Brian Meert's Blog, page 74

How to Promote Your Business Using a Pinterest Marketing Strategy

MAR. 4, 2020

Igor Miske / Unsplash

Pinterest is a visual search engine, an ideal platform for businesses in industries such as beauty, fashion, food, home design, and travel. Pinterest has more than 335 million active users each month, and the Pew Research Center found that 28% of adult social media users are on the platform. While a majority of Pinterest users are women, there are a lot of United States-based dads on the platform, too. Here’s how to promote your business using Pinterest.

Build an Account That People Want to Follow

When deciding whether or not to follow you on Pinterest, people look at the number of accounts you follow and the number of people following you. Have a fewer following count than your follower count; otherwise, it looks like you spam-follow people to get followers in return. 

When deciding which accounts and boards to follow, stick to popular ones that attract your target audience. Users also look at how many boards and pins you have, so make sure to stay active and regularly keep your content up-to-date.

Follow Business Account Best Practices

Promoting your company through a Pinterest business account instead of a personal one is the recommended move, since the former account type provides helpful features, such as the ability to include rich media in Pins and access to advanced analytics. You’ll have to adhere to certain legal terms when you do, however. For example, you can’t do anything that can be considered spam. If you run sweepstakes, you can’t ask followers to re-pin your content as an entry. You also can’t bombard followers with requests to comment on your Pins or re-pin your content.

Create Rich Pins

Rich Pins provide extra context by showing information that regular Pins usually don’t include. For example, a product Rich Pin will show up-to-date availability and pricing. Recipe Rich Pins will auto-update if you make a change on your website.

Williams Sonoma / Pinterest


Research SEO Keywords

Pinterest content has to be searchable. Research SEO-optimized keywords, as you would for your website content. Find keywords related to your Pins, then add them to the titles, descriptions, and image file names.

Post Images in the Right Size

Pins are vertical instead of horizontal, and they all have the same width. Pinterest suggests sticking to a 2:3 aspect ratio. Here are a few size options: 

Pinterest Business

Try to keep the length relatively short unless you have a multi-step DIY project that needs a longer image. Consider the user: They don’t want to scroll past other content they may like just to see your entire Pin.

Vary Your Content

Keep followers interested by creating different-themed boards. Lululemon does this well by creating boards based on the season or sport, plus gift guides by gender.

Lululemon / Pinterest

Some boards can feature your products, but create others that inspire or motivate. Pinterest users want to see that you post a variety of content so they won’t get bombarded with promotional Pins in their feed. Also, post your own content and re-pin those from people you follow.

Create a Community Board

People who manage open boards accept Pins from collaborators. Collaborating on those boards helps you build a community through your Pinterest account while tapping into your followers’ networks. For example, you can partner with other local businesses in your town or ask customers to add Pins to a mood board for outfit ideas.

Pin Seasonal Content

Design your content calendar around annual events, holidays, and seasons. You can also refer to the social media holiday calendar to jump on board certain themes that coordinate with your brand. Specific boards that connect with a time-sensitive event aren’t evergreen, of course, but they are highly relevant in the moment and create a sense of urgency.

Anthropologie / Pinterest


Add a Call to Action

You can’t beg your followers to comment or re-pin your content, but you can add a light CTA in the description. For example, if you own a travel company, and you post an image of a trendy hotel, you can write a CTA like “Add this to your Travel Bucket List board!”

Engage with Followers

You respond to Facebook posts and Tweets, right? You have to do the same on Pinterest, even though the platform doesn’t attract as much feedback as other sites. Engage with your followers by responding to comments and answering questions. Also, leave comments on their content.

Take Advantage of Business Analytics

When you have a verified Pinterest business account, you can access advanced analytics and tracking. When you make it a point to go over your analytics regularly, you’ll discover the following:

The boards and Pins that your followers like mostThe content people save from your websiteAudience demographics, like gender, interests, and locationDevices people use to pin your content






Enhance Your Website

Images on your website should have a “Pin It” button when they’re hovered over. If you have a WordPress website, this is easy to add with a plugin, like Pin It. Website visitors can then pin your content to their boards, and they’ll also have a way to find you on Pinterest and become a follower.

Add Pins to Your Newsletter

Grow your Pinterest followers by adding your most popular pins to your newsletter. For example, you can include an “Our Top Pins This Week” section at the bottom of each newsletter. Make sure that the links actually direct people to the pin or your account, though.

Final Thoughts About Marketing with Pinterest

Pinterest users are on the platform to get inspired, find products they love, and envision their ideal lifestyle. Since Pinterest is free (and fun) to use, and the advertising options can work with any budget, it’s definitely worth your time.

By Lindsay Pietroluongo

The post How to Promote Your Business Using a Pinterest Marketing Strategy appeared first on AdvertiseMint.

How to Build a Social Media Campaign for a Niche Audience

MAR. 3, 2020

Kaboompics.com / Pexels

When you have a niche audience, your net is smaller, and you have to be more purposeful about your marketing tactics. However, the people you can catch with your net will be quality leads, and you can get a lot out of a small highly interested audience. Here’s how to design a social media campaign for a niche audience.

Invest in Advertising

Even if you have a tiny ad budget, you can make it work. When catering to a niche audience, your advertising money can go a long way, so long as your target demographics are right. When advertising to a niche audience, you have to go beyond basic demographics, like age, gender, and location. You have to know granular attributes, like the devices they use, their interests, and their online shopping habits. Some platforms, like Facebook Ads Manager, let you target specifically for those attributes.

Facebook Ads Manager


Prioritize Customer Engagement

Because a niche audience is easier to track, there’s no excuse for not regularly engaging with them. Connect with your customers online and go beyond the basic “thank you” and “glad you liked it” responses to their comments. For example, if you run an outdoors store and a customer comments that she used your tent or sleeping bag on her trip, ask her where she went and what exciting moments she can share. 

Ash Ambirge, author of The Middle Finger Project, has a well-established voice and uses it to talk to fans and customers like they’re her best friends. This makes her more approachable on social media and encourages her followers to interact with her posts. A lot of her conversations are NSFW, but you can check them out here.

@the.middle.finger.project / Instagram


Connect with Local Customers

If you have a niche audience and brick-and-mortar stores in need of foot traffic, consider creating different social media profiles for each location. You can interact with your audience in the location where they’ll be visiting your store and gear conversations to the community and what’s happening in the area. Whole Foods is a big company with a niche audience, and it has different social profiles for its many locations.

Facebook


Open a Discussion

Social media platforms are best for open discussion. Powell’s Books does this well by supporting local authors and getting involved in online conversations about books and literature. The shop shows that it doesn’t just sell books; it’s also dedicated to and interested in the market. By investing time in the book-loving community, Powell’s encourages others to get more invested.

Powell’s Books / Facebook


Set Up PPC Advertising

If you think that your niche audience is searching for the specific products or services you offer, use PPC advertising. Lefty’s the Left Hand Store does this. The company’s PPC ads target search terms that only its audience — people who are left-handed — search for. When searching for “left handed scissors,” these were among the top four results:

Google


Show a Dedication to Other Causes

Vermont Wooden Toys, a handmade-toy shop that specializes in high-quality wooden toys, knows that its customers don’t just care about ensuring their kids have fun—they also care about safety. When there was a product recall in 2007 over issues concerning lead paint, the shop received an influx of orders from customers who knew the toy makers cared about the safety of their little ones.

Lush also does an excellent job of supporting a cause it cares about. The company sells products made with safe, organic, and high-quality materials, knowing that customers care about health and safety as much as beauty. Lush’s YouTube channel has a series of “how it’s made” videos, showing the beginning-to-end process of creating its products.

Lush / Youtube

On top of promoting your products, promote the issues you stand for—they’re what your niche audience stands for, too.

Consider Accommodating Special Requests

Niche audiences have specific interests and needs, and your products or services may have to be further tweaked to satisfy them, whether that’s rushing orders to ensure on-time delivery, offering free shipping during the holidays, or including a special note for items purchased as gifts. If you’re willing and able to do this, feature your special requests on social media. You’ll show followers that you’re adaptable while also  fostering goodwill among customers who see that you care about them.

Share User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is particularly helpful to niche businesses. It  doesn’t cost you anything; it spreads word-of-mouth; and it lets you connect with people who already love your brand. It’s always easier to sell more to warm customers than to convert cold leads. The Drybar posts a lot of images of hair creations, tagging the customer in the description.

The Drybar / Instagram


Know What Not to Focus On

Knowing what your audience cares about is important, but you should also know what your audience doesn’t care about, so you don’t waste your time meeting a need they don’t have. Vermont Wooden Toys only focuses on one type of product: wooden toys. Yet, the business strives. Since the company doesn’t spend time on provisions customers don’t care about, it can do what it does best: make classic toys that children love and parents appreciate.

Final Thoughts

Being in a niche industry isn’t a drawback. You can get a lot out of your social media campaigns if you continually think about what people want and how you can best deliver it to them. Appealing to a niche audience means thinking of even more ways to make your business stand out. Having a specialized company is a start, but try to become a niche of your niche, like the company that’s also best at customer service, accommodating special requests, or getting involved in the community.

By Lindsay Pietroluongo

The post How to Build a Social Media Campaign for a Niche Audience appeared first on AdvertiseMint.

23 Ways to Increase Organic Reach on Facebook

MAR. 1, 2020

Rawpixel / Pexels

The decline of organic reach has been an issue many marketers have had to content with during the past several years. The fear of this decline is not unfounded. A 2018 report by Simon Kemo and Hootsuite found that global internet users grew by 8%. When more people are online, where do they go? To social media, of course. Facebook now boasts 2.4 billion monthly active users, and that number will likely continue to grow in the years to come.  

It’s becoming more difficult to increase organic reach on an overpopulated platform where competition is fierce. Many will tell you to pay to play, and although that’s now a necessary step to reaching your audience, you should still continue your organic marketing efforts. 

To increase your organic reach, you must understand the ways of Facebook’s News Feed algorithm, the strategies you can employ get your posts in front of your followers, and the paid options, should you decide to run sponsored posts or Facebook ads.

How Facebook’s News Feed Algorithm Works

Whether or not your post appears on top of users’ feeds depends on its quality score. Facebook’s News Feed algorithm ranks each post according to three factors: the person who published the post, the type of post, and the post’s engagement numbers. 

The person who published the post: Facebook will rank your post higher if your target audience often interacts with your account, whether they are engaging with your posts, messaging your business, or visiting your page.

The type of post: Facebook will rank your post higher if your target audience has historically engaged with the type of post you publish. For example, if users often engage with videos (both yours and other accounts’), then your videos would appear higher on their feeds. 

The post’s engagement numbers: Facebook will rank your post higher if it’s generating a lot of engagement. All engagement types—comments, reactions, and shares—are valued equally. 

For your posts to appear on top of users’ feeds, they must receive a high total score for those three elements. 

Why Organic Reach Is Declining

Facebook has more than 2.4 billion monthly active users. Many of those users follow hundreds of friends, pages, groups, and public figures, whose posts clutter feeds—and that’s not counting the ads Facebook prioritizes.

Organic reach became even more difficult when Facebook changed its algorithm in 2018, prioritizing the posts of friends and family over the posts of brands and businesses. This change  has convinced marketers that reaching their target audience requires running ads.

How to Increase Organic Reach on Facebook

Increasing organic reach on Facebook may be difficult, but it isn’t impossible. These are the ways.

1. Carefully Select What You Post

Posts perform well on Facebook if they are valuable to users. For this reason, it’s better that you carefully select the content you publish on your page. You need to make sure that your posts are valuable and relevant to your followers. This will help increase engagement, which propels your post to the top of users’ feeds. 

You can find your top performing posts on Facebook’s Insights. Under “Posts,” you’ll see the reach and engagement numbers for each of your published content. Find the posts that have performed well and resurrect the topics in a new form, whether that’s an article, infographic, case study, or video.

2. Ask Followers to Prioritize You

Encourage your followers to prioritize your page. If they’re fans of your work, they’ll likely be receptive to your request. When you ask for this favor, make sure to include step-by-step instructions on how to do it. If they don’t know how and you don’t provide directions, they’re less likely to do as you asked. 

Followers can prioritize your content on their feeds by clicking the “Following” button under your page’s cover photo and clicking “See First.” 

3. Encourage Followers to Engage with Your Posts

As aforementioned, posts with high engagement appear higher on News Feeds. To increase engagement, encourage users to like, comment, or share your posts. You can, for example, ask a question related to the content you published. If you’re posting a news article about Facebook’s decision to change the News Feed algorithm, ask people to share their opinion in the comments section. However, make sure your efforts don’t cross into engagement-bait territory, which is against Facebook’s policy.

4. Attract Relevant Fans Interested in Your Business

Although a large following bolsters your credibility, it’s important to favor quality over quantity. It doesn’t matter how many followers you acquire. If they aren’t interested in your business, they won’t engage with your content. Go after an audience relevant to what you do. If you run a vegan restaurant, don’t chase meat eaters. If you own a mommy blog, don’t try to attract single women.  

You can increase relevant followers by engaging with your competitors’ fans. Go to your Insights page, click “Overview,” and scroll to the section called “Pages to Watch.” There, you will find your competition. Visit those pages and engage with the users actively engaging with your competitors’ posts.

5. Post Evergreen Content

Evergreen content is always relevant because it isn’t tied to current events or trends. It has a higher potential of gaining engagement even months after it was published. Remember, Facebook posts aren’t organized chronologically, so even if your post was published weeks before, it can still appear on top of users’ feeds, as long as it receives interaction.

6. Create a Group and Engage with Members

It has been said that groups are more popular than pages. It’s not surprising, considering the number of people who frequent them. In October 2019, Facebook found that 1.4 billion people use groups. It’s a sign that if you haven’t already, you should create your own group and engage with its members. This will not only increase your chances of gaining new followers, but it also allows you to create a space where you can promote your content.

7. Partner with Brands in Your Niche

A great way to increase organic reach is to partner with brands in your niche. When you’re featured in those brands’ social media posts, you’re expanding your audience. There are numerous ways to do this: You can exchange guest posts, collaborate on a video, or feature one another in podcasts. When you collaborate, ask to be tagged on social media so their followers can easily visit your account.

8. Run Facebook Contests

People love to win prizes—it’s human nature. Running a contest will catch the attention of your followers, even compel them to engage with your post, which propels it to the top of users’ feeds. Many marketers run social media contests by requesting followers to tag at least two of their friends in the comments section of the post. This not only increases your engagement but also increases your reach. When you run a contest, make sure to clearly state the rules of the game and always deliver on what you promised.

9. Include Hashtags in Posts

With hashtags, users will have an easier time finding your posts. These formerly called “pound signs” function as filing cabinets that organize content according to the description of your tag. For example, if users search for “Instagram ad examples” on Facebook, posts with hashtags of the same keywords (#instagramadexamples) will appear in the results. Make sure the hashtags you use are specific rather than broad (#marketing vs #socialmediamarketing), that they are intuitive—use keywords that people would type. Don’t complicate it.

10. Collaborate with Influencers

Influencers can influence the purchase decisions of consumers, especially the younger generation. According to Emarketer, millennials and gen Zs are more likely to be swayed into purchasing the products they are promoting. To expand your organic reach, partner with influencers, who will give your brand a shoutout. If you don’t have a budget for this, partner with nano influencers who may accept free products or gifts as payment.

11. Use a Variety of Post Formats

To increase your engagement, try increasing your post variety. Contrary to what you might think, your posts aren’t limited to text, images, and videos. In fact, there are several formats you can use. When writing a post, look at Facebook’s list of post types. You can view the full list by clicking the three-dotted menu icon.

More Facebook post options can be accessed by clicking the three-dotted menu.

In addition to adding images and videos to your posts, you can also tag products, support a nonprofit, create a poll, check in at a location, add a feeling or activity, add a “Send Message” call-to-action button, and even invite users to join a Watch Party on your page. Experiment with these different post types to engage with your audience in creative ways and to increase post diversity, keeping your content from becoming stale. The more interesting and diverse your posts, the more engagement you can obtain. As you try different post formats, keep track of their performance. This will help you determine which post resonates with your followers the most.

Facebook post options include polls, Q and As, and lists.


12. Make Your Page a Community Hub

Users typically like to share their thoughts on Facebook. Invite them to do so on your page by creating posts that spark discussions relevant to your industry. For example, you can host weekly chats or Q-and-A sessions that users can participate in, either to learn new information or share their insights on the given topic. Take it a step further and have a different theme for each session.

Let’s say you’re a professional photographer. Each week, you could share a live stream, demonstrating different camera techniques and tricks of the trade, with the opportunity for users to ask questions. One week the theme may be shutter speed and another week, lighting. There are a number of different ways to encourage discussions on your page, other than just sharing marketing messages.

13. Use Facebook Live

Facebook Live is another way to reach your followers. Each time you go live, your followers will receive a push notification, unless they turned that off in their settings. Live streaming gives you the opportunity to be completely transparent with your audience, who see your business as it is, without the polished bells and whistles. Since users are more engaged with live video, Facebook considers it a meaningful interaction, boosting your appearance in News Feeds.

Here are some examples of the ways you can use live video:

Broadcast a business eventShare behind-the-scenes footageDemonstrate how a product works Hold a Q-and-A sessionAsk your audience for feedback about a product or service

The idea behind live video is to establish a sense of community. It’s certainly worth experimenting with to improve your organic reach.

14. Promote Your Page on Other Social Networks

To increase your engagement, you can also try increasing your page followers. Use other social networks for your business, such as Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter, to let your followers know you’re on Facebook, too. Of course, don’t flood your posts on these platforms with links to your Facebook page. Rather, include a link to your page in the bio sections. It’s a subtle way to let people know you’re on Facebook as well.

15. Share Only High-Quality Images and Videos

Cheesy stock photos are not going to perform well, and they certainly won’t improve your organic reach. Low-resolution or corny videos won’t help either. If you want your photos or videos to perform well, take the time to make sure they’re high-quality and visually pleasing.

Think about the type of visuals that would make you stop scrolling through your feed and pique your interest. You don’t want visuals that will blend in with other content, or even worse, make users stop for a moment to shake their heads at the unprofessional look of your post before continuing to scroll.

Pretend, for a second, that you run a pizza restaurant, and you’re considering posting one of these two images to promote your latest item on the menu. You might consider posting the second image rather than the first image for various reasons.

Image Courtesy of Pexels



Image Courtesy of Pixabay

The first image is clearly taken by an amateur. The flash is reflected in the wall, the room is poorly lit, the background is distracting and unprofessional, and the man’s eyes are glowing red from the flash. The man is also clearly posing for the picture, with a cheesy and obviously artificial grin. You can’t see the advertised item, the pizza, which defeats the purpose of the post. The second photo, in contrast, looks far more professional and appealing. This high resolution image is beautifully framed at a unique angle that shows the pizza’s texture, detail, and complementary bright colors.

The second photo will likely perform better because it will stand out in users’ feeds. It grabs their attention and shows your business’s effort in maintaining a good brand image, adding a level of credibility.

Similarly, videos should use captivating footage. At no point should the viewer think the video could have been made in a basement with an old smartphone. Take the time to make your videos look good. When they look good, followers want to engage with them.

Of course, that’s not to say you have to invest in expensive photographers or videographers. You can still use a smartphone to create visual content as long as you pay attention to the quality and performance of your posts.

16. Post When Your Audience Is Most Engaged

So you’ve crafted the perfect content to post. The quality of your post doesn’t matter if you publish it at 4 a.m., when your target audience is still fast asleep. The result: your post quickly gets lost in the shuffle of News Feed content.

Every follower is different. Experiment with the times of day you post and use your page’s Insights tab to identify when your followers are the most active. To view the times of day your followers are online, select “Posts” from the left-hand column. Facebook will then show you that analytical data.

Once you’ve identified when your followers are most active, schedule posts to publish at those times to increase your reach and opportunities for engagement. Facebook’s algorithm will note the engagement on your post and subsequently prioritize it in your followers’ feeds.

17. Post Consistently

How often you post is also an influential factor in your organic reach. Experiment with how frequently you post each day and use Facebook’s analytics to see how it affects your reach. You may find that your audience engages with your content when you only post four times a day but loses interest when you post 10 times a day. However, depending on your followers, the opposite could also be true: your reach may be better when you post more times daily. That’s why it’s important to know what makes your followers tick.

Once you’ve pinned down the post frequency that delivers the best reach, stick with it each week. Continue to track your analytics in case your followers’ behavior changes then adjust accordingly. Always remain consistent with what proves most successful.

18. Refrain from Posting Engagement Bait

It may be tempting to use manipulative means to generate more engagement on your posts. One tactic is known as engagement bait. For example, posts with messages like “Tag a friend who owes you pizza,” or anything that uses trickery to get users to like, comment, vote, share, or tag in the comments section would be engagement bait.

Example of engagement bait, courtesy of Facebook Newsroom

Facebook discourages engagement bait because it does not create meaningful connections. As a result, Facebook pushes your posts to the bottom of News Feed or removes it as spam. Resist the temptation to post engagement bait. Put the work in to create quality, organic content, and it will pay off.

19. Repurpose Successful Content

If you have a few posts that performed  well, keep them in your back pocket. Then, after an adequate amount of time has passed, repost them. As long as they’re not tied to a day, time, or event that is no longer relevant, they can still be used. If your followers enjoyed the post the first time, they will likely enjoy it again.

Even posts that were not quite as successful can be repurposed. You can make slight adjustments, such as rewording the text or changing the image, to see if a post performs better the second time around. You may be surprised at what a minor change can do.

20. Invite Followers to Turn on Notifications for Your Page

A loophole around Facebook’s algorithm is to outright invite your audience to turn on notifications for your page. Doing so ensures that any time you post, the content will be prioritized in your followers’ feeds.

To follow your page, users must click “Following.” From there, they can choose how they want to prioritize your content. If you’re lucky, they will choose “See First” under “In Your News Feed,” placing your newly posted content at the top of their News Feed every time.

21. Make Sure All Links Lead to Quality, Fast-Loading Sites

There’s nothing worse than going on a poor-quality site that takes forever to load. Before including a link in a post, make sure it directs users to a high-quality site that doesn’t make them sit around, waiting. Otherwise, fewer followers will engage with your content, which Facebook will determine to mean that your content belongs at the bottom of News Feed.

22. Share User-Generated Content

Users tend to be drawn to content that’s made by other users. When one user creates content for you to share, other users see that you are a business or brand that other users trust. As a result, your engagement levels and organic reach may increase.

Whether it’s video, photos, or reviews, invite your followers to create content for your page. You can do so in the form of contests, hashtag campaigns, or simply inviting users to write a review about their experience with your business. Then, share the best content that comes in.

23. Use a Balance of Organic Posts and Ads

While it’s certainly important, you shouldn’t rely on organic reach alone. Use a balance of both organic content and Facebook ads on the platform. Facebook ads offer valuable targeting and ad options that can boost your business and generate conversions. Running Facebook ads in addition to organic posts is the best way to reach your followers. If you’re having trouble working it all out on your own, a Facebook advertising agency can always help.

Facebook Organic Post vs Boosted Post

You may have heard of the term “boosted post,” which is content someone has paid Facebook to increase its reach. Boosted posts have an advantage over organic posts because they appear to a target audience you choose—even people who aren’t your followers can see them. This is not the same for organic posts. 

The organic post (left) doesn’t contain a “paid” or “sponsored” label while the ad (right) does.

Boosted posts are vastly different from Facebook ads. The former can only increase your reach while the latter supports a variety of objectives, formats, and placements. Although a great way to begin with Facebook ads, boosted posts are not the best for long-term campaigns and for goals like increasing ROIs. 

How to Track Organic Reach on Facebook

To track your organic reach on Facebook, go to your Insights page. 

From there, click “Posts,” and a list of your published content will appear. Make sure to click on “Organic / paid” so only organic posts will be included in the page. You can monitor your reach and engagement. From here, you can also boost your posts.

How Facebook Advertising Increases Your Reach

With both the high demand for News Feed space and the new version of the algorithm, organic reach is very difficult to achieve for businesses. If you invest in Facebook ads, it’s still a challenge; however, the various tools and features Facebook has available for its advertisers makes it easier to reach your audience.

For example, Facebook offers a number of ad targeting options that help you reach the right audience. You can target users based on location, age demographics, device, interests, and behaviors. These targeting options allow you to serve your ads to users most likely to be interested in your business. Facebook advertising also gives you ad objectives to choose from. If, for instance, you want to run a campaign promoting your app to get more downloads, you could choose the app installs objective. With this objective, your ad will appear to users most likely to download your app.

Additionally, Facebook advertising offers a variety of different ad formats and bidding options, allowing you to be creative with your content at a cost you can afford. Your ad format options include video, single image, carousel, and Instant Experience.

Although Facebook advertising certainly helps you achieve your business goals, you shouldn’t give up on organic reach. There’s still value in posting organic content, and it’s still possible to increase your exposure on the platform. You just have to work a little harder.

More Tips on Organic Reach

To learn more about increasing your organic reach, listen to this episode of Duke of Digital.

By Anne Felicitas and Anna Hubbel

The post 23 Ways to Increase Organic Reach on Facebook appeared first on AdvertiseMint.

How to Market Your Business Using User-Generated Content (UGC)

FEB. 27, 2020

Amanda Vicks / Unsplash

Forming a killer marketing strategy for your business is a must. It’s challenging and demanding, but it’s necessary for success. You probably already know the importance of social media marketing, email marketing, and other strategies you should be using, but there’s one that not many businesses recognize as relevant. That is user-generated content (UGC), and it can skyrocket your sales.

Content is king in the world of marketing, they say. This is true, but you don’t have to be the only source of content. Let the people speak for you. UGC is one of the best and most suitable techniques for advertising your business. You just need to learn how to use it. Here’s how to use UGC to market your business.

Share Customers’ Stories

UGC can bring your business closer to the people who know nothing about it but are interested in being informed. Whatever it is that your business does, you need to send a message about your purpose, whether it’s producing and selling environmentally-friendly furniture, creating unique caterings for birthday parties, or teaching people how to drive. 

It doesn’t matter what you do. What matters is showing how your business affects other people’s lives. This is where UGC comes in. Invite people to share their experience with your business then repost their content to your website or social media to show the impact you’ve made. People would love to see how you’ve satisfied customers, rather than a model paid to advertise your business.

Airbnb / Airbnb.com 

This is exactly what Airbnb does with its Stories from the Airbnb Community section of the website. The company showcases people whose lives have been majorly impacted by the Airbnb.

Encourage Customers to Use Your Hashtag


@lululemon / Instagram 

Reviews are 12 times more trusted than marketing efforts coming directly from the organization. Since 85% of users find visual UGC more influential than brand photos or videos, you should simply make the most out of customers’ social media posts. Invite customers to share their experience with your business and encourage them to use your hashtag. This will create a community, bring your customers together, and make it easy for you to track UGC.

For example, yoga-clothing brand Lululemon came up with a unique hashtag #thesweatlife and invited all yoga-enthusiasts wearing its products to post a picture to social media. This gave Lululemon an endless source of UGC and the ability to show how powerful, wide-spread, and special the brand is. This cost-effective method gave the company the power to advertise its brand using the best ambassadors: customers.

Think about a hashtag that would describe your brand and inspire people to include it in their social media posts. 

Share Customer Testimonials

People love reading testimonials and reviews made by customers. You can create the perfect ad, invest all of your efforts into branding materials and marketing, and you can still fail if your customers don’t trust you.

@tartecosmetics / Instagram 

The good news is UGC can help you build that trust. All you have to do is find people who have used your products and share their testimonials.

For example, makeup brand Tarte Cosmetics always reposts the testimonials and reviews made by customers. The brand always tags the accounts so followers can visit their profiles to read the original post about the products. This gives Tarte Cosmetics credibility and inspires other people to become customers.

Work on tracking down those reviews and thank the people who’ve made them.

Tell Your Customers What to Do


@freemanbeauty / Instagram 

There are so many people who love your brand and are loyal to it. They would be honored to be a part of your social media or website, but they aren’t sure how to get you to feature them. This is a huge window of opportunity that you simply can’t let slip your hands.

Be straightforward and tell your customers and followers exactly what to do to be featured. You can link to the instructions on your Instagram bio or at the beginning of the testimonials section of your website. You can use one or more simple instructions:

“Tag us for a chance to be featured.”“Take a picture of yourself using our product, tag us, and use our hashtag.”“Show us why you fell in love with our brand.”

This is exactly what the brand Freeman Beauty does on its Instagram account.

Once your followers and customers know what type of content you’re looking for, they’ll be more willing to produce it and post it online.This will give you a chance to choose the best UGC and repost it on your social media or website. You can even use a call-to-action to further motivate customers to start sharing their stories with your brand.

Final Thoughts

Advertising your business properly requires investing the time, energy, and efforts into building a killer marketing strategy. User-generated content needs to be a part of that strategy, and you need to ensure that you’ve got the backup you need from your customers.

The advice above will help you leverage user-generated content and make it a regular part of your marketing strategy. Start working on it today, and use it whenever you can.

By Daniela McVicker, blogger and a reviewer of Trustmypaper. 

The post How to Market Your Business Using User-Generated Content (UGC) appeared first on AdvertiseMint.

Facebook Advertising Statistics for 2020 Every Marketer Should Know

FEB. 28, 2020

Lukas / Pexels

During Q4 of 2019, Facebook reported that it has 1.66 billion daily active users and 2.5 billion monthly active users. That’s a lot of people who are viewing Facebook ads every day. Plus, as many as 1.6 billion people around the globe are connected to a small business on Facebook.

When Facebook and other social media research companies come out with their studies, though, it can be difficult to separate ad-specific information from the rest and to figure out what all those facts and figures mean. This article covers Facebook ads statistics for 2020 that business leaders and marketers need to know.

Facebook Ads Are Changing for the Better

By Q3 of 2019, ad impressions had increased by 37%, and the average price per ad decreased by 6%. That means you can get more out of your ads by spending the same amount of money or lowering your ad spend and keeping your results steady. 

Impression growth included Instagram ads, and the growth was driven by ads in Facebook and Instagram feeds and Instagram Stories. During Facebook’s earnings conference call, the social media company also said that Stories ads monetize at lower rates. Thus, it may be worth dedicating some of your ad efforts and budget to Stories on Facebook and Instagram.

The 2019 Social Media Marketing Industry Report from Social Media Examiner found that although marketers plan to spend less time with organic marketing on Facebook, they want to increase their use of Facebook ads, including Messenger ads. If you notice that organic content is disappearing, don’t assume that means there’s less competition.

Facebook Ads Reach a Global Audience

Almost half of Facebook ad revenue comes from the U.S. and Canada. If your business caters to international audiences or if you hope to establish a more global presence, there’s a big opportunity to reach overseas audiences without the competition you get in North America.

Hootsuite’s report expanded on geography-based findings. India has the largest Facebook ads audience, followed by the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil. The locations where ads reach the highest proportion of adults are Aruba, Malta, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. If your business can accommodate buyers in those regions, you can get a lot out of your ad campaigns.

Facebook Ads Reach a Diverse Age Group

The Pew Research Center found that between 2015 and 2019, more boomers (mid 50s to mid 70s) and silents (mid 70s to early 90s) adopted Facebook. Businesses with audiences in those demographics may get more out of their advertising efforts than in the past. Millennials (mid 20s to late 30s) and members of Generation X (early 40s to mid 50s) continue to make up a big portion of Facebook users. Eighty-four percent of millennials use Facebook and 74% of generation Z are on the platform. 

Hootsuite’s The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report also found that a large portion of the Facebook ads audience falls into generation Z, specifically people between 18 and 24. That generation can be a bit hard to measure because they include children under the age of 10 to people in their mid 20s.

Facebook Ads Get Maximum Engagement

Wondering if you should prioritize mobile-friendly content? The answer is a resounding yes. Ninety-four percent of Facebook ad revenue is from mobile. Put most of your ad budget toward mobile-optimized ads and always make sure your content is easily viewable on a mobile device.

According to a 2019 Hootsuite report, users take five primary actions:

Liking pagesLiking postsWriting commentsSharing postsClicking ads

Of those five, liking posts and clicking ads had the most frequency within a 30-day period. When writing your CTA, encouraging people to like your post or click the ad may get more engagement than asking them to do other activities.

Facebook Video and Stories Ads Are Taking Over

Hootsuite also found that video posts get more engagement than other types of posts. Compared to video engagement at 6.04%, photo posts are at 4.36%, link posts at 2.78%, and status posts at just 1.66 percent.

Social Media Examiner’s report also shows that you should prioritize video on Facebook. Marketers are most interested in Facebook and YouTube for video marketing, and even though YouTube is a video-centric platform, professionals have the same exact amount of interest in both. 

Facebook has been pushing the use of Stories lately, especially after finding that when used along with News Feed campaigns and placement optimization, ad performance can increase by at least 21%. 

Facebook Ads Average CPC

WordStream found that the average cost per click (CPC) of Facebook ads across all industries is $1.72. WordStream broke down average CPC by industry, too, making it possible to test the Facebook average, as well as your industry’s average. Knowing your target CPC can help you determine how much to spend to see solid ROI. Since industry isn’t the only indicator of CPC — audience plays a role, too — experiment with a few different CPCs and then compare results.

Another important stat to know: A whopping 74% of Facebook users are high earners who make $75,000 or more per year. That number is second only to YouTube, which has high earners as 83% of its audience. Brands with products or services at high price points should prioritize Facebook ads over most other ad platforms. To compare, Snapchat only has 22% of its user base in that high-earner category and Twitter is at 31%.

Do Facebook Ads Work? 

Definitely. Hootsuite reported that the potential reach of Facebook ads is 1.9 million people: 43% women and 57% men. The largest Facebook ads audience is men between 25 and 34, accounting for 19 percent. Following that are men between 18 and 24, making up 15%; women between 24 and 35, making up 13%; and women between 18 and 24, making up 10%.

What does all this mean for your business? First, it means that female and male audiences are relatively balanced, so you can use Facebook ads even if your demographic is gender-specific. Second, if your target audience falls into any of those top four percentages, you should definitely be using Facebook ads. And with other generations showing interest in the platform, there isn’t a B2C or B2B business that shouldn’t give Facebook ads a try.

By Lindsay Pietroluongo

The post Facebook Advertising Statistics for 2020 Every Marketer Should Know appeared first on AdvertiseMint.

How to Go Live on Facebook

FEB. 26, 2020

Nicolas LB / Unsplash

Facebook Live lets you broadcast in-the-moment videos from a mobile device or computer. Marketers love this feature for its simplicity: No editing is required, and the authenticity of the footage appeals to viewers. Authentic content reigns supreme, and Facebook Live lets you be real and unpolished. However, just because the content itself is candid doesn’t mean Facebook Live is a no-brainer. The more you understand the feature’s nuances, the more you’ll get out of it.

How to Use Facebook Live on Mobile

Here’s how to stream live on Facebook and get the most from your broadcast. Note that these screenshots are from an iPhone. If you’re using an Android, your phone may look a bit different.

Step 1: Choose the “Live Video” option.

From the News Feed, tap the “Live” icon.

Alternatively, you can go to your profile, click on the “What’s on your mind?” field, then scroll down to choose “Live Video.”

If you’re prompted, allow Facebook to access your camera and microphone.

Step 2: Set the camera orientation.

Choose either the front- or rear-facing camera. All Facebook Live videos are in square format, so you don’t have to worry about switching between horizontal or vertical.

Step 3: Choose your privacy setting.

Choose who will be able to view your live stream. If you want to try out Facebook Live before you broadcast to an audience, choose the “Only me” privacy setting, which is nestled under “See All.”

Step 4: Write a description.

The description will appear on News Feed, above the video. Since you want people to watch the live broadcast, your headline should be compelling and action-oriented.

Step 5: Add tags, feelings, or activities.

Tag people by using the @ symbol or clicking the tag icon. You can also tag a location and add a feeling or activity. By adding these details, you can improve your broadcast’s reach and engagement.

Step 6: Add fun additions to your video.

Tap the wand on the bottom left to access filters, lenses, and tools to draw or write on your video.

Step 7: Start broadcasting live.

Once you have everything set up, you can start your Facebook Live broadcast. Hit the “Start Live Video” button. You’ll see a countdown and then you’ll begin filming.

Step 8: Introduce yourself and the topic.

At the beginning of your broadcast, introduce yourself and give an overview of what you’re posting. Throughout the broadcast, briefly reintroduce yourself and the topic for new viewers who are just tuning in.

Step 9: Interact with your viewers.

As you broadcast, you can view the elapsed time on the top left of the screen, and you’ll also see how many people are viewing your broadcast. Comments will appear on the bottom of the feed in reverse chronological order. Greet your viewers by name and reply to their comments by speaking to them throughout the broadcast. 

Step 10: End the broadcast.

Tell your viewers you’re signing off, thank them for watching, and leave them with a call to action. To end the broadcast, click “Finish.” You can then choose to post the video replay if you want. Like with other Facebook posts, you can return to edit the description or privacy settings, or you can delete it at some point.

How to Use Facebook Live on Desktop

There are times when it’ll be easier to broadcast from your computer than a mobile device. For example, for a roundtable discussion, a computer is more convenient. Many of the steps for using Facebook Live on your desktop are the same as with mobile, but you’ll start out a bit differently.

Note that when I used Safari on a Mac, I was prompted by Facebook to use Chrome instead; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to stream from my laptop’s camera.

Step 1: Choose the Facebook Live option.

From your News Feed, click on the “What’s on your mind” window. Click the three-dot icon. This will open a menu, where you’ll find the “Live Video” option.

Step 2: Choose the device you’ll use for filming.

Choose between filming from your computer or connecting your computer to an external recording device.

Step 3: Set up your broadcast. 

The Facebook Live options look a bit different on desktop than on mobile, and you don’t have as many options when it comes to tools like filters and masks. You can choose where to share your broadcast, such as on your timeline or in a group. You can write the description and tag people or locations, or add a feeling or activity. You can also opt to add a poll.

Step 4: Go live.

Click the “Go Live” button on the bottom right of the screen. The countdown appear, then you’ll be live.

How Can I Get More Facebook Live Viewers?

Here are three quick tips to attract more viewers:

Your broadcast should be 10 minutes or more, and it can be as long as 90 minutes. The longer you broadcast, the more people will see it. Keep the camera moving so viewers don’t get bored.As people interact with your broadcast, it’ll rank higher in News Feed. Encourage interactions by asking questions or for feedback.

Don’t be discouraged if people don’t comment at first. When viewers are interested in a broadcast, they can be focused on watching, not acting. Get specific with your requests. For example, ask them to share your video with friends.

Wrapping Up

The point of Facebook Live is to be unfiltered, the opposite of scripted and edited. If your equipment goes haywire, you lose your train of thought, or have a sneezing attack, just roll with it. That’s exactly why people love to watch live streams.

By Linsday Pietroluongo

The post How to Go Live on Facebook appeared first on AdvertiseMint.

AdvertiseMint Hosts Taco Tuesday at Ignited Spaces

FEB. 26, 2020

AdvertiseMint’s account managers serving tacos to guests at Ignited Spaces.

On Tuesday AdvertiseMint jump-started the week with free tacos and drinks for the residents of Ignited Spaces.

The team welcomed members with tacos of different varieties—asada, chicken, and potato, for the vegetarians—and a selection of drinks, including a cold bottle of Corona. (It’s 5 p.m., somewhere!)

AdvertiseMint’s office manager Mel Roberts arranges the drinks for guests.

The goal of the event? Get people to socialize, fill their bellies with good food, and have fun.

As guests waited in line for the grub, the AdvertiseMint team offered activities of amusement, including a chance to win CEO Brian Meert’s 2020 edition of the book The Complete Guide to Facebook Advertising. 

Brandon Palacios hands out name tags at the prize booth.

Those who didn’t win a book were still given a comparable consolation prize: free tacos.

There was also a chance to be featured on the company’s social media pages and a quick and fun game of Seven Up.

During the event, three of AdvertiseMint’s digital marketing managers were available to answer questions about all things Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok ads.

Overall, the event was a fun break from a busy Tuesday afternoon for both guests and hosts alike. Honestly, we’d give taco Tuesday a thumbs up. 

The post AdvertiseMint Hosts Taco Tuesday at Ignited Spaces appeared first on AdvertiseMint.

9 Tips for Creating B2B Facebook Ads That Work

FEB. 26, 2020

Will Francis / Unsplash

Facebook users are more than just consumers ­— entrepreneurs, managers, and salespeople are on the platform, too. They’re as interested in running B2B ads as shoppers are to see their favorite products appear on their feeds. B2B Facebook ads can build brand awareness, encourage first-time customers to buy, close a sale or market a promotion, and appeal to any number of audiences and objectives.

If you’re wondering whether Facebook ads work for B2B, the short answer is yes. Although B2B advertisers also use other platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook’s native ad platform lets you target users by job title, so you can make sure you’re reaching professionals. Plus, almost three-quarters of Facebook users are high earners, so they can afford business solutions, even ones on the costly side.

There are all sorts of ways to create Facebook ads and target them to your audience. Here are nine tips for creating engaging B2B Facebook ads that will encourage your audience to act.

1. Identify a Common Pain Point

This is the golden rule to selling anything: Identify your target audience’s problem and solve it for them. When it comes to business professionals, they probably want a way to do their job more efficiently. In this ad, Grammarly illustrates what it’s like to regret the tone of an email when it’s too late to fix it, something every professional has cringed over.

Grammarly / Facebook Ad Library


2. Compare Your Product to a Competitor’s

By comparing your product or service to one that your audience already uses, you can showcase why yours is better. Encourage them to make the switch or at least learn why they should consider it. This ad from Slack makes the point that your current workflow is clunky and that switching your strategy will give you countless options for streamlining it. 

Slack / Facebook Ad Library


3. Clearly State the Value of Your Offer

Exactly what will your product do for your audience? Paint a picture of what life would look like after they’ve tried your solution. Business leaders need to make decisions fast, so they have to know what you’re offering without doing extra work. In this ad, Raelyn Tan offers two full years of weekly email content that’s already planned and optimized for engagement.

Raelyn Tan / Facebook Ad Library

Again, be exceedingly clear. What is the customer getting? You’re dealing with professionals in a B2B audience, and they need to know what exactly they’ll receive and why it’s valuable. Here’s another example: Design Pickle efficiently lists what you get by using its service, and the ad also states your next step: booking a consultation.

Design Pickle / Facebook Ad Library


5. Show the Interface of a Business Tool You’re Promoting

SaaS is a huge market for B2B companies, and the tool’s interface is a major selling point. By showing the dashboard the customer will be working with, they can make an immediate decision about whether or not it’s right for them. Shift includes an illustrated version of its interface, which couldn’t be cleaner or simpler.

Shift / Facebook Ad Library


 6. Prove That You’re the Right Person for the Job

Nobody is going to subscribe or buy if they don’t know who you are or why you’re trustworthy. Use the name of a reputable brand or individual who trusts what you’re promoting. This Zoom ad talks about how Gartner vouches for them.

Zoom Video Communications / Facebook Ad Library

You can also mention how many customers, readers, or subscribers you have. If you’re promoting an event, mention how tickets are quickly selling out. If possible, use hard numbers to showcase your expertise, like Kimberly Ann Jimenez does in her ad. Also, since she created this program from scratch, it presents her as a thought leader in her field.

Kimberly Ann Jimenez / Facebook Ad Library


7. Make Your List or Package Better Than the Competition’s

Win over your audience by offering more high-quality help than your competitors. However, don’t get so carried away that you fly past helpful and into overwhelming.

Use visual bundles, like this one offered by Mega Presets, to help your audience digest the information better. If you’re not a photo- or video-based company, turn your text into infographics.

Mega Presets / Facebook Ad Library


8. Catch Your Audience’s Eye with Something Adorable

Is there anything cuter than a puppy? Use a must-look-at visual, like cuddly baby animals, to get people to pause. Make sure to surround the image with your promotional message. Also, don’t go too far into the lifestyle zone here — you still have to be business-focused. Shopify takes advantage of this too-cute-for-words pup by using it as just one example of how you can make your shop shine.

Shopify / Facebook Ad Library


9. Match Your Visuals to the Buyer Persona

Show that you know your customers by reflecting their image back to them. For example, a graphic for a trendy startup company should feature young, hipster-looking people working instead of buttoned-up corporate employees. Dropbox nails this with a cool, modern depiction of a workplace.

Dropbox / Facebook Ad Library


Wrapping Up

Facebook is one of the best social platforms for all types of marketing, including B2B marketing. Beginners and experts alike will find value from the platform. Plus, you’ll have access to in-depth insights to track the performance of your ads, learn from your successes and failures, and tweak your campaigns for increasingly better results. 

By Lindsay Pietroluongo

The post 9 Tips for Creating B2B Facebook Ads That Work appeared first on AdvertiseMint.

How to Make Money on Instagram

FEB 25, 2020

Bianca Ackermann / Unsplash

Instagram is both inspirational and aspirational, and it’s definitely possible to persuade someone to want what you show in your post, whether that’s a product, service, or lifestyle. When you’re able to make your followers say, “I want that!” you can cash in.

In the meantime, you can dip your toes in the Instagram-as-a-revenue-stream waters by playing around with faux sponsored posts to see if you like it. For example, this post from Kaitlyn Bristowe calls out an Instagram account, but since there isn’t any sort of ad-related hashtag, she could be trying to get the brand’s attention or doing this one for fun.

@kaitlynbristowe / Instagram


How Many Followers Do You Need to Make Money on Instagram?

You need fewer followers than you think to make money on Instagram. Elements that impact your follower count and your ability to generate income include

Your industry and niche, and if you’ve created a smaller sub-niche.How easily you can tie your niche to beauty, fashion, fitness, food, or other top product categories.The engagement level of your followers. A smaller, more engaged audience is always better than a massive apathetic audience.The revenue channels you choose.

When choosing the right revenue stream for you, consider your brand, the content you enjoy creating, your audience, and how much time you can put into managing your account.

How Do Instagram Users Get Paid?

There are three popular ways to make money on Instagram in 2020. You can choose one revenue stream or combine two or all three. 

Sponsored posts: Build brand awareness by creating posts for brands that want to connect with your audience.

@andi_dorfman / Instagram

Affiliate marketing: Encourage sales and earn a commission when you sell another brand’s products.

@melissagorga / Instagram

Shop: Create and sell products (physical or digital). 

Creating your own product line and opening a shop is a huge undertaking, but you can check out this YouTube video about creating shoppable products on Instagram.

For now, let’s dive into sponsored posts and affiliate marketing.

Creating Sponsored Posts for Brands

An influencer is anyone who has a great online reputation in a specific niche. There are a few different ways to connect with brands for a partnership:

Wait for them to get in touch with you, which they will as you become more popular in your niche.Pitch them and ask if they’d like to partner with you.Sign up for an influencer marketing platform, such as FameBit or Upfluence.

When creating a sponsored post, you’ll have your guidelines and the brand will have theirs. With every partnership, you’ll have to decide how (or if) you’ll match your preferences and requirements to the brand’s. For example, if you have a hard-and-fast rule that you write the caption, but the brand wants total control over it, you may either negotiate or simply turn the opportunity down.

@alexachung / Instagram

This is why it’s important to have every sponsored deal written out and signed by both parties. Influencer-brand agreements cover details like

How brands can use your content. For example, can they repost to their Instagram or use it on their website?If you’ll be creating a single post or an entire campaign.What your payment includes. Is it just money or will you also get free poducts?

Know your value when it comes to making these deals. You’re doing so much more than creating and promoting a post. You’re also giving the brand access to an audience that you put a lot of time and effort into building. 

Making Money with Affiliate Marketing on Instagram

When you create an affiliate marketing post, you’ll recommend your favorite products or services, add a trackable link for audiences to make a purchase, and include a discount code that’s unique to you. If someone uses your link or discount code to buy, you’ll get a flat fee or a percentage per sale. 

@teaching_with_tla / Instagram

Affiliate marketing is similar to sponsored posts in terms of the content you create: both types have to put a brand or product in the right light to get people to pay attention and buy. However, with sponsored posts, you’re usually paid upfront, and with affiliate marketing, you have to wait until you make a sale to get paid, and if you make zero sales, you’ll make zero money.

When you’re ready to try your hand at affiliate marketing, you can connect with brands to set up an affiliate agreement or you can join an affiliate network like Amazon Associates. Ideally, you’ll do both.

Make Your Posts Appealing to Your Audience

The more specific you can get in your niche, the more of a dedicated audience you’ll build. For example, there are a lot of paleo devotees out there and a lot of Instagram accounts that appeal to them. However, you may be the one and only paleo devotee who also adds ice cream to her diet every Sunday and climbs mountains every chance she gets. 

And remember, you have to make it clear that your ad is sponsored or that you make money from an affiliate link. Include something like #ad, #affiliate, or #sponsored above the fold, or use the “Paid Partnership” tag that shows up above the image. 

@beingrini / Instagram


Final Thoughts 

Instagram influencers and affiliate marketers make all different income ranges. You can connect with your favorite brands in exchange for gifts and enough money for a week’s worth of groceries, or you can continue to build your empire until your entire income comes from Instagram marketing.

Top Instagrammers can count on thousands of dollars per post. As a reminder, “top” doesn’t mean having a huge audience, so long as the audience you do have is engaged. Since finding out if you can generate income this way costs little more than your time, why not try it out, especially if you’re going to be on Instagram anyway?

By Lindsay Pietroluongo

The post How to Make Money on Instagram appeared first on AdvertiseMint.

How to Make a TikTok Video: A Guide for Beginners

FEB. 24, 2020

Once popular among only tweens and teens, companies now head to TikTok to connect with influencers and create sponsored content. Whatever your goal, here’s how to make a TikTok video and get the most out of the platform.

How to Make a TikTok Video

TikTok videos can be three seconds to one minute long. The app records in 15-second clips, which you can string together to create a 60-second video. Alternatively, you can use a different app to create the video and then upload it.

Step 1: Sign up for an account.

After downloading and opening the app, you’ll go right to the video feed, and you can start watching before even signing up. To be a creator, though, you’ll need an account. 

Click the “Me” icon on the bottom right, which will bring you to a sign-up page. You can enter your phone or email or use another account to log in. 

TikTok will auto-create a username for you. If you don’t like it, click the “Me” icon then “Edit profile” to change it. You can update the rest of your profile, too.

Accounts are public by default, so if you want more privacy, click the three-dot icon on the top left of your profile and go to “Privacy and safety” to make changes.

Step 2: Open the camera.

Click the plus sign on the bottom of the screen. Give the app permission to use your camera and microphone. The camera will open, and you’ll see the creator screen with a red record button.

Step 3: Add music.

Click “Sounds” on the top of the screen. That’ll open a music dashboard where you can search for music or explore popular tracks. 

Preview the song by clicking the play icon, then choose the song for your video by clicking the white checkmark in the red box.

You’re legally allowed to use the music available on TikTok, and although you can play a song from an external device, you could get into copyright violation territory. If you don’t want to do this right now, you can do it after recording. If you’re going to dance or lip-sync, though, you’ll want to add the music now.

Step 4: Choose your effects.

To the left of the record button is an Effects icon that opens a menu.

There are a lot of options here. You can do things like change your eye or hair color, select beauty filters, or apply a mask to your face. The “World” tab is especially cool. You choose a graphic, and the camera will lay it over whatever you’re filming. In the example below, I have a tiny dinosaur on my desk:

Step 5: Choose your video settings.

Along the right side of the camera, you’ll see several options.

Here’s a quick rundown of them:

Flip: Switch between the front- and rear-facing cameras.Speed: Adjust the speed of your video.Beauty: Turn “Beauty Mode” on to automatically smooth your complexion.Filters: Choose from filters for portraits, landscapes and food. There’s also a category called “Vibe,” which has black and white and other moody filters.Timer: Set the point where you want the music track to stop playing and also start the countdown so you can film without holding the record button.Trim: Set where you want the music track to start playing.


Step 6: Start filming.

Hold down the record button to start filming. Your music will play automatically. If you want to record hands-free, use the “Timer” button.

Step 7: Stop filming and edit your video.

Once you’re done filming, click the white checkmark in the red circle on the bottom right.

Click it again to go to the editing page. You can add music here if you didn’t before, and you can also apply effects and add text or stickers. The effects here are different from pre-production. They fall into five categories: visual, effects, transition, split, and time.

Visual effects are like filters. For example, you can wash the whole video in neon colors. The “Effects” button lets you play with effects, such as elongating your face, turning your pupils black, or splitting the screen into three.Transitions affect how the frames transition in the video. For example, the “Turn off TV” transition makes it look like the video’s powering down.Split effects let you create a fuzzy video, mix effects, or make up to nine duplicates of your video.Time only has three options: reverse, repeat, or slow motion.

The stickers are similar to Instagram stickers and include polls, the time or date, and emojis.

Step 8: Post your video.

Click the “Next” button on the bottom left. You’ll go to a screen where you can fill out information to post your photo. When you’re done, click “Post.”

How to Make a TikTok Video with Pictures

To create a photo slideshow instead of a video, either create a classic slideshow or use one of TikTok’s photo templates. Click the plus sign and then choose “Photo Templates,” which will show you your options and tell you how many photos can go in each one.

You’ll then select the photos to add to the template. However, you can also upload your photos without using a template.

How to Use TikTok

Creating is only part of the fun — you want to be a spectator, too. Here are three tips for how to use TikTok:

Make sure your phone volume is turned on. TikTok is music-focused, so you’ll want to listen while you watch.The default For You feed shows videos you’re probably interested in, but the Following stream is where you’ll find videos from people you follow.Use the icons along the right side of a video to interact.






Wrapping Up

Initially called Musical.ly and marketed as a lip-syncing app, TikTok has kept its music roots but expanded to other types of videos. Though it has hints of Snapchat, Spotify, Twitch, and Vine, TikTok is decidedly it’s own thing — and people can’t get enough.

By Lindsay Pietroluongo

The post How to Make a TikTok Video: A Guide for Beginners appeared first on AdvertiseMint.