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.    

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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.

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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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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.

Facebook has recently made an upgrade to its Business Page by adding the capability to post job openings on the News Feed. This is a competitive move that might edge into the growth of job sites such as LinkedIn, Monster and InDeed.

Businesses in Canada and the United States can now post job listings on their own Facebook page and on a “new jobs” page. This is a free service for the businesses, as well as for users to apply.

It is easy to apply for a job on Facebook. You can search for jobs within a 100 mile radius and narrow your selection based upon industry and job type, including volunteer and internship opportunities. There is an “apply now” button, and Facebook automatically fills in the information you have already provided in your profile. You can write up 1,000 characters as to why you would be a good fit for the job. According to Facebook, businesses can only see what you’ve made public on your profile. The employer will receive your application and connect with you via Messenger.

Facebook Jobs

Facebook is definitely focusing on business users with their new launch. They have been pushing Facebook Workplace to business users and now have a jobs section. Facebook wants its millions of already active users to now be able to find jobs while frequenting the site.

Some people are skeptical as to the popularity of the new Facebook jobs feature. Beth Lawton, owner of Canoe Media Services, says “it’s certainly not the first place I’d think to go. I’d start with more traditional job boards…before searching Facebook for a job.”

Andrew Bosworth, Facebook’s VP of Ads and Business Platform, wanted to know “How can we make Facebook more useful in your everyday life?” He has shown overwhelming enthusiasm for the new product. He believes it will bring help small businesses hiring and give opportunities for the opportunistic or casual job seeker. Bosworth stated, “Two-thirds of job seekers are already employed. They’re not spending their days and nights out there canvassing for jobs. They’re open to a job if a job comes.”

LinkedIn might be the leader in the employment network space, but Facebook’s user count dwarfs that of LinkedIn by millions. It might be hard for LinkedIn and other job companies to compete with the amount of visibility that Facebook has. Even if a Facebook user’s reason for logging in doesn’t involve applying for a new job, it might be hard to resist searching the local listings for what new opportunities might arise.

The post Facebook Takes a Dip in The LinkedIn Pond-New Jobs Feature on Facebook appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

Facebook keeps updating its features, determined to keep and grow its appeal to its audience and to increase its advertising. These upgrades are a constant with Facebook. In fact, it requires all employees to take one or two days off each month to brainstorm new ways to serve users.

Why should a site with 1 billion users care? The fact is, even social media behemoths can lose out to newer platforms. The company has chosen to be proactive, experimenting with upgrades for users and businesses.

Users

Location Requests in Messenger
Selected contacts can now request your location on messenger. This means if a friend can’t find you for a few days, she can send a location request. During a period of time, you can choose to accept or decline the request.

This has been added to Safety Check. In case of a natural disaster, you can identify that you are safe after a hurricane, flood or other major calamity.

GIFs
You can add GIFs to your comments, as well as link to them and upload them. People love these animated images.

Now you can put them in status updates quickly and easily. Just put the link to the image into your update bar. This loads it just like it does any other type of link.

Recommendations
You can now get recommendations for eateries, shops and other businesses or places to visit. These are based on suggestions from friends, customized to meet your preferences.

You can add an album or a photo gallery to a friend, with all the pictures and videos that people upload in their comments. Everything related to that post gets added to the gallery or album on the newsfeed of the person you choose.

Advertisers

Get Seen Outside Facebook
If you are an advertiser, you can now join the Audience Network. This can increase your visibility by 16 percent over just advertising on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also put ads on Instagram Stories in the section devoted to 24-hour video stories. More than 150 million users visit every day.

Mid-Roll Ads
Still in test mode, mid-roll ads let you put your ad in the middle of a Facebook video. You share the money earned with publishers. People see your ad after they have watched at least 20 seconds of the video.

Dynamic Ads
Retargeting has always been important on Facebook. Now you have greater options. The dynamic ads function lets you select visitors who are considered very likely to be attracted by your product or service.

As an example, you sell green and blue hoodies. You can target people who have been visiting a variety of websites looking at blue and green hoodies. You can also target those who have liked Facebook posts and visited pages that focus on hoodies.

Contact Blast Creative today for all of your Facebook needs.

The post New Facebook Features in 2017 appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

Instagram now offers shoppable posts, allowing retailers to showcase up to five clickable products per post. Before the upgrade, “more than 84 percent of smartphone users in the US browse, research or compare products via a web browser or mobile app,” yet “only 21 percent of purchases [are] made within a day.”

Now, Instagram’s newest innovation makes it even easier for users to locate, research, and purchase products. With shoppable posts and a simple “Shop Now” icon, the app’s latest feature hopes to create a better user experience while boosting the success of ad campaigns.

How Does It Work?

Instagram posts that are shoppable will have an additional “Tap to View” icon on the image. Retailers will be able to showcase a maximum of five different products, all within the Instagram app.

Users will also be able to look up detailed product information within Instagram. Once the user has decided to purchase the product, there will be an additional “Shop Now” icon on the product details screen which will take the user directly to the company website. It is a simple and efficient way to use advertising to directly connect a prospective customer with the product purchase page.

What Does This Mean For Users?

Shoppable Instagram posts drastically change the user experience, making it easier and quicker to learn more about and purchase products. Before the update, users would often see “see link in bio” captions which offered an awkward and complicated way to bring users to the product purchase page.

Frustrated, many retailers even tried out third-party landing page methods, which unfortunately did not solve the issue and only worked about half the time. Shoppable Instagram posts offer users a more streamlined way to purchase products that will surely increase the success of advertisements on the app.

What Does This Mean For Retailers?

According to the Instagram for Business blog, 75 percent of users take action after seeing an advertisement post, such as shopping, searching, or visiting the company website. Statistics also point out that 70 percent of Instagram ad campaigns saw an increase in conversions and mobile app installs.

“Shop Now” icons in Instagram posts allow retailers to increase their advertising success rates even further by making it easier to link users with products they are interested in through direct links within the app. This new innovation shows Instagram’s commitment to retailers and making e-commerce through the app a success.

Contact Blast Creative for all of your Instagram and Social Media needs.

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