Welcome to this week’s social media quick tip.
Did you know you can add a photo, video or GIF to a Retweet, instead of just text?
It’s super simple to do.
By expanding the Retweet feature to support additional media Twitter users have a richer, more engaging experience on the platform.
Here’s to your social media success!
Welcome to this week’s social media tip. Today I want you to think about choosing the best keywords to rank higher on search engines.
93% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
It makes search the second biggest online activity, after email.
If you want your website to rank higher in Google you have to make sure that you’re using the right keywords. Keyword research is vital because identifying the terms people are searching for will determine the kind of content you create and the way you will optimize it.
One of the biggest mistakes I come across is trying to rank for generic keywords with a high search volume.
Instead, try long tail keywords. 50% of search queries are four words or longer.
Long tail keywords are keywords or key phrases that are more specific — and usually longer — than more commonly searched for keywords. They get less search traffic, but will usually have a higher conversion value, as they are more specific.
Long tail keywords allow you gradually to get more traffic and to be found by new and motivated audiences.
Here is an example of a list of long-tail keywords based on the keyword “pdf”
I’m borrowing this from PR consultant Gini Dietrich‘s playbook so you may need to adapt it to your own business.
Now you have a nice list of content as a starting point. If you are being asked these questions, this is what people are also searching. And, if you have the answers and you’re the best suited to provide the solutions, they should be finding you when they search these things.
I use the following tools to help me find long tail keywords.
This is a free Google tool that gives you insight into the volume of monthly searches for a particular keyword, and how much competition there is, based on advertising spend for sponsored links. It also returns suggested terms you could use instead or alongside your original keyword.
You will need to sign up for an Adwords account with a Gmail account but you don’t have to add any credit card details or create any ads to use the tool.
Google displays related search results at the bottom of the first page when you type in your Google search query. This is a super-helpful resource as it returns ideas that are relevant to your topic based on user interest and contextual words.
I’ve installed this tool as a Chrome extension and I find it super helpful. It returns a host of long-tail phrases based on what people are searching for using specific keywords.
There are other long-tail keyword tools out there which you also might like to try – including Keyword Clarity (a free keyword grouping tool that makes it easy to identify keyword clusters) Answer The Public (an automated autocomplete tool that will populate relevant topics based on your search), and KWFinder.
Further Reading How to move from keyword research to intent research
Welcome to this week’s social media quick tip. This week I want to show you how to create great graphics with Canva.
Canva is one of my every-day go-to tools when I am creating visuals. It’s so easy and quick to use it with a multitude of layout options, fonts, images and illustrations to choose from. And best of all it’s free! If you want more advanced features, you do also have the option to upgrade for a small fee.
Whether you want a Twitter post or Facebook profile picture, you can create them quickly using Canva’s drag and drop editor. Select from a number of pre-set designs, or create something from scratch. You can also add elements such as custom icons, fonts, charts, and illustrations.
Here’s how to use it
i. Sign up at canva.com. The sign-up process is quick and easy.
ii. Next click on “Create a design” and choose the platform for which you wish to create a visual, for example, blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Your image will be automatically resized to fit the size dimensions of each platform.
iii. Click on “Layouts” to select a layout for your graphic. There are tons of layouts to choose from. When you find one you like, click on it and it will automatically populate the blank screen for you to work with. You can change out the design at any time by clicking into another layout template.
iv. To add an image, select “Elements” which allows you to choose from a variety of shapes, illustrations, and photos from the royalty-free library. Note that not all images are free, some are priced at $1 each. You can also upload your own images to use.
v. To add text, click on “Text” and simply drag and drop your heading, subheading and body text. You can also choose from some pre-designed fonts, most of which are free.
vi. Selecting “Background” allows you to choose different background colours and textures.
vii. When you’re happy with your design, you have the option to embed it or share it from Canva straight to a social media platform, share a link for others to see the design or edit it if you wish. You can also download it to your computer in jpeg, png, or pdf format.
That’s it. You’re all set to create customised graphics for your marketing.
Here’s to your social media success!
Welcome to this week’s social media quick tip.
Regular readers will know that I often recommend BuzzSumo as a useful tool to explore which pieces of content are popular on social media around a certain topic. Today I want to show you another way to use the tool to find the top influencers for your topics of interest on Twitter.
This is a quick and easy process. Simply log in or if you don’t already have an account, sign up for a free trial. At the end of the trial, you have the choice of paying for a PRO plan or switching to a limited free option.
Once you’re logged in to Buzzsumo, click on Influencers in the top navigation.
Use the drop-down menu to sort influencers by relevancy – number of followers, domain authority, retweet ratio, etc.
With the free account, you can view the top 10 influencers. Here’s a snapshot from my search for “healthcare social media influencers.”
You can dive further into the analytics to discover the most popular topics and sources of links shared by the influencer.
It’s a cool feature and there are many possibilities for how you might use this information. For example, you could ask a question about or comment on something they’ve written or shared in the past week.
Here’s to your social media success!
Here’s a handy cheat sheet for maximizing your social media marketing efforts on Facebook, Pinterest and Google+
Consumer behavior is changing and social media is becoming increasingly relevant for individuals and organizations.
As the social media landscape expands and evolves, Facebook maintains its leadership despite IPO pains and mobile weakness.
Twitter at #2 is becoming a curator and potential media company while Google+ is becoming Google’s SoLoMo layer.
Newer players differentiate and create niches of their own, or seek exits. Despite the “success” of social media, public market investors are skeptical but social media’s impact on human behavior is undeniable.
Mobile is becoming the “first screen,” SoLoMo is growing in adoption, influence and importance and the SMMS industry is consolidating. Social media, and social advertising, is no longer a playground but a priority for major brands.
While marketers continue to experiment, efforts are much more strategic and studies are starting to show connections between leveraging social paid, promoted, owned and earned media, and changes in purchase intent. Ultimately, the social media opportunity lies in enhanced customer experiences.
Note: This presentation is a 2012 mid-year update to the original “State of Social” presentation by Esteban Contreras.
Health Care Social Media 