FOLLOW, TWEET, SNAP ‘TIL NOVEMBER

Anyone can tell you, this election has been unlike any other. From the beginning we all knew things would be interesting with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the mix. Now, these two are the finalists for the presidential candidacy and their teams are pulling out all the stops to help voters make their choice. Both candidates have jumped on the social media bandwagon to reach as many voters as possible.

Facebook has over 1.7 billion monthly users, making it prime real estate for presidential candidates to speak their mind and encourage everyone to vote. Both candidates use other channels as well, including Twitter, and have developed an individual approach to engaging with their voters on social media.

Hillary has kept her posts, tweets, and pictures fairly self-promotional while Trump has invested in quite a few anti-Hillary posts and videos, making it less about his plans and more about why not to vote for Hillary. Both tactics could understandably have the desired effect but we will have to wait until November to see the results.

Hillary has several unique approaches. She posted a link to a “college calculator” so you can see how much you would save on student debt if she were to be elected President and her policies were to go through. She has also created a separate Facebook page for certain states, “Hillary for Maine” and “Hillary for New Hampshire”. Each page has state-specific cover photos and logos. The most impartial social media move from camp Clinton is promoting the site IWillVote.com sponsored by the Democratic National Committee encouraging people to vote – just vote. “In this election, no one can sit on the sidelines. Register to vote.” Smart move Hillary, smart move.

Join me in Bedford, New Hampshire- tomorrow at 3:00pm. Can’t wait to see everyone! #AmericaFirst #MAGA https://t.co/kzu9sQYNPL pic.twitter.com/zBtYfuqMmK

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 29, 2016

As for Trump, his unique approach comes in the form of his own culture among his followers. He has created this by using consistencies like calling his candidacy the MOVEMENT and lobbying for “hardworking Americans” – which is essentially everyone. In an effort to hit home for all voters Trump’s slogan has shifted to include “Make America safe again.” Which, no doubt, appeals to the masses. Social media for Trump is all about thanking his supporters, showing why Hillary is not a good choice, and promoting America’s safety and greatness. Trump places more of an emphasis on Twitter with over 33 thousand tweets, while Clinton has just fewer than 8,500 tweets.

Based on polls of the first presidential debate it would seem that their efforts to inspire support has worked fairly well, seeing as how different media outlets have reported both candidates won. It all depends on who you ask, but for now, follow, tweet, and snap your favorite candidate and hang on ‘til November.

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Check out a few tips for using Pokemon Go for your business! Tips range from hosting a party with Lure Modules to offering discounts to the three different teams, Team Valor, Team Mystic, Team Instinct!

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For the most part, these are staple elements of a successful social media marketing campaign, and as with most SEO strategies, it comes down to one basic principle: the better experience you give your users, the higher you’re going to rank in Google.

Jayson DeMers a contributor to Forbes.com posted “6 Social Media Practices That Boost SEO.” He points out how the number of followers your social media profiles have can effect rankings, but also that Google can detect follower spam.

Read all 6 of the practices he mentions here >>

Via: AudienceBloom.com

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After last weekend’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, the New England Patriots are under investigation by the NFL about using 12 game balls that were below the proper inflation level.

The internet did not hold back on poking fun at #DeflateGate. Below are a few of our favorites:

Fully filled #DeflateGate pic.twitter.com/CRKA3G9ZcQ

— krispykreme (@krispykreme) January 21, 2015

The internet had a field day with Tom Brady’s press conference #DeflateGate http://t.co/JSYiM3H0Vs pic.twitter.com/Vgsn2AgD6d

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 23, 2015

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Bowen Media recently published an infographic of the top 5 web design tends of 2015. They are: 1) Mobile Focus, 2) Interactive Scrolling, 3) Flat Design, 4) Single Page, and 5) Clean Simple Layout

I agree with most of this, especially Single Page. I’ve seen more and more websites that are condensing their content to one page. I disagree with Parallax scrolling. I think that is a trend that is starting to fade away.

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Andrew Watts from the University of Texas in Austin published an article on Medium.com about where peers his age congregate online. For marketers out there that are trying to connect with the younger generation his article is quite helpful.

Here’s a summation of what he said:

Everyone has Facebook but not many are using it all the time. It’s used to find friends and for it’s group functionality.

Instagram is the most popular. The content is higher quality because people take the time to edit their photos. Plus, people only post once a day or a couple of times a week whereas on Facebook people will post multiple times a day and it gets annoying.

Twitter. This is interesting “There are then three main groups of Twitter users: the ones who use it to complain/express themselves, the ones who tweet with the assumption that their prospective employer will eventually see whatever they are saying, and the ones who simply look at other Tweets and do the occasional RT.

Snapchat is growing popular and there is less social pressure on it.

Yik Yak is a newer social network. I hadn’t heard about it and had to look it up. It’s a mobile app where the user posts updates anonymously to a timeline based on location. So if you’re sitting in class you can see what others are saying about what is happening on campus. Pretty cool concept and it hasn’t been monetized yet.

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While things start to pick back up after the holidays, it is a good idea to take inventory on your online marketing and social media presence. Are you using the right social media tools? And, are you effectively using them?

Create a list of your social media profiles and how often you utilize them. Look into more efficient ways of using them by utilizing tools such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social.

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With iPhones upgrading to the iOS 6 operating system, a new feature to be aware of is Passbook. Passbook is an app that allows you to store loyalty cards, boarding passes, gift cards, movie tickets…the list goes on.

How can small businesses use Passbook?

Simply put, Passbook “passes” replace paper coupons, loyalty cards, etc. Companies that spend hundreds of dollars a month on loyalty cards can save money using Passbook passes. They can also utilize geo-fencing, which uses GPS features of the iPhone to send messages to customers based on their location. For example, a restaurant can issue a coupon utilizing geo-fencing so that when a customer comes within a certain distance of the restaurant they will be notified of the coupon. How convenient!

How to create passes

Passes are not easy to create unless you are familiar with JSON code creation. Below is a list of Passbook pass generators:

PassFu

Passhop

Passkit

Passdock

Passsource

PassPages

PassRocket (loyalty cards)

PassTools

There are probably a few missing from the list. Let me know if you’ve come across any others and your experience with them!

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It used to be if your page had more than 100 likes and you wanted to change the name, you were out of luck. Now there is a process for changing your Facebook Page name!

Click here>> change your Facebook Page

Has anyone used this process yet?

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The Timeline design will be coming to Facebook Pages on March 30th.  For now, admins can preview the design and publish it for public view if they’d like.

As you can see, the cover photo is prime real estate and I’m sure you’re thinking of all the possibilities you could do with it.  But, don’t get too excited because it wouldn’t be Facebook without some rules on how you can utilize it.

Guidelines for Timeline Cover Photo

According to Facebook’s Help Center, below is what you cannot do with your Timeline cover photo:

Cover images must be at least 399 pixels wide and may not contain:

• Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website”
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”

I’m sure over the next month we’ll be seeing some awesome ways businesses and brands use cover photos.  If you’ve come across some, feel free to share them in the comments section!

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