Lisa Buyer's Blog: Social PR Chat with Lisa Buyer, page 10

Lisa Buyer’s Must

So much information, so little time. This month I published my first article in Search Engine Journal, Yay! You might notice a new twist to my typical social PR angle.  

What’s the big deal with Search Engine Journal? I  

9 Digital Marketing Tools You Can’t Live Without by Brock Murray of @SEOBrock

What’s the big PR deal? Visuals, analytics, email marketing, and brand monitoring. Ok, so reality check here, if you don’t have a smart set of tools in your arsenal, the competition will win. The lines are blurred in PR, Social Media, and Marketing.

What You Need to Know about Facebook’s Business Pages by Kristopher Jones @KrisJonescom

Why should you care? Your Facebook Page is an extension of your website. It’s your brand’s publication, newsroom, content publisher, and customer service hub. Period. No, you don’t own it but it’s become one of those necessary business essentials that could be as important as a website. We’re beyond the days of when managing a Facebook page was creating posts. This post is a one stop, need to know what’s the scoop on getting your Facebook Page up to 2107 standards. Besides that, Kris Jones is so smart it’s a crime not to follow him and do yourself a favor, subscribe to his feed on SEJ.

How to Market Through Facebook Groups by Danielle Antosz @DAntosz

Why I love this. Facebook gives us a chance to go beyond the Facebook Page and form a community. I’m part of Pubcon’s Facebook Group and also the SEJ writer’s Group. Facebook Groups help build community inside community. They create an outlet that proves to be incredibly valuable from a PR standpoint.

9 Visual Marketing Trends in 2017 by Danny Goodwin @DannyNMIGoodwin

Why am I super passionate about this? Visuals are a serious part of the 2017 social media marketing strategy.  The best way to stand out in the news (feed) is with supersonic original visuals that tell your story. It’s beyond stock photos, there are tons of ways to slice, dice, saturate, filter, and repurpose. Visuals and social media are a PR dream team. Read this and bookmark it.

Snapchat Versus Instagram Stories by Caitlin Rulien @SaysCaitlin

What’s the verdict? Pretty simple, it’s where your audience is. But read this article to educate on what the ins, outs, perks and benefits. Instagram reach is higher, but Snapchat has a better retention. I like the fact you can save Snapchat snaps, stories, specs, and video to your camera roll.  Repurposing content on other social networks is one of my favorite #SocialPrSecrets. Snapchat’s all about the right now. Instagram gives you the choice of curating the best of best photos and an option to go live in the moment. Check out the details in Caitlin’s article, she sums it all up.

Social Media Trends for 2017 by Danny Goodwin @DannyNMIGoodwin

Biggest deal: Don’t use your 2016 template for 2017.

When Danny asked me to contribute to article the first thing that came to mind was “it’s complicated.” The social media trends are popping up on all screens and sizes. Social media is live, lived in, and in the moment. Get inside the brilliant minds of the industry’s renown social media marketers. Jabez LeBret, Mel Carson, Merry Morud, Melissa Fach, Eric Qualman and more, share their thoughts on what to expect in #SMM 2017.

8 Awesome Ways to Declutter Your Digital Life by @LisaBuyer

#ThisIsUs. As a recovering digital media addict working, I know a thing or two about file hoarding.  And the bad email subscription habits. This is my first article in a monthly series focused on digital lifestyle management. Hope it brings you inspiration for work/life balance.

I’m headed to the Pubcon SFIMA event February 21-22 in Fort Lauderdale. Hope to see you there or follow me on social.

Is there anything you read this year that we missed? Share it in the comments!

The post Lisa Buyer’s Must

Lisa Buyer’s Must

So much information, so little time. This month I published my first article in Search Engine Journal, Yay! You might notice a new twist to my typical social PR angle.  

What’s the big deal with Search Engine Journal? I  

9 Digital Marketing Tools You Can’t Live Without by Brock Murray of @SEOBrock

What’s the big PR deal? Visuals, analytics, email marketing, and brand monitoring. Ok, so reality check here, if you don’t have a smart set of tools in your arsenal, the competition will win. The lines are blurred in PR, Social Media, and Marketing.

What You Need to Know about Facebook’s Business Pages by Kristopher Jones @KrisJonescom

Why should you care? Your Facebook Page is an extension of your website. It’s your brand’s publication, newsroom, content publisher, and customer service hub. Period. No, you don’t own it but it’s become one of those necessary business essentials that could be as important as a website. We’re beyond the days of when managing a Facebook page was creating posts. This post is a one stop, need to know what’s the scoop on getting your Facebook Page up to 2107 standards. Besides that, Kris Jones is so smart it’s a crime not to follow him and do yourself a favor, subscribe to his feed on SEJ.

How to Market Through Facebook Groups by Danielle Antosz @DAntosz

Why I love this. Facebook gives us a chance to go beyond the Facebook Page and form a community. I’m part of Pubcon’s Facebook Group and also the SEJ writer’s Group. Facebook Groups help build community inside community. They create an outlet that proves to be incredibly valuable from a PR standpoint.

9 Visual Marketing Trends in 2017 by Danny Goodwin @DannyNMIGoodwin

Why am I super passionate about this? Visuals are a serious part of the 2017 social media marketing strategy.  The best way to stand out in the news (feed) is with supersonic original visuals that tell your story. It’s beyond stock photos, there are tons of ways to slice, dice, saturate, filter, and repurpose. Visuals and social media are a PR dream team. Read this and bookmark it.

Snapchat Versus Instagram Stories by Caitlin Rulien @SaysCaitlin

What’s the verdict? Pretty simple, it’s where your audience is. But read this article to educate on what the ins, outs, perks and benefits. Instagram reach is higher, but Snapchat has a better retention. I like the fact you can save Snapchat snaps, stories, specs, and video to your camera roll.  Repurposing content on other social networks is one of my favorite #SocialPrSecrets. Snapchat’s all about the right now. Instagram gives you the choice of curating the best of best photos and an option to go live in the moment. Check out the details in Caitlin’s article, she sums it all up.

Social Media Trends for 2017 by Danny Goodwin @DannyNMIGoodwin

Biggest deal: Don’t use your 2016 template for 2017.

When Danny asked me to contribute to article the first thing that came to mind was “it’s complicated.” The social media trends are popping up on all screens and sizes. Social media is live, lived in, and in the moment. Get inside the brilliant minds of the industry’s renown social media marketers. Jabez LeBret, Mel Carson, Merry Morud, Melissa Fach, Eric Qualman and more, share their thoughts on what to expect in #SMM 2017.

8 Awesome Ways to Declutter Your Digital Life by @LisaBuyer

#ThisIsUs. As a recovering digital media addict working, I know a thing or two about file hoarding.  And the bad email subscription habits. This is my first article in a monthly series focused on digital lifestyle management. Hope it brings you inspiration for work/life balance.

I’m headed to the Pubcon SFIMA event February 21-22 in Fort Lauderdale. Hope to see you there or follow me on social.

Is there anything you read this year that we missed? Share it in the comments!

The post Lisa Buyer’s Must

Lisa Buyer’s Must

So much information, so little time. This month I published my first article in Search Engine Journal, Yay! You might notice a new twist to my typical social PR angle.  

What’s the big deal with Search Engine Journal? I  

9 Digital Marketing Tools You Can’t Live Without by Brock Murray of @SEOBrock

What’s the big PR deal? Visuals, analytics, email marketing, and brand monitoring. Ok, so reality check here, if you don’t have a smart set of tools in your arsenal, the competition will win. The lines are blurred in PR, Social Media, and Marketing.

What You Need to Know about Facebook’s Business Pages by Kristopher Jones @KrisJonescom

Why should you care? Your Facebook Page is an extension of your website. It’s your brand’s publication, newsroom, content publisher, and customer service hub. Period. No, you don’t own it but it’s become one of those necessary business essentials that could be as important as a website. We’re beyond the days of when managing a Facebook page was creating posts. This post is a one stop, need to know what’s the scoop on getting your Facebook Page up to 2107 standards. Besides that, Kris Jones is so smart it’s a crime not to follow him and do yourself a favor, subscribe to his feed on SEJ.

How to Market Through Facebook Groups by Danielle Antosz @DAntosz

Why I love this. Facebook gives us a chance to go beyond the Facebook Page and form a community. I’m part of Pubcon’s Facebook Group and also the SEJ writer’s Group. Facebook Groups help build community inside community. They create an outlet that proves to be incredibly valuable from a PR standpoint.

9 Visual Marketing Trends in 2017 by Danny Goodwin @DannyNMIGoodwin

Why am I super passionate about this? Visuals are a serious part of the 2017 social media marketing strategy.  The best way to stand out in the news (feed) is with supersonic original visuals that tell your story. It’s beyond stock photos, there are tons of ways to slice, dice, saturate, filter, and repurpose. Visuals and social media are a PR dream team. Read this and bookmark it.

Snapchat Versus Instagram Stories by Caitlin Rulien @SaysCaitlin

What’s the verdict? Pretty simple, it’s where your audience is. But read this article to educate on what the ins, outs, perks and benefits. Instagram reach is higher, but Snapchat has a better retention. I like the fact you can save Snapchat snaps, stories, specs, and video to your camera roll.  Repurposing content on other social networks is one of my favorite #SocialPrSecrets. Snapchat’s all about the right now. Instagram gives you the choice of curating the best of best photos and an option to go live in the moment. Check out the details in Caitlin’s article, she sums it all up.

Social Media Trends for 2017 by Danny Goodwin @DannyNMIGoodwin

Biggest deal: Don’t use your 2016 template for 2017.

When Danny asked me to contribute to article the first thing that came to mind was “it’s complicated.” The social media trends are popping up on all screens and sizes. Social media is live, lived in, and in the moment. Get inside the brilliant minds of the industry’s renown social media marketers. Jabez LeBret, Mel Carson, Merry Morud, Melissa Fach, Eric Qualman and more, share their thoughts on what to expect in #SMM 2017.

8 Awesome Ways to Declutter Your Digital Life by @LisaBuyer

#ThisIsUs. As a recovering digital media addict working, I know a thing or two about file hoarding.  And the bad email subscription habits. This is my first article in a monthly series focused on digital lifestyle management. Hope it brings you inspiration for work/life balance.

I’m headed to the Pubcon SFIMA event February 21-22 in Fort Lauderdale. Hope to see you there or follow me on social.

Is there anything you read this year that we missed? Share it in the comments!

The post Lisa Buyer’s Must

Lisa Buyer’s Must

So much information, so little time. This month I published my first article in Search Engine Journal, Yay! You might notice a new twist to my typical social PR angle.  

What’s the big deal with Search Engine Journal? I   this publication because of its savvy editorial content. It’s a collaboration of writers who are online marketing experts with unique perspectives. Let’s face it, there’s no way to know it all in public relations, search marketing, social media and the PPC world. Information is power.  So I decided to curate a list of my favorite articles, the ones that a public relations pro needs know. Not in the PR world? Well, this list will help you get your brand more publicity, reach and potential.

9 Digital Marketing Tools You Can’t Live Without by Brock Murray of @SEOBrock

What’s the big PR deal? Visuals, analytics, email marketing, and brand monitoring. Ok, so reality check here, if you don’t have a smart set of tools in your arsenal, the competition will win. The lines are blurred in PR, Social Media, and Marketing.

What You Need to Know about Facebook’s Business Pages by Kristopher Jones @KrisJonescom

Why should you care? Your Facebook Page is an extension of your website. It’s your brand’s publication, newsroom, content publisher, and customer service hub. Period. No, you don’t own it but it’s become one of those necessary business essentials that could be as important as a website. We’re beyond the days of when managing a Facebook page was creating posts. This post is a one stop, need to know what’s the scoop on getting your Facebook Page up to 2107 standards. Besides that, Kris Jones is so smart it’s a crime not to follow him and do yourself a favor, subscribe to his feed on SEJ.

How to Market Through Facebook Groups by Danielle Antosz @DAntosz

Why I love this. Facebook gives us a chance to go beyond the Facebook Page and form a community. I’m part of Pubcon’s Facebook Group and also the SEJ writer’s Group. Facebook Groups help build community inside community. They create an outlet that proves to be incredibly valuable from a PR standpoint.

9 Visual Marketing Trends in 2017 by Danny Goodwin @DannyNMIGoodwin

Why am I super passionate about this? Visuals are a serious part of the 2017 social media marketing strategy.  The best way to stand out in the news (feed) is with supersonic original visuals that tell your story. It’s beyond stock photos, there are tons of ways to slice, dice, saturate, filter, and repurpose. Visuals and social media are a PR dream team. Read this and bookmark it.

Snapchat Versus Instagram Stories by Caitlin Rulien @SaysCaitlin

What’s the verdict? Pretty simple, it’s where your audience is. But read this article to educate on what the ins, outs, perks and benefits. Instagram reach is higher, but Snapchat has a better retention. I like the fact you can save Snapchat snaps, stories, specs, and video to your camera roll.  Repurposing content on other social networks is one of my favorite #SocialPrSecrets. Snapchat’s all about the right now. Instagram gives you the choice of curating the best of best photos and an option to go live in the moment. Check out the details in Caitlin’s article, she sums it all up.

Social Media Trends for 2017 by Danny Goodwin @DannyNMIGoodwin

Biggest deal: Don’t use your 2016 template for 2017.

When Danny asked me to contribute to article the first thing that came to mind was “it’s complicated.” The social media trends are popping up on all screens and sizes. Social media is live, lived in, and in the moment. Get inside the brilliant minds of the industry’s renown social media marketers. Jabez LeBret, Mel Carson, Merry Morud, Melissa Fach, Eric Qualman and more, share their thoughts on what to expect in #SMM 2017.

8 Awesome Ways to Declutter Your Digital Life by @LisaBuyer

#ThisIsUs. As a recovering digital media addict working, I know a thing or two about file hoarding.  And the bad email subscription habits. This is my first article in a monthly series focused on digital lifestyle management. Hope it brings you inspiration for work/life balance.

I’m headed to the Pubcon SFIMA event February 21-22 in Fort Lauderdale. Hope to see you there or follow me on social.

Is there anything you read this year that we missed? Share it in the comments!

Related posts:
Social #PR 2012 Best Tips on Search Engine Watch #SEW by Lisa Buyer
Lisa Buyer Loves Search Engine Watch
Going Viral: Lisa Buyer Picks @ChipotleTweets as PR Video of Year in @Passleme Awards

Truth! 11 Rituals for the Best Social PR Year Ever

It’s hard to imagine slowing down when the digital world is moving faster than the speed of light.

We are bombarded with approximately 126 emails a day, spend about 35 percent of time in meetings, or Skype calls and live in an era where practically everything is in real-time. The satisfaction and immediate gratification of checking it off your list is many times the path to least resistance.

Reality check: Studies show that brands choosing to slow down before speeding up increased their profits by 50 percent while the brands speeding up without a plan actually tanked the bottom-line.  So it pays to reflect, learn, and then strategically speed up.



Analyze your wins and losses from the last 12 months. When was the last time you logged into Google Analytics?

Tip: Check your overall blog or web traffic – This year compared to the previous year.

Identify which social networks are sending you the best quality traffic.

Tip: In Google Analytics check out Sessions, Page Views, and Average Session Duration.

Focus less on the deadbeat networks that aren’t working and optimize the ones that are working for your brand.

Tip: Revisit your bios, about us pages, and make sure all the content is up-to-date and most importantly includes the keywords your audience is using to find your brand and its products or services.

Research upcoming conferences and webinars to stay on top of trends and best practices. 

Tip: Live conferences such as Pubcon, Boom Social, SMX, Search Engine Journal or even brands hosting webinars such as Wordstream’s Larry Kim online events, Stone Temple’s Here’s Why Marketing Videos featuring Eric Enge and Mark Traphagen and Moz’s Whiteboard Friday hosted by Rand Fishkin.

Perform a content audit. Ask yourself are you working for your content or is your content working for you?

Tip: Head over to your Google Analytics > Behaviors and then check out the top 20 best content and see what type of content worked best. (Be sure to take into consideration any paid ad schedules.)

Embrace video. It’s on demand and expected.

Tip: Invest in a 360 camera and start experimenting. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat all have live video features so pick the best channel for your brand and dive in.

Unleash the power of email marketing, because a good email list is considered one of the most valuable brand asset of 2017. Email marketing has an ROI of 3800%.

Tip: The time is now to start building your email list and take ownership of your marketing. Look into combining apps like MailChimp and SumoMe.

Give more. Create useful content such as eBooks and guides catered to your audience.

Tip: Remember we said figure out your best performing blog posts In Google Analytics? Turn the top 10 into an ebook and call it “the best of the best” and give it away in exchange for an email sign up.

Analyze and measure results consistently, but not too frequently.

Tip: Create a template for monthly and quarterly reports and make sure what you are measuring matches the business goals and objectives.

Invest in the best talent in the right places.

Tip: Whether it’s an employee, consultant, agency, or vendor; always hire the best match for the job and be cautious about hiring friends. Best friends do not equal best talent.

Declutter your digital space, workspace, and headspace to clear your path to more effective results. Want more tips on how to create space?

Tip: Consider working in two hour time blocks and analyze your most productive times of the day. Take your most productive and use that time for creative projects (mornings are usually the best.)

One of my all time favorite sources of inspiration for personal and professional growth is best selling author and life strategist Tony Robbins. I’ve completed his 30 day personal power program, at least three times in my life and his content is always fresh and relevant. I love this video because it illustrates the difference between resolutions and standards. If you want some inspiration and guidance on your personal or professional rituals and standards, check out what he has to stay and apply it to your Social Media life.

Or watch the shorter version here:

 

Want more? Sign up for monthly doses of inspiration. 

Need help? Let The Buyer Group declutter and crystallize your social media and PR strategy with an audit, consulting, or special project services.

Sources: Direct Marketing Association UK, Harvard Business Review

Related posts:
Going Viral: Lisa Buyer Picks @ChipotleTweets as PR Video of Year in @Passleme Awards
The Social PR Truth Behind Sponsored Stories for Publicity
8 Must-Have Google Chrome Extensions For PR Success

Is Virtual Reality (VR) The Next Big Thing in Social Media?

It’s the 2017 question of the newsfeed: Will AR and VR be the technology darlings to sweep social media and public relations off its feet? Cathy Hackl thinks so, Robert Scoble wrote a book on it, Magic Leap can’t stop Tweeting, I mean teasing, about it and Mark Zuckerberg gave it a $2B thumbs up; so Lisa Buyer put her headset on to see what all the buzz is about.

Realty: With apps like Pokémon Go and tools such as Snapchat’s Spectacles, the once distant sci-fi dream of virtual reality is becoming, well, a reality.

Back in 2011, Social #PR Chat’s Lisa Buyer said, “Augmented Reality (AR) technology places virtual objects around users through their smartphones and has the power to make the world around us clickable. Triggered by location or any image imaginable, this technology enriches everyday objects with digital content. It also allows for practical and useful experiences to happen immediately with the snap of a digital picture.”

But we’ve come a long way since 2011.

Buyer recently sat down with award-winning journalist turned AR/VR/MR/PR evangelist Cathy Hackl to discuss the trends, benefits, and future of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality.

But first, you’ll need to know a couple of terms. Let the acronyms flows…

Definitions:

VR – Virtual reality; when you put this type of headset on, you are fully immersed in what you’re viewing and cut off from the “real world.” Usually, a digital environment users are looking at, whether computer generated or 365° video.

AR – Augmented reality. Think Pokemon Go. The real world with a digital overlay or element added to it.

MR – Mixed Reality — A step above AR, MR allows for more engagement with digital elements in the real world. The ability to grab, expand, “touch” digital aspects.

Okay, now that you’ve got that down, let’s dive in.

So, what’s on their heads?

Hackl is sporting the Microsoft HoloLens, doesn’t it look stylish? Okay, but seriously, this. thing. sounds. awesome!!

As Hackl described, this headset is used mainly by developers, not the general public (for the time being — definitely not a developer, definitely want the Microsoft HoloLens…just saying). This baby runs from $3000 for the Development Edition to $5000 for the Commercial Suite, according to Microsoft’s website.

With different motions of your hand, you can manipulate the HoloLens in certain ways to perform different functions, such as typing in your email or pulling up a screen.

Buyer is wearing the Samsung Gear VR, but you need a Samsung phone to use it. It’s actually powered by Oculus, a VR/tech company started in 2012 by Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe. It sells at just around the $70 price point, but don’t forget, you need to own a Samsung cellular device.

Brands and AR/VR/MR and Social Media, Oh My!

AR/VR/MR — it’s not the future, it’s the PR present.

One brand Hackl mentions is Alibaba, an online platform for buyers and sellers out of China. Alibaba has recently launched Buy+ — in a nutshell, you get to shop “in store” wherever you want in the world (Macy’s in New York, for example) v i r t u a l l y. Over 8 million people have already used Buy+, and Alibaba is profiting off of this immersive experience for their customers. Hackl and Buyer predict that retail will be a popular market for AR and VR.

Another brand mystifying the mixed reality tech world is Magic Leap, out of Dania Beach in South Florida. The company is one of the highest funded startups in the history of startups. They’re due to release a mixed reality optical system as soon as next year.

Magic Leap, however, has recently been scrutinized in a “bombshell report,” as Business Insider claimed.

The Information published The Reality Behind Magic Leap that states that “Magic Leap may have oversold what it can do.” VP of PR at Magic Leap, Andy Fouche, recently left the company, some, like Develop, say because of the article.

However, CEO Rony Abovitz responded to the backlash in a series of tweets that Business Insider highlighted in their article “Magic Leap CEO responds to bombshell report.”

Among these comical and elusive tweets were retweets from fan supporters like our very own Navah Berg (@Navahk), who wrote:

I believe and definitely staying tuned @rabovitz @magicleap #moebiusstyle #mixedreality https://t.co/JWaNK0nti0

— Navah Berg (@Navahk) December 9, 2016

The controversy also resulted in a statement from the company after the new Chief Marketing Officer, Brenda Freeman came on board. It said, “As we sprint full steam ahead toward the launch of Magic Leap One, we are excited to have Brenda Freeman on board as our Chief Marketing Officer.” Some sites, like TechCrunch, speculate Magic Leap One is the name of this mixed reality headset! ~Exciting stuff~

Spectacles

Snap Inc., which owns Snapchat, has recently started selling Spectacles, glasses that capture 10 seconds of video that will link to your Snapchat story. Specs’ lenses contain a video camera with a 115-degree angle that shoots circular video. The glasses don’t act as a virtual reality tool, as they represent video that’s right in front of you, but they do take video in a unique way – circularly. According to c|net, you can’t purchase Spectacles online or in-store (yet, fingers crossed). Instead, you have to find a Snapbot — a vending machine Snapchat is shipping around the country that sells the glasses for $130. You can even “try on” the glasses using this snapcode, which you can also find on the Spectacles website:

Social, SEO, and AR

Hackl believes that the future of social media and AR technologies reside in “markers” or “check-ins” to places surrounding the average consumer. For example, you’re soon going to be strolling down the street with your super chic AR glasses and reviews for restaurants are going to pop up in front of your eyes, helping you choose where you’ll eat at today.

In PR? Here’s your checklist:

Start reading about VR. (Oh wait, you mean you’re reading about it right now? Check that off your list and give yourself a pat on the back.

7 of the Most Awesome Social PR Chat Stories of 2016

Oh snap-crackle-pop, It’s complicated. The only way to describe the social media marketing and public relations scene this year. Snapchat pulled rank on Facebook, Blab died and went to social media heaven, Facebook Live popped into the scene like a 100-pound gorilla and Twitter just might survive because it’s Donald Trump’s favorite form of communication.

2016 is history and 2017 leads the way to a virtual reality start.

With the majority of Americans now getting news via social media in a recent Pew Study. News is socially consumed, Live video is red hot, brands turn to influencers to tell their story, Snapchat grows with filters and vending machine bots, roughly eight-in-ten online Americans now use Facebook (Pew Study) and almost all brands are using Facebook, 91% to be exact, creating images is a must for marketers, and Social PR Chat was there for it all.

The social rollercoaster ride of 2016 is coming to an end. Snapchat, Mindfulness, and Influencers are top on our list. What better way to keep the fun going than to look back at our top 7 top Social PR Chat stories in 2016.

1. 5 Snapchat PR Secrets: Digital Marketers Are Flocking to Snapchat. Are You?

 

2. Mindful Gifts for the Social PR Pro

 

3. Social Media Marketing: 7 Signs You’re Doing it Right

4. PR Under the Influence: Why Influencer Marketing is all the Buzz

5. How To Create a Pitch Perfect LinkedIn Profile
6. Nick Cicero Unlocks Snapchat Storytelling Secrets and Strategies

7. Visual Storytelling Secrets: Think Like Ekaterina

 

*BONUS*
Measuring Social Media Success with Adam Singer, Data King, and Google Guru

 

Put your Social PR glasses on, 2017 is just getting started.

7 of the MostAwesome #SocialPR Chat Stories in 2016

What do you think will be the top player in Social PR in 2017? Share it with us on Twitter using the #SocialPR17 hashtag.

 

Image Source: Canva

Related posts:
Top 5 #SocialPR Chat Stories of 2015
Social PR Secrets to Engage in 2016 the Carley Roney Way
The Real Sarah Evans: Instagram Stories, Tips and Tricks

‘Tis the Season: Anyone Looking for Digital Detox Secrets?

Lisa Buyer shares some of her favorite tips on how to protect your time and space during the holidays.

The holidays. It’s when we try to make everyone else happy and lose sight of what’s important to us. I caught up with Search Engine Journal’s Kelsey Jones to talk how to survive the consequences of social media. My next book is appropriately titled Digital Detox Secrets, and it’s all about digital lifestyle management, ok let’s put it bluntly, keeping our sanity in this social media obsessed world.

Are you starting to feel a sense of social media induced anxiety? Here are some tips on how to survive the social media holiday rush that will help you hit the reset button.

Getting to a Great-ful State of Mind

The Real Sarah Evans: Instagram Stories, Tips and Tricks

Sarah Evans is a social media star⭐️  who is knowledgeable of any and every upcoming trend in the field. In this interview with Lisa Buyer, she talks tip and tricks for Instagram for business.

Instagram for Business

Instagram now allows companies to change their settings and with the flip of a switch, becomes a business page.

Some benefits to this include:

A specific Contact icon that users can click to see the email, the phone number or even directions to the business in question. This also allows for more space for the company’s bio, link, etc.
An Insights feed directly linked to the business profile.
Capability to still use features that all Insta users have access to, like Instagram Stories.

Speaking of Stories…

Instagram Stories

Inspired by Snapchat’s legendary off the cuff Stories, Instagram introduced its own version of Stories earlier this year allowing users to publish more content in short-lived daily photos and video slideshows that disappear after 24-hours.

Evans’s rules for Insta Stories:

(Note her disclaimer, though: “The best ways [are] to learn the rules and then break them to get attention. So you don’t have to follow this step by step.”)

Evans is using Insta “the way it was meant to be used.”

With the adoption of video on the platform or people posting memes or photos with text over them, the use of Instagram moved away from tidied up photography to more pithy content. Now Evans uses Stories to post the more engaged, more frequent, less staged photos and keeps her feed full of the cleaned up, stylized posts.


Don’t give up on your Snapchat dreams✨.

Evans still finds herself tailoring her content on Snapchat to a different audience. Her snaps are funnier and more carefree, while her Instagram posts are more tailored to a client-facing audience.


Engagement is much higher on Instagram but…

This is mainly because Instagram users already have a following. Evans adopted Snapchat a little bit later than others, she admits, and this has made gaining a following more difficult.



Instagram Algo

The new Instagram algorithm is a lot like a unicorn: Pretty. Shiny. New. Mysterious. A little bit hard to wrap your head around.

The platform has recently change the way your feed works. Instead of seeing posts in chronological order, content now shows up based on who you interact with and how relevant it is. This is more similar to how Facebook works.

And this has changed how people are engaging.

The Kylie Jenner Effect and Other Hacks

Fans of celebrities like Kylie Jenner are starting to comment on their favorite celeb’s Insta posts to get people to like their content with acronyms like “LB” – like back (which means that if someone likes your photos, you’ll like theirs).

Other tips increasing your following on Insta include:

Researching and using popular hashtags.

Engage with popular users in your industry (as long as they are NOT competitors).

Create an Editorial Calendar with stellar content – for both your feed and your stories.

Aaaaaand for Snapchat:

Promote your profile by using your Snapcode…

As your social media profile pictures
At the end of your blog posts
In your email signature
On your marketing material
On your business card
In the next update from your SMS system

Snapchat users are so much more likely to follow you via your snapcode than by typing in your username. (Shoutout to Collin Austin of New Scooters 4 Less for KILLING the snap game!)

Editorial Calendars are Definitely NOT Dead

Evans talks to the importance of editorial calendars, even though some media managers might see this as old school. She plans out her content for Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, etc. because it helps her create relevant content for the unique audiences on each of these channels. She also plans out how she’s going to promote and boost her posts. Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have made it super simple to create ads that increase engagement. The type of content you’re creating should shift if there’s a plan for paid media.

***Pro-tip: You don’t have to plan your responses out, but you should be engaging with your consumers every day. It is one of the best ways to gain a following and publicity.

Visual Content: Tips and Tricks

Don’t be afraid to swim against the tide. Understand the rules and then break them.
Good lighting is  key . There are even phone cases you can purchase that have built in lighting for the perfect selfie, for example LuMee!
Everyone loves videos. There are so many tools nowadays to simply and quickly improve the quality of video. Here are some tips:

Use a tripod to stabilize the video
Record in landscape instead of portrait
Lighting is key (yes, we’re saying it again). You can even shoot in a white box to improve the light!
External audio



Some resources Evans uses to stay up-to-date on the latest and greatest apps, tools, and technologies include:

The Photojojo Store
The Apple App Store
Indiegogo
Kickstarter

Tools to Use

Evans creates a folder on her phone for each social networking platform she uses with the best tools for each site.

Instagram

Repost
Boomerang
Flipagram
Tempo
Later : Note – Evans is a beta tester for this app

Design Apps

PicFrame
ClipStitch
Canva
Over
A Beautiful Mess

Evans’s Background

Evans comes from a public relations background, initially working in healthcare and nonprofits. “I was doing so much nonprofit work that no one was really ready for how crazy I was about social media at the time….I essentially worked myself out of a job,” she said.

At one point, she was full-time as a director of communications and did consulting at night. She began her company and became a digital correspondent. She acts as a speaker for brands at events while managing their social strategies.

Her advice to those just starting out?

Don’t be afraid of what you know. You provide value to the companies you’re working for, so don’t hesitate to speak up!
When companies interview you, remember that it works both ways. You should like the business you work for and what you do.
It’s not always glamorous. But find what you’re good at and the money will come.

Follow Sarah on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.

 

And the extra bonus…


Related posts:
Hot and Not for Social Media Management with Sarah Evans
Instagram for #PR: Mobile Photography Tips Tell a News Story
Top 5 #SocialPR Chat Stories of 2015

Swipe Right! How to Win Over Influencers, Journalists, and Bloggers

One of the most difficult tasks for an up-and-coming marketer is building meaningful connections with influencers, journalists, and blogger; you need to manage to stand out from a crowd of thousands of people clamoring for the attention of the few who can boost your signal.

On the other hand, it’s also one of the most rewarding marketing processes when done correctly, as new connections means more opportunities to boost your name or brand. As such, it pays to have a strategy to go about forming these links; after all, a bad attempt at outreach will be remembered just as much as a good one.

After forging ahead and successfully creating a bond with a wide enough span of influencers to appear on sites like TechCrunch, The Next Web, and more, I think it’s time to share with you how I went about doing this. It’s time to get your name out there, and network the hell out of your success.

Build a list of relevant influencers

First up, you need to actually find the names and details of the people you want to be targeting, and track them so that you’re not having to constantly re-discover them. One of the best ways to do this is by tracking them using Close.io.

Still, to find them in the first place I’d recommend BuzzSumo. By searching keywords related to the content you’re producing, or the blogs you wish to target, you can bring up people and websites which have a large amount of influence in those fields.

Once you have this rough list (depending on your scope, I’d say to go for as many as humanly possible), record their details in Close.io. Alternatively, if you’re more of a Google Sheets fan, I’d recommend trying out Airtable – this allows you to create spreadsheet with cells, sheets, and tabs which you can inter-link, along with custom filters and more.

5 Tools to Build Meaningful Connections

Close.io.
BuzzSumo
Google Sheets
Airtable
Twitter List

Interact on social media

You have your list, so now it’s time to act on it. The first thing you want to start doing is to interact with your list on social media.

The best avenue (in terms of social media) to focus on is Twitter – it allows you to both directly talk to the members of your list and boost their view of you by sharing their content. Another great way to use the platform is to create a Twitter list containing your target influencers, making it much easier to go through and interact with each without missing any.

Keep in mind, however, that going overboard with how often you message or tweet them (or even share their content) will be detrimental to your efforts, for one of two reasons. The first is that the person you’re interacting with may be put off, or think that you’re acting like a bit of a stalker – this happens less often, but there’s still a chance.

Alternatively, sharing everything they tweet and messaging them every day will make your attempt at building a connection seem shallow and utterly transparent, and will diminish your chances far more than any content writing mistakes you may otherwise be known for. These are connections that will benefit you, yes, but you aren’t interacting with a Sim – you can’t spam communication to get them to like you.

For reference, I try to only share content when it genuinely interests me, and interact with a new contact roughly once per week.

Comment on their content directly

Any blogger or content creator who knows what they’re doing values comments. They tell Google that the post is engaging enough to inspire conversation, therefore making it a stronger search result.

As such, it’s only fitting to interact with your influencer’s content by commenting on it at its source, be it a blog page or Instagram post. This gives the author a big boost, and is a brilliant way to make yourself stand out amongst the crowd.

Think about it; how many times do you comment on a blog post you like, as opposed to hitting “like” or “share”? In the same way, you’re more likely to be remembered if you directly comment, due to the lack (or at least lower number) of others doing so.

Much like interacting on social media, however, you need to be careful not to do this too often, as otherwise you’ll either be seen as an attention seeker, or just spammy. As a rough guide, go for content about which you have something genuine to say, and go for maybe 3 or so comments in a month.

Guest post where you can

Guest posts (like the one you’re reading) are a great way to get your name out there, but they’re also a fantastic way to get your name in certain circles, and even to firmly cement a freshly-made connection.

Before sending out any kind of pitches, however, you’ll need to have some quality content under your belt. This could be anything from a skyscraper post or an ebook to a solid backlog of high-quality blog posts, but for a general rule of thumb, the bigger the influencer you’re trying to connect with, the more impressive your portfolio should be.

You also need to avoid sending out pitches to the biggest influencer on your list as soon as you have a couple of pieces of quality content; this will likely be ignored, or end up in a rejection, purely because they will tend to have much better sources vying for their attention. Start off with smaller blogs and build up your guest posting portfolio with good quality posts before going for the bigger fish.

This actually has a second benefit to your efforts to make connections, as the more sites you post on, the more likely your content is to be spotted by one of the people you’re trying to contact (which is yet another reason to never send out a sub-par guest post).

Once you’ve gotten a bit of notice through your gradual interaction and have some content on larger sites, you should have little trouble catching an influencer’s attention.  

Have any methods of your own to add when it comes to building up meaningful connections? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

 

 

Author: Benjamin Brandall

Image Source: 123rf/Tatiana Kostareva

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