Social Media News: We Heart It Social Network

With so many social media sights out there today it is hard to keep up with which ones are new, which ones are old and just which are actually exciting to be a part of. Now-a-days there’s Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and many other more or less similar networking sites. The list is endless. However, there is one that new one that stood out from the others. The social media site known as “We Heart It” is essentially a combination of Pinterest, Twitter and in some ways even Facebook. For people who love sharing pictures, it is the ultimate social media website.

There is so much to do on this social media site. Once you join the website, which takes no more than thirty seconds, you are immediately taken to what it is known as your “canvas”. Your canvas is where everything you do on We Heart It is stored. It is also where your profile information is and your, “about me” bio but we will discuss that later on. One of the best aspects of We Heart It is that when you first join the website you can immediately make it your own. You have the option to change the header of your canvas like you would on Facebook. The header is the top portion of the page where you would upload a picture of whatever it is you want that describes you or your interests. It is a great tool for people to get a sense of who you are at a glance. When you first start using this website, you can also fill out your personal information which includes a personal bio, your interests and even the option of linking your We Heart It page to your other social media websites.

Once all that fundamental basic information is complete, you can begin hearting! Hearting is the process of liking something you see on the search page of We Heart It. This is the part of We Heart It that resembles Pinterest. The way this process works is you search whatever it is you want to look at in the search engine box at the top of the page and BOOM! You have dozens of pictures to look through. Of course, this will depend on the keyword you are searching for. What you search is known as a tag. A tag is what you would associate the picture with when you post one to We Heart It. Tags are what you put under the pictures so people can find them quicker. You can search anything from pictures of cats to pictures of celebrities to recipe options for dinner. You can even plan your wedding or next birthday through We Heart It. It is such a powerful search engine that some people may eventually prefer over Google. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, “But…how do we “heart” the pictures we like”. That is no harder than moving your cursor. When you find a picture you like, all you have to do is move your cursor over the desired picture and when the little heart pops up in the center, you click it! That’s it and then it will show up on your canvas immediately. If you accidentally click the picture, simply click it again to de-heart it. It is an unbelievably easy process.

Each picture you click had to be posted by someone; I mean it didn’t just show up on We Heart It by magic. If you start to notice that you seem to like pictures posted by the same user, fairly frequently, you can follow that user so you are always up to speed on their picture posting. The act of following makes We Heart It a lot like twitter because people can also follow you if they want. So essentially, We Heart It is like the all picture version of twitter. You can post your own pictures on We Heart It as well for people to like by clicking on the plus sign next to the search engine. You can upload the picture from a URL such as through Google, you can upload from another social media site or you can upload straight from your phone or laptop. Yes, you can upload from your phone if you have the We Heart It app that is available for free. If you want to take down one of the pictures you have posted because you either changed your mind or posted the wrong one, you can always take it down with no questions asked so don’t worry about that.

Now, let’s say you have liked around 50 pictures (that is just an example number it is not a minimum) of all different categories and you want to kind of organize them a bit. On your canvas there is an option to do just that. Right on your canvas page, there is an option directly in front of you on the screen that will say “start a new collection”. Just click that box and you’ll be taken to a page where you will name your collection and add to it the pictures that you want. Once you have at least one collection, every time you heart something on We Heart It, you will always be asked what collection you want that picture to go in. It’s however recommended to keep collections. This is because this website is addictive and if you are anything like me and you choose not to use the collections; your page will be in chaos in no time. I have collections from Demi Lovato photos to yummy recipes that I’m probably never going to try!

I highly recommend you go on and try this site. I’m sure it seems like “just another social media website” but honestly, I think the picture quality is better, the results come faster, you are clearly notified when someone likes your pictures and it is much more user friendly. Anybody can use this website regardless of how little you know about technology. Give We Heart it a shot, you never know, you may end up hearting it yourself!

Become a social media leader - 5 top tips!

Thinking of becoming a social media 'leader'? Need ideas and help as to help launch your business or your blog into the public domain? So how do you keep a happy and successful online presence? Whatever you are using it for, there have been 5 top tips created to help you out.

Image: http://us.123rf.com

Twitter is one of the biggest and most influential sites social media has to offer. But shockingly, a third of users that are registered do not even use it. This is very likely down to the fact that they don't know how. This is not uncommon.

Now, once you are set up and have the basic idea of how the site works it really is about getting out what you put in. The 5 top tips for successful social media are below:

Filter what you say online. We’ve all heard the stories about how a few keystrokes can end a career. To avoid foot-in-mouth on Twitter, I filter all my tweets through this rule: Would I be comfortable if The New York Times attributed what I’m tweeting to me? I never approached Twitter with the idea that it would be an ultra-confessional stream of consciousness. Treating my Twitter stream as if I’m on the record with a journalist gives me a good guide about what is and is not appropriate to share. It’s not to say I don’t have fun and share personal stories, but putting each tweet through that filter helps me assess before hitting the tweet button.

Set aside some time. Let’s be honest: we all are incredibly busy. So how do I find the time? Every day, several times a day, I set aside a few minutes to check on Twitter. Some days it’s three minutes and some days, when big events happen, it can be a lot more, but if Warren Buffett and Bill Gates can find the time that certainly says a lot. With the app on my phone, I can do a quick scan between meetings or respond to a message while waiting in line. When you invest time in Twitter, you quickly start to see the rewards, mostly in real-time conversations happening all over the world. No one expects you to be Nick Kristof or Lady Gaga overnight.

To what end? Know why you are getting on Twitter first. Do you want to be seen as a subject-matter expert? Have a strong voice in your industry? Gain a million followers? Keep up on the latest news and trends? With your goal in mind, cultivate a stream full of people and content you find interesting. Mix and match your passions. Make sure you participate in other conversations to help better understand your audience and the medium. One of my favorite organizations is TED; it has started so many incredible conversations. Link to other people, add value to their conversations with your thoughts and opinions. Read what they talk about, click through to the articles, track the conversations and share with your followers. Having a goal or a reason for being there will help you organize your time.

Ask for help. When I was ramping up, I realized some of the best and the brightest social media minds (many of whom are in universities or are interns) were around me, so I asked them for advice. They gave me great context, questions and dialogue. Even on Twitter, tell your followers that you are still learning; you will get more than a few expert opinions.

Use it as an internal communications tool. Twitter allows me to hear from colleagues all over the world every day. I hear about everything from their challenges and triumphs to their commutes. I get a chance to learn directly from them what they think with no filter. And they know that I’m listening. It’s one of the best internal communication tools that I have.

Image: https://www.google.co.uk

These top tips are indeed useful and will get you on your way if you want to make some headway in the social media world. But please remember they are not short cuts and only work if you tailor them to your own cause.

Do you find these top 5 helpful? Any more you could suggest?

How to Run a Successful Social Media Sweepstakes

Are you planning to run a social media sweepstakes to make your business stand out this holiday season?

Do you need a guide to ensure that you don’t miss the crucial elements of a successful sweepstakes promotion?

Sweepstakes, contests and giveaways are increasingly popular among marketers who are vying for the attention of their social media audiences. Choosing a prize is the easy part.

Whether you run your promotion on Facebook or Pinterest, it’s easy to overlook something. Making sure you’ve got all your planning, technical and legal “i’s” dotted and “t’s” crossed is critical to your success.

In this article, you’ll learn the five steps of running a successful social media sweepstakes.

#1: Assess Sweepstakes Objectives

This is where most companies shortchange themselves. How? By focusing on superficial objectives that may not benefit their business.

For example, does it make sense to run a sweepstakes to increase your already-large fan base or do you want to jumpstart your social engagement process?

Here’s a list of potential sweepstakes objectives to choose from:

• Increase awareness of a new product
• Increase the number of free trials
• Collect leads with detailed information
• Generate customer referrals
• Increase average daily visitors
• Increase newsletter subscribers
• Increase social media followers (Facebook fans, Twitter followers, etc.)
• Increase social media exposure (more repins, more retweets of your message, etc.)
• Increase sales
• Generate brand loyalty by delighting existing customers with a chance to win a big prize
• Increase social media engagement

Her Campus is a good example of a company that’s using sweepstakes to increase their social media engagement.

Her Campus is an excellent example of using a sweepstakes to increase social media engagement by requiring followers to tweet a picture of their dorm room along with a description of their dorm room style.

Often-Overlooked Objectives

Increase customer micro-insights: For example, tweet to win: “If I win a $500 Visa gift card, I’ll spend it on __________ #ABCgiveaway @yourcompany”. Not only does this increase social media engagement, it also gives you a much deeper understanding of your target market.

Increase customer survey participation: Brick-and-mortar businesses regularly use sweepstakes to increase customer survey participation, but this practice is rare for online businesses.

Hipmunk is a good example of an online business that is successfully utilizing sweepstakes to increase the level of customer survey participation.

Hipmunk, a travel booking company, frequently uses small sweepstakes to increase customer survey participation.

#2: Plan the Logistics

This phase can be a lifesaver. If you get this phase right, you’ll be breathing a lot easier during the promotion.

Here are the major steps in the planning phase:

Select a Sweepstakes Tool: This is the most important step in the planning phase because the right tool streamlines and automates your sweepstakes tasks. There are some key features to look for when selecting a vendor for your social media sweepstakes.

• Automated template generation for sweepstakes’ terms and conditions
• Multiple sweepstakes entry actions: For example, do they allow you to only collect email addresses or do they also help you conduct surveys?
• Automation of winner-selection process
• Ability to host sweepstakes on multiple online platforms
• Automatic synchronization of email subscribers with email marketing tools such as MailChimp, AWeber, Constant Contact, etc.
• Branding of sweepstakes widget with your colors and themes
• Pricing strategy: For example, do they charge per action or per feature?
• Are they compatible with mobile operating systems such as iOS and Android?
• What support channels do they offer and what are their hours of support? This is very helpful if the sweepstakes tool becomes dysfunctional during your promotion.

Comply with sweepstakes laws: It’s imperative to understand the regional and social media platform rules pertaining to sweepstakes. Sarah Hawkins has a series of articles that serve as excellent guides on these topics.

Determine sweepstakes duration: 21-28 days is the ideal duration for a sweepstakes promotion. Two weeks is often too short and more than a month is too long.

Select a prize: It could be your own product or a product that really fulfills your target audience’s needs.

Here’s a good example of this from Dove. Instead of offering a cliché prize such as an iPad, they focused on providing a home upgrade to attract a targeted male audience.

Dove attracts a targeted male audience by using a home upgrade as their sweepstakes prize.

Determine sweepstakes location: Where will you host your sweepstakes? Depending on your objectives, does it make sense to host the promotion on your website, Facebook page or some other popular blog? These are not mutually exclusive choices. You can host your sweepstakes on multiple online destinations, but having it in one place often leads to an easier and more efficient execution of the promotion.

Set promotion budget: How much money do you want to spend to promote your sweepstakes? How does that divide across different marketing channels? For example, do you want to advertise on specific blogs to drive traffic to your sweepstakes or does a Facebook ad campaign make more sense?

Often-Overlooked Planning Steps

Associate sweepstakes with an event: Is the sweepstakes being held to celebrate your business’s third anniversary or the joyous spirit of Christmas? Associating your sweepstakes with an event provides context to your audience and makes a deeper emotional connection with them, which increases the chances of your sweepstakes creating a positive buzz in social media.

Here’s a great example of Family.com associating their sweepstakes with Christmas.

Family.com associates their sweepstakes with Christmas to connect with their audience on a deeper level and ensure positive social media exposure.

Create a short and enticing viral loop: A big prize attracts attention, but it’s the viral loop that continues the momentum—which is why it needs to be thought out in considerable detail. A viral loop is the workflow that maximizes the probability of one contestant attracting another contestant from their social network.

Here are the key elements in each stage of a viral loop:

Stage 1: Activate visitors into contestants

• Clearly state the action that the visitors should take to enter the sweepstakes
• Display an attractive picture of the prize
• Inform the visitors that it is quick and easy to enter
• State all the relevant information to reassure the visitors that the sweepstakes is legitimate (e.g., end date, winner announcement process, terms, etc.)

Stage 2: Remove entry barriers

• Focus on one call to action
• Make the Submit button easy to find
• Reassure the visitors that their information is safe

Stage 3: Entice the contestant to share

• Associate sweepstakes with an event (e.g., Christmas)
• Award more entries for sharing the sweepstakes via social networks
• Award a guaranteed gift such as a discount or an ebook for sharing the sweepstakes on social networks

Stage 4: Attract new visitors through shared messages

• Write compelling copy for the message shared by the contestants when they press the Facebook Share or Retweet button. For example, instead of “Enter to win a $500 Visa Card” being shared, modify the copy of your shared message to “Wouldn’t it be nice to go on a Christmas shopping spree for free? Enter to win!”

Make sure every shared message has a link to the sweepstakes.

#3: Launch the Sweepstakes

You’ve done all the heavy planning work. Now, it’s time to execute. Here are the most important steps for a flawless launch:

Conduct a test run: Once you’ve set up the sweepstakes, ask a few of your friends and colleagues to enter and perform every primary and secondary call to action. Confirm that you see their entry in the sweepstakes tool’s analytics; that the messages being shared are not cut off due to character limits and that the sweepstakes links within the shared messages are working.

Contact influencers: Reach out to social media influencers and ask them if they will promote your sweepstakes. The more you convince them that the prize and the associated event of the sweepstakes appeal to their readers, the higher the chance of them promoting your sweepstakes. There is a great list of tools for this purpose in this article written by Jason Falls.

Request listing on sweepstakes directories (with caution): Submit your contest to a sweepstakes directory. This may make sense for some audiences, but not for others. You really need to think through what kind of audience you’re trying to attract, because sweepstakes directories often bring in “professional sweepers” who use fake accounts to submit multiple entries or immediately reverse their entry action; for instance, unlike, unsubscribe, etc.

Determine launch day: Your promotion gets an early boost if you launch your sweepstakes at the right time and the right day of the week. While you’ll have to rely on your own data to determine the best time and day for your audience, these research articles from Marketing Profs and Beth Kanter’s blog will help you get started.

According to a study published by Marketing Profs, Sunday evening is the best time to launch a sweepstakes.

Often-Overlooked Launch Steps

Create a support plan: Despite your excellent planning and execution, things can still go wrong, and usually they’ll have to do with technical glitches. If you’re using a third-party sweepstakes tool, make sure you have their phone number and email address handy so you can quickly resolve the technical problems.

Contact Facebook influencers: There’s a lot of focus on finding Twitter or Pinterest influencers, mainly because of the ease of finding influencers on these platforms. Finding Facebook influencers is more challenging, but it’s worth the effort, especially because many of these influencers don’t have their own dedicated websites or blogs.Raven Tools has an informative blog post on how to navigate Facebook’s search feature to find relevant Facebook pages.

Facebook's search feature is a powerful tool to help you determine the right Facebook influencers for your sweepstakes promotion.

#4: Follow-up With Contestants

So you’ve launched the sweepstakes and the entries are rolling in. In this stage, your focus needs to shift to following up to meet your primary and secondary objectives.Here’s a list of the major steps that are needed for a successful follow-up process:

Follow up with autoresponders: Sending a follow-up email adds more credibility to your sweepstakes and dramatically increases the chances of contestants taking the secondary action that you’d like them to take. Schedule automatic follow-ups via the autoresponder features of email marketing tools such as MailChimp and AWeber.

Determine reminder frequency: Your fans and subscribers are really busy and they’ll either forget to enter your sweepstakes or miss your announcements. That’s why reminders are vital to maximizing the number of contestants. To ensure that you don’t annoy your audience, a good rule of thumb is:

• One reminder email per week
• One reminder Facebook status per day
• Two reminder tweets per day
  

  Remind people about your sweepstakes with conservative frequency. Image source: iStockPhoto.

Conduct daily test runs: Technical glitches are often unreported, which translates into fewer contestants. That’s why it’s important for you to enter your own sweepstakes on a daily basis (with a test account) to verify that all of the sweepstakes procedures are working as planned.

Perform weekly modifications: As the sweepstakes progresses, you’re sure to learn a lot and generate ideas on how to make your sweepstakes better. It’s important to set aside some time each week to make adjustments based on those lessons. It could be something as simple as changing the tweet message to make it more enticing, or something as effective as reducing the number of actions required to enter the sweepstakes.

Often-Overlooked Follow-Up Steps

Reach out to contestants on Twitter: At the end of each day, look at who entered the sweepstakes on Twitter, check out their Twitter bio and see if they are the right target to engage with. Breaking the ice is much easier since their sweepstakes entry serves as a starting point for conversation. It’s simple to do and you’ll never know who you’ll find, so why not give it a try?

Follow-up for soft-selling: Sweepstakes draw a lot of traffic and attention. Why not encourage them to buy from you? Here’s a list of things for you to do on your Thank-you page or your follow-up emails to increase your sales:

• Show contestants your business video and ask them to start a free trial
• If the prize is your own product, give them a link to where they can buy that product
• Give entrants a discount code to entice them to buy from you. Here’s a good example from a sweepstakes promotion.
  

  Use your follow-up emails as a means to soft-sell your product to increase your sales.

#5: Ending the Sweepstakes

You’re almost done. A few more steps and you’ll have the pleasure of communicating with the winner and watching him or her respond to you with joy and disbelief. But before that point, there are still a few things you need to get right:

Send final reminders: Send out final reminders via email and social media about when the sweepstakes ends. Reiterate what the sweepstakes was for and how easy it is to enter.

Select a winner: If you’re using a sweepstakes tool, it should make the winner selection process very simple. Otherwise, export the contestant data into an Excel spreadsheet and upload it to Random.org to help you select a winner.

Remove the tool: Now that the sweepstakes is done, remove the widget from your website and/or your social media pages.

Send winner announcement: Announce the winner to all contestants via email, blog and social networks.

Contact the winner: Send a separate email to the winner asking him or her to respond within a specific time period. Also ask about the person’s age and location. This step needs to be done within 7-10 business days of the sweepstakes’ end.

Mail the prize: Once you’ve confirmed all of the details with the winner, mail the prize to the winner’s address and let him or her know the estimated date of arrival.

Often-Overlooked Ending Steps

Create an internal assessment report: This is the moment of truth. Did you meet your objectives? What was the return on investment for the amount of money you spent? Would that money have been better spent on direct ads or other PR activities? What worked very well and what would you do differently? Sweepstakes are not a one-hit wonder. They’re supposed to be done with some regularity and these kinds of post-sweepstakes assessments ensure that your next sweepstakes generates even better results.

Share your results: Everyone loves to see stats, a final report card or a set of lessons learned during a promotion. Now that you have completed your sweepstakes promotion, you’re sitting on valuable data. Why not share that data on your own blog or with a different audience through a guest blog post to gain additional coverage of your business?

The contest widget that had the fuzzy image collected 22% more email subscribers than the widget that had big text and no image.

Unbounce has a good article on post-sweepstakes statistics on 8 factors that lead to the best results.

Add Your Tips

These are important steps to follow when running a successful sweepstakes. However, these steps aren’t the only ones. Running sweepstakes is a social activity and there’s a lot of room for creativity.

What do you think? Do you have some tips of your own? What successes have you had with running a sweepstakes? Please share some of your own tips in the comments below.

Facebook Makes Its Messenger App More Like Texting

Facebook is updating its standalone messaging app, Messenger, the company announced Tuesday.

The new version of Messenger, an app that lets users send messages on mobile devices, will be available to both iOS and Android users in the coming weeks. The updated app works a lot like SMS or texting; users can send messages to any of their mobile contacts through Messenger, not just their Facebook friends or friends of friends. This requires app users to include their mobile numbers in order to receive messages from non-Facebook friends.

Recipients who don't have the app will receive messages in their Facebook inbox. The new version of the app sends messages more quickly and better identifies which of your Facebook friends or mobile contacts actually have the Messenger app by listing a small badge next to their pictures in your contacts list. This helps eliminate the confusion of not knowing which platform the recipient will see your message on, according to Peter Martinazzi, the Messenger product manager at Facebook.

Once a mobile number is added, it appears on that user's Facebook timeline under the "Only Me" default, meaning no one else can view it. Users will automatically be searchable on Messenger by their mobile numbers, a setting that they can opt to turn off.

Each version was designed specifically for its operating system and works better for mobile-to-mobile conversations, said Martinazzi. The Android app allows users to swipe between tabs across the top, including messages, contacts and settings. Every icon and button in the app now fits the traditional Android style, said Luke Woods, the design lead for Messenger. Previously, both Android and iOS versions of the app used iOS icons.

On iOS, the app is designed with all three tabs across the bottom. Both apps have new sounds for sending and receiving messages as well as a slightly redesigned app logo and coloring, Woods said.
Both versions also allow users to mute sound notifications for specific conversations and utilize Facebook's Chat Heads feature.

For people accustomed to using standard text and SMS, Messenger still provides benefits, Martinazzi said, For starters, messages received from users not in your contact list still contain the sender's name and profile picture. The messages are also free, and

Facebook is hoping Messenger can provide an alternative to those paying for traditional texting services

Facebook is hoping Messenger can provide an alternative to those paying for traditional texting services, particularly in emerging mobile markets.

"In other countries, one of the big draws is going to be that instead of paying 10 cents per SMS or whatever the cost is, it's free," Martinazzi said. "But we're hoping people in the U.S are going to love it too. And while the free-value prop is not the reason they're going to use it, all of the other features are hopefully reasons they'll like to use this."

The rollout begins Tuesday with a small group of Android users and should be available to all iOS and Android users icn the "coming weeks."

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Image: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images, Facebook

Google+ Overhauls Photo, Video Features in Major Update

Google+ announced 18 new features on Tuesday, including multiple updates to Hangouts and additional tools for users who utilize the site for photographs. The updates will roll out in the "coming days," according to a spokesperson.

Google+ also shared new user metrics, confirming that the site has 540 million active users if you count log-ins through Gmail and 300 million monthly active users in the stream (users who visit the website or app directly). Users also upload 1.5 billion photos per week, said Google VP Vic Gundotra.

Among the Hangouts updates, Google+ has added SMS to the messaging service, meaning users can message with others using text. The update comes on the heels of Facebook's similar update to its Messenger app on Tuesday.

Other Hangouts changes include a new geo-location feature that adds a user's location to a message with a single click using Google Maps. The updated Hangouts also supports animated GIFs.

Video Hangouts are now in full-screen HD for all devices, and Hangouts has new creative tools that let users focus or change the video view. Users can chat in black and white, or blur out the background using the new "Spotlight" feature so that the speaker is the sole focus of the conversation, said Gundotra.

On the photo side, Google+ continues to market itself as the best social platform for users who care about their photographs. One new tool, Auto Awesome Erase, removes other people or objects from your photos. If you pose on the street with friends and have strangers in the background or foreground, Auto Awesome Erase can automatically remove them from the image.

Google also made it easier for users hoping to search through their photo library. The site added more than 1,000 search terms that Google's image algorithm identifies automatically, meaning users can search for terms like "apple pie" or "sunset" and Google will return relevant photos even if the pictures aren't tagged.

Users will also be able to search in a similar fashion for photos shared by connections in their circles.

Google+ will support photo uploads in all sizes and resolutions so users don't need to compromise the quality of their photos to upload, Gundotra said. For users with iOS devices, photos were only backed up if you had Google+ app open. A soon-to-be-released version of the iOS app will allow users to have full size backups and sync on at all times.

Google+ also unveiled a new Auto Awesome Video feature that automatically converts a user's photos and video clips into a short movie, complete with an audio overlay. Once Google+ determines that a group of videos and photos were taken in the same time period, the site will automatically filter them to choose the most interesting, highest quality images and video to include.

Users can then manually edit the video if they want, changing the theme and filters, duration of the clips, or sound.

The updates will be available soon, once an Android update becomes available in the Google Play store, according to a spokesperson.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Why It's Important to Stay Active on Social Media

Facebook and Twitter are always there. You can pop in and check your accounts, disappear for a couple of weeks, and when you come back, everything is just how you left it, people carrying on the global conversation without you. What you're not seeing, however, is what your silence is costing you in followers and potential customers. Here are some reasons why it's important to stay consistently active on your social media accounts.

1. It makes you look reliable. Like it or not, if you only post on your social media accounts every once in a while, and are lax about replying to tweets and Facebook messages, people will make assumptions about your customer service ethic. If you can't even be bother to respond to tweets in a timely fashion, why should they believe you'll respond when they have a real need to speak to you?

2. It keeps your followers from getting bored. There's a balance to be achieved with posting frequency on social networks. On one hand, you don't want to spam people, but on the other hand, you do want to look like you're there and participating in conversations. If there are huge gaps in your timeline, people will start to wonder why they bother following you at all, and many will unfollow.

3. It reminds people that you exist. Not everyone thinks about your company all the time, but being active on social media keeps you on their radar, and gives them a gentle reminder that you're still around, and still eager to help them with whatever they need. This means that when it comes time for them to make a purchase, your company name will be fresh in their mind.

If you're going to participate in social media (and you definitely should!) it's better to stick with a couple of networks that you know you can keep up with, rather than signing up for every network and spreading yourself too thin.There's only a finite amount of time you can commit to social media, so use it wisely, and make the effort to participate enthusiastically and regularly. You'll definitely notice a difference in how people respond to you, and that in turn will translate into more shares and retweets, better interaction, and of course more followers, which is what everyone wants. How much time per week do you devote to social media marketing?

Do you notice a difference when you don't keep up with it regularly?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8061346

Is YouTube Launching a Music Service?

Is YouTube about to take on Spotify with a subscription music service of its own? That's what a report from Billboard magazine claimed Wednesday, citing "several sources familiar with the plans."

Like Spotify, the report said, the music service will have a free tier (with ads) and a premium tier (without ads). This would push the Google-owned video service in a new audio direction, with music available for streaming or caching on all platforms; however, YouTube would still hold on to its roots by offering music videos as part of the service.

YouTube sent out this canned response to multiple news services, whether they'd asked about the report or not: "We’re always working on new and better ways for people to enjoy YouTube content across all screens, and on giving partners more opportunities to reach their fans. However, we have nothing to announce at this time."

Fortune reported a similar story in March, and said that the service would be launching "later this year."
Would you sign up for a Spotify-like YouTube music service? Let us know in the comments.

Image: YouTube

10 Reasons You Should Attend Social Media Marketing World 2014

Do you attend conferences?

What if you could rub shoulders and soak in knowledge from the social media pros you follow online?

Imagine networking with 2,000 fellow marketers in beautiful San Diego, California.

Now add the waterfront Manchester Grand Hyatt, an opening-night party on a naval aircraft carrier and 60 expert-led sessions.

You can now bring this vision to reality.

Introducing Social Media Marketing World 2014…

Social Media Examiner founder and CEO Mike Stelzner and his team have prepared the social media marketing conference of the year—Social Media Marketing World 2014!

Running from Wednesday, March 26 through Friday, March 28, 2014 in San Diego, California, this in-person conference is designed to offer outstanding content infused with a truly social experience.

Watch this quick video for an event overview.

Here are 10 reasons you should attend Social Media Marketing World 2014.

#1: Amazing Content

The most valuable and inspiring social media marketing content will be at your disposal at Social Media Marketing World. And the best part is there’s something for everyone! Whether you’re a social media rookie or a pro, you’ll have your choice of 60+ expert-led sessions to attend.

Tracks will include social tactics, social strategy, community management and business development, and content marketing. You’ll leave incredibly energized and inspired by the amount of knowledge you’ll gain.

#2: Priceless Networking

Social Media Marketing World will be the networking event of the year! While the conference is guaranteed to provide extraordinary value in terms of content,the people you’ll meet will be the highlight of the event.

Be prepared to make priceless professional connections that will last a lifetime. There will be multiple networking opportunities to meet with speakers, peers and people in your industry. Here are some of the ways you can expect to network:

• A pre-event LinkedIn group
• A mobile app to help people meet and connect with each other at Social Media Marketing World
• Different interest groups will be meeting throughout the event
• A team of dedicated networking ambassadors will help you make the connections you’re looking for
• Two networking parties and four dedicated times reserved just for networking

Marketers getting to know each other…

#3: Entertainment Galore!

The opening night party will be held on board a Naval aircraft carrier—theUSS Midway—the world’s largest ship until 1955. You’ll enjoy mouth-watering food and stimulating conversation, experience giant hanger bays, view San Diego from the 4-acre flight deck, fly simulators and explore this massive ship. It’ll be a truly unforgettable evening!

#4: Meet the Speakers

Social Media Examiner is bringing together over 75 of the world’s leading social media experts to be your instructors.

How would you like to meet them face to face?

Your presenters include the experts you’ve come to know and respect, such as Mari Smith, Jay Baer, Chris Brogan, Amy Porterfield, Nichole Kelly, Lee Odden and many more.

You’ll also get to meet new instructors who have very interesting things to say.

In addition to those listed above, instructors include:

• Michael Hyatt
• John Jantsch
• Michael Stelzner
• Mark Schaefer
• Laura Fitton
• Steve Farber
• Joe Pulizzi
• Marcus Sheridan
• Gini Dietrich
• Cliff Ravenscraft
• Pat Flynn
• Simon Mainwaring
• Steve Spangler
• Viveka von Rosen
• Pam Moore
• Kim Garst
• And many more!

#5: Rave Reviews

Last year, 1100 marketers attended Social Media Marketing World. Here’s what some of them said about the conference:

Click Play to hear what people said about our 2013 event.

“Outstanding job—this is one of the most well-executed, high-class conferences I have attended.” – Lisa McManus

“The quality of the content and speakers were a huge draw. They gave practical tips that I can implement in my everyday work—not high-level theory.” – Ashley Levesque

“It’s hard to say whether I loved the networking or the speakers more! I loved the opportunity to meet and talk with so many speakers and to build lasting relationships.” – Alexander Briggs

“Hearing from experts in their fields was very valuable. It made me want to read all of their books! I found the conference incredibly energizing as a whole.” – Rachael McGovern

Hear what other attendees said here.

#6: Leading Brands

When you attend Social Media Marketing World 2014, you’ll hear from experts from leading B2B and B2C brands around the country. Last year, speakers came from Sony Electronics, Petco, Walmart, Whole Foods, SAP, Citrix, Sharpie and more.

If you want to hear what other large companies are doing, you can hear from industry panels at every session.

#7: Impressive International Attendance

Over 2000 marketers from around the globe will be attending Social Media Marketing World 2014. Last year, 1100 participants came from 30 countries including Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, India, Philippines, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, France, Italy, China and many more.

#8: San Diego

In keeping with tradition, Social Media Marketing World will return to ‘America’s Finest City.’  If you’ve never been to San Diego, prepare to be amazed—it is breathtaking!

The city boasts wonderful weather all year round, 70 miles of pristine beaches and a dazzling array of world-class family attractions, which make it a truly unforgettable destination for you. When you get here, you’ll understand why Social Media Examiner chose San Diego as its headquarters.

If you’re coming from the East Coast, this will be the perfect place to thaw out after a long, icy winter.

#9: The Venue

The conference will be held at the bay-frontManchester Grand Hyatt, which is just 10 minutes from the airport. It’s located on the waterfront in scenic San Diego, California, adjacent to Seaport Village, the San Diego Convention Center and the historic Gaslamp Quarter. The hotel is gorgeous!

If you book early, you’ll be able to stay in the same venue where the event is taking place (the hotel has capacity for all 2000 attendees). That means you’ll have plenty of chances to bump into your peers and speakers while you’re on your way to the pool, gym, spa or any of the other luxury amenities that are complimentary to hotel guests.

#10: Vacation Getaway

Social Media Marketing World starts on Wednesday, March 26 and ends on Friday, March 28, 2014. Why not stay for the weekend and make a vacation out of your trip? If you’ve never been here before, you’re in for a treat!

San Diego has some of the finest shopping and dining experiences you can imagine. You’ll have a variety of eateries, including gourmet restaurants, sports bars, coffee houses and quick ‘grab-and-go’ outlets.

Check out this video for some inspiration on what you can do while you’re here:

San Diego is calling you!

Want to Save Money?

For a limited time, you can save hundreds of dollars off the regular registration price. Click here to register.

Your Turn

Are you pumped up about this conference? Don’t take our word for it. Come and experience the excitement and opportunities in store for you at Social Media Marketing World.