Thursday, August 31, 2017

Whatsapp Now Offers Verified Business Accounts

WhatsApp is fine-tuning its chat services to make it more attractive for businesses. The company has started a new pilot program for verified business accounts, which seems to hint that it may be targeting the customer support segment of its business users with a new app that is reported to be still under development.

In a recent post, WhatsApp announced that is starting to verify the contact numbers of some business accounts. Users will know if a business’ contact number has already been verified by way of a green badge that appears next to the contact name.

In addition, users will also know if they are communicating with a verified WhatsApp business account. The messages from a verified business will appear yellow inside a chat. It was likewise announced that these messages cannot be deleted although the company did not explain the reason for this feature yet.

Industry watchers say that WhatsApp’s verification is the first step of a new strategy to make money by luring businesses into using the platform to communicate with their customers. According to Daily Mail, the green badges and the yellow colored text bubble from verified business accounts, are ways to make these businesses appear more trustworthy to their customers. It will also encourage businesses to use the app for its communications especially in customer support.

The latest move by the Facebook-owned company seems to agree with recent reports speculating that WhatsApp app  could be developing a standalone app specifically designed for businesses. In a Business Insider report, the company is said to be developing a separate app for use in customer support.

A code analysis by WABetaInfo, a site that has reliably predicted WhatsApps features in the past, the new app works on Android phones and may be used by companies to send automated customer support messages like FB’s Messenger. Moreover, WhatsApp  just posted a job opening for a technical position on what it refers to as “WhatsApp Business app for Android.”

[Featured image via Pixabay]

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Facebook to Block Ads From Publishers Who Share Fake News

Facebook has ramped up its drive to combat the spread of fake news and hoaxes. It announced on Monday, that it will no longer allow Pages known to have repeatedly shared fake news in the past to advertise on its platform.

Via a blog post, the social media company stated that the move is aimed to reduce the distribution of fake news by disrupting the economic incentives to create them in the first place. It further stated that some Pages are buying Facebook ads to increase their audience base so they may distribute fake news more broadly.

Facebook already does not allow advertisers to run ad campaigns that link to fake stories. However, the most recent update of its site rules states that it will now penalize Pages that share fake news stories as well.

Based on Monday's announcement, it looks like Facebook might be lenient to first-time offenders especially if they inadvertently shared a fake story. According to the company, it will only block ad purchases of Pages that repeatedly share fake news or hoaxes. To determine if a story is true or not, Facebook has partnered with third-party fact-checkers to help them thresh out real news from the rest.

However, it does not mean that affected Pages will be blocked from purchasing FB ads forever. According to the same blog post, blocked Pages will become eligible to purchase ads once they stop sharing misleading stories. It did not say how long the block would last before a Page can purchase ads again.

Facebook has been under pressure to curb the spread of fake news on its platform after it was accused of enabling the spread of fake political news during the U.S. presidential elections. The company faced the same criticism in Europe when French voters were reported to have been bombarded with fake news during France’s presidential elections.

[Featured Image via Pixabay]

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7 Ways to Increase Facebook Engagement in 2017

There's no question about the hold Facebook has in our lives, as more than 2 billion people use it monthly. Businesses had successfully used this social media giant to boost the public's engagement with their brand. Unfortunately, that all changed around two years ago when Facebook changed its algorithm so that only content relevant to the user will appear in their News Feed.

User engagement is one of the factors that determine whether your brand or content will show up in a user's News Feed. This means that the more likes, comments, and shares a post gets, the more likely it will be seen by a larger audience. The trick now is to know how to get your audience engaged.

Luckily, there are some tips and tricks you can do to increase Facebook engagement. Here are 7 of them:

  1. Post When the Timing is Right

The enormous amount of posts being published on Facebook means there's a lot of competition. The trick is to know the right time to post. Surprisingly, this doesn't mean the time when most people are logged in to the site. Studies have shown that it's more effective to post content sometime between 10pm and midnight (local time) as this receives the most engagement.

Related image

Posting at 11 am is also a good, but engagement during this time is minimal, as people are just skimming through their News Feed. This is in direct contrast to night time, when fewer posts are made but users have more time to really go through each post.

  1. Share Content Your Audience Wants, Not What You Want

To get people engaged with your post, share content that they want. Most of the time, businesses think that since they're in a certain niche, that all their content should be related to that field. For example, an online book shop might post content about their book prices, company news, and best sellers. But that's not what audiences want to keep reading about daily. To keep things interesting, expand the type of content that you share. In our example, the bookshop could post recipes on how to recreate dishes that were mentioned in a popular book series or share a beloved writer's top 10 favorite characters. Some tips on writing or reading would also be appreciated. The trick is to post something different, but not so different that it would seem out of place.

  1. Use Real and Personal Photos

Pictures are undoubtedly one of the most engaging content that a business can share, especially when they're real and not just some generic photo. Users would rather see original and personal photos than stock images. This is why we keep looking at photos of what our friends ate than those sleek images a famous burger brand might put out.

  1. Reply to Your Audience and Build Relationships

Since you're making a lot of effort to get people engagedImage result for reply on facebook with your post, it makes sense that you should also take the time to reply to their comments. Don't just post content and forget. Check the comments and reply as soon as you can. Engage your audience in a conversation. Yes, you need to deal with the usual troll but remember that people who leave comments did so because the post connected with them. Reply and make them feel appreciated. They will be more inclined to engage with your other posts as well.

  1. Make Blog Posts That Fits Facebook Perfectly

Links will go a long way to keep your audience engaged on Facebook. To ensure this happens, create a company blog and start making content that's tailored specifically to Facebook. List posts and content that tickles people's curiosity are the ones that perform well on the social media site. You can even look at content that you previously shared and create similar content or search for keywords that are engaging and interesting.

  1. Make Your Posts Sweet and Short

Blog posts are well and good, but remember that your Facebook page is not the company blog. People on Facebook are not there to read long content. Posts that are between 1 to 50 characters long garnered the most engagement. The more characters or words used in the post, the less engaged the audience is. So take out the unnecessary details and just treat your posts like headlines that will pull people in and get them to click on your link.

  1. Ask the Audience to Get Engaged

If you want your audience to be engaged, then give them clearImage result for call to action facebook instructions on what you want them to do. A Call to Action is something that a lot of businesses or marketers forget but it's what consumers respond to. Do you want your audience to share your post or to comment? Give them instructions on what they should do next. After all, if they took the time to read the whole post, they're already interested in the content and are willing to take the next step.

Facebook's billions of monthly users give you billions of opportunities to reach out to them. Plan your strategy well and make sure you have the right management tools to increase your Facebook engagement.  

[Image via Pixabay]

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Apple Schedules September Products Event —Will it Include the iPhone 8?

Will we finally see an iPhone 8 launch this coming September? That just might be the case as recent reports state that Apple has already picked a date next month to release its newest lineup which could include the highly anticipated smartphone.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has already scheduled a product announcement event on September 12, 2017. Of course, the latest report is welcome news for Apple fans who, for several months now, have been waiting for the tech giant to announce the iPhone 8 release date.

Before you get all excited, here’s a warning. Apple did not actually make the announcement. In the report, WSJ simply stated the latest information came from people who have inside knowledge of Apple’s plans. Without an official statement from the company, this also means that iPhone 8 may not be included in the new products to be unveiled.

But still, one can remain hopeful. In fact, there are several reports stating that Apple will unveil not one but three new iPhone models.

According to eWeek, Apple will launch three new smartphones in the upcoming September 12 event. The report is not certain if one of the three new phones will be the highly anticipated iPhone 8 or if it will even be named as such. One possibility is that the new phones might be labeled as extensions of the iPhone 7 series.

There is one interesting prediction made by eWeek though. According to the publication, one of the new iPhones will be a 10th-anniversary edition to commemorate the September 2007 release of the first iPhone. If correct, consumers can expect the special phone to be a bit more expensive than the regular models.

Meanwhile, Mashable is betting that one of the upcoming phones to be unveiled at Apple’s September 12 event will be the iPhone 8. The publication agrees with eWeek’s report that the tech company will be unveiling three smartphones during the event and has, in fact, named the other two mobile phones as iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus.

While Apple may unveil the iPhone 8 at the event, Mashable warns consumers not to expect the gadget to be available anytime soon. Apple is predicted to delay the availability of the new phone until later this fall to give time for the sales of the latest iPhone 7 models to stabilize.

Aside from smartphones, Apple is also expected to launch newer versions of the Apple Watch. According to Recode, the gadget has been gaining popularity as a fitness tracker, a trend that the company plans to mine with the introduction of new features into the upcoming versions of the wearable. For instance, the new Apple Watch will likely sport a built-in modem to enable users to listen to streamed music, make calls and even use some apps such as Uber.

[Featured Image via Pixabay]

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Does Influencer Marketing Really Work? Here's What You Should Know

Companies have to fight tooth and nail to get their message across these days. And while content marketing still has its place, influencer marketing is the new trend, particularly with the ubiquitousness of social media.

The site Relevance likened influencer marketing to “celebrity endorsement advertising,” when Nicole Kidman could plug Chanel #5 or Leonardo di Caprio could extol the virtues of just about any product in commercials and magazines. Influencer marketing is basically the same thing, except that these days, you use “influencers” and social media.

How Does Influencer Marketing Work?

Influencer marketing basically boils down to three things – get in touch with someone with influence, like a popular blogger, get that person to promote your company in some form, and boost your exposure on social media.

Let's say there's a lifestyle maven named Party Pat with about 5,000 people following her on her blog and Instagram. You were able to convince Pat to help promote your online bookstore among her followers. She first blogs about her favorite books and mentions your store as her go-to place for ordering books. She later tweets or posts a photo of the latest book that she acquired and mentions how she easily ordered it from your shop and that it arrived in just one day. Her casual mentioning of your store and her experience could prompt her followers to check out your site as well.

Related image

The example might sound simple but it's actually not. It entails a lot of hard work and preparation. First, you have to find an influencer who's a good fit for your brand, whether they're bloggers, YouTubers, writers with regular contributions to popular online sites, or industry experts. Next, you have to reach out and build a rapport with said influencer. Some do this by following the influencer and interacting with him or her while others do it the relatively old-fashioned way and send an email.

If the influencer does respond, you still have to find a way to convince them to promote you. Maybe you can send a sample product or offer to be a guest blogger. Offer compensation is possible but could also be tricky. You have to convince and prove to the influencer that it's good for them to help you out. This means that if you're going to guest post, your content should be impeccable. If you're going to send a sample product, it should be high quality.

3 Tips for Using Influencers

If you are convinced that influencer marketing will help you and your brand, consider the following tips:

  1. Know that the relationship between the brand, the influencer, and the audience must be real.

Image result for real relationship with brandInfluencers have a strong following on social media because they capture their audience's interest; they have established a relationship with them. Maybe they're the same age as their audience, have the same interests, or have undergone the same life experiences. This strong relationship with their followers means influencers will only work with a company or brand that they and their audience believe in. For example, an influencer known for her quirky and affordable style of clothes won't suddenly start campaigning for a high-end shoe brand.

  1. Be ready to play long-term.

Don't go into influencer marketing thinking that one sponsored post will shore up your business. While a one-time mention by a mega-influencer can make a big difference, it's a rare, and very expensive, situation. Most of the time, influencer marketing should be looked at as a long-term approach, as you have to slowly build trust among the influencer's followers.  Followers might have to see his favorite influencer trying or mentioning your product several times before they become curious enough to explore and give your brand a try.

  1. Give creative control over to the influencer.

You might have complete control over your marketing strategy when it comes to traditional advertising, but influencer marketing is far from conventional. The goal is for your brand to have a quality engagement with the influencer's audience. To achieve that, you have to relinquish creative control to the influencer, as they know their audience. They understand the best way to introduce your brand and make their followers receptive to it.

Does Influencer Marketing Work?

Image result for online influencer effectiveness

There's some controversy on whether or not influencer marketing really works. Data from a 2016 marketing survey has shown that 94% of those who used this marketing strategy believed it works. However, what the ROI is of influencer marketing is still something of a challenge this year. But there's no question that this strategy has wide reach, especially with Facebook and Instagram being key platforms for influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing might not be for every company, but there's no doubting its influence on today's social media savvy consumers.  

[Image via Pixabay]

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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Apple Schedules September Products Event —Will it Include the iPhone 8?

Will we finally see an iPhone 8 launch this coming September? That just might be the case as recent reports state that Apple has already picked a date next month to release its newest lineup which could include the highly anticipated smartphone.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has already scheduled a product announcement event on September 12, 2017. Of course, the latest report is welcome news for Apple fans who, for several months now, have been waiting for the tech giant to announce the iPhone 8 release date.

Before you get all excited, here’s a warning. Apple did not actually make the announcement. In the report, WSJ simply stated the latest information came from people who have inside knowledge of Apple’s plans. Without an official statement from the company, this also means that iPhone 8 may not be included in the new products to be unveiled.

But still, one can remain hopeful. In fact, there are several reports stating that Apple will unveil not one but three new iPhone models.

According to eWeek, Apple will launch three new smartphones in the upcoming September 12 event. The report is not certain if one of the three new phones will be the highly anticipated iPhone 8 or if it will even be named as such. One possibility is that the new phones might be labeled as extensions of the iPhone 7 series.

There is one interesting prediction made by eWeek though. According to the publication, one of the new iPhones will be a 10th-anniversary edition to commemorate the September 2007 release of the first iPhone. If correct, consumers can expect the special phone to be a bit more expensive than the regular models.

Meanwhile, Mashable is betting that one of the upcoming phones to be unveiled at Apple’s September 12 event will be the iPhone 8. The publication agrees with eWeek’s report that the tech company will be unveiling three smartphones during the event and has, in fact, named the other two mobile phones as iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus.

While Apple may unveil the iPhone 8 at the event, Mashable warns consumers not to expect the gadget to be available anytime soon. Apple is predicted to delay the availability of the new phone until later this fall to give time for the sales of the latest iPhone 7 models to stabilize.

Aside from smartphones, Apple is also expected to launch newer versions of the Apple Watch. According to Recode, the gadget has been gaining popularity as a fitness tracker, a trend that the company plans to mine with the introduction of new features into the upcoming versions of the wearable. For instance, the new Apple Watch will likely sport a built-in modem to enable users to listen to streamed music, make calls and even use some apps such as Uber.

[Featured Image via Pixabay]

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7 Ways to Increase Facebook Engagement in 2017

There's no question about the hold Facebook has in our lives, as more than 2 billion people use it monthly. Businesses had successfully used this social media giant to boost the public's engagement with their brand. Unfortunately, that all changed around two years ago when Facebook changed its algorithm so that only content relevant to the user will appear in their News Feed.

User engagement is one of the factors that determine whether your brand or content will show up in a user's News Feed. This means that the more likes, comments, and shares a post gets, the more likely it will be seen by a larger audience. The trick now is to know how to get your audience engaged.

Luckily, there are some tips and tricks you can do to increase Facebook engagement. Here are 7 of them:

  1. Post When the Timing is Right

The enormous amount of posts being published on Facebook means there's a lot of competition. The trick is to know the right time to post. Surprisingly, this doesn't mean the time when most people are logged in to the site. Studies have shown that it's more effective to post content sometime between 10pm and midnight (local time) as this receives the most engagement.

Related image

Posting at 11 am is also a good, but engagement during this time is minimal, as people are just skimming through their News Feed. This is in direct contrast to night time, when fewer posts are made but users have more time to really go through each post.

  1. Share Content Your Audience Wants, Not What You Want

To get people engaged with your post, share content that they want. Most of the time, businesses think that since they're in a certain niche, that all their content should be related to that field. For example, an online book shop might post content about their book prices, company news, and best sellers. But that's not what audiences want to keep reading about daily. To keep things interesting, expand the type of content that you share. In our example, the bookshop could post recipes on how to recreate dishes that were mentioned in a popular book series or share a beloved writer's top 10 favorite characters. Some tips on writing or reading would also be appreciated. The trick is to post something different, but not so different that it would seem out of place.

  1. Use Real and Personal Photos

Pictures are undoubtedly one of the most engaging content that a business can share, especially when they're real and not just some generic photo. Users would rather see original and personal photos than stock images. This is why we keep looking at photos of what our friends ate than those sleek images a famous burger brand might put out.

  1. Reply to Your Audience and Build Relationships

Since you're making a lot of effort to get people engagedImage result for reply on facebook with your post, it makes sense that you should also take the time to reply to their comments. Don't just post content and forget. Check the comments and reply as soon as you can. Engage your audience in a conversation. Yes, you need to deal with the usual troll but remember that people who leave comments did so because the post connected with them. Reply and make them feel appreciated. They will be more inclined to engage with your other posts as well.

  1. Make Blog Posts That Fits Facebook Perfectly

Links will go a long way to keep your audience engaged on Facebook. To ensure this happens, create a company blog and start making content that's tailored specifically to Facebook. List posts and content that tickles people's curiosity are the ones that perform well on the social media site. You can even look at content that you previously shared and create similar content or search for keywords that are engaging and interesting.

  1. Make Your Posts Sweet and Short

Blog posts are well and good, but remember that your Facebook page is not the company blog. People on Facebook are not there to read long content. Posts that are between 1 to 50 characters long garnered the most engagement. The more characters or words used in the post, the less engaged the audience is. So take out the unnecessary details and just treat your posts like headlines that will pull people in and get them to click on your link.

  1. Ask the Audience to Get Engaged

If you want your audience to be engaged, then give them clearImage result for call to action facebook instructions on what you want them to do. A Call to Action is something that a lot of businesses or marketers forget but it's what consumers respond to. Do you want your audience to share your post or to comment? Give them instructions on what they should do next. After all, if they took the time to read the whole post, they're already interested in the content and are willing to take the next step.

Facebook's billions of monthly users give you billions of opportunities to reach out to them. Plan your strategy well and make sure you have the right management tools to increase your Facebook engagement.  

[Image via Pixabay]

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Does Influencer Marketing Really Work? Here's What You Should Know

Companies have to fight tooth and nail to get their message across these days. And while content marketing still has its place, influencer marketing is the new trend, particularly with the ubiquitousness of social media.

The site Relevance likened influencer marketing to “celebrity endorsement advertising,” when Nicole Kidman could plug Chanel #5 or Leonardo di Caprio could extol the virtues of just about any product in commercials and magazines. Influencer marketing is basically the same thing, except that these days, you use “influencers” and social media.

How Does Influencer Marketing Work?

Influencer marketing basically boils down to three things – get in touch with someone with influence, like a popular blogger, get that person to promote your company in some form, and boost your exposure on social media.

Let's say there's a lifestyle maven named Party Pat with about 5,000 people following her on her blog and Instagram. You were able to convince Pat to help promote your online bookstore among her followers. She first blogs about her favorite books and mentions your store as her go-to place for ordering books. She later tweets or posts a photo of the latest book that she acquired and mentions how she easily ordered it from your shop and that it arrived in just one day. Her casual mentioning of your store and her experience could prompt her followers to check out your site as well.

Related image

The example might sound simple but it's actually not. It entails a lot of hard work and preparation. First, you have to find an influencer who's a good fit for your brand, whether they're bloggers, YouTubers, writers with regular contributions to popular online sites, or industry experts. Next, you have to reach out and build a rapport with said influencer. Some do this by following the influencer and interacting with him or her while others do it the relatively old-fashioned way and send an email.

If the influencer does respond, you still have to find a way to convince them to promote you. Maybe you can send a sample product or offer to be a guest blogger. Offer compensation is possible but could also be tricky. You have to convince and prove to the influencer that it's good for them to help you out. This means that if you're going to guest post, your content should be impeccable. If you're going to send a sample product, it should be high quality.

3 Tips for Using Influencers

If you are convinced that influencer marketing will help you and your brand, consider the following tips:

  1. Know that the relationship between the brand, the influencer, and the audience must be real.

Image result for real relationship with brandInfluencers have a strong following on social media because they capture their audience's interest; they have established a relationship with them. Maybe they're the same age as their audience, have the same interests, or have undergone the same life experiences. This strong relationship with their followers means influencers will only work with a company or brand that they and their audience believe in. For example, an influencer known for her quirky and affordable style of clothes won't suddenly start campaigning for a high-end shoe brand.

  1. Be ready to play long-term.

Don't go into influencer marketing thinking that one sponsored post will shore up your business. While a one-time mention by a mega-influencer can make a big difference, it's a rare, and very expensive, situation. Most of the time, influencer marketing should be looked at as a long-term approach, as you have to slowly build trust among the influencer's followers.  Followers might have to see his favorite influencer trying or mentioning your product several times before they become curious enough to explore and give your brand a try.

  1. Give creative control over to the influencer.

You might have complete control over your marketing strategy when it comes to traditional advertising, but influencer marketing is far from conventional. The goal is for your brand to have a quality engagement with the influencer's audience. To achieve that, you have to relinquish creative control to the influencer, as they know their audience. They understand the best way to introduce your brand and make their followers receptive to it.

Does Influencer Marketing Work?

Image result for online influencer effectiveness

There's some controversy on whether or not influencer marketing really works. Data from a 2016 marketing survey has shown that 94% of those who used this marketing strategy believed it works. However, what the ROI is of influencer marketing is still something of a challenge this year. But there's no question that this strategy has wide reach, especially with Facebook and Instagram being key platforms for influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing might not be for every company, but there's no doubting its influence on today's social media savvy consumers.  

[Image via Pixabay]

The post Does Influencer Marketing Really Work? Here's What You Should Know appeared first on WebProNews.



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LinkedIn Introduces Native Video Feature to Stimulate User Engagement on Its Platform

LinkedIn is best known as the social media platform specifically targeting the job market. It's a place where job seekers can look for work and for recruiters to source their manpower requirements. Lately, however, the Microsoft subsidiary is polishing the networking experience for its users by allowing them to post videos into the platform, a move that mimics YouTube and Facebook Live.

Among the various social media platforms, LinkedIn is a bit late at offering a native video feature. The company has been testing native videos since last month and is now rolling out the feature gradually, which means that it might take some time to reach to all its users.

The new feature is available to both the iOs and Android versions of the LinkedIn mobile app. For the Android version, the video icon can be accessed via the post button while on iOs devices, the video icon is located at the top of the feed. Pressing the icon allows a user to record or post previously recording videos to the platform.

Videos posted on the LinkedIn platform may significantly differ from those found on YouTube. Since the network is basically a business networking tool, users’ video recordings are expected to highlight their professional credentials such as completed and current projects, skills or product demos. While the maximum video length allowed is 10 minutes, LinkedIn recommends that users keep their video recordings between 30 seconds to five minutes in length.

In case you are wondering why LinkedIn would want to introduce a native video feature to its platform, it has been shown that video content generates better user engagement. For instance, Snapchat, Facebook, and YouTube collectively generate around 22 billion views per day.

The trend seems to be working on LinkedIn as well. Last month, data analysis showed that its videos were shared 20 times more than any other content. Now the next order of business is how to harness ad dollars sometime into the future.

[Featured Image via Pixabay]

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Apple Schedules September Products Event —Will it Include the iPhone 8?

Will we finally see an iPhone 8 launch this coming September? That just might be the case as recent reports state that Apple has already picked a date next month to release its newest lineup which could include the highly anticipated smartphone.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has already scheduled a product announcement event on September 12, 2017. Of course, the latest report is welcome news for Apple fans who, for several months now, have been waiting for the tech giant to announce the iPhone 8 release date.

Before you get all excited, here’s a warning. Apple did not actually make the announcement. In the report, WSJ simply stated the latest information came from people who have inside knowledge of Apple’s plans. Without an official statement from the company, this also means that iPhone 8 may not be included in the new products to be unveiled.

But still, one can remain hopeful. In fact, there are several reports stating that Apple will unveil not one but three new iPhone models.

According to eWeek, Apple will launch three new smartphones in the upcoming September 12 event. The report is not certain if one of the three new phones will be the highly anticipated iPhone 8 or if it will even be named as such. One possibility is that the new phones might be labeled as extensions of the iPhone 7 series.

There is one interesting prediction made by eWeek though. According to the publication, one of the new iPhones will be a 10th-anniversary edition to commemorate the September 2007 release of the first iPhone. If correct, consumers can expect the special phone to be a bit more expensive than the regular models.

Meanwhile, Mashable is betting that one of the upcoming phones to be unveiled at Apple’s September 12 event will be the iPhone 8. The publication agrees with eWeek’s report that the tech company will be unveiling three smartphones during the event and has, in fact, named the other two mobile phones as iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus.

While Apple may unveil the iPhone 8 at the event, Mashable warns consumers not to expect the gadget to be available anytime soon. Apple is predicted to delay the availability of the new phone until later this fall to give time for the sales of the latest iPhone 7 models to stabilize.

Aside from smartphones, Apple is also expected to launch newer versions of the Apple Watch. According to Recode, the gadget has been gaining popularity as a fitness tracker, a trend that the company plans to mine with the introduction of new features into the upcoming versions of the wearable. For instance, the new Apple Watch will likely sport a built-in modem to enable users to listen to streamed music, make calls and even use some apps such as Uber.

[Featured Image via Pixabay]

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7 Ways to Increase Facebook Engagement in 2017

There's no question about the hold Facebook has in our lives, as more than 2 billion people use it monthly. Businesses had successfully used this social media giant to boost the public's engagement with their brand. Unfortunately, that all changed around two years ago when Facebook changed its algorithm so that only content relevant to the user will appear in their News Feed.

User engagement is one of the factors that determine whether your brand or content will show up in a user's News Feed. This means that the more likes, comments, and shares a post gets, the more likely it will be seen by a larger audience. The trick now is to know how to get your audience engaged.

Luckily, there are some tips and tricks you can do to increase Facebook engagement. Here are 7 of them:

  1. Post When the Timing is Right

The enormous amount of posts being published on Facebook means there's a lot of competition. The trick is to know the right time to post. Surprisingly, this doesn't mean the time when most people are logged in to the site. Studies have shown that it's more effective to post content sometime between 10pm and midnight (local time) as this receives the most engagement.

Related image

Posting at 11 am is also a good, but engagement during this time is minimal, as people are just skimming through their News Feed. This is in direct contrast to night time, when fewer posts are made but users have more time to really go through each post.

  1. Share Content Your Audience Wants, Not What You Want

To get people engaged with your post, share content that they want. Most of the time, businesses think that since they're in a certain niche, that all their content should be related to that field. For example, an online book shop might post content about their book prices, company news, and best sellers. But that's not what audiences want to keep reading about daily. To keep things interesting, expand the type of content that you share. In our example, the bookshop could post recipes on how to recreate dishes that were mentioned in a popular book series or share a beloved writer's top 10 favorite characters. Some tips on writing or reading would also be appreciated. The trick is to post something different, but not so different that it would seem out of place.

  1. Use Real and Personal Photos

Pictures are undoubtedly one of the most engaging content that a business can share, especially when they're real and not just some generic photo. Users would rather see original and personal photos than stock images. This is why we keep looking at photos of what our friends ate than those sleek images a famous burger brand might put out.

  1. Reply to Your Audience and Build Relationships

Since you're making a lot of effort to get people engagedImage result for reply on facebook with your post, it makes sense that you should also take the time to reply to their comments. Don't just post content and forget. Check the comments and reply as soon as you can. Engage your audience in a conversation. Yes, you need to deal with the usual troll but remember that people who leave comments did so because the post connected with them. Reply and make them feel appreciated. They will be more inclined to engage with your other posts as well.

  1. Make Blog Posts That Fits Facebook Perfectly

Links will go a long way to keep your audience engaged on Facebook. To ensure this happens, create a company blog and start making content that's tailored specifically to Facebook. List posts and content that tickles people's curiosity are the ones that perform well on the social media site. You can even look at content that you previously shared and create similar content or search for keywords that are engaging and interesting.

  1. Make Your Posts Sweet and Short

Blog posts are well and good, but remember that your Facebook page is not the company blog. People on Facebook are not there to read long content. Posts that are between 1 to 50 characters long garnered the most engagement. The more characters or words used in the post, the less engaged the audience is. So take out the unnecessary details and just treat your posts like headlines that will pull people in and get them to click on your link.

  1. Ask the Audience to Get Engaged

If you want your audience to be engaged, then give them clearImage result for call to action facebook instructions on what you want them to do. A Call to Action is something that a lot of businesses or marketers forget but it's what consumers respond to. Do you want your audience to share your post or to comment? Give them instructions on what they should do next. After all, if they took the time to read the whole post, they're already interested in the content and are willing to take the next step.

Facebook's billions of monthly users give you billions of opportunities to reach out to them. Plan your strategy well and make sure you have the right management tools to increase your Facebook engagement.  

[Image via Pixabay]

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Does Influencer Marketing Really Work? Here's What You Should Know

Companies have to fight tooth and nail to get their message across these days. And while content marketing still has its place, influencer marketing is the new trend, particularly with the ubiquitousness of social media.

The site Relevance likened influencer marketing to “celebrity endorsement advertising,” when Nicole Kidman could plug Chanel #5 or Leonardo di Caprio could extol the virtues of just about any product in commercials and magazines. Influencer marketing is basically the same thing, except that these days, you use “influencers” and social media.

How Does Influencer Marketing Work?

Influencer marketing basically boils down to three things – get in touch with someone with influence, like a popular blogger, get that person to promote your company in some form, and boost your exposure on social media.

Let's say there's a lifestyle maven named Party Pat with about 5,000 people following her on her blog and Instagram. You were able to convince Pat to help promote your online bookstore among her followers. She first blogs about her favorite books and mentions your store as her go-to place for ordering books. She later tweets or posts a photo of the latest book that she acquired and mentions how she easily ordered it from your shop and that it arrived in just one day. Her casual mentioning of your store and her experience could prompt her followers to check out your site as well.

Related image

The example might sound simple but it's actually not. It entails a lot of hard work and preparation. First, you have to find an influencer who's a good fit for your brand, whether they're bloggers, YouTubers, writers with regular contributions to popular online sites, or industry experts. Next, you have to reach out and build a rapport with said influencer. Some do this by following the influencer and interacting with him or her while others do it the relatively old-fashioned way and send an email.

If the influencer does respond, you still have to find a way to convince them to promote you. Maybe you can send a sample product or offer to be a guest blogger. Offer compensation is possible but could also be tricky. You have to convince and prove to the influencer that it's good for them to help you out. This means that if you're going to guest post, your content should be impeccable. If you're going to send a sample product, it should be high quality.

3 Tips for Using Influencers

If you are convinced that influencer marketing will help you and your brand, consider the following tips:

  1. Know that the relationship between the brand, the influencer, and the audience must be real.

Image result for real relationship with brandInfluencers have a strong following on social media because they capture their audience's interest; they have established a relationship with them. Maybe they're the same age as their audience, have the same interests, or have undergone the same life experiences. This strong relationship with their followers means influencers will only work with a company or brand that they and their audience believe in. For example, an influencer known for her quirky and affordable style of clothes won't suddenly start campaigning for a high-end shoe brand.

  1. Be ready to play long-term.

Don't go into influencer marketing thinking that one sponsored post will shore up your business. While a one-time mention by a mega-influencer can make a big difference, it's a rare, and very expensive, situation. Most of the time, influencer marketing should be looked at as a long-term approach, as you have to slowly build trust among the influencer's followers.  Followers might have to see his favorite influencer trying or mentioning your product several times before they become curious enough to explore and give your brand a try.

  1. Give creative control over to the influencer.

You might have complete control over your marketing strategy when it comes to traditional advertising, but influencer marketing is far from conventional. The goal is for your brand to have a quality engagement with the influencer's audience. To achieve that, you have to relinquish creative control to the influencer, as they know their audience. They understand the best way to introduce your brand and make their followers receptive to it.

Does Influencer Marketing Work?

Image result for online influencer effectiveness

There's some controversy on whether or not influencer marketing really works. Data from a 2016 marketing survey has shown that 94% of those who used this marketing strategy believed it works. However, what the ROI is of influencer marketing is still something of a challenge this year. But there's no question that this strategy has wide reach, especially with Facebook and Instagram being key platforms for influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing might not be for every company, but there's no doubting its influence on today's social media savvy consumers.  

[Image via Pixabay]

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LinkedIn Introduces Native Video Feature to Stimulate User Engagement on Its Platform

LinkedIn is best known as the social media platform specifically targeting the job market. It's a place where job seekers can look for work and for recruiters to source their manpower requirements. Lately, however, the Microsoft subsidiary is polishing the networking experience for its users by allowing them to post videos into the platform, a move that mimics YouTube and Facebook Live.

Among the various social media platforms, LinkedIn is a bit late at offering a native video feature. The company has been testing native videos since last month and is now rolling out the feature gradually, which means that it might take some time to reach to all its users.

The new feature is available to both the iOs and Android versions of the LinkedIn mobile app. For the Android version, the video icon can be accessed via the post button while on iOs devices, the video icon is located at the top of the feed. Pressing the icon allows a user to record or post previously recording videos to the platform.

Videos posted on the LinkedIn platform may significantly differ from those found on YouTube. Since the network is basically a business networking tool, users’ video recordings are expected to highlight their professional credentials such as completed and current projects, skills or product demos. While the maximum video length allowed is 10 minutes, LinkedIn recommends that users keep their video recordings between 30 seconds to five minutes in length.

In case you are wondering why LinkedIn would want to introduce a native video feature to its platform, it has been shown that video content generates better user engagement. For instance, Snapchat, Facebook, and YouTube collectively generate around 22 billion views per day.

The trend seems to be working on LinkedIn as well. Last month, data analysis showed that its videos were shared 20 times more than any other content. Now the next order of business is how to harness ad dollars sometime into the future.

[Featured Image via Pixabay]

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Apple Schedules September Products Event —Will it Include the iPhone 8?

Will we finally see an iPhone 8 launch this coming September? That just might be the case as recent reports state that Apple has already picked a date next month to release its newest lineup which could include the highly anticipated smartphone.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has already scheduled a product announcement event on September 12, 2017. Of course, the latest report is welcome news for Apple fans who, for several months now, have been waiting for the tech giant to announce the iPhone 8 release date.

Before you get all excited, here’s a warning. Apple did not actually make the announcement. In the report, WSJ simply stated the latest information came from people who have inside knowledge of Apple’s plans. Without an official statement from the company, this also means that iPhone 8 may not be included in the new products to be unveiled.

But still, one can remain hopeful. In fact, there are several reports stating that Apple will unveil not one but three new iPhone models.

According to eWeek, Apple will launch three new smartphones in the upcoming September 12 event. The report is not certain if one of the three new phones will be the highly anticipated iPhone 8 or if it will even be named as such. One possibility is that the new phones might be labeled as extensions of the iPhone 7 series.

There is one interesting prediction made by eWeek though. According to the publication, one of the new iPhones will be a 10th-anniversary edition to commemorate the September 2007 release of the first iPhone. If correct, consumers can expect the special phone to be a bit more expensive than the regular models.

Meanwhile, Mashable is betting that one of the upcoming phones to be unveiled at Apple’s September 12 event will be the iPhone 8. The publication agrees with eWeek’s report that the tech company will be unveiling three smartphones during the event and has, in fact, named the other two mobile phones as iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus.

While Apple may unveil the iPhone 8 at the event, Mashable warns consumers not to expect the gadget to be available anytime soon. Apple is predicted to delay the availability of the new phone until later this fall to give time for the sales of the latest iPhone 7 models to stabilize.

Aside from smartphones, Apple is also expected to launch newer versions of the Apple Watch. According to Recode, the gadget has been gaining popularity as a fitness tracker, a trend that the company plans to mine with the introduction of new features into the upcoming versions of the wearable. For instance, the new Apple Watch will likely sport a built-in modem to enable users to listen to streamed music, make calls and even use some apps such as Uber.

[Featured Image via Pixabay]

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7 Ways to Increase Facebook Engagement in 2017

There's no question about the hold Facebook has in our lives, as more than 2 billion people use it monthly. Businesses had successfully used this social media giant to boost the public's engagement with their brand. Unfortunately, that all changed around two years ago when Facebook changed its algorithm so that only content relevant to the user will appear in their News Feed.

User engagement is one of the factors that determine whether your brand or content will show up in a user's News Feed. This means that the more likes, comments, and shares a post gets, the more likely it will be seen by a larger audience. The trick now is to know how to get your audience engaged.

Luckily, there are some tips and tricks you can do to increase Facebook engagement. Here are 7 of them:

  1. Post When the Timing is Right

The enormous amount of posts being published on Facebook means there's a lot of competition. The trick is to know the right time to post. Surprisingly, this doesn't mean the time when most people are logged in to the site. Studies have shown that it's more effective to post content sometime between 10pm and midnight (local time) as this receives the most engagement.

Related image

Posting at 11 am is also a good, but engagement during this time is minimal, as people are just skimming through their News Feed. This is in direct contrast to night time, when fewer posts are made but users have more time to really go through each post.

  1. Share Content Your Audience Wants, Not What You Want

To get people engaged with your post, share content that they want. Most of the time, businesses think that since they're in a certain niche, that all their content should be related to that field. For example, an online book shop might post content about their book prices, company news, and best sellers. But that's not what audiences want to keep reading about daily. To keep things interesting, expand the type of content that you share. In our example, the bookshop could post recipes on how to recreate dishes that were mentioned in a popular book series or share a beloved writer's top 10 favorite characters. Some tips on writing or reading would also be appreciated. The trick is to post something different, but not so different that it would seem out of place.

  1. Use Real and Personal Photos

Pictures are undoubtedly one of the most engaging content that a business can share, especially when they're real and not just some generic photo. Users would rather see original and personal photos than stock images. This is why we keep looking at photos of what our friends ate than those sleek images a famous burger brand might put out.

  1. Reply to Your Audience and Build Relationships

Since you're making a lot of effort to get people engagedImage result for reply on facebook with your post, it makes sense that you should also take the time to reply to their comments. Don't just post content and forget. Check the comments and reply as soon as you can. Engage your audience in a conversation. Yes, you need to deal with the usual troll but remember that people who leave comments did so because the post connected with them. Reply and make them feel appreciated. They will be more inclined to engage with your other posts as well.

  1. Make Blog Posts That Fits Facebook Perfectly

Links will go a long way to keep your audience engaged on Facebook. To ensure this happens, create a company blog and start making content that's tailored specifically to Facebook. List posts and content that tickles people's curiosity are the ones that perform well on the social media site. You can even look at content that you previously shared and create similar content or search for keywords that are engaging and interesting.

  1. Make Your Posts Sweet and Short

Blog posts are well and good, but remember that your Facebook page is not the company blog. People on Facebook are not there to read long content. Posts that are between 1 to 50 characters long garnered the most engagement. The more characters or words used in the post, the less engaged the audience is. So take out the unnecessary details and just treat your posts like headlines that will pull people in and get them to click on your link.

  1. Ask the Audience to Get Engaged

If you want your audience to be engaged, then give them clearImage result for call to action facebook instructions on what you want them to do. A Call to Action is something that a lot of businesses or marketers forget but it's what consumers respond to. Do you want your audience to share your post or to comment? Give them instructions on what they should do next. After all, if they took the time to read the whole post, they're already interested in the content and are willing to take the next step.

Facebook's billions of monthly users give you billions of opportunities to reach out to them. Plan your strategy well and make sure you have the right management tools to increase your Facebook engagement.  

[Image via Pixabay]

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Does Influencer Marketing Really Work? Here's What You Should Know

Companies have to fight tooth and nail to get their message across these days. And while content marketing still has its place, influencer marketing is the new trend, particularly with the ubiquitousness of social media.

The site Relevance likened influencer marketing to “celebrity endorsement advertising,” when Nicole Kidman could plug Chanel #5 or Leonardo di Caprio could extol the virtues of just about any product in commercials and magazines. Influencer marketing is basically the same thing, except that these days, you use “influencers” and social media.

How Does Influencer Marketing Work?

Influencer marketing basically boils down to three things – get in touch with someone with influence, like a popular blogger, get that person to promote your company in some form, and boost your exposure on social media.

Let's say there's a lifestyle maven named Party Pat with about 5,000 people following her on her blog and Instagram. You were able to convince Pat to help promote your online bookstore among her followers. She first blogs about her favorite books and mentions your store as her go-to place for ordering books. She later tweets or posts a photo of the latest book that she acquired and mentions how she easily ordered it from your shop and that it arrived in just one day. Her casual mentioning of your store and her experience could prompt her followers to check out your site as well.

Related image

The example might sound simple but it's actually not. It entails a lot of hard work and preparation. First, you have to find an influencer who's a good fit for your brand, whether they're bloggers, YouTubers, writers with regular contributions to popular online sites, or industry experts. Next, you have to reach out and build a rapport with said influencer. Some do this by following the influencer and interacting with him or her while others do it the relatively old-fashioned way and send an email.

If the influencer does respond, you still have to find a way to convince them to promote you. Maybe you can send a sample product or offer to be a guest blogger. Offer compensation is possible but could also be tricky. You have to convince and prove to the influencer that it's good for them to help you out. This means that if you're going to guest post, your content should be impeccable. If you're going to send a sample product, it should be high quality.

3 Tips for Using Influencers

If you are convinced that influencer marketing will help you and your brand, consider the following tips:

  1. Know that the relationship between the brand, the influencer, and the audience must be real.

Image result for real relationship with brandInfluencers have a strong following on social media because they capture their audience's interest; they have established a relationship with them. Maybe they're the same age as their audience, have the same interests, or have undergone the same life experiences. This strong relationship with their followers means influencers will only work with a company or brand that they and their audience believe in. For example, an influencer known for her quirky and affordable style of clothes won't suddenly start campaigning for a high-end shoe brand.

  1. Be ready to play long-term.

Don't go into influencer marketing thinking that one sponsored post will shore up your business. While a one-time mention by a mega-influencer can make a big difference, it's a rare, and very expensive, situation. Most of the time, influencer marketing should be looked at as a long-term approach, as you have to slowly build trust among the influencer's followers.  Followers might have to see his favorite influencer trying or mentioning your product several times before they become curious enough to explore and give your brand a try.

  1. Give creative control over to the influencer.

You might have complete control over your marketing strategy when it comes to traditional advertising, but influencer marketing is far from conventional. The goal is for your brand to have a quality engagement with the influencer's audience. To achieve that, you have to relinquish creative control to the influencer, as they know their audience. They understand the best way to introduce your brand and make their followers receptive to it.

Does Influencer Marketing Work?

Image result for online influencer effectiveness

There's some controversy on whether or not influencer marketing really works. Data from a 2016 marketing survey has shown that 94% of those who used this marketing strategy believed it works. However, what the ROI is of influencer marketing is still something of a challenge this year. But there's no question that this strategy has wide reach, especially with Facebook and Instagram being key platforms for influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing might not be for every company, but there's no doubting its influence on today's social media savvy consumers.  

[Image via Pixabay]

The post Does Influencer Marketing Really Work? Here's What You Should Know appeared first on WebProNews.



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LinkedIn Introduces Native Video Feature to Stimulate User Engagement on Its Platform

LinkedIn is best known as the social media platform specifically targeting the job market. It's a place where job seekers can look for work and for recruiters to source their manpower requirements. Lately, however, the Microsoft subsidiary is polishing the networking experience for its users by allowing them to post videos into the platform, a move that mimics YouTube and Facebook Live.

Among the various social media platforms, LinkedIn is a bit late at offering a native video feature. The company has been testing native videos since last month and is now rolling out the feature gradually, which means that it might take some time to reach to all its users.

The new feature is available to both the iOs and Android versions of the LinkedIn mobile app. For the Android version, the video icon can be accessed via the post button while on iOs devices, the video icon is located at the top of the feed. Pressing the icon allows a user to record or post previously recording videos to the platform.

Videos posted on the LinkedIn platform may significantly differ from those found on YouTube. Since the network is basically a business networking tool, users’ video recordings are expected to highlight their professional credentials such as completed and current projects, skills or product demos. While the maximum video length allowed is 10 minutes, LinkedIn recommends that users keep their video recordings between 30 seconds to five minutes in length.

In case you are wondering why LinkedIn would want to introduce a native video feature to its platform, it has been shown that video content generates better user engagement. For instance, Snapchat, Facebook, and YouTube collectively generate around 22 billion views per day.

The trend seems to be working on LinkedIn as well. Last month, data analysis showed that its videos were shared 20 times more than any other content. Now the next order of business is how to harness ad dollars sometime into the future.

[Featured Image via Pixabay]

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