Currently, there's a big disconnect between how many companies are using social media, and how many companies feel that their usage is effective. Specifically, a report by Harvard Business Review found that while 79% are utilizing social media, only 12% feel they're doing so effectively. Because most companies now understand the importance of social media but still aren't sure how to properly utilize these channels, it shouldn't come as a surprise that they're looking for employees who do. And if you want to be a job seeker who does have those skills, social media marketing courses can provide the training you need.

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Now that businesses of all sizes have realized that social media is here to stay, a significant percentage want to learn the best way to utilize these networks for promotional purposes. For many businesses, one of the biggest challenges is balancing employee sharing with ensuring that no one does anything that could damage the company's brand. Read the rest of this entry →

With hundreds of millions of people using social media in the United States and billions more across the rest of the world, it’s not surprising that businesses across all industries have taken notice of sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. While businesses of all sizes understand that social media is a powerful way for them to connect with potential and current customers, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to do. Since so many businesses have personally experienced the challenges that go along with building a meaningful presence on social media platforms, there’s a lot of demand for solutions. One solution that many businesses pursue is hiring a social media manager. Because engagement is such an important driver of social media activity, businesses want someone who can build a thriving community through real interactions. Read the rest of this entry →

With over 225 million users, LinkedIn has become a central hub for anyone who's serious about their career. While most professionals are aware that this site is a great tool for building their personal brand, many businesses don't realize just how useful it can be for increasing leads and ultimately sales. Read the rest of this entry →

After you get used to how Pinterest works, one of the goals you'll likely have is to increase your total number of followers. While pursuing quantity simply for the sake of vanity metrics isn't the most effective strategy, there are definite benefits to increasing the number of targeted followers your profile has. As more people who are interested in what your business is sharing start following it, you'll be able to increase repins, likes, comments, impressions, and clicks. That, in turn, can help you with branding, driving traffic, attracting more leads and ultimately increasing sales. Read the rest of this entry →

Now that it's more than halfway over, it's safe to say that 2015 is turning out to be another big year for social media. As a result, countless businesses are relying on this channel as a primary driver of their growth. Regardless of where your business is at in terms of growth or using social media, it's helpful to know about the trends that are shaping the marketing that's being done via social media.
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Many franchises are in one of two situations. The first is not using social media at all. Although studies show that most business owners are aware that social media can be a highly effective marketing channel, less than 40% of businesses actually utilize platforms like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. The second scenario is using social media but being disappointed with the lack of results it drives. There are plenty of businesses that have gotten started with social media but still haven’t seen it move the needle.
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If you want more traffic for your blog, strategically sharing your posts through social media can accomplish that goal. Since every social platform has its own unique features and audiences, we want to cover the best practices for promoting your blog on four different social media platforms:

1. Facebook

The biggest of all the social platforms allows you to share blog posts on profiles, pages and groups. Although posts can be as long as ten thousand characters, Facebook only displays the first 480 in people’s feeds. Case studies have also shown that posts with less than fifty characters do best, so keeping things short and sweet is one best practice for promoting your blog on Facebook. Another best practice is to use an image when you share. One strategy for promoting posts is to upload a relevant image and then link to the post from the text field. The other best practice for promoting evergreen blog posts is to share them more than once. Given that Facebook will only show it to a fraction of your audience, it's worth re-sharing posts every two to three months.

2. Twitter

Even though Twitter now allows posts to exceed the 140-character limit, keeping your tweets short is still a best practice for the platform. As with Facebook, including an image will help get people's attention. Two other best practices for Twitter are including a call to action in your tweet and sharing your blog post more than once during the first week after it's published. Since Twitter moves even faster than Facebook, sharing up to four times on different days and at different times can yield very good promotional results.

3. LinkedIn

This social platform has evolved a lot over the last few years. Because LinkedIn wants users to share and engage with content, it's a great place to promote your blog posts. With LinkedIn, you can make your descriptions a little longer than is ideal on Facebook or Twitter. You should also ask a question or include something similar to encourage interaction. And in terms of which of your posts will do best on LinkedIn, list and how-to posts are at the top of the list.

4. Pinterest

Because Pinterest is such a visual platform, the most important thing you can do to get attention for your posts is to ensure that you use really great images which are optimized for the site. Currently, the ideal pin size is 736 x 1104 to 2061.

To learn more about getting the most out of social media promotion, take a look at our self-study social media certification program, which provides exclusive access to every tool and resource you need for success.

Michelle Hummel is CEO of Web Strategy Plus a full-service digital marketing agency focused on Franchise Marketing. She was recently nominated for the Woman-Owned Business of the Year! She’s a passionate Social Media Trainer with 15+ years of successful online business development, sales, and marketing experience. She also holds a valuable Internet Marketing Degree however with the ever-changing world of web marketing she strives to learn something new every day. 

She travels Nationwide visiting her 22 Social Media Enthusiasts Chapters delivering in-depth social media training. She also provides Social Media Certifications through founding Web Media University. A current contributing editor to The Franchise Dictionary Magazine and she has written 3 books in her series called, “The Social Media Magnet: Everything You Need to Know to Attract Customers with Social Media”, where she shares her best-kept secrets to success. She also specializes in helping Franchisors and Franchisees develop an integrated web marketing program to drive leads. She’s available for interviews via email, telephone, Skype video, news segments on location and more. Just let her know how she can help!

When it comes to a company that's as large as Starbucks, new initiatives don't get released to the public in a spontaneous manner. Instead, any big marketing push has to go through countless layers of approval before it goes out into the world. But while Starbucks and other large companies put a lot of work into their marketing, that doesn't mean they always get it right.

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When people think of social networks, they often first think of places where people go to kill downtime by looking at fun pictures or checking up on the latest gossip. While that definitely describes one way that people use social networks, it's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how social influences online behavior.
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