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Social Media Seems Like the ‘Holy Grail,’ But This Marketing Strategy Is Even More Important

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By Laura Perkes

The often overlooked tactic enhances reach, raises brand awareness and drives new customers and clients to your business

Picture the scene: It’s 2021, and the enormity and popularity of digital marketing is providing entrepreneurs with a plethora of opportunities and the ability to tap into an audience of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of potential customers, all at the push of a button.

When Facebook first launched back in 2004, it really was the first of its kind. Before that, we had MySpace and a few other platforms I’ve never heard of (Friendster or Hi5, anyone?), but none of them had managed to make the impact that Facebook did, and still does.

Since Facebook, we’ve seen the launch of Instagram in 2010 and TikTok in 2016, plus the addition of Instagram Reels in 2020. Not to mention other platforms such as Snapchat and Clubhouse, all giving us access to a wider audience.

In the past 19 years, we’ve all had the luxury of being able to communicate directly with our fans, customers and potential customers in a way that has never been possible before. But before the advent of social media, businesses and brands were built the “old fashioned” way, using more traditional marketing techniques, such as advertising and face-to-face networking.

Social media seems like the Holy Grail

When the world became more digitized, tools such as online advertising, pay-per-click and email marketing grew in popularity and gave entrepreneurs and brands alike the chance to reach an even wider audience. Data was easier to track and metrics and insights enabled you to calculate your return on investment.

For many entrepreneurs and startup businesses, social media seems like the Holy Grail. Not only do you get to build an audience and interact and engage with your followers, but it’s also completely free at the point of entry. Of course, you can now invest in adverts across all social-media channels, but for someone completely new to the business world, social media is a sensible place to start.

Yet there’s a missing piece of the puzzle here. A modality that’s as old as time, but a powerful force when it comes to sharing messages, raising brand awareness and building on the know-like-trust factor. And that’s public relations.

Everything you say and do is PR

Public relations exists so that you can communicate with your audience. If you Google “public relations,” you will find Wikipedia’s definition: “Public Relations is the practice of deliberately managing the release and spread of information between an individual or organisation and the public, in order to affect the public perception.”

So, essentially, everything you say and do is PR, but the platform in which you share your message changes. The tools you use to share your message changes. But the message remains the same. Your audience, generally, stays the same, yet where they hang out may change, based on the launch of new platforms, or the increased popularity of existing platforms, such as YouTube and podcasts.

YouTube first launched back in 2005 and podcasts launched a year earlier in 2004, yet they’ve only really exploded as a business tool over the past few years, giving entrepreneurs and startups the chance to create easy-to-share and easy-to-digest content that their ideal clients will love — content that can then be repurposed across social-media channels.

Back in 2004, when I first started my career in PR, there were really only three types of media outlets to pitch to: print titles, TV and radio. Online titles were seen as the poor relation to print, so we rarely bothered pitching to them as clients didn’t see the value in them — oh how times have changed!

However, because there was less choice, it made it easier to build relationships with journalists and work on features and content ideas with them. Over time, the media landscape has changed, and online started to make a huge impact and podcasts and YouTube channels became prime real estate.

Now, there is way more choice when it comes to gaining exposure, so while you may not consider social media, YouTube or podcasts your typical media outlets, they’re still consumed by your ideal clients, still covering topics that complement what you do, and they still have a ready-made audience of loyal fans that you could (and should) be tapping into. How? Quite simply, by pitching.

One piece of content can be shared and shared again

The way you’d pitch yourself to a podcast host is the exact same way that you’d pitch yourself to a journalist. That is a PR tactic and a skill that publicists have been honing for decades. Now, one of the utterly brilliant, yet often overlooked, powers of PR is that you can take one piece of content and deliver it to millions of people in one go. No other form of communication enables you to do that.

It may take time to build and execute your PR plan. You may not see anything published or broadcast for three to four months, but when it lands, it’s well worth the wait, as your content has the potential to be seen or heard by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of potential ideal clients and customers. Just think about the circulation of a print publication, then triple it to get an average reach.

Think about the audience size of a podcast, then think how many extra people you can reach by sharing it across your social-media channels. And then think about how many extra people you will reach when the host shares it across their social-media channels. All of a sudden, one piece of content can be shared and shared again, leaving behind a digital footprint and breadcrumbs that can lead even more people to your business.

This is another reason why PR is such a powerful and influential tool — because what you do now is searchable forever. PR isn’t always easy to measure, which potentially adds to its downfall in the ROI stakes, but it’s still a tactic that should be employed, and a muscle that should be flexed, as part of your communications strategy.

PR is yet another way of transporting your business and your expertise to a wider audience, an audience that has been built up and cultivated for decades, that already knows, likes and trusts the outlet and the content they produce.

So, next time you decide to put all your eggs in one basket and focus all of your attention on one particular marketing tool, or one particular platform, ask if there’s a more efficient, more effective way of sharing your message to drive hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of new customers to your business. The answer, in case you missed it, is PR.

By Laura Perkes

Sourced from Entrepreneur Europe

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Risking It All: How Brands Take On Social Issues

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By Jake Fichman

The world’s largest brands are winning the hearts and dollars of consumers in ways thought unimaginable just a decade ago. According to a Kantar study, 68% of US consumers expect that the brands they shop be clear about where they stand concerning social issues. Furthermore, Millennials and Generation Z top the charts in demanding that consumer brands go far beyond their utilitarian provisions, and get their hands dirty in engaging with the world’s hottest issues.

Outdoor goods store REI shocked the public nearly a decade ago by taking a stand against consumerism by literally closing their doors on Black Friday. Coining the campaign #OptOutside, the brand led with its values in place of its revenues and showed its customers that REI stands for more than the bottom line. Every year since REI has closed on Black Friday, yet the company’s revenues continued to hit record highs.

Ben and Jerry’s ice cream proved to its customers that the iconic brand is worth more than a tasty treat. While their product line stands clear and defined, the executives of Ben and Jerry’s found the trending wave of consumer concern for their dollar to go-to brands that mean more than profitability. The ice cream giant has found itself at the center of conversations and influence in social issues such as global warming, Black Lives Matter, Israeli-Palestinian debates, and marriage rights in America.

While global brands are spreading influence and giving up profits, other companies are taking it to even greater heights; some are investing millions into their leadership’s chosen issues. Airbnb took a stand during the Trump Administration by dedicating its empathy and dedication to refugees halted at the border. Aired during the Super Bowl, Airbnb pledged to provide short-term housing for over 100,000 displaced people. Furthermore, the brand promised to prove its compassion by donating $4 million to the International Rescue Committee in a campaign titled “We Accept.”

Following this successful campaign, on June 17, 2021, Airbnb announced the launch of a $25 million fund to support refugees and asylum seekers.

Other brands such as FUBU, Spanx, and Nike have been leading their industries for years by using social media channels to amplify their stances on social and political issues. Challenged by a younger, more concerned consumer base, these brands are forced onto the stand to testify about who and what they support.

While the general consumer once expected brands to fulfill a basic need, leaving social issues to politicians and NGOs, today the average shopper first researches the fundamental beliefs and social stances of their favorite brands. This attention to a brand’s character and identity finds its climax across social media channels where the world’s largest consumer brands can track trends of brand appreciation or antipathy in real-time.

US brands appear to be leading in today’s global fight for authority and brand value, putting their profits and consumer base at risk at the fear of falling into the shadows of consumer interest. Among their efforts, brands commit to:

  • Sacrificed profits for the sake of social justice
  • Use of digital assets to voice opinions on hot topics
  • Donations of millions of dollars to NGOs that stand for change
  • Purchasing of ad space to tie their brand name to a movement
  • Adjustments to ingredients and inputs to state their brand’s purity

When brands carry out social good campaigns properly, the benefits of sacrificed profits are exceeded by an increase in customer loyalty and positive engagement. While younger consumers show the highest sensitivities to a brand’s stance on a social issue, it’s apparent by the efforts and span of companies’ advertising efforts that they clearly see the return on vulnerability.

Feature Image Credit: Photo provided by Airbnb ad shown during Super Bowl 51

By Jake Fichman

Jake Fichman serves as international Media Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office and is the Founder and CEO of Goldfish Marketing Agency in Israel. Originally from the USA, Jake specializes in international communications and strategic messaging.

Sourced from The Times or Israel

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The Inevitable Convergence of Social Media, Commerce, and Visual Content

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By Paul Melcher,

You walk through the supermarket aisle until you face various choices for the product you wish to eat. In the case of cereals, it can be 20 or more different options. You reach out and pick one, which you feel is the right decision based on a well-educated process.

In fact, when you make that decision, you are executing on thousands of messages received during most of your entire lifetime—each one with the sole purpose of influencing that decision. In commerce, that purchasing act is called the second moment of truth. The moment when millions of dollars of marketing (at least for cereal companies) is converted into a purchase decision.

The second moment of truth.

Traditionally, the two have been geographically and historically separated. You receive marketing messages at breakfast while reading your daily digest on your phone, and you will be buying in the late afternoon.

Ecommerce, for most of its brief existence, has followed the same schema. Advertising here, shopping there. But not anymore. Everything is converging to one all-encompassing moment of truth at one place and one time, with visual content at its core. The customer journey is now reduced to an instant and one visual.

There are three main steps in a customer journey:

  1. The awareness of the product
  2. The consideration of the product
  3. The purchase of the product

Up to now, they all happened at different places and over time. Now, it’s all converging at one place and time and all within one visual content.

Nowhere can this be experienced more than on social media since we spent most of our time. All platform owe their success and operate with visual content as their core interface. Stage one was to use those visuals to capture audiences. Stage 2 two was to transform those views into advertising; stage three adds a “buy” button: Discovery, conversion, purchase, now all in one image or video.

Instagram displays an ad every 3 to 4 posts and uses retargeting profusely. Each ad contains multiple visuals introducing a product you have shown interest in and leading to a shop now button. That one image or video contains the whole customer journey.

A familiar view: an ad on Instagram

The numbers confirm the story: 81% of people out of over 1 billion use Instagram every month to help research products and services. With an average conversion rate of 1.85 percent, that’s 14 million clicks on a “buy” button of an image every month.

Identical scenario for Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Snap. Photography has a new role, one much harder to master. It has to introduce, convince, and sell all within one frame. It has to capitalize on the instant attention span. With video, it’s an identical challenge, all within the maximum of 60 seconds granted by most social media platforms. For brands, the bar is making the brutal journey feel seamless, which is why they rely on influencers’ expertise. They have mastered converting content into captive audiences and come with built-in trust. All that is needed is the “buy” button.

The product now comes to you, fully packaged with all the information you might need to make a purchase decision, including the cash register. Everything is transformed into an impulse buy, one carefully vetted via retargeting by your shown interest. All compressed in one frame or 60-second video, right next to those party pix of last night shared by you BFF.

Shop and share. The lines are blurred. Your friends, brands, product, purchase, parties are all part of the same flow. Click Like here, click buy there; who is that at my front door? A delivery or a friend? The beginning and end of your buyer journey are all in here, in one frame.

By Paul Melcher

Paul Melcher is a photography and technology entrepreneur based in New York, and the founder of Kaptur, a news magazine about the visual tech space. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. You can find more of his writings on his blog, Thoughts of a Bohemian. Melcher offers his services as a consultant as well. This article was also published here.

Sourced from PetaPixel

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Where Your Social Media Strategy Needs A Reboot

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By Stephanie Burns.

Your brand likely has room for improvement on the social media front. Contrary to popular belief, your social media pages are not for boasting testimonials, showing off new products with their descriptions, or selling on every post. It’s okay if that’s what you’ve been doing, because we haven’t really had examples of too many businesses who are playing the social media game in the right way. Your new motto needs to be: ‘value first, sell second.’ Think of your social media pages as that one of your salespeople that makes friends with everyone first, then casually mentions what they’re selling when it feels appropriate.

Yes when, and only when, it feels appropriate. No, this doesn’t mean that you’re leaving money on the table or confusing followers. This means that you’re building a loyal brand. That means you are always giving value first, which gives potential customers an incentive to follow your page.  Once you can get their attention and prove how you can help them, they will trust you, and then buy from you. It’s really that simple. Here’s how to do a thorough reboot to make sure you’re doing everything you can to build trust first.

1. Offer Sneak Peeks Of Value 

Just like items at a grocery store get sold when there are free samples, the best products and programs aren’t entirely coveted. Think of it this way: imagine that you have an online course that’s about building a viral TikTok strategy. You don’t get customers to buy by solely talking about what they’ll get from the course. You do, however, get customers to buy by sharing a few of the entry-level tips on your social media, letting them apply them, and letting them get the results. Their thought process will be: “If their free content helped me this much, I can only imagine how much their paid content will.”

This is an approach that Gee Bryant, the founder and CEO of X28 Fitness, lives by.  He’s self-educated on the social media front, and found that offering value through tutorials of key workouts on his company’s instagram page, have really paid off.

“Not only does this content strategy show potential participants what they get from working with us, but it fosters community. It creates something that current participants can follow along with and show up for. Our goal is to excite anyone who sees the content so much that they’re not satisfied with just a quick 20 second clip of these groundbreaking exercises.”

2. Give The Vision–Then Let The Consumer Shop It 

When it comes to physical products, there may be some confusion around how to offer value. In this case, your job on social media is to craft a vision on social media for the potential customer. For example, if you’re a home décor and furniture brand, piece together some of your products to create a vision of how they all tie together. A brand that does this beautifully is Anthropologie’s living section. High quality photos of fully set tables or complete living room sets paint a picture for followers – who may follow just to get inspired, rather than because they’re currently looking to move or redecorate.

The trick here is not to come across salesy in the caption and disrupt the allure. Instead, utilize Instagram’s ‘shop’ feature, where you can tag the products within the frame, and users can shop directly in the app. This presents a massive opportunity, as statistics find that 130 million Instagram users tap on ‘shop’ tags every single month. Appeal to their curiosity and make them tap.

This can also be done by showing how the product works. For example, if you have a gua sha and facial massage company, create video content about what a proper gua sha technique can look like. Create images that exacerbate key traits of the brand experience: in this case, a ‘spa night,’ or even just a mini spa day within a morning routine. All of this creates an experience and a vision for the viewer that will be enticing.

3. Find Value In Your Wheelhouse To Give 

In true ‘value first, sell second’ form, consider that not all of your posts need to centre around your product or your service. Get creative within your wheelhouse. For example, if your service is catering, create some videos teaching viewers how to put together the perfect veggie tray or charcuterie board for guests. Many entrepreneurs shy away from this, worrying they’ll teach users too much, and they won’t need them anymore. The opposite is true. If someone sees your video, makes a stellar charcuterie board and it’s a smash hit, you bet she will become a loyal follower and likely hire you eventually.

Most solely think about business social media strategy as a form of marketing or sales across Instagram squares. It’s not like that anymore. The brands that are taking off are those that are creating value-first content. In a “me first” world, remember that every consumer is primarily wondering, “How does this value ME?” So, when you adhere to the ‘value first, sell second’ motto, you will always win.

By Stephanie Burns

Stephanie Burns is the founder of The Wyld Agency, an amplification and visibility agency focused on building the legacy and personal brands of company founders. With a background in brand building, media buying, strategy and entrepreneurship, Stephanie has wide experience with an eclectic portfolio of industries. After being a contestant on the Wheel of Fortune, Burns used her winnings to launch her previous company, Chic CEO, an online resource for over 100k female entrepreneurs. With an MBA in Marketing, she’s also a contributor to Forbes Women and Entrepreneur, as well as featured in notable press outlets like Inc., Fast Company, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, Amex Open, Cosmo, New York Times, among others.

Sourced from Forbes

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How to “Go Viral” on Social Media

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By Jean Ginzburg

Make your copy more authentic, relevant, and “shareable” to reach a bigger audience.

Entrepreneurs and content creators wait for that single moment when their videos go viral. But going viral isn’t just a stroke of luck. It requires persistence and a few other key points that will give you that extra boost to get the virality you want. To boost your chances of going viral, keep these tips in mind.

Post across platforms

Try your luck on every social media platform you can think of. Post your video on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. Different content goes viral on different platforms, so you never know when and how it will take off. Make sure your content is easily shareable.

Make your content relatable and relevant

Your video should be relatable. Speak like you mean it, but don’t sound scripted. You’ll get views if people find your content relatable, and what makes it relatable is your authenticity. Most people don’t believe overproduced content.

Don’t overthink content choices. Discover your audience’s pain points. Share your experiences and tell your story.

Be more authentic

We always hear people should strive to be themselves, whether they are in social media or not. Show the world what you’re doing and experiencing. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Try to:

  • Elicit emotions. Videos go viral when they elicit emotions. Your story, facial expressions, body language, and gestures build the mood and stir up a wide range of emotions. Make sure you stay connected to the story as you tell it to your audience and engage your whole self in the storytelling.
  • Challenge yourself as a storyteller. To tell better stories, try telling them in a way you haven’t before. Push yourself in a way that you haven’t.
  • Talk to people. Discuss ideas so you can gather more relatable experiences.
  • Tell stories. Share stories about your brand, your products. Captivate your audience. To do that, you need to set your target audience.

 

Find the right audience

Think about the audience you’re targeting as you create your content. Who are your potential customers? To whom will you address your stories? Finding the right audience is crucial if you like your stories to be authentic and relatable to them.

Assess yourself 

Evaluate yourself. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are the skills you need to develop? Will you learn more if you do everything yourself? Or will you benefit from learning from someone who can help you achieve growth?

Take a step back to chill for a while. Think about what you want to do with your work life, and consider your life decisions. Do you want to be in a corporate world? Do you want a new environment?

Think about what you like to do. There’s nothing wrong with that! Rinse and repeat.

Follow influencers

Follow influencers of the specific niche you like. If you like startups, follow influencers who are big in those fields.

Follow entrepreneurs and look at what they’re doing. If you like fashion, look for people who are known in that industry. Read their stories. That’s how you learn what works in your niche.

Be an authentic storyteller

Dip your toe in the water. Just start telling your story, but don’t try to come across as someone you’re not.

Don’t aim to be the top creator. Learn from others first. Look for someone you like to get ideas or moves from. That could be someone who influences you in your field or industry. Imitate what they’re doing. Use their success stories and pain points as your inspiration.

But don’t steal their ideas-don’t copy everything they do. Understand why they do what they do. And that will make you successful in the long run.

Approach social like an extension of yourself

It’s fascinating to see where social media is going. Just think about LinkedIn these days. Everyone’s talking about it. TikTok also has taken the world by the storm. Gaming is ubiquitous. Esports is at its height, as well as Fortnite.

How you approach social media now should be an extension of yourself–an extension of who you are. Again: don’t try to be something or someone you’re not. Don’t try to hack the algorithm. Just show up as your true authentic self and watch what happens.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By Jean Ginzburg

Sourced from Inc.

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How to Optimise Your Social Profiles in 7 Easy Steps

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Optimising your social media accounts across all platforms is key if you do business online. Here’s 7 simple tips on how.

Your social media profiles, also known as your personal brand, are essentially the face of your business in 2021. If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you’ve been hit with random messages over Facebook or Instagram, with just one glimpse at the person’s profile causing immediate ignorance of their message. Building a personal brand is more important than ever – particularly with people preferring to talk to people, not just a business.

Communication is incredibly important, both visually and verbally. According to cognitive biases such as The Halo Effect, from the moment someone lays eyes on your profile they’ve already subconsciously made an assumption about you. Making a good first impression is now more important than ever, as we don’t have the same opportunity to save a conversation like we do in face to face interactions.

With that being said, having your social media optimised truly is the key to building trust, rapport and letting the world know how you can serve them. Here is my simple 7-step guide to optimise your social profiles. 

1. Get a Great Headshot or Profile Picture

This is really the pinnacle when it comes to your personal brand. Your profile photo can be the “make or break” when it comes to prospecting. More often than not, it’s the first thing people will see on your profile – meaning it is what the first impression will be made upon.

I highly suggest that you invest a hundred bucks into having a few professional photos done. They truly make a massive difference when it comes to making a good first impression, and having a bad headshot can cost you thousands. I would also invest in using canva to make an aesthetically pleasing cover photo for both your Facebook & Instagram accounts 

2. Find Your Colours

When it comes to a good personal brand, having clear, defined and consistent colours across all your content, is highly important when it comes to being memorable and standing out. Associating yourself with a particular colour will enable you to be at the top of your consumers mind each time they see a particular colour.

For example, check out my Instagram account. I like to use blue, specifically with a gradient to make the colour pop more. Remember, the goal here is to make your brand stand out and be as memorable as possible. Also putting the ring around your profile photo is another great way to catch attention.

3. Invest in Your Content & Get Creative

Let’s be honest, sometimes photos can get a little boring. And everyone loves creativity. In my opinion, you really need to invest time, money and energy into making your brand stand out.  Personally, I use Canva to get creative with my content, to make images and thumbnails that grab people’s attention.

If you want tips and tricks on how to do this, join my free facebook group here for insane value on optimising your personal brand & creating scroll-stopping content.

4. Create Content That is Relative

If you’re a business owner trying to talk to high-level CEO’s and executives, you probably don’t want photos on your profile of you drinking and smoking with your buddies on the weekend (save that for the group chat). Your content should all be relevant to your work, your industry and your target audiences pain points and desires.

Remember to always be authentic with your content, but post things that can actually help people. Study your audience in depth: what topics they talk about, the language they use and what they’re trying to accomplish. 

5. Tell People What You Do

Chances are that a complete stranger stumbling across your profile will have no idea what you do, without you telling them. Save time and energy by optimizing your bio to tell people how you can serve them, and more specifically: what you do. Keep it clear, concise and attention grabbing. For example, “I help companies scale ridiculously fast”. If you want some feedback or opinion on your bio, send me a DM on Instagram.

6. Be Consistent

If you’re using multiple channels or social platforms, consistency is a must. Many business owners are bombarded with dozens of messages a day, and you want to be sure to make an impression where they won’t forget you.

For example, if you were to connect with someone on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook in the same week, and your profile picture was different across all 3, they might think that it’s a different person adding them each time. The same thing applies

7. Be Authentic

In true fashion of saving the best for last, authenticity in my opinion, is the key to great content. By being open, honest and sometimes even vulnerable, you create a bond and emotional connection with your audience that is far stronger than you’d be able to achieve otherwise. In a world that’s full of fakes, choose to be real.

In the competitive environment of business and personal branding in 2021, you need to do everything you can to stand out. Follow these tips to optimise your social profiles to position your brand for success.

By

Sourced from INFLUENCIVE

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How to Hide Like Counts on Facebook and Instagram

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By Conor Cawley,

Facebook and Instagram have announced that “likes” will now be an opt-in feature, and we’re here for it.

Facebook and Instagram have announced an opt-in feature that would allow users to do away with the like counts on posts. And, for the sake of everyone’s mental health, we think it’s a good idea.

Since its inception more than a decade ago, social media has had a significant impact on the way we live our lives, and “likes” have been a big part of that transformation. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok all subscribe to this means of displaying support for posts, and to many “likes” feel like the entire point of social media in the first place.

Now though, with Facebook and Instagram giving users the option to do away with “likes” in their entirety, it might be time to consider the mental health ramifications of quantifying our every interaction online.

Facebook and Instagram Allow Users to Hide Likes

In a Facebook blog post, the company announced that they would be “giving people more control on Instagram and Facebook” by allowing users to hide the like counts on all posts within their feed, including their own.

To be fair, this news isn’t entirely surprising. Facebook and Instagram have been testing out this feature since early 2019, with plenty of users getting a taste of the like-less social media experience. Still, it was unclear how the social media giant would roll out its plan for its two platforms, and now we know: They aren’t forcing it on anyone.

“People want more flexibility, so we thought it would be important to give people the option.”

Even with years of testing and public attention, this movie is a significant departure from the social media we all grew up with that will likely see some serious backlash if it ever becomes mandatory. So are like counts really that bad?

Likes and Mental Health

Likes may feel like they are integral to the social media experience, because they’ve been around since the beginning. Still, the reality is that likes allow users and followers alike to quantify the perceived value of their everyday life in a way that simply does not promote mental health.

From deleting posts that don’t get enough attention for fear of humiliation to outright like-chasing, studies have shown that people — particularly younger generations that are on these apps for hours a day — are experiencing negative mental health effects that are rooted in social media’s toxic ecosystem.

Heck, a 28-year-old Florida woman was just arrested for passing out flyers with her Instagram information on it while posing as a teenager at a local high school, so it’s safe to say we’ve reached an unhealthy level of obsession. In fact, many believe — even former Facebook employees — social media is as addictive as an actual drug.

“The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works,” said Chamath Palihapitiya, former Vice President of User Growth at Facebook, during a talk at Standford University.

Mandatorily removing like counts would, admittedly, cause significant uproar. But social media companies, especially Facebook, need to start taking their role in the mental health crisis seriously, and a big move might just be the way to go.

But until then, at least let us help you get rid of like counts on your own account.

How to Hide Like Counts

If you want to rid yourself of the shackles that are social media likes, you’re in luck! The feature should be available for everyone now, and we can walk you through it. First, if you want to hide like counts on other users’ posts on Instagram, follow these instructions:

  • Settings –> Posts –> Hide Like Counts
Instagram Hide Like Counts

Now, if you want to get rid of like counts on your own posts as well, we can help you with that too. Just follow the instructions below and you’ll be on your way to a healthier social media experience. Before posting something, here’s what to do:

New Post –> Advanced settings –> Hide Like and View Counts on This Post

Instagram Like Counts

Facebook is also giving users control over like counts, and if you want to make sure you don’t see them on the world’s most popular social media app, just follow these instructions:

Settings & Privacy –> Settings –> Reaction Counts

Facebook Hiding Likes

How will this affect business?

It’s no secret that social media is no longer just for personal use. For years, platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been used to supercharge the business world, providing free marketing tools and affordable advertising features that can seriously have an impact on your bottom line.

So how exactly will this news impact your business’ social media presence? For now, it shouldn’t have a big impact at all. Advertising is barely affected by whether or not you get likes as far as we know, and the fact that it’s an opt-in feature means that you can still keep like counts out there if you want to boast about your high numbers. Conversely, it could actually improve your businesses approach, as users won’t be hung up on whether or not you have “enough” likes to warrant their attention.

Need to revamp your online presence? Check out the best social media management software

If it does become mandatory though, influencers and other advertisers that are paid “by the like” could face a significant problem, an industry that accounted for 3.7 billion posts on Instagram in 2018 alone.

Overall though, while it may seem controversial, removing like counts would likely serve as a pleasant departure from one of the more toxic aspects of social media, and as they say, a mentally healthy tide raises all ships.

By Conor Cawley

Conor is the Senior Writer for Tech.co. For the last five years, he’s written about everything from Kickstarter campaigns and budding startups to tech titans and innovative technologies. His extensive background in stand-up comedy made him the perfect person to host tech-centric events like Startup Night at SXSW and the Timmy Awards for Tech in Motion. You can email Conor at [email protected].

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An Ultimate Guide For Business Blogging In 2021

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Whether you are a professional or a new blogger, you might be surprised by how big changes have been introduced in 2021

Whether you are a professional or a new blogger, you might be surprised by how big changes have been introduced in 2021. If you are searching to refresh your mindset, or just want to get new tips in your business, this post is best for you. Before reading this post, it would better to read out the safety eyewear program, so that you can protect your eyes. In this post, there is a breakdown of major tips so that you can keep in mind while beginning the business blog or just want to enhance your blogging according to 2021 trends.

  • Enhance your content strategy:

Just digital landscape is growing and more and more people are restricted to their homes than before because of COVID-19. So, You have a chance to avail of large traffic at your disposal. And you just have to catch those social media audiences through your quality content. Therefore, this is the time to plan new strategies just not for your blog post, but to make rich imagery and even your videos should be more engaging and relevant to their main content.

  • Influence social media:

Just to stick with the blogging mean your site is hampering your victory. An excellent way to display your business blog in front of people is to build strong social media visibility and you should have an impressive fan following simultaneously.

By creating incredible content that is producing for your blog should make different ways on social media. Therefore, it’s time to get the benefits of a live stream and plenty of other tools so that you can keep your audience in full grasp with the social media platform of 2021.

  • Don’t forget your niche:

Well, the blog landscape is dense, and therefore, there is strict competition. So, you should stick with your specific niche and try to make it creative and unique for your audience. For a business blogger, there are several categories you need to polish in one. But first of all, you need to understand, what is your area of interest and expertise? In which are you are qualified that you can bring more creativity in that niche?

Just like that, there are several questions that you must ask yourself and they will help you to become clear in your niche. Besides, these are the important questions that you must relate to day-to-day things. Keep your content bespoke to your niche. For example, if your blog is related to marketing, but good focus on it and find it new way to enhance this field. If you are well aware of your niche, you are better able to hit your targeted audience and then serve your followers in a better way.

  • Stick with the latest events:

Covid-19 tension across the world is bringing forever change in businesses. So, you need to make plenty of blogs that how this pandemic is affecting business with the blog post that should have a solution as well. Keep remember, this is a great time to hold your audience with the latest trend and unique strategies.

For example, online businesses have exploded all over the side because of COVID-19. Therefore, this perfect time to help your people and tell them why eCommerce is essential and how can they come out of their business from its effects.

One important thing that you need to consider is to create new strategies. What should be your next strategy, you must watch out latest events closely and creative stories that emerge on social media. What kind of content audience is like most, follow it and then implement the same techniques in your blog posts as well? Through this way, you will first-mover benefits which help to bring a significant audience for your blog posts.

  • Make sure bout up to date SEO:

With the start of a new year for your business blog, this is also time to monitor the setting of your website in plenty of areas with SEO as well. If your keyword stuffing is shifting, it is time to make big changes in them. Make sure your entire content is optimized with meta titles, meta tags, and headers as well. Avoid your blog with over-optimization because it can hurt your ranking despite helping you.

  • Watch out for analytics:

Are you looking for whether you are going in the right way or not? Or what kind of new things you need to highlight in your blog posts? While for business blogging, check out your analytics is significant. With the help of insight and data, you can bring big changes to your content, websites, and even marketing techniques. All these things will help you to engage your audience in a better way.

You may require to check the demographic of your users and then counts their visits, and even bounce rate as well. But if you want to enhance your setup one step ahead, you need to analyse the layout of your website as well.

Use different tools like Crazy Egg where you can see how can the attention of visitors on. Besides, which buttons they are clicking more and how far they are scrolling down the different pages. Make sure, you also joined Eyeweb safety, so that you can shield your peepers from hazardous things effectively.

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Sourced from Influencive

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The social audio boom and how you can take advantage of it

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Podcasts, specifically, have exploded in recent years, and Clubhouse trying to become the YouTube of audio. Are you already taking advantage of these platforms?

It seems that lately they only talk about social audio . A few weeks ago, Clubhouse announced that it had closed a new round of financing (the amount was not disclosed) to respond to the exponential growth that the platform has had.

Facebook was not far behind and reported that in the coming months it will launch two social audio products: Soundbites (short audios like reels) and Podcast (a tool to discover podcasts); While Twitter is still standing up to now with the millionaire purchase of an audio application, after having launched Spaces in 2020, a kind of chat rooms with limited capacity.

In reality, this social audio boom has been going on for some time now with the growing popularity of music streaming services, podcasts, audiobooks, and new hands-free hardware like wireless headphones and earphones that have made listening and using voice commands necessary. voice easier.

Podcasts , specifically, have exploded in recent years, largely due to Spotify’s efforts to dominate the audio market by buying Gimlet Media and Anchor, as well as podcast studio Parcast.

I’d say Spotify has been paving the way for platforms like Clubhouse by trying to become the YouTube of audio, creating opportunities for content creators to make money, attracting more creators and getting us used to listening to audio beyond music. .

The new social audio platforms then have come at a time when not only was audio consumption ubiquitous, but people were eager to connect and share experiences.

Social audio and content marketing

Image: Depositphotos.com

In my opinion, social audio is content marketing . It’s just another form of content, like an infographic, blog post, or video tutorial. It is simply the distribution and sharing of this content in audio format within a social environment.

Among social audio platforms, Clubhouse’s success is evident both because of the novelty, as well as the longing for connection and belonging that people from all over the world have in what has been a time of isolation and uncertainty.

From a content standpoint, brands can start leveraging the app right away by hosting a Clubhouse room at least once a week where they can collaborate with colleagues, make new connections, and lead conversations on topics that matter to the industry. .

Whether you’re hosting a room or participating in someone else’s room, the best tactic is to focus on adding value.

My recommendation to all of us in this industry is to use your experience to share knowledge, provide useful information, and ask questions that enrich the conversation.

Brands can also work on connecting with their audience by sponsoring rooms or chats organized by industry leaders. This collaboration can give marketing executives the opportunity to share your brand story, connect with customers, and have a speaker in the room highlight a product.

The biggest challenge for brands right now is being consistent. Many brands start a Clubhouse room but end up closing it shortly after or without giving it continuity.

Then there is the expectation factor. Even if your brand is successful with its Clubhouse strategy, the maximum capacity of the room at the moment is 5,000 people, so it cannot be compared to the massive audiences of other social media platforms and expect to have the same reach and engagement, and much less access to metrics.

It is still too early to take full advantage of the marketing potential of social audio. At the moment we have to be creative, active and constant.

Over time social audio will pay off as a new frontier for social media.

Feature Image Credit: Depositphotos.com

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Sourced from Entrepreneur Europe

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Why the pandemic has provided fertile ground for a renaissance in quality media

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Sourced from WNIP

It is no secret that trust in certain sections of the media are low, right at a time when the health and welfare of the globe is reliant on accuracy.

Whether cowed into submission by right-leaning politicians, or not helping themselves with ambiguous storytelling and a questionable relationship with the provable truth, the veracity of some publishers – particularly in the news sphere – is continually being questioned.

In a recent survey of more than 2,000 respondents in February 2021, only 44% of the British public trusted traditional media for news and information. The least trusted outlet was social media with just 19%.

These damning numbers would – and should – be an issue for any self-respecting media source, but during a pandemic, they are potentially fatal.

Media coverage has been shown to shape public opinion unlike any other form of mass messaging, as it moulds people’s perceptions and responses to health crises and other social issues.

Misinformation, bias and the formatting of coverage comes at a large cost, directly affecting the public’s notion of the pandemic’s dangers – or otherwise.

The Press Gazette recently spoke to leading editors around the world, as they outlined the biggest challenges for journalism in 2021. Surprise, surprise, truth and trust were top of the pile.

Gina Chua, global managing editor at Reuters, summed up the issues.

“With the rise of misinformation, the impact of social media and stark political divisions around the world, the erosion of public trust on the news industry will be a significant challenge to address in 2021. Fact-based and impartial reporting is more important than ever.”

Never underestimate the value of trust

As danced around above, the public’s perception of our media is not exactly exemplary. But there are publications witnessing growth and recognition despite these turbulent times.

New Statesman announced digital subscription growth of 75% in just one year, with subscription revenues up 77% in three years following significant investment in its journalism and the launch of new brands and associated digital services.

Registered users on its website rose by 83% to more than 200,000 from January 2020 to February 2021, and 86% of New Statesman’s circulation is now paid for.

By recognising the worth and need for fact-based independent journalism, the New Statesman shows a clear position on the use of hard data and truth-finding within its reporting is popular.

Yet, as Marty Baron, executive editor at Washington Post, told the Press Gazette: “The biggest challenge for journalism is that facts aren’t accepted as facts any longer. Societies can’t agree on a common set of facts. We can’t even agree on what constitutes a fact.

“We can certainly be more transparent, revealing more about how we go about our work.”

This could be a seismic change in journalism, and media in general. The more people understand and appreciate the processes and the raw data drawing indisputable facts, the better the trust.

Social media is not king

The elephant in the press room was brought out front and centre during Covid-19 times.

While individual social media platforms are vital for media outlets to reach all demographics in a modern world (there were 53 million social media users in the UK as of January 2021, according to DataReportal), they share this space with politicians, celebrities, non-celebrities and self-appointed spokespeople.

As an experiment, scroll through the replies to a Sky or BBC update on coronavirus cases if you want to gauge the public’s mistrust.

Accepting quality media will shape public opinion in a positive fashion is surely the best argument towards a modern-day renaissance.

New independent research from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism suggests we already have a good base from which to build.

They found that ‘people are generally sceptical of information they see on social media and are broadly able to identify false or partly false information’, and suggest the use of ‘fact-checking’ labels.

Director of Reuters Institute Dr Rasmus Kleis Nielsen commented: “Most people are sceptical of information they come across online, especially on social media and other platforms, and research suggests that independent fact-checkers not only help set the record straight, but also have a disciplining effect on anyone who may be tempted to share misinformation.”

Commercially speaking…

One of the pandemic’s more positive offshoots has been to remind everyone within and outside the industry how crucial a functioning media industry is for society as a whole.

Despite the protestations of the anti-MSM cliques, it remains the first place people turn to when honest and accurate information is required.

It is for that reason media outlets have always been such a key part of the advertiser’s relationship with its customers.

After all, any renaissance’s main goal must be to reduce the general mistrust of the media, which in turn produces a ‘safe space’ for advertisers.

As Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford concludes: “Our reporting suggests that the coronavirus slump has been far kinder to the news industry than the last big downturn in 2008. Back then lasting damage was done to the media as property, jobs and car advertising disappeared from the news media never to return.

“Looking at the 16 leading news and information companies, they were worth $38bn more in April this year than they were a year earlier.

“While advertising revenue is down across the board, digital advertising is growing for everyone except local news brands. And the biggest and most positive trend to come out of the last year has been huge growth in the number of people willing to pay for news online.

“Press Gazette research shows that English language news websites now have more than 23m paying subscribers. Titles like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and The Athletic are proving that readers will pay a premium for high quality news.

“At Press Gazette we have hit record traffic numbers this year (more than 300,000 readers) but we are not focused on that number. Like many publishers we are focusing purely on serving our core market of media decision makers better, in terms that has paid off with a record quarter at the start of this year for commercial content deals.

“This has been helped by the fact that for the first time we are able to back our editorial commercial content product with Lead Monitor, a high-tech AI-driven marketing tool which helps our partners turn readers into leads.”

Phillip Othen
News Statesman Media Group

The New Statesman Media Group aims to tell stories about how the world is changing for the people delivering that change. New Statesman, the Group’s flagship title, is one of the leading progressive political and cultural magazines in the UK. The group has recently launched a number of ‘Monitor’ titles, headed by seasoned editors, covering Energy, Investment, ESG and the Technology sectors. These brands are Investment Monitor, Energy Monitor, Capital Monitor, Tech Monitor and Press Gazette. They offer content specifically created for high-value audiences, helping to attract the key players in the market and positioning clients in front of them as thought-leaders, across sectors such as luxury consumer lifestyle; public sector and government; technology; energy and infrastructure.

Sourced from WNIP

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