by Francois Muscat | Jul 22, 2014 | Social Media Marketing, Social Networking
One of the best ways to grow your online following is to stay on top of social media trends – but not only trends, also rising social media networks. Whether you’re an internet marketer or a business owner, imagine what it would be like to say that you were one of the first people to create a profile on Twitter and Facebook. Not only does this give you bragging rights, but it puts you in the ideal position of being able to invite your existing customers and followers to connect with you in new online spaces.
It’s too easy to sit back and “wait for things to pan out” instead of going through the effort to find out what a new social media network is about. Back in the day, creating a profile and starting to use a new social platform (think MySpace) was relatively difficult. Today, the people behind social networks know that these sites need to be user-friendly, intuitive and fill a niche in order to become successful among the masses.
As digital marketers, we don’t advise people to create profiles on dozens and dozens of sites (especially if they’re not planning on updating these sites and especially not if it’s not relevant to your industry). There are a couple of rising social media networks that would be worth your while to check out. These are:
Vine
Vine is the latest mobile service that lets you capture and share short looping videos. Like Tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine (6 seconds or less) inspires creativity. The mobile app is available on iPhone and Android phones. You can quickly find people you know on Vine through your device’s address book and people you follow on Twitter.
Kiki
Kiki is described as a playground for photographers. While not everyone is in the photography business, everyone knows how popular photo-sharing sites can become. If Instagram and Pinterest are anything to go by, it’s time to join rising photo sharing sites, whether you’re a photographer or simply enjoy the ‘filter’ functions on your phone like the rest of us.
Thumb
Instead of looking in the mirror, you can make the decision-process regarding your outfit or hairstyle public, thanks to Thumb. This social network help people get instant opinions thanks to a mobile app that lets you upload pics of yourself to share with your followers on social media.
Need help with your social media strategy? Contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Apr 21, 2014 | Live Blogging and Tweeting, Social Networking
Livecasting is a term used to describe streaming videos live on your company’s social media sites to allow your subscribers to see what’s happening in real time. Companies can also allow viewers to interact with the hosts of the video, submit comments or ask questions in order to make it interactive and it works to create a dialogue between the company and its customers.
Livecasting is an excellent tool for a wide range of businesses and can be used for anything from holding a seminar or launching a new product to performing taste tests, starting a flash mob or marketing a new product or service. During the weeks leading up to the livecast, your company should promote it on all of your social media pages in order to gain maximum exposure, generating optimal interest from your website visitors.
What kind of businesses can benefit from livecasting?
- Businesses that regularly conduct ‘how-to’ workshops. This can be anything from how to lay tile to how to repair your computer to how to apply eye make-up.
- Businesses that have a strong visual component. Makeup companies, hair salons, fashion labels, art studios, interior designers and more all have a strong visual component and are ideal for video footage. Use a livecast to show off your amazing work!
- Businesses that are releasing new products. Is your company releasing a new energy drink? Hold a livecast at a local mall and capture feedback in real time for real people.
For more information about how livecasting can benefit your company or to learn more about WSI’s social media services, please contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you!
by Francois Muscat | Apr 14, 2014 | Social Media Marketing, Social Networking
TED (Technology, Education, Design) began in 1984, far away from the world of social media, as a conference designed to bring industry leaders together to discuss fascinating ideas. In 2014, TED is as successful as ever and, with the help of social media, the conference is able to reach people around the world and share its speakers’ talks with millions of viewers.
Via its Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages, TED shares links, videos, information and more about each of its speakers and all TED talks are available for free on the main website. In the past, the TED conference was only accessible to attendees and the incredible speakers could only be heard by those in the room, but today’s world of TED, which includes TEDWomen, Tedx, TEDGlobal, TEDActive and more is available to anyone with an Internet connection and all TED conferences are widely publicised via social media.
TED talks are viewed by thousands of people each month from all around the world and the talks have been translated into 40 languages. One of TED’s goals is to be accessible to as many people as possible and combining translation with the power of social media, it will be able to reach more people than ever before.
Speakers can use their own social media pages in a similar way to TED, posting links to videos featuring their talks, links to their websites and other relevant industry information. It’s an excellent way to make a name for yourself and build a substantial social media following.
For more information about how a strong social media presence can benefit your company or to learn more about WSI’s social media services, please contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you!
by Marelise da Silva | Feb 24, 2014 | Social Networking
LinkedIn announced last week that they will be making influencer posts available to their members.
“Combined, our members have extremely valuable and varied experiences; however, their knowledge and expertise has not yet been captured and shared.”
LinkedIn believes that by opening their publishing platform to members, it will encourage people to build their personal brands and share their industry insights. The professional networking site provided some impressive statistics showing that influencer posts enjoy higher engagement and shares.
“The average Influencer post drives more than 31,000 views and receives more than 250 likes and 80 comments.”
The value of LinkedIn influencer posts:
WSI offers LinkedIn training, make the most out of your LinkedIn presence by
contacting us today.
by Francois Muscat | Jan 30, 2014 | Social Media Optimization, Social Networking
A new hot trend is emerging for businesses looking to grow their customer base from social media sites. SlideShare is a powerful and popular document and presentation sharing site that allows companies to share their expertise with their consumers and build thought leadership among their target audience.
It is a great social media tool for businesses and will continue to yield a great return on your investment. You can upload your presentations in Word and PDF files and then tag and share it across many other social media platforms. You can also embed it on your company’s site or corporate blog.
However, SlideShare isn’t merely a one-way process. Instead, its social functions allow for the site to afford companies the potential to connect with clients and customers in new ways, generating business leads and enhancing your online image and reputation.
Why should you use SlideShare?
Good question, read on:
- SlideShare receives more than 70 million unique visitors each month. This is a lot of potential eyes on your presentation – and even your blog or site.
- SlideShare’s main demographic is Business to Business users in search of great quality content, especially for business purposes.
- Using the correct tags you can easily attract the consumers and users that you’re after.
- You can easily embed audio, images, video and an eye catching design into your presentations.
These are only a few of the reasons why SlideShare remains one of the best tools for business social media. When used correctly, you can harness the power of this innovative platform to the benefit and advantage of your company.
By partnering with WSI OMS you will enjoy a lucrative partnership with a leader in the social media industry. We are experienced in providing our customers with the best business social media services and tools available today. Contact WSI OMS to learn more about our social media packages and services.
by Francois Muscat | Jan 23, 2014 | Social Media Optimization, Social Networking
Analysts from around the world have been predicting something of a second tech bubble burst in the social media for business industry for some time now. However, it is yet to happen. In the day and age of micro-payments, it seems that even the most niche of start-ups are able to find the customers they need to stay alive.
Social media is all around us these days and it’s being discussed incessantly around the world. Hundreds of businesses have been built social media networks, with even more deriving most, if not all of their customers from it. Some might argue that social media has already reached its saturation point. It started out as being the next best thing – and then it became the next best thing.
Yet social media remains as powerful as it ever was – for specific target audiences and for specific uses. Most importantly, it remains as powerful as ever for established social networks. Now, companies wanting to jump on the bandwagon of social media for business will need to up the ante to keep their users engaged. Simply pulling off a mere presence in the digital realm will no longer be sufficient to guarantee success and a great ROI.
Is social media over?
According to eMarketer’s new report, social networking sites now reach the most web users in the U.S. It has become an integral part of South Africans’ lives and drives change and business trends in most countries around the world.
Social media is not over by a long shot. With the correct strategy and using the social media conversation Prism, your company will still be able to benefit from social media for business. Contact WSI OMS for affordable and expertly managed social media campaigns for your business.
