How to Create a Viral Sweepstakes With Social Media
Are you considering using a sweepstakes or contest for an upcoming social media marketing campaign?
Ever wonder exactly how a social sweepstakes ties in with the idea of “viral” marketing?
In this article, I’ll analyze the concepts affecting a social media “viral sweepstakes” and how marketers can and (potentially) should take advantage.
What Exactly Is the Meaning of the Term Viral?
Marketers use the term viral to describe media proliferation in two different contexts.
On one hand, viral can describe “massive engagement;” i.e., when droves of people sign up for a particularly enticing offer. Alternatively, “views” can go viral, which occurs when people share a brand campaign with others many times over. 
5 Ways to Use Google+ to Improve Your Search Engine Optimization
Do you want to improve your search engine optimization?
Embracing Google+ should be on your short list of activities.
Experts continue to debate whether Google+ has the power to last beyond Google’s previous attempts at entering the social networking realm.
But one thing is clear: Google+ is making its presence known in Google search results now.
Here are some ways you can ensure that your Google+ usage will help with your search rankings.
4 Steps to Create a Social Listening Strategy
Is your business thinking about social analytics?
The first step when considering social analytics is to establish a listening strategy.
In social media, listening acts as a guide through the ever-changing and interesting world of the blogosphere.
Why? Because listening is an ongoing process that is necessary to keep a strategy fresh and competitive. It enables decision-makers to find and better understand opportunities and stakeholders.
So, exactly how do you go about listening?
#1: Determine your target audience
Once an organization has determined whom to target, it’s critical to understand where to engage them online. A common misperception is that all social networks are the same and therefore everyone is on the same platform.
5 Ways to Keep Your Facebook Page Secure
Is your Facebook page secure? With such a critical marketing tool, are you keeping your virtual house locked and safe?
With so much focus on managing the wall and running promotions, Facebook page security is often overlooked.
The good news is that Facebook’s security is actually quite effective. SSL encryption greatly reduces the chance of a page being hacked by a malicious script to take over the page or bypass its content.
However, while Facebook’s security from external threats is great, there are still threats that every page admin needs to be aware of.
So here are five ways to keep your page safe and secure.
#1: Moderate your page’s admins
Many companies collect page admins over time because they fail to remove old ones. Add up the social media managers, graphic artists, web designers and even interns, and pages can have dozens of admins.
5 Twitter Changes and How to Make the Most of Them
Are you wondering how Twitter’s changes will impact your use of its network?
Recently, Twitter got a complete revamp that changed things drastically. Interestingly, it didn’t pump the social network with more and more features.
Ryan Sarver, Twitter’s head of API, explained it crisply: “In a world where Facebook and Google are competing on features, Twitter wants to focus on being simple.”
This article will review all the changes, from user interface changes to Twitter brand pages, what the new changes mean and how you can best use them.
#1: Easier and More Streamlined Navigation
The first thing you’ll notice with the new Twitter is that navigating has become a lot easier and more streamlined. With just one click on any update, you can now get all the information you need from a tweet.
It will show you the number of retweets, replies and favorites, without going anywhere else.
Introducing the Networking Clubs From Social Media Examiner
What if there was an online place where you could lend a helping hand, connect with peers and get help?
What if that place was free?
Well, I have good news! Social Media Examiner is proud to introduce Social Media Examiner’s Networking Clubs.
Keep reading to learn more about the Networking Clubs and how you can get in.
10 Ways to Add Facebook Functionality to Your Website
Integrating Facebook into your website is an easy and free way to include a social dimension with the rest of your website business activity.
Facebook provides a selection of free plugins.
By the time you’re finished reading this article, you’ll understand your options for turning your website into a social hub and how to get started.
Why Facebook on Your Website?
Facebook has a grand vision: to connect the entire Internet, and every website on it, with a layer of social integration. The social network behemoth has been developing tools to assist in the spread of this vision since the introduction of the Open Graph in 2009.
Now, with over 10 social plugins available to the public (and free of charge!), website owners need to decide how best to utilize the available tools for their businesses. The first question you’re probably asking is: Do they even work?
Let’s look at some of the stats from SearchEngineLand:
3 Ways to Use YouTube to Drive Traffic to Your Website
Are you wondering how to get people from YouTube to your website?
Are you looking for ideas to move people from watchers to clickers? Keep reading to learn how.
Why YouTube for Traffic?
With an impressive three billion daily views, this video-sharing platform stakes its claim as the world’s second-largest search engine (behind Google) and is considered the third most-visited website in the world. Think YouTube is only for Justin Bieber fans? Think again.
As a marketer, there’s an absolutely incredible potential with YouTube if you deploy the right strategy. Imagine each of your videos as “mini websites.”
First, your content can get found from within YouTube itself.
How to Use Social Partnerships to Amplify Your Marketing
Would you like to combine forces with another company in a collaborative promotion?
Want to know why this is wise and how to do it? Keep reading…
Going Beyond the Customer
Many marketers have a relentless focus on a single dimension of social interaction: the brand-consumer relationship.
Thinking that the “social” in social media marketing is all about your relationship with consumers is constraining.
Rethinking the role of other relationships can dramatically improve the effectiveness of those very marketing efforts designed to engage your target customers.
While social channels facilitate new ways of tapping into “partners” and as the line between personal and professional relationships has blurred, it is important to view business relations in a new—and yes, more social—light.
10 Tips for Promoting Your Events With the New LinkedIn Events Tool
Does your business conduct events?
Are you using LinkedIn to get the word out?
Why LinkedIn?
LinkedIn, the largest professional social network now with over 135,000,000 members, has been busy lately updating features to help professionals and companies.
The LinkedIn Events Tool is the most recent application to receive an overhaul as millions of members have been increasingly utilizing the tool to source and sign up to attend local or industry-related events. The new features of the LinkedIn Events Tool benefit event organizers, marketers and professionals alike.
You must be creative and target your promotional efforts to your core audience, and the new LinkedIn Events Tool can help you do just that!
One of the new features of the LinkedIn Events Tool is the ability for people to easily search for relevant events. LinkedIn will automatically showcase a handful of events related to your network connections, industry and geographic location, but the search tool can uncover many more events that you may be interested in.
