If you’re looking to boost your online following, the first step is to find a niche you can create intriguing content for. Once you have that niche, grow your following by posting regularly, engaging with your followers, and networking with fellow creators.

Finding Your Niche

If your goal is to grow an online audience, focus your content around a specific topic. In other words, find your niche and own it. Where can you offer expertise? What do you talk about effortlessly? What topics do you enjoy researching? Where do your passions naturally turn? As you answer these questions, ideas for niche topics should become fairly obvious.

As you accumulate niche content, you’ll begin to attract followers as an authority — and, hopefully, the best source of information — on the topic. For example, as a dental hygienist, I noticed an overwhelming lack of information on oral hygiene and decided to focus my social media content there. My content in this niche rapidly gained a large following. Pursue your passion, and people with an interest will follow.

Engaging Followers and Networking with Creators in Your Niche

Increasing your audience starts with engaging followers. Think of building an online audience like building a relationship. Your task is to create a back-and-forth conversation. Your content may be fascinating, but if you don’t offer people the chance to talk, they won’t stay long.

Entice your followers to share their thoughts, and when they respond with DMs and comments, answer them. When viewers see an active conversation, they’re more likely to join in on it.

Get to know other creators who post content in your niche. These people are not your competitors — they are your friends. Collaborating with them boosts your authority and excites your viewers. Making guest appearances on other channels and hosting experts on yours provides access to new audiences interested in your content.

Start networking with these creators by following their channels, liking their videos, and commenting on their posts. If you notice someone posting great content, share it and give them credit. When they reciprocate, build a relationship and make plans to collaborate. This positive atmosphere goes a long way toward attracting followers on social media platforms.

Posting Engaging Content

Posting niche information is not enough; your content has to be engaging enough to hook followers and keep them coming for more. Be an expert on your audience as well as your niche. For example, when I post to TikTok, I know I’m likely to reach followers between the ages of 16 and 24. I also know this audience is best targeted through a combination of humor and education.

I started by posting primarily comedic content in my niche. When I won a loyal audience, I began introducing more educational content by answering questions from followers and offering tips on dental hygiene.

Posting Consistent and Regular Content

If you hope to grow your following, posting consistently is essential. Regular posts enable your content to rank higher in search engine results. Search engines index fresh content in your social media posts and display them when people search for those same keywords on search engines such as Google or Bing.

Posting regularly allows you to know your followers better. The more often you post, the easier it is to see which posts engage followers and which fall flat. You can establish patterns between the posts that attract new followers and higher views.

Designing content on a regular basis requires commitment. Success on certain social media platforms — such as Instagram or Pinterest — means posting multiple times a day. On TikTok, where I generate content, brands post an average of 1.8 videos per week, and the top 25% of active brands post content five times a week or more. Research finds a correlation between the frequency of your posts and the size of your audience. Accounts with 1,000-5,000 followers publish around one weekly video, while accounts with over 1 million followers post three or more.

When it comes to content, my advice is quality over quantity. However, quantity cannot be ignored. When you have chosen a platform, research how often the popular creators in your niche post, set a schedule for yourself, and stick to it.

Content batching is a technique that saves time, maintains consistency across your posts, and enables you to post regularly. Instead of planning your daily topic, shooting footage, creating graphics, editing, posting the content to your channel, then starting all over again the next morning, batching involves producing a week’s-worth of content at once.

Preparing a week’s worth of content at once may seem time-consuming, but it spares hours in the long run. When you engage in one task, rather than bouncing from one to another, you focus your energy and accomplish far more.

Remember, building your online audience takes commitment and dedication. Discover your niche, then post engaging and regular content. You’re in it for the long haul, so dig in, do what it takes, and don’t be discouraged.

The post How to Grow an Online Following appeared first on SiteProNews.

LinkedIn is also a great tool for landing new clients. You can network with people you already know, see who they know, and invite them to connect.

Now that you know LinkedIn is a great place for prospecting, let’s look at how to actually use it.

1. Optimize Your Profile

First impressions are extremely important, and your profile on LinkedIn is no exception.

First, make sure your profile is professional. This means using a professional headshot, writing a concise summary, and including keywords.

For keywords, check out your LinkedIn recommendations and endorsements. These will give you an idea of what types of things clients are saying about your services. Then, incorporate them into your profile.

2. Use Groups to Find Clients

LinkedIn Groups are a great place to meet and connect with potential clients. There are groups for every type of business and industry. Search for groups related to your area of specialization.

Once you find a relevant group, start contributing. Answer questions, comment on posts, and start a conversation.

Over time, you’ll build a reputation for being knowledgeable, and people will start to recognize your name.

3. Use the LinkedIn Premium Features

LinkedIn Premium is the paid version of LinkedIn. However, it also includes features that can help you grow your brand.

One feature, in particular, is InMail. InMail allows you to send personalized messages to people who match your targeted search. With a basic LinkedIn account, you can only send messages to people in your network.

With LinkedIn Premium, you can target your ideal clients, and send them messages directly, regardless if they are in your network or not. LinkedIn guarantees higher response rates with InMail so it’s definitely worth checking out.

4. Use the Power of LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn’s Sponsored Content and Text Ads are another paid feature that can greatly expand your reach and increase your visibility.

LinkedIn sponsored content allows you to publish long-form content on LinkedIn.

With Sponsored Content, you can target specific demographics, interests, and locations. You can also choose who your audience is, and only reach people who fit your criteria.

LinkedIn’s Text Ads are similar to Google Adwords, but LinkedIn allows you to target your ideal clients based on job title, company, industry, location, seniority, and more.

5. Use LinkedIn to Manage Customer Relationships

LinkedIn is much more than just a professional networking platform. LinkedIn allows you to manage and track all of your client and prospect relationships.

This allows you to keep track of who you’ve worked with, how you’re working with each client, and what you’re currently working on.

Utilize CRM LinkedIn tools to manage your network, add insightful notes and tags, easily export LinkedIn contacts, and bulk disconnect from connections that no longer add value to your network.

6. Post Regularly

Consistency is important. Without consistency, you risk losing followers. Post regularly to keep your followers engaged.

Posting regularly can also help you stay top of mind when it comes to connecting with new clients.

To keep up with a consistent posting schedule, you can create a LinkedIn content calendar. In your calendar, include topics you want to cover and plan out your future posts.

Additionally, you can use social media scheduling tools to schedule your posts in advance, so you can stay focused and get the most out of your time.

7. Publish Valuable Articles and Case Studies

Publishing valuable content will help establish you as an authority in your field.

The key is to include keywords in your posts, so they show up in LinkedIn’s search. When people search for topics related to your work, they’ll find your content.

Case studies are another great way to add value to your posts. Share an example of how you worked with a client or company. If you work in a specific industry or type of service, consider publishing case studies related to that industry.

8. Ask for Recommendations

Recommendations are a great way to increase your credibility and show potential clients that other people trust you.

Ask clients to write you a recommendation on LinkedIn. You can also ask colleagues and business contacts to write a recommendation.

Recommendations are powerful, so it’s important to ask for them. Just remember, people are more likely to write a recommendation if they feel connected to you so focus on building strong relationships first.

Now It’s Your Turn

LinkedIn is a powerful tool that can help you grow your business. By tapping into the power of LinkedIn, you can generate more business leads, connect with your ideal clients, and expand your network.

The post How LinkedIn Can Help You Find New Clients appeared first on SiteProNews.

Why You Should Seriously Think of Including Review Generation in Your Marketing Strategy

Why reviews are so important? Because they build loyalty and show your potential customers the most prominent positive and negative angles of your business. People can surf websites, and social media with stylish company accounts, but when it comes to the real people’s opinions it appears that they are much more crucial. Negative reviews are a subject to smartly manage. But some strengths mentioned in a review can easily influence the decision about visiting a company. Today, we want to talk about how a company can motivate customers to share reviews about their positive experience? RocketData gives five useful tools for your business to try.

5 Tools for Your Business to Generate Reviews

1. The Most Traditional Way — Email

Let’s start from the most classic way to engage customers into leaving feedback. A customer receives an email when he does a targeted action — visited a company, bought a service or a product, contacted a manager. Usually, right after such moments clients are already “close enough” to share their opinion on customer service or product’s quality. So, it’s time to ask them what they think.

What should your email contain to increase the chances a customer will leave a review:

– The right subject of an email that motivates: “Get a discount for your review”, “Free consultation for your opinion”, etc.

– A specific name of a real manager and a relevant topic: “Good afternoon, this is James from Rocket Presents. You sent a present using our service and we’re really eager to know whether you’re satisfied”.

– Catch phrases
It should be clear for customers how leaving a review will bring them benefit and it’s essential for them not to spend much time on it. Here come special phrases-amplifiers like: “help others to make choice”, “just a minute to make us better” “we improve with your reviews”, etc.

– Being grateful
You can motivate customers to leave positive reviews by expressing gratitude for their feedback. Say a couple of thankful words or even suggest a discount or a bonus for their opinion.

It will also be a great idea to include in your email a request to put a rate to the company (usually, from 1 to 5, or from 1 to 10). Create different landing pages for such survey.

If the customer puts a rate up to 7, they will drop into a landing page where they will find special feedback and will be asked to write what they didn’t like or what your business and improve. If they rate your company more than 7, they will be directed to the list of company locations where they can share their positive experience.

2. Signature in Your Email

Now, we slightly move to the last but not the least part in companies’ email communications — manager’s signature. Most of businesses underestimate such a simple but influential tool to generate reviews. Here is, why you shouldn’t.

In most cases, signature is the clearest way for customers to contact your company or a certain manager. Which can also become a reason to leave positive reviews about the service in your company. But you can go even further — add to the signature an invite to leave reviews on location-based services or on your website and insert a link to corresponding site. Use the smart approach to create a catchy call-to-action so customers have no chance to miss this out.

You can generate such signatures in the following services — Hubspot Signature Generator, Wise Stamp and others.

3. Quick and Clear — Messenger or SMS

Want to interact with customers who already familiar with your brand? Then choose SMS or Messenger. SMS is a good old and quick way to ask your client for a rate or review. Or you can also use more modern option — the Messenger.

It is a short version of an email, so you can use our advice from the previous points on how to create an appealing message. Only remember that here your thoughts and CTAs should be more direct and concise. Usually, messages are sent on the net day after a customer turned to a company and smoothly show them care and concern about the quality of product or a service they got.

Here is one more important thing — get clients’ consent to newsletters before you send any messages. In other case, you may get an irritated customer and his feedback won’t be so positive as you expect. You can get consent by a special form that notifies customers that their contact will be used to send news and messages from your company or on the special page of your website. For example, when people register gift cards or other bonuses.

4. Unexpected… — Remarketing

It may seem not so obvious, but it is a great tool to collect customers’ feedback. If you take your brand for serious and are ready to invest in your image, then this is the way for you. Concentrate on the audience that visited your website, bought a product or a service from your company, create a juicy visual, relevant CTA and free your ad out.

5. A Customer-friendly Way — QR Code

QR stands for a quick response. Ideal to follow and in a second leave a review. Customers can easily scan any POS materials (menu, banners, cash register, packs, etc.) or even a sticker with an app or smartphone and get redirected to a form for leaving review. There is no long links, so you can print QR code anywhere on materials in your locations and even on different surfaces in your points of sale. Just mind that it is should be placed where it is convenient to scan for clients.

You can generate a QR code that will lead your customers to your listing in Google Business Profile or to your website form. By the way, it may be the most ecological way for customers, cause the need to make only one step to get to a review form.

Where to Collect Customer Feedback

Depending on the region, you can find a list of location-based and review services that are the most popular. You can select two types of such platforms for your business — the main (the most popular like Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.) and the additional sites (specialized on separate industries and niches, e.g., medicine, HoReCa, sports). You should define the most priority sites for your company and take care of not only being present there, but also getting fresh and positive reviews that you can analyze and improve. Marketers can always do it by themselves, but if your business has 10+ locations it can be hard to manage all the data on your own. So, it is a good idea to turn to platforms that can collect, manage, and analyze reviews in a single account.

To Sum Up

Reviews are crucial for any company, because they build a very important part of business’s reputation — customer loyalty. To say more, if a company has rating below four on Google 53% of clients even won’t consider visiting it.

Reviews help people to make right decisions about the purchases or visits, as well as help companies improve their service and products’ quality. That shows that we should bother about the stars in location-based services and work hard to generate more positive reviews from people who interact with our companies. That is, use all the ways and tool smartly and with a thorough thought, and get the results your business deserves.

The post Unobvious Ways to Stay in Touch With Your Customers appeared first on SiteProNews.

And now, that Instagram is making some changes and is updating its Ranking, more will follow… Questions, I mean. What does the Instagram update do? How does Instagram will rank content from now on? How will I rank higher on Instagram algorithm?

The meteoric rise of Social Platforms has inevitably introduced numerous changes to our lives. From our most personal moments to our professional decisions and approaches. Everything’s getting more different every day, everything’s getting constantly updated. So, let’s see what’s going on right now with IG’s latest updates!

The intent behind the famous’ Meta-Owned platform series of Updates, is to promote the publication of more original content, boost the flourishing of authentic creators and young talent, while trying to reduce content farms and the domination of feeds by re-posting tactics. The general idea behind those changes is to tone down the presence of aggregator sites and give more space and credit to the true creators!

Still…You Might Have Some Questions…

IG’s Chief, Adam Mosseri, has posted on his twitter Account:

We’ve added new ways to tag and improved ranking:

1. Product Tags
2. Enhanced Tags
3. Ranking for originality

Creators are so important to the future of Instagram, and we want to make sure that they are successful and get all the credit they deserve.

And with a short video, Mossari tried to break down the platform’s thinking+ideology and explain the why’s of these Updates.

Even so, questions are still being raised!

What are these changes really mean? What will happen in case of posting content from other platforms? Or what will happen if a bigger profile re-posts your content? Could you be penalised?

Here is a short version of the clarifications provided!

Content edited outside Instagram won’t be penalised! You can create it and then introduce it via your Gallery. Posting history will be a factor! The platform wants to identify content aggregators. If you re-post continuously from other accounts, you will most probably reach a decline. And finally, yes…Mossari admitted that IG’s content ranking is a work in progress!

Needless to say, marketers using IG will have to adjust to these Updates and find new ways to market and advertise their products, maintain or even augment their visibility on the platform and eventually increase their sales. In the beginning, play the game with a new set of rules, might feel somewhat uncomfortable and abrupt (as all sudden changes do!), but in the long run (and taking the right steps) it might end up being beneficial and profitable in multiple ways.

New Paths to Blaze in a New State of Being!

These changes will encourage users and marketers to become more creative. The ways to reach the desired public will be re-considered and possibly your basic idea and original strategy will be enriched and rejuvenated!

A targeted group can always become wider!

A better photo can say more than thousand words!

and

A post can touch more hearts!

Even before IG’s latest Updates, our society had already changed again. These Updates could function as a wake-up call! They might be the erethisma that will take us out from our comfort zones and make us create freely and discover new result-full techniques!

The Social Age is challenging and demanding. Today, maybe more than ever, constant movement and transformation are signs of vitality, survival and growth. Don’t be afraid to change, to openly commit to and support timely and relevant issues. Generating authentic, sincere, original and unique content, is the only way to stand out and successfully promote your product in the vastness of the social media space.

(It feels wrong even to think it but…) Being human(e) has never been so pressing and necessary! Sensitivity, empathy, conversational approaches and plasticity, in order to be able to follow all the social and communicational shifts are required! A deep and truthful interest should be the starting point of every marketer. To thrive in the most practical aspects of the market, the theoretical basis and strategies must be sound, innovative but most of all relevant!

The new attitudes, new beliefs, all trends and tendencies must be expressed in ways that will connect and relate you to the right audience! Be precise and focused! Target wisely! Use your Insta-Stories creatively! Use Highlights in your Profile! Create the right Hashtags! And, of course, allow users to buy through your feed.

It Is Time to Readjust

The 2022 New Instagram Updates are here and for the bold and creative these are good news! Legit Content is gaining more value! Original thinking is being promoted and creative ideas will guarantee bigger sales. Welcome these Updates as a chance for your profile and business to be valued in a more holistic way! Accept these updates and welcome them as a blessing in disguise. Now, is the time to:

• Re-connect with our Society’s new challenges
• Re-establish your brand in a more (or all-) inclusive environment
• Re-fresh your communication strategies
• Re-approach your existing client-base
• Re-link your business with the increasingly demanding young consumers
• Re-consider your existence in an Updated ecosystem
• Re-set your goals and align them with an even brighter tomorrow

Publish pictures that will positively shock with their raw nature, combine colours with black and white imagery, use short, roughly-cut videos where every frame is a creative hit! Create swift, clean-cut phrases, filled with meaningful ideas. Words are worlds, your words your worlds. Today success comes through originality and authenticity. Be valiant! Think of all the possibilities!

The future is now, everything’s now! Grasp it!

And if you feel, at some point, that you hit an inspirational wall, there are always useful sources that can lead you out from your Instagram Marketing Strategy dead ends, and take you to places where tangible, revolutionary and practical solutions flourish non-stop!

Don’t be legit because you have to or need to…be legit because this is you truest self!

The post Instagram Ranking Update: IG Now Gives More Value to Legit Content appeared first on SiteProNews.

As E-commerce booms and social platforms multiply, it’s clear that a digitally native world is only around the corner. With the demand for all things digital consistently growing, the demand for tech and design innovation comes hand in hand.

As virtual evolution continues to become more prominent on the back of new forms of VR/AR technology revolutionising the online sphere, user experience has become key essential as we form our relationship with new technology. As new software continues to extend the capabilities of digital immersion, it’s no surprise that UX has become a hot topic for virtual reality experts.

As we see consumers shift from users to players as the metaverse era begins, traditional forms of marketing continue to become redundant. From content design and 3D tools to new communication interfaces that promote immersion, read on to find out how the metaverse could change UX design like never before.

What Is the Metaverse? 

So what is the metaverse? We’ve all heard the term thrown around on tech platforms and during Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta reveal, but what does this actually mean for the UX designers who will need to pave the way for the future of effective marketing online?

The term metaverse was first mentioned in the 1992 science fiction novel, Snow Crash, written by Neal Stephson. Using the word metaverse to describe his image of a 3D world that users could virtually exist in, he predicted that technology would one day enable us to live in a real-time, online environment that we could change, grow and interact within.

In the modern-day, the Influencer Marketing Hub define the metaverse as “something that is always active, exists in real-time, players have individual agency, it’s a self-contained and fully functioning universe and contains user-generated content.”

As we toy with this shift from consumers to players in a user-generated content dominated online environment, it’s clear that the metaverse will continue to transform consumer attitudes and demand a more active user experience design across a number of sectors.

From e-commerce and the corporate market to gaming and entertainment, it’s clear that the metaverse expects more of marketers, but just how much could this revolutionise the industry?

How It Will Change the Future Of Marketing

For smart marketers, the metaverse could be a game-changer in regards to gaining exposure and boosting revenue online. As VR continues to slot itself into a number of sectors across the globe, the metaverse’s advertising potential is infinite.

The key here is prioritising new forms of immersive design and smart consumer content that can not only easily insert itself into the virtual world but encourage consumers to interact and communicate with it.

Especially for Gen Z demographics, where 87% of young users are already interacting with current metaverse platforms such as Fortnite from the comfort of their smartphones, the benefits quickly outweigh the costs for companies aiming to gain exposure. In fact, providing an immersive experience within the metaverse that enables a player to connect and interact with a virtual version of a product or service will translate into higher conversion rates in the real world.

For example, the London startup fashion agency, Dimension Studio saw their profits double in 2021 as a result of experimenting with new forms of UX marketing in the metaverse. The User Experience focused company that specialises in the future of volumetric content and creating immersive experiences within the metaverse is one of the first pioneers in the future of 3D forms of UX design.

Partnering with Balenciaga’s Afterworld game, they created a new form of virtual production that enabled a player to step onto a platform within a virtual environment and physically test out Balenciaga’s pieces on their augmented avatars.

Using new forms of 3D UX design to their advantage, dabbling within the metaverse has made them $6.5 million in revenue as a result.

Commenting on the success, Metaverse expert, Cathy Hackl stated that the future of marketing and advertising needs to be thought about in 3D.

“The professionals of today need to start thinking in 3D because the professionals of tomorrow will already be thinking in 3D,” commented Hackl in a recent interview with Vogue. “Agencies will need to partner with people that have game design experience and game theory. They’re going to need those people that not only know how to create beautiful things but actually know how to make things work in a gamified way inside virtual worlds.”

What Does This Mean For UX Designers?

It’s clear that UX designers will need to shift their mindset in the wake of the metaverse. Rather than designing for passive consumption, the future will centre around active design that encourages consumers to act on their creation and continue to blur the lines between what is real and what is virtual.

Shifting From Users To Players

Designers will need to think of consumers as players, rather than simple users of technology. 

In order to improve user experience across online platforms, UX designers need to create a wholly immersive experience that enables a player to live and interact with a virtual world, rather than simply experiencing it.

Immersive design will need to be applied to all forms of UX, even outside of metaverse world-building. This applies to website design, content creation and advertisements too. As the line between the virtual and real continues to blur, designer decisions need to focus on inserting a product, service or advertisement within the metaverse seamlessly. Consumers are much more likely to interact with UX design that feels natural, authentic and consumer-created.

As technology continues to make metaverse players increasingly smart. It’s time for designers and modern marketers, to get smarter.

How To Improve UX Design For the Metaverse

So how can you start preparing for metaverse design? A fully virtual world may only be around the corner, but UX designers still have time to adapt. Here are some of the tweaks you can make to your UX initiative as metaverse design continues to revolutionise the industry.

Start Storytelling With Your Design

The metaverse is massive and is only predicted to expand in the coming years. With a large following comes a large number of experiences across a diverse consumer group. The key for UX designers is finding a way to connect all of these user experiences to create a compelling story that hooks an audience amongst competitors.

Therefore, it’s time to start prioritising storytelling within your content. In order to gain awareness and exposure, telling a story with your design will not only immerse your consumers but distract them from a product or a service, for a more natural consumer-led experience with your brand. 

Better still, learn how to integrate your UX design into their existing virtual stories. Find a way to promote or advertise using an existing narrative within the metaverse.

For example, on gaming platforms such as Roboblox, skateboarding brand Vans, introduced a skatepark into the metaverse, the purely existed for users to interact with during their own virtual narratives. After seeing 48 million visitors that boosted revenue for the brand outside of the metaverse, story integration can be considered a key tactic for UX designers.

Sit Back and Observe 

The metaverse is still relatively new, so a smart move for new UX designers on the block would be to simply sit back and observe. 

Take a closer look at your competitors and start user testing. Taking an audit of your current engagement stats, audience characteristics and site analytics using tools such as Google Analytics and Finteza is a great foundation for success.

Designers need to see how their audience currently interact with the metaverse and understand how their products will behave in new virtual surroundings.

Incorporating 3D Tools & VR Design 

In order to effectively design for the metaverse, UX professionals are moving towards new 3D modelling alternatives such as Tvori and SketchUp that will enhance modelling and prototyping in a 3D virtual world.

It’s also important for UX and UI designers to get more equipped with the new forms of VR/AR tech on the market. Utilising elements of augmented and virtual reality within daily life will allow designers to step into the shoes of their consumers and visualise the image they want to create for immersion success.

The Future of Metaverse Marketing

Did you know that 58 million people in the US are currently engaging with at least one form of AR/VR tech at least once a month?

As the demand for virtual immersion online continues to grow in line with the metaverse, traditional forms of marketing just dont cut it anymore. Interactive experiences and communication is now a must if you want to stay on top of online competitors, and UX design stands at the forefront of this.

On the back of Facebook’s 2021 Meta rebrand and gaming platforms such as Fortnite and Roboblox leading the way, the metaverse is expected to transform consumer advertising and interaction design within the next 5 years.

The post From Users To Players: The Future Of UX Design In the Metaverse appeared first on SiteProNews.

A strong professional network is an important component of career success. A network helps you to develop and refine your skills, stay on the cutting edge of your industry, and boost your job prospects.

Networking bolsters your career by enabling you to broaden your skills, stay on top of trends in your industry, and enhance your career opportunities. Your network can help you advance your career and access more job opportunities.

But in a competitive job market, how to ace your professional networking? Don’t worry we have got you covered there.

Why is Network or Connection Important for Business Success?

Professional networking helps open a path to opportunities. It facilitates getting ahead in a competitive job market, meeting prospective clients, and gaining better access to career resources.

To increase your chances of success in any competitive industry, you should attend professional networking events. These are gatherings at which you can find new leads and inspirations, and learn about opportunities in your field.

It can be difficult to find employment opportunities, particularly if you are looking for a job in the field with too much competition. Professional networking with people in your business network may expose you to job openings that cannot be advertised by newspapers or online job boards.

When discussing a career with people in your business network, let them know that you are looking for a new opportunity. It is a good idea to mention your expertise and experiences and to make it known that you are open to accepting offers.

Small business owners can generate leads with the help of professional networking. For example, some people may be willing to offer help, especially if you are looking for new business contacts. On the other hand, they may even go out of their way to provide you with personal and professional expertise.

Never forget that even though you are submitting business proposals modestly, you need to follow up on leads with courtesy and value other people’s time in a very professional manner.

As a business develops, it is crucial to engage in professional networking to stay ahead of the competition. Developing professional relationships can help you maintain an edge in the business through technology and allow you to keep up with changing trends.

Building business relationships give you access to internal information that can help your business stay ahead of competitors with new strategies.

How to Build a Valuable Network for a Successful Business?

Craft an Elevator Speech

An elevator speech is a summary of your experiences, skills, and achievements that you can deliver in 60 seconds.

To promote yourself professionally, define your goals and consider how to use networking to reach them. It is important to know your goals when networking in order to be successful.

For example, networking can help increase the profile of your organization by telling clients about its services and products.

Networking can also help you actively sell yourself and your company by pitching to executives. And networking can simply be a way of introducing yourself and what you do for a living.

Build a Professional Network Online

Professional networking sites are a useful tool for staying in touch with your business network and for making new connections. To take full advantage of the online environment, you should supplement it with more traditional methods of communication.

Professional networking sites can help you stay connected with your business network and make new contacts, but remember that making an online connection is just the beginning. You will have to nurture these networks to turn them into lasting and fruitful relations.

The online community Meetup offers a platform that connects individuals who share common interests. New members can search for meetup groups in their geographic area and are invited to attend when they are created.

If you’re not sure what kind of a group you’d want to join, you can start a group of your own. When you create a group, it will appear in the network’s events section. It will notify you if there are any other users who share the same interest as you.

Host Virtual Events for Networking

Use virtual events for networking. Virtual events allow professionals to attend professional networking events from the comfort of their homes. Virtual events are a convenient way to network with others.

Hosting virtual events for professionals is an effective way to reach a large audience. It’s also convenient for participants to attend professional events from the comfort of their homes.

With a high attendance rate, you can provide multiple opportunities for your audience to increase exposure to your brand or company.

To connect with others professionally online, take an in-depth look at virtual networking event ideas and how to host them effectively.

Professional networking can take time, effort, and creativity. If you’re wondering how to build professional connections online through events, check out some virtual networking event ideas and ways to host them.

Contact People You Have Already Met

When seeking new connections, try reaching out to friends, family, colleagues, and former bosses who may offer you new job opportunities or introduce you to the people who matter most in the industry.

Use networking events, email, phone calls, and handwritten notes to stay connected with the help of your friends and family.

Think about ways to connect with others: coffee meetups, email, phone calls, handwritten letters, and/or social gatherings. When people make a conscious effort to maintain meaningful relationships with others, networking is much more likely to pay off in the long run.

The experts at The Muse even have a few suggestions for how you can take advantage of your friendships to make new connections.

Keep Searching

As you meet people and interact with them, be sure to tell them that you are looking for a job opportunity. You may also want to mention that you are seeking business partnerships and networking opportunities.

When you are meeting with your friends or attending a neighborhood party, use the opportunity to talk to others and find out what they do for a living, how they got into their field of interest, or what opportunities are available in the area.

While socializing in a casual setting, look around and name some of the things you see. Notice how that helps you focus your attention on the setting. Then, try to make eye contact with people you notice and engage them in a friendly, positive way.

These interactions can provide opportunities for you to improve your social skills and develop your confidence in face-to-face business situations.

Virtual Speed Networking

Speed networking is a means of rapidly expanding your business contacts, accelerating your business growth, and increasing your visibility in the marketplace.

With Speed Networking you meet a large number of business contacts in a shorter period of time. It is a convenient and effective way to expand your contacts and boost your business growth with Godspeed.

At a speed networking event, you can meet new people, reveal what you are looking for, share your skills and experience, and get to know others in your field.

How to Manage the Relationship of a Large Network After Building It?

Choose the Right Contact Management System

As part of an integrated marketing strategy, your Contact Management System should be the hub of your business. It’s the platform that stores all of your key contact data as well as communications with every customer and lead.

Contact management systems are complex programs, and there are several things to consider when choosing a program for your business.

With so many options available, it is important to research what is best for your industry, business size, sales and marketing strategy, and goals.

Some of the best Contact Management Systems available are,

• ContactBook
• Google Contacts
• Contacts+

Centralize Your Database

The most effective contact management strategies include a centralized database that stores all contacts within a single application. This will generally be your Contact Management System, which is why you should follow the step above and choose the right one!

What can you do by having a centralized database?

• You can find all your key insights in one app.
• Finding the correct data for other members of your team becomes way easier without the need for constant logins.
• You can save your time by training your team for different platforms and tools they don’t need.
• Improve collaboration between departments by encouraging information exchange.

You need to first identify the main apps in your stack that are collecting data to start centralizing your data. You can then sync your data eventually with our Contact Management System.

Maintain a Clean Contact Database

To experience a smooth contact management system, start with maintaining a clean contact database. You cannot deliver a brilliant customer experience if you have incorrect data about your customers or clients. And neither can you have smooth-running business operations and reporting inside your company.

Even though you can adopt adjusting lead generation forms and introduce clear processes for your team to follow, you cannot avoid it all. This is why your business needs the right contact management system to maintain a clean address book for you.

It is necessary to do regular data clean-ups, like every quarter. How do you do that?

As a part of cleaning up, you should take out time to remove:

• Contacts that you are no more associated with.
• Outdated or incorrect data.
• Hard-bounced email.
• Duplicate Contacts.

Automatically Sync Updates

Remember: Contact Data is one of the most crucial parts of your business and you cannot have it dispersed in different places. To even have different contacts or incomplete contacts with your team works as a drawback for you and your business.

This is why we suggested for you have a centralized contact database in the second point. Having a Contact Management System in your organization that offers you a feature for automatically syncing your contacts would help keep the contact data of and for your team members in one place.

Simply put, all you have to do is find a good contact management system with great integrations like Google, Outlook, Microsoft, and more. And then sync your contacts with these platforms to fetch all the contacts in one place that is available on all the different platforms.

This way, all your contacts will be in one place and available to all (whoever is allowed to give access to it). In addition to this, the cloud system of this Contact management System will update the details of a particular contact in all the other devices that this account is connected to.

Collect Data to Enrich Your Insights

By syncing your data with other platforms and devices, you can easily and automatically enrich the insights you have at ease.

For example, if you are at a meeting as a marketing representative of your company then you can update the minutes of the meeting as notes in the contact itself.

Apart from notes, you can also add reminders for yourself or for your team members under a contact name. This will help you in reminding about the pending tasks or meetings that are approaching. These features would help in collecting data that is needed to enrich your work with insights.

To manage the relationship of a large network after building it you can try this software.

Leverage Your Network’s Power to Grow Your Business

Customer Feedback

The only and sole purpose for any and every business to exist is because it provides a solution or value to a certain group of customers. This means that customers are your most valuable source in bettering the value that your business provides.

So if you want your business to keep growing and improving then ask your customers for their feedback as help!

You can start by asking questions that concern their likes and dislikes about your business. Because for a fact no business is perfect, this makes finding areas of improvement a task that is endless.

Marketers tend to overestimate their ability to predict the needs of customers, and thus often come up with ideas based on hunches or assumptions about their preferences.

Questions like “What do you think of our company?” can help you gauge how customers feel about your business and will give you a clearer idea of where they find value in your solution, and where you can improve.

Give Readers What They Want

Web content is often defined by unique, valuable information. In other words, “content is king.”

While some types of content, such as product descriptions and press releases, are important in building domain authority and attracting prospects, it’s only effective if the right people want to read it. But coming up with good content topics can be difficult.

Solicit feedback from subscribers by sending an email outlining each post’s value proposition and soliciting the reader’s thoughts. This will let you know which blog post topics remain relevant to readers and can help you determine where to focus your blog efforts in the future.

Feedback from readers can help you determine if your content is interesting and informative for your readers, which can help shape where you focus your future content efforts.

Referrals

One of the best ways to grow your business is by getting word-of-mouth referrals from your satisfied customers.

Referrals can be built into your marketing strategy in the form of calls to action that encourage customers to spread the word about your business.

Probably the best way to grow your business is by leveraging your existing customers and giving them every opportunity possible to refer you to their friends.

Why should you do referral marketing anyway? The answer is because it probably has the biggest potential in terms of marketing and acquisition. How? Referrals don’t cost a single penny to you or your business.

Could there be a better reason? We don’t think so.

Social Media

Your customers’ primary internet-facing profiles are on social media websites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. With a contact management system that logs this information, you can meet them where they are most comfortable.

A contact management system that logs this information can help you personalize outreach to them.

You can learn a lot about your contacts by using social media tools to monitor their online behavior.

Consumer response on social media platforms provides valuable feedback. By collecting social media contact data and responding promptly to comments, you can develop positive relationships with consumers.

Conclusion

All in all, we hope we were successful enough in imparting comprehensive knowledge on how important professional networking is when you are starting or running a business.

And needless to say, with the tips, tricks, hows and whys, benefits, and more we have mentioned above, professional networking will be easier than expected for you with the right contact management systems.

Contact Management Systems will not just let you manage your contacts but will definitely help you network better and maintain the right history of communication for better relationship building.

The post How to Succeed in Building a Valuable Network for a Successful Business? appeared first on SiteProNews.

So, it’s no surprise that brands are leveraging their influence to reach their target audience and increase sales. But what if the follower base of the influencer your brand has partnered with is fake? To be more precise, what if the influencer is fake and all his/her followers were bought?

Brands all over the world have drastically increased their investment in influencer marketing. After all, the revenue generated from influencer marketing is equal to or more, than other paid marketing channels. But partnering with influencers costs, especially if they have an enormous follower base and are sought after in their industry. But if the influence is fake, all that money goes to waste, because the influencer doesn’t have a genuine and engaging follower base.

Since these influencers have no genuine followers, brands get nothing out of the money they invest in them. Although, it’s not just money. Influencer marketing campaigns require extensive planning, preparation and the dedication of your social media teams. All these resources go to waste, which further leads to setbacks in your marketing plans.

In this piece, we are going to discuss some effective ways to identify fake social media influencers. Let’s get right into it.

The Impact of Influencer Fraud

Being a victim of influencer fraud can be disastrous for brands with the biggest impact being the financials. While major, more influential brands may recover, small and emerging businesses might not be so fortunate. Small businesses have limited resources and influencer fraud can just bleed them dry.

Also, the money isn’t the only thing brands lose. The time spent by your social media team could have been put to better use to drive engagement, boost social media presence, and increase conversions. Fake influencers don’t offer genuine engagement, because they have no genuine followers.

Partnering with influencers can also damage your brand reputation. Users do not consider fake influencers credible, and if your target audience finds that out before you do, they will raise questions about your credibility.

How to Spot Fake Influencers?

Now that you know why influencer fraud is a major concern, let’s dive deeper and discuss ways to identify fake influencers.

Analyze Follower Profiles

The easiest way to identify fake followers in an influencer’s follower base is by checking the follower profiles. You can start by looking for follower profiles that do not have a profile image or a bio. Genuine users customize their user profiles with all relevant details, a profile picture, along with a unique bio.

Follower profiles that do not have the relevant details or even the minimum of a profile image are usually fake followers. If these followers comprise most of the influencer’s follower base, they are most probably fake.

Another thing to note is that fake followers also use images of other genuine profiles. In that case, you can simply perform a Google image search using their profile image to verify their credibility.

Check Follower-Engagement Ratio

The follower-engagement ratio is another important statistic that you can use to gauge the credibility of an influencer. Genuine influencers that have spent time and effort usually have an engaged follower base. So, the first thing that you need to check is how much engagement the influencer gets. If the engagement is poor compared to the size of the audience, it is advisable not to partner with them. Even if the influencer hasn’t intentionally bought followers, poor engagement statistics are not great to start a partnership.

Analyze Engagement Quality

Engagement quality is also an effective way to identify fake influencers. While some only buy followers, others go far as even buying engagement, although the bought engagement is usually generic. Just look at the comments on the influencer’s posts. If most of the comments include “nice”, “looks good”, or “great pic”, the audience is most probably fake.

It’s one way to still identify possible issues even if the influencer buys engagement and passes the follower-engagement ratio test.

Check for Sudden Spikes in Follower Growth

Analyzing the follower growth of influencers can also help you identify fake followers. As fake influencers buy fake followers, their follower count will have sudden spikes showing a drastic increase. Using a third-party analytics tool, you can analyze the follower growth of influencers and identify such sudden spikes. It will help you verify if the influencer has bought fake followers or not.

Look for Bot and Inactive Accounts

In the last decade, every social media platform has witnessed a massive increase in automated bot accounts that inflate the follower counts of users that pay for them. These bots follow multiple accounts but don’t have many followers themselves. Therefore, you can use the follower-following ratio to identify automated bot accounts.

We can also conclude a high number of inactive accounts means fake followers for the obvious reason that the user/follower no longer uses the account or the social platform itself. The other reason is that Twitter has been updating its algorithm which has led to multiple bot accounts being abandoned because of the security updates.

Wrapping Up

Influencer fraud is a major concern for brands and marketers, but by analyzing the right metrics, you can identify them with ease. The foremost thing that you need to do after you identify them is to avoid partnering with them. You can also create a blacklist so you don’t have to do it all over again.

Another thing to note is that manually analyzing followers is not always possible. Imagine going through millions of social media accounts. Sounds exhausting, right? In such cases, you can use a third-party tool like FollowerAudit to identify fake followers for you.

The post How to Spot Fake Social Media Influencers appeared first on SiteProNews.

1. Dating Sites

Free dating sites are no longer limited to hookups. Growing internet coverage and busy work schedules are taking the stigma out of finding love online. More people have embraced internet dating in the recent past to make it a multi-million-dollar industry. According to past statistics, America’s internet dating revenue was $602 million in 2020 and is expected to hit $755 million by 2024. A separate study suggests that couples who meet online want to have families more than offline couples. Internet dating presents numerous benefits.

First off, it’s easy to start. All you need to do is choose a dating platform, create a profile, and meet new people. Additionally, dating sites increase the possibility of meeting your match. Unlike offline encounters where you can approach anyone, dating sites use your profile information to match you to a suitable partner. Dating sites are also a convenient way of avoiding loneliness.You can talk to a potential suitor as long as you wish before meeting them in person. Online dating presents a large pool of suitors, allowing you to be as picky as you wish.

2. Avoiding Loneliness with Artificial Intelligence

Gone are the days when users would scroll endlessly through dating profiles to cure their loneliness. Artificial intelligence uses more than just shared interests to match individuals. For example, AI may use your matches’ common facial features to recommend partners and end your loneliness. Moreover, artificial intelligence can scan your profile picture for objects that might reveal your interests. Assuming your photo has a guitar, AI can match you to other music enthusiasts on the app seeking to end their loneliness. AI also prevents fraud by detecting suspicious activity. For instance, AI may flag profiles soliciting money from other users in exchange for love.

Artificial intelligence can also identify fake profiles based on messages, fake images, and IP addresses. Likewise, AI ensures members use dating apps for the intended purpose by filtering out pornography and political content. This goes hand in hand with correcting spelling mistakes. It’s not uncommon for users to ignore texts containing bad grammar. Again, artificial intelligence cures loneliness by encouraging offline meetings after a certain period of online interactions. AI also offers first-date ideas depending on users’ personalities and interests.

3. Chatbots

Initially meant for customer service, chatbots are now providing singles with comfort when loneliness hurts.With weakening social interactions, it’s understandable why loneliness hurts people so much that they seek intimacy from digital systems. Unlike human companions who come and go, chatbots are always available during moments of loneliness. There’s no limit to when and where you can vent to chatbots.

Computer specialists have also programmed bots to flirt on their behalf on dating platforms owing to the process’ time-consuming nature. This is according to a past Mashable story. Data expert Jeffrey Li created an algorithm that accessed his Tinder account and swiped on 100 women daily. Li would then start talking to these women after the bot landed a match. Programmer Robert Winters took this bot a step further by giving it the ability to hold basic conversations. Though Tinder eventually banned Winters from the site, the bot was part of 200 conversations at one point.

4. Virtual Reality

Virtual reality promises remote social connections that are more immersive than other communication channels. Unlike dating sites where you can lie about your appearance, VR dating cures loneliness by engaging multiple senses. In addition to seeing and hearing, this technology allows you to feel your partner through epidermal VR. Long-distance relationships are easier because you know your partner’s real-time behavior.

VR also eliminates the anxiety of meeting people in person. A past study suggests that virtual dates tell more about an individual’s personality than online dating platforms. You can also choose virtual date locations. For instance, you can stroll through your dream city or go to outer space. If you love adrenaline, you can recreate the feeling of crossing a shaky bridge or jumping off a plane.

Conclusion

Technology cannot cure all your loneliness. However, you can use it to avoid loneliness when circumstances prevent you from meeting people directly. How much loneliness can a person take? Tell us how to avoid loneliness using technology in the comments.

The post Technologies Helping Singles to Avoid Loneliness appeared first on SiteProNews.

As a result, job seekers now have to jump at any opportunity to stand out from the crowd to sustain amidst today’s challenging times. That’s when LinkedIn comes into play. Having a strong LinkedIn presence won’t only help job seekers register on an employer’s radar, but it’s also the ultimate tool to amass connections and stay on top of industry trends.

Good news?

This guide explains how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and wow employers so that you can start work on Monday.

Get a Custom URL

If you aren’t a power user of LinkedIn, your profile URL likely consists of a nauseating mix of numbers and characters that looks something like this, “linkedin.com/in/sQys&za9&#.”

Problem?

Most recruiters expect job seekers to list their LinkedIn profile on a resume, so they can check your online presence as well as ensure whatever you’ve written in your application (e.g., work history) checks out with your online profile. Hence, if you don’t get a custom LinkedIn profile URL, it’ll look clunky and less professional on your resume.

So—here’s how to get a custom profile URL:

1. Click on the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn profile.
2. Click “View profile.”
3. Click “Edit public profile & URL” in the right rail.
4. Click the “Edit” icon next to your public profile URL.
5. Write your new custom URL in the text box (e.g., your name)
6. Click “Save.”

Make It Easier for Employers to Find You

If you want to get more job offers via LinkedIn, you need to let recruiters know you’re open.

To do it, head over to your dashboard and look for a “Career interests” bar just below your LinkedIn summary.

There, you’ll be able to specify:

• Up to five job titles you’re interested in.
• Preferred job locations.
• Start date (depending on whether you’re actively applying or just browsing for offers casually.)
• Job types (e.g., full-time, part-time, or internship)

Make Your Profile Hulk-Level Strong

Now that you’re done with the basics, it’s time to move on to more advanced optimization strategies for your LinkedIn profile.

For starters, make sure to provide as much information about yourself as possible. That’s because users who fully fill out their profiles are 40 times more likely to get job offers from recruiters, according to a recent LinkedIn study.

So—put in some legwork to:

• Craft an engaging profile summary.
• List your work experience (use numbers whenever possible) and education.
• Add certifications (if any).
• Highlight your accomplishments (from past or current roles.)

As for the “Skills” section, you can leave it for now, as we’ll tackle it later.

Make Your Skills Marketable

So far so good.

Now—it’s time to move onto the skills section.

First off, keep in mind that you can only add up to 50 skills to your LinkedIn profile. Hence, be sure to hand-pick the skills that you feel are the most relevant. 

Generally, a good place to start is to open up your resume and transfer the skills you have there to your LinkedIn profile. 

In this case, when typing the skills, it’s good practice to pick the ones that LinkedIn suggests instead of adding them manually. Otherwise, recruiters might have a hard time finding your profile.

Afterward, you can also put in some elbow grease to search for LinkedIn profiles similar to yours and see what other working professionals list in their “Skills” section.

Lastly, don’t just focus on adding hard skills (e.g., Excel, SEO), but also consider adding soft skills. To help you, below are five soft skills that companies need the most in 2020:

• Creativity
• Persuasion
• Collaboration
• Adaptability
• Emotional intelligence

The post How to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Rise above the Noise [4+ Tips] appeared first on SiteProNews.

Even some of the biggest brands out there were bootstrapped while their founders took up side gigs. Apple’s Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak both had jobs at Atari and Hewlett Packard, respectively, while they were building their first Apple I in the garage during the early 1970s. The rest is history, and this example is just one of many that prove hard work pays off. 

Here’s a list of jobs you should consider for making some extra dough while growing your business. 

1. Make Networking Your Side Hustle

As an entrepreneur, you definitely need to know a thing or two about networking and establishing connections with other businesspeople and prospects. That’s why it makes sense to capitalize on this skill until your own business takes off. Besides, while you’re already at it, you’ll additionally hone your expertise and maybe strike a couple of valuable relationships for your own venture. 

According to surveys, 85% of jobs are filled through networking – a stat that clearly illustrates the power of this practice. 

You can offer your services to other businesses and help them get in touch with potential business partners or prospects. This will, of course, require you to understand the industry very well, but matching two parties that need each other can be a great way to earn some money. 

Another option is to organize meetups and similar events that will help entrepreneurs interact and connect among themselves. 

2. Teach Online Courses 

One of the best and easiest ways to earn some extra income is by teaching online courses. 

No matter what your area of expertise is, you can offer it to other people and get paid for sharing your knowledge. 

What’s great about this is that you can find people interested in your teaching services easily on different platforms offering these kinds of services. For example, if you’re a native English speaker, you can offer some conversational classes to people from other countries who’d like to improve their spoken language. 

As an entrepreneur, leadership is something that you have to pick up in the process, and this is another skill that you can teach others. Many people can benefit from such a course, as it’s not something that traditional schools and colleges teach – especially if it’s backed up by the lecturer’s own experience in the field. 

3. Become a Freelance Writer 

As an aspiring business owner, you probably know how important blogging is for attracting and educating your target audience and keeping them on your website. 

Again, your knowledge and expertise in a particular field prove to be an asset that keeps on giving – you can make a few bucks by becoming a freelance writer. Pick your niche, write a couple of good articles for your own website, and then start offering this service to others willing to pay for it. 

It won’t take up too much of your time if you’re familiar with the topic, which should be the case if you opt for industry-related topics. 

4. Try Your Hand at Options Trading  

Options trading is a serious business that people do for a living, but you can start small and see how it goes. It’s a good idea because you can do it from home, dedicate only a couple of hours a day, and still make some money. 

Options are defined as contractual agreements between two parties – buyers and sellers. These agreements can be over-the-counter, meaning that they can take place outside an exchange, or standardized, meaning that they’re listed for trade on exchanges.  

Of course, in order to learn the ropes and make this work for you, you’ll first need to do plenty of research on becoming an options trader. Fortunately, the risk is limited, meaning that you won’t jeopardize your capital if things go south. 

5. Start a Dropshipping Business

This is one of the best and most popular ways of making an extra income because you don’t need a big budget and risks are pretty low. On the other hand, there will be 2.05 billion digital buyers globally in 2020, and you can have a share of this huge potential. 

Since you’ll basically be selling items directly to customers without having to physically store them in your inventory, you’ll be acting as an e-commerce middleman. Your main job will be to properly market the products you’re selling and find a way to attract customers. 

So, you don’t need a warehouse because you forward orders to the manufacturer who carries and ships goods that you’re promoting. As you can see, everything is pretty clean and elegant – all you have to do is build a visually appealing website and landing pages, invest in some ads, and reach out to prospects. 

6. Become a Virtual Assistant 

Virtual assistants can help companies significantly reduce operating costs, which means that there are a lot of available positions in this field. The benefits of this job include working from home, the ability to make a decent income, and an option to choose your working hours. 

This is a job suitable for extremely organized people who are capable of multitasking successfully. Your tasks will revolve around administrative work, such as scheduling meetings, taking care of email correspondence, entering data, as well as social media activities. 

It can be a bit tough until you learn the ropes, but in time, it can turn out to be a great way of making some money on the side while still having enough time to develop your own business. 

7. Create Transcripts 

Transcription jobs are decently paid, and you can do only a couple of hours a day and still earn enough. 

What’s even better is that you don’t need any particular skills other than those that you already possess. No particular experience in the field is necessary either, but it’s crucial to be focused and capable of typing very fast. You should know, however, that medical transcriptionists need a degree because they fall under the category of health workers, and their job is to transcribe recordings of medical reports. 

Your task will be to listen to audiotapes and create transcripts. The only problem is that sometimes these recordings can be bad, the sound somewhat muffled, and some speakers can use different accents.  

If you want to make your dream come true, you need to invest in it. Making an extra income will help you bootstrap your business without having to rely on expensive loans and other risky options.

The post 7 Ways to Earn Extra Income While Bootstrapping Your Business appeared first on SiteProNews.

If you haven’t, perhaps now is the best time to start.

Over 90% of recruiters are active on LinkedIn. What this means is that you have the best shot at getting the job of your dreams by simply reaching out to recruiters in companies you want to work with.

That’s not all. Read on to learn the art of attracting recruiters on LinkedIn:

Optimizing your profile image

The people you will get the opportunity to network with on LinkedIn are there to either advance their job search, to head-hunt potential employees, to advance their business, or to simply connect with like-minded people in the industry. 

Long story short, LinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. This means that it is best to keep your presence on LinkedIn strictly professional. 

Your profile picture matters. So make sure that you have one and see to it that your profile picture is not in informal attire. Instead, upload a clear headshot picture on LinkedIn with formal attire upon a plain background. Ask someone to click your picture with a good quality camera. 

And here’s the catch:

People with a profile image are more likely to get approached by potential employers just because it showcases that at least there’s a real person behind the profile, not a bot.

So it’s probably best to have a professional-looking profile image that is open to the public as it helps build the trust factor and encourages a potential employer to get in touch with you.

Writing an attractive Headline and Summary

You just have 120 characters to communicate your professional expertise, so be informative and original when writing a profile headline. Don’t forget to add domain-specific keywords in your profile headline to increase your searchability for recruiters. 

If your name is Bella Swan and you’re a business analyst, you can simply write that as your profile headline followed by 2-3 key skills or expertise areas.

Example: 

Certified Business Analyst | Business Analysis & Strategy | Data Analytics | User Engagement

Moving on to your profile summary, it should be sharp, crisp, informative, and well presented. To make the most of your summary, draft a short summary with clear lines describing your major skills and past accomplishments in your domain.

There are no summary templates that guarantee a 100% success result but the one thing which can take you ahead of the competition is giving a personal touch to your summary.

Adding a short video introduction of what you can bring to the table – your major areas of expertise and what results you can furnish for the company – can help keep the dice rolling in your favor. So, if you’re comfortable with that, go all out and make that video right away.

However, that said, you can choose to skip this because not everyone is comfortable with making videos, and that’s okay.

If your profile summary is informative and well-articulated, you’re already halfway through your journey.

Optimizing the Experience Section on LinkedIn

Most recruiters tend to skip to the experience section when glancing at your LinkedIn profile so put your best foot forward while drafting this section on LinkedIn.

It’s the same concept as writing an experience section for a paper resume, but you have the liberty of adding more information on LinkedIn.

Below are some things to keep in mind before writing the necessary information in the experience section relating to format and what it takes to master the craft of detailing your professional contributions. 

• Use one-liner points to talk about your designated roles and responsibilities under each job profile.
• Always start with an action verb and try to replace commonly used words like ’handled’ or ‘managed’ with power verbs like ‘directed’, ‘spearheaded’, etc. In other words, use action verbs to create more impact.
• Try to use performance figures wherever possible. Doing this will help you showcase the visible results of your professional contributions.
• Group every 2-3 points under a unique subheading along the lines of your target profile. 

Get Recommendations & Endorsements on LinkedIn

Blowing your own trumpet and glorifying your own skills will not guarantee you a job.

But getting recommendations from your colleagues will definitely help build credibility. 

In the eyes of recruiters, recommendations are seen as a testament to your competence in your functional roles and expertise areas in the organizations you have worked with. As such, recommendations serve as an acknowledgment of a professional’s abilities.

The same rule applies to endorsements.

While getting endorsements for your skills is great, getting it from just about anyone is not advisable. 

Recruiters are not stupid. They will most likely scrutinize your LinkedIn profile.

Seeing recommendations and endorsements from people with whom you have no working relationship will be seen as extremely shady.

For example, reciprocity of recommendations and endorsements by friends who you have no working relationship with is easily detected and frowned upon by LinkedIn, so we advise you not to indulge in such black hat activities.

Pro Tip:

Don’t reciprocate any recommendation or endorsement on LinkedIn for at least 90 days as LinkedIn sees this practice as inorganic.

Adding Skills in your LinkedIn Profile

You can add up to 50 skills in your skills and endorsements section so you should always choose the most appropriate skills that describe your professional caliber in the best possible way.

While you pick the skills that resonate with your functional areas, make sure that you prioritize those skills best describing you as a professional.

For example, for a Content Marketer, skills like “content marketing”, “facebook marketing”, is more relevant than more generic skill-sets such as “creativity” and “multi-tasking”.

Pro Tip: 

LinkedIn suggests skills when you type them in the skills section based on your industry and the most searched keywords by recruiters.  So make sure that you include these suggested skills as long as it resonates with the skill-set you actually possess.

Conclusion

LinkedIn is the third-largest social media platform so every job seeker should make use of this professional network to attract recruiters. 

In this article, we have covered all the major aspects to help you optimize your LinkedIn profile in order to make it recruiter ready. By applying the above-mentioned tips, you will be able to showcase yourself professionally. And, if that’s not enough, you can check out these hand-picked profiles by Linkedin so you can gain more clarity on how you can shape your own profile. 

In case you missed it, here’s a quick summary of the key takeaways of this article:

• If you don’t have a profile picture, add one. A clear headshot image will do.
• Write an attractive headline and a well-articulated resume summary.
• Fill up your employment details in all your work experience.
• Get recommendations and endorsements from people you have worked with.
• List your skills and prioritize the skills that most resonate with your professional role.

The post A Complete LinkedIn Profile Optimization Guide to Attract Recruiters appeared first on SiteProNews.

However, there is one catch if you decide to use social media platforms to engage your customers. 

Chances are that they are already engaged with something, and you will need to deliver something very interesting to grab their attention. 

For this, you will need to devise a new social media strategy. If you don’t have experience in engaging people on social media, we are here to help you out. 

Let’s see how to use online quiz software, quality content, and a lot of other things to engage your customers through a social media strategy.

Find Out What Your Customers Love

There are tons of posts on each of the popular social media platforms. What is important here is to note that not all of them drive the same amount of engagement. 

Some posts sink down into oblivion, while others become trending to reach many people. The question to ask yourself is: “What does my audience love?”

Fortunately, you don’t have to look at the stars to find the answer. There is an analytic tool for each social media platform you can use. 

For instance, if you are using Facebook, you can leverage Facebook Insights to not only find trending posts but also discover which particular one your customers are interested in. 

You can also discover the most engaging content types for a specific period of time. 

Deliver Exceptional Content

People are not interested in generic content. They don’t have the time to read boring columns of text nor watch dull videos. 

If you want to engage your customers, you have to deliver exceptional content. The better the content resonates with them, the more engagement you will achieve. How can you do this?

Your customers have hundreds of pain points, and your posts don’t have to revolve around your products and business exclusively. 

You should research your customers and engage in social media listening to discover specific pain points. 

Create content around these, and help your customers resolve them. Only introduce your products or services in the context of improving the quality of life of your customers.

Share Interesting Facts

Do you know that there are countless social media profiles with a huge follower base that only share interesting facts?

The fact is that people enjoy short posts that wow them. It takes only a couple of seconds to read them and they are fun and engaging. You shouldn’t start sharing every interesting fact that you stumble upon.

The trick is to keep it relevant to your customers and to your industry. Point out interesting trends in the industry, shopping practices, customer service, and support. 

Make sure to share your own insights into these and your customers will repay the favor by following, liking, and commenting. 

Incorporate “How-to” Posts in Your Schedule

One of the KPIs businesses tend to track to assess the engagement potential of their posts is social media share. It is generally a good sign if your posts generate a lot of shares. 

The trick is to identify which posts generate most shares. If we are going to trust the research, there is one study showing that “how-to” posts drive most of the social shares. 

In fact, they have 18% more chance to get shared.

This is why you should start writing high-quality how-to posts. Customers love hands-on advice coming from their brands. You can leverage this to strengthen the relationship and build more trust. 

The most common choices are step-by-step guides and tutorials.

Share Interesting Quizzes with Online Quiz Software

Staying on top of the comments on your social media profiles can be a tricky thing to do. There is a lot of management to be done. 

You can streamline a portion of it by sharing content that sends feedback to each one of your followers. Those are, of course, quizzes. Online quiz software is a convenient solution to help you with it. 

You can use it to create an interesting personality or knowledge quizzes to engage your audience. Make sure to introduce quizzes with compelling headlines to drive more engagement. 

Online exam creator can also help you gather valuable data from your followers and learn what they want, what engages them the most, and what they would like to see on your social media page.

Post FAQ Type Posts Once Every Week

Many people use social media to get informed. This is exactly why managers of political campaigns across the world invest heavily in social media marketing. 

You can stay on top of your social media engagement game by dispersing information your customers want to find.

Whether you want to leverage social media listening or look for inspiration in their comments and posts, you will be able to identify more than enough questions troubling the minds of your customers. 

Do this on a weekly basis and write elaborate FAQ posts to engage them and attract more followers. 

Inspire your Customers with Positive Stories

You are probably aware of how much negativity is present in our everyday lives. Bad news is flooding the internet.

You can become a beacon of light in these times and offer something different to your customers – positive success stories. 

If you post encouraging and inspiring stories with customers as your main focus, be sure that they will recognize it. 

For inspiration, look at your customers, employees, or business victories. Feature one of these stories every once in a while to remind your customers about the bright side of life. 

Who knows, maybe you will even manage to cheer someone up and make their day better.

To engage your customers on social media, you will have to discover what type of content and information they love. 

Additionally, you can leverage online quiz software, “how-to”, and FAQ posts to drive more engagement and inspire your audience by sharing inspirational stories.

The post Social Media Strategy: 7 Ways to Engage Your Customers appeared first on SiteProNews.

Internet security is something everyone should prioritize, regardless of age, so it’s important to be aware of current threats and how to deal with them. With so many people online, the magnitude of scams is increasing.

Protect Your Computer

Hackers are always on the lookout for vulnerable systems that they can break into. Viruses and other malware often infect a computer through email attachments, compromised software, or vulnerable Bluetooth connections. With so many powerful, affordable security tools on the market, there’s no reason to risk an infection.

Install a Firewall

A firewall acts as the first layer of protection between your computer and any third-party by acting as a barrier. If you’re using a home computer, you need to ensure that your firewall is always turned on. Depending on your operating system, you can turn on Windows Firewall through the Control Panel. It will also notify you if any attempts have been made to compromise your security.

If you’re a Mac user, we recommend you check out our list of vetted antivirus programs.

Install an Antivirus Program

Antivirus software is one of the most important solutions you can use to avoid infections. Both free and paid versions exist, and the most popular free options include Avast Free Antivirus, Microsoft Windows Defender, and AVG Antivirus. Make sure that any software you use is regularly updated and running the latest version.

As for ease of use, we highly recommend the following:

• Norton by Symantec is a great all-around option that is reliable and easy to use.
• Comodo offers a seamless experience. Start and stop scans with only one click.
• NANO PRO loads fast and is easy to navigate. The installation process is basic as well.

If you’re looking for more options, check out our reviews on some of the best antiviruses on the market.

Installing Ad Blockers

Advertising is important for helping websites stay in business and keeping the cost of internet use down for consumers. However, some sites take things too far with so many ads you can’t even see the screen. Other websites may even be using ads to hide malware, a trick known as malvertising.

Some of this malware can install on your computer by simply visiting the webpage, even if you don’t click on the ad. Luckily, an ad blocker is easy to install or can be added as a simple extension to your browser.

The best free ad blockers include Adguard for Chrome and Firefox, AdRemover for Chrome, and Ghostery for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Internet Explorer, Android, and iPhone iOS.

You also want to protect your system against other possible threats like spyware. Window’s users can download the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool from the Windows Download Center. Both Windows and Mac users can use an anti-spyware solution like Malwarebytes.

Use Complex Passwords

Your computer needs to be protected with a password that is both complex and hard to guess. Ideally, it will be a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. It also shouldn’t include any information that people can easily guess about you like your birthday or name.

Using these steps will ensure that any activity that you do on the internet does not negatively impact your computer. The software will protect your computer against any breaches and will notify you of the same. However, even with this software, you have to use your diligence in who you interact with and which websites you visit. The software can’t protect you against any scams and can only protect your computer system.

Avoiding Common Scams

Cybercrime is the fastest growing crime internationally, and it is estimated that it cost $600 billion last year alone. With so many threats, it can be difficult to protect yourself. Here are only a few of the rampant internet scams to watch out for:

Email Scams

Scams that are communicated through an email are the most common. Phishing, for example, tries to steal sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details for malicious purposes.

Phishing typically involves a scammer pretending to be someone else. The email looks real and will have a company’s color scheme, logo, and design style. It may feature an offer that seems too good to be true. However, if you look closely at the domain, you’ll notice it isn’t real. It may originate from a domain like Ama.zon.com, for example.

When you click a link in that email, you will be taken to a website that may infect your computer with malicious threats. If you complete a purchase on this fake website, your credit card will likely be stolen.

Another form of email scams is whaling. It’s a lot like phishing, but the scammer targets businesses or C-level executives. Likewise, the email seems to come from a high-ranking executive, providing the scammer access to an account. The Snapchat CEO’s name, for example, was used in a mass email sent to his employees; it was successful in obtaining sensitive information about the company’s employees.

To avoid this scam, verify the identity of the person sending you the email. If the email address and credentials check out but you’re still suspicious, contact the person or company about the email before following through.

Tax Scams and Banking Scams

Scammers send out emails that appear to be from your bank or other financial institution. They generally claim that they need your account details to confirm a transaction or to investigate unusual activity. With access to your private data, they can now use your credit card to make purchases.

One of the most popular methods is the IRS phone scam. A fraudster will call victims, warn them that they owe money to the government and that they are facing jail time, and harass them into paying it. They will encourage you to make payments through a wire transfer, prepaid debit card, or gift cards.

Never verify your identifying information to someone who contacts you, regardless of how they reached out to you. The IRS will never contact you like that. A quick call to them will confirm if these debts exist.

Security Software Scams

Security software scams send a pop-up message to your device stating that your privacy or security has been compromised. They will often suggest you install a certain piece of software. They may also offer to do a cleanup for you. Downloads from this pop-up are actually going to install a virus onto your computer.

Visiting an infected website can trigger a popup box that says your computer is infected. You’re directed to call the tech support phone number where an agent takes over your computer, pretends to find and clean dozens of viruses, and sells you a security suite for hundreds of dollars. All of the software the agent installs on your computer was readily available online for free.

Fortunately, this one is very easy to avoid: never click a popup box that tells you your computer is infected. First, stay safe by downloading a strong antivirus security suite and keep it updated. Should you accidentally stumble upon a popup box by mistake, exit out and ignore it, then run a virus scan using your own installed software.

Lottery Scams

Fake lottery and competition scams are still a threat. You receive an email that tells you that you’ve won a significant but still believable amount of money. All you have to do is provide your bank account or credit card details so you can pay a small processing fee and so they can transfer the amount to you. Instead, the scammer accesses your accounts and withdraws funds.

The email message will also tell you to respond quickly or risk missing out, and urge you to keep your winnings private or confidential, to ‘maintain security.’ Both of these should be major red flags.

Remember that you can’t win a lottery that you never entered. Ignore these emails and never send sensitive information or bank account details to a stranger.

Romance/Catfishing Scams

Romance scams are another threat that you need to be aware of. This year alone, in 2,900 cases, they’ve cost over $20 million. They are an effective scam that people of all ages fall for. A romance scam involves an individual being conned by someone pretending to be their partner. The scammer will create a profile of a young person and reach out to other individuals. They will slowly talk to their victim, building trust, and a relationship. Eventually, they will ask for money for basic needs and other small things, slowly conning their victims out of their money.

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. However, if you are worried, there are several warning signs to look out for:

• If your partner refuses to talk on the phone, or won’t take pictures
• The relationship gets too serious, too fast
• They start asking for money
• Their social media profiles are bare, or newly created
• Everything starts with an excuse

It isn’t always easy to spot romance scams. They often play out like real relationships. The number one defense is common sense.

Grandparent Scams

Grandparent scams are growing at an alarming rate. They cost an estimated $328 million each year. This scam specifically targets the elderly. Grandparents will receive a call or text message that is supposedly from their grandchild. In it, they desperately ask for help, saying they are in jail, at the hospital, or trapped somewhere dangerous. A scam like this is typically successful because it creates a sense of urgency. According to the FTC, individuals over the age of 70 have suffered the highest average losses to it.

Here are a few things you need to know to help you spot this scam:

• See what payment method the caller requests. Western Union, a gift card, or a wire transfer are red flags.
• Ask an identifying question that your grandchild would know.

Sextortion Scams

Sextortion scams involve an individual getting blackmailed into paying a ransom. Say grandpa visited an adult-themed website that was filled with malware. A keylogger and remote desktop program are installed on his computer while he’s browsing the content. The keylogger will log his passwords, while the remote desktop program will record what he’s looking at, as well as him if he has a webcam. The scammer then uses the pictures, videos, and passwords they’ve collected to blackmail their victim into paying a ransom.

The best line of defense against this scam is to keep an up to date antivirus on your computer that will detect that initial malware and stop it from infecting your computer.

Be Aware Out There

These scams only scratch the surface, so the simplest way to keep yourself safe on the internet is to ignore any email you were not expecting and to only interact with people you know and trust, especially on social media. Remember, it’s very difficult for you to “accidentally” break the law online, so do not be fooled if someone says you’ve done something wrong, failed to pay a fine, or other similar story.

Recognizing Legitimate Websites

When you’re online, you need to ensure that every website you interact with is legitimate and there are a few simple steps to follow. When you go to a website, make sure it has an HTTPS tag in the name at the top of your screen. This is usually more secure than an HTTP tag, especially if you’re entering payment information since it means the site has SSL encryption which is generally missing on untrustworthy sites.

A safe website will also display a green padlock icon to the left of the website’s URL. You can click on it to verify its security details.

Finally, check the spelling of the web address. Fake websites often change a tiny detail to look like a different website. This could be as simple as replacing ‘o’ with ‘0,’ but you only see it if you’re paying attention.

Making Safe Purchases

Online shopping has made it convenient to get everything from clothes to basic grocery delivered right to your doorstep. However, it’s important that you only shop from sources that you trust and websites that you are familiar with.

• Always check the reputation and reviews of any online store before you use their services. A simple Google search provides you with many reviews about users’ experiences.
• Make sure you read their FAQs and Terms of Service to ensure they use sound policies.
• A legitimate website will always have SSL encryption.

When you’re checking out, make sure the required information is reasonable and necessary. No online store will need your Social Security number or your birthday to make a sale. It’s also safest to use a credit card because you can file a claim if the website was fraudulent.

If you shop online regularly, check your online statements to ensure that no false charges appear. When possible, only shop using your home WiFi to avoid typing private information over a public network.

Secure Online Banking

Banks and financial institutions are held to high standards for keeping your data safe, but there are several things you can do to ensure the security of your funds:

Use a private home network when banking. Who can see your data over public wifi? It’s hard to know. If you can’t avoid online banking while away from your own network, sign up for a mobile data plan or set up a virtual private network (VPN).

Use two-factor authentication. This additional layer of security sends a code to your mobile phone that you need to enter with your username and password before you can log in. If any outsider gains access to your log in credentials, two-factor authentication will prevent them from gaining access to your accounts.

Change your passwords regularly. Some data breaches involve old login credentials. If you change your password regularly, a hacker won’t be able to access your account with outdated information. You can use a password manager like LastPass to store these details safely while still changing them frequently.

Avoid phishing emails that appear to come from your bank. Banks almost never call or email to confirm your details or passwords. If you receive a message, call the bank and confirm before you hand over sensitive information.

If you have any questions regarding what the bank is doing to keep your data safe online and if there are any extra steps you can take, it’s best to contact the bank and ask for their advice. They generally have customer service representatives trained to help you transact safely online.

Protecting Your Identity

Identity theft can happen in different ways. One way to protect your identity is to ensure that your system is safe from any external attacks like viruses. You also need to learn to spot the common scams and be skeptical of any message you receive online.

Finally, keep a close watch on all your online accounts. Monitor your credit report and see if any new credit cards, loans, or other transactions have been made in your name. If you notice any suspicious activity, you can freeze your credit report and dispute the false transactions.

Safe Social Networking

The internet can be an excellent way to find friends, keep in touch with family, and be an active part of the community. Keep a few things in mind to make the most of the experience:

• Everything you post is permanent. You have the option to delete a post, but it stays on the servers and might have been seen and saved by someone else already.
• Be careful of what information you share. The information you share publicly can be used by others.
• Make sure you know everyone you accept into your social network. Avoid accepting requests from people you’ve never met. They may have malicious intentions.
• Use caution when you click links. Any third-party links, even those shared by your friends and family, could lead you to a harmful website. Sometimes clicking a link forwards that link as a message to everyone in your social network. This can not only be annoying but can also compromise the security of everyone in your circle.
• Don’t let the website scan your email address book. They might use this list to spam everyone in your network.
• Never give money to someone you’ve met through a social network. Imposter scams cost victims millions of dollars per year, and the victims are routinely “groomed” by the scammer. The friendship or romance may go on for months before the subject of money comes up, but it will inevitably happen. Never send someone money, agree to accept money on someone’s behalf, or other similar situations.

These tips can help you make the most of your social networking experience. Simple caution can save you from compromising your privacy.

Breached? Here’s What You Need to Do

No matter how cautious you are, your data could still be breached. You might discover it yourself by monitoring your accounts, find out via a notification letter, or after giving out sensitive information.

Fortunately, there are people you can contact to help you:

Determine What Was Stolen

Check your bank account transaction history to find any discrepancies. Check your credit report to see if any credit cards or loans have been taken in your name and calculate how much you have lost financially. This information will be useful when you file a police report.

Change All Your Passwords

If you’re not in the habit of regularly changing passwords, now is the time to start. Change the passwords to all your online accounts as well as your computer system.

Run a Security Clean Up

If you suspect a malicious program has been installed on your system, use your existing antivirus software to run a security clean up and wipe out any unwanted or unrecognized programs. You can also look for some suspicious programs through the Control Panel and manually erase them.

Freeze Your Accounts

If you suspect your bank accounts have been compromised, contact your bank or financial institution to find out what systems they have in place to prevent any further loss. Find out if your bank will let you freeze your accounts so they can’t be used by anyone until the problem is solved (note, this will prevent you from using your accounts as well).

File a Police Report

Contact your local law enforcement agency to report the crime. Be aware that the work of tracking down the culprit can be very difficult, but at least you will have your police report as your claim of innocence. That can help you with lenders, creditors, and other financial entities since lying on a police report is a crime.

The Internet Doesn’t Have to Be Scary

The best way to protect yourself online is to know what to expect. Take the time to understand some popular threats and learn how to avoid them. Think of your antivirus program as a safety net that will catch you if your safe browsing habits aren’t enough.

Remember these tips:

• Don’t visit unsafe websites.
• Ignore any emails from unknown senders.
• Protect your private information.
• Keep your email out of the hands of predatory marketing companies.
• Keep your antivirus up to date.
• Don’t keep your passwords saved in a document on your computer, and change them regularly.
• Perform routine virus scans.

It’s always easier to avoid danger when you know what to look for. With good habits and strong security software, you’ll be able to browse safely, check in on your loved ones, and enjoy all the benefits of being connected.

The post The Ultimate Internet Safety Guide for Seniors appeared first on SiteProNews.

1. Your unique hashtag

Weddings, graduations, birthdays, concerts; take your pick and look at the common trend of today. Each of these events has their hashtags. A hashtag is a natural step in the direction of ruling social media marketing for your event. It creates brand awareness and engages the audience in your content. It is the path to quantifying your posts and making it easier for your audience to follow the happenings on your social media. The most significant concern for hashtags is to use the ultimate level of creativity to form a unique and short hashtag that is catchy and compelling. 

2. Influencers to the rescue

One of the reasons why social media is the best outlet for the promotion of your event is its ubiquitous nature. Everyone regardless of their socio-economic background, cultural associations and age group is somehow connected to social media. One of the most substantial impacts this medium has is the importance bestowed upon social media influencers. People listen to their words, buy products on their recommendations and also visit places that their favorite blogger/vlogger/influencer names. Connect with the right influencer and watch your event become a huge success!

3. Paid advertisements

None of us have escaped the paid ads on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. These advertisements are estimated to be one of the fastest call-to-action schemes due to their subtle placements. Make use of bright graphics that not only catch the viewers’ attention but also initiates the urge to take action (check your page, buy tickets, anything works really). Intelligent use of words paired with the right graphics will boost activity on your handles and double the engagement on your event.

4. Appropriate graphics start a movement

The human brain loves visuals more than it likes words. Colorful, bright and catchy graphics are more likely to attract people than a post made of everyday words. No matter how much heart and soul you put into writing the right post, people will scroll up without reading it if there are no visuals attached. This is precisely why any trade show exhibit company spends a great deal of time, money and energy on designing the perfect graphics for an event. Remember to give your posts the right direction by creating graphics that share your story. 

5. The compelling power of videos

Since we have already established the importance of visuals on social media, ignoring the power of videos would be foolish. The world is changing faster than you know. People receive an influx of information every day in the form of ads, emails, posts, texts and what not. In the hustle of every day, there is a chance that your followers skip your posts. Videos are captivating and hard to ignore. When you make videos that ‘show’ the event, people will develop an interest in your event. 

6. Behind the scene reel

Much work goes into making an event a success. Intense labor, hours of brainstorming, planning, coordinating and what not goes into organizing an event that is worth the visitors’, time, energy and money. When you have a story for your event, you should show the behind the scenes too. It creates a natural sense of belonging in your intended audience. Their interest in your event is likely to spike when they see the energy and dedication of your team behind the event.

7. Go Live 

According to studies, people actively participate up to 30 times more on live videos as compared to regular videos. When you provide live coverage of an event – behind the scenes, or of the attendees welcoming the audience – viewers love that interaction. Facebook, Instagram and all of these brilliant social media apps have made live streaming a very cost-effective way of broadcasting an event. Anyone with a smartphone can live stream an event. 

8. Share your story

Every product, service, blogger or event needs a story. When you are promoting an event on social media, the significance of a story multiplies itself. Your vision, values, team members, the level of energy and the reason for hosting the event are all essential makeup elements of your account. So whether you are coordinating the graphics for your scheduled posts or you are trying to find the best influencer, working on a story is crucial for you. Once your event is over, you can post a professional video of your event to thank the audience and encourage new people to visit you the next year. Your existing followers will feel compelled to follow you and keep an eye on your upcoming events too!

The post Eights Tips on How Social Media Can Help Your Event appeared first on SiteProNews.

Shadow banning blocks users’ content in a way that keeps them oblivious to what’s going on. They can continue to post and interact with others, but their messages won’t appear in the feed and they won’t show up in search results. 

Networks assume that banning a user completely will simply cause them to open a new account so instead they “demote” their content in the hopes that they’ll give up and move on to a different platform. In fact, you can only suspect a shadow ban when experiencing an extreme decline in engagement or if a follower alerts you to your disappearance. It’s also something you’ll never be able to confirm.

Twitter, which has already been found to censor over a quarter million tweets in turkey from 2014 to early 2015 and shadow ban tweets containing leaked documents in the US, popularized the term again in 2018 when President Donald Trump accused the network of shadow banning prominent Republicans. The accusation followed a Vice News report that a number of supporters of the US Republican Party have limited visibility on the platform. Typing in their names in the search box didn’t auto-populate their accounts, thus making them almost impossible to find.

An Instagram shadow ban is when your hashtags become undiscoverable, meaning your posts don’t show up in the hashtag feeds of anyone who doesn’t already follow you. There, censorship seems to be less about politics and more about women’s bodies. 

Instagram, the platform that deleted photos of female breasts and restricted photos tagged ‘#curvy’ while allowing tags such as ‘skinny’ and ‘anorexia’, now appears to be shadow banning its plus-size users.

Several plus-size models and body positive activists claimed they’ve been affected by shadow banning. Carina Shero, a plus-size model, even started a petition on change.org against Instagram censorship, writing: “Instagram has been silently terminating and shadow banning accounts that feature plus size and fat people that are unapologetic in showcasing their bodies in lingerie and sensual poses and are breaking the stereotypes around larger bodies.”

Others weren’t late to respond;

“I made it as far as 80k the first time, before being deleted for no reason. This time I was close to 60k when my followers dropped thousands overnight a week ago, and my account stopped growing,” commented Vivienne Rose.

“I have appealed my account hundreds of times over the last several months, and Instagram has not responded even once. The followers I have accrued over the last several years, all of my pictures, business contacts, and all of the other accounts I followed — which inspired me daily — are all gone. Instagram needs to end its discriminatory practices immediately!!” wrote another woman claiming to be shadow banned.

Both networks denied the shadow banning accusations.

“We do not shadow ban,” Twitter stated in a blog post. “You are always able to see the tweets from accounts you follow (although you may have to do more work to find them, like go directly to their profile).” 

But how will you ever get discovered if you’re not in the feed or appearing in search results?

Instagram confirmed a hashtag search issue in a statement which many suspected was the company’s way of admitting to shadow banning without admitting to shadow banning. The company then quickly turned to discuss good content. 

But what good is good content if no one ever sees it?

Whether for technical or malicious reasons, the massive decline in reach some users are experiencing is causing serious damage. Communities fostered for months and years gone overnight, content which took hours to produce automatically deleted, brand sponsorships evaporate, and protests are left unanswered. 

Shadow banning is the result of a fatal flaw at the core of social media – centralized control. Influencers put everything into building audiences and curating content for businesses they do not own. They have zero control over their work product, fans, and revenue, and can lose everything if the network sees fit to limit their reach. The lack of transparency regarding social media algorithms contributes to a growing sense of distrust.

Realizing this, many leading celebrities are migrating to Personally Owned Platforms (POPs). Among the celebs to launch their own apps are Britney Spears, several of the Kardashian sisters, Demi Lovato, the Bob Marley Estate, Ashley Tisdale, Jeremy Renner, and many others.

Personally Owned Platforms enable celebrities to meaningfully engage their audiences, gain greater autonomy, and enjoy new revenue streams free from the control, ownership, and censorship of large networks. 

As censorship, privacy, and demonetization scandals continue to plague social media, we can expect many more celebrities to jump ship and start connecting with fans on their own terms.

The post Shadow Banning: Polite Social Media Censorship appeared first on SiteProNews.