Brenda Segna Archives - Website Design and Marketing

Social Media is Changing Beauty Standards

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 05:26:52 +0000

Although it might not seem so at first glance, beauty is one of the more dynamic properties throughout history. From thin to plus-size, you can see different representations of what men and women find desirable in different eras. There was a time when “extra” size was especially attractive, because it suggested wealth and prosperity, for example. Today, in a time when social media and the ubiquity of internet access has made multiple forms of beauty very apparent, the people are responding positively to many of the unique results that are emerging.

Hashtag HonorCurves

Let’s face it: up until the last few years, during which social media has exploded as a primary means of business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer communications, you were inundated with images of super-skinny models as the overriding standard of beauty. Although both men and women have to deal with looking at models, and then looking at their own body and feeling subpar; most would agree that this is an issue that especially affects women.

Facebook user Sara Sofia Almeida grew tired of always having to compare her body to the popular mass media images. Using the hashtag #honorcurves#, she sought to have all the people out there appreciate their bodies and realize all the amazing things it can do – swim, run, hug people, love, laugh, and enjoy life. Basically, her body positivity contribution was that you should manage your perception of yourself, and don’t let the media define you. Her post received thousands of likes and dozens of comments; the hashtag itself was created by a young lady name Honorine, and has been used nearly 300,000 times to date.

Hashtag BigFinesBreakTheInternet

Yet another movement that celebrates larger women; the Big Fines Break the Internet hashtag was started to help women feel more positive about their bodies; particularly to help combat the results of studies showing that 54% of women between 18-40 feel dissatisfaction with their bodies. The 2014 survey done by Glamour showed that body negativity was actually growing worse, since back in 1984, a similar poll showed that just 42% of women in this age-range felt unhappy. The cause? Big magazines and social media – which proliferate the message that one kind of body is attractive. #BigFinesBreakTheInternet# is seeking to help change that perception.

Dove Gets Into It

Soap and body care company Dove jumped into the body positivity fray and launched a campaign that may be the largest yet. The #ChooseBeautiful# hashtag caught on like wildfire, when it was revealed in a study that 96% of women don’t choose the word “beautiful” to describe their bodies. This social media campaign has springboarded off the success of the Choose Beautiful hashtag to launch the Speak Beautiful variant, which encourages women to talk positively about their bodies with each other, to help realize their gains in self-esteem and self-perception.

A Celebration of Culture and Modesty

Melanie Elturk is Muslim, and despite that religions staunchly conservative appearance requirements for women, she’s taken to social media to show that girls can be attractive even in conservative garb. Her Haute Hijab movement is big on Instagram, where she showcases herself and other Muslim women wearing fashionable headscarves and other accouterments.

To celebrate your business on Social Media, please contact Blast Creative today.

The post Social Media is Changing Beauty Standards appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

How to Write Magnetic Headlines

admin — Wed, 18 May 2016 16:21:08 +0000

There is a famous saying that goes like this “you only have one chance to make a good first impression.” Nothing could be truer when it comes to writing headlines for your blogs, articles, eBooks or any other online content. Without magnetic headlines, you may not be able to grab the attention of your reader and motivate him/her to continue reading past your headline.

Statistics show us that an average of eight out of ten people searching for information online will first read the headline, and out of these ten only two will be persuaded enough to read the rest of your content. These statistics, clearly answer the question “what is in a headline?” the answer being “power.” So, if you are an online content marketer or a copywriter, developing magnetic headlines is a valuable skill you should possess if you want to create clicktivism. Below are some tips on how you can write magnetic headlines:

Start with the Headline
While the headline might seem like the most challenging part of writing (at times it is), you should always try to start your writing with the headline first. That is because the headline is the promise you will give to readers, so it must clearly communicate what you intend to deliver to the reader. Of course, before creating the headline you need to have a clear understanding of your subject matter. Once you have identified your subject matter or what the content of your writing will be, go ahead and create a headline. If you write the headline last, you will be looking for the promise within your content, instead of first making the promise and delivering it through your content.

Newsy headlines, grab attention
Newsy headlines are the type that makes announcements such as discovery, new product release, finding, invention and more. You can use these headlines to introduce new services or products in the market and to make press releases. People are usually captivated by the concept “new” and are, therefore, more likely to read on to discover “what’s new.” Examples of newsy headlines are those that begin with words such as “announcing”, “introducing”, and “at last.”

“How To” headlines are magnetic
One of the most used headlines is “how to”, simply because this is a magnetic headline that is sure to grab and retain the attention of the reader. These types of headings answer the question, “what is in it for me,” which most readers will ask themselves before reading any content. So, if your content answers the question “how to,” consider creating a “how to” headline such as ‘How to Write Magnetic Headlines.”

The benefit headline will get your content read
A benefit headline is like a carrot dangled in front of a rabbit. The reader will immediately identify “what’s in it for them” from your headline. This kind of headline excites the curiosity of readers, and they will want to read on or click the headline for more details. So, when creating a magnetic headline identify a compelling benefit from your content, and serve it up in your article topic. For instance, “Get Your Online Business Noticed Today, With This Amazing SEO Tool.”

When it comes to writing content especially for online marketing, your headline is your lifeline; because a magnetic headline is what will determine whether your content will become a hit or miss.

The post How to Write Magnetic Headlines appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

5 Tips To Make Your Facebook Cover Photo Count

admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 05:31:17 +0000

As a business owner, your Facebook page and other social media presences make up your owned media assets, that which is controlled by your and your business’s brand. It is important to maximize the potential for new and repeat business opportunities by making your Facebook truly reflect what you are all about. This is especially true of the images you select and portray online as representative of your company. Here are 5 tips to consider that can help make your Facebook cover photo count.

Tip #1: Make Your Photo Relevant

Making your Facebook cover photo relevant is an important consideration when choosing what to put on the cover. Your cover photo is a way to communicate who you are and what you are about to those who following you. If you are in the business of making widgets, your cover photo should reflect this. Your mission is to keep the idea of your company first and foremost in the mind of any visitor; maintaining relevancy helps you keep that idea before them as customers seek to interact with you.

Tip #2: Make Your Photo a Call-To-Action (CTA)

Your Facebook cover photo provides you with a way to direct traffic to your website. Simply provide a link in the description that appears when a user clicks on the cover photo and you have created another way to bring additional traffic to your website(s). Changes in Facebook’s cover photo policy gives you the flexibility to add more descriptors and create specific CTAs that can

Tip #3: Link Your Cover Photo to Your Profile Pic

Think for a moment how the cover and profile photos look on your current Facebook page. Are they in any way related and do they provide a consistent look and message to someone viewing your page? Use photos on your Facebook cover that provides consistency in terms of message, look, branding or relate to a campaign you may be promoting for your business. If you owned a chicken farm and your company’s logo were an egg, maybe a cover photo featuring a group of chickens in the yard with information about the business would be a good way to link your company brand with what it is you are selling.

Tip #4: Stay on Message

Keep your cover photos topical and relative to your brand and messaging. If you are running sales and specials reflective of a particular season or featuring a product or service, it is certainly advisable to upload a cover photo that highlights this. However, advertising your Black Friday specials or alerting visitors of a huge 20% off sale loses relevancy when the period for such a special has past. Manage your images carefully and be sure to remove those images that may cause confusion or be otherwise false and misleading relative to what is happening to your business.

Tip #5: Let Your Cover Photo Speak to Your Brand and Image

There are many good examples on Facebook of companies who link the messaging in the Facebook cover photos to their brand. Some of these examples are as simple as placing a logo or other recognizable image of the company somewhere in the cover photo. Be sure that any inclusion of your brand image is an organic one and not something that seems inappropriate or out of place, in context with what is being communicated in the image.

Contact Blast Creative today for all of your Social Media Marketing needs!

The post 5 Tips To Make Your Facebook Cover Photo Count appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

Hashtag #101

admin — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 05:20:09 +0000

Most people recognize a hashtag post, but they don’t understand the significance. Think of the hashtag as a way to sort things out amongst the hundreds of tweets in your feed. When you click on a hashtag phrase in a tweet, you will get a new page with a list of other tweets that are also using that phrase. If you’ve never clicked on a hashtag before, try it out. You should see dozens (hundreds) of other posts with the same hashtag.

Essentially, the hashtag helps you find others who are talking about the same thing. In a forum such as Twitter or Facebook, you can engage with people who are interested in your topic. One of the most famous hashtag campaigns was #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft, which brought awareness to domestic violence.

Hashtag Etiquette

Using a hashtag is easy enough. Just put together a phrase, put the number sign in front of it, and make the tweet. The trick is finding the right phrase that is relevant. One of the key ideas is to be specific and relevant with your hashtag. Instead of #minivan, be more exact, for example #kiasedona or #dodgegrandcaravan.

Don’t overuse hashtags in your post. Instagram might allow up to 30 hashtags, but you shouldn’t use that many in a single post. Two or three, at most, is enough to reach people, in any forum that you use. When you use more than three, you come off as desperate and it dilutes your original message.

Before using a hashtag, make sure you understand what it relates to. In one of the most famous blunders of social media, DiGiorno Pizza sent out a tweet “#WhyIStayed You Had Pizza.” The company ended up with egg on their face instead of selling more pizzas as they hoped.

Do Some Research to Gain Confidence

Twitter offers a help page that provides support for hashtag use. Click on hashtags to find out how others use them. Although hashtag use started with Twitter, most all social media platforms support them. However, you should understand the limitations within each site. For example, Pinterest hashtags aren’t searchable. On YouTube, hashtags are most commonly used in the comments.

Watch how others use them on the social media platform that you use. Try one out, but make sure you’ve done your homework. It’s always a good idea to ask someone else when you’re in doubt, especially if your post is for a business. Don’t make a social media mistake that gets your brand negative publicity.

If you are a business owner in any of these genres, financial, photographers, dentists, hotels, restaurants, construction, HVAC, hardware stores, real estate, or any business owner and want more information on Social Media Marketing, please contact Blast Creative today!

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People are turning to Social Media for customer service. How fast do you reply?

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 05:17:50 +0000

How does your business use your social media accounts? If you’re like most businesses, you think about attracting new customers, marketing, and branding through Facebook and Twitter. You want to build relationships with your clients and vendors to build your business, but there’s so much more potential to your social media medium. Customers use social media to report problems with a business. How you respond to those complaints will determine if you keep those customers or lose them.

Although you may have phone or email support, most people don’t want to take the time to track down the information and call during business hours. Submitting information through a contact form is impersonal at best, and customers often do not even expect a response because they have no idea who is going to receive the information. Customers want personalized immediacy to their issues, which can be costly for your business to provide.

Why Do People Turn to Social Media?

When your customer gets upset, they want to be heard. If they’re just looking for an answer to a question, they want it now. No one wants to wait which is indicative of the microwave society in today’s world. Social media is more immediate. Expectations for social media is very different from the expectations of email or phone. In a recent study, most people expect your business to respond in 60 minutes or less when they use social media.

Why You Should Care About Answering Your Customers on Social Media

Customer service through social media lets you personalize your brand and the experience of your customers. Instead of going through a phone menu to try and get to a person who can help, your customer asks a question, then gets an answer. It’s a great method to make customers have control and to provide transparency. Potential customers see the transaction and know that you will answer questions promptly. It also encourages more mentions of your brand online, which increases your presence. Not answering questions and complaints may also provide more publicity, but in a negative light. When you provide customer service through social media, you proactively manage your image. Users who reach out to you through social media are more likely to talk about your company.

With social media, follow-up is quick and easy. You can always send a personal note to the customer, but Facebook and Twitter allow you to demonstrate your commitment to providing excellent customer service. It might be overwhelming at first, and you may make some mistakes. In your industry there may be regulatory issues that you have to work around. But the long-term benefits far outweigh the challenges. When you engage with your customers, they will engage with you. If you don’t respond, they will find a business that will. Don’t lose out by ignoring social media. Reply quickly and keep your customers coming back again and again. Contact Blast Creative if you are interested in our Social Media Marketing Services.

If you are a business owner in any of these genres, financial, photographers, dentists, hotels, restaurants, construction, HVAC, hardware stores, real estate, or any business owner and want more information on Internet Marketing, please contact Blast Creative today!

The post People are turning to Social Media for customer service. How fast do you reply? appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

Honesty, Integrity and Loyalty Do They Exist in 2013?

admin — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 04:32:01 +0000

I’ve been thrown under the bus so many times in my lifetime by business partners, associates and friends that the tread marks have left excruciating scars and I sit here wondering if honesty, integrity and loyalty exists in 2013! I hate not trusting people, but time and time again I get slapped in the face by reality. I recently read an article on Katie Couric’s website:

Want to know how to spot a liar? Here’s how!

From Janine Driver, body language expert and author of “You Can’t Lie to Me.”