next generation consoles. Users will be able to record gameplay and upload it remotely, allowing users get guidance in certain situations, or just allowing players to have bragging rights.

With the Xbox One, the videos will get posted to your profile, and anyone that sees your profile will be able to see your video. You’ll then be able to upload the video to YouTube and Facebook, allowing your friends without an Xbox One to see the video that you recorded. Unfortunately, videos are limited to five minutes.
The Playstation 4, on the other hand, allows you to pause your game, select a portion of the video, edit it, and upload it to a social service. It hasn’t been explicitly revealed that YouTube is supported, but Sony has implied that it will be.

Social Networking on Next Generation Consoles

Microsoft and Sony are directly integrating social networks into their next generation consoles, and even Nintendo is getting in on the action. With all three systems, you’ll be able to send messages to your friends, or even start a group chat. With the PlayStation 4, you’ll be able to update your Facebook account directly from your console. With U-Stream, you’ll be able to watch other players play games live, and, if they let you, you can provide assistance. The PlayStation 4 will also encourage using real names, similar to Facebook. The console will also feature video chats.

With the Xbox One, Microsoft hasn’t confirmed social media integration from Facebook and Twitter, but rather, Microsoft has formed its own sort of social network. With the Xbox Live friends app, you’ll be able to see what people are playing in real-time, and join their game directly from your activity feed. Thanks to Microsoft’s purchase of Skype, you’ll be able to keep in contact with all of your friends, regardless of if you’re watching a movie or playing game.
Nintendo, on the other hand, has created its own social media network, the Miiverse. Similar to a message board, the Miiverse allows Wii U users to go to separate different gaming forums, each one dedicated to a specific game, and chat about the game. They can draw pictures, share screenshots, or just discuss the game.

Second Screen Experiences

In a first for both companies, both Microsoft and Sony have created a second screen experience for both the Xbox One and Playstation 4, which will transform any smartphone or tablet into a second screen for the console (the Wii, significantly, already does this). Using this second screen, you’ll be able to interact not only with the game, but other users as well. You’ll be able to invite others to games and send messages to each other, presumably via social networks.

The PlayStation 4 Learns From the User

Social media sites have long been able learn more about the user and tailor personalized experiences for those users. The PlayStation 4 does the exact same thing, but in the gaming world. As you play, the PlayStation 4 will learn about you, such as your preferences, or the types of games you frequently play. Based on the things it learns, it can recommend games for you and download demos it thinks you might like to play.

The next generation of gaming consoles will bring about a lot of changes, and they’re both heavily influenced by social media and ideas from social media. Which one will win the hearts of gamers? We’ll find out in November.

The post 5 Ways Video Game Companies are Leveraging Social Media appeared first on Social Media Explorer.

]]>