Search engine optimization (SEO) continues to be an essential part of online marketing in the 21st century. SEO is a practice that allows your website to become more visible and relevant in SERPS (search engine results pages), therefore increasing your website’s chance of being visited by potential customers.

There are a number of factors that will affect how well your website performs in search engines, but the most important part is responsible content creation. Pages with high-quality, keyword-rich content are more likely to be found by search engines and rank higher in search results. Additionally, well-optimized websites typically have faster load times and provide a better browsing experience, leading to higher conversion rates and increased revenue.

Since SEO is an ongoing process, it is essential to keep up with the latest techniques and updates. In order to ensure your website remains competitive and visible, be sure to:

Create quality content
Optimize your website for speed and accessibility
Update

For further assistance with your SEO, please contact one of our SEO Specialists today!

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Business profiles have a new, engaging look on Pinterest. The upgrade makes sense for the social media platform because companies–more than 1 million of them–are major players. In fact, over three-quarters of the pins saved by users are from boards put up by businesses.

Here is a closer look at the three changes that Pinterest has instituted on business profiles.

Rotating Showcase

When a user visits your company’s board on Pinterest, they will see a rotating showcase. This lets you choose what pins you want to highlight, offering visitors a chance to see the best of what you have on tap.

The showcase is at the top of a company’s profile, in the spot that first catches a visitor’s eye. This means you as a business get to decide how you want to come across, introduce yourself and tell your story. The more engaging it is, the more visitors you will get and the longer they will stay.

Highlight Boards and Buyable Pins

A company can pick 1 to 5 boards to highlight. If you have buyable pins, these can be highlighted by featuring them in the first Shop position.

These highlighted Buyable Pins are probably the most powerful change in the profile update. It lets you target potential buyers, giving them options to purchase while they are in the mood. That can be a big boost for your business.

So many visitors come to Pinterest when they are looking for ideas and to window shop. It’s just a short move from looking to buying. In addition, they are more likely to buy if it is easy. And it is–as simple as clicking a pin.

For example, if you are a clothing designer or store, you can change pins and boards to suit each season’s newest models. Or you can make it easy for your prospects find what’s on sale.

Consistent Design

The look that people see on their computers now matches what they see on their tablets and smartphones. Your profile looks the same, making it consistent across all platforms and devices, a big help for increasing your brand recognition.

Visitors also can choose simple tabs when they visit your profile. One tab takes them to look your boards, another to your pins. The tabs and pins are why they are checking you out, so it makes sense to make it simple for them to find.

The pins that your company has liked are visible only to the admins of your profile. You are the ones interested in that information. But this is not visible to your visitors, who are naturally more keen to see your pins and boards.

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As early as this fall, Facebook could begin allowing its users to read and subscribe to news publications – along with creating its own version of a paywall.

The world’s largest social network is still putting the details together of the plan, but earlier this month, Campbell Brown, head of Facebook’s New Partnerships Division, revealed that it is working on creating partnerships with mainstream digital media outlets to provide content to Facebook members, and also encourage users to buy subscriptions.

This can be a win for Facebook and for various news publishers, Brown said during the July annual meeting of the Digital Publishing Innovation Summit.

The subscription service will be available through an expansion of Facebook’s existing Instant Article service, which allows users to choose which types of digital content most interest them and search for this content.

Once the service is up and running, users can select from a variety of publications, most of which already offer different subscription rates and a varying amount of free views of articles.

Under Facebook’s model, all users visiting a publisher’s Facebook portal will receive 10 free views per publication before they must subscribe if they want to read more. Or if they’re already subscribers, they can log in there to continue reading.

Brown said Facebook still hasn’t figured out the pricing structure, including whether Facebook users will receive any sort of discounted rate, rather than subscribing at each publication’s site or signing up through an app service such as Apple or Google Play.

But there is definitely some convenience in being able to easily access so many publications in one place. Likewise, the publishers will enjoy being able to reach Facebook’s global audience, especially readers who already may have an interest in a particular topic or title. Publishers will also hopefully have better control of their content, rather than the current landscape where much of it is shared for free.

Another potential selling point for publishers is that they may be able to receive user data from Facebook about who is reading and subscribing, especially since the network does a superior job of gathering thorough demographic information about most of its subscribers.

This is an interesting move for Facebook, since the super social network has long maintained that its services will always be free to must users, with the exception of advertisers who can pay to have their ads or posts show up in front of more people. However, with this extra subscription service, it will require members to pay something.

So far, some media companies haven’t decided what this will all mean yet, and The New York Times still hasn’t committed or declined to be part of the initiative.    

The post Facebook Looks For A Thumbs Up To Sell Subscriptions To Publications appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, an Instagram post might now be worth up to ten thousand words. Instagram has just released the album feature, also known as “Instagram galleries” or simply “carousel.” A user may now share up to ten photos or videos in a single post. This feature was released on February 22nd as part of update 10.9 for Android and iOS.

This new feature is different than using the traditional Layout app, which combines multiple images to be used as a single post. The new carousel feature is built right into Instagram and enables a single post to contain multiple images or videos that can be scrolled through like an album or slideshow. For Instagram, this is a ground-breaking update.

Using carousel is easy. To post an album, first simply download the latest update for Instagram which enables this capability. This update is currently for iOS and Android only. Then it is just like making a normal post to Instagram. Using the “+” button, you can select up to ten pictures or videos from your library to feature in a single album. The first picture will be shown as the cover of the album, which is also what will appear on the feed. To open and view the album, simply tap on the image and scroll through.

Each picture and video can be edited with the same filters and effects as with a traditional Instagram post. You have the option to set the same filter for all photos or edit them individually. Photos can be rearranged in the album or deleted entirely. You can still comment on the album, but it will appear under the entire album and not under individual images.

The carousel feature creates a new outlet of opportunity for social media users to share their visual story. Whether you are on Instagram for leisure or business, there are many potential uses for carousel. This feature is also ideal for content creators and social media managers looking into the new ways of digital marketing. The album is all about sharing a story, whether that story is a party from last night, a step-by-step tutorial or the latest release of a company’s line of products. How users will react to this new feature is yet to be determined, but a new platform to share your story is now available on the latest version of Instagram for iOS and Android.

Contact Blast Creative today for all of your social media needs.

The post No More “Which Image Should I Instagram?” Albums Have Arrived appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

The social media website Twitter has recently starting taking new measures to manage the growing problem of cyber-bullying and harassment on their site. A user may now be dealt a digital “timeout” if they are found to use language or behavior that is deemed worthy of such punishment by Twitter. Early last month, reports of the new timeout measure started coming in. So far the details are vague and reported cases are scattered. But what is for sure is that some users are having their Twitter capabilities temporarily restricted due to the crackdown on language and online behavior.

A Twitter user who has broken the code of conduct as determined by Twitter might get an email which reads, “We’ve detected some potentially abusive behavior from your account.” In which case, the violator is subjected to a temporary restriction from certain Twitter privileges. The timeout generally lasts for a period of 12 hours, or is determined by Twitter based upon the infraction. During the probationary time, a user may still tweet, but their posts will only be seen by those who follow them.

The exact specifications as to what justifies a timeout are still vague. Some users are frustrated at the lack of explanation for their timeout. Twitter doesn’t comment on the exact reason a user may be in hot water. The timeout appears to be issued at the discretion of Twitter itself, and is not based solely on user-submitted reports. Some users are also upset at the lack of consistency in dealing with harassment cases by Twitter.

Twitter has long faced criticism for its history of cyber-bullying and harassment, but it is also facing criticism over its lack of explanation for the current timeout punishment. While some users are happy to see the push for censorship on Twitter, others feel there needs to be more structure and visibility in how these cases are dealt with. Jillian York, the director for international freedom of expression of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, urged Twitter and other social media platforms to “lay out exactly how these rules are enforced, and when” so that individual users can make more informed choices.

Twitter has also taken several other measures to curb its harassment issues. Some of these measures include removal of offensive Tweets from search results, keeping suspended users from creating new accounts, and hiding offensive @ replies. A release from Twitter states, “Conversations are core to Twitter, but if we detect behavior that may violate the Twitter Rules or inhibit other people’s ability to express themselves freely, we may temporarily limit certain account features.”

Contact Blast Creative today for all of your Social Media needs.

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A social media influencer is anybody who has established credibility on social media. These kinds of people have large audiences, so targeting them will almost always help you grow your own online audience. On the surface, that sounds like a simple plan. All you need to do is target those people who have large followings on Twitter and Facebook, and you should be just fine, right? Well, it’s not that easy. Different things appeal to different audiences, so not all of your biggest influencers will be appropriate to every campaign you run. If you want your influencer marketing campaign to be successful, you need to choose the right influencers. Here are some tips that will help you with that.

Look at Age and Gender

Since like attracts like, social media influencers often develop followings of people much like themselves. Middle-aged women who run mommy blogs will attract other middle-aged women, and young male gamers will attract other young male gamers. Find out what kind of audience your services will likely attract, and find an influencer that falls into that demographic. The key here is to think about your audience and potential clients. You might be tempted to just focus on one influential person, but that’s just one person. They are one of many people you want to attract to your campaign. Focus on the big picture.

Look at Total Reach

Reach refers to the number of people who saw a piece of content, whether they found it on their Facebook feed organically or it showed up as part of an ad. While an influencer’s total reach shouldn’t be the only reason why you would target them, it is something that shouldn’t be ignored. Take a look at the number of people who have seen something that an influencer has posted if you want to get an idea of how influential they are.

Choose the Right Platforms

There are several social media platforms out there that go beyond Facebook and Twitter. Depending on what your product is and who you want to reach, you might be better off looking for influencers on Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, or one of the many other social media sites on the Internet. You will probably want to stick to established networks that already have plenty of users, but you don’t need to limit yourself to them. Take a look at the audience you want to reach, and see what kinds of networks they are using. Chances are that there is a huge influencer on these networks that will help you grow your audience into something bigger than you could imagine.

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The emoji may have had a humble beginning as a crudely drawn smiley face, but it has since evolved into a surprisingly complex way for people to express their emotions. Whether your text messages are made up of these tiny little icons or you see them as the death of literacy, you cannot deny that there are some very interesting facts about emojis that you need to know if you spend time on the Internet. Here are just five of the more interesting tidbits about emojis.

1. The Origin of Emojis Dates Back to 1862

Emojis evolved from the classic smiley face emoticon, ;), which was reportedly first used in 1862. It later evolved into the yellow smiley face in the 1960s. The first permutations of that smiling yellow circle first showed up on the Internet in the 1990s when people needed to find ways to communicate emotions in as few characters as possible.

2. Not All Emojis Mean What You Think

For the most part, emojis are pretty straightforward. A smiley face means that you’re happy, a frowning face means that you’re sad, etc. And yet, there are some emojis that people often find confusing. For example, an emoji with steam coming out of its nose is supposed to represent triumph, but many interpret it as a sign of anger or frustration. Many of these misinterpretations stem from the fact that the first true emojis were developed for the Japanese market and culture, not for American users.

3. The Process of Becoming an Emoji is Surprisingly Complicated

All emojis need to be designed and approved by the Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit that enables people around the world to use computers and programs in any language. This is to ensure that all emojis can be rendered accurately across multiple computer platforms.

4. The “Face with Tears of Joy” is the Most-Used Emoji

According to Emoji Tracker, the “face with tears of joy” emoji is the most popular and widely-used emoji on Twitter. It is used to express laughter, especially when something is really funny (hence the tears of joy). The red heart, the heart-eyes face, and the pink hearts emojis come in second, third, and fourth place respectively.

5. There is an Entire Book Written in Emoji

“Emoji Dick” is a version of “Moby Dick” written entirely in emojis. It is crowd sourced, crowd funded, and available in print for $40. If you’re curious as to how a great work of literature reads when it is translated into emojis, you can order your own copy here.

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Running a business is never easy, but social media can help. Whether you’re starting a new business or simply want to grow your current company, there are several ways you can utilize social media websites to expand your brand. Many companies make the mistake of believing that all advertising and marketing should be done in-person, but this is no longer true. With the widespread use of social media, it’s now imperative that your company be active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram if you want to grow your business. Here’s what you need to know.

Stay active

Do you have a company Facebook page? Did you start a Twitter account? Do you update regularly? If you don’t, you’re missing out on potential revenue. One of the biggest mistakes companies make is neglecting to update their-social media pages. Keep in mind that people who follow you on social media won’t necessarily visit your individual pages when they log on. Instead, they’ll wait to see posts from you appear in their news feeds, and this won’t happen if you aren’t updating. Aim to update your social media pages at least three times each week with useful, engaging content.

Share coupons

Do you offer coupons or promotion codes for customers? Why not share these on your social media pages? People love good deals and they love discounts. If someone has been waiting to try your company, getting a coupon could be just the push they need to make a purchase. Make sure you share coupons on all of your social media sites. Send the discount to your mailing list, as well.

Develop an action plan to reach your specific audience

A rookie mistake that many businesses make is to simply open accounts on every popular social media service, assuming that more = better. Each account you’ll open is a time expense in terms of maintaining it, however, and users you accumulate will start leaving in droves as soon as the regular updates stop.

It’s important to be aware of the demographic makeup of the various social media services, and assess whether that’s a group that you are attempting to reach. For example, according to statistics collected by Pew Research, the user base of Pinterest skews very much female, and the average Tumblr user is under the age of 24. Facebook and Twitter are solid bets for any business, since they have very large and diverse user bases, but once you get beyond those two you’ll want to start looking much more closely at demographic information and how it lines up with your customer profiles.

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LinkedIn, the must-have social network for working professionals, unveiled impactful changes to its site earlier this year. Many of the changes are simple fixes aimed at improving user experience. Yet there have also been several more drastic updates that will surely broaden the ways in which the site is utilized. Below, you will find the main ways that LinkedIn’s design overhaul has changed the site.

Homepage

LinkedIn’s largest design change is centered on its homepage. One of the first things that you will likely notice about the site’s new home screen is its uncanny similarity to Facebook, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

For starters, the site’s appearance is remarkably cleaner and more straightforward. Another much appreciated update is correcting the inconsistencies between the desktop and mobile homepages. The upgrade also makes it easier to share articles, photos, and updates by centering these options on the center of the homepage.

Search

The site’s search function is now largely different from what it was before. The slightly confusing advanced search options were removed, placing a more streamlined method to search for specific keywords in its place.

New options also now make it easier for recruiters to find potential candidates. By selecting the “Let recruiters know you’re open” button, you’ll be able to signal to recruiters that you’re activity looking for new opportunities.

Messaging

Although upon first glance the messaging portion of the site may seem unchanged, LinkedIn’s newest messaging feature makes it easier than ever to successfully network online. New additions include examples of ideal responses, making it simple and quick to tailor the perfect message to a recruiter. In sum, the new messaging section is considerably more intuitive and allows for room to increase the success rate of

Activity Log

The latest update to the site’s activity log also draws parallels to one of Facebook’s most favorable features. LinkedIn’s activity log stores all your movements on the site, conveniently storing every article you favorite, profile you connect with, company you search for, and more. It’s a great way to keep track of any research you may be conducting on a company or amazing articles you have recently read.

Contact Blast Creative today for all of your Social Media needs.

The post Linkedin’s Top Design + Development Changes in 2017 appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

Confrontation and Harassment and Bullying, Oh My! Let me share with you my recent experience. I was asked to speak on Reputation Management a couple of weeks ago and was shocked when a participant stood up, challenged my presentation, called me a liar and stormed out.

That in and of itself was bad enough, but the next day another speaker was challenged and a participant argued with her as well. Not sure if it was the same participant or not.

The age of the participant who I angered, millennial, early 20s. My presentation was on Reputation Management and after she left I made the comment that she needed anger management. Well the presenter from the second day was talking on Conflict Resolution! So the participant(s), again not sure if she was the same one or not, just needs some old fashion schooling on business etiquette and maybe some anger management.

For my presentation, I was speaking to young professionals about their online profiles and digital searches. The web is often our first and most important impression, and finding ways to monitor, improve, and control our reputations online is something that benefits everyone.

I pointed out that in our world today, the first impression of people now comes from what we can find online. People are Googling all the time and making critical decisions based on what they find.

Seventy-five percent of HR departments are required to research a candidate online before making a hire. Now this is where my seminar participant started to get agitated. In her opinion, HR departments cannot do this because it’s illegal. I beg to differ.

I quoted these statistics which further perpetuated the situation. Sixty percent of employers’ screen candidates via social media. This number is rapidly increasing — from 52 percent just last year and 22 percent in 2008. Employers are scanning social for red flags: 46 percent were turned off by provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos, or information; 43 percent by evidence of a candidate drinking or using drugs; 31 percent by bad-mouthing of previous company or fellow employee; and 29 percent by poor communication skills.

I gave examples of my own clients not hiring, rescinding job offers and shredding applications because of what they’ve found online.

I then asked for a couple of volunteers so we could do searches on them. The first gentlemen, had a few Go Fund Me pages for medical issues. On his Facebook page, he had several posts with medical issues. I suggested that he clean those up and maybe remove the posts and Go Fund Me pages where the campaigns have been completed. I told him that it probably wouldn’t stop me from hiring him, but it may stop others if they could see publicly that he had health issues.

This is where the participant flipped out, literally. I don’t know if I have ever been so publicly humiliated or had anyone ever scream and yell at me in a presentation before. She told me that it was illegal and in an interview you can’t even ask anyone about health issues.

I completely understand that, but we weren’t discussing the interview process nor were we in an interview. We were discussing an internet search to see if a business was even going to accept the application. We weren’t even close to an interview. I was giving suggestions on how to cleanup a profile or search for a potential employer. My suggestion about his Facebook page was to make his profile private so that all of that information wasn’t public.

I was completely flustered for a couple of seconds and had to quickly pull myself together, not respond and keep on going.

For the angered participant, you can ask questions in a presentation, but you should have pulled me aside and discussed this in private. I felt a little better when the speaker from the second day shared with me that she had the same issue.

These outbursts, in my opinion, come from our age of bullying. Where young people today, grow up bullying their peers and at this point in time, very little is done about it. Our bullying laws are not being enforced and so the spill over is affecting all of us.

I don’t have an answer as to how to deal with the issue. As for me, I may have to educate participants the next time that I speak. And ask that if they have something negative to say or disagree with my information to please stay afterwards and not to disrupt my presentation with their outbursts. I truly believe that we just need to educate this younger generation on business etiquette and what is acceptable and not acceptable behavior.

If you are needing help with your Online Reputation Management, please give us a call today! And let’s take the oh my out of confrontation and harassment and bullying!

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